Jan 25 (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) said on Wednesday it had regained all of its cloud services after the network outsourced its Azure cloud platform along with services such as Teams and Outlook that are used by millions around the world.
Azure’s website shows that services were affected in the Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Only jobs in China and its government platform were not affected.
By morning Azure said most customers should see services resume after the Microsoft Wide Area Network (WAN) is fully restored.
The end of Azure, which has 15 million corporate customers and more than 500 million users, according to Microsoft data, can affect several services and create interest because almost all the largest companies in the world use the platform.
Businesses have become increasingly dependent on online platforms after the pandemic has led to the shift of many employees to working from home.
Previously, Microsoft said it had determined that the network connectivity issue was occurring with devices across the Microsoft WAN. This affects communication between customers over the Internet to Azure, as well as communication between services in data centers, it said.
Microsoft later wrote on Twitter that it had rolled back the network changes it believed caused the problem and was implementing “additional security measures to support recovery”.
Microsoft did not reveal the number of users affected by the outage, but data from the Downdetector website showed thousands of users on all continents.
The Downdetector website monitors outages by aggregating reports from various sources including users.
Microsoft’s cloud business helped boost its second-quarter earnings on Tuesday. It predicts third-quarter revenue in its flagship cloud business will be $21.7 billion to $22 billion despite concerns that the tech giant’s profitable cloud division could be hit hard as customers look to cut costs.
Azure’s share of the cloud computing market will rise to 30% in 2022, following Amazon’s AWS, according to estimates by BofA Global Research.
[1/5] The Microsoft Teams app is seen on a mobile phone placed on a keyboard in this photo taken July 26, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
Microsoft has joined other major technology companies in making job changes to combat the weak economy, announcing last week that it was cutting 10,000 jobs.
Its shares were down 3.2% at $234.41.
The demise of Big Tech platforms is not uncommon as several companies ranging from Google ( GOOGL.O ) to Meta ( META.O ) have seen service disruptions. Azure, the second-biggest cloud provider after Amazon ( AMZN.O ), has been in trouble for the past year.
After turning it off, users experienced problems exchanging text messages, joining calls or using any of the Teams apps. Many users took to Twitter to share updates about the disruption in services, with #MicrosoftTeams appearing as a hashtag on the social media site.
Microsoft Teams, used by more than 280 million people worldwide, is an important part of the daily activities of businesses and schools, who use the service to make calls, organize meetings and plan their travels.
There were few signs of widespread disruption in the UK’s major financial services firms, where multiple messaging services provided by providers such as Movius and Symphony were used alongside Microsoft Teams to connect bankers and customers, as well as office workers and remote colleagues.
Two London-based sources, who work for two of the world’s largest banks, said they had not identified a problem.
Deutsche Boerse Group, which operates the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, said there was no trade impact. Frankfurt-based Commerzbank AG ( CBKG.DE ) said Microsoft was investigating several factors affecting the bank.
Among others affected are Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, according to the company’s website.
“I think there’s a big argument to be had about resilience in comms and the cloud and the use of complexity,” said Symphony Chief Executive Brad Levy.
Akriti Sharma reports in Bengaluru and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, additional reporting by Sinead Cruise in London; By Charlie Devereux, Edited by Elaine Hardcastle
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