(Yicai Global) Dec. 13 -- Tencent Meeting, a conference app of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings, said a network failure caused yesterday’s system outage that affected some users.

Tencent Meeting crashed for about an hour at about 2.30 p.m. yesterday, some users noted on social media. The blackout was caused by a network failure, according to the platform’s official Weibo account.

Many apps have had system problems this year, including Tencent Meeting, video streaming platform Bilibili, office messaging app DingTalk, and mobile game Honor of Kings. The issue is often discussed online by Chinese netizens.

The main reason for what users think is a “system crash” is too many participants in the system, Ding Ke, vice president of Tencent and president of Tencent Security, told Yicai Global. If one part collapses, the whole chain goes down, he added.

It is very stressful to maintain the app’s normal operation, Ding said, noting that the root cause of a crash might not be technical but some low-level error in the chain, such as a misconfiguration or a supplier’s equipment disconnecting.

Every time there is a problem, it takes time to find it, Ding said, adding that then he needs to urge third parties to fix it. “This year, this happened very often.”

The commercialization of Tencent Meeting has gradually advanced in 2022 through cooperation with hardware makers and channel partners, said Tang Daosheng, Tencent senior executive vice president and chief executive of its cloud and smart industries group.

Without commercialization, channel partners may not be willing to invest in adverts or provide some services to users, Tang noted, adding that because the service comes at a cost, partners expect Tencent to enhance its commercial capacity.

In October, some users expressed dissatisfaction after Tencent Meetings charged for some of its free services. Members pay CNY30 (USD4.30) for a monthly subscription, CNY88 for a three-month subscription, and CNY288 (USD41) for an annual one. Long-term members can get a month’s subscription for only CNY25.

Editors: Shi Yi, Martin Kadiev