Schools, healthcare providers, businesses and police services in and around Calne have reported disruption following a major global Microsoft outage which has continued into Friday (13th November).
The worldwide disruption, which began on Thursday evening, has affected Microsoft's Outlook email service and other Microsoft 365 systems, leaving organisations struggling to access emails and some online services.
Among those affected is Kingsbury Green Academy, which has reported that its IT systems are down and it currently has no access to emails.
Springfields Academy has also confirmed that it cannot send or receive emails, but reassured families that teaching is unaffected and the school remains open.
St Edmund’s Primary School in Calne has confirmed that it is suffering from an email outage as a result of the global Microsoft problems. The school has asked anyone needing assistance urgently to contact it by telephone and has urged parents to bear with staff if they have sent an email since Thursday.
Patford House Partnership has warned that the outage could affect access to some of its systems, potentially causing delays in responding to emails and patient queries.
Many local businesses have also reported problems. Chalford Building Supplies, which has a branch in Calne, said it was experiencing email issues but confirmed that its telephone lines were working, allowing customers to continue placing orders, requesting quotes and seeking advice.
Odette Funeral Director has also advised customers that it is experiencing email disruption and will respond to messages once services are restored.
The disruption has also affected public services.
Wiltshire Police has confirmed that its website is currently unable to accept online report submissions.
Anyone wishing to report a time-critical incident which is not an emergency has been asked to call 101. Emergencies should still be reported by calling 999.
Wiltshire Council has warned that the outage could cause delays in responding to Crisis Payments applications.
What has happened?
Microsoft has confirmed that the incident is affecting multiple regions around the world, with Outlook, Teams, Copilot and other Microsoft 365 services experiencing problems.
Its investigation has identified problems with a core process on affected servers, which have been becoming unresponsive and dropping out of service.
The company has been working to restore services by moving traffic away from affected infrastructure, restarting servers, applying technical fixes and increasing capacity.
Although there have been some encouraging signs of recovery, Microsoft's efforts have not been entirely successful and it is continuing to monitor the situation.
The company has said there is currently no indication that the disruption has been caused by a cyberattack.
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