Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform Blog

Microsoft Launches the Cloud OS Network, a Group of Leading Service Providers Who Leverage the Microsoft Cloud Platform

Thu, 12 Dec 2013 08:01:00 GMT

Today, Microsoft announced the launch of the Microsoft Cloud OS Network. The Cloud OS Network is a program consisting of over 25 leading cloud service providers who have embraced the Cloud OS vision. These organizations offer solutions based on the Microsoft Cloud Platform designed to meet customers’ hybrid computing needs. The Microsoft Cloud Platform consists of Windows Server with Hyper-V, System Center and Windows Azure Pack

Below is a view to the partners in the program; more details can be found here

The combined footprint of these partners serve over 90 markets around the world, operate over 2.4M servers in more than 425 datacenters, and serve over 3 million customers every day.

Customers take advantage of three key benefits when consuming services from a Microsoft Cloud OS Network partner

Choice: Customers now have even more choice in deploying their hybrid datacenter environments based on the Microsoft Cloud Platform – either in their datacenter, in Windows Azure or, now, through a network of leading service provider partners.
Flexibility: Microsoft’s Cloud OS Network program extends hybrid solutions through cloud service providers giving customers the flexibility to bridge their on premises investments with cloud based deployments. This includes the ability to innovate faster, deliver new services and capabilities, improve employee productivity and lower costs.
Consistency: Microsoft’s Cloud OS Network uniquely enables one consistent platform supporting customers’ hosted datacenter and application needs in an environment built on the Microsoft Cloud Platform (Windows Server with Hyper-V, System Center and Windows Azure Pack)

As cloud adoption accelerates and competition increases, the ability for cloud service providers to differentiate is paramount. By leveraging the Microsoft Cloud Platform, our partners can focus on building value-add and differentiated services, taking them to market faster and solving the hybrid cloud needs of their customers.

Combined with our strong commitment to partnership, we are excited about lighting up the Cloud OS with service providers in the Cloud OS Network.

To learn more, go check out Takeshi Numoto’s blog post.

Are You a BYOD Chieftain? Tell Us in Poetry for a Chance to Win an Xbox 360

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 21:30:00 GMT

If you spend your days wrangling devices and your night times ruminating, here’s your chance to do both! Write a poem that shows us how you manage devices, data, and apps in your workplace, putting a fun spin on BYOD, and you could win an Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle.

Whether you’ve succeeded at networking every rogue device in your workforce or prevented wandering PCs from spilling sensitive company data—you have insights to express as only you can express them.

Impress us, or just make us smile, and you just might win!*

Requirements:

Poems can take any form and do not have to rhyme, but keep them under 300 words. That means haikus, limericks, sonnets, odes, etc. are all fair game. You can write any kind of poem your muse provides.
Your poem should relate to one or more of the following topics:
- Bring your own device (BYOD)
- Consumerization of IT
- Device management
- Information protection
- System Center Configuration Manager
- Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
- Windows Intune
- Active Directory
Credit will be given for the following qualities: creativity, entertainment value, and relevance to Microsoft products, including the topics listed above.
Poems will be judged by a group of Microsoft laureates employees.
All entries must be received by December 30, 2013, 12 A.M. Pacific Time.

To Enter:

Include your first and last name and your poem (together called your “entry”) in the body of an email message, with the subject line “BYO-Poetry Contest,” and submit to BYOPoetryContest@outlook.com.

Have fun!

*Oh, and did we mention that we’ll be giving away an Xbox 360 with Kinect bundle to the two poems with the highest scores?

Write a poem, and you could win an Xbox 360. Pretty simple.

We’ll also select five honorable mentions, whose poems will be featured on this blog and immortalized on our social channels (Facebook and Twitter) in the weeks following the contest.

So what are you waiting for? Start working on those algo-rhythms! You can find the complete contest rules below.

* * * *

MICROSOFT “BYO-Poetry” CONTEST
OFFICIAL RULES

COMMON TERMS USED IN THESE RULES:

These are the official rules that govern how the Microsoft “BYO-Poetry” Contest promotion will operate (“Contest”). In these rules, “we,” “our,” and “us” refer to Microsoft Corporation, the sponsor of this Contest. “You” refers to an eligible Contest entrant.

CONTEST DESCRIPTION:

There is no purchase or product ownership required to enter. This is a skill-based Contest. The object of this Contest is to create the best (as determined by Microsoft judges) poem relating to the following topics:

Bring your own device (BYOD)
Consumerization of IT
Device management
Information protection
System Center Configuration Manager
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
Windows Intune
Active Directory

All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners of the prizes described below.

WHAT ARE THE START AND END DATES?

This Contest starts at 12:01 A.M. Pacific Time (PT) on December 9, 2013, and ends at 12:00 A.M. on December 30, 2013 (“Entry Period”).

CAN I ENTER?

You are eligible to enter this Contest if you meet the following requirements at time entry:

You are a legal resident of the 50 United States and District of Columbia, and are 18 years of age or older.
If you are 18 of age or older, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, you should ask your parent’s or legal guardian’s permission prior to submitting an entry into this Contest; and
You are NOT an employee of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary; and
You areNOT involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest; and
You are NOT an immediate family (parent, sibling, spouse, child) or household member of a Microsoft employee, an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, or a person involved in any part of the administration and execution of this Contest.

This Contest is void outside the geographic area described above and wherever else prohibited by law.

HOW DO I ENTER?

Write an original poem relating to one or more of the following topics (“Contest Themes”):

Bring your own device (BYOD)
Consumerization of IT
Device management
Information protection
System Center Configuration Manager
Virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)
Windows Intune
Active Directory

To submit your poem, include your first and last name and your poem (together called your “entry”) in the body of an email message, with the subject line “BYO-Poetry Contest,” and submit to BYOPoetryContest@outlook.com. Entries must be received within the Entry Period to be eligible.

All eligible entries received will be judged using the criteria described below to determine the winners of the prizes described below.

Limit one entry per person.

We are not responsible for entries that we do not receive for any reason, or for entries that we receive but are not decipherable for any reason.

We will automatically disqualify:

Any incomplete or illegible entry; and
Any entries in excess of the entry limit described above.

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ELIGIBLE ENTRY?

To be eligible for judging an entry must meet the following content / technical requirements:

The poem must contain 300 words or less.
The poem must be relevant to a Contest Theme.
The poem must be submitted in English for English speaking judges.

In addition:

your entry must be your own original work; and
your entry cannot have been selected as a winner in any other contest; and
you must have obtained any and all consents, approvals or licenses required for you to submit your entry; and
your entry may not include any third party trademarks (logos, names) or copyrighted materials (music, images, video, recognizable people) unless you have obtained permission to use the materials. You may include Microsoft trademarks, logos, and designs, for which Microsoft grants you a limited license to use for the sole purposes of submitting an entry into this Contest.

