Microsofts Ascent into the Cloud

Windows Server 2016 will also introduce Host Guardian Services and Shielded Virtual Machines allowing BitLocker encryption of Virtual Machine disks. Extending and tightly integrating Active Directory (AD) with Windows 10 will provide additional security defenses against the human element. In Windows 10, Microsoft Passport replaces traditional passwords enhancing two-factor authentication of enrolled devices through Windows Hello (biometrics). Together these will encrypt data both at rest and in transit safeguarding network, desktop and mobile data.

MICROSOFT AS A DIVERSIFIED SAAS LEADER:

Microsoft, who was late to the game, has surpassed Salesforce to become the overall enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) market leader based on the Q2 2016 report by Synergy Research Group. Unlike many of the other “one-trick pony” leaders, Microsoft’s SaaS offerings range from collaboration with Office 365, SharePoint and Yammer to CRM with Dynamics. Add to the mix, Power BI which aside from being named a leader in the Business Intelligence and Analytics Platforms Magic Quadrant, placed furthest in vision.

Office 365 started out as Microsoft's attempt to reinvent their lumbering productivity suite providing online service for businesses, to run email, communications and file sharing in the cloud. As their products continue to mature and grow, our ability to collaborate anytime, anywhere, across disparate platforms while being device agnostic has become liberating.

Leveraging Office 365 and OneDrive, we have unprecedented access to meet our always-connected, respond at the moment, the culture of modern business. The authoring of this article epitomizes the agility and collaborative power of Microsoft’s solution starting with Word 2013 on my corporate Dell OptiPlex, shifting to the web version of Office 365 on my Microsoft Surface Pro 4 during lunch at a local restaurant, then edits with Word Mobile on my iPhone riding the 6 train, and ultimately penning “-30-” using Word 2016 on my Microsoft Surface Book in Central Park on a Sunday afternoon. From start to finish a completely fluid, seamless and efficient process, oblivious to technological or geographical limitations before mobility and the cloud.

With sensitive documents and files scattered across multiple devices and data centers, the threat of a cyber-breach should be of paramount concern to every CIO. Addressing these concerns, Microsoft’s recently released Service Assurance Dashboard which provides a real-time pertinent risk assessment of Office 365 services. In this transparent model, Microsoft provides insight into “what” controls have been deployed, along with “how” Microsoft implements and tests these controls. Their Compliance Reports and Trust Documents deliver independent audit statements (i.e. SSAE 16 / SOC 1, SOC 2), insight into encryption, incident management, tenant isolation, and data resiliency relevant to your geography and industry.

As employees embrace the “whenever I can get it done” philosophy, Microsoft’s collective IaaS, PaaS and SaaS offerings empower ubiquitous instantaneous access, resulting in faster response times. Information Technology departments that strive to enhance collaboration and process efficiencies predicated on unfettered access, now have a robust synergistic platform to accomplish these lofty goals. Paraphrasing Aesop’s “The Tortoise and the Hare”, although Microsoft might not have been the fastest entrant in the cloud race, with Azure Stack and Office 365 they have resoundingly finished first, lessening the impact of Digital Darwinism on today’s CIO.

Silverstein Properties, Inc. (SPI) is a full-service real estate development, investment, and management firm based in New York, which is known for developing first-class projects and repositioning older buildings.