Public cloud services have revolutionized how businesses operate, offering unparalleled scalability, convenience, and innovation. However, an often-overlooked truth is that even the most reliable public cloud providers can—and do—fail. From unexpected outages to major disruptions, relying too heavily on third-party cloud platforms introduces significant risks that too many businesses fail to fully understand or prepare for. When these providers experience downtime, organizations face ripple effects ranging from financial losses and operational delays to regulatory exposure and reputational damage.

Notable incidents, such as the CrowdStrike outage in 2024 or disruptions at leading cloud providers, have highlighted the vulnerabilities within this dependency. Businesses impacted by such incidents have experienced billions in losses due to delayed operations and compromised services. The lesson is clear: no cloud provider is immune to interruptions. Organizations must adopt proactive risk management strategies, such as diversifying providers, implementing comprehensive third-party risk management (TPRM) practices, and preparing failover solutions to minimize damage.

Risk management in the cloud is not optional—it’s essential. By acknowledging the potential for failure and preparing accordingly, businesses can protect themselves from the costly consequences of cloud disruptions while still leveraging the advantages that public cloud services provide. The key is resilience and preparation, not blind trust.