Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

Forefront Explained

One of the big new partner opportunities of the next few years is Microsoft's major move into enterprise security. In product terms, the push translates to the "Forefront" brand. This is one of those areas that Steve Ballmer identified during the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July as a "with us or against us" decision for Microsoft partners. Lee Pender delved deeper into the issues surrounding Microsoft's security push in our cover story for November.

If you want to know more about where Microsoft is going with enterprise server security, the company has scheduled two Forefront Webcasts for next week. Joe Licari, who came to Microsoft with the acquisition of security product vendor Sybari, will talk about the value and opportunities of the Forefront servers on Nov. 8 at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pacific Time. Peter Eicher will follow up on Nov. 9 at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Pacific Time with a technical drilldown. Click here for more information (Microsoft Partner Program registration required to access this site).

Posted by Scott Bekker on October 30, 2006


Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.