Microsoft : These 3 new features boost app development, system management

Regardless of whether you build apps, design games, or manage IT infrastructures, ensuring everything is running error-free and at peak performance is vital. However, with an increasing number of variables to consider-from hybrid ecosystems and platforms to accelerated development timeframes-it can be difficult to keep up with maintenance and find issues before your users do. Microsoft is working on multiple fronts to give developers and IT experts better tools to improve their products, manage their systems, and stay ahead.

Streamline complex updates

The developers of Minecraft-a game with hundreds of millions of users playing on mobile devices, consoles, AR/VR platforms, desktops, and more-know how important it is to create a consistent, satisfying experiences for their users. To manage and apply new updates and capabilities while accommodating their users' diverse needs, Minecraft developers rely on Visual Studio Team Services and Visual Studio App Center to test and push updates. This ability to easily manage the testing process equips them to create a great all-around user experience. To learn more, read the full post on the Visual Studio App Center blog.

Ship better apps faster

When it comes to mobile applications, high user expectations and steep competition make it essential to locate bugs and release new updates as quickly as possible. To facilitate this, the Visual Studio App Center team has announced several new features for improving performance and efficiency. These include updates to the App Center Error report that make it easier to diagnose and fix issues, an improved process for managing apps from a mobile device, and the ability to send updates out faster by pushing them directly from Visual Studio Code. For all the details about these and other new features, see the announcement at the Visual Studio App Center blog.

Simplify IT management

The need to locate errors, apply updates, and ensure peak operating performance is not limited to developers-IT admins must do this across entire infrastructures. To help IT admins simplify this management process, Windows Admin Center (previously known as Project Honolulu) is now generally available and integrates the many tools and consoles they use. It does this by giving them a holistic overview of their various machines, resources, and data, as well as remote management capabilities. Windows Admin Center will also connect to virtual and cloud services, showcasing Microsoft's commitment to hybrid scenarios and hyper-converged infrastructure management. To learn more, read the entire post on the Windows Server blog.

We are constantly coming up with new and innovative ways for developers and admins to manage their systems and release the best possible products. To stay up to date on the latest news about Microsoft's work in the cloud, visit https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com.