So What's Bugging Your Company?

Official ‘Debugging’ Day

Did you know that September 9th is the official date of ‘Debugging Day’, at least according to Computerworld ? This is said to be the anniversary of the day, over 50 years ago, when an actual moth was discovered trapped underneath a relay switch in an early computer, causing the machine to malfunction.

This story is often quoted as being the origin of the term ‘bug’, but evidence suggests that the phrase had been around for much longer than this. The Oxford Dictionaries website notes that the term was first used by Edison, who in 1889 described ‘a bug’ in his phonograph, referring to an imaginary creature causing a malfunction.

The Damage That Bugs Cause

Whatever the truth about the first official use of the term, the fact remains that computer bugs can inflict hefty damage on a company. In today’s digital world of instant information, there can be no room for errors or for malfunctioning websites or corrupt programs.

For the smallest of businesses a computer error can be an inconvenience, but where figures involved are small there is often little impact on revenue streams. Orders can be placed by telephone, errors can be swiftly identified and rectified and at worst the company may face a tiny loss of income.

For larger companies, however, a computer error becomes an altogether different beast. Whether you have customers unable to complete their purchases or potential clients unable to access your company website, any such malfunctions can have extremely serious financial consequences for the companies concerned.

The modern ethos of instant gratification makes no allowances for errors. If your website does not allow prospective purchasers or clients to access the data or products they require, then they will move on to another company that can produce the goods, information or services. These potential or former customers may never return.

Moreover, bugs do not make themselves known with any great fanfare. Sometimes it can be one single operating system which features a malfunction, or a combination of processes carried out on a specific browser. Complex and comprehensive software testing systems need to be carried out across a range of devices, browsers and operating systems in order to ensure that complex algorithms behave correctly at all times, across all platforms. Needless to say, this is a time-consuming and specialised activity which can involve huge amounts of skilled man hours.

Who You Gonna Call? Bugfinders!

Companies such as bugfinders.com specialise in software testing and can carry out comprehensive checks of your programs, intranet and websites in order to ensure that every customer can achieve seamless delivery of your products and services.