TechNet Flash - Volume 16, Issue 1: January 8, 2014
Top News Worldwide
Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Technical Overview
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Enter the Power BI Demo Contest for a chance to win an Xbox One or Surface Pro 2
Register now: Learn about the Windows Performance Toolkit in a free live MVA course on January 23
Top Downloads
System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager
Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials
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Your Featured Content
Now available: Download the new MAP Toolkit 9.0
We are excited to announce that the RTM release of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit version 9.0 is now available. Discover an easier and more cost-effective way to deploy the latest Microsoft technologies in organizations, get enhanced usage tracking, and more. Read the details and download the new toolkit.
Edge Show: An in-depth look at Windows Azure Active Directory Premium
Senior Product Marketing Manager Nasos Kladakis provides an in-depth look at Windows Azure Active Directory Premium, demonstrating many of its new features and offering a comparison of the functionality found in the premium and standard free editions.
Free MVA course: What’s New in Windows 8.1 Security
Windows 8.1 offers significant improvements in security. In this course, Windows engineering leads delve into authentication, multifactor access control, tamper-resistant hardware, pervasive encryption, and other key topics. Take the course and learn more about security in Windows 8.1.
TechNet Radio: Hyper-V storage options from a VMware admin’s perspective
Keith Mayer and Andy Syrewicze review the storage options found in VMware and how these compare to options available with Hyper-V. They demo how to set up tiered storage space for Hyper-V and how to set up scale-out file server clusters in Windows Server 2012 R2. Be sure to watch Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, and download Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 today.
Platform for Hybrid Cloud with SQL Server 2014 Jump Start
Moving to the cloud can give your organization cost benefits and greater flexibility – and making the move doesn’t have to be scary. In this Jump Start, Microsoft experts show you how you can use SQL Server 2014 to create a hybrid environment and move from an on-premises data center at your own pace.
Automated application architecture deployment with Windows Azure IaaS
In this video, Technical Evangelist Yung Chou delves into Windows Azure Infrastructure Services (IaaS) and Windows Azure PowerShell cmdlets. He covers new cloud computing concepts, deployment methodology, operation routines, and deployment scenarios. Try Windows Azure (including Iaas) for 1 month, free.
Find out what’s new in Windows 8.1 for IT professionals in this free MVA course
Is your organization still running Windows XP or Windows 7? Learn how you can fast-track your organization to a Windows 8.1 enterprise desktop environment. In the recorded version of this live event, discover how you can enable enhanced mobile productivity, improved security, and easier ways to manage your infrastructure.
Top cyber threat predictions for 2014 from security experts
The past year brought significant shifts in the threat landscape. In this recent post on the Microsoft Security Blog, security experts discuss their top predictions for the threats and security-related trends we could see in 2014.
Understanding BYOD: What it means for your company
Senior Knowledge Engineer Yuri Diogenes and Technical Evangelist Kevin Remde explore the new "Bring Your Own Device" landscape and how IT organizations are adapting to support their quickly-changing IT environments. In the first installment of this series, they explain the benefits, challenges, and considerations that need to be made around BYOD. Download the free Windows Server 2012 R2 evaluation to check out some of the new features it offers for dealing with BYOD scenarios.
Video: Microsoft’s people-centric IT vision in action
In this short video, see how you can respond positively to the consumerization trend in IT by enabling users to bring their own devices while still managing access to applications and data.
Enabling the Secure and Rapid Adoption of Cloud Services from Forrester Research
Learn how IT pros can support cloud adoption while mitigating risks and maintaining essential controls. Download the Forrester Research paper “Enabling the Secure and Rapid Adoption of Cloud Services” to learn more.
Mission-critical performance with SQL Server 2014
SQL Server 2014 can help you improve performance speed by 10–30 times using the same hardware you already have today. You can even improve reliability at the same time. Check out this course to learn how.
Microsoft IT’s approach to unified device management and consumerization
Find out how Microsoft IT uses System Center Configuration Manager and Windows Intune to power its approach to unified device management. Take a close look at how employees can manage device enrollment and use self service to get the apps they need on their own devices.
Video: Using visualization to bring out the power of BI at Microsoft
Business Intelligence involves a broad range of applications and technologies for gathering, storing, analyzing, and providing access to data. To provide a more robust approach to BI, Microsoft IT created its own application that leverages Power BI, Power Map, and other technologies. The result is a self-service BI solution available to internal Microsoft groups.
Training and Books
Free MVA course: What’s New in Windows 8.1 Security
Windows 8.1 offers significant improvements in security. In this course, Windows engineering leads delve into authentication, multifactor access control, tamper-resistant hardware, pervasive encryption, and other key topics. Take the course and learn more about security in Windows 8.1.
Find out what’s new in Windows 8.1 for IT professionals in this free MVA course
Is your organization still running Windows XP or Windows 7? Learn how you can fast-track your organization to a Windows 8.1 enterprise desktop environment. In the recorded version of this live event, discover how you can enable enhanced mobile productivity, improved security, and easier ways to manage your infrastructure.
Events
Free MVA course on January 23: Windows Performance Toolkit
Join Microsoft Virtual Academy for a deep dive look into the free Windows Performance Toolkit. Download the toolkit from the course registration page and get ready to troubleshoot real-world Windows performance issues that can impact organizations of all sizes running Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. Register now.