We just got poked

By CEO Peter McDonald

In the early days of emergence from the pandemic period, I encouraged the industry to consider the next ‘big thing’ that might impact us. Despite being the dark, dark cloud it was, like all clouds it still had a silver lining.

The silver lining being a lesson to think more laterally and be better prepared about what can potentially happen. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.

Last Friday’s global IT outage gave the world a bit of a poke to starkly remind us of our vulnerability. Our nowadays digital dependency, for all its benefits, is also an Achilles heel with potential for far-reaching consequences when something goes wrong.

So how can our industry insulate against such an, dare I call it, event?

The obvious is ensuring that data is regularly backed up, can be quickly restored, automated backup solutions are used, and copies of critical data are maintained. We can implement backup systems and redundant infrastructure to ensure continuity of critical services and use cloud-based solutions for critical applications to provide failover capabilities.

Developing and rehearsing comprehensive contingency plans for critical systems and processes can mitigate potential impact. Choosing event partners who have their own contingency plans and can provide support in a case of an outage will protect reputational risk. Potentially, inclusion of clauses in contracts that require partners to have disaster recovery plans in place will serve an industry business well.

Using alternate clear non-digital communication channels like signage, or possibly social media platforms to disseminate critical information at events will help delegates, and offline payment options – anyone remember cash or printed forms to capture credit card details (I don’t know if you can even get manual credit card swipe machines anymore)? – will help you. A designated crisis communication team to handle messaging and information dissemination will help everyone. Thinking laterally, could we see a return of the fax? That’s telecommunications over IT.

Having manual registration and ticketing processes and good old paper hard copies prepared as a backup might prove the difference between successful event delivery and chaos.

Importantly, consider purchasing event insurance that covers losses due to IT outages and other disruptions. Ensure the policy includes coverage for both direct financial losses and reputational damage. On this note MEA enjoys a partnership with Aon and encourages any event business with insurance needs to explore those with them. In the interests of simplicity, contact Phil Sunshine via philip.sunshine@aon.com and tell him MEA sent you.

Was the IT outage the next big thing for the industry? Maybe, maybe not, but I guess it doesn’t really matter because it was a thing. I’m sure some events were affected because of, if nothing else, the disruption to airline systems and flight schedules. Let’s assume it was, were you ready for it? Whether you were or weren’t, are you ready for the next one? Because like this one came unsuspectedly, the next one will too.

AI technology is a constant discussion topic in our industry nowadays. It’s not going away and given this it’s so important as it becomes more and more entrenched in our lives and businesses that the fundamentals are gotten right by its developers. If something as normal as a software update for an operating system that’s long been around can cripple the world, as our industry adopts this new way of life and incorporates it into event delivery it’s important that we do so mindfully. We lie in the bed we make, and in a bed creases make for discomfort. But creases can be avoided if the bed is made properly.

Just something to think about.