Major Microsoft 365 blackout raises tough questions for software giant TechRadar Skip to main content TechRadar is supported by its audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here's why you can trust us. Major Microsoft 365 blackout raises tough questions for software giant By Craig Hale published 25 July 2022 Suspected cut fiber left Microsoft 365 users stranded for almost one hour (Image credit: Amazon) Audio player loading… A "physical fiber networking event" has caused a major outage to Microsoft 365 - including its Office software - that has raised concerns among cloud users. According to the company's "Preliminary Post Incident Report (opens in new tab)," the outage lasted around 45 minutes between the hours of 11:05 AM and 11:50 AM UTC. The report reads: "This may have affected any user in Southern India trying to connect to Microsoft 365 services if they used a specific ISP provider." In an effort to reduce latency - and increase performance - Microsoft has been using its Edge computing architecture which involves local Edge data centers, many of which managed by ISP third-party partners. The affected Edge site, in Chennai, is one such example that is managed by a third party. Microsoft 365 outage The outage occurred when a "physical fiber networking event" meant that any requests routed to the Chennai Edge site were unable to communicate with the broader Microsoft network. The company suspects that there was a fiber cut which caused a loss in connection. A tweet on the official Microsoft 365 Status account says: "We're investigating an issue where users from the India region are unable to connect to some Microsoft 365 services. More details are available in your admin center under the SI MO400684." It seems similar problems were experienced elsewhere, with one user posting "Cannot log into Outlook and Teams in Uganda for the last 30 to 45 min," and another reading "our side in malaysia under e3 not able to login since yesterday, has the issue resolved yet?". Neither of which have been confirmed to be linked to this event.Read more> Here's our pick of the best online collaboration tools (opens in new tab) > There's something fishy going on with Microsoft Outlook (opens in new tab) > Microsoft Teams went down, but at the best possible time (opens in new tab) In its reports, Microsoft details that it's working with this specific third party to "build better resiliencies against this type of fiber event to stop this issue reoccurring." It's also "investigating [its] existing automated failover process," and "reviewing options to optimize Edge site failovers to reduce potential impact times." Nonetheless, an undisclosed number of Microsoft 365 users were left stranded as access to their productivity tools ground to a halt, which will have a lasting impact on the services in the Southern India region - and beyond.Check out the best Disaster Recovery services and DRaaS Via The Register (opens in new tab) Craig Hale With several years' experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig's specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the electrification of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value! See more Computing news Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to theTechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again. MOST POPULARMOST SHARED1The iPhone 14 Pro is made of the wrong stuff; the Pixel 7 proves that to me2Stop saying Mario doesn't have an accent in The Super Mario Bros. Movie3Google Pixel Tablet is what Apple should've done ages ago4RTX 4090 too expensive? Nvidia resurrects another old favorite5Nvidia RTX 4090 Ti reportedly canned due to sky-high power consumption1Best laptops for designers and coders 2The iPhone 14 Pro is made of the wrong stuff; the Pixel 7 proves that to me3Stop saying Mario doesn't have an accent in The Super Mario Bros. Movie4iPhone 15 tipped to come with an upgraded 5G chip5Google Pixel Tablet is what Apple should've done ages ago Technology Magazines (opens in new tab)● (opens in new tab)The best tech tutorials and in-depth reviewsFrom$12.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)