Amid disruption to email sending and receiving caused by the major Microsoft 365 outage, a survey by the Japan Business Email Association found that Outlook usage stood at 62.1%. Measures to prepare for outages, including the introduction of two-factor authentication, are advancing.
An outage affecting the enterprise cloud service “Microsoft 365” has caused email service interruptions and delays in sending and receiving messages around the world, affecting business operations. The article highlights the importance of preparedness.
According to the Japan Business Email Association's “2026 Business Email Survey,” Outlook was used by 62.1% of the 1,293 valid respondents. More services are introducing two-factor authentication in which passwords are sent by email, driven by heightened concern over security risks.
The survey found that more than 98% use email as their primary means of communication, while use of chat tools rose by approximately 11 percentage points from the previous year to 68.6%. The association analyses email as equivalent to “public infrastructure” and explains that securing alternative means of communication is important if the outage continues.