{
  "id": 19813599,
  "title": "Hours-long Microsoft outage disrupts businesses, governments globally",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/hours-long-microsoft-outage-disrupts-businesses-governments-globally",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-13T13:13:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2044258/hours-long-microsoft-outage-disrupts-businesses-governments-globally"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A more than 12-hour outage of Microsoft Outlook and Teams disrupted communications for businesses and governments worldwide on Friday. The incident, caused by server issues, also affected Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant and prompted some organisations to revert to fax machines and halt bond repurchases in Europe. Microsoft stated it was not aware of any malicious activity and that a broader roll-out of software fixes was stabilising the system. The outage impacted hundreds of millions of users, including government agencies from Australia to Japan and the United States, trading firms, and companies publishing earnings. Those who host Microsoft services on their own servers were somewhat spared. Microsoft said efforts to improve serviceability were not progressing as expected, and it identified alternate workstreams to increase capacity in the face of sustained traffic management imbalances. The outage is one of the longest in Microsoft's history and the second disruption to its services this year, raising concerns about global reliance on a few Big Tech companies. Microsoft shares fell 1.7% before the market opened, and analysts questioned whether such incidents will push customers toward rivals due to high switching costs. Some governments, like the UK's, were working with Microsoft to find a solution, while businesses and financial institutions faced widespread disruptions.",
  "summary": "A more than 12-hour outage of Microsoft Outlook and Teams crippled communications for businesses and governments globally on Friday, forcing some organisations to revert to fax machines and halting at least one bond repurchase in Europe. Microsoft said server issues were behind the incident that also affected its Copilot AI assistant and that a broader roll-out of software fixes was starting to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch Nigeria",
        "title": "Microsoft battling to restore Outlook after global outage",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/microsoft-battling-to-restore-outlook-after-global-outage",
        "published": "2026-11-13T08:14:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Microsoft battling major worldwide outage",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/microsoft-battling-major-worldwide-outage",
        "published": "2026-11-13T10:15:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CNA - Singapore",
        "title": "What the Microsoft Outlook outage reveals about risks, limitations and gaps in communication",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/what-the-microsoft-outlook-outage-reveals-about-risks-limitations-and",
        "published": "2026-11-13T11:42:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "IOL",
        "title": "What went wrong with Microsoft? Local expert explains global outage hitting SA",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/what-went-wrong-with-microsoft-local-expert-explains-global-outage",
        "published": "2026-11-13T11:42:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Watch: How a server outage took down Microsoft Teams and Outlook",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/watch-how-a-server-outage-took-down-microsoft-teams-and-outlook",
        "published": "2026-11-13T11:43:27.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Guardian US",
        "title": "First Thing: Global Microsoft outage chaos as tech firm says there are ‘signs of stabilisation’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/first-thing-global-microsoft-outage-chaos-as-tech-firm-says-there-are",
        "published": "2026-11-13T12:16:44.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "You haven’t got mail: Global Microsoft outage disrupts services",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/you-havent-got-mail-global-microsoft-outage-disrupts-services",
        "published": "2026-11-13T12:40:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Insurance Journal",
        "title": "Hours-Long Microsoft Outage Disrupts Businesses, Governments Globally",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/13/hours-long-microsoft-outage-disrupts-businesses-governments-globally-19815538",
        "published": "2026-11-13T13:40:47.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}