Microsoft outage shows the need to make our fragile modern world more resilient
The speed of the modern world has made it easier to crash
A century ago, the pace of life was, in comparison to today, slow. However, one benefit was that it was much harder to throw the world into utter chaos.
In the 21st century, the speed of communication has dramatically increased, enabling us to do so much more. Once a village shopkeeper could sell their goods to people within perhaps a 20-mile radius, today they can do so over the internet to the entire world.
Unfortunately, this ability has come with a new fragility, as demonstrated by the global chaos caused by the Microsoft outage. The firm said there was no evidence of “malicious activity” but whether this was a glitch or the work of a hostile state, it underlines the need for much greater resilience in our systems.
If the everyday operation of modern life is to continue uninterrupted, tech companies like Microsoft need to think about having back-ups that can take over in the event of such outages, while the rest of us may need to consider duplicate systems. An expense, but perhaps a necessary one.
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