Microsoft has apologised for a major global service outage that disrupted access to Outlook, Microsoft Teams and other Microsoft 365 products across more than 70 countries. The disruption affected businesses, government institutions, hospitals, courts and individual users, with services beginning to recover gradually on Friday.
The company said it was making encouraging progress towards restoring its services but did not provide a timeline for complete recovery. Microsoft also confirmed that the incident was caused by a technical issue during a network capacity upgrade and was not related to a cyberattack or artificial intelligence agents.
More Than 430 Million Users Potentially Affected
The outage began on Thursday when users reported difficulties accessing Microsoft 365 services. Microsoft first acknowledged problems affecting Exchange Online mailboxes in the Americas at 17:54 GMT before warning that the disruption could have a wider global impact.
The incident eventually affected users across more than 70 countries. More than 430 million people use the affected products worldwide, highlighting the scale of the disruption.
Microsoft Teams and Outlook are widely used for workplace communication, meetings, email and business coordination. Their unavailability created difficulties for organisations that depend on Microsoft’s cloud-based infrastructure for everyday operations.
Hospitals, Courts and Government Agencies Hit
The disruption extended beyond private businesses. Government institutions and public services in several countries reported problems.
In the United Kingdom, parts of the National Health Service, including GP practices and hospitals, were affected. Some schools and police forces also experienced disruption. However, the UK cyber minister said the impact on critical frontline services, including emergency 999 calls, was limited.
Canada’s national rail network warned that passengers might not receive email updates about their journeys. Hospitals across the country also faced email-related issues.
In the United States, staff members at the House of Representatives told Politico that the outage had disrupted an entire day of legislative work.
Singapore’s government acknowledged that some systems were affected. In India, the disruption also interrupted work for many Microsoft 365 users on Friday.
Small Businesses and Individuals Face Delays
The outage also affected smaller businesses and individuals who rely on Microsoft’s services.
A South African winemaker, Peter Pentz, said his business had effectively come to a standstill. Communication related to exports and critical production activities was disrupted because the winery depended on Microsoft systems for daily operations.
In England, a homebuyer named Georgia said the outage had delayed her planned house purchase after an eight-month wait. Her solicitor warned that difficulties contacting other agencies could affect the completion process.
Microsoft Begins Gradual Service Restoration
Microsoft said engineers were working to restore services while carefully monitoring system stability. By Friday afternoon, the company reported broader improvements in North America, sustained recovery across much of Europe and encouraging signals in Asia Pacific.
The company explained that services were being restored gradually because of the scale of the incident and the need to ensure stability after recovery.
Microsoft apologised to customers and partners, saying it took the trust placed in its services seriously. It also promised a full post-incident report after completing its investigation.
Outage Highlights Dependence on Big Tech Infrastructure
Cybersecurity and technology experts described the incident as a reminder of how dependent organisations have become on a small number of major technology providers.
Experts also highlighted the difficulty of maintaining alternative systems when essential workplace tools such as email and collaboration platforms become unavailable.
Summary
Microsoft’s global outage disrupted Outlook, Teams and other Microsoft 365 services across more than 70 countries. The company attributed the incident to a technical problem during a network capacity upgrade and reported gradual recovery on Friday. The disruption affected government agencies, hospitals, businesses and individuals, renewing concerns about organisations’ dependence on major cloud service providers.