Outages are a headache in any environment. Whether it’s your collaboration tool or your video service that’s struggling, no-one can afford to be locked out of the tools they rely on every day. So what happens when a company as large and influential as Google hits issues?
The good news is that Google outages don’t happen too often. Unfortunately, they are possible, as today’s huge worldwide problem proves. Virtually every Google service experienced the shockwaves on Monday, December 14th, 2020. Suddenly, users struggled to access Google Maps, Nest, Google Meet, and even their AI voice assistants.
With everything from Google Docs to Google Hangouts no longer working as they should, countless companies fell into chaos, unable to access the tools they needed for productivity.
The Biggest Google Issue To Date?
Google jumped to action, issuing a statement about the outage where it said it was “aware of the problem”. The technology leader confirmed that many customers were suddenly unable to access Google Docs, Meet, and various other essential UC products. Education tools like Google Classroom and even consumer products like Maps and YouTube stopped working too.
Fortunately, the problem only lasted for around 40 minutes on some applications, but this was enough to cause outrage around the globe. The Californian search company confirmed that Gmail, an email service with around 1.5 billion users across the Globe, also suffered from the same outage. Google didn’t reveal what exactly was causing the problems, but users have already begun to speculate. Many believe the issues link to the authentication tools in Google Accounts, which are universal across virtually every aspect of the Google portfolio.
The only Google tool that seems to have remained unharmed by the massive outage is the Google Search engine. Anything that requires you to log in to your Google service, from Nest to smart lightbulbs, was influenced by the error.
How Bad is the Outage?
It’s difficult to say for certain how significant this problem has been for Google. However, the Down Detector website (responsible for tracking service performance online) showed a massive spike in Google complaints throughout the United States, Europe, and the UK. The problems began at around 11:45 am GMT, and reports started flowing in on Twitter almost immediately after.
According to a lot of Google customers, they had no idea how much they relied on Google for work until now. Gmail and Google Meet have quickly become an essential component of the modern workforce, particularly in the age of remote employment.
Even outside of the workforce, people are suffering, complaining that they can’t control their heating, lights, or other smart home appliances without access to Google accounts. It’s easy to forget just how substantial the impact of a company like Google can be on our work and home lives until an issue like this emerges.
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