Microsoft reports widespread Azure outage on March 15th

Microsoft reported a widespread Azure outage on Monday, March 15th. The issues started around 3:40 p.m. Eastern Time. Issues appear to stem from Azure Active Directory.

By 9:10 p.m. issues were closer to being resolved, with the greatest challenges remaining in Seattle, Atlanta and New York City. In comments on Downdetector (outage map as of 9:10 p.m. shown above), users reported problems such as missing VM features, resources not showing up, or an inability to access SQL databases. However, most indicated they were able to login to Azure portal.

Microsoft achieves high levels of uptime most of the time with its Azure services. But complex systems like the cloud can easily run into issues. Coming a week and a half after Microsoft executives emphasized the theme of hybrid cloud, today's outage may add emphasis to that message for some.

The Azure Status page informed users: