Amazon cloud computing outage knocks out Zoom, Roblox and many other online services

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Associated Press or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: A major outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) has disrupted internet services globally, affecting platforms such as Zoom, Roblox, Fortnite, Snapchat, Robinhood, and even McDonald's mobile app
• The disruption is concentrated in AWS’s eastern U.S. region, where engineers are working to identify and resolve the issue
• AWS is one of the world’s most widely used cloud service providers, powering critical infrastructure for businesses, governments, and media outlets — including The Associated Press

🔭 The context: Amazon Web Services underpins digital operations for thousands of companies and public institutions, offering cloud-based computing, storage, and data management
• Previous AWS outages — in 2020, 2021, and 2023 — have revealed how heavily global systems depend on a small number of cloud providers
• The current disruption highlights persistent vulnerabilities in digital infrastructure, especially as businesses rely more heavily on remote and AI-driven services

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: As digital tools become integral to sustainability, governance, and education, cloud resilience is a key pillar of climate-smart infrastructure
• Interruptions like this pose risks to emergency communication systems, energy management tools, and real-time environmental monitoring
• They also reveal the dangers of over-centralisation in digital ecosystems, with implications for data security, emissions from server redundancies, and equitable access to online services

⏭️ What's next: AWS has not disclosed the cause or expected timeline for full recovery. Affected companies are monitoring the situation and may issue service-specific updates
• The incident will likely renew calls for digital diversification, robust failover systems, and regulatory scrutiny of cloud infrastructure resilience
• Expect post-incident reviews and a broader conversation on balancing efficiency with redundancy in cloud computing

💬 One quote: “AWS powers much of the digital world. When it stumbles, everything from video games to financial markets feels it.” – Tech infrastructure analyst, via AP

📈 One stat: Amazon Web Services commands roughly 31% of the global cloud infrastructure market, ahead of Microsoft Azure (25%) and Google Cloud (11%), according to Synergy Research Group (2025).

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability and resilience ratings of Amazon and its peers including Microsoft, Google, and Oracle

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