Cloud and internet services are the backbone of the modern economy. But what happens when they fail? This report explores the frequency, cost, and ripple effects of outages, translating abstract statistics into tangible impacts.
The Cost of Downtime: See for Yourself
Based on a widely-cited Gartner estimate of $5,600 per minute, even a short outage adds up. Drag the slider to see the cost accumulate in real-time.
The Scale of "Significant" Outages
While smaller outages are common, a significant portion of major incidents result in catastrophic costs. According to the Uptime Institute, the cost of downtime is rising sharply.
Understanding "The Nines" of Availability
Service Level Agreements (SLAs) often promise high availability, but what do "three nines" or "five nines" actually mean in practice? Click to see the real-world downtime allowed by these percentages.
52.6 minutes per year
4.38 minutes per month
1.01 minutes per week
The Hidden Costs: A Ripple Effect
The financial loss isn't just about lost sales. Outages create a cascade of negative impacts across the entire organization. Click on each card to learn more.
1. Direct Financial Loss
Immediate loss of revenue from e-commerce, failed transactions, and an inability to provide services.
2. Productivity Loss
Employees are unable to access critical tools, data, or communication platforms, grinding internal operations to a halt.
3. Brand & Reputation
Loss of customer trust, negative press, and social media backlash can cause long-term, unquantifiable damage.
4. Legal & Compliance
Violating SLAs or regulatory requirements (like HIPAA in healthcare) can lead to massive fines and legal fees.
Why Do Outages Happen?
While it's easy to blame the cloud provider, the causes of downtime are complex and varied. A majority of outages can be traced back to human error and misconfigurations, with cyberattacks on the rise.