Update to the SCCM package heard round the world

Posted in SCCM 2007, SCCM 2012, System Center Configuration Manager

In “Lessons in what NOT to do with SCCM” we learned about a huge issue where a disastrous patch, sent using SCCM, crippled an entire bank (CommBank) in Australia.  But, reports show that the situation is a bit more convoluted and definitely more interesting than was reported last week.

Not only were some 9,000 desktop PCs and almost 490 mid-range Windows servers rendered useless, but even iPads saw software corruption issues due to the patch being deployed to the “wrong collection.”  Now, let’s dig even further.  According to more information filtering through, this was not an internal SCCM Admin issue.  No, CommBank had outsourced their infrastructure services to EDS, i.e. Hewlett Packard (HP), and it was the HP folks that shutdown the banking system.

A news story today tells that HP has flown its most senior executives to CommBank Australia for damage control.  Even HP CEO, Meg Whitman, has arrived to throw her weight into the fray.  Considering CommBank is due to sign a $700 million HP contract extension soon, this is a critical move.

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