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  • How many desktop computers operate with Microsoft Windows? Is it still above 90%?
  • How many server computers operate with Microsoft Windows?
  • What percentage of those use #Crowdstrike?
  • And what percentage of those suffered damage today?


One of the biggest problems of the modern economy is that the shorttermism that drives it prohibits policy makers from thinking about and planning for the meduim- and long-term futures.

In the late 1990s I read a paper warning of the risk of "monoculture" in IT systems. Today's outage is just the latest example of that risk coming to pass.

At the core of this problem, in my view, is the pressure on those with budgets to homogenise everything in an effort to drive down costs. This pressure is not just in IT, but in corporations and society at large.

When was the last time, for example, a major merger was blocked because of the risk to society? and I'm not asking about the risk to consumers or competition.

#crowdstrike
in reply to Éibhear 🔭

Dave Mc
Dave Mc
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there are probably hundreds of libraries that are shared by over 90% of the world's Linux systems. And a lot of the Apple world too. Yes, it's a problem. But it's not limited to Big Corp proprietary systems.
in reply to Dave Mc

Éibhear 🔭
Éibhear 🔭
•

But that's my point..

If, for example, it was 1/3 Windows, 1/3 Apple and 1/3 Linux, perhaps the catastrophe today would have been more significantly mitigated.

But that would only be true if there was heterogeneity in security software and in deployment models and all the other things in the chain of today's disaster.

But, I'm not making the point for IT only. The micro- and macro-economic tenet of reduce costs at all times is what gets us here, and there's no countervailing philosophy with any strength to guide decision-makers on how to to moderate it.

If we say "reduce costs and let's not worry about the medium- or long-term impact that may bring" then we're doing it wrong. Today demonstrates that.

in reply to Éibhear 🔭

Dave Mc
Dave Mc
• •
but you might be using a rare OS. Only to have your entire company's operation beached because one of your suppliers uses an OS that is affected. Diversity doesn't necessarily help. The problem is the chains of critical components in a company's operation are getting very long, and every one is critical. Having a diverse chain makes you more vulnerable.
in reply to Dave Mc

Éibhear 🔭
Éibhear 🔭
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That's a localised decision. I'm considering the consequences of modern economic thinking that gives rise to a "global outage". Diversity mitigates against that, even though such a failure will, of course, impact some.
in reply to Éibhear 🔭

Dave Mc
Dave Mc
• •

there aren't many businesses that have enough vertical integration to dictate the IT of all their critical processes. Everyone has multiple outsourced "as a Service" functions these days.

A friend works in a small company that runs all Apple workstations. They are dead in the water today because a cloud based service they use to deal with customers is down.

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