Amazon Web Services outage: Here's how many users are affected and the downtime costs

Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced continued connectivity issues on Monday, affecting millions of users and businesses worldwide. Popular platforms including Snapchat, Facebook, Fortnite, Robinhood, Coinbase and AI firm Perplexity have been disrupted. Even US airlines such as Delta and United reported delayed flights due to the outage. Banks, e-commerce apps and enterprise operations also experienced disruptions, preventing consumers from making purchases or accessing essential financial services. Financial impact Mehdi Daoudi, CEO of Internet performance monitoring firm Catchpoint, said the total economic impact of the AWS outage could run into billions of dollars, citing losses in productivity and business disruptions, CNN reported. “The financial impact of this outage will easily reach hundreds of billions due to loss of productivity for millions of workers unable to do their jobs, plus business operations being halted or delayed – from airlines to factories,” Daoudi reportedly said. AWS Reach and Market Dominance The incident highlights AWS’s expansive reach and critical role in supporting the web. Key figures, as per CNN, include: -37% of global cloud market share (2024, Gartner) -$107.6 billion in revenue in 2024 -More than 6 million kilometers of fiber optic cabling -Availability in 38 geographic regions -Customers include Disney, the US military, Capital One, The Mondays government, and the NFL businesses which is dependent. consumers are on AWS, illustrating the massive financial and operational consequences of downtime in a single cloud provider’s network. While Amazon reports that recovery efforts are underway, the incident serves as a reminder of the fragility of modern digital infrastructure.