Microsoft cloud services disrupted by Red Sea cable cuts

Microsoft Says Some of Its Cloud Services Are Unavailable

Microsoft has confirmed that some customers are having trouble connecting to its cloud services, including Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and Xbox Live. The company said that the disruption is tied to a wider outage in undersea cable connections in the Red Sea. That's disrupted networks in the Middle East and Europe, causing problems with internet and phone access. The company is investigating the issue and working to resolve it, but did not give a timeframe for when services would be back to normal.

How It Impacts Your Business

The affected connections handle critical communications and financial transactions. They also keep customers' internet-connected devices, like security cameras, online and functioning. As more devices and services are moved to the cloud, any disruption can have a cascading effect. This highlights the need for diversified network infrastructure and strategic planning to minimize these types of events.

What Experts Are Saying

"This is a prime example of how one outage can have a global impact," said Stacey Higginbotham, a tech journalist who specializes in Internet infrastructure. "The irony is that Microsoft and many of the companies affected by this outage likely have little to no redundancy in their submarine cables across the Red Sea. The reliance on a handful of cable providers and a small number of paths is a risk that few seem to have wanted to mitigate."

What You Can Do

Microsoft is working on resolving the issue and asks for patience from its customers. The company has not given an estimated time of resolution. Customers can check the Microsoft status page for updates on the issue.