As I noted a couple of days ago, Bank of America has an ad out that touts the prowess of its check-processing software. Well, live by custom code, die by custom code. David Berlind, who viewed BofA’s marketing claims as evidence that IT can provide a competitive edge, now reports that the bank just suffered an embarrassing system breakdown. Yesterday, Berlind received the following message in an email: “If your paycheck is directly deposited into your Bank of America account, you will have noticed that your deposit has not posted for today. Bank of America has confirmed that they are experiencing system problems and currently do not know when the problem will be resolved and your accounts credited.”

As I recommended back in IT Doesn’t Matter: Focus on vulnerabilities, not opportunities. It’s awfully tough to seize a competitive edge with distinctive IT anymore. But it’s still awfully easy to put yourself at a disadvantage from faulty IT.