KEY POINTS
- A Microsoft 365 outage affected Outlook email, Teams and related services worldwide.
- Microsoft acknowledged service degradation but did not provide a restoration timeline.
- Enterprises reported productivity losses and operational delays tied to email access.
A widespread Microsoft 365 outage disrupted Outlook, Teams and other core workplace tools across multiple regions Thursday, leaving businesses, schools and government offices struggling to access email and collaboration services, according to Microsoft service alerts and enterprise administrators.
The Microsoft 365 outage emerged during peak business hours in North America and extended into the evening, amplifying its impact on global operations that depend on cloud based email and collaboration platforms.
The disruption highlighted the central role Microsoft infrastructure plays in daily digital workflows.
Microsoft said it was investigating an issue affecting multiple Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview.
The incident was logged under advisory code MO1221364 in the Microsoft 365 admin center, the company’s primary dashboard for enterprise IT managers.
Service health updates indicated degraded functionality or complete inaccessibility for some users.
Microsoft 365 has experienced periodic outages over the past decade as its cloud footprint expanded.
While most incidents are resolved within hours, large scale disruptions often cascade across dependent services such as Exchange Online and Teams.
Industry analysts say the Microsoft 365 outage underscores growing concentration risk in enterprise software.
“When a single provider hosts email, security and collaboration, failures scale instantly,” said Lydia Chen, a cloud resilience researcher at the Digital Infrastructure Institute.
Organizations without redundancy plans can lose critical communication channels within minutes.
“We had to switch to personal email and messaging apps to keep client work moving,” said Ahmed Khan, an IT manager at a logistics firm in Dubai.
A Microsoft spokesperson said service teams were “continuing mitigation efforts and monitoring recovery signals,” according to updates posted on the Microsoft 365 Status account.
Microsoft has not announced a definitive restoration time. Experts say enterprises may accelerate investment in multi cloud email continuity tools and offline access strategies to reduce exposure during future incidents.
The Microsoft 365 outage serves as a reminder that even mature cloud platforms remain vulnerable to systemic disruptions, with ripple effects across global business, education and public services.
FAQs
Is Outlook down right now?
Microsoft reported degraded Outlook functionality during the Microsoft 365 outage, with some users unable to send or receive email.
What caused the Microsoft 365 outage today?
Microsoft has not disclosed a root cause, stating only that it is investigating under advisory MO1221364.
How can users check Microsoft service status?
Users can monitor the Microsoft Service Health Status page or the official Microsoft 365 Status account on X.
Are Teams and Exchange affected by the outage?
Yes. The Microsoft 365 outage impacted Teams meetings and Exchange Online email for some users worldwide.
NOTE! This report was compiled from multiple reliable sources, including official statements, press releases, and verified media coverage.
