NASC has offered urgent help to members who need compliance sheets but may be unable to log in during the Microsoft outage, as scaffolding and construction suppliers switch to phone and other channels to keep business moving.
The disruption continued into today (Friday 13 November), affecting email and Microsoft 365 services across multiple regions. Its impact varies by service and user, with problems extending beyond inboxes to account access and business communications.
NASC offers help with member access
In a member notice supplied to Scaffmag, NASC warned that members using Outlook to receive two-factor authentication emails may be unable to log in to their accounts during the disruption. It stressed that the problem was not with NASC’s own systems.
Members needing a compliance sheet urgently were advised to call NASC on 020 7822 7400 before 5pm on Friday 13 November. The team said it could temporarily update a member’s record with an alternative, non-Microsoft email address, such as Gmail, or provide a temporary one-time access code.
Suppliers switch contact channels
Scaffolding and access suppliers have used LinkedIn to reassure customers that they remain open for business, directing them to phone and other channels while email services are disrupted.
Among them, Layher UK’s Sean Pike and Damien Murray shared a message saying: “Microsoft is out, but we are still here!” Area sales manager Danny Heron said it was “business as usual”, with enquiries, quotations and technical support available through alternative channels.
In another LinkedIn post supplied to Scaffmag, Jake Evans of ADI Scaffold said its emails were not working because of the Outlook outage, but its systems remained operational and it could still accept orders by phone, WhatsApp or Viber.
EFCO UK territory manager Karl Porter also said Outlook was down while his phone and LinkedIn remained available.
These reports show suppliers switching contact routes to keep business moving. They do not establish the scale of disruption across construction or suggest that deliveries and site work have stopped.
Microsoft recovery work continues
Microsoft’s incident updates, reproduced by the University of Pennsylvania, still listed service degradation at 11.01am GMT.
The company said recovery work had improved mailbox access and delayed email processing in parts of Asia Pacific. It was extending those actions to other regions, with some users still experiencing intermittent problems.
Exchange Online users may be unable to access mailboxes, and email delivery can be delayed. Some Teams calendar functions, including scheduling and meeting invitations, are affected. Microsoft said core Teams calls, meetings and messaging were largely unaffected.
Microsoft also reported intermittent sign-in problems with its Field Service mobile app.
The Exchange incident began on Thursday afternoon. Microsoft said it was not aware of malicious activity causing the disruption and would provide a fuller explanation after recovery.
Wider disruption to communications
The effects extend beyond suppliers’ inboxes. In a statement dated 13 November, West Northamptonshire Council confirmed disruption to Outlook and email services, while its telephone lines and website remained available.
For people travelling to sites or meetings, Southeastern warned on Friday that emailed train tickets could be difficult to access. It advised passengers to retrieve tickets through their account on its website or app before travelling. The operator’s customer relations team was also unable to send or receive emails, with other contact channels available.
Claude reports two incidents
Anthropic has also confirmed problems with Claude, but its updates distinguish two incidents.
Its Microsoft 365 connector incident, first reported on 12 November, is explicitly linked to Microsoft’s service disruption. Anthropic said most requests to the connector’s mail, calendar and search tools were failing, with Claude for Outlook also affected.
A separately listed authentication incident affecting Claude services was reported at 9.58am GMT today. At 11.05am, Anthropic said it had deployed a fix and was monitoring recovery.
Anthropic has not linked that second incident to Microsoft. The confirmed knock-on effect is to Claude’s Microsoft-connected features, not evidence that one outage is spreading across all AI services.
The latest service positions are available on Microsoft’s status page and Claude’s status page.
