Wes Miller analyzes and writes about Microsoft’s security, identity management, and systems management technologies.
Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Wes was a product manager and development manager for several Austin, TX, start-ups, including Winternals Software, acquired by Microsoft in 2006. Prior to that, Wes spent seven years at Microsoft working as a program manager in the Windows Core Operating System and MSN divisions.
Wes received a B.A. in psychology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Latest Content by Wes Miller
Analyst Report
Updated: April 16, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Windows Quick Machine Recovery Could Alleviate Future CrowdStrike-Style Outages
Unmanaged Windows 11 PCs now automatically enable Quick Machine Recovery, a feature that can recover unbootable PCs after an incident...
Analyst Report
April 13, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Azure Lockbox Helps Customers Control Data Access by Microsoft
Azure Lockbox is a free feature that’s intended to help customers manage any access to their Azure tenancy by Microsoft...
Analyst Report
Updated: April 12, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Microsoft 365 Government: What’s in the Box?
Microsoft 365 Government offers regulatory compliance, but at the cost of missing features, which are hard to track and ultimately...
Analyst Report
Updated: April 12, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Microsoft 365 Education: Differs from Enterprise by Degrees
Microsoft 365 Education offers a collection of suites that largely mirror Microsoft 365 Enterprise suites, with nuanced differences, plus a...
Analyst Report
Updated: April 10, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Azure: Know Reservations
Customers can save money on Azure by committing in advance to pay, but miscalculating can waste significant amounts of money.
Infographic
Updated: April 10, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Available Azure Reservations
Chart explains the range of reservations available as of Apr. 2026.
Charts & Illustrations
Updated: April 10, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Azure Savings Plans vs. Azure RVMIs
Azure savings plan for compute can help customers save money on compute, but customers should plan carefully first.
Analyst Report
Updated: April 10, 2026 · by Wes Miller
How to Apply Azure Reservations and Savings Plans Effectively to Compute Workloads
Azure reservations and savings plans offer meaningful discounts if organizations commit to long-term resource consumption but can waste money if...
Analyst Report
March 28, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Microsoft 365 E7 Suite: It’s All About AI
A new tier of Microsoft 365, E7, arrives May 1 and focuses almost entirely on AI and management of AI...
Analyst Report
March 27, 2026 · by Wes Miller
Azure Savings Plan for Databases Now Available
Organizations with a known low-water mark of many popular Azure database services can save a significant amount of money in...