Some government systems affected by Microsoft outage: GovTech

SINGAPORE: Some government systems have been affected by the ongoing Microsoft disruption, said the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) on Friday (Nov 13).

Tens of thousands of users worldwide have struggled to access their email in Microsoft Outlook as the outage dragged on and also affected other company products such as Teams and the AI assistant Copilot.

In a statement to CNA, Govtech said the disruption was affecting government systems including emails. 

"Emergency services remain fully operational and can be reached at 995 and 999 as usual," it said, adding that Singpass was not affected. 

"For updates on e-services, please check the relevant agency’s official website or social media channels. The email disruption may delay responses to enquiries. For urgent matters, members of the public can contact the agency through other channels, such as its call centre."

The agency said public officers could continue to use Microsoft Teams for internal communications.

"We will provide further updates when more information is available," it said. 

Microsoft users in Singapore told CNA they faced difficulties communicating with overseas colleagues, responding to emails and attending meetings.

Jane Wong said she was unable to access Outlook and Copilot, leaving her unable to update standard operating procedures. However, SharePoint and Teams were still working for her, allowing her to continue preparing reports.

For Simon Ong, the disruption meant having to rearrange meetings with suppliers and change his plans. He decided to head to Starbucks for a latte to de-stress.

Meanwhile, Miyuki Siew said Teams was unaffected for her, and she was still able to attend meetings as usual.

Microsoft attributed the disruption to the "elevated load" on its infrastructure. 

It initially said it was investigating outage reports "in the Americas," but later confirmed that the issue apparently affected "Microsoft 365 service connectivity for users in any region".

"We're aggressively pursuing all pathways to reduce impact," it said.