Pedro Hernandez

Delivering consistent database performance is the goal of a new feature Microsoft will make available in its Azure SQL cloud database early next year. Microsoft is making  a performance-enhancing Automatic Tuning feature part of the default configuration on Azure SQL Database instances by Jan. 15, 2018. During the recent PASS Summit 2017 in Seattle (Oct. […]

Skype may soon feature eye-grabbing “living photos,” courtesy of a deal between Microsoft and San Francisco startup Swing Technologies. Microsoft has acquired the talent and technologies behind the SWNG mobile app (formerly Polaroid Swing) for iOS, albeit not Swing Technologies itself. The deal’s financial terms were not disclosed. Similar to Apple’s Live Photos feature in […]

Microsoft 365 Business is now generally available, enabling small and midsized businesses to acquire Windows and Office, along with user and device management, on a subscription basis. Prices start at $20 per user per month. Microsoft first unveiled the package, formerly called Secure Productive Enterprise, in July during the company’s Inspire conference in Washington D.C. […]

Spiceworks’ latest look into the business productivity software market contains both good news and bad news for Microsoft. First, the bad news. Many businesses are clinging to older, pre-cloud and even unsupported versions of Office, going as far back as Office 2007, Office 2003 and Office XP, the latter of which was released way back […]

Thanks to Microsoft’s accelerated software release cadence, Word now features an improved built-in translation tool that can help users make sense out of documents from their overseas colleagues. Microsoft is taking a cloudlike approach to software updates, meaning that Office 365 users can expect to see new features and enhancements crop up on a more […]

Microsoft and Adobe have deepened their cloud partnership for the sake of their marketing customers, the two technology companies revealed on Nov. 3. The two companies have integrated Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Adobe Experience Manager, enabling marketers who are using the Adobe toolset to better capitalize on the customer relationship management (CRM) stored in Microsoft’s […]

Power BI Report Server is now generally available, announced Microsoft during the company’s PASS Summit 2017 in Seattle Oct. 31–Nov. 3. The software solution from Microsoft allows organizations to store and distribute reports generated by the cloud-based Power BI business intelligence and analytics application in-house rather than on Microsoft’s cloud. The August 2017 preview version […]

Microsoft is making it easier for enterprises and database administrators (DBAs) to harness the cloud to power their cutting-edge, data-intensive workloads. SQL Server 2017 already ships with built-in AI (artificial intelligence) capabilities, as well as Linux and DevOps-friendly application container support. Microsoft is expecting many of its customers to run the database software and put […]

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update may help Microsoft and its hardware partners get consumers to buy into its vision of mixed reality computing, but the Redmond, Wash. tech titan is also working on getting more of the world’s businesses on board by expanding the availability of its HoloLens headset. Mixed reality is Microsoft’s take on […]

Barely a month out of the gate, and not only is Microsoft’s SQL Server 2017 off to a strong start, but it’s opening up new opportunities for enterprises and their data professionals to derive more value from their business information, according to the company. In fact, Microsoft’s bet on friendly database technologies that support Linux, […]