News


Microsoft Revamps Skype, Rolls Out Android Edition

Microsoft this week took the wraps off a modernized version of its consumer Skype communications platform, which the company says it has rebuilt "from the ground up" to support, among other things, intelligent bots.

Microsoft Pulling Plug on Azure BizTalk Services

Azure BizTalk Services, which is used by organizations to bridge hybrid connections between the Internet and on-premises business applications, will be "retired on May 31, 2018," Microsoft said in a post this week.

Microsoft Surface Hub Gets Windows 10 'Creators Update'

Microsoft's Surface Hub collaboration devices began receiving the new Windows 10 "Creators Update" this week, according to the company.

Microsoft Launches Office 365 Add-In Deployment Feature

The Office 365 Centralized Deployment service, which lets IT organizations centrally deploy Office add-ins to end users, became generally available on Wednesday.

Microsoft Tests Disaster Recovery Option for Azure VMs

Microsoft on Wednesday released a technical preview of a new disaster recovery feature for its Azure Site Recovery (ASR) service, enabling customers to restore virtual machines (VMs) running on the Azure IaaS platform.

IDC Touts 'Patch Independence' Approach After WannaCry

To protect against security attacks like the recent "WannaCry" outbreak, analyst firm IDC suggests that organizations take a somewhat contrarian approach.

Microsoft Readies Its Cloud for New EU Privacy Law

As the European Union prepares to enforce its recently updated data privacy laws, Microsoft and other providers are retrofitting their services to ensure their customers are compliant with the new regulations.

Microsoft Improves Azure AD Identity Protection Service

Microsoft's Azure Active Directory Privileged Identity Management service is getting two new features, now in preview.

Report: Microsoft Acquiring Security Firm for $100 Million

Microsoft is in the midst of acquiring 3-year-old software security firm Hexadite for $100 million, according to reports.

Citrix Opens Door for Win32 Apps in Windows 10 S

Citrix is developing several new products that will work in conjunction with Microsoft services, including a release of the Citrix Receiver client designed for the forthcoming Windows 10 S operating system.

Microsoft Previews Office 365 Tracking Tool

A new Power BI tool that lets organizations monitor their employees' Office 365 usage is now available to preview.

Microsoft Tweaks SharePoint 2016's Servicing Model

Microsoft recently announced an "updated product servicing policy" for SharePoint Server 2016 that entails a monthly cumulative update model for organizations.

Microsoft Expands Its Cloud Footprint into Africa

Microsoft is significantly extending the reach of its cloud-based services by building new datacenters in South Africa, the company announced recently.

Microsoft Describes SharePoint Plans, Confirms Fall Feature Pack

Microsoft gave viewers of this week's Virtual Summit event a glimpse of its future plans for SharePoint, including roadmap details and its vision of enabling "digital transformation" across organizations.

With Microsoft Cloud Deal, VMware Plays the Field

VMware this week announced a partnership with Microsoft that would enable VMware's Horizon Cloud Desktop-as-a-Service (DaaS) infrastructure to be delivered on the Azure public cloud.

Microsoft's Cloud Growth Putting Pressure on Amazon

Despite maintaining its healthy lead in the cloud infrastructure services market, Amazon Web Services is facing increasingly strong competition from Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft Points Finger at NSA in Ransomware Outbreak

In its postmortem of last Friday's wide-ranging ransomware attack that targeted Windows systems, Microsoft put part of the blame on the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

Microsoft Lights Up Active Directory Features for Azure Portal

The Azure AD Admin Console, an addition to the Azure Portal, is now generally available (GA) after being in preview since September, Microsoft announced on Monday.

Microsoft Updates Azure AD B2C, Adds Flow Integration

Azure Active Directory Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Microsoft's customer-facing identity and access management service that launched last July, has a few new perks.

Microsoft To Launch 'Insider' Program for Windows Server

Microsoft is extending its "Insider" approach for testing Windows 10 builds to Windows Server, which will get its own Windows Insider program this summer.