Entries may NOT contain, as determined by us, in our sole and absolute discretion, any content that:

is sexually explicit, unnecessarily violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing) or a particular political agenda;
is obscene or offensive;
defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
communicates messages or images inconsistent with the positive images and/or good will to which we wish to associate; and/or violates any law;

We reserve the right to reject any entry, in our sole and absolute discretion, that we determine does not meet the above criteria.

HOW WILL MY ENTRY BE POTENTIALLY USED?

Other than what is set forth below, we are not claiming any ownership rights to your entry. However, by submitting your entry, you:

are granting us an irrevocable, royalty-free, worldwide right and license to: (i) use, review, assess, test and otherwise analyze your entry and all its content in connection with this Contest; and (ii) feature your entry and all content in connection with the marketing, sale, or promotion of this Contest or Microsoft Products (including but not limited to internal and external sales meetings, conference presentations, tradeshows, advertising and screen shots of the Contest entry in press releases) in all media (now known or later developed)
agree to sign any necessary documentation that may be required for us and our designees to make use of the rights you granted above;
understand and acknowledge that the Sponsor(s) may have developed or commissioned materials similar or identical to your submission and you waive any claims you may have resulting from any similarities to your entry;
understand that we cannot control the incoming information you will disclose to our representatives in the course of entering, or what our representatives will remember about your entry. You also understand that we will not restrict work assignments of representatives who have had access to your entry. By entering this Contest, you agree that use of information in our representatives’ unaided memories in the development or deployment of our products or services does not create liability for us under this agreement or copyright or trade secret law;
understand that you will not receive any compensation or credit for use of your entry, other than what is described in these Official Rules

Please note that following the end of this Contest your entry may be posted on a website selected by us for viewing by visitors to that website. We are not responsible for any unauthorized use of your entry by visitors to this website. While we reserve these rights, we are not obligated to use your entry for any purpose, even if it has been selected as a winning entry.

If you do not want to grant us these rights to your entry, please do not enter this Contest.

WINNER DETERMINATION AND PRIZES

On or around the close of the Entry Period, a panel of Microsoft judges will review all eligible entries received and select two Grand Prize winners based upon following judging criteria:

Creativity (20%)
Entertainment Value (20%)
Relevancy to one of the Contest Themes (60%)

In the event of a tie between any eligible entries, an additional judge will break the tie based on the judging criteria described above. The decisions of the judges are final and binding. If we do not receive a sufficient number of entries meeting the entry requirements, we may, at our discretion, select fewer winners than the number of Contest Prizes described below.

Contest Prizes

(2) Grand Prize: An Xbox 360 250GB Kinect Bundle including Carnival Games, Kinect Adventures, and a 3-month gold membership to Xbox Live. Approximate Retail Value each $349.99.

The ARV of electronic prizes is subject to price fluctuations in the consumer marketplace based on, among other things, any gap in time between the date the ARV is estimated for purposes of these Official Rules and the date the prize is awarded or redeemed. We will determine the value of the prize to be the fair market value at the time of prize award.

The total Approximate Retail Value (ARV) of all prizes: $700

If you are a potential winner, we will notify you by sending a message to the e-mail address, the phone number, or mailing address (if any) provided at time of entry within seven (7) days following completion of judging. If the notification that we send is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award to a runner-up.

If there is a dispute as to who is the potential winner, we will consider the potential winner to be the authorized account holder of the e-mail address used to enter the Contest. If you are a potential winner, we may require you to sign an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability/Publicity Release and a W-9 tax form or W-8 BEN tax form within 10 days of notification. If you are a potential winner and you are 18 or older, but are considered a minor in your place of legal residence, we may require your parent or legal guardian to sign all required forms on your behalf. If you do not complete the required forms as instructed and/or return the required forms within the time period listed on the winner notification message, we may disqualify you and select a runner-up.

If you are confirmed as a winner of this Contest:

You may not exchange your prize for cash or any other merchandise or services. However, if for any reason an advertised prize is unavailable, we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value; and
You may not designate someone else as the winner. If you are unable or unwilling to accept your prize, we may award it to a runner up; and
If you accept a prize, you will be solely responsible for all applicable taxes related to accepting the prize; and
If you are otherwise eligible for this Contest, but are considered a minor in your place of residence, we may award the prize to your parent/legal guardian on your behalf; and
Unless otherwise noted, all prizes are subject to their manufacturer’s warranty and / or terms and conditions.

We will only award one (1) prize per person.

WHAT OTHER CONDITIONS AM I AGREEING TO BY ENTERING?

By entering this Contest you agree:

To abide by these Official Rules; and
To release and hold harmless Microsoft and its respective parents, subsidiaries, affiliates, employees and agents from any and all liability or any injury, loss or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this Contest, or any prize won; and
That Microsoft’s decisions will be final and binding on all matters related to this Contest; and
That, by accepting a prize, Microsoft may use of your entry and your proper name and state of residence online and in print, or in any other media, in connection with this Contest, without payment or compensation to you, except where prohibited by law.

WHAT LAWS GOVERN THE WAY THIS CONTEST IS EXECUTED AND ADMINISTRATED?

This Contest will be governed by the laws of the State of Washington, and you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts of the State of Washington for any disputes arising out of this Contest.

WHAT IF SOMETHING UNEXPECTED HAPPENS AND THE CONTEST CAN’T RUN AS PLANNED?

If someone cheats, or a virus, bug, catastrophic event, or any other unforeseen or unexpected event that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled, (also referred to as force majeure) affects the fairness and / or integrity of this Contest, we reserve the right to cancel, change or suspend this Contest. This right is reserved whether the event is due to human or technical error. If a solution cannot be found to restore the integrity of the Contest, we reserve the right to select winners from among all eligible entries received before we had to cancel, change or suspend the Contest.

If you attempt to compromise the integrity or the legitimate operation of this Contest by hacking or by cheating or committing fraud in ANY way, we may seek damages from you to the fullest extent permitted by law. Further, we may ban you from participating in any of our future Contest, so please play fairly.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT WHO WON?

We will post the names of winners who received a prize worth $25.00 or more online on http://blogs.technet.com/b/server-cloud/. This list will remain posted one month after January 15, 2014.

WHO IS SPONSORING THIS CONTEST?

Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052

Microsoft Tech Companion App Launches – Use the Cross Platform App to Get the Latest News on your Phone or Slate

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 20:00:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce a new application that will allow both Developers and IT Professionals to access Microsoft information from a variety of panes of glass. The Microsoft Tech Companion is now available for download. This application brings you the latest news on products, features, and upcoming events, virtually anywhere. Customize feeds to surface the content that matter most to you. Search for answers from a consolidated database of Microsoft content.

