Amazon Web Services (AWS), the world’s largest cloud computing provider, has restored its systems after a major outage that affected thousands of websites and online platforms across the globe on Monday.
The disruption caused temporary problems for popular apps and services including Snapchat, Reddit, Zoom, Asana, Canva and Venmo, leaving many users unable to access services or complete online transactions. Amazon confirmed that operations had returned to normal by early morning today (2am, UAE time), though it noted that some services were still clearing a backlog of messages that could take a few hours to process.
AWS powers the back-end infrastructure of countless platforms used daily by individuals, businesses, and institutions, from food delivery and digital payments to airline systems and gaming networks.
The outage, traced to an AWS data centre in the US, goes to show how dependent much of the internet has become on a few major cloud providers.