Cloud Computing


Microsoft Details Windows Mobile 6.x Phaseout Plans

Users of the aging Windows Mobile 6 operating system will soon be transitioned to Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive storage service, Microsoft announced last week.

Dynamics CRM 2011 Review: Strong Play by Microsoft

Putting the latest version of the Microsoft CRM tool through its paces, we found many worthwhile improvements among the 500 or so new features that give Microsoft partners an even more solid competitor to Salesforce.com and Oracle.

Fujitsu Cloud Will Be First To Use Windows Azure Appliance

Fujitsu will offer commercial cloud services using Microsoft's Windows Azure platform beginning in August, according to a joint announcement from the companies on Tuesday.

Analysis: Microsoft-Skype Not Enough To Beat Cisco in UC (Yet)

Does Microsoft's planned acquisition of Skype pose a threat to Cisco's leadership in the unified communications (UC) space? Analysts say it depends.

Office 365 General Availability Set for June 28

Microsoft partner executive announces release date for the successor to BPOS, which adds Office integration.

A Lesson from the Amazon Outage: Speak Up

Besides dredging up concerns about data security in the cloud, the Amazon outage made it clear that when it comes to corporate damage control, silence isn't the best policy.

Cloud Computing and Strategic Sales Management

Partners and sales teams are entering uncharted territory in cloud computing. Here are six tips for building a successful cloud practice.

7 Key Features of the Office 365 Beta

A first look at the public beta of the much-anticipated successor to the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite.

Report: Cloud, Mobility Will 'Kill' Microsoft's Licensing Model

A recent Forrester Research report suggests Microsoft may soon require its business customers to pay Software Assurance (SA) licensing fees.

Exchange Hoster Intermedia Bought by Private Equity Firm

Private equity firm Oak Hill Partners on Thursday said it acquired Exchange hoster Intermedia for an undisclosed amount.

Tech-Ed Roundup: Windows Phone 7, Azure, Top Tweets and More

Microsoft's Tech-Ed 2011 conference, which took place in Atlanta this year, just wrapped up. Here's a handy roundup of all of this week's conference news and analysis from our editors.

Microsoft Wins Bid To Provide Hosted E-Mail to San Francisco

In the latest public-sector cloud win for Microsoft, the city of San Francisco has chosen to migrate 60 departments and agencies to Microsoft Exchange Online over the next 12 months.

Tech-Ed: Microsoft Talks Up Windows Azure Cloud and Devices

Besides spotlighting Microsoft's mobile plans and the upcoming Visual Studio vNext, Monday's keynote also focused on the cloud and the issue of managing services and applications in hybrid environments and across multiple devices.

Inside MVP Nation: What MVPs Talk About when Microsoft Isn't Looking

"Cloud" was king at the first annual MVP Nation conference, but this year's gathering of Microsoft MVPs covered other topics as well. This is RCP's report of those discussions, straight from the show floor.

VMware Announces Deal To Buy Shavlik

Virtualization giant and cloud vendor VMware announced on Monday that it has reached a deal to acquire Shavlik Technologies, a provider of security and management software for servers and desktops.

Microsoft BPOS Suffers Multiple Outages (UPDATED)

Customers of Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS) have experienced e-mail outages over the past few days.

Google 'Chromebooks' Line of Notebooks Coming June

Google unveiled "Chromebooks," a new line of notebook devices that will run its Chrome operating system, on Wednesday, at the close of the Google I/O 2011 conference in San Francisco.

Study: Security Not Priority for Cloud Providers, Users

Security is not a top priority for cloud computing vendors and customers, according to a recent CA Technologies-sponsored survey by the Ponemon Institute.

Wanted: More Windows Intune Licenses

For some reason, Microsoft is being stingy with the partner licenses for Windows Intune, the cloud-based systems management and security toolset that launched in March.

VMware Joins Amazon in Cloud Outage Damage Control

VMware's Cloud Foundry, the company's fledgling cloud offering, suffered two brief outages last week.