Stories by Mary Branscombe

When technology is as hyped as machine learning is, misunderstandings and misconceptions abound. Here’s a clear-eyed look at what machine learning can and can’t deliver.

Estimation, resource management and KPIs are just a few of the key areas where machine learning and predictive analytics can have a positive impact on project outcomes.

Microsoft’s Power BI service can visualize a lot more than chart data; from asking questions to analyzing the services you use, here’s how to make the most of it.

Machine learning is poised to have a profound impact on your business but the hype is sowing confusion. Here’s a clear-eyed look at what machine learning is and how it can be used today.

In technology, things go wrong all the time, sometimes catastrophically. But if you stop paying attention after you fix the immediate problem, you’re missing out on the benefit of learning from experience.

Having a digital business model isn't about online sales, and it’s not just about technology; it’s about using technology to support a flexible, connected operating model. But in many organizations, technology has outpaced process.

Going hands-free and heads-up is good for productivity, but the real-world context that you get with HoloLens can improve collaboration in profound and unexpected ways.

Do you know what cloud services and APIs your systems are relying on? And do you know how to tell how reliable they are, and whether your vendor’s service level agreement (SLA) covers the performance you need?

Get ready for artificial intelligence and automation that helps you make business decisions rather than just understanding what happened in the past.

Patching, backups, firewall configuration … when it comes to security, make sure you take care of your infrastructure before you invest in next-level tools.

Forget two-year IoT pilots. Prebuilt solutions and fast prototypes mean you can ascertain the business value of IoT quickly enough to stay competitive.

Machine learning and behavioral analytics could help you detect attacks faster – or stop them before they even start.

Forget OpenStack and Cloud Foundry: Microsoft says its Azure Stack private and hybrid cloud platform is what enterprises are asking for.

DevOps, microservices, and the shift to containers and lightweight computing environments explain a lot about Microsoft’s position on .NET, open source and Nano Server.

Microsoft’s cross-platform, open source development and devops tools are maturing. That matters more to enterprises than a growing list of free tools.