News

Microsoft to Offer Corporate Desktop Search

As it launched a consumer search toolbar with desktop search capabilities on Monday, Microsoft revealed that it is working on a corporate version of desktop search.

"In response from corporate customers looking for desktop searching capabilities designed for their needs, Microsoft is developing a desktop search offering, built on Windows Desktop Search, for the corporate environment," the company said in a statement.

A beta version is scheduled to be available by the end of the calendar year, the company said.

"The offering will enable corporations to empower employees with fast, powerful searching capabilities across their PC, with plentiful customization options," the statement said.

The consumer version launched Monday is called the MSN Search Toolbar with Windows Desktop Search. The free download at http://desktop.msn.com can be launched from within Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office Outlook.

The search functionality comes in advance of broader and deeper plans for desktop searching integrated into the Windows Longhorn operating system and comes as Microsoft competes with similar desktop search tools from Google and Yahoo!

The Microsoft technology allows for searches of more than 200 file types. Some of the most promising file searching capabilities are of Outlook and Outlook Express e-mails, e-mail attachments, Word, Excel, PDF, MP3, GIF and JPEG.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.