Artificial intelligence is being embraced at a record pace, but its reach remains uneven, according to a new analysis from Microsoft's AI Economy Institute, which found that infrastructure limits and language barriers continue to shape who benefits.
- By John K. Waters
- 02/19/2026
Microsoft this week moved forward on two parallel tracks of its Windows strategy, releasing a new Windows 11 Beta Channel preview while unveiling an enterprise-focused 5G laptop management partnership with Ericsson aimed at simplifying connectivity oversight for IT departments.
Windows 11, version 26H1 will arrive exclusively on ARM-based hardware in early 2026 and is not being offered as an in-place update for existing installations, Microsoft said Tuesday.
Microsoft MVP and consultant Ben Stegink is urging IT teams to reassess how they protect Microsoft 365 data, arguing that many enterprise backup strategies have not kept pace with the service's expanding footprint, configuration complexity and evolving threat landscape.
Microsoft's February Patch Tuesday release addresses 58 vulnerabilities across Windows, Office and several other products, with six zero-day flaws highlighting the monthly release.
Microsoft's Defender Security Research Team has observed threat actors actively exploiting internet-exposed SolarWinds Web Help Desk instances in multi-stage intrusions that led to lateral movement toward high-value assets within targeted organizations.
Snowflake and OpenAI have struck a multi-year, $200 million partnership to embed OpenAI’s models directly into Snowflake’s data platform, as vendors push to turn large language models into practical tools employees can use on enterprise data.
- By John K. Waters
- 02/05/2026
Microsoft announced a leadership shake-up Wednesday that will see Hayete Gallot return to the company as executive vice president of security, replacing Charlie Bell, who is shifting into a new role focused on Microsoft’s Quality Excellence Initiative.
Microsoft issued an out-of-band security update on Jan. 26 to address CVE-2026-21509, a Microsoft Office vulnerability the company said was being actively exploited at the time of disclosure.
The 2026 Cloud Security Report from Fortinet finds cloud security teams are less concerned about whether cloud platforms can be secured and more focused on whether their defenses can keep pace with the speed of change.
Microsoft on Monday unveiled Maia 200, a custom-built accelerator aimed at lowering the cost of running artificial intelligence workloads at cloud scale, as major providers look to curb soaring inference expenses and lessen dependence on Nvidia graphics processors.
- By John K. Waters
- 01/28/2026
Ransomware attacks continued to climb in 2025 as attackers increasingly timed operations around year-end staffing gaps and shifted away from traditional file encryption.
Microsoft released an out-of-band update Friday to resolve credential authentication failures affecting Azure Virtual Desktop and Windows 365 connections that emerged after the company's January 2026 security update.
Microsoft released a pair of security and compliance updates this week designed to help IT administrators strengthen protections across Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise and simplify app governance in Teams.
Microsoft said it has disrupted RedVDS, a global cybercrime subscription service used by financially motivated attackers to carry out business email compromise, mass phishing and account takeover campaigns.
Microsoft rang in 2026 with its biggest January Patch Tuesday rollout in four years, shipping fixes for 113 vulnerabilities across Windows, Office and other products
Microsoft has begun out new AI-powered incident prioritization capabilities in Microsoft Defender alongside an expanded suite of proactive incident response services, giving security teams more tools to prevent, detect and recover from cybersecurity threats.
Microsoft said Monday that its Azure datacenters are engineered to support NVIDIA's newly launched Rubin platform, as cloud providers move to deploy the next generation of AI infrastructure.
Microsoft announced Monday it has acquired Osmos, a Seattle-based startup that uses agentic AI to automate data engineering workflows.
Microsoft closed out 2025 with its final Patch Tuesday release. This month's update fixes 56 vulnerabilities across Windows, Office and several other products, and includes three zero-day flaw fixes.