Microsoft is working to restore services after a major global outage disrupted access to its core productivity tools. The company reported connectivity problems affecting tens of thousands of users across its Microsoft 365 suite, which includes Outlook, Teams, and the Copilot artificial intelligence platform.
Microsoft 365 Disruption Details
The outage peaked globally around 18:00 GMT on Thursday, with monitoring website Downdetector recording nearly 140,000 reports of issues with Outlook at that time. Microsoft stated on X that the disruption was caused by a number of servers becoming unexpectedly unavailable, which placed significant strain on its remaining systems.
Users reported being unable to view certain files or calendar details. The company’s AI platform, Copilot, also experienced functional issues. While messaging and online meetings remained largely operational, the firm warned that some restored services could become unresponsive again. Customers in any region could potentially be affected by these recurring issues.
Microsoft issued a statement on X, noting that it was seeing positive results in its efforts to restore services. The company added that it was rushing to fix the problem and appreciated customer patience while engineers worked to resolve the connectivity problems.
Impact on Businesses and Partners
The disruption has rippled through the broader technology sector, affecting companies that rely on Microsoft’s infrastructure. AI firms Anthropic and OpenAI, both of which work closely with Microsoft’s systems, reported issues with their connections to Microsoft services. OpenAI confirmed it was investigating the problem, which caused some of its tools to not function as expected.
Businesses worldwide also faced operational challenges. Electric truck maker Workhorse Group, which was scheduled to report third-quarter results on 12 November, rescheduled the announcement to 16 November. The company cited business disruptions caused by the global Microsoft outage as the reason for the delay.
The BBC understands there is no indication that the outage was caused by a cyber-attack. This incident follows another outage of Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform last month, which similarly affected the tech giant’s productivity tools and companies globally. The recurring nature of these disruptions highlights the critical dependence of modern enterprises on centralized cloud infrastructure.
Source: BBC
