Microsoft Says It Is Making Progress Fixing Software Outage

Microsoft Corp. said Thursday it is making progress toward fixing an outage that has disrupted access to its flagship software for government offices, traders and businesses around the world, according to Bloomberg.

The company has not given a timeline for a full fix. Bloomberg reports Microsoft's statement that it is "making progress" came as customers across multiple sectors remained locked out of tools they rely on for daily operations.

What is actually down right now?

Microsoft has not published a full list of affected products in the material reviewed by HTT News. Bloomberg's report describes the trouble as centered on Microsoft's flagship software, the suite of cloud-based tools many offices use for email, document sharing and internal communication. A separate HTT News explainer lays out what is publicly known about the scope of the disruption; readers can follow that coverage at What We Know About the Global Microsoft 365 Outage.

Microsoft has not detailed, in the sources reviewed, how many accounts or regions are affected, or what caused the failure. HTT News will update this story if the company releases those figures.

Who is feeling the effects?

Bloomberg's report names three groups directly: government offices, traders and businesses. The outage is described as global, meaning the disruption is not confined to one country or time zone. For office workers, that can mean an inability to open shared files or send internal messages. For trading desks, it can mean delayed access to systems used to track positions or communicate with counterparties. For government offices, it can mean staff losing access to the same software used for routine administrative work.

Bloomberg did not name specific companies or agencies affected, and HTT News has not independently verified individual outage reports.

What is Microsoft saying about a fix?

The company's public statement, as reported by Bloomberg, is limited to saying it is "making progress" restoring access. That phrase is the extent of the detail available in the sourcing for this story. Microsoft did not say, in the material reviewed, when customers should expect full restoration, nor did it identify the root cause of the failure.

Microsoft Corp. said it was making progress in efforts to restore access to its flagship software and end an outage that has paralyzed government offices, traders and businesses globally.

That is the core of the company's public position as of Thursday, according to Bloomberg's reporting.

What should affected users do Monday morning?

For offices still locked out when the work week resumes, a few practical steps apply regardless of the eventual cause:

• Check Microsoft's official service status page directly rather than relying on secondhand reports, since status pages are typically updated faster than press statements.
• Keep local backups of any files edited during the outage window, in case cloud sync resumes with conflicts.
• IT staff should hold off on major account or password changes until Microsoft confirms the fix, since mid-outage changes can complicate recovery once service returns.
• Trading desks and finance teams should confirm with compliance officers whether manual logging procedures need to be documented for the outage period.

These steps reflect general outage-recovery practice and are not instructions issued by Microsoft in the sourcing reviewed for this story.

Where can readers track updates?

Bloomberg's running coverage remains the primary source for company statements as they are issued. HTT News' explainer piece is tracking what is publicly confirmed about the outage's scope and will be updated as Microsoft releases more information. Readers should treat any figures on duration, number of users affected, or financial impact with caution until Microsoft or an independent monitoring service confirms them; none of those figures were available in the sourcing for this report.

What to watch next

• Whether Microsoft issues a formal incident report naming a root cause.
• Whether government agencies disclose specific operational impacts.
• Whether trading firms report delayed transactions tied to the outage.
• Whether Microsoft offers service credits or compensation, a step the company has not addressed in current statements.

HTT News will update this story as Microsoft and other sourced reporting provide additional confirmed details.

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