Microsoft has issued an apology for a global outage that caused widespread disruption to its services for millions of users, organisations, and businesses. The US software company stated it is "deeply sorry" and has "addressed the underlying issue," with services being gradually restored.
The outage, which Microsoft described as a "technical issue" not linked to cyber-attacks or AI agents, began on Friday morning and lasted for approximately 18 hours before recovery efforts started. Microsoft is gradually bringing services back online to ensure stability.
The disruption had a broad impact, affecting healthcare systems in the UK, where several British police forces advised people to report crimes by phone rather than online. US government offices, including congressional offices reliant on Outlook email, were also affected. In Japan, Sagawa Express was unable to accept some online reservations, and pharmaceutical company Taisho handled orders by phone.
Experts in Australia have warned the outage could be a disaster for the Australian economy, potentially forcing some small businesses to close, with costs estimated to run into billions of dollars. The Australian Computer Society has called for an urgent review of critical IT systems that rely on single providers.