Windows 8.1 Will Be A Free Update For Windows 8 and Windows RT Users, Public Preview To Launch June 26

windows8.1

Windows Blue will be called Windows 8.1 and will launch as a public preview on June 26, Microsoft revealed today. While the company remains mum about what exactly we can expect from Windows 8.1 (boot to desktop? the return of the Start menu?), Microsoft says that Windows 8.1 “will help [it] to deliver the next generation of PCs and tablets with our OEM partners and to deliver the experiences customers— both consumers and businesses alike —need and will just expect moving forward.” The update will be available for Windows 8 and the ARM-based Windows RT.

June 26 marks the start of Microsoft’s Build developer conference in San Francisco, so the date is obviously not all that much of a surprise, given that Microsoft will want to get its developer ecosystem to start working with Windows 8.1 as soon as possible. The update, Microsoft says, will be delivered through the Windows Store.

Microsoft, the company’s CFO Tami Reller said at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston today, wants to continually update Windows to create “a richer experience” for its customers.

Today’s announcement comes after a few days of build-up, including pieces by Microsoft’s corporate VP of communications Frank X. Shaw about how Windows 8 has been doing far better than the pundits make it seem. This also caps off months of speculation around when we would see the first preview of Windows, though the first day of Build always seemed like a reasonable date.


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2013 ERP market share update: SAP solidifies market leadership

SAP Headquarters, Building 1 Source: Wikipedia

During 2012 the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) market experienced sluggish growth of just 2.2%, yet Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), financial management and Human Capital Management (HCM) applications showed potential for breakout growth.

Through the challenging times of the previous year however, SAP still retained worldwide market share leadership.  These and other insights were recently published in the recent report, Market Share Analysis: ERP Software Worldwide, 2012 authored by Chris Pang, Yanna Dharmasthira, Chad Eschinger, Koji Motoyoshi and Kenneth F. Brant.

Key Take-Aways

  • Overall market growth of just 2.2% and the top ten vendors owning 64% of the worldwide ERP market is leading Gartner to predict further consolidation of the industry.
  • SAP had just over $ 6B in total ERP software revenue in 2012, leading the worldwide market with 24.6% market share.  Oracle had $ 3.12B and Sage, $ 1.5B in software revenues for 2012 …

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Available Now: Windows Azure Marketplace Content & Tools Update

We are very excited today to announce our latest content release, which makes some great new data available on the Windows Azure Marketplace, as well as the release of our new Offer Submission page!

Are you looking to publish your application or data on the Marketplace? Check out https://marketplace.windowsazure.com/publishing for all the information you need including samples, documentation and to access the new Offer Submission page!

Also available today is BranchInfo™ 2011 from our friends at RPM Consulting.  BranchInfo 2011 is a historical database of every bank branch location in the U.S, containing branch level information carefully address-matched and geocoded by institution and site across a 5 year timeframe.  This allows analysts to focus on current office locations, and the capability to trace and project the development and ownership of branches over time.  Users can also drill down into one mile trade areas for each branch, to determine deposits and share, market potential, and competition.

RPM Consulting has also just released MarketBank™ 2011, providing estimated usage and balances of financial products and services among America’s households.  Data are provided at the block group level, and aggregated to branch trade areas and other standard and custom business and community geographies.  Estimates are based upon a proprietary model utilizing data from the Federal Reserve Bank’s Survey of Consumer Finances, and other industry data to market populations as defined by ESRI 2010/2015 Updated Demographics.

The Windows Azure Marketplace Team


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Windows Azure Marketplace Update: New Features, Availability in 12 New Countries

We are excited to announce the latest update to Windows Azure Marketplace, which brings some exciting new features, and commercial availability to 12 new countries. Now ISVs in 38 countries can benefit from the Windows Azure Marketplace.

 New Features

  • Integration of a self-publish app catalog in the Seller Dashboard,
  • Availability of the Bing API exclusively through the Marketplace,
  • Expanded offers through the introduction of Sample Data, and
  • Integration of PowerPivot.

New Countries

Currently, the Windows Azure Marketplace serves approximately 50,000 users and more than 70,000 subscriptions.

The new release expands commercial availability to the following countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Greece, Israel, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Peru, Romania, South Korea, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Seller Dashboard Integration

Now ISVs can self-publish catalog apps through the Seller Dashboard. This more direct approach improves ease of use and supports faster time-to market for your apps.

Exclusive Availability of Bing API

We recently made the Bing API available through the Marketplace, and already there are thousands of users generating millions of transactions. Beginning 1 August 2012, Windows Azure Marketplace will be the only way to access the Bing API.  Currently all Bing API offers include a free trial amount of 5,000 transactions to help you get started.

Introducing Sample Data

New functionality has been enabled that allows all Anonymous and Authenticated users to see Sample Data for selected data offers.

Sample data is a small subset of data that is being offered as published through the Marketplace. The purpose is to give you better insight into the shape and meaning of data offers, and to reduce the number of steps needed to get meaningful data views. It also gives publishers a great new way to promote and advertise their data.

Sample Data is available from the catalog and details pages of these offers:

PowerPivot Makes BI Stronger

Microsoft Office has launched the Public Preview of Excel 2013! For the Windows Azure Marketplace this means new PowerPivot integration that a broad range of customers are sure to find very appealing to serve their Business Intelligence needs. Find a data set, build a query, pull it in and add the power of World Data to PowerPivot!

Make the most of this update! Explore the Windows Azure Marketplace and take advantage of these great new features.

  – by Peter Horsman, Sr. Partner & Channel Marketing Manager, Windows Azure Marketplace


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