Nearly all companies expect a major outage in 2025

by DTM | Posted on
  • Leaders and execs are preparing for “when” the next major IT disruption will occur
  • 83% of businesses were caught off guard by CrowdStrike 2024 outage
  • More than half of IT leaders now see preparation as an ongoing effort

Business leaders are preparing for the next big outage as we head into 2025, new research by PagerDuty has claimed.

The research explores how mindsets have changed following the widely reported July 2024 disruptions, when a dodgy CrowdStrike update caused an estimated 8.5 million Windows Server devices to go offline.

Nine in 10 (88%) now believe that another major incident is inevitable within the next year.

Leaders are preparing for the next big outage

Business leaders have significantly increased their spend on cybersecurity in recent years amid growing attacks and threats from nation-state actors, however 86% now believe they’ve prioritized security at the expense of their readiness for disruptions similar to 2024’s CrowdStrike-induced outage.

A similar number (83%) also noted that the July outage caught them off guard, with British businesses being most surprised by the disruption (89%).

“The … 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,” noted PagerDuty CIO Eric Johnson.

The effects of the July disruptions were felt widely, with more than a third (37%) of the businesses surveyed saying that they lost revenue or were unable to process sales transactions. Nearly half (44%) had to revert to old manual processes or workarounds as a result, highlighting the reliance on digital tools.

Looking ahead, between 78% and 91% of leaders (depending on country) are now preparing for “when” the next outage or major disruption will occur, rather than “if” they’re likely to be affected by one.

PagerDuty is calling for more real-time data tools, with more than half (55%) of IT leaders and execs now seeing outage readiness preparation as a continual effort rather than a one-off investment.

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