Microsoft Partnering 101


Microsoft Confirms Updates for Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2

Microsoft on Tuesday confirmed that it will issue new updates for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 as part of this month's "patch Tuesday" rollout, scheduled for Aug. 12.

Qualcomm Veteran Named Head of Microsoft Business Development

Peggy Johnson, a 24-year veteran of semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm, is now the executive vice president of global business development at Microsoft.

Report: Windows 9 May Be a Free Upgrade

Microsoft may offer "Windows 9" as a free upgrade to entice users of older Windows editions, according to a recent report by longtime Microsoft reporter Mary Jo Foley.

Microsoft Sues Samsung over Android Royalty Payments

Microsoft on Friday filed a lawsuit against its hardware partner Samsung, accusing the device maker of violating the terms of a 3-year-old Android licensing agreement between the two companies.

Court Orders Microsoft To Obey Search Warrant for Overseas Data

A U.S. district court judge has upheld a search warrant ordering Microsoft to turn over e-mails stored in its datacenter in Dublin, Ireland.

Microsoft Releases Office for iPad Update

Microsoft this week updated its Office for iPad suite, just four months after its initial release.

Survey Underscores Windows XP's Staying Power

Despite years of warnings from Microsoft concerning Windows XP's end-of-life, surprisingly many organizations remain stuck on the operating system.

Wireless Industry Veteran Joins Microsoft's Board of Directors

Microsoft on Wednesday announced it has added one more seat to its board of directors, appointing longtime wireless industry executive John W. Stanton.

Microsoft Offices in China Subjected to Government Inspections

Chinese government investigators raided Microsoft offices throughout China this week in response to accusations of monopolistic practices and other, less-clear violations on Microsoft's part.

Expanded Cortana Support Coming in First Windows Phone 8.1 Update

The first update to Windows Phone 8.1 will expand Cortana's availability to more countries and introduce Start screen folders, Microsoft announced on Wednesday.

Microsoft Study Touts Disaster Recovery in Public Cloud

A Microsoft-backed study is spotlighting the benefits to organizations of using public cloud services for backup and disaster recovery (DR) scenarios.

Which Way Is the Wind Blowing at Microsoft?

Successful partners find ways to align their practices with Microsoft's goals. Finding out what those goals are doesn't have to be tricky, as long as you know what questions to ask.

Microsoft, IBM Make Gains Against Amazon in IaaS

Though Amazon Web Services (AWS) still leads the cloud infrastructure services space, it faces increasing competition from Microsoft and IBM, according to research by Synergy Research Group and Gartner Inc.

Microsoft Azure AD Sync Service Gets Second Preview

Microsoft this week launched a second preview of its Azure Active Directory (AD) Sync Services that incorporates several user-suggested improvements.

Partner Beware: 6 Pieces of Bad Cloud Advice

The transition to cloud is tough for the Microsoft channel. Some cloud 1.0 pioneers who survived to be cloud 2.0 veterans share their tales from the trenches about strategies that sounded smart at the time, but could have cost them their businesses if they hadn't been nimble.