Brokers report varying levels of disruption as Microsoft 365 outage spread
Microsoft appears to finally be getting to grips with the issues that caused huge global outages in its Microsoft 365 services on Thursday and Friday, but that chaos led to its fair share of disruption across the world – and the mortgage industry.
Brokers were forced to find workarounds as email disruptions delayed closings and left lenders and lawyers unable to receive documents, raising questions about whether various industries were fully prepared for such a crisis.
David Clarke, a Nova Scotia-based mortgage broker, told Canadian Mortgage Professional his exposure was limited because he operates a personal Gmail account alongside a Microsoft-based email system, but the outage still required him to pick up the phone and clarify things with industry counterparts.
“I had a lender where I was sending stuff and they weren’t getting it,” he said. “But I was aware of the outage, so I called and we navigated it. It’s kind of weird – it was like some things got through and some things didn’t.”
Clarke said he first noticed something was up yesterday when a lawyer requested identification documents for a refinance, but never received them. In that case the delay had no consequences, but he noted how quickly the outcome could change for a purchase closing with a hard deadline.
Another problem: many professionals might not have realized they were missing anything at all. “It’s a pretty big deal,” Clarke said. “Even people that knew about the outage, they wouldn’t know that someone was trying to send them something. So it’s hard to even react to it.”
Brokers find workarounds as challenges persist
Other brokers using Gmail also saw minimal disruption, although they had to manoeuvre challenges with clients or industry partners whose platforms were affected.
Paul Meredith, principal broker and president at PMT Mortgage Corp. in Toronto, told CMP he noticed a marked drop in incoming emails even though his team is on Gmail. “We’ve been following up with clients and anything of importance by phone and text,” he said. “We’ll always do everything we can to work around life’s unexpected challenges.”
His primary concern is with enquiries that arrive during the blackout period. “I think the biggest issue here would be if there are any new inquiries trying to email us,” he said. “But they would certainly be aware of the outage so would generally call, text, or wait it out.”
For some brokers, the outage had zero effect on day-to-day operations. “Honestly, this did not impact us at all,” Taz Zaide of 6ix Mortgage Group said. “Everything moved along as usual just like any other day on our end.”
Outage compounds mortgage industry’s staffing problems
One factor that extends well beyond any single outage, Clarke said, is an industry already running short on staff. “Every [part of the] industry is so understaffed,” he said. “Everyone’s busy. So for you to even notice that you didn’t get something, you’ve got to be pretty proactive on a file to check in.”
Most professionals are reacting to emails, he said, rather than monitoring for their absence. “If I was on the road yesterday, I would have probably missed things,” he said.
The disruption extended across the mortgage industry globally. The impact was immediate and widespread for Katherine Stagg, founder and managing director of Stagg Mortgage Services in the United Kingdom.
“I didn’t actually realize how much I relied on it until it doesn’t work,” she told Mortgage Introducer. “Everything is based on your calendar, your emails, your Copilot – everything you can’t do.”
At the time of writing, Microsoft appearsto be making progress in restoring access to its platforms, although that “broad recovery” is still not complete.
Clarke said the lesson for the mortgage industry is a deeper one than technical fixes. “Things like this happen and you’ve got to be nice to people while they happen,” he said.
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