November 13, 2026 - 372 views
Businesses, public services and organisations across North Wales are experiencing disruption following a major Microsoft 365 outage, with problems affecting emails, online meetings and the handling of public enquiries.
The technical problems have left some organisations receiving few, if any, emails, while scores of online meetings have also been disrupted as staff struggle to access Microsoft's communication services.
The impact is being felt locally, with teams at Conwy County Borough Council unable to receive emails, potentially delaying communications between departments and responses to residents and businesses.
Traffic Wales has also been affected and has been unable to receive email reports from motorists, which are used to pass on information about incidents and problems on the road network.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has confirmed that it is experiencing delays in receiving and responding to emails and online enquiries because of the global Microsoft 365 disruption.
However, the health board says its screening services are not affected and anyone with a screening appointment today should attend as normal.
Patients with urgent questions about upcoming appointments are being advised to contact the relevant team directly by telephone, although long delays and waits should be expected.
The disruption has also affected police services elsewhere in Wales, with South Wales Police and Dyfed-Powys Police reporting problems with online crime reporting and email contact facilities.
People needing to contact police about non-emergency matters are being advised to use the 101 telephone service where online reporting is unavailable. Anyone facing an emergency should continue to call 999.
The problems are part of a wider disruption affecting Microsoft 365 customers internationally, including users of Outlook and Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft has been working to restore normal service, with the company investigating technical issues affecting its systems. It has said it has found no indication that the incident is the result of malicious activity.
The outage has highlighted how heavily businesses and public services rely on cloud-based technology for their everyday operations, with the loss of email and online meeting facilities having a knock-on effect on staff, customers and members of the public.
Although some services are gradually recovering, organisations and their customers may continue to experience delays while systems return to normal.
