CDK Global has announced that nearly all of the approximately 15,000 car dealerships in North America using its software are now back online to its core management system following a cyber incident that caused a software blackout. The outage, which began on June 19 after two cyber incidents, affected CDK's systems that provide software solutions to car dealerships for various operations such as scheduling and record-keeping.
An automated message on CDK's customer care phone line stated that they are ahead of the anticipated schedule in restoring services, with the company actively working to bring other applications online. CDK expects the Customer Relationship Management system to be operational by July 4.
If the outage had persisted, it could have resulted in significant financial losses for car dealerships. An estimate by Anderson Economic Group suggested that the system collapse could lead to approximately $944 million in direct losses due to business interruptions if the outage lasted three weeks.
The ongoing outage has impacted dealers' ability to track customer interactions, orders, and sales, affecting their livelihoods. Despite CDK's reassurances of ongoing restoration efforts, both car buyers and dealers faced disruptions in their operations.
One salesperson at a Ford dealership in South Carolina expressed concerns about the impact on payroll, highlighting the challenges faced by dealerships during this period of system downtime.
