McDonald’s apologized last Friday for a global technology outage that shuttered some restaurants for hours, reported AP News.
The company said the outage was caused by a third-party technology provider and was not a cybersecurity issue. It started around 12 a.m. CDT during a configuration change and was close to being resolved about 12 hours later.
“Reliability and stability of our technology are a priority, and I know how frustrating it can be when there are outages. I understand that this impacts you, your restaurant teams and our customers,” Brian Rice, the company’s global chief information officer, said in a statement.
Friday's outage impacted McDonald's locations across some of its global markets. Newsweek reported that beginning in the early hours of last Friday morning, McDonald's stores, predominantly in Australia, were impacted by a widespread technical issue that made it impossible for customers to pay for their orders. Similar technical issues were also reported in countries like China, Japan, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan and Germany.
"We are increasingly reliant upon technology systems, such as point-of-sale, that support our business operations, including our digital and delivery solutions," McDonald’s wrote in a report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22.
"Any failure or interruption of these systems could significantly impact our franchisees' operations, or our customers' experiences and perceptions," the company added.
McDonald’s also warned that there are some risks from the AI tools it’s deploying to its systems.
According to AP News, the company said the outage wasn’t related to its shift to Google Cloud as a technology provider. In December, McDonald’s announced a multi-year partnership with Google that will move restaurant computations from servers into the cloud. The partnership is designed to speed up tasks like ordering at kiosks and to help managers optimize staffing.
In other McDonald’s news, the second-ever CosMc’s location opened Tuesday, March 19 in Dallas, Texas, reported USA Today. The small-format, beverage-forward concept has a menu heavy on customizable drinks and snacks.
The first store opened in Bolingbrook, Illinois, late last year, and has proven a successful venture for McDonald’s.