Unveiling new public previews for SQL Server 2016 and Azure Media Services, plus an update to StorSimple 8000 Series

As Microsoft innovation continues to accelerate, we’re eager to put our new technology in the hands of our users as quickly as possible. Today, we announced the availability of the SQL Server 2016 Public Preview. With this release we are making it easier for our customers to maximize their data dividends with new security features, advanced operational analytics, and hyper-scale.

The proliferation of data is a reality, and customers around the world are benefitting from our storage solutions by reducing costs and simplifying their IT environments. You can find out more about the latest innovation from our StorSimple team, the StorSimple 8000 Update 1, in this post.

Azure Media Services Live Encoding is also available in Public Preview today. The scalability and agility of the cloud empowers users to build end to end live video workflows. In a world that wants real time coverage, this new cloud service is going to be a game changer for anyone that’s struggled to maintain the infrastructure required. Read more about building end to end workflows in the cloud.

In addition to data, storage and media services technology we also released SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 1, Microsoft Power BI Content Packs, System Center 2012 & R2 Configuration Manager Service Packs and the Microsoft Intune May Service Update.

We look forward to hearing from you as you try out the previews and share your feedback.