Updated: 10 mobile device management solutions to choose from

Introduction and MDM solutions 1 to 5

Note: Our best MDM solutions round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in June 2014.

As the rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has become an unstoppable force across the business landscape, managing what can be a host of mobile devices is now critical to every enterprise.

With an expanding fleet of mobile devices, businesses need a platform that enables high levels of oversight and solid data protection. An MDM (Mobile Device Management) system is now vital.

Before you choose, take a look at our selections for the top ten leading MDM solutions, and the reasoning behind why we picked them.

• You may also want to read our feature on how to manage mobile devices across your business

1. VMware AirWatch

AirWatch has continued to gain market share and reputation as one of the top MDM systems available. This is an enterprise-level EMM (Enterprise Mobile Management) solution that can handle large numbers of devices with varying operating systems.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant 2016 places AirWatch as a leader in this sector pointing to its ease of setup and intuitive management interface. Once each device has its appropriate app installed it can then join the secure cloud of control that AirWatch can manage. The structured low-start pricing scheme is also highly attractive enabling organisations to scale MDM support as they grow.

2. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 12 (BES 12)

BlackBerry simply refuses to die in the face of the iPhone and Android onslaught. Still massively popular in specific sectors such as government, BlackBerries continue to demand the loyalty that only Apple can match.

With BES 12, Blackberry has understood that customers need to manage a mixed mobile device environment. Multi-platform support is now catered for, but of course the core features speak to BlackBerry stalwarts with rock-solid support continuing for its trusted network. BES may not have the bells and whistles of AirWatch for instance, but for BlackBerry-dominated businesses it is a must-have upgrade.

3. MaaS360

IBM stepped into the MDM market with the acquisition of Fiberlink Communications two years ago. Since then, IBM has been improving this product and with a low entry point for device deployment it has been gaining market share. Watch out, though, for the hike in price when some of the add-on features are enabled. Other MDM platforms have some of these as standard out of the box.

IBM's long history with enterprise security is clearly evident with MaaS360. If you are looking for a very low-cost offering on which to build your MDM platform, no one has ever got fired buying IBM.

4. MobileIron

A good MDM should not add another layer of complexity to a business. The fast and seamless addition of new devices should be at the core of its features – and MobileIron offers just this level of functionality.

The MobileIron Core is where application priorities can be set. MobileIron Sentry is where secure gateways can be implemented, including VPN connections. Security policies can be easily enforced, with any device that has been jailbroken rejected by the MDM system.

With multiple OS support and a growing ecosystem of third-party applications to extend the MDM's capabilities, MobileIron's Apps@Work, Docs@Work and Web@Work offer a dynamic system that any size of business can easily integrate into their operations.

5. Citrix XenMobile

XenMobile is another highlight in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management Suites. The platform has low starting costs along with deep integration, even if this does require using the company's own Citrix Worx apps. This does, however, mean that businesses can gain a high level of security across their mobile applications.

If native apps tied to a particular OS are not a priority, the Citrix ecosystem coupled with its strong security-focused MDM could be a fast and easy purchase for businesses looking to solve any BYOD headache they currently have. And with a detailed and comprehensive management console, organisations can buy the vast experience with mobile connectivity Citrix has been developing for decades.

MDM solutions 6 to 10

6. SAP Afaria

This MDM is approaching 20 years old. Afaria has continued to evolve as mobile platforms and their operating systems have expanded. The ease with which a mixed OS environment can be managed has won it much praise. A fast deployment of updates to mobile apps, and a deep interrogation of devices that may be jailbroken, gives its users peace of mind where security is concerned.

Add on SAP Mobile App Protection by Mocana to manage high-level security for app development, and Afaria is more than simply an MDM solution, but a suite of services that can reach far beyond merely securing a BYOD workspace.

7. Mobile Device Manager Plus

ManageEngine offers a range of tools within its MDM suite. Owned by Zoho, users of its office applications will appreciate the simplicity on offer here. This MDM doesn't have the bells and whistles of AirWatch for instance, but if you need to manage a small group of mobile devices, it's a great entry-level MDM to try. Also the very low price per device makes Manager Plus a highly competitive and attractive package for micro-businesses that need to take more control of their digital security.