Key features:

Access news and topics from virtually anywhere
- Phones – Access the app on almost any common smartphone including iPhone, Android, and Windows 8
- Tablets – The app is ideally suited for mobile computing with native applications for iPad, Android, and Windows 8 (RT, x86, and x64)
- PCs – In addition to the mobile options, the app is also available for your desktop or laptop.
- Stay up-to-date with news and events that interest you
  - Customizable feeds – Define feeds around products, terms, features, and functions. Turn them into live tiles that alert you with updates and customize the tiles with a splash of color
  - Bookmarks – Save a specific news topic, library article or blog in the application to easily find it again in the future (and be alerted when it has been updated)
  - Streaming news – Microsoft news, events, you name it; it all streams to the app’s news reader
  - Always with you – Sign in with your Microsoft ID and your settings will sync to every device installed with the app
  - Search Microsoft all at once
    - Search through blogs, wikis, and library topics
    - Filter results by source and/or product and version
    - Save your searches for future reference
    - Stay up-to-date on a specific subject that interests you. Turn your searches into custom feeds
    - Share content with friends and colleagues

Ready to download? Go get it here!

HarperCollins Publishers Creates Global BI Solution in Weeks Using Windows Azure and SQL Server

Mon, 25 Nov 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Remove the obstacles created by disparate technologies, conflicting requirements, and tight budgets, and IT gets a lot easier. Today, companies can overcome many of these traditional IT challenges by using cloud-based solutions based on Windows Azure and Microsoft SQL Server.

Take for example, HarperCollins Publishers, one of the world's largest publishing companies. It needed to empower global employees with increased insight into the changing ways that consumers were discovering and buying their books. To do this, the company had to take over data gathering and analysis from third party consumer research firms and deploy a new, enterprise-wide, business intelligence (BI) solution to store and visualize the vast consumer data they designed and gathered themselves. David Boyle, Senior Vice President of Consumer Insight at HarperCollins Publishers, explains, “We paid a lot of money for consumer third-party research, but the focus was on the being in the room for the presentation itself. We needed to focus on data and making it available on people’s desks day in and day out.”

Rather than building a traditional onsite system, HarperCollins developed one using SQL Server 2012 in Windows Azure Virtual Machines. Because the solution integrates easily with the larger Microsoft technology platform, HarperCollins could get the job done faster and gain greater flexibility. For example, engineers used built-in tools in SQL Server to quickly create automated processes that compile, clean, and store customer data in the warehouse, and then present it in six visually rich, multilayer reports. They also created a web-based application that streamlines access to BI using Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2012 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4. At any time, engineers can quickly modify reports, add new types of BI, and migrate all or part of the solution from the cloud to an on-site datacenter.

Using this approach, HarperCollins created an effective, easy-to-use BI solution in just two weeks. Boyle explained “We chose Windows Azure rather than in-house servers or technologies from other companies because we could get a BI solution up and running on the Microsoft platform very quickly.” Ease of adoption of the solution was critical, and because business employees were already familiar with Microsoft tools the learning curve was minimal. As well as saving time, the solution is more cost effective.

Rather than consumer insight influencing decisions via third-party, quarterly presentations by outside agencies, employees can now access proprietary insight data themselves in seconds. Those most in need of the data – editors and marketers with years of experience in publishing –can now access and interpret this data easily to help inform their decisions without having to rely on a centralized team.

Watch a short video on their solution below and if you want to read the full story, you can find it here.

Microsoft Remote Desktop App Update

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Adam Carter here, the technical product manager for VDI. I wanted to give you an update on what’s happening with our cross platform Remote Desktop apps. It was just over a month ago that we released Remote Desktop clients for iOS, Android and Mac OS X, and we’re about to release an update to the app. One of the great things about distributing the apps via app stores is reading the instant feedback we get from the comments on the app in the store, and this update addresses many of the requests we’ve seen. In addition to several bug fixes, we added the following functionality:

iOS

Pinch to zoom support in mouse pointer mode
Performance improvements
iPhone 5 screen resolution fix

Android

Pinch to zoom support in mouse pointer mode
Performance improvements
Improved support for stylus input

Mac OS X

Improved full screen support for OS X 10.7 - 10.9
Performance improvements

In the month since the apps were released, we’ve seen an astounding 1.5 million downloads of the clients. I wanted to wrap my head around how big that number was, and here’s what I came up with:

1.5 Million downloads across the 3 platforms (iOS, Android, and Mac OS X) equates to 17.6 terabytes of data. If we shipped those updates on floppy disks, our shipping charges would be about the same as shipping 36 full grown elephants.

If you made a stack of just the iOS devices that have downloaded the client, you’d have a stack over 3.4 miles high. If you staggered them to make steps, you’d have a stairway that would get you almost all the way to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro – your iStairs would get you to 18,300 feet, you’d just have the last 1000 feet to climb on your own.

We’ve recorded over 5000 unique Android device types downloading the app. There’s lots of different sized devices that make that up, but if they averaged the size of a 7” Galaxy Tab, and I traded the devices for their volume in jelly beans, I could completely cover the floor of my apartment, to a depth of 1 foot.

If you’ve downloaded it already, make sure and grab the update to take advantage of the improvements. If you haven’t, what’s keeping you?

Download links:

(Windows Phone users, we haven’t forgotten about you. Your app is coming soon!)

Curate the Web and Share What You Know with Curah!

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 17:30:00 GMT

Searching for technical content is tough enough. Sharing technical content with your peer group isn’t easy so we wanted to provide a new content service to allow both. Today we take the wraps off a new content curation site we call Curah! The name is short and easy to remember, and it is hosted at http://curah.com. Simple and easy to remember, off to a good start.

See what Microsoft Vice President S. Somasegar has to say about it on his blog.

Curah! is a great way for experts in a particular technology, product, solution, or scenario to share their knowledge and enhance their reputation in the community. If you have content or insights to share, Curah also invites you to share what you know, which you can easily do at Curah.com. The Curah.com site offers a great opportunity to promote what you know by becoming a curator.

We invite you to visit the site and begin sharing. As always, let us know how to improve on the experience. Enjoy!

What to Do About Consumerization? (Or, It is Not Just About Devices)

Fri, 15 Nov 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Here in Microsoft’s Enterprise Client Management team, my peers and I spend a lot of time speaking one-on-one with customers and industry analysts about the consumerization trend. Organizations of all sizes are trying to determine what they can and should do about letting people choose their own devices to get their jobs done. One analyst told me a couple years ago, “Consumerization is a bus. You’re either on it, or you’re under it. Either way, it’s coming.”

I actually see consumerization – especially Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – as a trolley. Yes, you can ride on it or you can be dragged under it; but, what I’ve learned from all these discussions is there is a third option. As with a trolley in San Francisco, you can be partially on it, hanging off the side for dear life. All seems well – you keep moving forward – but you also run an increased risk of getting clipped by the car in the lane next to you. The point is that whether you are developing or rolling out a policy on consumerization or not, it is happening in your organization. People are using technology beyond what IT authorizes them to – whether by bringing in their devices, using unsupported applications, or saving business data on public file stores -- whether you know it or not. According to a study done by Workshare and reported in CIO Magazine, “78 percent of finance employees use free file sharing platforms but only 35 percent are authorized by IT.” In general, according the study, 81% of employees access work documents “on the move”, 69% use free file sharing, and only “28% of employees claim their IT departments are aware.” Clearly, this is a problem which goes far beyond device management.

