Microsoft Announces New Solutions To Empower IT Professionals

- New Windows 10 management tools help IT professionals deliver updates and features to employees.

CHICAGO, May 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Monday at its first-ever Ignite Conference, Microsoft Corp. announced a range of new products and services that help IT professionals lead their companies in the new era of enterprise computing, including the next generation of Windows management, Microsoft Office, hybrid cloud infrastructure and SQL Server.

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"No business can succeed and scale without IT innovating and transforming," said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. "Empowering IT professionals is a key part of Microsoft's technology agenda spanning Windows 10, Office 365, Azure and other cloud technologies."

Brad Anderson's Official Microsoft Blog post about the company's focus on IT professionals can be found here.

Speaking to more than 23,000 conference attendees, as well as thousands of online viewers, Nadella showcased how Microsoft is fueling IT pro innovation and success. He was joined on stage by Jose Angel Sanchez, CEO of Real Madrid C.F., winner of the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Best Club of the 20th Century.

"Real Madrid is a club with a great tradition of winning, and our partnership with Microsoft for digital transformation will help us win both on and off the field," Sanchez said. "The Microsoft cloud and its entire product portfolio is helping us change into a truly data-driven organization and to provide 450 million fans around the globe with exclusive, personalized content and services — before, during and after matches."

Today's announcements address multiple challenges and opportunities for IT professionals:

More personal computing

• Windows Update for Business, introduced today, is a new management option for Windows 10 to always keep devices up to date with the latest security updates and Windows features. The new solution will help reduce management costs, provide control over update deployment, offer faster access to security updates and critical fixes, and deliver the latest innovation from Microsoft on an ongoing basis. The Windows Store for Business offers additional manageability, enabling company decision-makers to acquire trusted software or content for entire teams and companies.
• System Center Configuration Manager for managing Windows 10, available today in technical preview, gives IT professionals expanded tools to deploy, update, manage and secure Windows 10, and will integrate with Windows Update for Business. In addition, next week, Microsoft will release service packs for existing Configuration Manager 2012 and 2012 R2 customers, as well as an update to Microsoft Intune for Windows 10 support.

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