Square outage costs small-business owners thousands in lost revenue

Small business owners rely on their computer networks to conduct business operations, and any significant interruptions in service can be disastrous. This was the case with the recent Shopify-Square outage in October 2020, which caused some customers to lose thousands of dollars in revenue. Since the outage lasted more than two days, many customers were unable to access their online stores and could not take orders or accept payments. In addition, because Shopify and Square are two widely used payment services, a disruption in service could reach thousands of small businesses around the world. The outage also affected the ability of customers to access customer support, meaning that it was difficult for businesses to receive help in the downtime period. For many business owners, this disruption in service and loss of revenue is felt even more sharply due to the fact that 2020 has been an economically difficult year due to the pandemic.