CloudCore Networks: Scenario Analysis
Explicitly Designed Scenarios
The simulation explicitly supports 5 designed scenarios, documented in the unit employee guide backstory. All five are grounded in a shared incident: a September 2024 data breach (~250,000 records exposed, $3.5M cost), which gives every scenario realistic stakes and interconnected context.
| # | Scenario | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| ISA | Information Systems & Analysis | Design a Cloud Service Management Platform (CSMP) — requirements gathering, stakeholder management, systems design |
| ISEC | Information Security & Audit | Conduct an ISO 27001 audit — security controls, compliance frameworks, governance |
| AI | AI & Business Strategy | Executive AI transformation assessment — strategic readiness, implementation planning, ROI |
| BWT | Business Web Technologies | Redesign the CloudCore website — web dev, UX/UI, digital marketing |
| MKT | Marketing | Marketing strategy & brand management — positioning, reputation recovery, customer acquisition |
What Makes It Work
- 21 characters with distinct roles and knowledge — students must figure out who to talk to
- Asymmetric information — no single character has the full picture
- Rich supporting documents — 31 policy documents, 13 interview transcripts, 6 articles, system logs (firewall, SIEM, VPN, EDR, database), incident reports, financial data (6 CSVs)
- Competing priorities across characters (cost vs. security, speed vs. compliance, innovation vs. stability)
Additional IT/Business Scenarios With Strong Existing Support
The existing content could support additional assignments without significant new material.
| Potential Scenario | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Incident Response & Digital Forensics | Full log files (firewall, SIEM, EDR, VPN, database access), breach timeline, incident reports — enough for a forensics reconstruction exercise |
| Financial / Business Analysis | Budget, cost analysis, and financial forecast CSVs plus CFO character and $3.5M breach cost narrative |
| Data Privacy & Compliance | GDPR/HIPAA/Privacy Act policies, compliance officer character, OAIC investigation context |
| Vendor / Supply Chain Risk Management | Third-party vulnerability was a breach root cause; vendor management policies exist |
| Customer Retention / CRM | Customer data CSV, support ticket CSV, NPS drop (45 to 28), churn metrics, two client personas |
| Business Intelligence / Analytics | Customer segmentation data, sales pipeline CSV, support data — enough for BI dashboards or predictive analysis |
Scenarios Outside the Simulation’s Reach
CloudCore is a B2B cloud services company. Some disciplines would need a different simulated company entirely.
| Scenario | Gap |
|---|---|
| Tourism / Hospitality | No tourism content — would need a different simulation (e.g. a hotel chain or travel agency) |
| Events Management | No events context exists in the simulation |
| General Consumer Marketing | The MKT scenario is tech/B2B focused; consumer or tourism marketing would not fit naturally |
Summary
The simulation is deep and well-designed for information systems, IT, and business technology units. The shared breach narrative and rich document ecosystem could support at least 5-6 more IT-adjacent scenarios beyond the 5 already designed. For domains like tourism, events management, or consumer marketing, a similar architecture (characters + documents + data + incident) built around a different company type would be needed.