Security administrators in charge of networks of Microsoft systems will be busy next Tuesday.
Microsoft on Thursday sent out its monthly advisory about the security bulletins that will be released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday, which this month falls on Dec. 13).
More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 08, 20110 comments
Microsoft plans to add a Small Business Competency to the Microsoft Partner Network in the spring.
"One of the big pieces of news that's been a large discussion on a number of these forums for awhile is we are planning on launching a Small Business Competency in the spring," said Julie Bennani, general manager of the Microsoft Partner Network, during the online MPN Interactive Leadership Forum for partners this week. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 07, 20110 comments
Tribridge, the major Microsoft Dynamics partner that recently became one of Microsoft's three Master VARs in the United States, this month acquired another high-profile Microsoft Dynamics partner: Dallas-based ePartners.
The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, combines two award-winning and very connected Microsoft partners. "Tribridge has won Microsoft Dynamics Partner of the Year awards three of the last five years," said David Willis, vice president of Microsoft's U.S. Dynamics business, in a statement supporting the merger. "Their acquisition of another Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle partner with a sizeable customer base, industry expertise and additional, committed resources will help Tribridge continue to grow their business exponentially." More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 05, 20110 comments
Senior Microsoft partner executives will give updates on the Microsoft Partner Network and take questions from partners Tuesday in a pair of webcasts.
The Microsoft Partner Network Interactive Leadership Forum will be held as LiveMeetings at 10 a.m. EST and again at 9 p.m. EST. The presenters will cover the same topics at each session, but both will be live to accommodate questions from partners in various time zones around the world. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 05, 20110 comments
I breathed a sigh of relief today to find that the Carrier IQ smartphone rootkit is not lurking on my Windows Phone (although my colleague Lee Pender has a funny takedown of the whole issue here.)
"Since people are asking-- Windows Phones don't have CarrierIQ on them either," Joe Belfiore, Microsoft corporate vice president of Windows Phone Program Management, Tweeted Thursday. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on December 01, 20111 comments
Looks like the long and frustrating wait for official Microsoft Lync mobile apps for multiple smartphone platforms may finally be coming to an end.
Late last year, Microsoft said it was working on mobile Lync apps for the Apple iPhone and collaborating with RIM for a BlackBerry version, along with working on an app for Windows Phone. All of the apps were supposed to come in calendar 2011. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 30, 20110 comments
Quest Software has most of its strategic partners converted to managed status after a significant revamp of its channel program four months ago, the company's top channel executive says.
In an interview this week, Michael Sotnick, vice president, Worldwide Channel and Alliances for Quest, provided an update on Quest Partner Circle (QPC). More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 17, 20110 comments
In the take-this-for-what-it's-worth category, there's a published report that Nokia plans to release a Windows 8-based tablet in 2012.
My skepticism stems from the sourcing. The head of the French operations of the Finland-based firm was quoted in a French newspaper saying the following: "In June 2012, we will have a tablet that runs on Windows 8." (Hat tip to The Register for catching the item and translating the quote to English.) More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 16, 20110 comments
My 21-year-old nephew was an early adopter of the Microsoft Xbox when it came out in November 2001. Later, his pre-ordered Xbox 360 shipped in the first wave, arriving to the delight of his cousins during the Thanksgiving holiday in 2005. He has a Kinect, of course, and he still goes out at midnight sometimes to buy new games as soon as they become available.
All of that makes him far more qualified than I am to evaluate whether the Xbox Live Hub on Windows Phone is a device differentiator or not. While the subject is a little off-topic for this business-focused blog, the point is whether there's anything behind Microsoft's contention that Xbox integration between the phone and the console is one of those sleeper advantages that will eventually drive adoption. After all, there are an estimated 41 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide. Make the experience compelling, and that's a lot of potential phone buyers. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 15, 20113 comments
The carriers are finally starting to invest some real marketing money in Windows Phone.
Watching Monday Night Football last night, I noticed at least two carrier-backed ads promoting Windows Phone. (There may have been more ads, but I was channel surfing -- Green Bay was dominating the Minnesota Vikings so completely that the game was almost unwatchable.) More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 15, 20110 comments
In the battle for third place behind Google Android and Apple iPhone, Microsoft's Windows Phone platform is making progress among developers, according to a new survey.
The evidence that Microsoft is edging out Research In Motion's BlackBerry as smartphone platform No. 3 comes from the latest Appcelerator/IDC survey, released Monday (PDF here). More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 14, 20110 comments
IT departments over the last couple of years have been drinking from the firehose when it comes to dealing with mobile devices in the workplace.
Known as the "consumerization of IT," practically speaking, it means employees have been bringing their own devices to work and demanding that their IT department support their use. More
Posted by Scott Bekker on November 14, 20110 comments