Microsoft recommends migrating Server 2008 workloads to Azure cloud services while enterprises modernize their apps for Windows Server 2016 or 2019 deployments. This week’s Patch Tuesday marked the end of the line for both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (and 2008 R2). No more fixes will be issued for the two aged operating systems, … Read more
Even though it’s only been one refresh cycle, the changes to the latest version of Windows Server are considerable. Microsoft makes the process of upgrading from Windows Server 2016 easy. IT generally requires a good reason to disrupt a smooth working environment, which is why some hardware sits deployed for decades. Even though Windows Server … Read more
Enterprises will soon have access to Azure Arc and Azure Synapse Analytics, two new services that bolster Microsoft’s cloud offerings. Microsoft’s Ignite event traditionally attracts more from the developer ranks, but the technologies on display are increasingly of relevance to CIOs developing cloud strategies today. At Ignite 2019 in Orlando last week, Microsoft unveiled a … Read more
A broadened Cisco-Microsoft partnership promises to extend Cisco SD-WAN to the Azure cloud and to optimize and secure connectivity to Office 365. Cisco and Microsoft this week extended their relationship to make it easier and more efficient for SD-WAN customers to set up and run direct Internet access to enterprise applications such as Office 365 and other … Read more
Once again Microsoft shows it has shed its not-invented here attitude to support customers. When Microsoft launched Azure as a cloud-based version of its Windows Server operating system, it didn’t make it exclusively Windows. It also included Linux support, and in just a few years, the number of Linux instances now outnumbers Windows instances. It’s nice … Read more
Microsoft’s Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) has been added to the Kubernetes managed services that natively integrate with the Cisco Container Platform. Cisco seeks to enhance container deployment with a service to let enterprise customers run containerized applications across both Cisco-based on-premises environments and in the Microsoft Azure cloud. Customers can now further simplify deploying and … Read more
Cloud uptime is critical today, but vendor-provided data can be confusing. Here’s an analysis of how AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure compare. The cloud is not just important; it’s mission-critical for many companies. More and more IT and business leaders I talk to look at public cloud as a core component of their digital … Read more
Microsoft has truly embraced open source, in a radical shift rare for a big company—and developers should be very happy. Microsoft is perhaps the most impressive company on the planet right now. While it doesn’t (currently) dominate markets like it used to, Microsoft has managed something dramatically more difficult, something that portends future success as … Read more
Microsoft’s Azure Service Fabric gets a containerized makeover with Azure Service Fabric Mesh. Microsoft’s Azure platform services have always offered support for microservices. In fact, Azure Service Fabric has been there from the start. Initially supporting Azure’s SQL services, it’s now a foundation of much of the Azure platform, along with Cosmos DB. You’ve been able to use Azure … Read more
Starting in February, new Azure customers will be sent to Microsoft’s Cloud Solution Provider program in lieu of the MPSA-based pay-as-you-go license. Microsoft is shifting its licensing for its Azure cloud service, eliminating the pay-as-you-go option for new Azure customers using MPSA (Microsoft Products and Services Agreement) as of Feb. 1. Instead, they will be … Read more
