Is a call tree still relevant today?

BCMPedia (which I never knew existed before this) defines a call tree as "a structured cascade process (system) that enables a lists of persons, roles, and/or organisations to be contacted as a part of an information or plan invocation procedure".

A call tree is typically used in an organisation BCP/DR-scenario to disseminate information to staff, i.e. the boss calls 3 of his subordinates, each of the subordinates calls another 3 subordinates, and so on. By splitting the load, the task of disseminating information to large groups of people becomes more manageable. The advantages include: Every person only needs to remember the phone numbers of those in their branches; In the event that someone is not reachable, the person can focus on re-dialing instead of having to complete the long list of persons he has to inform; and many others.

Call trees were efficient means to transmit information to large groups of people in the days when the internet or mobile phones were not prevalent.

However, are they still relevant today? Consumer-based tools such as multi-party voice calls, SMS, WhatsApp, and Line allow for convenient mass notification. There are also enterprise-grade tools and services that can send voice and text notifications to your intended recipients repeatedly until they respond.

While each of these tools have their pros and cons, it is interesting to note, or at least from what I infer from Google, that no one seems to be challenging whether the existence of call trees today is for its superiority over the alternatives, or simply just out of nostalgia and habit.

Disclaimer: These are simply my thoughts and I do not guarantee the accuracy of the information provided in my article. I am not an expert in business continuity nor does my day job require any expertise in that area. I am merely a participant in my organisation's call-tree. I welcome you to highlight any inaccuracies in the comment section below.