October 10, 2025
TRENDS & INSIGHTS
It happened again. Another major cloud provider went down.
Two weeks ago, it was AWS. Then on Oct 29th, it was Microsoft Azure. The Azure outage affected core services like Azure Databricks, Azure Maps, and Azure Virtual Desktop. It lasted over eight hours, according to CRN. CNBC reported that it disrupted thousands of users just days before Microsoft’s earnings call.
Azure is the world’s second-largest cloud provider, behind AWS. Together with Google Cloud, the three account for more than 65% of the global cloud infrastructure market.
So when one of them goes down, the ripple effects hit fast and wide.
And here is the real issue. Too many companies rely on just one provider for critical services. Often, that decision is based on cost. But when that provider fails, and it will, your business goes down with it.
Not Just a Cloud Problem. A Business Resilience Problem.
At Proctorio, we take a different approach. We built our platform to run across multiple cloud providers. We are deployed in 26 regions globally using a mix of Azure, AWS, Cloudflare, and others. If one provider or one region goes down, another takes over automatically.
That is exactly what happened during the Azure outage. While many services went dark, we stayed online. Students kept taking exams. There were no interruptions.
But this is not just about Proctorio. This is about any business that depends on technology, whether for customer-facing services, internal operations, or critical workflows.
If you are using a cloud-based tool, SaaS platform, or API integration, you need to know how it is hosted, whether it is resilient, and what happens when there is an outage.
This is not just a Proctorio strategy. It is something every company needs to consider when choosing the software and infrastructure they rely on.
What This Means for You
Here are three key lessons we believe every business, large or small, should take away from these outages.
1. Cloud Outages Are Common
Do not assume these are rare, freak events. All the major providers—AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—have had significant outages over the past year. They are not going away. As more companies rely on the cloud, these disruptions will only have a bigger impact.
You cannot afford to treat downtime as a distant possibility. It is a reality of operating in the modern digital landscape.
2. Ask Every Vendor the Right Questions
Whether you are evaluating software for your team, your customers, or your students, do not stop at features and pricing. Ask real, infrastructure-level questions:
- What happens when your cloud provider fails?
- Do you use multiple providers?
- How do you handle failover?
- Have you experienced outages before? What changed after?
And here is an important note: do not rely on AI tools or search engines to answer this for you.
We tested this ourselves. We asked ChatGPT which cloud provider Proctorio uses. It said only Microsoft Azure. That is incorrect. Yes, we use Azure, but we also use AWS, Cloudflare, and others. Our platform is distributed across 26 regions globally for exactly this reason—resilience.
LLMs do not have access to live infrastructure details. They are often outdated or simply wrong. If you are making decisions based on a chatbot response rather than direct answers from a vendor, you are taking a real risk.
You need to ask. Get clear, specific answers. If a vendor cannot explain how they handle outages, that is a liability—and it becomes your problem when things go wrong.
3. Choose Partners Who Build for Resilience
If a product is critical to your operations—whether it is an exam platform, a payroll system, a sales tool, or a customer support service—it needs to stay online. Choose partners who prioritize reliability, not just cost-efficiency.
Look for signs they have invested in infrastructure. Make sure they test for failure. Confirm they treat outages as inevitable, not as edge cases.
Because if your vendor goes offline, your business does too. And your customers will not care why. It will still look like your failure.
Final Thought
Cloud technology powers nearly everything we do, but it isn’t perfect. No provider, no matter how large, is immune to failure. You can’t predict the next outage, but you can prepare for it.
At Proctorio, we’ve built a multi-cloud architecture that keeps us online even when one provider goes down. But this isn’t just about us, it’s a mindset every organization should embrace.
Don’t wait for the next outage to discover your vulnerabilities. Ask questions. Demand transparency. Partner with companies that plan for the worst so your business can perform at its best.
And remember: if they’re cutting corners on infrastructure, where else might they be cutting corners, on things you can’t see? Ask. The right partners will have the answers.
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