Today a major UK retail chain has lost all internet visibility. All of DSG International’s online stores are currently off-line!
The websites for Dixons, Currys and PC World have all been offline for most of the day today. The message on each website states that “We’re reall sorry, our website is not available at this time” (Dixons.co.uk example is below).
Now, there could be a valid reason for taking all sites offline at the same time, and keeping them offline all day. But maybe something more serious has occured. What if their only dedicated server went into meltdown, and they never made a back up to an alternative server?
Really, any large company should be running off at least two servers, so that when major upgrades and maintenance work is needed, websites can still be kept online.
Is this a major screw up? Have these companies lost their sites for good? If the databases are permanently deleted, and there was no backup to another server, then the answer could be yes. And how will it affect the share price of these companies?
Every penny counts at the moment while we are in the depths of a global economic crisis, and any length of time offline could tips the account books permanently into the red. This could be the end of this group! Am I scaremongering?
Two years ago, you could have said yes. But today, this error by the webmasters of the UK largest electronics retails chain could spell their end.
Monday’s are often the busiest day in online retail, as people return to work and use company pc’s to order items online. And with the New Yeat sales in full swing, every day counts.
Dixons website is offline