No doubt you will all have heard of the massive disruption at Heathrow and across the globe caused by the IT systems crash at British Airways. It happened on Saturday, but the knock on effect means that it looks like it could be many days before things get back to normal.
It might seem incredible, but apparently their systems were knocked out because of a simple power failure. It's perhaps easy to be very critical of BA and the way that this problem seems to have been handled, but we haven't heard the whole story yet and if the past few weeks have shown us anything (with the NHS ransomware debacle) it is our total reliance on the complex computer and IT systems that we use every day to run our businesses and organisations. When they fail, it seems that we now have no way to operate manual back up systems and we are rendered totally and utterly useless, until systems or data are restored.
BA will not only have to pay the compensation to their clients and deal with all the flack, but more so, it's the damage to their pride and reputation that will hurt more in the longer term.
However, there are lessons here for everybody, it just goes to show that nobody can be complacent about their back up and system maintenance/protection procedures. They are essential and must be a top priority for everyone.