8. Microsoft Intune

Microsoft has embraced the unique capabilities of the cloud with its MDM – and Intune also offers comprehensive mobile application management. Windows, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android are all fully supported. Microsoft also doesn't forget its heritage with support for desktop and mobile PCs via its System Centre Configuration Manager – you can further enhance your ability to manage PCs, Macs, and UNIX/Linux servers, as well as mobile devices, all from a single management console.

Intune is also a component of Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) consisting of Intune itself and Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium with Microsoft Azure Rights Management. If your business needs large-scale MDM with additional services, Intune is more than capable.

9. SOTI MobiControl

With a history that stretches back to 2004, the basis for this MDM was a Windows PC/CE management tool. Since then, the tool has evolved to its present form. Included in MobiControl are concepts that will be familiar to Windows IT specialists including group privileges and tight integration with the Windows ecosystem.

The features on offer are comprehensive. Express Enrolment allows devices to be preconfigured before deployment. Geo-awareness and geo-fencing capabilities are available, content being secured with SOTI Surf, Content Library and Hub.

10. SimplySecure

Beachhead Solutions has developed its SimplySecure MDM offering to be easy to set up and manage. Businesses of all sizes can include a range of devices within their MDM environment and ensure high levels of policy control, security and visibility, particularly of mobile devices (which can include portable storage devices as well as phones and tablets).

Completely OS agnostic, SimplySecure boasts a full set of features including admin and password management, encryption and remote data wiping. It's not the cheapest way to buy an MDM, but the modular approach to features does ensure this service can grow as your business expands.

• Also see why new privacy fears were recently raised concerning BYOD management

http://ift.tt/2dBokV3

Downloads: Download of the day: AOMEI Backupper Standard

Download of the day: AOMEI Backupper Standard

A virus infection, a drive crash, theft, a carelessly-placed cup of coffee – there are so many ways your valuable data can be lost or damaged, it's essential to have a backup routine in place.

Making backups can be a real chore, but AOMEI Backupper Standard is incredibly straightforward, and so well designed that even a complete novice will have their whole system and files safely saved in no time, with a regular schedule to make sure it's all kept up to date.

Why you need it

AOMEI Backupper Standard can back up your entire Windows system as an ISO file, or disc image, which you can burn to a bootable DVD or CD using a free app like ImgBurn. If you find that your system becomes unstable, or you can't load Windows, just boot from this disc to restore your system to a stable state. It's more reliable than Windows' own System Restore option, and you won't need to reinstall your operating system, settings and programs from scratch.

You can also use AOMEI Backupper to back up your files. There are three types of file backup available:

• Full, which makes a complete copy of all the selected data.
• Differential, which makes a copy of all the data that has been added or changed since the last full backup.
• Incremental, which makes a copy of the data that has been added or changed since the last backup – whether that backup was full or incremental.

To restore your files, you'll need the last full backup, as well as either the most recent differential backup, or all incremental backups.

With AOMEI Backupper Standard, you can schedule regular backups of your most commonly used files or directories, and save the backups in a location of your choice. Then, if disaster strikes, you can use the software to restore them all with just a couple of clicks. AOMEI Backupper can test the integrity of your backups once they're complete, and can shut down your PC automatically once it's finished.

There are many free backup tools around, but you'd be hard-pressed to find one that's easier to use than AOMEI Backupper Standard. Just set it and forget it.

Key features

• ISO and file backups
• Easy set-and-forget configuration
• Automatic scheduled backups
• Event-triggered backups

Works on

Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10

Price

AOMEI Backupper Standard – Free

AOMEI Backupper Professional – US$49.95 (about £40, AU$65)

http://ift.tt/2dmzlKp

Updated: 10 mobile device management solutions to choose from

Introduction and MDM solutions 1 to 5

Note: Our best MDM solutions round-up has been fully updated. This feature was first published in June 2014.

As the rise of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has become an unstoppable force across the business landscape, managing what can be a host of mobile devices is now critical to every enterprise.

With an expanding fleet of mobile devices, businesses need a platform that enables high levels of oversight and solid data protection. An MDM (Mobile Device Management) system is now vital.

Before you choose, take a look at our selections for the top ten leading MDM solutions, and the reasoning behind why we picked them.

