A system and method are presented for on premises and offline survivability of an interactive voice response system in a cloud telephony system. Voice interaction control may be divided from the media resources. Survivability is invoked when the communication technology between the Cloud and the voice interaction's resource provider is degraded or disrupted. The system is capable of recovering after a disruption event such that a seamless transition between failure and non-failure states is provided for a limited impact to a user's experience. When communication paths or Cloud control is re-established, the user resumes normal processing and full functionality as if the failure had not occurred.