Microsoft Outage Shocks Markets, Forces Traders to Rely on Mobile Phones
Microsoft’s widespread outage rattles global markets, pushing traders onto cell phones and disrupting government, airline and health services worldwide.
POLICY WIRE — London, United Kingdom — Microsoft’s sudden outage of its Office 365 and email services has rattled global markets, forcing traders to turn to mobile phones for real‑time data and trading.
Market participants reported a sharp drop in liquidity as their usual desktop platforms failed, prompting many to rely on smartphones for order execution and price feeds.
Beyond the financial sector, the interruption spread to public institutions: governments, airlines, hospitals, general practitioners, schools, police forces and Northern Ireland public bodies all experienced significant disruptions.
The outage, first reported by Bloomberg, NPR, Forbes, The Guardian and the BBC, highlighted how deeply Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure is woven into everyday operations across sectors.
Microsoft’s engineering teams are working around the clock to restore full functionality, though the exact timeline remains uncertain.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)