Outage affects govt agencies in Australia, Japan, US, businesses report delays in trading, customer communications
A view shows a Microsoft logo at Microsoft offices in Issy-les-Moulineaux near Paris, France, March 21, 2025. Photo: Reuters
WASHINTON:
A more than 12-hour disruption of Microsoft services crippled communications for businesses and government agencies worldwide on Friday, affecting Outlook, Teams and its Copilot artificial intelligence assistant and forcing some organisations to resort to fax machines and alternative systems.
Microsoft blamed server problems for the outage, which affected features linked to Exchange Online, its cloud-based email and scheduling platform. The company said it was rolling out software fixes that had begun producing positive results, but did not immediately confirm when all services would be restored.
“This was a technical issue not related to cyber or AI/agents,” Microsoft said, describing the disruption as unrelated to cyberattack. “As of now, we are not aware of any malicious activity that is causing this incident,” the company added.
The outage affected government agencies in Australia, Japan and the United States, while businesses reported delays in trading, financial announcements and customer communications. Indian airlines IndiGo, Akasa Air and Air India also reported problems with their email support services.
In Britain, the Metropolitan Police said the disruption affected its ability to receive some online crime reports, although its response to emergency calls remained unaffected. The National Health Service said local services were relying on alternative IT systems and paper records.
European exchange operator Euronext reported email problems, while insurer Aviva activated backup.
OpenAI and Anthropic also reported problems with connectors linked to Microsoft services.
