publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/503802
ILTA WHITE PAPER: APRIL 2015 WWW.ILTANET.ORG 31 What Microsoft products are most applicable to ILTA's members? It depends on the business needs and initiatives being driven within each ILTA member firm. Our productivity solutions come to mind (Office client applications, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, etc.) as perennial points of interest. With the increasing focus on security and mobility, however, I would steer members to get familiar with our Enterprise Mobility Suite, which encompasses Azure Rights Management, Azure Active Directory and Multifactor Authentication, and Windows Intune. What can we expect from Microsoft this year? The top focus for Microsoft in late summer 2015 through spring of 2016 will be the Windows 10 launch and then the 2016 editions of all our on-premises productivity server products. Details about the next version of Windows Server and System Center will emerge in this timeframe as well. Tell us one or two facts that are most important for ILTA members to know about Microsoft. Our "Cloud First, Mobile First" mantra has given some the mistaken impression that we are moving away from on-premises software. Nothing could be further from the truth. The mantra just means that we are bringing new capabilities to users via our cloud services first. This year you will see how these benefits are harvested and delivered back to the on-premises offerings, wherever practical. How does Microsoft partner with ILTA to help us meet members' growing needs? In a word — communication. The power of our relationship with ILTA is that the wants and needs of your community are organized and amplified for delivery back into the Microsoft engineering, marketing and sales organizations. ILTA also affords us the ability to test our thinking and deliver targeted information to ILTA's vast but cohesive audience. Spotlight on Strategic Relationships ILTA's Strategic Relationship Program recognizes the importance of key relationships and creates opportunities for meaningful dialogs to support educational programming, to provide member feedback that informs future product/service development and to ensure ILTA's involvement in standard- setting initiatives. Kara Portwood, ILTA's Strategic Relationship Liaison for Microsoft, spoke with Larry Kuhn, Account Technology Strategist at Microsoft. In this discussion, they reflect on upcoming highlights and how Microsoft will continue to expand and improve ILTA member services and benefits through this strong relationship.