A routine software update earlier this month caused a global outage that affected almost every major business sector, including airports, retail and banks.
Microsoft said Tuesday that it was investigating outages affecting office applications and services.
"We’re currently investigating access issues and degraded performance with multiple Microsoft 365 services and features," Microsoft said on X. "More information can be found under MO842351 in the admin center."
The outage appeared to be affecting all of its regions worldwide. One affected retailer was Starbucks. A spokesperson said that customers briefly lost access to some features in the company's mobile app but that everything was back up and running by Tuesday afternoon.
"Earlier today, some customers were briefly unable to access the mobile order and pay feature in the Starbucks app due to a third-party system outage," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We’re happy to share that functionality for ordering ahead has largely been restored and customers are able to continue using the feature in the app."
The cause of the outage was unclear. Microsoft said in an update just before 11 a.m. ET that some services were beginning to return.
A routine software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused a global Microsoft outage this month that appeared to affect almost every major business sector, including airports, retail and banks.
American, Delta and United airlines all issued ground stops due to the CrowdStrike outage, which began July 19. Airports and flights around the world were canceled or severely delayed.
Other people reported issues accessing their money at affected banks. Customers across New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere reported trouble logging into their bank accounts, while the London Stock Exchange, the largest of its kind in Europe, said some of its services had been disrupted.
Some major retailers also reported issues. McDonald's in Japan was forced to close some of its stores because of what it said was a "cash register malfunction." The British grocery chain Waitrose put up handwritten signs at some stores informing shoppers that they could accept only cash.
The outage also led to some disruptions for law enforcement. The Alaska State Troopers issued a warning to residents that 911 had temporarily stopped working.
Minyvonne Burke is a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News.
