Author: Microsoft Stories

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is approaching the end of its support on April 12, 2016. Millions of businesses, school districts, hospital systems and government organizations will no longer receive security updates after the deadline. This will potentially open them up to a series of operational issues and security challenges if left unprepared. Insight Enterprises outlined a four-step migration plan for organizations to make a smooth transition to an updated server.

Icertis, the leading provider of contract lifecycle management in the Microsoft Cloud, announced a new level of integration between the Icertis Contract Management (ICM) platform and Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online and Dynamics AX. Microsoft and Icertis customers will now be able to fully automate their lead-to-cash (L2C) business process. Jujhar Singh, General Manager, Dynamics CRM, Microsoft, said, “The Icertis Contract Management platform amplifies the benefits customers are already seeing with Dynamics CRM. Contracts play a critical role in all business operations, and integrating ICM with CRM Online will drive higher business velocity, improve compliance and increase the bottom line.”

Tech Data is returning to the Microsoft Showcase Classroom. This will give resellers the chance to revisit Microsoft complete proposition for education and stay ahead before the major seasonal upgrade programs during the summer break. It will also give resellers based outside London the opportunity to benefit from the Showcase Classroom experience. The two London sessions will be hosted by Tech Data at the Microsoft facility in Paddington on 18 May and 22 June.

Balabit Inc., a leading provider of contextual security technologies, announced that its user monitoring solution, Shell Control Box (SCB), is available in Microsoft Azure Marketplace. It is listed among other public cloud security applications. SCB 4 F2 offers extended support of Microsoft Azure public cloud platform; it is now easily accessible and deployable, not just for large enterprises but for SMBs as well, within hours.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella outlined the technology giant’s vision to combine the power of human language with advanced machine intelligence. Nadella, in his keynote address to thousands of developers at Build 2016, said, “As an industry, we are on the cusp of a new frontier that pairs the power of natural human language with advanced machine intelligence. At Microsoft, we call this Conversations as a Platform, and it builds on and extends the power of the Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and Windows platforms to empower developers everywhere.”

Microsoft is all set to hold its annual developer conference, BUILD 2016, in San Francisco. The conference focuses to offer a better understanding to software developers about the company’s plan for the rest of the year. Along with CEO Satya Nadella, Terry Myerson, Qi Lu, Scott Guthrie and other executives are expected to discuss about next major Windows 10 update and its new features, showcase innovations, and announce new technology and services. The event will start at 9PM IST on March 31, 2016 while the live streaming will be hosted on channel9.msdn.com.

SQL Server 2016, with a set of cloud-first capabilities coming to on premise and designed to enable future-ready enterprises, is vastly different from SQL Server 2014. Srikanth Karnakota, Director, Server and Cloud Business, Microsoft India, said, “It is not just another database that we are launching. The birth of this product took place in the cloud, so whatever features we have added in SQL Server 2016, have already been tested and used by the customers in the last one and a half years on Azure.”

Microsoft Corporation organized a two-day workshop on March 28-29, 2016. A round table dedicated to the cooperation in the development and optimization of the IT-infrastructure in Turkmenistan was organized as part of the workshop. The use of licensed programs was considered to counteract cyber threats. Representatives of ministries, agencies and banking institutions of Turkmenistan participated in the forum. Special attention was paid to the prospects of developing the information systems following the launch of the first national communication satellite, TürkmenÄlem 52°E, in 2015.

EXIA, a leader in business intelligence consulting, data management and predictive analytics, announced achieving the Gold status as a Microsoft Gold Data Analytics partner. This affirms EXIA’s leadership in business intelligence, demonstrating the extent of its knowledge and experience with Microsoft solutions dedicated to business intelligence.

Enterprises seeking to connect to Microsoft Office 365 via Azure ExpressRoute for their productivity, collaboration and storage needs can now do so through Level 3 Communications, Inc. Level 3 Cloud Connect Solutions and Microsoft Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365 deliver enterprises a private, secure and reliable network connection to Office 365. This offers enhanced performance over connections made through the public Internet. With ExpressRoute for Office 365 enterprises can access everything in their Office 365 service, including Exchange Online, Office web applications, Skype for Business Online, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online across Level 3’s global network.