Jim leads the Directions on Microsoft editorial team and has been writing about technology since the early 1990s. Most recently he's covered Teams, Windows Server and related OSs, and enterprise IT infrastructure.
He brings with him over 15 years supporting and teaching academic and researching technology at large universities like University of Washington and The Ohio State University, a decade in operations management for a global engineering firm, and experience as technical producer of a live service game based on the popular Magic: The Gathering property.
Jim holds a B.A. with graduate studies in philosophy and a minor in computer science from The Ohio State University.
Latest Content by Jim Gaynor
Roadmap
August 2, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Azure VMware Solution
The VMWare Rapid Migration has been reworked to one-time credits, with a new deadline of Jun. 30, 2026.
Roadmap
August 2, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Azure Dedicated Host
Azure Dedicated Host enables customers to rent Azure VM host servers that are dedicated to their Azure subscriptions, housed in...
Roadmap
July 29, 2026 · by Multiple Authors
Application Platforms Roadmap
Describes the components and services available in Azure and on-premises for creating and deploying applications.
Roadmap
July 24, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Cloud Services
Azure Cloud Services provides customers with Windows Server VM instances using a Platform as a Service (PaaS) model.
Roadmap
July 24, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Azure Edge Filer
Azure hybrid storage appliances and services offer tiering and caching of storage between on-premises systems and storage in Azure.
Analyst Report
July 4, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Disconnected Operations for Azure Local: More Local, Less Azure
Disconnected operations for Azure Local offers an option free of the Azure cloud, but requirements and limitations make it a...
Analyst Report
Updated: June 1, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
How to Choose Project Plan Subscriptions
Project Plan subscriptions that provide Project for the Web and Project Online capabilities are offered in several tiers. Organizations can...
Roadmap
Updated: June 1, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Skype for Business Server
Cumulative Update 1 for Skype for Business Server SE was released on Jun. 1, 2026; a future CU will likely...
Roadmap
Updated: May 27, 2026 · by Jim Gaynor
Teams Meetings and Events
Teams live events will retire on June 30, 2026, and webinar and town hall advanced features are now part of...