• You may also want to read our feature on how to manage mobile devices across your business

1. VMware AirWatch

AirWatch has continued to gain market share and reputation as one of the top MDM systems available. This is an enterprise-level EMM (Enterprise Mobile Management) solution that can handle large numbers of devices with varying operating systems.

Gartner's Magic Quadrant 2016 places AirWatch as a leader in this sector pointing to its ease of setup and intuitive management interface. Once each device has its appropriate app installed it can then join the secure cloud of control that AirWatch can manage. The structured low-start pricing scheme is also highly attractive enabling organisations to scale MDM support as they grow.

2. BlackBerry Enterprise Service 12 (BES 12)

BlackBerry simply refuses to die in the face of the iPhone and Android onslaught. Still massively popular in specific sectors such as government, BlackBerries continue to demand the loyalty that only Apple can match.

With BES 12, Blackberry has understood that customers need to manage a mixed mobile device environment. Multi-platform support is now catered for, but of course the core features speak to BlackBerry stalwarts with rock-solid support continuing for its trusted network. BES may not have the bells and whistles of AirWatch for instance, but for BlackBerry-dominated businesses it is a must-have upgrade.

3. MaaS360

IBM stepped into the MDM market with the acquisition of Fiberlink Communications two years ago. Since then, IBM has been improving this product and with a low entry point for device deployment it has been gaining market share. Watch out, though, for the hike in price when some of the add-on features are enabled. Other MDM platforms have some of these as standard out of the box.

IBM's long history with enterprise security is clearly evident with MaaS360. If you are looking for a very low-cost offering on which to build your MDM platform, no one has ever got fired buying IBM.

4. MobileIron

A good MDM should not add another layer of complexity to a business. The fast and seamless addition of new devices should be at the core of its features – and MobileIron offers just this level of functionality.

The MobileIron Core is where application priorities can be set. MobileIron Sentry is where secure gateways can be implemented, including VPN connections. Security policies can be easily enforced, with any device that has been jailbroken rejected by the MDM system.

With multiple OS support and a growing ecosystem of third-party applications to extend the MDM's capabilities, MobileIron's Apps@Work, Docs@Work and Web@Work offer a dynamic system that any size of business can easily integrate into their operations.

5. Citrix XenMobile

XenMobile is another highlight in the Leaders Quadrant of the 2016 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Mobility Management Suites. The platform has low starting costs along with deep integration, even if this does require using the company's own Citrix Worx apps. This does, however, mean that businesses can gain a high level of security across their mobile applications.

If native apps tied to a particular OS are not a priority, the Citrix ecosystem coupled with its strong security-focused MDM could be a fast and easy purchase for businesses looking to solve any BYOD headache they currently have. And with a detailed and comprehensive management console, organisations can buy the vast experience with mobile connectivity Citrix has been developing for decades.

MDM solutions 6 to 10

6. SAP Afaria

This MDM is approaching 20 years old. Afaria has continued to evolve as mobile platforms and their operating systems have expanded. The ease with which a mixed OS environment can be managed has won it much praise. A fast deployment of updates to mobile apps, and a deep interrogation of devices that may be jailbroken, gives its users peace of mind where security is concerned.

Add on SAP Mobile App Protection by Mocana to manage high-level security for app development, and Afaria is more than simply an MDM solution, but a suite of services that can reach far beyond merely securing a BYOD workspace.

7. Mobile Device Manager Plus

ManageEngine offers a range of tools within its MDM suite. Owned by Zoho, users of its office applications will appreciate the simplicity on offer here. This MDM doesn't have the bells and whistles of AirWatch for instance, but if you need to manage a small group of mobile devices, it's a great entry-level MDM to try. Also the very low price per device makes Manager Plus a highly competitive and attractive package for micro-businesses that need to take more control of their digital security.

8. Microsoft Intune

Microsoft has embraced the unique capabilities of the cloud with its MDM – and Intune also offers comprehensive mobile application management. Windows, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android are all fully supported. Microsoft also doesn't forget its heritage with support for desktop and mobile PCs via its System Centre Configuration Manager – you can further enhance your ability to manage PCs, Macs, and UNIX/Linux servers, as well as mobile devices, all from a single management console.

Intune is also a component of Microsoft's Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) consisting of Intune itself and Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium with Microsoft Azure Rights Management. If your business needs large-scale MDM with additional services, Intune is more than capable.

