CrowdStrike, the cybersecurity firm at the center of a calamitous global IT outage on July 19, has revealed some of the impact that the incident has had on its business.
The Texas-based firm said in an earnings call on Wednesday that the outage, caused by a faulty software update sent to around 8.5 million Windows devices operated by thousands of its business customers, has prompted many of them to “hit pause” when it comes to dealing with the company’s services, Axios reported.
Potential customers, as well as existing ones, are taking more time in terms of inking new deals with the cybersecurity firm, with some insisting the final decision now be sent higher up to the CEO or to board level, CrowdStrike Chief Finance Officer Burt Podbere said during the call.
CrowdStrike revealed that it expects to take a $60 million revenue hit for the second half of the year, partly the result of offering incentives like discounts to customers.
The company has had a tough time since the outage. Considered the worst-ever blunder of its kind, the faulty software that rolled out to Windows machines caused huge and instant disruption for airlines, retailers, banks, health care providers, and even broadcasters around the world.
Along with having its reputation damaged, CrowdStrike is now dealing with a very angry Delta Air Lines, which claims it lost hundreds of millions of dollars over the outage due to flight cancellations.
On the matter of potential litigation by customers, investors, and travelers, Podbere said it was too early to predict the potential consequences, adding that “customer agreements contain provisions limiting our liability, and we maintain insurance policies intended to mitigate the potential impact of certain claims and have a strong cash position.”
The company also came under fire for offering Uber Eats vouchers worth $10 to staff at partner firms affected by the disruption.
CrowdStrike also won the Most Epic Fail prize at the recent Pwnie Awards, which company president Michael Sentonas had the good grace to accept in person.
In its first financial report since the disaster, CrowdStrike on Wednesday reported $963.9 million in revenue for the quarter ending July 31, up from the same period a year earlier, with the incident coming too late in the quarter to have a major impact on results.
