Microsoft becomes a sponsor of the Open Source Initiative

 Microsoft today announced that it has joined the Open Source Initiative (OSI) as a Premium Sponsor. The OSI, which launched in 1998, takes a relatively pragmatic approach to open source and advocates for open source in business and government. The OSI also reviews open source licenses, which are often vendor specific, to ensure that they conform to “community norms and… Read More Continue reading Microsoft becomes a sponsor of the Open Source Initiative

Microsoft Excel is about to get a lot smarter

 Microsoft Excel users rejoice. Your favorite spreadsheet is about to get a lot smarter, thanks to the help of machine learning and a better connection to the outside world. As Jared Spataro, Microsoft’s general manager for Office, and Rob Howard, the company’s director of Office 365 ecosystem marketing, showed me during a briefing at the company’s Ignite conference today,… Read More Continue reading Microsoft Excel is about to get a lot smarter

Microsoft’s new Data Box lets you mail up to 100 TB to its Azure cloud

 Moving lots of data to the cloud can take a long time and cost quite a bit, even over fast connections. Like its competitors — and especially AWS — Microsoft has long allowed its Azure users to import data to its cloud by shipping hard drives to its data centers. It’s now going a step further with the preview launch of the 100 TB Azure Data Box, its answer to AWS’s 50… Read More Continue reading Microsoft’s new Data Box lets you mail up to 100 TB to its Azure cloud

Microsoft launches new machine learning tools

 Microsoft, just like many of its competitors, has gone all in on machine learning. That emphasis is on full display at the company’s Ignite conference this where, where the company today announced a number of new tools for developers who want to build new A.I. models and users who simply want to make use of these pre-existing models — either from their own teams or from Microsoft.… Read More Continue reading Microsoft launches new machine learning tools

Microsoft looks to the cloud to expand its security offerings

 Ignite is Microsoft’s main annual conference for bringing together its enterprise users and IT community. It’s no surprise then, that security is one of the main topics at the event, with about almost 150 sessions dedicated to the topic. And just as unsurprisingly, Microsoft is also using the event to announce a number of new security features, largely around its Microsoft 365… Read More Continue reading Microsoft looks to the cloud to expand its security offerings

Microsoft 365 expands with new plans for schools and frontline workers

 Microsoft today announced a major expansion to its Microsoft 365 offerings. The idea behind Microsoft 365 is to provide a single integrated solution that combines subscriptions to Office 365, Windows 10 and (depending on the plan you choose) the … Continue reading Microsoft 365 expands with new plans for schools and frontline workers

Azure gets more affordable with reserved instances and new cost management features

 In case you didn’t know, Microsoft is hosting its annual Ignite conference in Orlando, Florida this week and while a lot of the event focuses on the company’s productivity apps, it wouldn’t be a Microsoft event without lots of talk about the Azure cloud computing platform, too. Among the updates to Azure today are the launch of reserved instances and the integration of… Read More Continue reading Azure gets more affordable with reserved instances and new cost management features