If Cloud Systems Crash in Germany, Half of the Companies Stop

In Germany, cloud computing technologies have become an integral part of company operations. According to the Cloud Report 2026 prepared by the Bitkom industry association, cloud usage in the German economy is now completely accepted as a standard. Companies store a large portion of their data on the cloud and conduct their daily operations through these systems. While 64 percent of the institutions participating in the research prefer private cloud (Private Cloud) solutions, 53 percent utilize public cloud (Public Cloud) services. Furthermore, for 22 percent of the companies surveyed, the cloud forms the basis of their business model as a direct product or an integrated part of a provided service.

The widespread adoption of cloud systems brings along the risk of severe consequences in the event of a possible outage. The systems becoming inaccessible for any reason instantly creates a wave of panic among companies. Bitkom's research with over 600 German companies proves that this concern is not entirely unfounded. 46 percent of the participants state that they would have to completely cease their operations in the event of a long-term cloud outage. Nine percent of the companies report that they will become inoperable and unable to perform any transactions from the moment the system crashes. According to the subjective assessments of cloud users, businesses can survive with their existing capacities for an average of 78 hours or approximately three days.

An unexpected cloud crash scenario is considered by industry representatives as a real threat that absolutely cannot be ignored. When examining the last twelve-month period, it is seen that 28 percent of companies using cloud services encountered severe and disruptive cloud failures. This situation clearly reveals the extent of the risks involved in the critical dependence on digital infrastructure. The frequency of the failures experienced proves that business continuity plans must not remain merely on paper. It is no longer possible for technology-investing institutions to consider their systems secure without testing emergency scenarios.

To minimize negative impacts and limit disruptions in workflows, German companies are taking various measures. 82 percent of the companies state that they have detailed emergency plans for system recovery and operational normalization. Three-quarters of the participants secure their critically important data in physical or alternative environments outside the cloud. It is reported that 69 percent continuously monitor their cloud services internally in order to take quick action. Contractual guarantees are also of great importance; as 68 percent of the companies have signed comprehensive service level agreements with their cloud providers. Additionally, 66 percent of the institutions are on standby, ready to activate an emergency operation mode that can be executed over local networks.

The decentralized structure of systems and redundancy strategies also hold a significant place among companies' defense mechanisms. Six out of ten companies prevent a single point of failure from bringing down the entire system by using applications spread across different hardware and systems. A 35 percent segment aims to reduce the risks of data loss and service interruption to zero by setting up completely redundant systems. Eight percent of the companies mitigate the risk by working with a second cloud provider in case of issues with their primary provider. Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst emphasizes that a smoothly functioning cloud infrastructure is as vital today as electricity and internet access. Wintergerst also adds that cloud services generally constitute a much more secure and stable option compared to in-house servers, but these systems must absolutely be integrated into a comprehensive corporate security concept.