10 Things Microsoft Got Right in 2015

Despite some stumbles, Microsoft is starting the new year with strong momentum in some key areas—ranging from the cloud to Windows 10—that took hold in 2015.

The Apple-like free operating system upgrade strategy worked. More than 110 million devices are running the OS, including more than 8 million business PCs, in less than half a year. A win by any measure.

Businesses are flocking to Docker and other agile DevOps-enabling application container platforms. Microsoft, eyeing an opportunity in helping enterprises float their next-gen cloud applications, has been furiously adding container support to its Azure cloud computing platform and Windows Server 2016 operating system.

The company’s user-friendly, cloud-powered business intelligence product finally exited beta this summer. Since then, a widening array of supported data sources, new visualizations and ongoing improvements to the software’s user experience are helping make data explorers out of rank-and-file office workers.

Dynamics CRM 2016, both on-premises and the cloud-based Dynamics Online versions, launched late in the year. Bolstered by cloud analytics capabilities and an expanded set of mobile and social features, Microsoft is set on keeping its CRM business on a skyward trajectory.

From Windows 10 IoT Core for popular maker boards like the Raspberry Pi 2 to Azure-backed Internet of things services, Microsoft is laying an intelligent, cloud-connected foundation for enterprise IoT projects.

Building on the success of the productivity-focused Surface Pro 3, Microsoft surprised industry watchers last October with a premium 2-in-1 laptop, the Surface Book. Hit or miss—it’s only been on the market for two months—the Surface Book demonstrates that Redmond can pump out innovative and desirable hardware.

Developers will finally be able to take Microsoft’s augmented-reality headset for a spin in early 2016. Sure, users may one day use HoloLens to zap robot invaders and plunge into Minecraft, but businesses can look forward to improved 3D modeling, collaboration, communications—and more.

Lync is gone, and in its place is Skype for Business, an enterprise communications platform that integrates a little more seamlessly with Office 365 and blends Skype’s consumer-friendly user experience with the advanced functionality and management capabilities required by business users and IT pros.

Outlook’s desktop heritage doesn’t translate all that well onto smartphones. Microsoft’s answer: Snap up Acompli, a leading mobile email client, and release a rebranded version for iOS and Android. Now, it’s considered a must-have app, elevating the Outlook brand, and Microsoft’s by association, in the mobile space.

Microsoft’s new browser for Windows 10, dubbed Edge, is fast, responsive and, better yet, it dispenses with non-standard and proprietary technologies like ActiveX that have bedeviled Web developers for years. Internet Explorer still lurks for business users with legacy apps, but most users are finally getting a browsing experience that plays well with the modern Web right out of the box.