Back to the customer conversations. They all start out the same way. “We’re implementing BYOD. How can Microsoft help me manage our Windows phones and tablets? Can you help me manage the iPads my people bring in?” Certainly, we have software to manage those devices. We’ve been managing devices since Systems Management Server 1.0 shipped in 1994. PC management has come a long way since 1994, and even though mobile devices carry their own special risks and requirements, the processes that you have in place to manage PCs can still apply. You still want to configure, deliver software, inventory, and remove them from the system.

This is where the ongoing conversation surprises many people. Letting people choose their device goes far beyond simply managing the device itself. It’s not just how many configuration settings you can apply to those devices – although in many cases limiting access to the camera or pushing password policies are very important. The device is only 1/4^th of the consumerization dilemma. You also need to focus on the user’s identity – since he or she is accessing information from within the office, as well as from the local coffee house. You need to provide access to internal and public apps across various devices and platforms, and finally – and most importantly, you need to make sure the data being accessed and save on those devices is protected. Along with the device itself, this becomes the “consumerization stack” you need to address.

Our goal at Microsoft is to bring a more holistic solution to the broader problem. An example of this is our approach of Unified Device Management – instead of having a separate mobile device management infrastructure, toolset, and expertise, we’ve integrated Windows Intune and Configuration Manager to provide a single, unified device management toolset to manage all your devices, Windows or not, PCs, servers or mobile devices, cloud-based or on premises. That’s not the end of the solution, though. I tell people that simply focusing on device management not addressing the entire issue. Remember – it’s not the lost tablet that will land your company on the front page of the newspaper – it’s the data that was on it.

Our solution, People-centric IT, covers not only device management for on-premises and cloud-based devices of all kinds, but also the users’ identity, access to applications natively on the device or remotely in the datacenter, and protection of the data itself, wherever it may rest.

Over the next several months, we’ll use this blog to talk about People-centric IT in more detail; we’ll discuss our cross-platform approach to device management and application access, drill down into specific product areas, provide guidance on how best to build on top of investments, knowledge and skills you already have, and highlight real-world implementations and provide links to additional resources. We’d love your feedback. In the comments section of this blog, feel free to tell us what you want to hear about; be a part of this conversation.

To learn more about People-centric IT, and get a taste of what we’ll discuss more in this blog over the next several months, you can watch our TechEd presentation with end-to-end demos, as well as read the People-centric IT overview whitepaper.

With the fast pace of software, cloud services, and exciting devices, we all have a unique opportunity of helping make people happy and more productive. We’re looking forward to partnering with you!

Jason Leznek
Director of Product Marketing
Enterprise Client Management

Cloudy with a Chance of Confusion

Tue, 05 Nov 2013 17:00:00 GMT

I was reading a magazine last week when I stumbled upon ads from three different IT vendors, all promoting their cloud solutions. I had a pretty hard time telling them apart - they all used similar language, and seemed to be making more or less the same promises. I’m pretty sure that if you swapped the names of the vendors on each other’s ads, no one would have noticed.

It’s been well documented that the IT world is seeing tons of change – lots of devices, even more data and big expectations on IT to make their infrastructure adapt to all of these changes without losing any productivity or security. Not surprisingly, many IT vendors are claiming to solve some or all of these problems with cloud based solutions. And while having more options certainly gives customers more power, it also makes the decision process more confusing – especially when so many vendors are making vague but similar claims and promises.

In such a world, vendors owe it to their customers to clarify why their solution is different from those offered by others. There are three questions that all businesses should ask when evaluating a cloud offering:

Is the solution enterprise-grade? In other words, can you trust your business critical applications and information to it?
Is it designed for a hybrid world, or is it built with a “one-size fits all” philosophy?
Will your people have to sacrifice productivity when using the solution?

My goal with this post (and subsequent ones over the next few weeks) is to tell you what differentiates Microsoft’s Cloud OS from other cloud solutions in the market.

An Enterprise-grade platform

Microsoft has hard-earned experience running mission critical workloads and some of the largest public cloud services today. Enterprise customers already trust us with some of their most important IT assets on-premises, while over 1 billion business and consumers users depend on our public cloud services, including Bing, Office 365, and Xbox Live. Do you really want to entrust your business critical workloads to a cloud vendor that has little experience serving enterprises? On the other hand, would you really want an on-premises IT vendor to use your business as a test case in its first attempt at running a large public cloud service?

While some of our competitors may lay claim to enterprise experience or large public cloud experience, none match us in both. This is why companies like Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield have chosen Windows Azure to run their mission critical workloads.

A solution that is designed for the Hybrid world

The move to the cloud will not happen overnight. It will be gradual, and for some time, IT will have to manage both on-premises and off-premises assets. For some, this hybrid world will be a temporary status, and for others, it’s how they imagine their final state. According to IDC, 80% of the world’s 2000 largest companies will have more than 50% of their IT onsite by 2020, and 74% of enterprises expect their cloud service provider to move cloud offerings back on-premises if needed.

In other words, the cloud roadmap for every customer will be different. This principle is core to our vision for the cloud and explains why we have invested heavily in bringing to life a hybrid solution that spans across your datacenters, Windows Azure, and/or a hosting service provider’s datacenter. When you decide that a dev/test workload should be brought back on-premises, or that you want your service provider to host some of your virtual machines, our hybrid design allows you to do so far more easily than other vendors, some of whom seem to believe that they know what is best for their customers.

An example of this need for flexibility is the University of Washington, which was able to move an increasingly-popular self-service reporting application from an on-premises environment to Windows Azure when the application suddenly got so popular that it no longer made sense from a cost and labor perspective to add more servers.

A people-focused approach

As important as enterprise-ready solutions and hybrid capabilities are, the two don’t mean much if a cloud solution is difficult to use or hinders productivity.

Microsoft has years of experience driving maximum productivity for end-users with products like Excel and are now using the same principles of familiarity and ease-of-use to guide our development of cloud services for IT professionals and developers. By using our own services to power our business, we learn from our growing pains and put those learnings back into the solutions we provide customers. The Bing team began deploying Windows Server 2012 even before it was released, and subsequent feedback from the Bing team helped us make Windows Server better. In other words, you benefit from our scale – not only in cost but also in innovation.

Learn more about Cloud OS by visiting our website and keeping an eye out for our subsequent posts, where we will dive deeper into how our solution differs from specific vendors.

Diane Wang
Product Marketing Manager

One Stop Shopping for Microsoft Server and Cloud Community Resources

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Providing information to our community is important to us. There are a number of channels we use to get the word out on promotions, great technical content, and fun contests. The Microsoft Server and Cloud business is growing, as is the community of developers and IT professionals.