9. SOTI MobiControl

With a history that stretches back to 2004, the basis for this MDM was a Windows PC/CE management tool. Since then, the tool has evolved to its present form. Included in MobiControl are concepts that will be familiar to Windows IT specialists including group privileges and tight integration with the Windows ecosystem.

The features on offer are comprehensive. Express Enrolment allows devices to be preconfigured before deployment. Geo-awareness and geo-fencing capabilities are available, content being secured with SOTI Surf, Content Library and Hub.

10. SimplySecure

Beachhead Solutions has developed its SimplySecure MDM offering to be easy to set up and manage. Businesses of all sizes can include a range of devices within their MDM environment and ensure high levels of policy control, security and visibility, particularly of mobile devices (which can include portable storage devices as well as phones and tablets).

Completely OS agnostic, SimplySecure boasts a full set of features including admin and password management, encryption and remote data wiping. It's not the cheapest way to buy an MDM, but the modular approach to features does ensure this service can grow as your business expands.

• Also see why new privacy fears were recently raised concerning BYOD management

http://ift.tt/2dBokV3

If you've been having Netflix problems this weekend, you're not alone

Downloads: Download of the day: WriteMonkey

Download of the day: WriteMonkey

When you really need to get down to some work, distractions like social media alerts and email notifications make it all too easy to procrastinate. Even with the best will in the world, they can easily eat up hours of your valuable time.

That's why you need WriteMonkey – a simple but very effective text editor that blocks out everything except the page you're working on. Theres no unnecessary clutter like toolbars, and if you need to look something up online, you can do so with a quick keyboard shortcut and then close the small browser window immediately once you've finished.

Why you need it

Upon starting WriteMonkey, you'll be struck by its minimal design – it automatically opens in full-screen mode, so there are no tantalizing browser windows begging to be clicked, and there aren't even any toolbars or icons to distract your attention. There's just a blinking cursor and a blank page waiting for you to get cracking on that important document.

WriteMonkey isn't without its tricks though – all designed to help you work more efficiently. Clicking the word 'Scratch' at the bottom of the page opens a convenient notepad where you can jot down thoughts as you work, and you can save it as a separate document for future reference.

Right-clicking anywhere in WriteMonkey opens a menu of carefully curated tools, including one that enables you to select a word and quickly look it up on Google Images, Wikipedia, About.com or various other sites without the distraction that comes with accessing your regular web browser with its attention-sapping bookmarks and favorites.

You can also tag certain parts of your document for quick access later, set timers and track your progress so far. The timer is particularly useful in combination with the Pomodoro Technique, which helps you get more done by interspersing periods of intense work with regularly scheduled breaks.

Give WriteMonkey a try – you'll be amazed how much more productive you can be.

Key features

• Completely clutter-free full-screen text editor
• One-click word lookup tool
• Fully customizable keyboard shortcuts
• Timer and progress tracker

Works on

Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10

Price

Free

http://ift.tt/2dHA2hp

Here is the 'cloud OS' that Microsoft built to run on your servers

Introduction and strains on IT

Whether you want the servers we're all familiar with or a computing platform that looks more like the cloud, Windows Server 2016 can do that, Jeffrey Snover, the architect behind both Windows Server and the new hybrid cloud Azure Stack, told Techradar Pro.

When CEO Satya Nadella sent the Windows Server team out to talk to customers, they asked what users were worried about and the answers were very consistent, says Snover. "There were too many stories about getting hacked and not knowing about it for months. Security has become a CEO concern."

Hybrid cloud also came up frequently, as something businesses see as a strategic direction for the next one to three years. "Customers told us they want the benefits of public cloud in their own data centres; they want the speed and the agility of PaaS services," he told us.

A lot of that interest is driven by the tensions around technology that leads to shadow IT. "They want us to help them solve the problem of shadow IT. Developers and business leaders need to get things done – if IT can't help, they move around them and they set up problematic shadow IT."

Pulled in different directions

The problem isn't unhelpful IT departments so much as the way that IT is being pulled in two directions, Snover explains. "They have to provide secure IT resources so people can get their jobs done, and they've also got to support business agility and innovation; they want to figure out how to use IT to drive their business forward." He cites studies that say in 2017 more than half of the budget that used to go to IT will be spent outside of formal IT departments, going on public cloud and shadow IT.

