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Microsoft has confirmed the recovery of its Azure cloud platform following a recent disruption caused by multiple undersea fibre cable cuts in the Red Sea. The outage, which began early September 2025, led to increased latency and potential slowdowns for Azure users whose network traffic traversed through the Middle East, affecting connectivity between Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Overview of the Incident
On September 6, 2025, Microsoft acknowledged a significant disruption to its Azure cloud services due to several international undersea fibre cables damaged in the Red Sea. These cables form a critical internet corridor connecting Europe, Asia, and Africa via the Middle East. The damage led to slower-than-usual network performance, primarily on data paths utilizing routing through this region.
Key Highlights of the Disruption and Recovery
The Red Sea region experienced multiple undersea fibre cuts which severely affected network traffic that transits through this corridor.
Users with data routes originating or terminating in Asia, Europe, or the Middle East reported increased latencies and slower cloud service responsiveness.
Azure, the world’s second-largest cloud provider after Amazon Web Services, was forced to reroute traffic around the damaged cables, which mitigated total service outages but caused congestion and latency on alternate routes.
Microsoft engineers implemented continuous monitoring and traffic rebalancing efforts to optimize routing, aiming to reduce customer impact throughout the incident.
Repairing the undersea cables is inherently slow and complex, possibly taking weeks, due to technical challenges and geopolitical tensions in the Red Sea area.
Despite these disruptions, Microsoft’s engineering teams successfully restored Azure service functionality, and as of September 7, 2025, no ongoing service interruptions are being detected.
Impact and Customer Advisory
Azure’s broad user base includes enterprises running mission-critical applications, web hosting, and software development environments, all requiring stable, continuous connectivity. The Red Sea fibre cuts temporarily compromised this stability for regional traffic routes, elevating latency and potential delays in service delivery.
Microsoft has advised Azure customers to:
Stay regularly updated through Azure’s service health notifications for the latest status and mitigation progress.
Expect periodic network delays and potential performance variability while repairs are ongoing.
Prepare for longer-term impacts if their cloud applications rely heavily on cross-region data traffic traversing the Middle East corridor.
Technical and Strategic Response
Microsoft’s response involved rapidly redirecting network traffic to alternative routes to maintain Azure’s operational availability. This included:
Optimizing traffic paths dynamically to alleviate congestion caused by rerouting.
Constant monitoring to detect changing network conditions and respond swiftly.
Communicating transparently with customers via daily service status updates to maintain situational awareness.
Coordinating with regional and international telecommunications operators to facilitate the eventual repair work on the damaged cables.
Broader Context on Undersea Cable Vulnerabilities
Undersea fibre cables are a backbone of global internet infrastructure, carrying about 95% of international data traffic. Disruptions, while relatively rare, have significant consequences due to the concentrated nature of these digital chokepoints. The Red Sea corridor, in particular, is a strategic communications hub that links three continents.
Repairs are often delayed by numerous factors such as:
The technical difficulty of undersea cable restoration requiring specialized vessels and equipment.
Political and security challenges, especially in geopolitically sensitive zones like the Red Sea affected by conflicts and maritime risks.
The economic and operational dependency of cloud providers and global businesses on uninterrupted cable functionality.
Conclusion
Microsoft’s Azure platform has successfully recovered from the recent undersea fibre cuts in the Red Sea, thanks to proactive network management and resilient infrastructure design. Nevertheless, the incident underscores the vulnerability of global internet architecture to physical disruptions and the importance of diversified routing and comprehensive disaster recovery strategies.
Azure users relying on cross-continental connectivity that crosses the Middle East should remain vigilant and monitor ongoing updates from Microsoft as repair efforts continue. Microsoft commits to maintaining transparent communications and minimizing any residual impact on its broad global customer base.
Source: India Today
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