Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
Summary: Google can legitimately say that its service has 99.9 percent uptime, unlike Microsoft, which is still being investigated over false advertising claims.
For those who thought that no company in the cloud space could legitimately offer "99.9 percent uptime", it turns out Google can.
Last year, Gmail for consumers and Google Apps customers achieved 99.984 percent uptime, and was up for 99.99 percent for the first quarter of this year -- equating to less than five minutes of downtime on average per month.
(Source: Flickr)
As part of Google's service level agreement, just as Microsoft does, the company will offer customers a certain amount of free days of service in each billing cycle if it cannot meet the level of availability it says it can.
But Google admits that it "isn't perfect". In trying to be so, the search giant has developed a new Apps Status Dashboard to provide faster, more accurate and up-to-the-minute information on outages in a timeline format.
According to Gartner research, cloud-hosted services account for between 3-4 percent of the overall enterprise email market. Google only has a fraction compared to Microsoft or other providers, but takes up nearly half in the total cloud email market.
One thing is clear, is that though Microsoft may have the greater numbers on its cloud-based email services, it cannot boast the greater reliability or uptime -- the crucial factor in any outsourcing decision.
UK authorities are currently investigating Microsoft's claims that its 99.9 percent cloud uptime is in fact true, after a series of outages left Office 365 users without email or communications.
The Advertising Standards Agency is investigating a complaint over "marketing communication on Microsoft's website" specifically in regards to the uptime claims the company makes in its advertising material.
Microsoft's next-generation cloud email service, Office 365, which launched earlier this year, replaces the trouble-ridden Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS), which was famed for its downtime.
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Talkback
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
This article is Google propaganda planted onto ZDNet
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
Without complete answers, it appears merely anecdotal, and at 1 person out of how many thousands/millions, still makes it WAY less than 0.1% downtime.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
No
What OS do the two use?
Google uses this OS
http://kernel.org/
<br>The one that has been down for maintenance for a month. That is 0% uptime BTW.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
The OS is not down for a month. As far as I am aware all my Linux computers (laptops, desktops, servers) both at home and at work are up and running.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
thehackernews.com/2011/09/kernelorg-server-rooted-and-448-users.html
It is pretty much always user error. In a few cases, the systems were not updated on time when security patches had been released.
Still much more rare than the exploits all these botnets usually use on That Other OS.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
Really? I'm told to reboot my Linux box at least once a week thanks to updates.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
<br>"<i> I'm told to reboot my Linux box ...</i>"<br><br>You are told wrong. Period.
PS. Formal training may help.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
Some distros take the easy way out and make you reboot for every update that requires a service restart. A good distro knows how to quickly restart a service without a reboot.
However the same can be said of Windows with many third party apps. The difference is that if you rely on a third party Windows app that does that you are at their whim, whereas you can always get a better distro if you use Linux.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
kernel updates every week? Wow, you are full of poo.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
kernel
If you want to run the latest version of the Kernel. It does not take years to release a new version of the OS.
You must also have seen that the old habit of Windows was never present. Install something, reboot? Change a setting, reboot? Have a problem, first try to reboot?
For 10+ years I always saw Windows as some game machine with extra features. Problems, cut the power. They made progress but for me they still do not look really professional, what ever the marketing says.
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
RE: Unlike Microsoft, Google can claim 99.9 percent cloud uptime
Get real... there is nothing like 100% cloud uptime. 99.99 or 99.98 what difference does it actually make? Even Local or onsite services can't guarantee 100 percent uptime.
Regarding UK authorities investigation, they should probably ban the broadband advertisements first. How many providers show the real picture in ads? 99.999 percent of TV ads are exaggerated.
Only idiots will believe that TV ads and fully accurate.
Thanks Zack, now for the facts
1. Downtime is defined as "significant". if 1% of the users are affected, there is no downtime.
2. Downtime is defined as anything over 10 continuous minutes. You could have hours of downtime in a day. as long as those hours are spread out over 9 minute increments.
3. Downtime is tied to only certain services: App engine down? too bad, doesn't count. Imap down? so what?
Seriously, try to dig a little deeper in your stories instead of regurgitating press releases.