Microsoft 365 Outage: What Businesses Need to Know and How to Stay Operational

The ongoing Microsoft 365 outage is causing disruption for businesses and individuals who rely on Microsoft's cloud-based services to manage their day-to-day operations.

With services including Outlook, Exchange Online, Teams and Copilot experiencing disruption, the incident is a timely reminder of just how dependent modern organisations have become on cloud technology.

For businesses that rely on Microsoft 365 for communication, collaboration, document management and security, even a temporary loss of access can have a significant impact.

But what exactly is happening, how could it affect your business, and what should you be doing to minimise disruption?

What's happening with Microsoft 365?

Microsoft began reporting service issues on 12 November 2026, with the disruption continuing into 13 November.

The incident initially affected Exchange Online, Microsoft's email platform, with users experiencing difficulties accessing their mailboxes through Outlook and other connection methods.

The impact subsequently extended to other Microsoft 365 services and connected features.

Some of the reported issues include:

• Outlook and Exchange Online: Users experiencing problems accessing emails, sending messages and receiving communications.

• Microsoft Teams: Certain features experiencing disruption, particularly those that rely on Exchange Online.

• SharePoint Online: Some connected functionality affected, although direct access to stored files has been reported as remaining available.

• Microsoft Copilot: Users experiencing difficulties accessing Copilot Chat and information held within their Microsoft 365 environment.

• Microsoft Defender and Intune: Certain security, administration and device management functions experiencing disruption.

Microsoft has been investigating underlying infrastructure issues and implementing measures to restore services. However, the recovery process has presented challenges, with some mitigation measures not delivering the expected results.

For the latest information and service updates, businesses should refer directly to Microsoft's official status page:

https://status.cloud.microsoft/

Please note that the situation is ongoing and the services affected may change as Microsoft continues its investigation.

How could the outage affect your business?

For many organisations, Microsoft 365 is much more than an email platform.

It is central to how employees communicate, collaborate, share information and access essential business applications.

When these services become unavailable, the knock-on effects can be considerable.

1. Communication and productivity

If employees cannot access Outlook, important communications can be missed, customer enquiries may go unanswered and internal processes can slow down.

Even where Teams messaging and meetings remain operational, features connected to Exchange Online may still experience problems.

2. Customer service and business operations

Businesses relying on Microsoft 365 to manage customer relationships, process orders or coordinate appointments may experience delays.

For customer-facing organisations, this can affect response times and potentially damage customer confidence.

3. Access to important information

Although not every Microsoft service has been affected in the same way, disruption to connected applications can make accessing information more difficult.

Businesses need to understand where their critical information is stored and whether alternative access arrangements are available.

4. Security and IT management

The incident has also highlighted the importance of understanding how interconnected cloud services can be.

Some Microsoft security and administration functions have experienced disruption, demonstrating why organisations should consider their wider security arrangements and contingency procedures.

It is important not to assume that all security protections have stopped working. Instead, businesses should check Microsoft's specific service advisories and follow their IT provider's guidance.

Five practical steps businesses should take during an IT outage

While businesses cannot prevent every cloud service disruption, they can take practical steps to reduce its impact.

Here are five areas worth considering.

1. Have an alternative communication method

If your usual email or collaboration platform becomes unavailable, how will your team communicate?

Consider establishing alternative communication channels for essential business updates and emergency contact arrangements.

Make sure employees know which channels to use and how to access them.

2. Understand your reliance on cloud services

Take time to identify which essential business processes depend on Microsoft 365.

Consider:

• Which applications are essential to daily operations?

• What happens if email becomes unavailable?

• Can employees still access critical documents?

• Which customer-facing processes would be affected?

• Are there alternative ways to complete essential tasks?

Understanding these dependencies is the first step towards building resilience.

3. Make sure your backup arrangements are appropriate

Cloud availability and data backup are two different things.

Having your files stored in Microsoft 365 does not automatically mean you have a comprehensive, independently recoverable backup strategy.

Businesses should review their backup arrangements, retention policies and recovery procedures to ensure important information can be restored when needed.

4. Have a documented business continuity plan

Your business continuity plan should explain what happens when essential IT systems become unavailable.

This should include:

• Alternative communication arrangements.

• Responsibilities for key members of staff.

• Procedures for maintaining essential business functions.

• Access to important contact information.

• Recovery priorities and escalation procedures.

Importantly, employees should know where to find this information even if their usual IT systems are unavailable.

5. Regularly test your disaster recovery arrangements

Having a plan is not enough.

Businesses should periodically test their recovery arrangements to identify weaknesses and ensure everyone understands their responsibilities.

A simulated outage can help establish whether your organisation can continue operating without access to its usual systems.

Does this mean businesses should stop relying on Microsoft 365?

Absolutely not.

Microsoft 365 remains an important platform for businesses of all sizes, offering flexibility, collaboration and a wide range of productivity tools.

However, incidents like this demonstrate that no technology platform can guarantee uninterrupted availability.

The answer isn't necessarily to move away from cloud services. Instead, businesses should make sure they have appropriate resilience, backup and continuity arrangements in place.

It is also worth remembering that using multiple platforms does not automatically eliminate risk. Alternative systems need to be accessible, secure and properly integrated into your business continuity arrangements.

Is your business prepared for the next outage?

The current Microsoft 365 disruption is a useful opportunity for businesses to review their IT infrastructure and ask some important questions.

Do you have a clear understanding of which systems your business depends on? Can your employees continue working if email becomes unavailable? Are your backups independently recoverable? And do you have a tested plan for maintaining essential operations?

These are not questions that should only be considered when something goes wrong.

At GalaxyIT, we believe that effective IT support is about more than keeping systems running. It's about helping businesses prepare for disruption, protect their information and maintain business continuity.

If the current Microsoft outage has highlighted any gaps in your organisation's IT arrangements, now is a good time to address them.

Need advice on improving your business IT resilience?

Get in touch with our team to discuss your IT support, backup and business continuity requirements.

www.galaxyit.co.uk

For the latest developments, visit Microsoft's official service status page: https://status.cloud.microsoft/