Special Reports In-depth news & analysis from the editors of Redmond

Systems Center Operations Manager 2007: Management Leaps Ahead May 5, 2008 • by Joanne Cummings With its improved console, easier reporting and service-oriented health checks, SCOM 2007 is a welcome improvement over MOM 2005.  full story

With Reporting Services, Microsoft Slowly but Surely Pushes into the Enterprise May 1, 2008 • by Stephen Swoyer An updated Reporting Services may finally be worth considering.  full story

Green Is Good for Profits as Well as for the Planet April 7, 2008 • by Fred Bayles Microsoft and its partners are discovering that environmentally responsible computing isn't just a nice thing to do -- it's potentially lucrative, too.  full story

Microsoft's Launch Wave At Full Crest This Week February 25, 2008 • by Michael Domingo The juggernaut that is Windows Server 2008 arrives this week, with a big splashy event in Los Angeles hosted by Microsoft's big gun -- CEO Steve Ballmer -- and his team revisiting every feature as if it were something new.  full story

Customers, Partners: Get Ready for Windows 2008 February 11, 2008 • by Keith Ward Windows Server 2008 finally gets released to manufacturing, marking an important and near-final milestone for Microsoft in its five-year journey to provide customers and partners with an enterprise-ready network operating system.  full story

Exchange Servers: Highly Available and Happy January 28, 2008 • by Neil Hobson "E-mail is down again!" With Exchange Server 2007 plugged into a highly available scenario, that's a phrase you'll rarely hear. Now with Service Pack 1 out, admins should know that there are a few tricks to updating clustered Exchange 2007 servers the right way. Here's a guide.  full story

On The Server Side of Terminal Services January 11, 2008 • by Greg Shields Windows Server 2008 is just a month away and one can't-miss feature is Terminal Services. In this second of three parts, a look at Server Manager.  full story

Above the Rest: Windows 2008's Terminal Services Client December 14, 2007 • by Greg Shields One shining gem you can't ignore in the new Windows Server 2008 OS -- one which might compel you to upgrade -- is the implementation of Terminal Services.  full story

Exchange Server 2007: First-Class Mail November 28, 2007 • by Keith Ward The ultimate killer app is e-mail and Microsoft's lastest version of Exchange taps into 64-bit power to drive a host of new capabilities.  full story

Are Patches Leading to Exploits? October 5, 2007 • by Jabulani Leffall In October, for the second time in as many months, Microsoft's "Patch Tuesday" gave way to "Exploit Wednesday." This could be a sign of an emergent modus operandi for those who would exploit vulnerabilities just after Microsoft releases its security bulletins, according to some security experts.  full story

Storage Management in the New Millenium October 5, 2007 • by Jabulani Leffall Microsoft and third-party vendors are working overtime to produce new storage management solutions for business. They've come a long way since the days of tape backup, and the innovations are continuing.  full story

A New Era for Disaster Recovery September 21, 2007 • by Jabulani Leffall The release of Windows Server 2008 next year is a milestone for Microsoft in a number of areas, including backup and disaster recovery. Throw out your tapes -- the door is slamming on that antiquated method.  full story