Microsoft services fully restored after global outage

Microsoft announced that its services have fully recovered following a global outage that lasted over 24 hours. The company stated that they had addressed the underlying issue causing the incident and restored service to all impacted customers and regions. Microsoft's Teams, Outlook, and other products, as well as its Copilot AI assistant, were affected by the server issues, which also prevented users from sending emails, managing calendars, and hosting virtual meetings.

The outage impacted businesses and governments worldwide, causing delays in trading firms, hindering earnings publications, and prompting airlines to warn customers of communication lags. Healthmail, which handles prescriptions and GP and pharmacist services, was also affected. The disruption was particularly severe in Ireland and the UK, where it began around 6pm on Thursday evening.

Some organizations with Microsoft services on their own servers were less affected. This incident is one of the longest in Microsoft's history and the second disruption this year. The outage highlights the global reliance on a few major tech companies and the dependence on Microsoft's workplace software. Microsoft shares closed flat at $523.88, with the stock up around 8% this year.