The industrywide push in recent years toward encrypting Web traffic isn't just for good guys.
Encryption has always been neutral, as useful to bad actors for hiding nefarious activity as it is for legitimate users trying to protect their data from those trying to steal it. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on February 18, 20200 comments
As Microsoft herds its collaboration users toward the Teams platform, Teams voice services have grown rapidly, as well. Even with the rapid gains, usage of voice services in Teams represents a tiny fraction of overall Teams adoption. That lag reflects the challenges unique to voice, from network optimization to working with carriers to requirements for provisioning users.
One early technology partner of Microsoft's on Teams voice is trying to spur voice adoption with a new partner program. NuWave Communications on Thursday launched a white-label program to help partners and resellers get customers into voice plans without the need to build up expertise on daunting voice technologies. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on February 13, 20200 comments
One of the most engaging voices in the IT channel security community, Ian Thornton-Trump, is on the move. RCP caught up with Thornton-Trump last month just as he was getting started in a new role at Cyjax, an 8-year-old U.K.-based cyber threat intelligence provider.
Thornton-Trump joins Cyjax as chief information security officer. The dual role includes internal cybersecurity responsibilities along with helping the company prepare for an expansion into the U.S. channel. At the same time, Thornton-Trump is piloting a cyber threat intelligence workshop for CompTIA. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on February 11, 20200 comments
Want to get your Microsoft partner company noticed in 2020? Submit your entry to be included in Redmond Channel Partner's RCP 350 list.
As in previous years, it's a qualitative list of the Microsoft solution provider companies that demonstrate a laser focus on Microsoft technology and a strong commitment to providing great value for their customers. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on February 04, 20200 comments
Surprisingly strong demand for Windows, partly driven by important end-of-support deadlines, was among the major factors helping Microsoft exceed Wall Street expectations for its most recent quarter.
Microsoft on Wednesday evening reported revenues of $36.9 billion and diluted earnings per share of $1.51, both well ahead of consensus analyst expectations. The earnings period covered Microsoft's second financial quarter, which spans the last three months of 2019. The usual growth sources, like Azure, Office 365, Dynamics and LinkedIn, all delivered in the quarter. But Windows, which has been more of a drag of late, was a standout in Q2. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on January 30, 20200 comments
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella reaffirmed the company's central focus on developers in no uncertain terms this week.
Speaking to financial analysts on Wednesday during a wide-ranging investor call about Microsoft's second quarter earnings, Nadella said, "We want to build the best tool chain." More
Posted by Scott Bekker on January 30, 20200 comments
The U.S. National Security Agency discovered, reported and was publicly credited by Microsoft for a significant vulnerability that is included in the first Patch Tuesday release of the year.
The NSA's public cooperation with Microsoft in defending users of the operating system marks a change from the agency's well-documented past practice of quietly collecting and weaponizing serious OS flaws that are discovered by its researchers.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on January 14, 20200 comments
The U.S. agency in charge of cybersecurity is urging organizations in the United States to prepare for potential attacks from Iran in response to the American drone killing of General Qassim Suleimani.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued its warning, "Potential for Iranian Cyber Response to U.S. Military Strike in Baghdad," on Monday afternoon. CISA is a federal agency created in 2018 to coordinate with other government entities and the private sector on cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection.
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Posted by Scott Bekker on January 06, 20200 comments
This year was as eventful for Microsoft partners as any in this decade.
As the year draws to a close, here's a look at some of the biggest stories that happened in 2019. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 31, 20190 comments
Microsoft set an official date for shutting down Wunderlist -- May 6, 2020.
The announcement presumably brings to a close the drama surrounding the task list app and service, which Microsoft acquired in 2015. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 10, 20190 comments
Sticker shock is one of the main customer objections to signing up for Microsoft Azure services. The flexibility of the cloud service makes Azure highly scalable but can lead to highly, er, scalable bills, as well.
While Microsoft has been pushing partners hard to sell Azure services to their customers for years, the company is finally also beginning to deliver the specialized tools that partners need to manage those costs across and on behalf of their customers. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 03, 20190 comments