News


New Offerings to Microsoft Defender Security Services Released

Microsoft released three new enterprise-grade security products on Tuesday.

Viva Goals Officially Released

The "general availability" of the commercial version of Viva Goals is now available, according to Microsoft. Further, Viva Sales has also entered its preview stage.

Microsoft's Commerce Experience Comes Packed with Unfavorable Terms for Partners and Customers

Microsoft's Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) partners and commercial customers might not find the details of Microsoft's New Commerce Experience (NCE) subscription model to their liking.

Tips To Get Ready for Viva Engage's Upcoming Release

Microsoft announced on Wednesday that its Viva Engage will start appearing for Microsoft Teams subscribers from "the end of August to the end of September."

Microsoft's Cloud Strength Offsets Q4 Earnings Miss

The confluence of multiple worldwide crises in the tail end of Microsoft's fiscal 2022 has resulted in a relatively tepid fourth quarter earnings report.

Microsoft 365 Connections Support Ending for Office 2016 and Office 2019

Microsoft will be pulling the plug next year on Microsoft 365 apps and services connected to Office 2016 and Office 2019.

Windows Information Protection Services To End Soon

Microsoft's Windows Information Protection (WIP) service, which is designed to keep users of Microsoft 365 apps from inadvertently disclosing organizational information, is expected to end, according to a Thursday announcement.

Microsoft Teams Hit with a 6-Hour Outage

Microsoft has confirmed that its Microsoft 365 apps and Teams services were down for some users on Wednesday night.

Notebook

Microsoft Inspire 2022 Highlights: Top News and Themes

For the third year in a row, Microsoft's Inspire conference, the marquee partner event of the year, was a relatively low-key virtual affair.

Microsoft and Oracle Announce Database Partnership

Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure, a joint venture between Microsoft and Oracle, is now generally available.

Microsoft Touts Cost-Saving Benefits of All-in-One Security Solutions

Microsoft broke down current enterprise security needs and pointed to collaboration being the key to meeting them during the opening day of its Inspire virtual partner event on Tuesday.

Azure Migrations and App Modernization: Microsoft Lists Partners' Cloud Objectives at Inspire

There are three key ways partners can facilitate their customers' digital transformations, according to Microsoft -- and, not surprisingly, they all center around the Azure cloud.

Microsoft Enlists Nuance Tech in New AI-Powered Contact Center

Microsoft took the wraps off a new intelligent contact center platform on Tuesday as part of its Microsoft Inspire 2022 virtual partner conference.

Space

Microsoft Cuts Ribbon for 'Azure Space Partner Community'

Microsoft unveiled a new partner group at Inspire on Tuesday aimed at driving benefits and incentives toward partners participating in the Azure Space program.

Microsoft Inspire 2022: Enterprise Collaboration Upgrades on Display

Microsoft kicked off Inspire on Tuesday with a laundry list of improvements aimed at enhancing how users collaborate across the company's software and services offerings.

Microsoft Rumored To Be Switching Windows Release Cycle to a 3 Year Cadence

According to a report this week, Microsoft may be changing the timeline for its Windows OS version release, switching to a new release every three years.

Ahead of Inspire, Microsoft Promotes Dezen to Chief Partner Officer

Microsoft on Thursday announced a small reorg of its partner executive ranks, culminating a process that began when former channel chief Rodney Clark announced his departure two months ago.

Server Protections Preview and Partner Security Alerts Added to Microsoft Defender for Business

Microsoft on Wednesday released a preview of its server protection capabilities for Microsoft Defender for Business.

Microsoft Ends SQL Server 2012 Support

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it will no longer be supporting SQL Server 2012

Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Deal Encounters UK Watchdog Scrutiny

The U.K.'s leading consumer regulatory organization, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), announced on Wednesday that it's looking into the pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc by Microsoft.