Microsoft Partnering 101


The Cloud Boom and the Rise of Hybrid Solution Providers

As megavendors build datacenters to support their cloud visions, they're wooing solution providers that can connect customers' on-premises systems to the new cloud platforms.

Microsoft Boosts OneDrive for Business Storage to 1TB

OneDrive for Business clients will see an increase in their default storage capacity from 25 GB to 1 terabyte (TB) "over the next few months," Microsoft said on Tuesday.

Windows Intune Update Released, Adds Windows Phone 8.1 Support

The next update to Windows Intune, Microsoft's cloud-enabled device management product, began rolling out this week.

Supreme Court Denies Novell Its Last Appeal in Microsoft Antitrust Suit

The long legal saga between Novell and Microsoft reached its end on Monday, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Novell's appeal.

Partner Puts Price on Migrating from Exchange 2003 to Office 365

Waltham, Mass.-based Microsoft partner Exoprise is offering a free tool that measures the costs of moving to Office 365 Exchange Online from Exchange Server 2003.

Microsoft Azure SQL Database Getting More Service Tiers

Microsoft is adding new preview service tiers to Microsoft Azure SQL Database, the company said on Thursday.

Microsoft Completes Acquisition of Nokia's Phone Business

As expected, Microsoft's $7.2 billion acquisition of Nokia's devices and services business closed on Friday.

Former HP Exec Named VP of Windows Marketing

Microsoft has named former Hewlett-Packard vice president Tony Prophet as the new vice president of Windows marketing, the company confirmed this week.

Microsoft Beats Estimates in Q3 Earnings Report

Microsoft reported diluted earnings per share of $0.68 in its earnings report Thursday for the third quarter of fiscal year 2014, beating the $0.63 expectation of financial analysts.

Analyst: Faster Windows Cycle Brings Challenges to Orgs

A faster Windows release cycle means organizations may struggle to keep pace with updates for other products, such as Windows Server and Visual Studio, according to analyst Wes Miller.

Microsoft Identity Manager Coming in First Half of 2015

The next release of Microsoft's Forefront Identity Manager product will be renamed "Microsoft Identity Manager," and will be released by mid-2015, Microsoft announced Wednesday.

Microsoft Azure AD Synchronization Features Hit Preview Stage

Two Microsoft Azure Active Directory synchronization features were released as "previews" this week.

Behind the Curtain at Microsoft: Three Things You Should Know

Our former Microsoft field rep shares some insights about how Microsoft operates and what's behind the company's attitudes toward its partners and employees.

Report: Second Windows 8.1 Update Coming This Fall

A second update to Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 is reportedly in the pipeline this year.

Microsoft Reissues SharePoint 2013 SP1

Microsoft has re-released Service Pack 1 for SharePoint 2013, after deactivating the download link earlier this month.