News


Windows Information Protection Services To End Soon

Microsoft's Windows Information Protection (WIP) service, which is designed to keep users of Microsoft 365 apps from inadvertently disclosing organizational information, is expected to end, according to a Thursday announcement.

Microsoft Teams Hit with a 6-Hour Outage

Microsoft has confirmed that its Microsoft 365 apps and Teams services were down for some users on Wednesday night.

Notebook

Microsoft Inspire 2022 Highlights: Top News and Themes

For the third year in a row, Microsoft's Inspire conference, the marquee partner event of the year, was a relatively low-key virtual affair.

Microsoft and Oracle Announce Database Partnership

Oracle Database Service for Microsoft Azure, a joint venture between Microsoft and Oracle, is now generally available.

Microsoft Touts Cost-Saving Benefits of All-in-One Security Solutions

Microsoft broke down current enterprise security needs and pointed to collaboration being the key to meeting them during the opening day of its Inspire virtual partner event on Tuesday.

Azure Migrations and App Modernization: Microsoft Lists Partners' Cloud Objectives at Inspire

There are three key ways partners can facilitate their customers' digital transformations, according to Microsoft -- and, not surprisingly, they all center around the Azure cloud.

Microsoft Enlists Nuance Tech in New AI-Powered Contact Center

Microsoft took the wraps off a new intelligent contact center platform on Tuesday as part of its Microsoft Inspire 2022 virtual partner conference.

Space

Microsoft Cuts Ribbon for 'Azure Space Partner Community'

Microsoft unveiled a new partner group at Inspire on Tuesday aimed at driving benefits and incentives toward partners participating in the Azure Space program.

Microsoft Inspire 2022: Enterprise Collaboration Upgrades on Display

Microsoft kicked off Inspire on Tuesday with a laundry list of improvements aimed at enhancing how users collaborate across the company's software and services offerings.

Microsoft Rumored To Be Switching Windows Release Cycle to a 3 Year Cadence

According to a report this week, Microsoft may be changing the timeline for its Windows OS version release, switching to a new release every three years.

Ahead of Inspire, Microsoft Promotes Dezen to Chief Partner Officer

Microsoft on Thursday announced a small reorg of its partner executive ranks, culminating a process that began when former channel chief Rodney Clark announced his departure two months ago.

Server Protections Preview and Partner Security Alerts Added to Microsoft Defender for Business

Microsoft on Wednesday released a preview of its server protection capabilities for Microsoft Defender for Business.

Microsoft Ends SQL Server 2012 Support

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it will no longer be supporting SQL Server 2012

Microsoft's Activision Blizzard Deal Encounters UK Watchdog Scrutiny

The U.K.'s leading consumer regulatory organization, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), announced on Wednesday that it's looking into the pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard Inc by Microsoft.

PowerShell Head Jeffrey Snover Departs Microsoft

The creator of PowerShell Jeffrey Snover is leaving Microsoft at the end of the week.

Microsoft Pivots on New Commerce Experience Auto-Renewals

Microsoft announced it won't block automatic renewals of monthly cloud services accounts for those with an older plan overseen by Cloud Solutions Provider (CSP) partners.

W3C Announces Plans To Launch as Nonprofit Org

Starting in January 2023 the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) will be shifting gears and launching as a nonprofit organization.

Security Gets Its Own Category in Microsoft's 2022 Partner of the Year Awards

High-achieving security partners are getting a spotlight of their own at this year's Microsoft Partner of the Year awards.

Datto Goes Private as Its Acquisition by Kaseya Is Finalized

Kaseya's $6.2 billion acquisition of Datto, in the works for two years, is now complete, taking Datto from a publicly traded company to a private one.

Nebula

Microsoft Expands on AI Face Standardization Rules and Guidelines

Microsoft on Tuesday announced Version 2 of Microsoft's "Responsible AI Standard" document, which includes a disclosed a use-case approval process for its Azure Face API, Computer Vision, and Video Indexer customers, was released this week.