Rogers exec ousted after system failure could be entitled to millions in compensation
Our world relies on technology to communicate. The internet connects us with a plethora of information and cell phones give us access to talk to anyone around the world.
What happens if that’s compromised? Rogers is experiencing the aftermath of that question coming true. In a report for the Toronto Star, it was unveiled that their Canada-wide system failure from earlier this year could result in millions in compensation.
Vaclav Vincalek, founder and virtual CTO of 555vCTO, believes that companies need to have operational contingency plans to recover quickly after a system outage.
“While it’s impossible to prevent outages from happening, the July 8 incident demonstrates Rogers does not have the operational redundancies in place to minimize the impact of these disruptions,” states Vincalek.
Cell service was completely down, preventing people from accessing 911 capabilities, internet access for work, and traditional TV services.
What exactly prevented Rogers — a telecommunications company — from clearing up a technology issue quickly? Their own communication system.
In conversation with the Toronto Star, Vincalek explains the outage took a long time to amend because Rogers’ employees couldn’t speak to one another during the outage as most of its staff use the Rogers systems to communicate.
“Human errors occur,” he said. “We should not expect that it will never happen again. It’s more whether we can recover from this quickly, in like half an hour, rather than 19 to 20 hours.”
Having operational plans — a system in place if outages happen but employees can still speak to one another even during a tech issue — is the only way, Vincalek feels, to coordinate future disruptions.
After 2 major disruptions in 14 months, it’s time for Rogers to take note that even someone with a monopoly needs a backup plan.
Want guidance on how your company can create operational contingency plans to avoid technology struggles with your business strategy? Vaclav can help. Contact Vaclav for virtual CTO services.