Today (September 4, 2025), Google services are facing significant outages across Southeastern Europe, affecting users in Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, Romania, and other nearby countries. This widespread disruption is severely impacting both work and everyday activities.
The key services experiencing issues include YouTube, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Drive, and, to a lesser degree, Gmail. Users have reported these outages on sites like downdetector.com and across social media platforms.
In our digital-first world, interruptions like this can grind productivity to a halt. For businesses, this incident underscores the risks of putting all the eggs in the basket of a single tech provider. So, what are the alternatives?
Let’s delve into some more reliable and stable solutions: think about productivity apps, alternative browsers, cloud storage options, conferencing tools, and effective data backup strategies.
Why Microsoft Office and M365 Are Reliable Alternatives During Internet Outages
When Google Workspace experiences outages, Microsoft’s perpetual Office suites and Microsoft 365 (M365) offer dependable alternatives. Perpetual licenses ensure uninterrupted access to core applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, even without internet connectivity. Moreover, the perpetual licensing ensures that you get long-term stability without dependency on cloud uptime at a more affordable price.
Meanwhile, the more expensive option M365 combines cloud flexibility with offline functionality, allowing users to continue working on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations locally, with changes syncing automatically once the connection is restored.
With offline capabilities and enterprise-grade support, Microsoft’s ecosystem ensures business continuity even when other platforms falter.
Microsoft Edge: A Browser Built for Productivity and Security
The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge has become a standout browser for professionals, offering a rich set of features designed to enhance productivity with minimal delays and faster access to search results.
Beyond its sleek performance and low resource usage, Edge includes tools for better screen management, research organising, and Sleeping Tabs to optimise memory usage. Based on different test results, Edge tends to use less RAM (for example, 790 MB and 873 MB) than Chrome (1000 MB and 952 MB), making it a more efficient choice for users concerned about memory usage.
The browser also integrates with Microsoft Editor for grammar and style suggestions and has a built-in PDF reader with annotation capabilities. Edge supports web capture, sidebar apps, and split-screen view. With SmartScreen protection and enterprise-grade security controls, Edge is not only fast and efficient but also a secure environment for work and browsing.
Brave Browser: Privacy-First Browsing Without Compromise
Brave is a perfect alternative browser, particularly for those who value speed and privacy. It blocks trackers and intrusive ads by default, which not only protects user data but also significantly improves page load times. Brave offers a faster experience than Chrome as it is more focused on resource efficiency.
Brave’s built-in VPN and firewall (available in premium plans) add an extra layer of security, while its integrated crypto wallet and support for decentralised web features appeal to tech-savvy users. For professionals, Brave offers a clean, distraction-free interface and compatibility with Chrome extensions, making it a powerful alternative for secure and efficient browsing.
OneDrive: Empower Your Data with Secure Cloud Storage
OneDrive provides secure, scalable cloud storage with automatic syncing across devices, making file access seamless whether you're in the office or on the go. It supports real-time collaboration in your well-known Office apps and ensures version history is preserved, so teams can track changes effortlessly.
MS Teams: Collaboration Made Simple
Microsoft Teams offers a unified platform for communication and collaboration with chat, video conferencing, and project management tools. Even when internet access is limited, Teams allows users to view cached conversations, access downloaded files and write messages that will send once connectivity is restored.
Combined with M365’s offline editing capabilities, Teams ensures that meetings, chats, and project work can continue with minimal disruption.
Bonus: Offline Use Tips for Teams and M365
To make the most of Microsoft 365 and Teams during internet outages, users can take a few proactive steps to ensure that work doesn’t stop… even when the internet does:
1. In M365 apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, enable offline access by saving files locally or syncing them via OneDrive. This allows you to edit documents without interruption and automatically sync changes once you're back online.
2. In Teams, download important files and enable offline mode in the mobile app to access chats and documents. You can also draft messages and replies offline, which will be sent automatically when the connection resumes.
Acronis: Trusted Data Backup for Business Continuity
While Microsoft offers built-in data protection, even they recommend using third-party backup solutions for comprehensive coverage.
Acronis is a leading choice, providing advanced backup and recovery tools that protect data across endpoints, cloud services, and virtual environments.
With features like ransomware protection, automated backups, and rapid restore capabilities, Acronis ensures that critical business data is safe and recoverable - even in the event of system failures or cyberattacks. Integrating a solution like Acronis into your IT strategy adds an essential layer of resilience and aligns with best practices for enterprise data protection.
Are you prepared to handle the next major outage? Reach out to us for a complimentary consultation on the vital software solutions you need to ensure continuity and resilience!