Protect Your Business from IT Disasters: Lessons from the CrowdStrike Outage

Businesses heavily rely on IT infrastructure for smooth operations and security, but what happens when that infrastructure breaks? Thousands of companies were blindsided by a sudden CrowdStrike outage on Friday, July 19th, leading to a projected cost of $1 Billion. With an estimated 8.5 million devices impacted by the outage, over 5,000 canceled flights, and hundreds of hospital computer systems offline, you’re probably wondering: What can I do to prevent a CrowdStrike-level business disruption?

In this blog, you’ll learn the business impacts of IT disasters, how to prevent them, and the steps you can take today to protect your organization from similar threats.

Business disruptions and financial losses from IT outages

The CrowdStrike outage serves as a wake-up call to businesses about the severe disruptions that IT failures can cause. Financial losses, operational disruptions, and reputation damage—when critical IT infrastructure fails, the ripple effects can be vast and costly.

Financial losses from IT disasters like the CrowdStrike outage

During the CrowdStrike outage, businesses faced immediate operational challenges. With over 8.5 million devices affected globally, revenue lost during downtime was a severe blow to many companies' financial health​​.

The estimated $1 billion cost reflects not only lost productivity but also the emergency IT remediation efforts required to address the outage. Businesses had to bear the costs associated with restoring operations, including overtime payments to IT staff and, in some cases, hiring specialized consultants.

The financial impacts of IT disruptions are overwhelming, but there is a way forward. Investing in a robust Quality Engineering practice allows organizations to prevent significant disruptions and address them quickly if they do occur.

“In light of the CrowdStrike outage, investing in Quality Engineering is essential. It helps prevent disruptions and ensures quick recovery, minimizing financial losses and protecting business reputation,” says Bitovi’s Director of Quality Engineering Consulting, Denison Luz.

Operational disruptions caused by IT outages

On a human level, the operational disruptions were more devastating than the financial impacts. Industries that depend on real-time data and continuous operations, like airlines, healthcare, and banking, were particularly hard hit. The outage led to the cancellation of over 5,000 flights, causing widespread travel chaos and leaving passengers stranded in airports worldwide​​. Hospitals struggled to maintain patient care as critical computer systems went offline, forcing staff to revert to manual processes prone to errors and inefficiencies. The impact on patient safety and care quality was a stark reminder of modern healthcare systems' dependence on reliable IT infrastructure.

These disruptions underscored the need for robust, resilient IT systems that withstand unexpected failures. Quality Engineering establishes safeguards like regression testing, ensuring new updates are compatible with older systems, which keeps systems providing critical services online.

Reputation damage caused by IT infrastructure failures

Reputation damage is another critical aspect that businesses must consider. For businesses, trust is paramount. An outage that compromises security or disrupts services can erode customer confidence and damage a company’s reputation. The long-term impact on customer trust can be even more damaging than the immediate financial losses​​. Companies that experience significant outages often face backlash from customers and negative media coverage, which can take years to recover from.

The CrowdStrike outage is a potent reminder that IT resilience is not just a technical issue but a critical business priority. Ensuring your IT systems are robust and capable of withstanding failures can protect your business from severe financial losses and operational disruptions. It is essential for business leaders to prioritize Quality Engineering and proactive measures to safeguard their organizations against similar threats. Not sure where to start? It’s not too late to preserve your reputation for quality—Bitovi’s Quality Engineering Consultants are available to help enhance your testing practices.

Implementing Quality Engineering to prevent IT outages

People sleeping in airports, plunging stock prices, healthcare disruptions—the CrowdStrike outage made waves beyond the tech industry, affecting millions of businesses and individuals worldwide.

Establishing robust IT infrastructure and proactive measures to prevent such disasters has never been more critical. Businesses must recognize the vulnerabilities in their systems and the need for continuous monitoring and quality engineering to ensure resilience.

Investing in advanced Quality Engineering practices and implementing regular quality checks can help identify potential points of failure before they lead to significant disruptions. Moreover, having a well-defined incident response plan can mitigate the impact when an outage does occur​​. Proactive measures like stress testing systems and regular drills can prepare businesses to handle unexpected IT failures more effectively, minimizing downtime and associated costs.

Bitovi can help establish the safeguards to protect your business from IT disruptions. Contact our Quality Engineering Consulting experts for a free consultation.