A major Microsoft outage on Wednesday caused widespread disruption across the internet. Key platforms, including Heathrow Airport, NatWest, and Minecraft, went offline for several hours before engineers restored access later in the evening. Millions of users experienced interruptions to banking, work, and entertainment services.
Thousands of users report failures worldwide
Outage tracker Downdetector logged thousands of complaints from people unable to access websites, send emails, or log into accounts. Many reported frozen pages, stalled transactions, and unresponsive applications.
Microsoft confirmed that Microsoft 365 users faced significant delays, particularly with Outlook. By 21:00 GMT, most affected websites were restored after engineers rolled back a faulty software update.
Azure cloud disruption sends ripple effects globally
Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, which underpins a large portion of the internet, reported “service degradation” around 16:00 GMT. The company said “DNS issues” caused the outage—the same fault behind last week’s Amazon Web Services disruption.
Amazon confirmed that its systems remained fully operational.
In the UK, Asda, M&S, and O2 websites went offline. In the US, Starbucks and Kroger customers also experienced temporary outages.
Businesses scramble to maintain services
Microsoft said corporate clients using Microsoft 365 were among the hardest hit. Some of its own web pages displayed the error message: “Uh oh! Something went wrong with the previous request.”
With its service status page offline, Microsoft posted live updates on X to keep users informed.
NatWest reported brief website downtime but confirmed mobile banking, chat, and phone services remained operational.
Consumer group urges transparency and compensation
Consumer organisation Which? called on companies to provide clear communication and support for affected customers. “Customers should keep evidence of failed or delayed payments in case they need to make a claim,” said legal expert Lisa Webb. She advised anyone impacted to contact providers and request late fee waivers.
Scottish Parliament suspends business during outage
The Scottish Parliament paused proceedings after its online voting system failed. Lawmakers postponed debate on land reform legislation designed to allow government intervention in private land sales and the breakup of large estates.
A senior parliamentary source said the disruption appeared linked to Microsoft’s global outage.
Experts warn of risks from reliance on few cloud giants
The full impact of the outage is unclear, though Microsoft Azure accounts for roughly 20% of the global cloud market. Microsoft said the incident resulted from “an inadvertent configuration change,” an internal adjustment with unintended consequences.
Dr Saqib Kakvi from Royal Holloway University said dependence on Microsoft, Amazon, and Google increases the internet’s vulnerability. “When one provider fails, hundreds or thousands of services collapse,” he said. “We have concentrated global digital infrastructure into just a few companies.”
Digital infrastructure exposed as fragile
Professor Gregory Falco of Cornell University said the outage highlighted the fragility of modern cloud systems. “Azure and AWS may appear unified, but they are composed of thousands of interconnected components,” he explained.
Falco noted that some systems are managed directly by providers while others rely on third-party partners such as CrowdStrike, whose update last year disrupted millions of Microsoft devices.
He warned that even a single technical error can trigger worldwide outages, showing how dependent modern society has become on a small number of cloud networks.
