News


SQL Server 2016 Hits Release Candidate Stage, Gets Linux Support

Microsoft on Monday issued a release candidate (RC0) of its upcoming SQL Server 2016 database system, as well as announced its plans to enable SQL Server to run on Linux.

Microsoft Readies Office 365 Admin Center for General Availability

The worldwide commercial rollout of Microsoft's Office 365 Admin Center management console will begin in a few weeks, Microsoft said on Friday.

Microsoft Rolls Out StorSimple Virtual Array Solution

Microsoft's newest disaster recovery and data recovery solution reached general availability this week.

Microsoft Previews New Azure AD Security Service

The new Azure Active Directory Identity Protection service, which aims to ward off compromised user accounts and configuration vulnerabilities, was released as a preview on Wednesday.

Next Dynamics CRM Update Wave Coming in Q2

The next round of updates to Microsoft's Dynamics CRM product, dubbed the "spring wave," will arrive in the second quarter, the company said on Wednesday.

New Windows 10 Security Service Taps Big Data, Machine Learning

Microsoft on Tuesday took the wraps off a new anti-malware solution for Windows 10 called Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection.

Report: SharePoint 2016 RTM Set for Mid-March

Microsoft's upcoming SharePoint Server 2016 product could hit the "release to manufacturing" (RTM) milestone on March 14, according to a report.

Microsoft Moves To Back Apple in iPhone Decryption Fight

Microsoft's chief legal officer told Congress on Thursday that Microsoft "wholeheartedly" backs Apple's refusal to cooperate with government demands to decrypt an iPhone used by the perpetrators of last December's mass shooting attack in San Bernardino, Calif.

Microsoft Rolls Out Security Improvements to Azure, Office 365

Microsoft added a number of security enhancements to its cloud offerings this week, including Azure Security Center improvements, a coming preview of Azure Active Directory Identity Protection, and a preview of a new Operations Management Suite (OMS) dashboard.

Microsoft Buys Xamarin, Bolsters Cross-Platform Mobile Efforts

Microsoft on Wednesday announced its acquisition of Xamarin, a provider of cross-platform developer tools for building mobile apps.

Veeam Taps HP, VMware Vet To Head North America Channel

Data protection software vendor Veeam on Wednesday named Kevin Rooney its new vice president of North American channel sales.

Dell-EMC Deal Gets Approval from Feds

Dell's planned acquisition of VMware parent company EMC has just cleared a major hurdle.

Microsoft's Support Changes Impact Windows Embedded, Too

Since Microsoft announced last month that it was truncating its software lifecycle support policies for Intel Skylake-based client PCs running Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, there have been questions about what the changes mean for other systems running those processors -- including Windows Embedded 7/8.1 devices or Windows Server 2012 servers.

Clock Ticking for Some Hybrid Exchange 2013 Deployments

Organizations with "hybrid" Exchange 2013 deployments risk service interruptions if their servers are not updated in time for the April release of a security certificate renewal.

Microsoft Among Founders of New IoT Standards Group

Microsoft has joined eight other companies in creating a new Internet of Things (IoT) consortium called the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF).

Windows Phone Share Sinks to Just 1 Percent

Seven months after being relegated to a niche business by Microsoft, Windows Phone continues to go gentle into that good night.

Microsoft Puts Open Source RHEL on Azure

Microsoft newfound embrace of open source took another step this week with the addition of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) images in the Azure Marketplace.

Microsoft Raises Office 365 File Size Limits, Improves Auditing

Microsoft on Wednesday announced a number of improvements to its Office 365 product, including the expansion of some service limitations.

Microsoft Launches Budget Windows 10 Business Phone

Microsoft this week added another device to its Windows 10 smartphone lineup -- the enterprise-focused Lumia 650.

Hybrid Exchange 2016 Support Comes to Microsoft Deployment Tool

Microsoft's Exchange Server Deployment Assistant tool is now equipped to configure hybrid deployments using Exchange Server 2016.