---
sourceDocument: Xanadu Customer Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/xanadu/customer-service-management

 Release :

    - xanadu

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Xanadu Customer Service Management

ft:clusterId :

    - csm

bundleId :

    - csm

workflow :

    - Customer and Industry


---

# Outage tracking for install base

# Outage tracking for install base {#ariaid-title1}

* Release version: Xanadu
* 
* Updated August 1, 2024
* 
* ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 1 minute to read

Provide visibility into any current or upcoming outages affecting a customer's install
base, enhancing transparency and reducing the number of customer-reported cases.

## Outage definition {#outage-tracking-csm__section_ttr_2s4_sjb}

An outage refers to a time period that a service delivering value to a customer is unavailable
or experiencing performance issue​s.  
A customer can experience the following types of outages:

* Unplanned outage: Outages such as those caused by hardware or network issues.
* Planned outage: Outages caused by planned maintenance or upgrades.
* Degradation: Problems affecting a service that does not result in a disruption of that service.
{#outage-tracking-csm__ul_dym_djt_njb}

## Outage tracking overview {#outage-tracking-csm__section_rsk_qs4_sjb}

Inform your customers proactively if they are affected by a planned or unplanned service
disruption by associating outages to a case. In doing so, your customers are aware of the impact
of the outage and have visibility into status of the resolution. They can then use this
information to assess the business impact of different outage types over a period of time and
calculate any charge backs, if required.

Outages are typically created automatically when an alert is created for a service or by
service fulfillers when working on an incident.

An outage specifies the outage type, impacted service as well as the begin and end time.
Multiple services used by a customer can be associated with an outage.

## Roles {#outage-tracking-csm__section_y34_nv4_sjb}

As a major issue manager or customer service manager, you can create, associate, and track all
outages related to a case. Customer service managers can also view reports of business impact by
outage type.

As a customer service agent, you can view any outages associated to the case.

Your customers can view outage information on the Customer Service Portal.

## Activation information {#outage-tracking-csm__section_pzq_ds4_sjb}

This feature requires the Proactive Customer Service Operations Management plugin
(com.snc.proactive_cs_ops).
**Related concepts**   

* [Proactive Customer Service - Advanced dashboard](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/dbdOXGhQVLCvkPWIDNuWRA "The Proactive Customer Service - Advanced dashboard helps customer service managers track key performance indicators (KPIs) to understand how proactive they were in identifying and communicating issues that impact customers. The dashboard also enables customer service managers to assess the business impact of outages over time. Install the Proactive Customer Service Advanced Dashboard plugin (com.snc.pa.customer_service_advanced) to view and monitor the advanced dashboards.")  
**Related tasks**   

* [Associate an outage to a major case](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/f1qfYUcWg~DT4GyghRssHw "Associate an outage with a major case to keep customers informed about any issues affecting their install base items.")
* [Create an outage from a major case](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/nM5Hr3BeJhmGY4umVR7isg "Create an outage from a major case to keep customers informed about any issues affecting their install base items.")
* [Track outages for install base items](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/a_~LNB9~6IaMdriGwps5eA "View outages associated to a case to keep customers informed about any issues affecting their install base.")
* [View install base information from the Customer Service Portal](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/xuhxG_JMIuSg2eCy7JR~Jg "View a list of install base to track the instances provisioned for your account and which products or services run on them.")