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What is escalation in alerting?

Escalation is the step that sends an alert to the next person when the first one doesn't respond in time. If the on-call tech hasn't answered a server alarm within, say, 15 minutes, a backup or a manager gets it. Incident and paging tools often build their alerting around it.

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Glossary

Escalation

In plain English, with what it means for alert texts.

Illustration of Escalation.

How an escalation chain works

A chain is a list of people tried in order, with a wait between each step.

  • Step 1: the on-call person gets the alert.
  • Step 2: if nobody acknowledges it in time, a backup gets it.
  • Step 3: a supervisor or manager is added after a longer wait.

What acknowledging an alert means

To acknowledge is to tell the tool you have the problem, usually with a reply or a button in an app. That stops the chain from moving on.

Without that signal, a chain can't tell a sleeping tech from one already driving to the site. It differs from a network delivery receipt, which only shows the text reached the phone.

One alert sent to two people at once

Many small teams skip the chain and text the on-call tech and a backup together. Both see this UPS alarm, and one reply settles who takes it.

  1. The UPS emails an on-battery alarm

  2. The on-call tech and the backup both get the text

    Welco: [UPS-2] On battery, 14 min runtime left at 12:48 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.

  3. The on-call tech replies from their phone

    On it, driving in

  4. The reply lands in the team's inbox, so the backup can go back to sleep

Escalation vs on-call routing

Escalation moves an alert along a chain when nobody answers. On-call routing picks who gets it in the first place, by time of day and weekday.

Welco does routing. It does not run escalation chains or track acknowledgements. Related terms sit in the glossary of alert terms.

Where Welco fits with escalation

Welco texts each alert to the staff who joined for it, and can send one alert to several phones at once. That covers many small teams without a chain.

If you need timed chains with acknowledgements, a full incident tool may suit you better. See how the two compare on our PagerDuty alternative page.

Frequently asked questions

What is an escalation policy?

It is the written rule a paging tool follows: who gets an alert first, how long to wait and who comes next. Policies often differ by service or by time of day.

Can a reply to a Welco text stop other people being alerted?

No. Welco sends each alert to its phones once and does not wait for a reply. The reply comes back by email, so the team can see who took it.

Do small teams need escalation chains?

Often not. A team of three to five can text the on-call person and a backup at once and agree by reply. Chains earn their keep in larger teams with strict response targets. The on-call basics guide sketches a simple plan.

Do replies to alert texts cost anything?

With Welco, each reply uses message credits, like every text in either direction. A short reply such as On it fits in one segment.

Text one alarm to the tech and the backup

Send the same alert to both phones once each person has joined, and nobody waits on a chain.

Start free trialBook a demo

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing