Microsoft's CEO, Satya Nadella, today spoke about Microsoft and the cloud, the new Office package for iPad, as well as the Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS). This package is largely targeted towards companies and business who manage numerous devices within a network – perfect for IT professionals and those who manage installations.
Going with its services and devices approach, Microsoft is supporting competitor platforms as well as its own. Building on its device management services, the company aims to hit the enterprise market with tools to manage iOS, Android, Windows and Windows RT devices, applications, as well as content and data.
EMS will enable IT divisions and administrators to create a bring your own device (BYOD) environment. Windows Intune, Microsoft Azure Active Directory and Azure Rights Management will be packaged in the EMS. Microsoft Intune is set to support the next major upgrade to Windows Phone, 8.1 ('Blue').
Intune was presented today with a short demo by Microsoft's Julia White, showing how simple it is to migrate data across devices and manage everything in the cloud. Employees can access a company portal to view and install apps on the variety of devices, with store links to popular destinations. This is ideal as it ensures folk are downloading the correct app.
Azure Active Directory is essentially Active Directory in the cloud. Comparing the service to the likes of Facebook, it keeps everything workplace-related together with a single login. Suspicious behavior is even monitored with alerts displayed when a user logs in from two parts of the world.
Lastly, Azure Rights Management will help companies better protect secure data, build on BYOD solutions and perform other important tasks.
Microsoft is really pushing through in the enterprise market, not just with consumers and employees, but with businesses and IT management too. From Office on iPad to Windows Intune and Azure Active Directory, it's looking like a stronger, more integrated solution for business.
We're certainly seeing a new Microsoft. Time will tell whether this new approach will pay off for Redmond for the future.
