Microsoft apologizes for global outage as Outlook services recover

Microsoft apologized for a global outage disrupting businesses and public services, reporting a "broad recovery" for Outlook and other services. The incident halted New Zealand visa processing and disrupted courts, property settlements, and UK healthcare, with airlines in India also affected. Microsoft attributed the issue to a network capacity upgrade that surfaced after a recent change, stating it had addressed the underlying problem and was restoring service. Reports on Downdetector declined by 9am GMT, though the company initially investigated reports in the Americas before confirming global impact. The outage exposed reliance on Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot in London's financial district, prompting calls from Australia's Computer Society for a national review of sovereign IT risk. Japan's minister warned of "significant impact" as products are used by a "vast number of people."