Microsoft 365 Intermittent Issues – 26 Dec 2024

On 26 December 2024, a data center power event caused intermittent connection issues to downstream Microsoft 365 services.

Microsoft reported this outage on the Microsoft 365 Service Health Page as MO966473.

What Caused the Microsoft 365 and Azure Services Outage?

Per Microsoft, “the power event that caused impact occurred in the south-central United States. This caused intermittent impact primarily to users hosted in North America, though multi-regional organizations with users outside North America may have encountered issues as well.”   

What was the Impact?

Outage Duration: Between approximately 13:44 EST and 15:43 EST on 26 Dec 2024, a subset of customers encountered issues connecting to various Microsoft services. The affected services included:

• SharePoint Online
• OneDrive for Business
• Microsoft Teams
• Microsoft Fabric
• Power BI
• Microsoft Intune/Autopilot
• Power Automate
• Power Apps

How Did ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring Report this Outage? 

ENow's Microsoft 365 Monitoring tool ensures that critical M365 URLs are active and accepting traffic. Our Monitoring showed that over various times in the outage, different services and their endpoints were either completely down or had very high latency. This disruption was visible on ENow's OneLook dashboard, providing detailed insights from the top level to granular details.   

Figure 1: ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring Dashboard showing that Power Apps Network Status is in a ‘critical state.’

Figure 2: ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring Dashboard showing OneDrive Network status during the outage.

Figure 3: ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring Dashboard showing Viva Network status in a critical state during the outage.

Figure 4: ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring Dashboard showing Microsoft Teams Network status in a critical state, Power Apps in a critical state, and Viva in a warning state during the outage.

As this intermittent outage was due to a power issue, we were able to see what services were available to our users in our tenant. It was also an excellent test run for the new Viva and Power Platform Monitoring announced in ENow 8.2. We were able to see the high latency during service failover/failback. For example, in Figure 5 you can see the high latency for Viva towards the end of the outage. Figure 6 shows the high latency for Teams during the period.

Figure 5: ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring Dashboard showing Microsoft Viva Latency testing during the outage.

Figure 6: ENow Microsoft 365 Latency Trending showing Microsoft Teams Latency testing during the outage.

The ENow monitoring solution also detected unavailable services and troubleshooting advice for the unavailable endpoints. Having the knowledge services are down can allow the service desk to inform users of the specific services available or unavailable at that time.

Figure 7: ENow Microsoft 365 Monitoring showing multiple services unavailable during the outage.

It’s Microsoft’s Problem; What Can I Do?

Fast Outage Identification & Prompt User Notifications Build Trust

Quickly identifying the source of a Microsoft 365 outage is essential. Early detection allows IT teams to start resolving the issue immediately, preventing it from worsening if it's in your realm of control. For instance, immediate alerts about server failures enable rapid traffic rerouting and failover protocol initiation, minimizing user impact.

If it's an external issue, as in this instance, it allows you to pivot and promptly notify users of the problem, affected services, and workarounds if there are any. Sharing expectations around updates and resolutions will reduce support tickets. It also saves IT pros from unnecessary troubleshooting and interruptions to other projects and priorities.

Effective communication is crucial during a significant IT outage, especially one impacting Microsoft 365 services. Once an outage is detected, whether internal or external, promptly informing users is vital. Transparency and timely updates, even about negative news, are appreciated. Notifying users through email, social media, and in-app messages about issues can reduce support tickets and build confidence and trust in the IT department.  

Acting swiftly during Microsoft 365 outages is crucial for maintaining a positive IT department image. Fast issue identification, prompt user communication, and decisive recovery actions highlight reliability and competence. Effective communication can transform a potential crisis into an opportunity to strengthen user trust.

Enhance Microsoft 365 Outage Visibility with ENow

Effective outage communication and handling require real-time insights. ENow's proactive Microsoft 365 Monitoring provides enhanced visibility, resulting in faster issue resolution, reduced business impact, and increased user confidence in your IT team.

Learn about ENow's Microsoft 365 Monitoring and Reporting Platform, or contact us for a Microsoft 365 Monitoring Demo.