Microsoft - News, Features, and Slideshows

Features

• Is BYOK the key to secure cloud computing?

  Amazon, Adobe and Microsoft offer it but how realistic is it to “bring your own keys?” Do you want your business to have the burden of managing and securing your own cloud encryption keys?

• How Motorola Solutions (and its 22,000 workers) ditched Microsoft for Google

  One CIO's mission to move thousands of employees to Google for Work from Microsoft Office turned into the most significant IT training exercise of his career. Here's how he made sure the company continued to run smoothly during the transition, along with lessons learned from the project.

• Why Windows 10 is the most secure Windows ever

  With Device Guard and Credential Guard, Windows enjoys unprecedented protection from malware and advanced persistent threats

• Why Apple and Microsoft are suddenly playing nice

  Tense history aside, Apple and Microsoft now share considerable opportunities in the business world. Both IT administrators and users stand to benefit if friendly relations between the two technology leaders continue to develop, according to analysts and industry watchers.

• iPad Pro vs. Surface Pro 3: Two sides of the same coin

  The pro-grade tablets from Microsoft and Apple may have some things in common, but the strategy behind them is quite different.

• 5 IT experts reveal their Windows 10 upgrade strategies

  Security, usability and support costs are just a few of the factors IT leaders need to consider when determining their upgrade path to Microsoft’s new OS.

• Are comatose servers your next big IT headache?

  Picture this. An executive at your organization gets an idea for a big project, one that adds a new product line to your company and could result in millions of additional dollars in revenue per year. The whole company is gung ho about this. The new mantra each workday is "what are we doing to advance Project X?" Cheers are sung each morning. And, of course, the IT team gets involved and spins up a number of servers, both physical and virtual, to help out the development team and put the new product or service into production.

• How tablets are changing the way people buy cars

  London is home to busy streets lined with historical architecture sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. But that same gorgeous architecture leaves little room for car dealerships, which require a sprawling lot in order to store inventory. When Infiniti Retail Group U.K. considered the possible limitations of moving into a densely populated city, it wanted to change the typical car dealership experience. So they ditched the dealership and headed to the mall.

• Why SharePoint is the last great on-premises application

  At the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) last month in Orlando, we heard many of the same grumblings we've been hearing about Microsoft for years now: They don't care about on-premises servers. They're leaving IT administrators in the dust and hanging them out to dry while forcing Azure and Office 365 content on everyone. They're ignoring the small and medium business.

• How to get the most out of Windows 10 enterprise security features

  The enterprise edition of Windows 10 may be available only a day after the consumer version, with some immediately useful improvements for business. But some of the most important security features in Windows 10 Enterprise will either be included in a major update (that you can think of much like a service pack) that will ship sometime this fall, or will rely on enterprises and online sites and services making some substantial changes to move away from passwords. That means that, as with most upgrades, getting the most from Windows 10 security improvements will require planning.

• Are you ready to support Windows 10?

  Sometime after July 29, Windows 10 is going to start showing up in your business as employees either bring new PCs to work or upgrade their existing machines. Microsoft says it has had millions of reservations for the free Windows 10 upgrade. But despite the launch date, that's not going to happen overnight.

• 10 Windows 10 migration issues you need to consider

  Upgrading to a new client operating system is a massive headache for the CIOs of most organizations. That's because it's disruptive, it impacts hardware purchasing decisions, it drains IT budgets and it can take up hours of IT staff time.

• Why the Open Container Project is good news for CIOs

  Application container giant Docker and upstart rival CoreOS have ceased hostilities following the announcement of the Open Container Project (OCP). The project will work to develop industry standards for a container format and runtime software.

• The more customers Microsoft adds to Office 365, the less it makes from each subscriber

  The more consumers that Microsoft puts on its Office 365 subscription rolls, the less it makes from each customer, data the company disclosed Tuesday showed.

• The end is near for OS X Mountain Lion support

  The security clock is ticking down for Apple's OS X Mountain Lion, which will probably be retired from support this fall before the Cupertino, Calif. company releases El Capitan.