The McFlurry of Digital Challenges: Unpacking McDonald's Outage
You’d think that the bigger a business gets, the easier things become. After all, there’s a reason the phrase “too big to fail” exists!
But as we recently saw, that isn’t quite the case.
Maybe you’re vegan and/or living under a very big rock, so here’s a quick update:
A worldwide systems outage froze McDonald’s services, including ordering and payments, for many locations last March 15. Thankfully, most managed to bounce back after a day.
Here, we witnessed a modern-day colossus momentarily brought to its knees—not by competitors, but by the very technology intended to uphold it. This incident, while unexpected from a global giant, serves as a stark reminder of the critical importance of having robust, reliable systems at the heart of any business operation.
Table of Contents
The human side of tech glitches
In Australia, it took around twelve hours for the situation to resolve itself. We can’t imagine the bajillions they must have lost to KFC and Hungry Jack’s!
Okay, we may not have the exact figures…but the point remains: people aren’t going to wait around for businesses, even the ones that are their first choice, to create solutions. If they’re hungry, they’re just going to go somewhere else.
In the face of such challenges, the response from McDonald’s leadership was swift and transparent. It emphasised their commitment to reliability and acknowledging the frustration these rare outages would cause.
On the ground, some locations managed to continue operating in a limited capacity by manually taking orders and doing cash transactions.
And let’s not even begin to talk about how difficult it must have been to explain the situation to throngs of hangry customers!
It’s a reminder that there’s a team of people working tirelessly to resolve issues, underscoring the importance of patience and understanding from all sides. Don’t let a temporary unavailability of Big Macs and fries get you down, because there’s a whole team working on bringing it back real quick!
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
For businesses of all sizes, the lesson is simple: you can’t always stop the worst from happening, so when it does, have back-up plans and stay on your toes. This helped some McDonald’s locations continue operations, albeit at a reduced capacity.
Many sources also mention the giant’s transition to cloud computing with Google Cloud, as part of their commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and future-proofing their tech.
They’ve clarified that the outage was unrelated to this shift, but it’s still worth noting as a strong example of proactive steps that a business can take to mitigate similar issues in the future.
For the rest of us who are watching this unfold, it’s a signal to assess and reinforce their technological foundations, ensuring they’re built not just for today, but for the challenges of tomorrow.
A universal challenge
Finally, this incident is a reminder that no entity, no matter how large, is immune to technological pitfalls. The ripple effects of the outage, from Australia to Japan and the Netherlands, happened because today’s business ecosystems are closely interconnected despite vast distances, and it’s a humbling reminder of how difficult it can be to maintain seamless operations in an increasingly digital world.
So, while we may be shocked at the temporary faltering of a fast-food titan, it’s a reminder to implement resilient, adaptable, and future-ready systems. It’s also an opportunity for all businesses to reflect on their technological vulnerabilities and strengthen their defences, ensuring that when the unexpected happens, they can respond with grace, agility, and minimal disruption.
