SPOKANE, Wash. – An AWS outage has disrupted operations for businesses and educational institutions, highlighting the dependence on cloud-based services.
The down detector website reported 6.5 million instances of more than 1,000 sites and services going offline globally. Amazon has identified the network connectivity issue within their domain system, assuring that stored databases are safe.
AWS powers thousands of businesses in 190 countries, supporting operations and data storage. Notable companies like Sony, Adobe and Facebook heavily rely on AWS, each spending more than $5 million monthly.
Spokane professional photographer Rob Miller, who has been in the industry for 18 years, uses AWS for cloud storage. He shared his experience with the outage, saying, “I know there’s probably a lot of people out there that are experiencing delays and not being able to get their media out to the clients in a timely fashion,” said Miller.
The issue originated in Amazon’s data center in northern Virginia, impacting users nationwide. Platforms like Canvas and Ticketmaster were indirectly affected. The Blue Jays experienced ticket management issues due to AWS during Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
Spokane Public Schools reported minor technical delays but no major issues. They stated, “We’re all up and running. We’ve had some blips, but nothing major, no systematic issues.”
Canvas acknowledged their system being down in some regions. They said, “We are continuing to work with Amazon Web Services looking into our Canvas, Mastery Connect and other instruction products being down.”
Online educators expressed concerns about the impact on students. One professor on Reddit described the situation as an added layer of stress, writing, “My online students are sending panicking emails about deadlines and work, and honestly it’s gutting.”
The newsroom also faced delays in accessing photos for stories, illustrating how one cloud system can affect productivity worldwide.
