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Microsoft has announced some important updates for its Defender for Cloud solution. This latest release introduces a new unified cloud data security dashboard and sensitive data discovery capabilities that promise to improve how organizations protect corporate data. First off, Microsoft has launched a new data security dashboard in public preview for its Defender for Cloud…

Microsoft is set to retire its Azure Database for MariaDB service, making way for Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server. This shift was announced yesterday, with the service scheduled for deprecation on September 9, 2025. Azure Database for MariaDB is a relational database service based on the open-source MariaDB Server engine. It offers a…

Microsoft has announced its September service release (2309) for Microsoft Intune with a focus on convenience and security. The major highlight of this release is the expansion of the Remote Help service to macOS, simplifying IT troubleshooting for remote Mac devices. Remote Help is a new cloud-based service that enables IT admins to remotely troubleshoot…

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBM) developed by Microsoft that competes with Oracle, IBM DB2, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and other RDBMs. In this article, I’ll explain in detail what SQL Server is and go through its release history over the past three decades. I’ll also detail what are the different SQL Server versions…

Microsoft has announced that its new web-based Outlook for Windows client is now generally available for consumers. The new app is also available to download on the Microsoft Store for commercial customers, and it will be shipped in tomorrow’s optional update, as well as Windows 11 version 23H2. In a separate blog post for IT…

In a world where online security is paramount, GitHub has just announced the general availability of passkey support for passwordless authentication. This new security feature, which launched in public beta in July, now offers developers a more secure and convenient way to access their GitHub accounts. Passkey is a security feature that allows users to…

In this episode of First Ring Daily, Brad Sams and Paul Thurrott discuss the unexpected departure of Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer Panos Panay, the company’s special event about AI and Surface yesterday, and the UK’s CMA provisionally approving Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition.

Microsoft held its Surface and AI event where the company unveiled several new security features and updates set to transform the digital landscape. With a commitment to a ‘security-first’ mindset, Microsoft is forging ahead with advancements in Windows 11, Microsoft Intune, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Defender. “As we rapidly iterate and improve technology, it’s imperative…

Multi-tenant organizations (MTOs) are a new feature in Microsoft 365 and Entra ID (formerly Azure Active Directory) that has reached the public preview stage in mid-2023. An MTO is a group of up to five Entra ID tenants linked together to offer your users seamless collaboration and the sharing of resources. In this article, I’ll…

Microsoft held a special event in New York yesterday where the company detailed new features coming to Windows on September 26. The highlight of this Windows 11 Fall update is Windows Copilot, which has been available in preview for Insiders since June. This update will also introduce new Cloud PC experiences with Windows 365 Boot…

Microsoft is gearing up to launch Microsoft 365 Copilot to enterprise customers, with a scheduled launch on November 1. The company announced this morning that this AI-powered assistant will be accessible to specific Microsoft 365 business and enterprise plans, with a pricing set at $30 per user per month. Microsoft 365 Copilot is powered by…

Microsoft unveiled its plans to rebrand Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) to Entra ID back in July. Fast forward to today, and the company has provided an update on this transformative journey, with the name changes set to be finalized for on-premises customers in 2024. Microsoft announced the launch of the Entra product family back…