Peter Groucutt Breaks the Bank on IT Outages
Peter Groucutt, Managing Director of Databarracks, just hopped onto the scene to talk about the BBC’s recent deep‑dive into the IT chaos that’s been plaguing the big players on the high street.
Why the Whole Thing Matters
- Since August 2018, the FCA has told banks, “Give us the scoop on current‑account services so we can help customers and SMEs compare jaws‑dropping fees and benefits.”
- Now, for the first time, that info box has a new column: the number of IT‑related shutdowns over the past nine months.
The BBC’s Shocking Findings
According to the BBC’s analysis, most major high‑street banks suffered >10 outages between April and December 2018. Barclays, however, turned up as the “king of chaos” with a whopping 41 incidents during that slot.
Barclays’ front‑page reply was like, “We’re all about IT resilience, folks. We tell regulators every single glitch—yes, even the ones that barely bother you.” That tone might feel a bit like a scene from a soap‑opera, but it opens the floor for an important question:
Do All Outages Pack the Same Pack?
Take TSB’s massive switch‑over for example. Should a prolonged outage count as just one incident? If so, it’s a mind‑bending puzzle: how can you compare a bank that hiccups once for weeks with one that bursts dozen times in a single month?
Groucutt’s Game‑Changing Proposal
Keeping it real, Groucutt says the FCA should tip the scale between what banks are asked to do and the real value added.
- Duration: Not just “off” or “on” – how long did the outage last?
- Severity: From mere sluggishness to full‑blown blackouts.
- Impact: How many customers did it bite?
- Even a quick cause tag—like “cyber‑attack,” “systems upgrade,” or “human slip”—could nail the story in a snap.
“For the spare effort to scoop up and report this data, consumers score big points,” Groucutt claimed. “And the industry as a whole gets a sharper, clearer map of the IT turbulence it’s sailing through.”
Bottom Line for the Banks
Barclays’ defensive toast may be a bit theatrical, but it’s a gentle reminder: we’re all learning how to keep the digital lane smooth, or at least to make the broken lanes understandable.
Grab the real‑time updates on this story as it unfolds—no apologies, just pure, unfiltered banking tech reality.