Hybrid cloud like Azure Stack – based on Windows Server 2016 – lets them dip their toe in the water, building apps that can run there, or on Azure. "They want to be able to decide whether they're going to run a workload on-premise or in the cloud; they want the deployment flexibility to go where is right for them."

Snover also claims many customers who are asking for hybrid cloud using Windows Server have been trying alternatives and have been disappointed. "They want the right to get it wrong. People are feeling they're building the wrong things. When you find out you're on the wrong road, you need to turn around, no matter how much progress you've made – people have the sense that they're on the wrong road.

"We hear this a lot with OpenStack. Customers say to us, 'now we've got a bunch of people who are experts in GitHub and open source but how does this help us sell more cars? Is this really moving our business forward?'"

Servers, data centres and clouds

Hybrid cloud isn't the only thing you can use Windows Server 2016 for, Snover points out. "If you still need to have a server you can walk up to and manage directly, with Windows Server 2016 there will be a bunch of people that will still do that."

Over the years, Windows Server has evolved from a single server for the office to enterprise networks and data centres, and Snover says the new version is still a good solution for all of that. "If you want a server with the full desktop client experience on a single box [you can do that]. The server you walk up to has the full Windows client experience and we see this being used for very small customers and RDP scenarios.

"We've still invested in the enterprise era servers with improvements for Active Directory and data centres. Server Core is where you'll run your existing headless workloads. You can take your existing apps and they'll just get better because they're running on an operating system that's more secure than it used to be.

"Then you can take those apps and with a little bit of work you can adapt them to use new technologies like containers. But we've also spent a lot of time supporting cloud native applications. The new scenario we've lit up is cloud."

He continues: "Is everybody ready to move to cloud? The answer of course is no, only some are ready to move. But what we've seen is that each of these new eras of server didn't replace the previous eras – each time they started out a new market and that grew."

DevOps models

Containers are a way to move to the increasingly popular DevOps approach. "There are two DevOps models," Snover points out, "and the traditional model has nothing to do with containers. What containers do is enable a refinement of the DevOps model where a bunch of things that used to be done on the live system by the ops team after deployment is now being done by developers in the lab, so change happens further upstream and gets pushed out."

Snover also notes that you shouldn't judge containers by the performance in technical previews of Windows Server. "When we first did containers, the performance was terrible. But then the Windows engineering DNA kicked in and week after week we could see the numbers come down." A container will start in less than a second, he says, and Nano Server itself boots in about two and a half seconds (for comparison, a Windows Server 2012 R2 system can take around ten minutes).

Windows Server 2016 customers are getting the advantage of what Microsoft learned running Azure. Take the changes in Hyper-V: "It used to be that in each release we would match VMware," says Snover. "Now we're not so up on that because we're driven by Azure."

Microsoft also learned a lot by building the Cloud Platform System, pre-built hardware running Azure Pack for private cloud. "We learned how to make sure this runs with low maintenance and low friction. A rolling cluster upgrade was a very hard thing to do; now you can easily patch and upgrade the system and maintain service availability," Snover noted.

The server that cloud built

"Windows Server 2016 takes a lot of the innovation we got from running Azure and makes that cloud innovation mainstream," Snover says. "Today we see a lot of failure in cloud and the people who are successful are the high priests of technology. We're going to take that and mainstream that and do 'cloud for the masses'.

"If you want complete control over your environment, if you want to pick your hardware and run it however you want, if you need unique 'snowflake' servers, Windows Server 2016 is awesome for that too."

• We round up everything you need to know about Windows Server 2016

http://ift.tt/2cIKLpL

Here is the 'cloud OS' that Microsoft built to run on your servers

Introduction and strains on IT

Whether you want the servers we're all familiar with or a computing platform that looks more like the cloud, Windows Server 2016 can do that, Jeffrey Snover, the architect behind both Windows Server and the new hybrid cloud Azure Stack, told Techradar Pro.

When CEO Satya Nadella sent the Windows Server team out to talk to customers, they asked what users were worried about and the answers were very consistent, says Snover. "There were too many stories about getting hacked and not knowing about it for months. Security has become a CEO concern."

Hybrid cloud also came up frequently, as something businesses see as a strategic direction for the next one to three years. "Customers told us they want the benefits of public cloud in their own data centres; they want the speed and the agility of PaaS services," he told us.

