The Top Five Software Failures of 2013

The year 2013 is over, as we waved good bye to the previous year and kicked off the year 2014 with new ambitions, plans and resolutions. As we move forward, it’s time to have a look at what went wrong in the IT world in the last year and what lessons we can learn from these gaffes.

The year 2013, no wonder, is full of IT mishaps, software failures and ERP glitches. From Obama Care that chants the benefits of health care to Wal-Mart discount vouchers and coupons, that provokes the customers to shop, the previous year was indeed an IT disaster for the big companies and giants. Give me a hand as I take you to the testing hall of shame, where billion dollar companies got stranded and paralyzed and faced the fierce customer annoyance on different social media platforms and forums. Let’s take a look at the top five software failures of 2013.

Obama Care Website Breakdown:

Healthcare.gov website, a health policy insurance website under the US government’s flagship went insane as zillion of users tried to access the website to purchase the insurance policy. The site was reported to be suffering with glitches, which caused the website to malfunction and resulted in the long response time. The website breakdown made the millions of Americans frustrated, who were trying to register themselves before 15th December in order to get the insurance health cover for the January. Most of the people had to revert back to the conventional method of registering via post, phone or in person, causing a lot of trouble and mess at the month end.

Wal-Mart Website Malfunction:

An astounding deal on the Walmart.com made the customers to go gaga as it offered an InFocus IN2124 digital projector, 24 inch high-definition Viewsonic computer monitor and other products on sale as low as $8.85, with their actual price much higher. Speculations about the “Wal-Mart site has been hacked” aired on social media platforms. However, Wal-Mart categorically denied the hacking aspect and stated that a technical defect had caused this problem. However, this wasn’t the first time Wal-Mart IT systems have suffered from software flaws and failures. The cost of not testing has severely cost the Wal-Mart, as these incidents bring a negative impact to the reputation of the giant.

Windows 8.1 Update Glitch:

Can you believe it? In the race of technology and to get an edge over its competitors, Microsoft committed a serious mistake of not testing the Windows 8.1 update from all aspects and hastily released it for its users. Microsoft Surface RT gadget owners got really pissed, as the 8.1 update made their devices to malfunction. Users complained about the update not working with the Internet Explorer as well as other Google services. Later, Microsoft also removed the update from its site.

Mac Security Breach:

Apple, one of the well reputed tech giants has made its name to the software failure list of 2013, as a group of hackers took a bite out of Apple’s data security. After 3 days of silence, Apple finally came and admitted that there developer center was hacked. The breach resulted in the leakage of the some developer names, email address. However, apple instantly took the site down to prevent the site from further intrusion. A mail was sent by the Apple to its development community, confirming the incident and addressing about the security concerns Apple is taking to save itself from such security breaches in future. Had Apple performed the pen testing, Apple could have saved itself from this embarrassment.

NatWest & RBS IT Meltdown:

Nothing is as worrisome as the IT meltdown of the bank’s technical systems. Last year cyber Monday brought the same problem for the customers of NatWest and RBS customers. The customers got red faced as their debit and credit cards got rejected online and in stores. Many online shoppers purchasing for Christmas were unable to pay their bills on the busiest online shopping day in UK, as the bank suffered from the technical meltdown. Frustrated customer took over the social media platforms to voice their complaints.

Wrapping Up:

Nothing is as big as the cost of not testing. It takes years to build a brand image, but it takes hours to lose it. Therefore, for the survival of your brand image and to save yourself from the customer’s annoyance, it is imperative to test the networks, IT systems, ERPs, software updates and any softwares and applications, that you’re going to roll out in the market. Try to break it by employing different methods, hire a group of hackers and ask them to hack your servers, invest a good chunk of your budget on it, test it from every angle and never release an update hastily (without testing), just to get a competitive edge over your competitors. Testing ensures, when you go live, you don’t have to face hitches and snags like these mentioned above.esting