IT troubles and Celtic v Hibernian Live updates

Like many of you, I struggled to get logged on with my Pass to Paradise for the Ross County game yesterday.  On the one hand, I was frustrated, but on the other, I had a bit of sympathy for the IT guys, who would have been in the eye of the storm.

Before you deploy a new system, IT will want a trial run to prove that the concept works in the environment.  Most commonly, for systems that are a bit leading edge like the one Celtic bought during lockdown to broadcast games, you are likely to stress the infrastructure in ways that the dozen-or -so earlier adopters did not.  During the trial, the vendor, not just the customer, will often discover things they did not know.

I’ve been there.  Irate customers waiting to buy, while the issue gradually escalates up the customer’s chain of command, with each level of the food chain one telling you how much money this downtime is costing them.  “Today is supposed to be the trial” is what you want to say, and it’s the truth, but you bite your tongue, block the noise out and get on with finding the fix.  All this happens while you communicate tersely the vendor, without going overboard, because at this moment, you need them more than they need you.  Software is not a business for the anxious.

I know it was frustrating, but I thought IT did well to stick the stream onto YouTube and get the login process working before halftime.  If only every workaround I’ve been involved with went that smoothly.

Live updates of Celtic v Hibernian will appear below – Pass to Paradise permitting!