We recently launched a number of new areas on Microsoft.com to give you better perspective on the Cloud OS vision we have, the investments we are making, and how to get information for evaluation and implementation purposes. In addition to the stories and articles, we also launched a new Community area.

The Server and Cloud Community area is organized by product. You’ll see customer case studies and testimonials, links to our blogs, Facebook and Twitter accounts, YouTube video area, and technical forums. Now it’s very easy to find all of those resources, and discover the great content we publish. The following Windows Server screen snip is an example of its respective section.

We hope you like the new Community page and one stop shopping for your social media preferences. As always, tell us what you like or dislike about the information. Thank you for being our customer and part of our community.

Announcing the General Availability of the R2 Wave of Products: Delivering People-centric IT

Fri, 18 Oct 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Over the past several months, we’ve been sharing our vision of People-centric IT, a redefinition of how IT can enable people to choose the devices they wish to use for work, while at the same time also providing access to applications and protecting data. The goal of People-centric IT is to achieve a balance between keeping people productive with the IT requirements around reducing costs and complexity and keeping compliant with organizational or legal responsibilities.

Today, we’re releasing System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager and Windows Server 2012 R2. These products, along with the updates to Windows Intune we released last month, can help you to:

Enable users by allowing them to work on the device(s) of their choice and providing consistent access to corporate resources from those devices. A key capability within Configuration Manager and Windows Intune is the ability to deliver the applications your users expect across their devices, regardless of platform. With the native Company Portal apps, your users will have consistent access to those applications. In addition, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in Windows Server 2012 R2 enables user to access corporate desktops and applications on a variety of devices virtually from anywhere.
Unify your environment by letting IT extend its System Center Configuration Manager infrastructure with Windows Intune to support cloud management of mobile devices, and leverage hybrid identity to provide users with a single identity across on-premises and in the cloud.
Protect your data by restricting access to corporate resources based on user, device, and location. This includes the ability to selectively wipe corporate data from a mobile device, as well as automatically apply rights management to documents based on content or other conditions, making sure the document is protected, even when stored somewhere outside your control.

We’re very proud of the releases of Windows 8.1 and Window 8.1 RT, and the enhancements they bring. System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager and Windows Intune fully support these new versions of Windows, and Windows Server 2012 R2 helps enable greater mobility and access through features including Workplace Join and Work Folders.

With Windows Server 2012 R2 Remote Desktop Services we continue to improve the management and deployment, solutions economics, and end-user experience for virtual desktop and server based computing experiences. In particular, new storage capabilities like tiered storage spaces and online VHD de-dupe dramatically reshape the economics of delivering a remote desktop services solutions. And now these new apps extend a rich Windows experience to a new range of devices.

As you may have already heard, we are also releasing Microsoft Remote Desktop apps for iOS, OS X and Android, giving people the ability to have the same rich Windows experience on a variety of devices. Just like our modern apps for Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT, these apps provide easy access to virtual machine based desktops, session based desktops and RemoteApp programs, as well as the ability to remote to a user’s own PC through the RD Gateway. You can see the RemoteApp for iOS in this demo.

iOS and OS X users can install the Remote Desktop app from the App Store and Mac App Store, respectively, and Android users can install the Remote Desktop app from Google Play.

With Configuration Manager and Windows Intune, organizations can manage the variety of devices their employees use – whether they are PCs, phones, or tablets, connected via the cloud or on-premises – through a single administrative console and infrastructure. To enable people to have a consistent access to applications across their devices, the Company Portal apps are available for days for Windows 8.0/8.1, Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, and you can find them here:

Name	Platform	URL	Installation Method
Windows Intune Company Portal	Windows 8.x (x86/x64 and RT)	Windows Store http://apps.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/app/company-portal/4b1dff1a-e76f-4fdd-a993-9c59048c3768 Microsoft Download Center http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=08a4f9d8-9c4d-4667-8bb2-fe8bbcbe694a	Direct User Installation IT Deployment
System Center Configuration Manager Company Portal	Windows 8.x (x86/x64 only)	Microsoft Download Center Only http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=da9f6820-d399-4847-b3d7-aacf5cbf75c7	IT Deployment
Windows Intune Company Portal for Windows Phone 8	Windows Phone 8	Microsoft Download Center Only http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36060	IT Deployment

We expect to release the Company Portal for iOS to the App Store early next week, and a “preview” of the Android Company Portal will be available from Google Play later this month. We hope to deliver the final release in December. We’ll update you when these are published.

What to do next?

If you haven’t begun evaluating how Configuration Manager, Windows Intune, and Windows Server 2012 R2 can help your organization empower consumerization, it’s a great time to start.

Let us know what you think – stay engaged in the communities, and share your success stories. We look forward to hearing from you!

Citrix Support for Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1 Release

Fri, 11 Oct 2013 20:15:00 GMT

With the coming release of Windows Server 2012 R2 we are excited about how advances in the core platform, particularly in the area of storage, are redefining what’s possible with virtual desktop environments. New features in R2 such as storage tiering, which automatically tiers data across SSDs and slow spinning disks depending on usage patterns, and the deduplication of online VHDs improve the performance and economics of VDI solutions.

We are also excited to see our long-time partner Citrix providing support for Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1. XenDesktop 7.1 releases just one week after the October 18^th general availability of Windows Server, and will add support for Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1. We continue to work closely with Citrix to provide a high level of interoperability with our products. This partnership continues as Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 bring innovation to the market, helping our customers improve IT and employee productivity.

Highlights from Oracle OpenWorld 2013 – Blazing New Trails

Tue, 08 Oct 2013 16:30:00 GMT

Recently, Microsoft blazed new trail with its first-ever sponsored presence at Oracle OpenWorld. This participation was in celebration of the new partnership between Oracle and Microsoft which will provide customers more flexibility and choice for how they deploy Oracle’s software on Microsoft’s Cloud OS platforms.

The week was punctuated by Brad Anderson’s keynote delivery, announcing the preview availability of Oracle virtual machine images in the Windows Azure image gallery. If you weren’t one of the 10,000 in attendance, you can watch highlights of Brad’s OpenWorld keynote here (full-length version also available). Social channels buzzed with surprised and positive reactions to the announcements including comments like the following:

Those reactions were mirrored in the exhibition hall and at Microsoft’s breakout sessions where product experts answered questions ranging from “What is Windows Azure?” to “Do you really have Oracle Linux running in Windows Azure?” (by the way, the answer is YES!).

Has Microsoft and Oracle’s unexpected relationship peaked your interest as well? Try out the new images for yourself. Visit WindowAzure.com/Oracle for more information and to activate your free trial account.

Explore Your Technology Opportunities with Microsoft Insights Events and Resources

Mon, 07 Oct 2013 18:00:00 GMT

Tune in October 29, 2013 for Microsoft Insights—the first in a series of live online events designed to help inspire and guide your technology skills advancement, whether you're just starting out or striving for new opportunities. Learn about emerging opportunities in technology fields, get insights on the wealth of training and resources available to help you get ahead of the pack, and get help deciding if certification is right for you.

