Millions of workers in more than 70 countries are facing email disruption as the ongoing Microsoft Outlook outage has forced some major firms to fall back on fax machines and other manual processes.
The software giant says it is working to get systems back online, but many businesses have already resorted to low-tech methods to connect with colleagues. Fax machines, which largely faded out of use in the 2000s, are being used as backup in some industries, particularly in Japan, where markets are using the outdated technology.
Companies resort to manual processes
Major international companies, including BNP Paribas, have defaulted to manual processes to continue trading during the outage. Some humorous internet memes have depicted the return to analog systems, with one showing a man waking up from a coffin.
In its latest update, Microsoft said it was seeing 'encouraging recovery progress', with more and more 365 systems restored across several regions, but warned that many customers would continue to experience intermittent issues.
'Some users may still experience intermittent issues as recovery actions continue. We're focused on recovery for the remaining affected environments while prioritising email queue and backlog reduction', the company said.
Widespread impact across sectors
The outage is affecting organisations including rail operator Avanti West Coast, the NHS and Chelsea FC, which have reported disrupted communications. Railway passengers have been advised to log into accounts to download tickets, as several operators reported difficulties with automatic ticket emails.
'We recommend doing this before you travel to ensure you have your tickets readily available for your journey', a spokesperson for Network Rail said.
In healthcare, 999 and 111 operators are unable to refer patients in the usual way, a major union has warned. GMB national secretary for public services Rachel Harrison said the outage was having a 'serious impact' across NHS and ambulance trusts, but that emergency care and life-threatening callouts were unaffected.
'Those who work in 111 and 999 services are unable to refer patient details in the normal way which is creating a massive backlog and has the potential for chaos', she said.
Homebuyers and businesses face disruption
Homebuyers are also facing disruption, with Friday typically one of the busiest days of the week for house sale completions, many of which have been delayed. Ian Harris, the president at property professionals' body NAEA Propertymark, said agents were still able to use purpose-built portals.
'When vital systems unexpectedly fail, it can cause serious and unexpected stress, particularly for those on their moving day', he said.
Other firms said they were coping after switching to phone calls and even hand transactions. Tomer Aboody, founding director of specialist lender MT Finance, said: 'We are making use of what we have, and keeping clients updated via phone calls and other means of communication. Internally as an institution, we have back-up plans for internal communications to keep the business going, without affecting the day to day too much.'
Experts warn of reliance on online technology
Experts warn the incident is another warning shot about society's lack of preparedness in the event of a widespread outage of a heavily relied on system. Professor Washington Yotto Ochieng, a specialist in civil and environmental engineering at ICL and director of the Centre for Active Resilience and Security, said the outage 'raises an alarm' about increased reliance on online technology for communication, particularly since the Covid pandemic.
'Not only do we need a comprehensive understanding of our dependence, but also to see these services as part of our critical national infrastructure, with the right level of Government oversight and regulation', he said. 'That means transparency from companies, and proactivity from Government so that there are mechanisms in place in future that make the extent of today's disruption impossible.'
