Microsoft announced on Monday that it is currently investigating a widespread issue affecting users of its Outlook email service and Exchange Online, among other applications. The company shared the update via its social media account, indicating that many users are experiencing difficulties with both Exchange Online and the calendar features in Microsoft Teams, which are crucial for internal company communications.
Reports of these outages surfaced around 8 a.m. ET, as DownDetector, an online service monitoring tech disruptions, started to log numerous user complaints from across the globe. By 11 a.m. ET, thousands had reported issues on social media, expressing frustration over disruptions during their workday.
In response, Microsoft revealed that it had identified a recent change that likely caused the problems and was in the process of reverting it. The company added that a fix has been applied to about 90% of the affected environments and that they are continuing to implement targeted restarts to resolve the remaining issues.
This isn’t the first time Microsoft 365 has faced outages; a similar situation occurred on September 12, when over 24,000 users were affected, unable to access their accounts or services. Microsoft was able to rectify that situation quickly after determining that the disruptions were linked to changes made within a third-party ISP’s managed environment.
The company is working diligently to ensure services are restored for all users while maintaining clear communication through their Microsoft 365 Status account.
This recent situation highlights the challenges technological companies face in maintaining uninterrupted service, especially during times of high demand. Looking ahead, such incidents could lead to improvements in processes and greater resilience in Microsoft’s operational capacity, ultimately benefiting users in the long term.
For those affected, it is an opportunity to practice patience as Microsoft continues its efforts to resolve these issues swiftly.