Our panel of experts will share their views on technology training and careers, covering:

Opportunities in the fast-changing technology world
How specific job roles are evolving
Earning trends associated with different paths

Our esteemed panelists include:

Barnaby Dorfman – Senior Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Products, PayScale.com
Shravan Goli – President of Dice
Maureen Majury – Director for the Center of Excellence for Information and Computing Technology (CoE for ICT) at Bellevue College
Bill Symonds – Internationally recognized education reformer, speaker, and author of the Harvard Graduate School of Education “Pathways to Prosperity” report

Who should attend:

IT professionals
Developers
Those who are exploring technology as a new learning or career path
Educators
Hiring managers

Get more details and sign up today!

On Twitter? Tell your friends about this by clicking http://clicktotweet.com/L7RVN . See you online soon!

Microsoft Partners with Oracle on Enterprise-grade Cloud Software and Services

Tue, 24 Sep 2013 13:00:00 GMT

Microsoft’s OS Cloud vision takes place on the back of great hardware, software, services and our partners. It isn’t enough to have the best server OS for file and print. You have to run other roles and workloads for virtualization, email and databases to name a few. It should be no surprise that customers want choice and that includes running Oracle software.

Today we are announcing a partnership in Microsoft VP Brad Anderson’s blog post, “Oracle OpenWorld 2013: Oracle’s Mission-critical Software and Microsoft’s Enterprise-grade Cloud”.

Building on our longstanding relationship, customers using Java, Oracle WebLogic Server, and Oracle Database will now have the flexibility to run that software on Windows Azure and Windows Hyper-V. Today is the first of many steps that will deliver on the promise of this partnership. See Brad’s post above for more information.

If you haven’t already, be sure and review the Evaluation Center on TechNet.com. There you’ll find resources and links to Windows Server, System Center, and many other products and services that make up the Microsoft Cloud OS vision. We think you’ll find there is a diverse mix of products to support your solution needs.

As always, follow us on Twitter via @MSCloud! And if you would like to follow Brad Anderson, do that via @InTheCloudMSFT !

Microsoft Delivers at Oracle OpenWorld 2013

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Oracle OpenWorld 2013 kicks off today and it might surprise you to learn how many great Microsoft sessions will be delivered. Oracle products run on the platform that make up the Microsoft Cloud OS vision, so it’s important for us to give you great information on our latest innovations, and how partner products integrate and execute well.

For starters, you might want to rewind a couple months back and see Brad Anderson’s blog post “After Today, Cloud Computing is No Longer a Spectator Sport”. It establishes some of the groundwork for the What’s New In Windows Server 2012 R2 series, also on his blog.

If you’ll be attending OpenWorld in San Francisco, find your way to our booth for an opportunity to see the Cloud OS in action - through both interactive and guided demos. Product experts will be on hand to answer your public and private cloud puzzlers.

Then, make your way to one of our sessions to get first-hand vision and instruction. Here are some sessions we think you’ll find valuable:

Microsoft and Oracle: Partners in the Enterprise Cloud - The Cloud OS is Microsoft’s comprehensive cloud computing vision that that leverages Microsoft’s unmatched legacy of running the world’s highest-scale online services and most advanced datacenters to deliver a modern platform for the world’s applications and devices. Join Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President of Windows Server and System Center Program Management as he showcases how Microsoft and Oracle are working together to help customers embrace cloud computing by improving flexibility and choice while also preserving first class support for mission-critical workloads. Presented by Microsoft VP Brand Anderson on 9/24 at 1:30pm in Moscone North - Hall D
Traversing the Public and Private Cloud with Windows Azure and Windows Server Hyper-V - Attend this session to learn how you can have your cake and eat it too—moving virtual machines from your own data center to the cloud and back. The presentation discusses some of the factors that go into deciding whether to use the cloud for an Oracle Database deployment and what scenarios benefit from a combination deployment across public and private cloud environments. Presented by Steven Martin and Mike Schutz on 9/24 at 3:45pm in Moscone West – 2010.
Windows Azure: What’s New in the Microsoft Public Cloud - Get familiar with how you can use Windows Azure like an extension of your own data center by running Oracle software in this public cloud environment. We’ll explore common scenarios where Windows Azure has proven value, and provide guidance for getting the most out of Windows Azure. Presented by Steven Martin on 9/25 at 10:15am in Moscone South – 250.

There’s even more to see. Search the sessions below in the Oracle Openworld 2013 content catalog for more details:

Windows Server and Hyper-V Highlights – Best Platform for your Oracle Workloads (Jeff Woolsey)
Developing Java Apps on Windows Azure (Gianugo Rabellino)
Panel: Building and Managing a Cloud Infrastructure Built on Oracle WebLogic Server (Gianugo Rabellino)
Java on Windows Azure: Tips, Tricks, and Examples (Brian Benz – MS Open Tech)

For those of you that want to try Windows Server 2012 R2, you can download the Preview and RTM bits. See the Microsoft.com Windows Server 2012 R2 area for more information. See the TechNet Evaluation Center for previews and downloads of other Microsoft products like System Center, SQL Server, and Microsoft Exchange.

We hope you enjoy the Microsoft sessions at OpenWorld!

Private, Public or Hybrid - Why Not Let Customers Decide?

Thu, 19 Sep 2013 15:00:00 GMT

As competition in the cloud space heats up, things are looking better than ever for customers, as they have access to increasingly better solutions and hence, more choice. However, this competition is making at least one vendor uncomfortable - how else does one explain recent comments from an AWS executive that private clouds are “ill-advised” and “archaic”?

In my customer conversations, the most consistent theme that comes up is the reality that every customer has a unique cloud roadmap. This is not very surprising, as each customer is trying to optimize across a set of factors that are unique to its business. For example, if one customer’s biggest headache is securely managing the thousands of consumer mobile devices being used by employees within the company’s network, another may be more concerned about realizing the maximum return on an investment in server hardware. All of this is coupled with the realization that the IT world is extremely fluid, and CIOs and other IT decision makers need to be able to make today’s investments adapt as the environment around them changes.

With Microsoft’s Cloud OS vision, customers get one consistent platform for infrastructure, apps and data. And they get to decide where they want this platform to live – in their datacenter, their hosting service provider and/or the Microsoft public cloud. In other words, customers get to choose their cloud roadmap, and Microsoft supports them with a consistent experience no matter where they are. Customers around the world are seeing the value of this approach. So while Aston Martin decided to invest in Microsoft’s private cloud solution based on Windows Server and System Center for its own datacenters, Trek chose a public cloud solution based on Windows Azure as its best fit. Yet another customer, Telefónica, has chosen to implement a public-private hybrid solution to meet its unique needs.

My point here is not to defend an exclusively private or exclusively public cloud as the best choice for customers, because doing so implies that Microsoft (or any other cloud vendor) knows customers’ businesses and needs better than them, which is just not true. It’s also why Microsoft believes in providing customers with choices, and letting them decide the path that meets their needs best. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you learn more about our Cloud OS vision, and why we believe our approach gives customers the most flexibility.

