Recent News

Paragon Solutions, an advisory consulting and systems integration firm, announced it has renewed its Microsoft Silver Competency in Content and Collaboration. As a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, Paragon has continually achieved Microsoft Partner competency certification for its SharePoint expertise since 2009. Microsoft Partner competencies enable partners to demonstrate their capabilities and expertise with Microsoft’s technology portfolio.

The Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program allows intY to distribute and provide direct billing, sell combined offers and services, as well as directly provide, manage and support Microsoft cloud offerings to partners and customers. Phil Sorgen, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft, said, “To meet the growing demand of our cloud-based solutions, we’re thrilled to expand the capabilities for cloud partners under the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program. By joining the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider Program, partners will deepen customer relationships and expand business opportunities in the cloud.”

Solano Labs, a leading provider of continuous integration and deployment solutions, announced beta support for universal compute resources for its Solano CI software-as-a-service (SaaS) continuous integration platform, and invites developers to participate in its Microsoft Azure and IoT beta trials.

Microsoft has acquired Solair, an Italian builder of software, that helps businesses connect and manage their Internet-connected devices. The acquisition strengthens Microsoft’s offerings in the nascent Internet of Things, the catchall name for the proliferation of sensors and Internet connectivity in homes and businesses.

Microsoft has outlined the timetable it will use to drop browser support for sites that secure traffic with SHA-1 certificates. The move is a part of an Internet-wide plan to rid the Internet of the weaker encryption. With the delivery of the Windows 10 Anniversary Update slated to ship sometime this summer, both Internet Explorer and Edge will stop displaying a lock icon for sites that reply on a SHA-1 certificate.

Microsoft announced that its new version of SQL Server will be out of beta and ready for commercial release on June 1. SQL Server 2016 comes with a suite of new features over its predecessor, including a new Stretch Database function that allows users to store some of their data in a database on-premises and send infrequently used data to Microsoft’s Azure cloud. Another marquee feature is the new Always Encrypted function, which allows users to encrypt data at the column level, both at rest and in memory.

Microsoft is seeing immense growth opportunities in sectors such as banking and e-commerce. Microsoft India Chairman Bhaskar Pramanik, in a recent report, said that a host of companies from various sectors are either being powered by Microsoft’s cloud platform or would soon come on board. He said, “We do plan to have customers from the upcoming payments bank segment. It is not just the new payments bank but also existing banks which have all kinds of payment systems. The talks have already started with various clients. Whether it is the new banks or payments bank, we are talking to everybody.”

Microsoft held the spotlight as CEO Satya Nadella spoke to a gathering of hundreds of technology Executives, business and government leaders at Seattle. He was candid about the need for Microsoft to reinvent itself in a world moving away from the personal computer. The company is putting its software on devices outside its Windows comfort zone, building bridges to rivals, and trying to transition its empire of out-of-the-box software to tools delivered over the Internet.