REDMOND, WASHINGTON \u2014 Microsoft officials blamed customers’ unreasonable expectations that the company’s software should actually function, following a massive global outage that left millions of users unable to access Outlook, Teams, and other essential services for more than a day.<\/p>\n
“We understand that some customers were inconvenienced by the inability to use products they’ve paid for,” said Microsoft spokesperson Daniel Whitmore, adding that customers should be more realistic about what they expect from a company employing tens of thousands of Indian H-1B engineers.<\/p>\n
“But we think it’s important to remember that software development is a very complicated field. People seem to think that just because we advertise these products as essential workplace tools, they should be available whenever someone needs them. That’s simply an unreasonable standard to hold us to.”<\/p>\n
Whitmore went on to explain that Microsoft’s engineering department had been working tirelessly to restore services<\/a>, although a majority of employees reportedly struggled to determine which systems were responsible for keeping the services operational or even how to power on their laptops to begin working on it.<\/p>\n “We don’t hire people based on their ability to keep Microsoft running,” added Whitmore. “We prioritize cost savings over retaining institutional knowledge, so whether they can actually perform the job is something we generally allow the department to figure out afterward.”<\/p>\n