Microsoft is planning to roll out its new service tiers for Azure SQL Database sometime next month with a new pricing plan, the company said on Wednesday.
                    
			            - By Gladys  Rama
 - August 28, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    The cloud-based service would let partners deploy complex machine-learning models for their customers in a matter of hours, instead of months.
                    
			            - By Gladys  Rama
 - August 27, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    The next version of Windows may feature a more regular update release cycle similar to Office 365, according to a new report. 
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 27, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    The traditional Windows release cycle of once every three years -- with a service pack or two thrown in -- became mostly old news last year, when Microsoft switched to annual product releases.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 26, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft last week rolled out preview releases of Azure DocumentDB and Azure Search, as well as announced the general availability of Azure HDInsight.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 25, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    A "technology preview" version of Microsoft's next Windows operating system may be released sometime this fall, according to a recent report. 
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 18, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Amazon Web Services (AWS) may be the current cloud leader, but growing competition from Microsoft Azure and the cloud price war are putting a dent on its lead. 
                    
			            - By Jeffrey  Schwartz
 - August 14, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Windows XP isn't even cold yet, but researchers at Gartner Inc. are already urging organizations to begin making plans to move off of Windows 7.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 14, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    The next version of Windows could have a new "virtual desktops" feature, according to reports this week. 
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 08, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    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.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 05, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    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.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - August 04, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    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. 
                    
			            - By Jeffrey  Schwartz
 - August 04, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Despite years of warnings from Microsoft concerning Windows XP's end-of-life, surprisingly many organizations remain stuck on the operating system. 
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - July 31, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    A Microsoft-backed study is spotlighting the benefits to organizations of using public cloud services for backup and disaster recovery (DR) scenarios.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - July 30, 2014
 
		            
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    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.
                    
			            - By Kurt  Mackie
 - July 29, 2014