Where are we now – Microsoft 363? Cloud suite suffers another outage

Another week, another Microsoft 365 headache. Redmond this morning said in a tweet it is investigating yet one more issue that is making it impossible for some users to use the search functionality for a number of cloud-based services. The services affected reportedly include Teams, SharePoint Online, and Outlook. The problem …

[b0llchit]

Single points

We used to tell people to avoid single point problems. Then the cloud came along and a new single point was created... the cloud. Only this time the point is more of a stain-sized dot that blinds all who looked at it.

Well, we never learn, do we?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Single points

Now, if you want to dump your production workloads in the "Cloud", then that's your choice. Personally, I like to touch and feel my servers. That said, I wouldn't lump someone like AWS in the same bucket as Microsoft which just keep on seeming to have issues - normally it seems to be around Azure AD

[Zippy´s Sausage Factory]

Re: Single points

"Active Directory"? If this keeps happening, I feel like we should start calling it "Active Defectory" instead...

[steviebuk]

Re: Single points

Its why I'd like to get out of IT now. I'm getting to the point I've had enough but can't do anything else so have to stick it out until I die or win the lottery. Some cloud stuff is useful the rest is marketing bollocks. When you constantly are ignored that its marketing bollocks it just makes you fed up of it all.

Soon we'll be fully cloud and I've warned it will be more expensive but what do I know. Mark my words, the cost will increase and it won't be any cheaper than onsite kit with engineers to support that onsite kit.

[mattaw2001]

Making on-prem more expensive is a feature, not a bug

The cloud is a self fulfilling prophecy. If it is not more expensive than on-prem, Microsoft will just make it more expensive until it is.

Its a great scheme: Microsoft control the pricing of both on-prem and cloud, so they can raise the prices of both almost at will to get the most profitable outcome for each.

Cloud providers are also in love with the fine-grained level of visibility they get into a customers operations. Meetings, calendars, emails, files, etc. - that will all prove very helpful when the cloud provider launches competing services. See "Amazon Basics" for a comparable strategy. Amazon is letting other companies take the risks and spend the money to create a market, and when it is established they launch a competing product which they advertise first.

[I also believe companies use the cloud to reduce/eliminate technical competency and knowledge in a customer. Then they *have* to buy cloud and other management services as they have no-one who can manage local systems.]

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Making on-prem more expensive is a feature, not a bug

"Its a great scheme: Microsoft control the pricing of both on-prem and cloud, so they can raise the prices of both almost at will to get the most profitable outcome for each."

Only for their own products. If you don't like that situation you can go elsewhere. If you're totally sold on the idea that there are no alternatives, maybe you should review the market.

[JohnSheeran]

Re: Single points

Are you my secret "brother from another mother".....in another country? LOL

I feel almost exactly the same way as you.

[Zippy´s Sausage Factory]

Re: Single points

That's the problem. Everyone who's been in IT more than five years knows this all too well because we've seen the pattern done over and over again. Vendor lock in for mainframes. IE-specific websites. Everything to capture a customer, keep them forever, and squeeze them as hard as you can, as long as you can, until your CEO can finally afford that megayacht they so clearly believe they deserve.

And this, boys and girls, is why open source exists.

[Missing Semicolon]

Re: Single points

"And this, boys and girls, is why open source exists.", and why, inch by inch, "open Source" will get edged out of the business arena by legal risk, copyright, patents, interoperability, censorship, liability, anything that the Big Corps can lobby for, until once again, they get to charge what they like for what they like, with no pesky competition.

[TVU]

"Cloud suite hit with yet another outage"

...which is why the customer should always have the option of standalone software on their own computer(s).

[Dan 55]

Some customers are unable to use the search function for online services like Teams and Outlook

So you win a a prize if you can tell the difference between broken search and allegedly working search in Teams?

[DR_EVIL30564]

still having issues with shared calendars not being available for some O365 users

We were having issues all last with O365, a couple of people were dead in the water and couldn't sign into office 365 at all so they couldn't work. Another annoying side effect for all the problems was shared calendars were not showing up for people. I assumed this was sorted out over the weekend, but I have already had two people complaining about the calendars again today.

Me explaining that It's an ongoing issue that is only affecting some users is getting old, folks want me to fix the problem for them.

My Boss is talking about needing to move our support guy into an office to work because he's too loud out in his cubicle and folks are complaining about him. One of the discussed solutions is to move me into the server room since we have a desk setup there. I did work as a Data Center Administrator for a managed hosting company for years, so I am used to the noise levels around running servers, switches, and firewalls. It might not be such a bad thing if I move in there, people will certainly leave me alone and let me do the network administrator duties I am supposed to be working on.

Microsoft, if you want folks to pay for and use Microsoft 365 / Office 365 how about doing what is necessary to keep things running smoothly please.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: still having issues with shared calendars not being available for some O365 users

DR_EVIL30564,

Take the option to work in the Server Room !!!

1st priority will be to enhance the security and limit who can have access to the Server room !!! :)

This will allow you to do the Net Admin job you are supposed to be doing !!!

Best of Luck :)

P.S. Microsoft will do what Microsoft does ..... as per usual. Don't worry about it as you can have very little influence on Microsoft unless you are a very big customer !!!

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: still having issues with shared calendars not being available for some O365 users

"Take the option to work in the Server Room !!!"

Once you're in there, install an instance of NextCloud and use that to share calendars.

[Alumoi]

Re: still having issues with shared calendars not being available for some O365 users

They got your money, they locked you into their software, why would they care?

[John H Woods]

Re: still having issues with shared calendars not being available for some O365 users

I'd move to the server room BUT take a noise meter and wear hearing protection anywhere where it is over 75dBA or perhaps even just 70.

As well as preserving your hearing, it will reduce your ability to notice people knocking on the server room door to get your attention!

[Howard Sway]

Cloud suite hit with yet another outage

What, on the day they're telling us we should all move to "Cloud PCs"?

"Microsoft 365 : We ensure you can work wherever you are and whenever our server does!"

[fidodogbreath]

362 ought to be enough for anyone

the software giant is "making my case to move to Exchange Online difficult."

Odd...I'd have thought the outages would make that decision a lot easier.

[Claptrap314]

But we were promised

4 9s by u$ what was it--three years ago?

u$--not ready for business. Every, most likely.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: But we were promised

They're delivering on and exceeding what they promised. It's right there in the name: "o365", as in they promise o365 days of uptime* per year.

*245 days in decimal.