Horror Stories in Web Hosting: RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and NatWest, 2013.
Up to this point in our blog series, we’ve relived the mistakes made by retailers whose providers weren’t prepared for hosting for high traffic websites. In Part 3, we look at what happens when a bank makes the same mistake… Chaos!
What happened?
RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and NatWest experienced a system failure on Cyber Monday last year. For three hours, between 6:30pm and 9:30pm, customers were unable to use their debit and credit cards -– all during the busiest online shopping day of the year. The day came just a year and a half after millions of customers were affected by a major software upgrade went awry. The system meltdown was described as the “Biggest IT failure at a UK Bank.” and losses totaled approximately $286Million.
Source: Reuters
What was the cause?
Chief Executive Ross McEwan stated that “For decades, RBS failed to invest properly in its systems.” Analysts and the banking industry sources blamed the issue on outdated technology that was made up of a complex patchwork of systems after dozens of acquisitions.
How much was lost?
According to Reuters, the crash most likely cost RBS millions of pounds in compensation.
How could this be avoided?
Investing in its IT infrastructure, and securing the services of a provider accustomed to hosting for high traffic websites. Apparently they didn’t learn from their system crash in 2012 and it looks as though they still haven’t learned nor invested in technology as just a few days ago they had another system issue preventing people from withdrawing money from ATMs.
As of September 2014, RBS is still running into issues. Their customers were unable to withdraw money from cash machines at other banks in September 2014 as an error lasted about two-and-a-half hours.
The Parent company The Royal Bank Of Scotland Group, which operates Ulster Bank in Ireland whose customers were also affected, issued an apology.
What is the best hosting for high traffic sites?
By learning from the mistakes made by RBS, you can be certain your company is ready for the holidays. Choose a provider that can ensure the best hosting for high traffic sites. Click here to download an ebook that will give you a list of questions to ask your hosting provider to make sure they’re ready for Cyber Monday.
Check back with us tomorrow for Part 4 in our blog series, when we review yet another nightmare from Cyber Mondays past – the tale of Motorola in 2013.
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