Major Cloud Outage Hits Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services

A significant cloud computing failure struck on Wednesday. The outage impacted Microsoft’s Azure platform and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It caused widespread disruptions for businesses and consumers globally. Users reported problems accessing dozens of major websites and applications.

Microsoft confirmed the issue was linked to its Azure content delivery network. The problem began after a recent configuration change. According to Reuters, the outage affected a vast ecosystem of services for several hours.

Full List of Services Disrupted by Widespread Glitch

The Azure outage rendered many essential tools unusable. Critical business services like Microsoft 365, Outlook, and Teams were affected. The LinkedIn professional network and OpenAI’s platforms also experienced issues.

Consumer services were hit equally hard. The Xbox network and popular game Minecraft went down. Alaska Airlines’ systems were notably impacted, causing concern for travelers. The outage tracking site Downdetector recorded over 18,000 user reports at the peak.

Broader Impact on Business and Technology Sector

This event highlights the deep reliance of modern business on cloud infrastructure. A single point of failure can have cascading effects worldwide. The outage occurred just hours before Microsoft’s quarterly earnings report.

The incident follows a similar AWS disruption just one week earlier. These consecutive failures raise questions about cloud service resilience. Alaska Airlines saw its shares drop about 2% amid the renewed IT troubles.

The dual cloud outage underscores the fragile nature of our interconnected digital world, demonstrating how critical a stable cloud infrastructure is for daily operations.

Info at your fingertips

What caused the Microsoft Azure outage?

The outage was triggered by a configuration change in Azure’s global network. Microsoft identified the issue and began rerouting traffic. The company blocked the problematic change to restore services.

Which airlines were affected by the cloud outage?

Alaska Airlines confirmed its systems were impacted. The airline’s website and mobile app experienced access problems. This occurred just days after a separate tech issue grounded its flights.

How many users reported problems during the outage?

Over 18,000 users reported Azure issues at the peak. Microsoft 365 saw nearly 12,000 complaints. Reports dropped to around 4,500 as services began recovering.

Was Amazon Web Services also down?

Yes, users reported a separate AWS outage occurring soon after. This follows a major AWS disruption from the previous week. Both cloud providers experienced significant service issues.

What is being done to prevent future outages?

Microsoft is pursuing multiple remediation strategies. This includes moving traffic away from impacted infrastructure. The company is also analyzing the root cause of the failure.