A year ago, we launched Signals with a simple but powerful idea: on-call shouldn’t be a painful juggling act. Too often, teams had to bounce between separate alerting and incident response tools, slowing everything down when speed mattered most. And traditional on-call tools? They were built around services, not the people responding to them.

So, we set out to change that. Signals brings alerting and incident response together in one platform, so there’s no more tool-switching in those critical moments. And instead of forcing teams into rigid, service-first structures, we built a modern, team-based approach — where escalation policies and schedules make sense for how real teams actually work. No more duplicating policies for every service. No more headaches. Just a smoother, more human way to do on-call.

Over the past year, Signals has grown by leaps and bounds, introducing powerful new capabilities designed to reduce alert fatigue, streamline escalation policies, and make on-call less stressful. Today, we’re celebrating its first birthday by looking back at some key milestones.

🎂 Signals is 1! Highlights from the past year

📢 Alert Grouping: Say Goodbye to Alert Fatigue

We’ve all been there — your phone vibrates off the nightstand, and it’s not just one alert, but a relentless flood of duplicates, all screaming about the same issue. Alert Grouping fixes that by bundling related alerts into one meaningful notification. Instead of noise, you get a clear, actionable signal — so you can focus on fixing the problem, not silencing your phone.

🔄 Round Robin: Fairer, Smarter Escalations

Effective on-call management isn't just about sending notifications — it’s also about creating a fair, balanced workload for your team to reduce fatigue and stress. Teams need a system that not only notifies the right people but does so in a way that keeps everyone fresh and ready to respond. Round Robin for Escalation Policies balances the load by distributing alerts evenly across your team.

Simply choose between:

• Distribute Evenly: Each new alert moves to the next person in the queue.

• Distribute Consistently: Start with the same person every time and rotate only when needed.

📱 Mobile Upgrades: On-Call, Anytime, Anywhere

Being on-call shouldn’t mean being stuck at your desk. With our mobile app updates, you can truly be on-call from anywhere — the beach, a game, your friend’s house for a Severance marathon (but really, what’s with the goats?).

All from the app, you can now view alerts and on-call shifts, customize notifications, request coverage or override shifts, and more. 

• Dashboard: View key information at a glance, including open alerts, active incidents, and your on-call shifts.

• Alerts: See all assigned alerts, acknowledge them, escalate, resolve, or open an incident. You can also page others directly from this tab.

• Incidents: Browse all incidents, click into them for summaries and relevant links.

• On-Call Shifts: See your on-call shifts and those of your team. Request coverage or override shifts with ease.

• Notifications: Customize how and when you receive alerts — choose between email, push notifications, Slack, SMS, voice call, or WhatsApp, and set delays if needed.

📞 Live Call Routing: When a Ping Won't Cut It

Sometimes you need more than a mobile alert or chat message. When an alert is serious enough that you need to hear a voice on the other end, Live Call Routing has you covered. Live Call Routing ensures your team never misses an important alert by forwarding calls directly to the right people.

Voicemail or Direct Connect: Live Call Routing gives your team the flexibility to handle calls in the way that makes the most sense for them. Voicemail ensures that every message is recorded, transcribed, and attached to an alert so the right people can follow up as needed. For more urgent cases, Direct Connect immediately links callers to an on-call responder, enabling real-time problem-solving without delay.

Custom Escalation Paths: To keep response times quick and efficient, teams can fine-tune how calls are routed. Direct Connect allows you to set wait times before escalating to the next contact, ensuring no one gets overwhelmed while still prioritizing quick resolution. A fallback target guarantees that no call goes unanswered, making sure every alert reaches someone who can take action.

⚡ Automatically Open Incidents in Signals

Critical alerts shouldn’t wait for manual intervention. Now, you can automatically create incidents from Alert Trigger Rules, ensuring high-priority issues get immediate attention. 

Choose from:

• User Discretion: Let responders decide when to escalate.

• Always On: Instantly create an incident for critical alerts.

🎉 Looking Ahead

It’s been an incredible year, and, honestly, we owe it all to you. Your feedback and support is the fuel that keeps our product moving forward. Thank you for being part of the journey. Here’s to another year of making on-call better, together! 🎂🎈