Server-Cloud Launches! Behind the Scenes with Amber Kinney

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Delivering relevant, timely and accurate information on Microsoft products isn’t an easy chore. Many people work long and hard to make the Microsoft online experience a compelling one for Developers, IT Pros, Architects, Managers, etc. We have been working hard to improve the experience at Microsoft.com in order to provide excellent information on the Microsoft Cloud OS vision.

Microsoft Senior Marketing Manager, Amber Kinney, is one of the folks here at Microsoft that has worked tirelessly to bring the area at http://www.microsoft.com/server-cloud to life. This site just hit another design and content milestone so we wanted to bring it to your attention. We also sat down with Amber to ask a couple of questions about the project. Here are the questions and the answers from that session:

Question: What’s the project you’ve been working on?

Answer: On 9.15 we launched a Microsoft.com/server-cloud website which includes 18 solution pages, a “Why Cloud OS” page, a user-friendly customer evidence experience and audience pages. A primary focus for this launch has been on redesigning the UX to improve the user experience, deliver great, innovative content and increase engagement. We are also excited to announce that the site is now adaptive/responsive. This means that the site has been designed for an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with limited resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices such as mobile phones, tablets and PCs.

Another highlight is a set of cross-product solution pages that align to the most commonly searched for industry terms, optimized for SEO. Our goal is to ensure that our customers understand how these solutions tie to Microsoft Products such as Windows Server, SQL Server and Windows Azure.

Question: What audience is the information targeted at?

Answer: The target audience for the site is IT Professionals, Business and Technical Decision Makers. There is also an audience pivot in the top navigation designed to easily route Small and Medium Businesses, Developers, Partners and Service Providers/Hosters to their respective pages.

Question: What’s next after this milestone?

Answer: Because this release is part of a multi-phased project to revamp the Server-Cloud website, we are working to scale the site globally and launch in 27 markets over the next couple months.

We hope you find the information at http://www.microsoft.com/server-cloud interesting and useful. As always, you’ll find detailed product and development information at http://technet.com and http://msdn.com. Be sure to let us know how we’re doing and if there is something you need that we aren’t providing.

Top Picks from TechEd 2013 - Windows Server Active Directory (AD) Double Shot

Tue, 10 Sep 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Active Directory (AD) still continues to be a topic of interest for new and seasoned IT Professionals. Directory services provide the core for organization, security and management of many type of principles. With that in mind we wanted to highlight a couple of the top rated sessions from TechEd 2013.

Running Your Active Directory in Windows Azure Virtual Machines

Join this session and get up to speed on how and when to deploy Windows Server Active Directory into Windows Azure Virtual Machines. You will learn how to decide between Windows Azure Active Directory, one of our platform service, and running Windows Server AD in Virtual Machines. Hear how you can extend your existing workloads and infrastructure to the cloud, see demos and catch-up on a few tips.

Upgrading the Platform - How to Get There! Part 2: Reimagining and Migrating Your Active Directory

This session shows how you can redesign what you have now to be ready for the future. Rethink your ideas on Active Directory design and deployment. Restructure your Active Directory design to be more efficient by leveraging virtualized and automated DC deployment with DC cloning. Manage your systems more efficiently with Windows PowerShell and Active Directory Administrative Center regardless if they are Core shell deployments or Full GUI deployments. This demo-heavy session is sure to have something for Active Directory administrators and architects alike.

And for those of you interested in downloading some of the products and trying them, here are some resources to help you:

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview download
System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download
Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview download

Written by Keith Combs, Microsoft Server and Tools

Windows Server 2012 R2 RTM Now Available for Download by MSDN and TechNet Subscribers

Mon, 09 Sep 2013 17:00:00 GMT

As you know, we’ve been filling in the Microsoft Cloud vision with products chock-full of innovation. As announced on Steve Guggenheimer's blog, and Microsoft VP Brad Anderson’s blog post, “Ready Now for TNS & MSDN: Download Windows Server 2012 R2”, the Released to Manufacturing (RTM) bits for Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 are now available for download, to current MSDN and TechNet subscribers.

For those of you that are developers, be sure to also grab a copy of Visual Studio 2013 Release Candidate that was made available today.

And for those of you interested in downloading some other products and trying them, here are some resources to help you:

System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download

As always, follow us on Twitter via @MSCloud! And if you would like to follow Brad Anderson, do that via @InTheCloudMSFT !

Top Picks from TechEd 2013: A Virtualization Medley

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 16:00:00 GMT

In this week’s Top Picks from TechEd 2013, we have selected some sessions on virtualization. They are all highly reviewed and we are sure the topics will be interesting to you. Virtualization has been white hot for years and the following sessions will catch you up on the latest innovations from Microsoft.

The sessions are based on the preview that was made available in previous months. Windows Server 2012 R2 has now reached the RTM milestone. As a result, the next set of picks from TechEd 2013 next week will be the last edition until next year. We hope you found this series helpful. Here are this week’s picks.

Hyper-V - What's New in Windows Server 2012 R2

Join this session to learn about the new features and functionality in Windows Server vNext in Hyper-V.

Introduction to Windows Server 2012 R2

Get the details on the upcoming release of Windows Server. We go over enhancements and new capabilities in Networking, Storage, Hyper-V, PowerShell and availability - making it easier than ever for customers to truly embrace the cloud with Windows Server.

Understanding the Hyper-V over SMB Scenario, Configurations, and End-to-End Performance

We begin this session with a quick overview of the Hyper-V over SMB scenario, where we use remote file storage for your live Hyper-V files. Next, we share a few potential continuously available configurations providing specifics around the kind of Hyper-V hosts, networking and storage for each one. We conclude with a look at end-to-end performance and the most common bottlenecks for the Hyper-V over SMB scenario.

Check back here next week. We’ll have our last episode of Top Picks from TechEd 2013.

And for those of you interested in downloading some of the products and trying them, here are some resources to help you

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview download
System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download
Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview download

Written by Keith Combs, Microsoft Server and Tools

Seize the Opportunity for a Deeper Engagement with the Product Engineering Team of Application Access Enhancements for Windows Azure Active Directory

Tue, 03 Sep 2013 17:00:00 GMT

On the 7th of July we announced the public preview release for the new application access enhancements for Windows Azure Active Directory that enables you to provide Single Sign On for all kinds of SaaS apps no matter where they are hosted, to you users. You can sign up for this preview today.

We would like to inform you that we actively taking nominations for deeper customer engagement. The benefits include early access to new capabilities while they are in development, direct feedback to engineering to help shape the service, and regular engagement with our engineers. If you want to work closely with our product engineering team during this preview and while you are testing the new enhancements, please fill this form and we will contact you.

You can also send us any questions and feedback you have regarding application access enhancements public preview. We would highly value your input and feedback on these new features, how useful they are to your company and how we could improve them.

