The ongoing Microsoft outage is impacting a number of Ottawa institutions, including Ottawa City Hall and two universities. The Microsoft outage began on Thursday afternoon, affecting a range of Microsoft 365 offerings that interact with its Exchange Online and email services. There is no timeline to restore Microsoft services. In a statement on its website, the City of Ottawa said it is experiencing “interruptions with some online services” due to the Microsoft outage, including emails. “For any urgent issues about City services, please call 3-1-1,” the city said. The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is warning the Microsoft global outage may be disrupting email. People are asked to use the clinic phone numbers and general inquiries phone line to contact the institute. The University of Ottawa says several Microsoft 365 applications used by the university are experiencing technical issues. The uOttawa student portal operates on Microsoft. Carleton University reported issues with Outlook, Word and other Microsoft services. The university said on Thursday afternoon that “no other campus IT services are impacted at this time.” Via Rail has said passengers may not be able to receive email communications about their trip due to the Microsoft outage. Passengers are encouraged to use the Via Rail train tracker or subscribe for SMS notifications. With files from The Associated Press
