Redundancy as a Strategy, Not an Expense: A Practical Post Mortem on the October 2025 Amazon AWS Outage
If you run a small business or microenterprise in 2025—whether it’s a creative studio in Brooklyn, a wellness brand in Miami, or a construction consultancy in Atlanta—there’s one truth you can’t escape:
Technology now touches every part of your business, whether you signed up for it or not.
From your POS system to your scheduling app, to Instagram, payroll, email marketing, and the AI tools you’re starting to explore—your business is already swimming in data, analytics, and cloud services.
For many founders and managers, technology is simply not the part of the business they’ve had the time or space to master—and that’s okay. The digital tools we all use every day weren’t designed to explain themselves. What matters now is understanding the essentials and making confident, informed decisions about the systems your business depends on.
This breakdown is here to make that easier—without overwhelming you or pulling you into unnecessary technical details.
Below, you’ll learn what the AWS outage revealed, what small businesses need to understand about cloud services, and how to strengthen your operations without becoming an engineer.
Part I: Let’s Start With the Basics — What Are Web Services, Really?
Web services are simply the behind-the-scenes tools that allow your apps, websites, and software to “talk” to each other over the internet.
Every time you:
Process a payment
Load a website
Store client data
Stream a video
Use an AI tool
Log into Shopify, Squarespace, or QuickBooks
…you’re using web services.
They’re the plumbing. The electrical grid. The WiFi. The invisible infrastructure that makes your modern business run.
This is why web services matter:
Your business may not be a tech company, but it is absolutely powered by technology.
Part II: Cloud Services & AWS — What Are They and Do You Need Them?
What are cloud services?
Cloud services are simply companies renting you:
Storage
Databases
Computing power
AI tools
Security
Hosting
…so you don’t have to build or maintain your own tech infrastructure.
What is Amazon Web Services (AWS)?
AWS is the biggest cloud platform on earth. When you hear “the cloud,” 30% of the time you’re hearing “AWS.”
Many familiar brands run on AWS:
Netflix
Reddit
Spotify
Canva
Starbucks’ mobile app
Venmo
Many of your favorite AI tools
Your business might be using AWS right now—even if you’ve never logged into AWS—because many SaaS tools depend on it behind the scenes.
Is AWS the “best”?
AWS is powerful, but it’s not automatically the best. It’s:
Massive in scale
Feature-rich
Global
Reliable (most of the time)
But it’s also:
Complex
Expensive to misuse
Sometimes overkill for smaller organizations
Do you need AWS to run a business?
Absolutely not.
Most small businesses never touch AWS directly. Instead, you use tools built on top of AWS—or competitors.
Alternatives to AWS
There are many great options, depending on your size and needs:
Hyperscalers (Big Players):
Google Cloud (GCP) – excellent AI and analytics
Microsoft Azure – great if you use Microsoft products
IBM Cloud – strong for security/regulation
Oracle Cloud – best for database-heavy needs
Simpler, small-business-friendly platforms:
DigitalOcean
Linode
Heroku
Cloudways
These are easier, often cheaper, and perfect for small teams.
Part III: Why Web Services Are Trending (and Why You Should Care)
Here’s what’s happening across the business world:
1. Everything is moving to the cloud.
Payroll, marketing, e-commerce, project management—nearly all business tools are cloud-based now.
2. AI tools depend heavily on cloud computing.
From ChatGPT to Midjourney to Zapier AI—these tools run on cloud platforms. Without cloud infrastructure, AI doesn’t work.
3. Data is now currency.
Companies that know:
Which products sell best
When customers buy
What their audience responds to
How time is wasted
Where revenue leaks occur
…win.
And all that data sits inside cloud services.
4. Outages can shut down entire industries.
In October 2025, the world saw this firsthand.
Part IV: The Great “What Happened to AWS?” Moment of 2025
On October 20, 2025, AWS—yes, the internet’s biggest cloud provider—experienced a major outage.
Here’s the non-tech explanation:
AWS made a software update to its DynamoDB database system.
That update accidentally broke part of AWS’s internal “address book” (called DNS).
Because services couldn’t find each other, many apps went down.
Major industries froze: banking, retail, entertainment, delivery services, smart home devices, even whole airline systems.
Could it happen again?
Yes.
Cloud outages are rare, but unavoidable. Even the biggest platforms aren’t invincible.
Part V: The Big Question — What’s the Worst That Could Happen If Web Services Go Down?
Here’s what "down" looks like in real life:
You can't access your POS or booking system.
Customers can’t check out online.
Your staff can't log into payroll or timesheets.
Email and messaging apps freeze.
You can’t run ads or process invoices.
AI tools stop responding.
Basically:
You lose time, money, and momentum—fast.
This is why businesses today need something most microenterprises have never heard of:
Part VI: Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery
Let’s keep it simple:
Disaster Recovery (DR)
“How do we bring our systems and data back when something goes wrong?”
Business Continuity (BCP)
“How do we keep the business running while things are going wrong?”
Traditionally, continuity and recovery plans lived inside IT departments because technology used to be the main source of operational risk. But today, every part of your business relies on digital tools. That means these aren’t just “IT documents”—they’re business survival strategies.
Here’s why every manager—not just IT—must care:
Because tech failures hit:
Operations
Revenue
Customer trust
Communication
Scheduling
Payroll
Events
Inventory
Compliance
If your services go down, clients don’t blame “the cloud.”
They blame your brand.
You need a plan.
Part VII: Who Should a Small Business Leader Talk to About All This?
If you’re a non-IT founder, manager, or owner, here’s who to contact:
Inside your business:
Your operations manager
Your finance leader
Your project/program manager
Your data or analytics lead (if you have one)
Outside your business:
A fractional CIO or CTO
A cloud architect or cloud consultant
A managed IT or MSP provider
A systems integrator or automation consultant
A data consultant or analytics strategist
If you’re a microenterprise without tech staff:
About Stewart does this for businesses just like yours.
Part VIII: What Skills Are Needed to Manage Web Services?
You don’t need an engineering degree—but your team (or consultant) needs:
Basic cloud literacy
Vendor management (understanding what you're paying for)
Security best practices
Backup planning
Business continuity basics
Data hygiene and analytics understanding
Systems thinking
Documentation and process mapping
These are learnable. They’re teachable. And they can be outsourced.
Part IX: Best Practices for Managing Web Services (Small Business Edition)
Here’s your starter list:
✔ Back up your data regularly
Weekly at minimum; daily for critical tools.
✔ Know your “critical apps”
These are the tools your business cannot function without.
✔ Use two-factor authentication everywhere
It protects your accounts from 80–90% of common attacks.
✔ Document your software stack
List every system you use and what it does.
✔ Train your team on what to do in an outage
Including who to contact, what can be done manually, and what to pause.
✔ Don’t depend on one single system
If your booking tool dies, do you have a backup?
If your POS fails, can you invoice manually?
✔ Test your disaster recovery plan
Even if it's simple.
Part X: “I Have No Plan At All”
Immediate Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity Exercises You Can Do Today
If you have zero plan today, start with these:
1. The “What If AWS Went Down for 4 Hours?” Tabletop Exercise (30 minutes)
Gather your team (or yourself) and answer:
Which tasks stop immediately?
Which can continue manually?
What customer communications are needed?
Who makes decisions during the disruption?
What services do we rely on the most?
Write everything down.
Congratulations—you’ve just conducted your first BCP exercise.
2. The Software Stack Inventory (20 minutes)
Make a list of every app you use for:
Sales
Scheduling
Payroll
Email
Marketing
Inventory
Contracts
Analytics
Then label each one:
Critical
Important
Nice to have
This alone will reveal your risks.
3. Backup Check (15 minutes)
Log into your most important systems (POS, CRM, email) and confirm:
When was the last backup?
Can you export your data?
Where is the export stored?
If you’ve never exported anything—do it today.
4. The Contact Tree Drill (10 minutes)
If systems go down, how will you contact:
Staff?
Clients with appointments that day?
Contractors?
Create a list. Share it.
This is core business continuity.
5. The Log-In + Permissions Audit (15 minutes)
Ensure:
You can access every system you rely on.
No former employees still have access.
Two-factor authentication is on for all critical tools.
6. The “Manual Mode” Test (5–20 minutes)
Pick one workflow—like booking a client or invoicing—and practice doing it manually.
It will expose inefficiencies and dependencies you never noticed.
These small steps create real resilience.
Part XI: Final Thoughts — You Don’t Need to Become “Techy” to Become Tech-Savvy
Here’s the truth:
Your business is already powered by AI, data, and the cloud.
Your job isn’t to master the technology—it’s to understand it well enough to lead confidently.
Think of tech like money:
You don’t need to be an accountant.
You do need to understand what’s happening.
And you do need experts you trust.
Successful modern entrepreneurs aren’t the most “techie.”
They’re the most prepared.
If you want support building resilience, improving efficiency, or creating a business continuity plan tailored to your microenterprise, About Stewart is built for leaders like you—creative, ambitious, community-minded, and ready for growth.
You’ve got this. And we’ve got you.
