Many key Microsoft products reached significant milestones in 2. Share. Point Server, SQL Server and Windows Server all being rolled out alongside major updates to the Dynamics portfolio and, of course, Windows. This years product roadmap looks to be a bit less crowded, though major changes are on tap for Microsofts productivity solutions, while Windows 1. Heres what to watch for in the coming months click on a product name to jump to that section Windows 1. Creators UpdateReleased. Fall Creators Update Released. Previously known by its code name Redstone 2, the upcoming Creators Update will focus on realizing the creative possibilities of the Windows 1. This is a departure from Windows 1. Anniversary Update, which was mostly notable for delivering enterprise friendly features like added security. In contrast, many of the forthcoming features that Microsoft executives detailed during the October 2. Creators Update were aimed toward creative professionals, students and consumers. I believe the next 1. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said at the New York event. At Microsoft, our mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. We are the company that stands for the builders, the makers, the creators. Thats who we are. Every choice we make is about finding that balance between consumption and creative expression. I am inspired by what I have seen in the Minecraft generation, who see themselves as not players of a game but creators of new worlds they dream up the new forms of creativity and the expression we can unleash. This is what motivates us about Windows 1. Among the new creators oriented features coming to Windows 1. D capabilities. Microsoft promises to give users the ability to create and manipulate 3 D models within popular apps like Word, Excel, Power. Point and Microsoft Paint. The update will also bring expanded partner support for Microsofts Holo. Lens mixed reality technology VR headsets from the likes of Dell, HP, Lenovo, ASUS and Acer are expected to ship with the Creators Update preinstalled, enabling users to work with 3 D models in the real world for as little as 3. Microsoft is also enhancing the digital inking capabilities in Office. And for gamers, And for gamers, Microsoft is introducing a new technology it acquired in August called Beam into both Windows 1. Xbox One. Beam will let viewers interact in real time with a player who is streaming a game. For example, a viewer could throw in challenges to the game or change the players weapons. These new creative capabilities coincide with a pair of brand new Surface products from Microsoft the Surface Studio and the Surface Dial. The Surface Studio is an all in one PC whose biggest distinguishing feature is its 2. The Surface Dial, meanwhile, is a puck sized peripheral that can work as a normal wireless mouse or, when its placed on top of the Surface Studio touchscreen, can interact directly with the application thats currently being used similar to the Surface Pen. The Surface Dial is already available and retails for 1. Surface Studio is expected to ship by the end of the first quarter, with pricing starting at 3,0. Other features coming with the Creators Update include faster access to contacts with the new Windows My People feature, new privacy features and IT management controls, a new Windows Defender Security Center, the ability to block Flash, and more. Microsoft is currently putting the Creators Update through its paces via the Windows Insider testing program, with general availability expected sometime this spring. Like previous Windows 1. Creators Update will be free. Beyond the Creators Update, Microsoft is reportedly planning as many as twomore Redstone updates throughout 2. Microsoft has yet to confirm this. BACK TO PRODUCT LISTDynamics 3. Components. Anticipated release Summer 2. Microsoft dramatically retooled its business solutions portfolio last year with the launch of Dynamics 3. CRM and ERP functions of the companys original Dynamics products into a cloud based application suite. Dynamics 3. 65 comprises seven apps Sales, Customer Service, Operations, Financials, Field Service, Project Service Automation and Marketing that are bundled in two different editions. The Enterprise edition is designed for businesses with 2. Sales, Customer Service, Operations, Field Service and Project Service Automation apps. The Business edition, designed for companies with fewer than 2. Financials, Sales and Marketing apps. Microsoft also offers different licensing options for each edition, giving businesses the flexibility to tailor the solution to their needs and usage levels. Though Dynamics 3. November 2. 01. 6, several key components are still waiting in the wings. For instance, while the Enterprise edition leverages Adobes Marketing Cloud suite as its marketing component, that module is still unavailable for the Business edition. Microsoft said last fall that the Dynamics 3. Marketing app will arrive for Business edition users in the spring of 2. Dynamics Marketing app that was a major part of Dynamics CRM Online. Also missing in action is the Sales app for the Business edition. Microsoft expects to roll that out in the second quarter of 2. As for whats still to come to the Enterprise edition, Microsofts Dynamics 3. Cortana machine learning platform. Microsoft describes the data loader as a cloud based service designed to enable bulk importexport of data into Dynamics 3. Organizations will be able to use the data loader to upload large data files to cloud staging tables where they can perform light data quality functions, and then push the data into Dynamics 3. Meanwhile, the integration with Cortana will let Dynamics 3. Microsoft. The company did not give a timeframe for when either of these features will be released, though the Cortana integration is currently in public preview. BACK TO PRODUCT LISTAzure Stack. Released. Microsoft first unveiled Azure Stack back in 2. Worldwide Partner Conference WPC, touting it as a new and improved version of its older Windows Azure Pack product. Azure Stack was designed to enable organizations and partners to host Azure based services from within their own datacenters. Initially, Azure Stack was expected to become generally available by the end of 2. Microsoft decided last summer to significantly change the solutions delivery model, pushing the release date back to mid 2. In a blog post timed to coincide with the 2. WPC, Microsoft announced that rather than let organizations and partners choose the hardware from which they run Azure Stack, it would instead require them to purchase the product as an integrated system from a select roster of hardware partners, including Lenovo, Dell and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The decision was largely met with disapproval, though Microsoft executives have framed it as a way to ensure that customers use Azure Stack in the way that works best for instance, by not burdening them with the intricacies of rapid software updates. Freelance Software Testing Jobs Uk Birmingham.