In the News

In addition to the use of AES encryption on the Azure Media cloud services, Microsoft has added another option to encrypt all that content which media companies choose to live-stream over the Internet. Further, customers can access the Microsoft-developed PlayReady encryption technology. Mingfei Yan, product manager , Azure media services, noted on the company’s blog post, “Microsoft PlayReady is an extensive, studio approved encryption technology that protects your content from piracy, and it is supported on a wide range of the most popular devices today.

Microsoft has announced that those users who have been experiencing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on the Xbox 360 en route to enjoying their swanky Xbox One on Christmas Day can upgrade their digital copy of the game to the Xbox One version. If you upgrade your digital version of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare on the Xbox 360 before March 31, 2015, not only will you be able to carry over all DLC and progress but you won’t be charged anything.

Karan Bajwa, Managing Director, Microsoft India, says, in 2015, organizations will adopt a mobile-first and cloud-first strategy to get ahead of competition. He says, “The biggest opportunity for us in 2015 is to unlock the potential of public cloud services by leveraging our local cloud datacenters. This will help us address the needs of BFSI, government, and state-owned enterprises among others, enabling newer business models in the country.”

Wearable technology company GOQii has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to bundle its fitness band with the purchase of three Lumia models. The company is offering a free GOQii band and a three-month subscription plan worth Rs. 3,999, along with new Lumia 830, Lumia 930 and Lumia 1320 devices. “We recognize personal fitness as a rapidly evolving segment and are committed to bring the best innovations and services to our consumers,” said Navdeep Manaktala, Head-Developer Experience, Nokia India Sales Pvt Ltd (a subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy).

Provident Housing, a subsidiary of real estate major Puravankara Projects, has managed to increase the conversion rate of business leads it gets by around 30 per cent with the use of Microsoft’s customer relationship management (CRM) solution to support its sales, marketing and customer management functions.

Provident Housing, a subsidiary of real estate major Puravankara Projects, has managed to increase the conversion rate of business leads it gets by around 30 per cent with the use of Microsoft’s customer relationship management (CRM) solution to support its sales, marketing and customer management functions.

Microsoft has released a firmware update to tackle touchscreen issues of Lumia 535 and the update is currently rolling out to selected countries. Apart from the fixes, the firmware update brings Cortana to a number of new countries and comes with stability and performance improvements as well.

The Indian government is exploring the use of third-party cloud data centres with companies such as Microsoft to form the backbone of its Digital India initiative, as it increasingly adopts cloud technology for faster delivery and looks to reduce hardware procurement costs. “There are some state-owned enterprises that are quite open to having a dialogue on using Office 365 on the public cloud,” said Sanjay Manchanda, Director, Office 365, Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Lumia Denim update for Windows Phone 8.1 made its way to India where it’s hitting the Lumia 520 and Lumia 525 units. According to the company, the update will bring a faster and more intuitive Lumia Camera app, which will shorten the time needed between shots. Denim will combine apps into folders, merge messages for forwarding and replies in the messages app and improvements such as a Store Live Tile and a consumer VPN function.

Microsoft Mobile Devices has invited young people across the country to capture the essence of India as part of its new campaign, ‘Romancing India with Lumia 535’. “Equipped with a 5MP wide-angle front camera, the Lumia 535 is the perfect companion to translate iconic spots across the country into picture perfect stories through selfies,” said Raghuvesh Sarup, Director – Marketing, Nokia India Sales. Actor Nargis Fakhri launched the campaign by taking the first selfie in New Delhi.