On July 19, 2024, one of the surprising global IT outages happened in Microsoft System, bringing down several sectors at the global level, including banks, TV Channels, airlines, etc. However, less than two weeks after that incident, Microsoft again face a major setback with its 365 cloud-based services. On July 30, users reported that most of the Microsoft 365 cloud-based services, including PowerPoint, Word, Outlook and so on, are down, and they fail to access them.
We are investigating reports of issues connecting to Microsoft services. More details will be provided as they become available on the Azure status page at https://t.co/3dVusz9kWk.
— Azure Support (@AzureSupport) July 30, 2024Incident Overview
Most of the users started to report the issue from 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning with 365 cloud-based services, specifically with Microsoft Outlook. The reports from the users were substantiated by a spike in outage complaints on DownDetector. Users complain that they are facing difficulties in accessing and using the cloud-based services, leading to widespread frustration.
Affected Services
- Microsoft 365 admin center
- Intune
- Entra
- Power Platform
Unaffected services
- SharePoint Online
- OneDrive for Business
- Microsoft Teams
- Exchange Online
Microsoft Response
The Microsoft 365 team became aware of the issue on Tuesday afternoon. Microsoft said on Tuesday in its X post, “identified a potential networking issue”. The company added, “We’re currently investigating access issues and degraded performance with multiple Microsoft 365 services and features.” However, Microsoft ensured users that its Microsoft 365 admin centre and Azure cloud service were available from 6 p.m. Eastern.
With Microsoft 365, Azure Support also ensure to the users, “We are investigating reports of issues connecting to Microsoft services”. This demonstrated Microsoft’s commitment to promptly addressing connectivity problems and restoring full functionality to its services.
Email overload remains a persistent issue, but how can employees reclaim some of that time and free up space for more strategic work?
Discover four habits you can build to quickly clear inboxes, reduce stress, and better draft emails: https://t.co/35Am1RUBWQ pic.twitter.com/rUdk5WoBBK
— Microsoft (@Microsoft) July 26, 2024Microsoft said, “Our team will be completing an internal retrospective to understand the incident in more detail. We will publish a Preliminary Post Incident Review (PIR) within approximately 72 hours, to share more details on what happened and how we responded.” The company also stated, “After our internal retrospective is completed, generally within 14 days, we will publish a Final Post Incident Review with any additional details and learnings. To get notified when that happens and/or to stay informed about future Azure service issues, make sure that you configure and maintain Azure Service Health alerts – these can trigger emails, SMS, push notifications, webhooks, and more.”
We're currently investigating access issues and degraded performance with multiple Microsoft 365 services and features. More information can be found under MO842351 in the admin center.
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) July 30, 2024Previous incidents of outage
Microsoft faced a major global IT outage in all its services on 19th July, which affected their Windows user applications. This global IT outage affected global industries including telecommunication, airports, banks and so on. The services that were affected due to this bug attack include Active Directory B2C, App Configuration, App Service, Application Insights, Azure Databricks, Azure DevOps, Azure Resource Manager (ARM), Cache for Redis, Chaos Studio, Cognitive Services, Communication Services, Container Registry and more. However, Microsoft and CrowdStrike diagnosed the main issue behind the global IT outage.
The CroudStrike Falcon Sensor is used in Microsoft to prevent threats. However, through an update of the software, a bug inadvertent caused widespread disruptions in Microsoft services that affected services globally. Both CrowdStrike and Microsoft worked urgently to address the problem. CrowdStrike rolled back the faulty update and provided a corrected version of the Falcon Sensor software. Microsoft simultaneously implemented measures to restore its services and mitigate the impact on users.
How did all these global IT outages impact Microsoft?
Another outage in Microsoft cloud services today. Check your outlook and other Microsoft cloud services. https://t.co/CeRXSAcUr6 pic.twitter.com/x7hzt5vaon
— John Bobel – EOC (@JBEOC) July 30, 2024Due to all these disruption activities in Microsoft, the share of the company fell by 3.4%. Moreover, the report estimates that total insured losses for non-Microsoft Fortune 500 companies are expected to range between $540 million and $1.08 billion. The capital expenditures of the company in June were $19 billion. Microsoft already spends $55.7 billion on its capital and expects to spend more capital on its data centres in the fiscal 2025. Additionally, the multibillion-dollar tech company CrowdStrike has faced a loss of around 22% because of this software outage.
FAQ
Did Microsoft face another global IT outage?
Less than two weeks after the global IT outage incident, Microsoft again faced a major setback with its 365 cloud-based services. On July 30, users reported that most of the 365 cloud-based services, including PowerPoint, Word, Outlook and so on, are down, and they fail to access them.
What were the user issues with Microsoft 365 cloud-based services?
On July 30, users reported that most of the 365 cloud-based services, including PowerPoint, Word, Outlook and so on, are down, and they fail to access them.
What are the affected services due to the major setback of Microsoft 365 cloud-based service?
Microsoft 365 admin center
Intune
Entra
Power Platform
When did the subsequent Microsoft 365 global IT outage occur?
Most of the users started to report the issue from 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning with 365 cloud-based services, specifically with Microsoft Outlook.
Is the 365 cloud-based service global IT outage solved?
Microsoft ensured users that its Microsoft 365 admin centre and Azure cloud service were available from 6 p.m. Eastern. The company added, “We’re currently investigating access issues and degraded performance with multiple Microsoft 365 services and features.”
