Microsoft says Azure service unaffected after Red Sea cables cut

Microsoft says Azure service unaffected after Red Sea cables cut

Microsoft has reported that its Azure service remains unaffected following the severance of multiple international subsea cables in the Red Sea. The incident, which occurred on Saturday morning, caused service degradation but has since been managed by Microsoft's engineering teams. The disruption, which affected traffic passing through the Middle East originating in or terminating in Asia or European regions, was attributed to the damage of multiple subsea cables. Microsoft has rerouted traffic to mitigate higher-than-normal latencies while repairs are ongoing.

The company's status website announced a "service degradation" and provided daily updates. As of 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Microsoft reported that no Azure issues were detected. However, the exact status of the cables and the repair process remains unclear, with Microsoft not responding to a request for further information by the time of publication.

This incident highlights the importance of subsea cables in global data transmission and the resilience of Microsoft's Azure service. Despite the disruption, other Microsoft services and products remained unaffected. The company's ongoing investment in subsea datacenters, as demonstrated by a 2020 study, underscores its commitment to reliable and practical solutions for data transmission challenges.

Microsoft's stock, trading at $504.94 as of September 2, 2025, has shown resilience despite the recent service issues. The company's partnership with the U.S. government, delivering over $6 billion in savings on cloud services over three years, reflects its strong position in the market. This agreement, which includes free access to Microsoft's AI-powered assistant, Copilot, for federal workers, supports the government's AI action plan and digital adoption efforts.

Reference List:
[1] https://www.newsweek.com/microsoft-warns-service-issues-subsea-cables-cut-red-sea-2125839
[2] https://parameter.io/microsoft-msft-stock-shares-steady-as-6b-u-s-cloud-agreement-delivers-over-6-billion-in-savings-on-cloud-services/