Microsoft Office 365, Azure users couldn’t sign into accounts after multi-factor authentication issue

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Microsoft’s troubles continue with some Microsoft Office 365 and Azure users being locked out of their accounts for most of the day on November 19. A multi-factor authentication (MFA) issue hit users worldwide, even affecting their ability to do self-service password resets. An Office 365 status page on the issue described the problem of users weren’t receiving prompts on their mobile devices (SMS, call, or push) and Microsoft is investigating the issue. The company hasn’t released yet what caused the problem.

Meanwhile, those on Azure may have problems accessing resources like Azure Active Directory when MFA is required. Azure engineers have deployed a hotfix but this took some time to take effect, particularly for Europe and Asia Pacific users. It did help reduce the number of authentication errors and it tipped off the engineers that some of its customers were not getting the SMS, call, or push notifications for MFA. Microsoft claims some users are now “authenticating successfully” but they are still addressing the delays experienced by other users.

Source: ZDNet + TechCrunch

Microsoft confirms reorganization of sales and marketing divisions

Mike Mozart

Earlier today we reported that Microsoft was tipped to lay off thousands of its global employees as part of the reorganization of its sales and marketing units so that they can focus more on its cloud services. There seems to be some truth to that. Microsoft has confirmed that it plans to reorganize the two divisions in a memo to its employees. But there wasn’t any mention of layoffs. The restructuring will affect those under Microsoft Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela, Executive Vice Presidents Judson Althoff and Jean-Philippe Courtois. Their teams have been briefed about how the reorganization will work.

Source: VentureBeat

Microsoft will reportedly lay off thousands of staff worldwide as part of major sales reorganization

Rumour has it Microsoft is getting ready to lay off thousands of its global workforce this week as the company is set to reorganize its sales division. According to a report from TechCrunch, Microsoft intends to merge its enterprise customer division with its small-and-medium-enterprise unit. The reorganization is said to be part of Microsoft’s plan to focus more on its growing Azure business, which is its cloud computing business. It isn’t clear though if these reported layoffs will be new job openings that focus on the cloud business.

Microsoft’s fiscal year ends on June 30^th so layoffs could be tied to this. Reorganization is also seen to be a result of last year’s change of leadership. Judson Althoff and Jean-Philippe Courtois now lead the company’s sales and marketing divisions after COO Kevin Turner left. And Althoff is known to be critical of previous approaches to sales and is looking to make Azure a key focus for the company. Microsoft hasn’t commented on the report yet.

Source: GeekWire

BMW's new app aims to be your personal assistant in the car

BMW's new app, Connected, is set to become your ultimate personal assistant while on the road. Its features are centered around navigation but it also wants you to stay on top of other aspects in your life. This iOS app can show you things like estimated travel times based on current traffic conditions, send you directions to your destination and even send "last mile" guidance from your parking spot to your destination. It can also pull locations from your calendar and have that appear in the app.  

Connected is powered by Microsoft's cloud-based Azure platform and it is designed to get smarter the more you use it, with capabilities of predicting your next destination based on your habits and it can even reroute you based on current traffic conditions and warnings. Other features include the ability to remotely lock and unlock your car, turn the lights on and off, start your car's ventilation, and even sound the horn. 

Source: Mashable