Microsoft’s messaging services began to recover on Friday after an approximately eighteen-hour outage that paralyzed millions of users worldwide. The return to normalcy remains partial, with significant disparities depending on the region.
Recovery has started but is not yet complete. Microsoft confirmed on Friday that measures deployed to end the outage of its 365 services are beginning to take effect, following a disruption that lasted nearly eighteen hours and affected users across all continents. Outlook messaging, as well as Microsoft Teams, were inaccessible or severely degraded throughout this period, impacting individuals, businesses, and institutions alike.
The American group reports « broader improvements » in North America and « sustained improvements in much of Europe, » while mentioning « encouraging recovery signals » in the Asia-Pacific region. However, the situation remains uneven depending on the country. In Europe, France and Portugal saw their services stabilize around 2 p.m., while Greece and Italy continued to experience access difficulties late in the day. Microsoft warns that some users may still experience delays in receiving messages or connection issues.
The company specified that, at this stage, no evidence attributes the outage to malicious activity or a cyberattack. The exact technical causes of the incident have not been publicly detailed.
Beyond the immediate inconveniences, this episode has revived the debate on the concentration of digital tools in the hands of a limited number of actors. Experts and officials have emphasized that dependence on a single software suite can be paralyzing when such a failure occurs. This reflection aligns with efforts undertaken for several years by Western European governments and institutions to reduce their exposure to services provided by major American technology platforms, within the framework of what they call the pursuit of « digital sovereignty. »
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