A lot of that interest is driven by the tensions around technology that leads to shadow IT. "They want us to help them solve the problem of shadow IT. Developers and business leaders need to get things done – if IT can't help, they move around them and they set up problematic shadow IT."

Pulled in different directions

The problem isn't unhelpful IT departments so much as the way that IT is being pulled in two directions, Snover explains. "They have to provide secure IT resources so people can get their jobs done, and they've also got to support business agility and innovation; they want to figure out how to use IT to drive their business forward." He cites studies that say in 2017 more than half of the budget that used to go to IT will be spent outside of formal IT departments, going on public cloud and shadow IT.

Hybrid cloud like Azure Stack – based on Windows Server 2016 – lets them dip their toe in the water, building apps that can run there, or on Azure. "They want to be able to decide whether they're going to run a workload on-premise or in the cloud; they want the deployment flexibility to go where is right for them."

Snover also claims many customers who are asking for hybrid cloud using Windows Server have been trying alternatives and have been disappointed. "They want the right to get it wrong. People are feeling they're building the wrong things. When you find out you're on the wrong road, you need to turn around, no matter how much progress you've made – people have the sense that they're on the wrong road.

"We hear this a lot with OpenStack. Customers say to us, 'now we've got a bunch of people who are experts in GitHub and open source but how does this help us sell more cars? Is this really moving our business forward?'"

Servers, data centres and clouds

Hybrid cloud isn't the only thing you can use Windows Server 2016 for, Snover points out. "If you still need to have a server you can walk up to and manage directly, with Windows Server 2016 there will be a bunch of people that will still do that."

Over the years, Windows Server has evolved from a single server for the office to enterprise networks and data centres, and Snover says the new version is still a good solution for all of that. "If you want a server with the full desktop client experience on a single box [you can do that]. The server you walk up to has the full Windows client experience and we see this being used for very small customers and RDP scenarios.

"We've still invested in the enterprise era servers with improvements for Active Directory and data centres. Server Core is where you'll run your existing headless workloads. You can take your existing apps and they'll just get better because they're running on an operating system that's more secure than it used to be.

"Then you can take those apps and with a little bit of work you can adapt them to use new technologies like containers. But we've also spent a lot of time supporting cloud native applications. The new scenario we've lit up is cloud."

He continues: "Is everybody ready to move to cloud? The answer of course is no, only some are ready to move. But what we've seen is that each of these new eras of server didn't replace the previous eras – each time they started out a new market and that grew."

DevOps models

Containers are a way to move to the increasingly popular DevOps approach. "There are two DevOps models," Snover points out, "and the traditional model has nothing to do with containers. What containers do is enable a refinement of the DevOps model where a bunch of things that used to be done on the live system by the ops team after deployment is now being done by developers in the lab, so change happens further upstream and gets pushed out."

Snover also notes that you shouldn't judge containers by the performance in technical previews of Windows Server. "When we first did containers, the performance was terrible. But then the Windows engineering DNA kicked in and week after week we could see the numbers come down." A container will start in less than a second, he says, and Nano Server itself boots in about two and a half seconds (for comparison, a Windows Server 2012 R2 system can take around ten minutes).

Windows Server 2016 customers are getting the advantage of what Microsoft learned running Azure. Take the changes in Hyper-V: "It used to be that in each release we would match VMware," says Snover. "Now we're not so up on that because we're driven by Azure."

Microsoft also learned a lot by building the Cloud Platform System, pre-built hardware running Azure Pack for private cloud. "We learned how to make sure this runs with low maintenance and low friction. A rolling cluster upgrade was a very hard thing to do; now you can easily patch and upgrade the system and maintain service availability," Snover noted.

The server that cloud built

"Windows Server 2016 takes a lot of the innovation we got from running Azure and makes that cloud innovation mainstream," Snover says. "Today we see a lot of failure in cloud and the people who are successful are the high priests of technology. We're going to take that and mainstream that and do 'cloud for the masses'.

"If you want complete control over your environment, if you want to pick your hardware and run it however you want, if you need unique 'snowflake' servers, Windows Server 2016 is awesome for that too."

• We round up everything you need to know about Windows Server 2016

http://ift.tt/2cIKLpL