Experts warned on Friday that a catastrophic computer outage, triggered by a software update from the security firm CrowdStrike, has once again highlighted the dangers of global technological dependence on a few dominant players.

A flawed update from the little-known CrowdStrike company caused disruptions across various sectors, including airlines and TV stations, bringing numerous daily operations to a halt. The affected parties, using CrowdStrike on the Microsoft Windows platform, experienced computer crashes resulting in the notorious "Blue Screen of Death."

"Today CrowdStrike has become a household name, but not in a good way, and this will take time to settle down," commented Dan Ives of Wedbush Securities.

This incident has sparked renewed debate over the immense power wielded by internet giants in the increasingly digital global economy. Much of today’s activity relies on the computing "cloud" or a limited number of apps and platforms. When these systems fail or come under attack, the consequences can be widespread and severe.

Recent months have seen entire healthcare systems and industries crippled by hackers, leaving consumers frustrated and businesses struggling. "I think we're just getting a taste of some potential effects of real reliance by the financial sector and sectors across the economy on a handful of cloud companies and other key systems," noted Rohit Chopra, director of the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in an interview with CNBC.

"There are just a handful of big cloud companies where so much of the economy is now resting," he added.

The world has shifted significantly towards cloud computing, with companies relying on servers provided by tech giants like Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure, and Google Cloud for their computing needs instead of their own infrastructure.

Friday's breakdown was traced back to a malfunctioning software update pushed to Microsoft Windows users by CrowdStrike, which specializes in cybersecurity for cloud-based companies. "We're deeply sorry for the impact we've caused to customers, travelers, and anyone affected by this," said CrowdStrike CEO Kurtz on NBC's "Today" show.

Microsoft placed the blame squarely on CrowdStrike, but industry experts caution that the real issue lies in the over-reliance on a few key companies for digital operations. "It's going to continue to raise issues for systems or businesses wholly dependent on Microsoft – this issue of concentration risk," explained Michael Daniel, former White House cybersecurity coordinator and current head of the Cyber Threat Alliance.

Callie Guenther, senior manager of cyber threat research at Critical Start, emphasized that reliance on big players magnifies the impact of any system failure or vulnerability. "One error, like CrowdStrike's on Friday, threatens society's smooth functioning worldwide," she said.

Andrius Minkevicius, co-founder of the cybersecurity company Cyber Upgrade, advised businesses to avoid complacency when outsourcing technology to major vendors. "Today, we're seeing an example of those who relied mostly on vendor-offered cyber protection without additional contingency plans and are now suffering reputational and financial damage," he remarked.

Experts predict that this incident will likely attract scrutiny from regulators and officials. "CrowdStrike will probably have to let some outside people come in and examine how this happened," concluded Michael Daniel of the Cyber Threat Alliance.