Software Contract Solutions

Windows 7 add-on support to cost up to $350 per PC for 3 more years of patches

A Microsoft document offers details on how much it could cost companies to maintain Windows 7 PCs if they don’t migrate to Windows 10 by early next year. Microsoft will charge as much as $200 per Windows 7 PC to deliver a year’s worth of OS security updates after it’s officially retired in January, according … Read more

Cisco exec airs 2019 cloud directions

Cisco finds Kubernetes, legacy application integration and edge computing technologies are among cloud growth showgrounds. Kubernetes, legacy application integration and edge computing technologies are but a few of the technologies Cisco sees as having some of the greatest impact on cloud computing in 2019. Cisco aggressively ramped up its own cloud presence in 2018 with all manner of … Read more

Windows 10 1809 fiasco may hinder enterprise migrations from Windows 7

The delayed delivery of Windows 10 October 2018 Update could put the pinch on companies looking to upgrade from Windows 7 before support for the aging OS ends next January. Microsoft’s months-long delay in getting the latest Windows 10 feature upgrade to customers could not have come at a worse time. The slow delivery of … Read more

Cisco targets mobile enterprise apps with geolocation technology

Cisco’s cloud-based DNA Spaces includes Cisco’s Connected Mobile Experience (CMX) and enterprise geolocation technology that it purchased from July Systems. Cisco is rolling out a cloud-based geolocation package it expects will help customers grow mobile location services and integrate data from those services into enterprise analytics and business applications. The package, called DNA Spaces, is … Read more

Microsoft upgrades Teams mobile app to woo frontline workers

With location sharing, a camera module and audio-message sharing functions added to its team collaboration app, Microsoft hopes to draw in ‘first-line’ staffers. Microsoft has added a raft of updates to its Teams collaboration tool in a bid to win over “first-line” workers such as retail, healthcare and service staffers. The additions include new mobile app functions, … Read more

How Microsoft won and Apple didn’t lose

The end of the year offers a chance to compare the two companies which most strongly symbolize the tech industry through the years. These two are like George Clooney and Russell Crowe. They’ve been around forever, yet still somehow manage to do enough to recalibrate themselves for a new generation. Sometimes, their work verges on … Read more

Oracle introduces hybrid cloud solution – for its own cloud

Combination of on-premises and cloud services works great if you are invested in Oracle’s cloud. I’m beginning to understand why Thomas Kurian left Oracle to try and right the foundering ship that is Google Cloud Platform. He reportedly butted heads with the boss (that would be Larry Ellison) over a desire to make Oracle products … Read more

What makes Microsoft tick?

Microsoft has morphed into an interesting blend of practicality and aspiration these days. Here’s what that meant for the company in 2018 and how it could shape Redmond in 2019. As 2018 comes to a close, it’s interesting to watch various parties attempting to analyze the reasons behind Microsoft’s “comeback.” It’s the change in culture, some argue. … Read more

IBM reinforces enterprise multicloud growth with automation tools, ServiceNow expansion

The driving idea behind both moves is to help customer simplify what can be a daunting task – moving applications to multicloud environments. IBM is looking to make it easier for customers to move to multicloud environments by adding automation tools to its cloud services, and the company is extending its relationship with cloud migration … Read more

Cisco fuses SD-WAN, security and cloud services

Cisco secures SD-WAN software, bolsters cloud-based Office 365 application access, and offers DevNet SD-WAN development options. Looking to help customers batten down the edge, Cisco is marrying its software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) software with security features while boosting support for cloud services. Many times SD-WAN customers have been forced to choose between adding more security to their SD-WAN at … Read more