Large-scale disruptions in Microsoft 365 services, which disrupted corporate email and work tools worldwide, forced companies and local authorities in Japan to recall 1980s–1990s technology — fax machines.
Despite the gradual restoration of some cloud services, on Friday, November 13, Japanese businesses began massively using faxes and other alternative communication channels to transmit documents and confirm deal details, Dexerto reports. The problems also affected government institutions: some agencies officially asked citizens and partners to contact them by phone or fax while email remains unavailable.
In the Japanese segment of social media, users are actively praising "old-school" analog technology for its reliability in critical situations.
“Incredible, faxes are saving the situation again… It reminded me of how attention returned to them after the recent cyberattack. When you find yourself in a bind, you can always rely on analog technologies,” one user wrote on social network X.
Other employees note that even if their company was not directly affected by the Outlook outage, communication with partners turned out to be blocked.
"Previously we exchanged photos of documents in messengers, but in the end, even in our time, the fax machine turned out to be simply invincible," another commentator shared his experience.
Many users also emphasized that preserving analog communication tools is vital in case of emergencies or natural disasters — just as regular street payphones become the only means of communication when the mobile network fails.