News

Major Windows Crash Hits U.K. Agency

A widespread crash of Windows desktop systems threw the United Kingdom's Department of Work and Pensions into disarray for several days last week.

According to the BBC, about 80 percent of DWP's network crashed on Monday, and technical experts from Microsoft and EDS worked around the clock to find the problem.

By Friday, DWP Secretary Alan Johnson told the BBC it was back to "business as usual" for pensioners.

DWP officials acknowledged that 80,000 employees were not able to process new pensions and benefits claims for several days. During that time the agency would normally receive 60,000 new claims. Staff were forced to communicate by fax because the e-mail system was down. However, DWP officials said that regular payments were unaffected by the crisis.

Mark Serwotka of the Public and Commercial Services Union called the crash possibly the biggest in public sector history. Serwotka said the crash shows the DWP is "gambling with front line services" with plans to cut more than 1,000 civil servant jobs and effectively replace them with computerization.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.

Most   Popular