Google Cloud services recover after London data centre power outage disrupts Revolut, Lloyds and HSBC

Google Cloud’s europe-west2 region, which serves London, suffered a power-related event on Tuesday. The incident began at 0608 GMT, and Google said most workloads were recovering by 1210 GMT. This matters because many separate businesses relied on the same cloud infrastructure.

Customers of Revolut faced problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. Lloyds and HSBC also reported difficulties accessing their services. Outside banking, Rightmove, DPD and Royal Mail were among organisations linked to hundreds of outage reports recorded by Downdetector.

Google said most services had returned to normal and promised a detailed incident report. The disruption renewed concerns about dependence on a small group of hyperscalers, including Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. It also highlighted the need for stronger resilience and contingency planning.

Cloud computing is the on-demand supply of computing power, storage and other IT resources. Businesses use it to run digital services without investing heavily in their own server infrastructure. The model matters because companies can depend on large providers to host important data and applications.

A banking app may use cloud servers to process log-ins, transfers and card activity. A property website can use cloud systems to store listings and deliver pages. Delivery platforms can rely on similar infrastructure for business systems and customer services. The article identifies Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services as major hyperscalers.

This convenience creates concentration risk. If a provider or region has a serious disruption, several unrelated organisations may experience problems together. Tuesday’s incident affected banks, Rightmove, DPD and Royal Mail. As businesses expand cloud and AI use, resilience and contingency planning become increasingly important.

Google said the incident began at 0608 GMT, while most services had returned to normal by 1210 GMT. That is around six hours of disruption, although individual services may have recovered at different times. The duration was significant because cloud systems support services people use continuously.

The affected organisations crossed several sectors. Revolut customers had trouble with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. Lloyds and HSBC reported access problems. Downdetector recorded hundreds of reports involving Rightmove, DPD and Royal Mail, showing that the impact extended beyond financial services.

The outage therefore combined substantial duration with broad reach. It was not described as a failure of every Google Cloud service worldwide; Google linked the issue to europe-west2, the region serving London. The incident also exposed how many businesses can be connected through one infrastructure provider.

When the cloud disruption affected banking systems, customers lost access to some routine financial services. Revolut reported problems with ATM withdrawals, bank transfers and card top-ups. Those failures could prevent customers from getting cash, moving money or adding funds to a digital card.

Lloyds and HSBC also confirmed that customers had experienced difficulty accessing their services. Lloyds said it expected services to return to normal after the underlying issues were resolved. HSBC said it would continue monitoring the situation. Revolut apologised and said customers’ money and data were safe.

The immediate customer experience was interrupted access, rather than a reported loss of funds or data. The article does not give a total number of affected customers or say that every banking function failed. It shows instead how a cloud problem can interrupt several essential banking channels at once, while banks depend on the provider’s recovery.

A cloud region is shared infrastructure used by many organisations. If equipment or power in that region fails, every dependent service may lose access to computing, storage or network functions. The businesses can be separate companies while still relying on the same underlying systems.

Google said a power-related event affected europe-west2, the Google Cloud region serving London. At the same time, Revolut, Lloyds and HSBC reported banking problems, while Rightmove, DPD and Royal Mail appeared among hundreds of Downdetector reports. Their common connection was dependence on cloud services, not their industries.

This is the concentration risk highlighted by the incident. Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services are the major hyperscalers with infrastructure for large volumes of UK business data, according to Alan Woodward. When many businesses use a handful of providers, a local failure can create widespread knock-on effects.

Companies can keep operating after a cloud failure by spreading systems across separate regions or providers. They can maintain backup copies of data, duplicate important applications and prepare a way to switch traffic to working infrastructure. These approaches reduce dependence on one location or company.

For example, a bank might operate a primary service in one region and keep a continuously updated backup elsewhere. If the first region fails, a tested recovery process could direct users to the backup. A business might also combine cloud hosting with its own infrastructure. The exact design depends on the service and its technical needs.

The article does not name specific alternative arrangements. It does say the incident underscored the importance of infrastructure resilience and contingency planning. That concern is growing as businesses shift operations to cloud platforms and expand AI use. Any backup must be tested, because an untested alternative may not work during a real outage.

A data centre turns electricity into computing capacity. Power runs servers, storage systems, networking equipment and cooling systems. Servers process requests, storage holds data and networks move information between applications and users. Together, these parts let people use online services without owning the underlying machines.

When someone opens a banking app, servers can check account information and handle a transaction. Storage keeps the relevant data, while networks carry requests and responses. Redundant equipment and power systems are commonly used to keep services available, although the article does not describe Google’s specific design. A regional power event can still interrupt dependent workloads.

The article focuses on the result: Google’s europe-west2 region suffered a power-related disruption, affecting many organisations. It also explains that cloud providers supply computing power, storage and IT resources on demand. Because businesses increasingly depend on these facilities, resilience and contingency planning are important for limiting outage impacts.