Pedro Hernandez

Today’s release of System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) version 1511 represents a major, cloud-enabled evolution of the software toolkit used by many enterprise IT administrators to manage their Windows PC and Server fleets. Characterizing the new release as “the most significant and important release of ConfigMgr ever,” Brad Anderson, corporate vice president of Microsoft Cloud […]

New Year’s Day is still weeks away, but Microsoft’s band of researchers are already looking forward to several technology breakthroughs next year. Their predictions for 2016 are more than some wishful thinking; they provide hints on how the Redmond, Wash., technology giant is preparing for the IT landscape of the future. Fittingly, Microsoft published the […]

Following last month’s launch of Microsoft’s newest high-end phones, the Lumia 950 and 950 XL, the Redmond, Wash. IT giant today announced the official launch of the Lumia 550. “Sales of the new Microsoft Lumia 550, which offers the best of Microsoft to people who value affordability and uncompromised quality, begin today in Europe,” said […]

Windows 10 IoT Core, a lightweight version of the Windows operating system for Internet of things devices, runs on a variety of computing boards, including MinnowBoard Max, Raspberry Pi 2 and DragonBoard410c. The software enables developers, hardware hackers and technology enthusiasts to build Windows-powered connected devices. Now, Microsoft is setting its sights on original equipment […]

Trend Micro’s cloud security software, dubbed Deep Security, can now be managed using Microsoft Azure Security Center dashboards, the company said this week. Announced during AzureCon on Sept. 29, Azure Security Center is a unified dashboard that provides threat-detection capabilities courtesy of threat-intelligence data gathered by Microsoft. It also enables administrators to configure virtual machine […]

Windows Server 2016 will usher in Docker container support and a new, lightweight Nano Server variant. While they’re considered among the most cutting-edge and potentially transformative technologies in the data center, a survey of 300 IT professionals from management software company Spiceworks reveals that most administrators have their sights set on improvements to Windows Server’s […]

Power BI gateways enable users of Microsoft’s business intelligence (BI) tool to dig into their organizations’ data. Now, with the new beta of Power BI Gateway for enterprise deployments, IT administrators can assert better control over their users’ data exploration and visualization activities. The new software, available on the company’s Website, provides “centralized and IT-managed […]

Power BI, Microsoft’s cloud-powered business intelligence (BI) and analytics tool, is taking a step beyond typed, natural-language searches. Now, as part of a public preview, users can explore Power BI data with the help of Cortana, the virtual assistant technology bundled with Windows 10. The new Cortana-Power BI integration “enables anyone to get answers directly […]

Last month, Microsoft clarified what form its long-standing Windows partnership would take with a post-split Hewlett-Packard. Now, Microsoft and Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE’s) hybrid cloud ambitions are coming into sharper focus. This week, during Discover 2015, HPE’s technology conference in London, the companies announced a wide range of Azure-powered products and services aimed at helping […]

Microsoft and Autodesk, known for its computer-aided design (CAD) technology, are teaming up to help turn HoloLens into a part of the modern product designer’s technology toolkit. “We are happy to announce that Microsoft HoloLens is partnering with Autodesk Fusion 360 on a solution that we believe could change the way industrial designers, mechanical engineers […]

The latest edition of Microsoft’s customer relationship management (CRM) software, Dynamics CRM 2016, is now generally available, said Jujhar Singh, the new head of Microsoft’s CRM Business Applications group, in a Nov. 20 announcement. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 is available on-premises and as cloud-delivered software (Dynamics CRM Online) in 44 languages and 130 markets. “The […]

The vast variety of available software for Windows—from little system utilities from independent developers to complex business software suites—has been key to the operating system’s success. The downside to such an ecosystem is that it can be used to conceal undesirable code, ranging from nuisance code to adware-ridden software apps. Now, Microsoft is helping administrators […]