A significant portion of Australian business leaders expect another large-scale IT outage, similar to the CrowdStrike incident that disrupted operations globally in July, to occur within the next year.
This outlook mirrors sentiments from executives in the US, UK, and Japan, pointing to widespread concerns about IT system vulnerabilities.
Research conducted by Wakefield Research on behalf of cloud computing company PagerDuty surveyed 1,000 senior executives, including a representative sample from Australia.
The findings revealed that 88% of Australian respondents view another outage as a matter of “when,” not “if.” The survey highlighted preparedness shortfalls that became evident during the CrowdStrike-related disruptions.
The outage, attributed to a faulty software update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike, caused widespread disruptions to Microsoft systems.
Industries affected included healthcare, financial services, government, and airlines, with some carriers forced to issue paper boarding passes and temporarily ground flights.
Although a software fix was deployed within hours, many devices required manual updates, prolonging the impact.
The PagerDuty study found that 77% of Australian executives felt caught off guard by the July outage. Many cited prioritisation of cybersecurity over operational readiness (reported by nearly 90%) and limited access to real-time data (48%) as significant challenges during the incident.
Globally, the outage impacted revenues for 37% of businesses, delayed customer response times for 39%, and forced 44% to rely on manual processes. Communication breakdowns were noted by 38% of respondents as further complicating recovery efforts.
Eric Johnson, PagerDuty’s chief information officer, said the research shows a growing focus among executives on preparing for major incidents.
“The PagerDuty study shows that executives around the globe are shifting their leadership priorities with major incidents in mind, with 100% of those surveyed reporting a heightened focus on preparing for future service disruptions at their companies,” he said, as reported by Cyber Daily.
With the rapid integration of AI and advanced technologies, organisations can no longer afford to delay critical IT upgrades, according to Johnson.
The PagerDuty survey findings coincide with insights from Kyndryl’s 2024 Readiness Report, which assessed IT infrastructure risks across several regions, including Australia.
The report identified aging systems, cybersecurity challenges, and regulatory pressures as top concerns for Australian executives.
According to the report, 63% of Australian IT infrastructure is nearing or has reached the end of its life. Only 38% of executives feel their systems are adequately prepared to meet future demands, such as evolving cyber threats and compliance requirements.
Talent shortages, particularly in cybersecurity and risk management, remain a pressing issue, with 43% of respondents citing it as a major concern.
The findings underscore the importance of modernising IT infrastructure to mitigate risks and enhance resilience.
