Google Says Web-Storage Service Restored After Outage

Google Inc. (GOOG) said access to its online storage service has been restored after an earlier disruption affected a “significant subset” of users.

Google first revealed it was investigating reports that Google Drive was inaccessible to users at 10:17 a.m. New York time. The issue “should be resolved,” the Mountain View, California-based company said in an update two hours later.

The service, which competes with similar offerings from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), is a part of the company’s effort to get users to access features online, including Google’s own e-mail and documents programs. The company is looking for new ways to draw in revenue from subscription fees beyond its core search-based business.

Google Drive, which the company began offering last year, is free up to 5 gigabytes and then costs $2.49 a month or more for additional space, depending on the amount.

Users can put a Google Drive folder on multiple computers, including those that run on Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s operating system. Once stored, the files and documents can be shared or edited online.

Shares in Google fell less than 1 percent to $807.79 at the close in New York, leaving the stock up 14 percent this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Womack in San Francisco at bwomack1@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net