Overview
An escalation policy is a set of ordered, time-based rules that automatically routes an unacknowledged Turbo360 alert to progressively higher notification channels. When an alert fires and the first team or channel does not respond within a defined threshold, Turbo360 escalates to the next rule and continues until the alert incident is acknowledged or the policy completes its configured repeat cycles.
Escalation policies are available across the Cost Analyzer, Business Applications, and Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) modules. Each module applies the same core policy model, but policies are configured and mapped independently within each module's settings.
Business value
Escalation policies close the gap between alert delivery and alert response. By defining a structured path from an L1 team channel to an L2 email to an on-call contact, you ensure that no critical alert goes unnoticed regardless of which team member is available at the time. This reduces resolution time, improves accountability, and prevents unplanned spend or service disruption from escalating silently.
How it works
Policy structure
Every escalation policy consists of one or more rules. Each rule defines:
- Notification target: the channel or recipient to notify at this stage (for example, a Microsoft Teams channel, an email address, or an SMS recipient).
- Time threshold: how long after the previous rule fires before this rule triggers. The first rule fires immediately when an alert is raised.
Rules fire in sequence. If an alert incident remains unacknowledged after all rules have fired, the policy can optionally repeat from the beginning for a configured number of cycles. Escalation stops only when the alert incident is acknowledged or closed in the Turbo360 application; dismissing a notification in the external channel does not stop escalation.
Policy limits
The following limits apply uniformly across all modules:
| Constraint | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum rules per policy | 5 |
| Maximum duration per rule | 60 days |
| Maximum repeat cycles | 5 |
Default policy
Each module includes a system-defined default policy that is pre-configured with all available notification channels. The default policy cannot be deleted. When a user-created policy is deleted, all monitors or configurations previously mapped to it are automatically reassigned to the default policy.
Policy mapping
A policy is activated by mapping it to a monitor or alert configuration within the relevant module. The same policy can be reused across multiple monitors or applications; notification channels and email addresses can be customised per mapping without modifying the policy itself.
Module-level escalation policies
Escalation policies are configured independently within each module. The core behavior (rules, thresholds, repeat cycles, default policy, and acknowledgment requirement) is consistent across all three modules. The differences are in how policies are accessed and what they are mapped to.
Cost Analyzer
In Cost Analyzer, escalation policies are accessed from the Context menu ( ⋮ ) next to Settings in the tree view, then selecting Escalation policies. Policies are mapped to group budgets and cost monitors. When a budget or anomaly threshold is breached and the alert goes unacknowledged, Turbo360 follows the policy's rule sequence to escalate the notification.
A policy update can optionally be propagated to all cost monitors already mapped to it by enabling Apply to existing mapped monitors during the update.
For configuration steps, see Managing escalation policies in Cost Analyzer.
Business Applications
In Business Applications, escalation policies are a core component of the monitoring configuration. They are mapped at either the Business Application level or the monitoring profile level, giving teams flexibility to apply different escalation paths to different resource types or environments within the same application.
Policies can be reused across multiple Business Applications. When mapping, notification channels and email addresses can be customised for that specific application without altering the shared policy definition.
For configuration steps, see Managing escalation policies in Business Applications.
Business Activity Monitoring
In Business Activity Monitoring, escalation policies are mapped at the monitor level within a business process. They apply when a duration monitor, exception monitor, or query monitor is configured in Basic alert configuration mode. Policies cannot be selected in Advanced alert configuration mode.
A policy update can be propagated to all monitors already using it by enabling the Apply to existing mapped monitoring configurations checkbox during the update.
For configuration steps, see Managing escalation policies in BAM.
Required permissions
The Manage escalation policies permission controls the ability to create, update, and delete policies within each module. This permission is available as a custom role option in all three modules and can be granted independently of broader ownership or contributor rights; base permissions scoped to a specific cost group, Business Application, or business process are sufficient.