In the wake of the recent CrowdStrike incident that caused global outages affecting several critical services, the importance of a reliable managed services provider has never been more evident. The recent incident underscores the critical role that experienced Managed IT services partners, like FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia, play in ensuring swift recovery and minimising business disruptions. 

The Incident

On July 19, 2024, an update to CrowdStrike’s Falcon sensor led to a massive disruption across Windows 10 and 11 systems. This unexpected outage impacted airlines, banks, hospitals, and emergency services, causing significant operational challenges. Such incidents highlight the necessity for comprehensive IT Service Management (ITSM) and Configuration Management Database (CMDB) strategies.

Why strong ITSM is Essential?

When unexpected outages occur, having a mature managed services provider like FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia with strong ITSM based on an Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework can make a critical difference in how quickly and effectively a business can recover.  

Here’s why: 

1. ITIL-Certified Engineers
   At FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia, our ITIL-certified engineers are experts in managing and mitigating IT incidents. The ITIL is the most widely accepted approach to IT service management in the world. Our team’s adherence to ITIL best practices ensures a structured and efficient response to incidents, minimising downtime and restoring normal operations swiftly.
2. Comprehensive Incident Management
   Our Incident Management processes are designed to manage the lifecycle of incidents, ensuring they are identified, logged, and resolved as quickly as possible. By prioritising and addressing incidents promptly, we help maintain business continuity and reduce the impact of outages.
3. Effective Change Management
   Managing changes in the IT environment is critical to preventing outages. Our Change Management processes ensure that all changes are evaluated, approved, and implemented with minimal risk. This structured approach helps prevent disruptions caused by untested or improperly implemented changes.
4. Thorough Problem Management
   Beyond resolving immediate incidents, our Problem Management processes aim to identify and address the root causes of recurring issues. By analysing incidents and implementing long-term solutions, we help reduce the likelihood of future outages and improve overall system reliability.
5. Robust Configuration Management A well-maintained CMDB allows us to understand the current configuration of IT assets and their relationships. In the event of an outage, this knowledge is crucial for assessing the impact, planning recovery steps, and executing rollbacks or other remedial actions efficiently. 

Real-World Application: The CrowdStrike Incident

Let’s contextualise these practices using the CrowdStrike incident. When the Falcon sensor update caused widespread system failures, FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia quickly mobilised to assess and mitigate the impact on customers: 

• Identification and Logging: Immediate detection and logging of the incident across affected systems. 

• Impact Assessment: Utilised the CMDB to identify which systems and users were impacted. 

• Rapid Response: Implemented incident management protocols to restore systems, using automated rollbacks where possible. 

• Root Cause Analysis: Conducted problem management to determine the logical error and impact to learn from it and mitigate the impact for future unlikely and unexpected outages. 

• Change Management: Reviewed and adjusted update deployment processes to include more rigorous testing and redundancy checks. 

Ensuring Business Continuity

At FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia, we understand that in today’s digital landscape, any downtime can have significant repercussions. Our commitment to ITIL best practices and our robust ITSM and CMDB processes ensure that we not only mitigate the chances of outages but also have proven procedures to follow for swift recovery. This proactive and structured approach helps bring people and businesses back online with minimal disruption. 

“A recent critical issue with a third-party product proved to us that you need the right business partner with the right expertise, large enough to react but tactile enough to genuinely care. This was FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia for us. They demonstrated genuine care through their agile and hands-on approach. During this recent critical issue with a third-party product, they responded immediately and provided expert support around the clock, including weekends and overnight. Throughout the process, they maintained consistent communication at the management level, ensuring comprehensive and effective resolution.” – a large enterprise customer of FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia 

With FUJIFILM CodeBlue Australia, businesses can trust that they have a partner dedicated to ensuring resilience, reliability, and rapid recovery in the face of unexpected challenges.