A global technical outage affecting Microsoft’s services disrupted email servers and cloud-based operations across India, bringing routine work to a halt at several corporate offices, hotels and establishments in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar’s GIFT City on Friday.
Outlook and Teams Services Hit
The disruption, which began on Thursday (November 12) and continued into Friday, affected Microsoft Outlook and several key Microsoft 365 applications. A large number of professionals were unable to send or receive emails, while technical issues also prevented employees from logging into scheduled video meetings on Microsoft Teams.
Luxury Hotels Resort to Telephone Helplines
The hospitality sector in Ahmedabad was among the first to feel the impact of the digital disruption. With email-based communication and digital reservation systems affected, two prominent hotels — Hyatt Regency Ahmedabad and Hyatt Ahmedabad in Vastrapur — issued notices on social media informing guests about the interruption in their email services.
Both hotels advised guests, corporate clients and travel partners to avoid using email for bookings, enquiries and urgent requirements and instead contact their dedicated telephone helplines.
In its official advisory, Hyatt Regency Ahmedabad said its email communication services were temporarily unavailable due to the ongoing global disruption affecting Microsoft services.
GIFT City Offices Face Operational Disruptions
Several commercial offices operating in Gandhinagar’s GIFT City also faced difficulties in carrying out routine operations. Teams in fintech companies, banking operations and global capability centres (GCCs) of multinational corporations, which rely heavily on cloud-based systems, encountered disruptions in their daily work.
Commercial establishments in Ahmedabad also reported interruptions in routine communication. Employees using Microsoft Teams and Outlook faced difficulties accessing emails and joining scheduled meetings.
Outage Raises Questions Over Dependence on Cloud Services
The two-day disruption has renewed discussions among cybersecurity experts about the vulnerabilities of critical business infrastructure and excessive dependence on cloud-based services.
Sectors such as banking, fintech, healthcare, insurance and aviation rely heavily on real-time digital communication and cloud-based documentation. Disruptions to key servers can affect their operations, potentially delaying processes ranging from insurance claim approvals to airline ticket confirmations.
Industry experts say the incident highlights the risks of relying heavily on a single vendor’s cloud ecosystem. When such services become unavailable, businesses can face difficulties accessing critical data and maintaining routine operations.