CDK Global has announced that its software systems are now back online for most of the nearly 15,000 car dealerships in North America that use its software. The outage began on June 19 and affected systems across the continent.
Car dealerships rely heavily on CDK’s software to manage various aspects of their operations, including scheduling, records, and customer relationship management. If the outage had continued, it could have resulted in significant financial losses for dealerships, with potential losses reaching $944 million in direct damages due to business interruptions.
Despite efforts to restore its software, car buyers and dealers were still at a standstill for days. The outage made it difficult for dealers to track customer interactions, orders, and sales, which impacted their ability to generate income. Bernard Irvin, a salesperson at a Ford dealership in South Carolina expressed concerns about how the outage could affect payroll at his dealership.
The progress made by CDK in restoring its software is an encouraging sign that normal operations can soon resume for car dealerships across North America. The company continues to work on bringing other applications back online and expects its Customer Relationship Management system to be operational by July 4th.