Microsoft apologizes for global outage affecting Outlook, Teams, and other services

Microsoft apologized Friday for a massive outage that disrupted Outlook email, Teams, and other services globally, affecting up to 430 million users and potentially costing billions in lost productivity. The company said the issue stemmed from a technical problem during a network capacity upgrade, not a cybersecurity breach. The outage began midday Thursday on the U.S. East Coast and spread worldwide, forcing some U.S. workers to leave early, halting invoice printing in Australian businesses, and disrupting online classes. Microsoft reported email queues were "significantly reduced" by Friday afternoon, with services showing "broad recovery and stability" after gradual restoration. The disruption triggered varied reactions, from U.S. workers joking about an early weekend to small businesses scrambling for alternatives and local governments urging phone contact. Anderson Economic Group estimated the cost at $7 billion, with up to 51 million users on Friday experiencing economic losses, a figure likely to rise.