For more information, benefits and scenarios on Windows Azure Active Directory, please visit the Identity and Access Management webpage.

What’s New in 2012 R2: Platform as a Service for the Modern Web

Wed, 28 Aug 2013 15:33:30 GMT

Setting up and managing web farms isn’t for the faint of heart. We’ve made great strides with automation and scripting in the past, but we have continued to innovate.

Web Sites for Windows Server, included in the Windows Azure Pack, provides a Platform as a Service for modern web applications. It delivers both a powerful self-service platform for developers, while serving as a flexible hosting solution for IT professionals. Web Sites does this in a manner which is highly consistent with the Windows Azure Web Sites service. This allows developers and IT professionals to code against and manage a common set of run-times, experiences, and capabilities – regardless of deployment to the public or private cloud.

Developers and IT pros alike have often struggled with the complexity of web farm configuration and management. By providing a turnkey solution, Web Sites provides developers with the web application services they expect while simplifying administration for the IT professional.

In this week’s post, “What’s New in 2012 R2: PaaS for the Modern Web”, Microsoft VP Brad Anderson discusses the developer and it professional experiences included in the Windows Azure Pack. This article is pretty lengthy due to the number of screenshots and technical information, but we think it will be a worthwhile read.

The Web Site service in the Windows Azure Pack has been built from the ground up to provide developers with a flexible, scalable, and secure platform for hosting modern applications.

As Web Sites is built from the same source code as the Windows Azure service, the Windows Azure Pack provides highly consistent experiences with the Microsoft-operated Windows Azure Web Sites service. For administrators, we have taken knowledge gained from operating our cloud to improve operational efficiency.

Give it a try. The bits and documentation can be found here.

And for those of you interested in downloading some of the other products and trying them, here are some resources to help you:

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview download
System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download
Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview download

As always, follow us on Twitter via @MSCloud! And if you would like to follow Brad Anderson, do that via @InTheCloudMSFT !

Top Picks from TechEd 2013 - Episode 6 - Mark Russinovich Deep Dive Sessions

Tue, 27 Aug 2013 19:00:00 GMT

In this week’s Top Picks from TechEd 2013, we have selected some sessions from Microsoft Technical Fellow, Mark Russinovich. Mark is consistently rated one of the top speakers at every event he presents at. His technical skill is unmatched but he is also a funny and engaging speaker. Both of the sessions below won’t disappoint.

Case of the Unexplained – Windows Troubleshooting

The master of Windows troubleshooting, walk you step-by-step through how he has solved seemingly unsolvable system and application problems on Windows. With all new real case studies, Mark shows how to apply the Microsoft Debugging Tools and his own Sysinternals tools, including Process Explorer, Process Monitor, to solve system crashes, process hangs, security vulnerabilities, DLL conflicts, permissions problems, registry misconfiguration, network hangs, and file system issues. These tools are used on a daily basis by Microsoft Product Support and have been used effectively to solve a wide variety of desktop and server issues, so being familiar with their operation and application will assist you in dealing with different problems on Windows.

License to Kill: Malware Hunting with the Sysinternals Tools

This session provides an overview of several Sysinternals tools, including Process Monitor, Process Explorer, and Autoruns, focusing on the features useful for malware analysis and removal. These utilities enable deep inspection and control of processes, file system and registry activity, and autostart execution points. You will see demos for their malware-hunting capabilities through several real-world cases that used the tools to identify and clean malware, and conclude by performing a live analysis of a Stuxnet infection’s system impact.

Check back here next week. We’ll have another episode of Top Picks from TechEd 2013.

And for those of you interested in downloading some of the products and trying them, here are some resources to help you:

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview download
System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download
Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview download

Written by Keith Combs, Microsoft Server and Tools

Get the Scoop on San Francisco's Finest Custard with the Hyper-V Team

Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:56:16 GMT

VMWorld is in full swing and Microsoft is there. The most obvious question that VMworld attendees (and IT professionals that are familiar with VMware) are probably asking right now – “why would I want to learn about Hyper-V while attending VMworld?” The answer is simple – to help their careers as technology professionals. Research shows that over 70% of businesses now have more than one virtualization platform in their IT environment. As you can imagine, this trend is opening up opportunities for IT professionals that are familiar with more than one virtualization platform. And if you look at the market data, it is clear that Hyper-V is the one to watch (and try!) .

Sound interesting? Get more information on our activities at VMworld 2013 from Microsoft Senior PMM Varun Chhabra in his post, “Get the “Scoop” on Hyper-V During VMworld”. Well worth the read on how we compare.

For those of you interested in downloading some of the products and trying them, here are some resources to help you:

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview download
System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download
Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview download

As always, follow us on Twitter via @MSCloud! And if you would like to follow Microsoft VP Brad Anderson, do that via @InTheCloudMSFT !

What’s New in 2012 R2: Developing Modern Apps with the Microsoft Windows Azure Pack

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 17:00:00 GMT

Modern applications are pushing the boundaries of architecture. IT Professionals need to keep up with the platform innovations for developers, because it creates new opportunity for architecture and design, testing, benchmarking, implementation, management, security, operations and updates. Having a strong life cycle background will serve you well in the new world of the cloud.

In this week’s “What’s New in 2012 R2: Enabling Modern Apps with the Windows Azure Pack”, Microsoft VP Brad Anderson takes a deep dive into the Windows Azure Pack, message queuing, and a number of innovations to support multi-tier application scenarios.

We’ve listened closely to our customers and focused on improving the following 3 core scenarios with the Service Bus 1.1 for Windows Server and the Windows Azure Pack v1:

Application Messaging Patterns with Service Bus - With Service Bus we support basic as well as advanced messaging patterns for use in modern applications. With this release we’ve also added new messaging capabilities, additional protocols, and simplified APIs to enable developers to write better applications faster.
Manage Messaging entities across clouds - Whether you’re developing for the public cloud, private cloud, or a hosted cloud (with your service provider), developers will be able to write applications once and then use it anywhere within these clouds – without needing to recompile. This can be done by simply changing an entry in the configuration file.
Offering Alternatives with Service Bus - Whether you are an Independent Software Vendor developing software and services for others, an enterprise which deploys home-grown applications, or a developer looking for an easy to deploy messaging component, you can use Service Bus in your topology. With this release we’ve improved the hosting capabilities for enterprises and service providers enabling new hosting topologies.

Spend some time really reading this article. Some of the concepts and technologies may be totally foreign to you, but you’ll need to start understanding the platform more fully to support the modern applications that are coming. At the end of the article we’ve provided some links to additional supporting resources.

And for those of you interested in downloading some of the products and trying them, here are some resources to help you

Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview download
System Center 2012 R2 Preview download
SQL Server 2014 Community Technology Preview 1 (CTP1) download
Windows 8.1 Enterprise Preview download

As always, follow us on Twitter via @MSCloud! And if you would like to follow Brad Anderson, do that via @InTheCloudMSFT !