Welcome to the Windows Apportal Blog!

My name is Mike Marchand. I work in the US Central Marketing Organization and am on a team responsible for creating Windows Apportals, a Windows 8.1 app that can integrate your entire Line of Business (LOB) stack into a single, modern, touch-based experience. The concept behind Apportals is simple – introduce the same nested folder structure common in a desktop OS to the modern mobile OS. The result is a UI experience that allows the user to drill from the Start screen (composed of Live Tiles) to another mini-Start screen (composed of Grid Tiles). And best of all, because an Apportal is built out of the OS, everything that runs on Windows runs in a Windows Apportal, including Desktop Windows 7 Applications; Modern Windows 8 Apps; and Web Applications.

Windows Apportals are a feature of Windows 8.1, you can build one on your own, or you can work with a Microsoft advisor or certified partner to create one for your organization. With the Windows Apportal blog, the idea is to showcase and share technical documentation including whitepapers, tips and tricks for those of you trying to build your own Windows Apportal. Please note this blog isn’t a technical support blog. If you are having specific technical issues or need help getting started, please refer to Get Started and submit a request for assistance.