Pedro Hernandez

Microsoft has added a Basic tier to Azure Search, bringing the total number of available plans to four. Launched nearly a year ago and influenced by the software giant’s Bing public search engine, the “search-as-a-service” offering enables Web and mobile developers to build custom, natural-language search experiences for their applications. Costing $75 per month—half off […]

In the second quarter, the Dynamics CRM Online spring update will bring technologies from two of Microsoft’s corporate acquisitions last year, FieldOne and Adxstudio, into the fold. “This release is focused on the integration of two of our recent acquisitions, (FieldOne and Adxstudio,) providing our customers with market leading capabilities for field service and portal […]

Microsoft today announced new hybrid-cloud capabilities in a preview build of SQL Server 2016 that offers customers “bottomless capacity” as their database workloads grow. When combined with the Azure-backed SQL Server Stretch Database companion service, SQL Server 2016 enables organizations to essentially scale their on-premises databases to Azure’s virtually limitless compute and storage with “no […]

Raspberry Pi 3, with built-in WiFi, Bluetooth and a faster 64-bit processor, was released yesterday. Not missing a beat, Microsoft announced a new early-access build of its Windows 10 IoT Core operating system that supports the new single-board computer. Microsoft is also carrying Raspberry Pi 3 in its online store. An update to Windows 10 […]

Suffered a network breach? Microsoft’s latest cloud-based data security service can help administrators prevent their Windows devices from giving up the goods. Using as a backdrop this week’s RSA Conference—when the IT industry turns its attention to information security—the software giant on March 1 announced Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection. Borrowing the name of Windows’ […]

Azure Security Center, Microsoft’s cloud security platform for Azure customer deployments, can now sniff out more threats, according to Sarah Fender, principal program manager of Microsoft Azure Cybersecurity. The company has updated its threat-detection algorithms to single out virtual machines that may be running undesirable code. “After years of examining crash dumps that customers sent […]

The first HoloLens headsets, Microsoft’s entry into the burgeoning virtual- and augmented-reality market, will start shipping in about a month, along with related Visual Studio projects and a HoloLens emulator, announced the software giant today. “I’m thrilled to announce that starting today, developer applicants will start receiving invitations to purchase the Microsoft HoloLens Development Edition—which […]

Last year, Microsoft acquired Adallom, a security software company focused on safeguarding data in multi-cloud environments. Soon, Adallom’s tech will feature in Microsoft’s forthcoming Cloud App Security product. “Today, we are announcing Microsoft Cloud App Security, based on the Adallom technology, will become generally available in April 2016,” said Microsoft Chief Information Security Officer Bret […]

Bill Gates may be on the FBI’s side in the San Bernardino iPhone case, but the company he co-founded has joined other tech giants in backing Apple. During a U.S. House Judiciary Committee hearing on “International Conflicts of Law and their Implications for Cross Border Data Requests by Law Enforcement” yesterday, Microsoft’s top lawyer, Brad […]

Overflowing with sensitive personal data and payment information, health care systems are a prime target for hackers. In October, Accenture estimated that over five years, cyber-attacks will cost U.S. health systems $305 billion in cumulative lifetime revenue. One in 13 patients can expect to have their personal information stolen, including financial details or Social Security […]

Power BI mobile users can now take a peek behind the business intelligence (BI) software’s tiles. The software has long allowed users to explore business analytics data on their mobile devices using the software’s tiled dashboard interface. Now, with a new update for the iPhone and Windows 10 versions of the Power BI app, they […]

Jim Hanna has joined Microsoft as the director of data center sustainability, a newly created position. Hanna previously served as the director of environmental affairs for Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee chain. “Over the past decade, he has driven global strategies to address sustainability issues across the company, from the supply chain to energy and water […]