Mountain View: Google Cloud has attributed a major service disruption affecting banks, delivery services and court video links to a “power event”, after businesses and public services reported problems accessing online systems.
The outage affected several organisations, including online banking platform Revolut, Halifax bank and delivery company DPD. Court services in England and Wales were also disrupted, with video links used for legal proceedings affected by the technical problems.
The Criminal Bar Association warned that prosecution and defence barristers could not proceed with trials and other hearings because of the disruption. The incident raised concerns about the reliance of essential services on cloud computing infrastructure operated by a small number of major technology providers.
Google later said it was “seeing the recovery of services”, indicating that systems were beginning to return to normal. However, the disruption highlighted how technical problems affecting a cloud provider can spread across multiple industries and interrupt services used by millions of people.
Google cites a power event behind the outage
Google Cloud identified a “power event” as the cause of the disruption. The company’s initial explanation pointed to a power-related incident affecting its infrastructure, although the available information did not establish the precise technical sequence that led to the reported problems.
Cloud services provide the computing power, storage, databases and networking infrastructure that businesses need to operate digital platforms. When an incident affects that infrastructure, customers relying on the same provider can experience interruptions even if their own systems are functioning normally.
Google Cloud operates data centres and related infrastructure across multiple regions. The affected services were linked in reports to Google’s Europe-west2 region, which serves customers in and around London.
Problems involving a cloud region can affect applications that depend on its resources or services. The extent of an outage varies according to which systems are affected, how applications are configured and whether customers have backup arrangements in other regions.
Google’s statement that services were recovering suggested that the disruption was easing. However, a recovery announcement does not necessarily mean every affected application has resumed normal operations at the same time.
Businesses and public organisations may need to verify that their services are working properly before fully resuming normal activity.
Revolut, Halifax and DPD among affected businesses
Several well-known businesses reported problems during the outage, including Revolut, Halifax and DPD.
Revolut, which provides digital banking and financial services, relies on online systems for customers to access accounts and carry out transactions. Disruptions to the infrastructure supporting digital banking can prevent customers from using some features or accessing services as expected.
Halifax, a major UK banking brand, was also among the businesses reporting issues. For customers, problems affecting banking platforms can create uncertainty about account access, payments and other routine financial activities.
DPD, a parcel delivery company, reported difficulties as well. Delivery businesses depend on digital systems to manage tracking information, customer communications, parcel movements and operational processes. Interruptions can affect both customers checking deliveries and staff handling shipments.
The reported problems do not necessarily mean every service offered by these businesses was unavailable. The impact can differ between applications, locations and individual users, depending on the systems affected by the outage.
The incident nevertheless demonstrated the potential reach of a cloud infrastructure failure. Companies in different sectors can experience simultaneous disruptions when their digital services depend on the same underlying provider.
Court video links disrupt trials and hearings
One of the most significant consequences of the outage was its reported impact on court video links in England and Wales.
The courts service said its video links were affected, creating difficulties for proceedings that rely on remote participation. Video technology is used in legal settings to connect participants who are not physically present in the same courtroom.
The Criminal Bar Association warned that prosecution and defence barristers could not proceed with trials and other hearings because of the problems.
Such interruptions can have practical consequences for court schedules, legal representatives, witnesses and other participants. If a required video connection becomes unavailable, proceedings may need to be delayed while the technical issue is resolved.
Remote hearings and video links have become important tools for justice systems, helping courts connect participants and manage certain proceedings without requiring everyone to attend in person. Their effectiveness, however, depends on the reliability of the digital infrastructure supporting them.
The outage highlighted the importance of contingency arrangements for essential public services. Alternative communication methods, backup systems and clear procedures for rescheduling proceedings can help reduce disruption when technology fails.
The available report did not establish how many hearings were affected or whether any specific trials were postponed permanently. The immediate concern was that legal professionals could not proceed with some scheduled proceedings while the video-link problems persisted.
Why Google Cloud is important to businesses
Google Cloud is a major provider of cloud computing services used by businesses, public institutions and developers. Instead of operating all their own servers and data centres, organisations can rent computing capacity, store information remotely and run applications on cloud infrastructure.
This model can reduce the need for companies to build and maintain extensive physical infrastructure. It also allows services to scale as demand changes and enables organisations to deploy applications across different locations.
However, reliance on a cloud provider can create shared risks. If a key infrastructure component experiences an outage, multiple customers may encounter problems at the same time.
The effects depend on the architecture of each customer’s systems. Businesses that distribute workloads across multiple regions or maintain independent backup systems may be better positioned to limit disruption. Organisations that depend heavily on a single region or service may face more significant interruptions.
Cloud providers generally design their infrastructure to support reliability, but no complex technology system is entirely immune to failures. Power-related incidents, networking problems, software errors and configuration issues can all affect service availability.
For banks, delivery companies and courts, even a temporary interruption can affect time-sensitive operations. The incident illustrates why cloud resilience and recovery planning matter beyond the technology sector.
Previous problems involving Google’s Europe-west2 region
The outage also renewed attention to earlier disruptions associated with Google’s Europe-west2 data centre region.
Previous incidents involving a major cloud region can raise questions about how infrastructure failures are contained and how quickly affected services can be restored. However, the available information does not establish whether the current power event was connected to any earlier incident or whether the underlying causes were the same.
For customers, the key considerations include the reliability of the provider, the transparency of incident communications and the availability of recovery options when services fail.
Businesses using cloud platforms can also assess whether critical applications need additional redundancy, including the ability to operate from a separate region or switch to alternative systems during an outage.
Such measures can increase costs and technical complexity, so organisations typically balance resilience requirements against operational needs. For essential services such as banking and court proceedings, planning for interruptions can be particularly important.
Services begin recovering after disruption
Google said it was “seeing the recovery of services” following the reported power event. The announcement offered some reassurance to affected organisations, although individual businesses and public services would still need to confirm that their systems were operating normally.
The incident underlined the interconnected nature of today’s digital economy. A technical problem affecting one cloud provider can reach beyond technology companies, disrupting financial services, parcel deliveries and legal proceedings.
As cloud computing becomes increasingly central to business and public services, the ability to recover quickly from infrastructure failures remains crucial. Reliable backup arrangements, clear communication and effective contingency plans can help limit the impact on customers and the public.