On July 19th the world woke up to mass IT disruption. Initially feared to be a cyber-attack, the incident was later identified as a software update issue from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, affecting customers using Microsoft Windows. This update caused Windows machines to enter a continuous blue-screen-of-death (BSOD) loop, leaving users unable to access their PCs.
While an article in the New York Times dubbed it a “snow day for adults”, the reality of the outage’s impact became apparent quickly. Planes were grounded worldwide. Some news outlets found themselves unable to broadcast. In the UK, the NHS had to resort to pen and paper as GP surgeries were unable to access online medical records.
With the dust having settled and normality resumed, what does this mean for organisations? In times of rapid change and disruption, having a clear understanding of the market helps prepare for eventualities. We spoke to 100 members of the Vanson Bourne Community – our expert network of UK-based IT and business decision makers – ‘on-the-ground’ to understand the disruption’s impact on their organisations and the lessons learned moving forward.
How were organisations impacted?
We surveyed our Community, and 1 in 2 (49%) reported that their organisation was impacted by the outage. Larger organisations of more than 1,000 employees were more likely to report this (58%) than their smaller counterparts (37%).
Over 6 in 10 (63%) of those impacted experienced disruption to their organisation – with around 1 in 5 (22%) describing it as major disruption to their organisation. Overall, around 39% of organisations’ systems were affected on average. While a relatively low proportion, experiencing any disruption can cause further issues. If they’re business critical systems, the consequences can be disastrous.
We’re all in IT together
What followed the initial impact was a great sense of camaraderie. CrowdStrike’s CEO George Kurtz, along with IT teams and developers rallied to get individuals and their organisations back online as quickly as possible. Technology companies took to social media to extend their empathy. A nod to their understanding of going through other global cyber events in the past.
We also asked our Community how long it was before the disruption was over. On average they told us the disruption was over after around 15 hours. Many (43%) were back online within a typically working day.
While it wasn’t an immediate fix for most, the fact that many were back online within a few hours is testament to the collective effort involved. It highlights the clear resilience organisations have in the face of disruption. They have learned to plan effectively to mitigate impacts and resume operations as quickly as possible.
How has this disruption changed views on IT outages for the future?
Many highlighted how the incident showed how over reliant the modern world is on technology. While our reliance is unlikely to reduce, it does raise a valid concern. Some organisations will view it a wakeup call. A spark to reconsider the dependence on single providers where business critical systems are at stake.
Nevertheless, there are crucial lessons from this outage that organisations can use to enhance their preparedness for future disruptions.
Some of these learnings focus on the immediate impacts. As we’ve seen, planning is vital to managing issues as they arise. However, it’s also important to consider the mid to longer term impacts that individual organisations may experience going forward.
On the flip side, our community members have highlighted the positives from the outage. In particular, how it can help to make them, and their organisations, better prepared for the future.
This IT outage has once again highlighted the vital importance of planning for potential disruptions. And it has demonstrated the positive attitude towards recovering from incidents fast. From having alternative options in place, through to knowing who does what in times of crisis, these preparations are critical. By doing so, organisations will develop their resilience and bounce back quicker – ensuring business continuity in the face of future challenges.
Methodology
100 IT decision makers from the Vanson Bourne Community were interviewed in the UK in July 2024. All came from organisations across a range of sizes and private and public sectors. As a member of the Vanson Bourne Community you’ll gain access exclusive to a variety of insights reports just like this one, based on research with our members. Sign up for free here.
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