What is the MAIN criterion for determining the severity level of a service disruption incident?

The primary criterion for determining the severity level of a service disruption incident is downtime. This is because downtime directly impacts an organization's operations, service delivery, and the ability to meet customer expectations. The longer a service is unavailable, the greater the potential consequences are for the business, including lost revenue, decreased productivity, and customer dissatisfaction.

Measuring downtime helps organizations quantify the disruption's impact, facilitating effective decision-making regarding incident response and recovery efforts. Considering downtime allows organizations to assess which disruptions are most critical, prioritize their responses, and allocate resources appropriately to restore services as swiftly as possible.