Microsoft $15B Investment is now at the center of the company
Interesting article on how Microsoft's $15 billion cloud bet ended up at the center of the company http:/ /bit.ly/1Nq7bIZ
The Business of IT In a Cloud Era
Times are changing; cloud-based technologies (public, private or hybrid) are sweeping the world of IT. The pace of change is fast and furious. Every other day we do hear of some new service or technology being rolled-out and, as the famous saying goes, change is inevitable. Changes to IT departments, System Integrators and IT consulting…
Cloud Computing is like Cable TV
Cloud computing is one of the hottest buzzwords in IT field. This concept is not new — Users are already using cloud technology for last 10 years. The best examples, widely used by individual users and organizations, but not specifically known as cloud solutions, are Gmail, PayPal, Facebook, Dropbox, Salesforce and many others. However, using…
Technology Infrastructure Managed as Code
I have been involved in Technology Management for much of my professional life. I have helped people in many type of organizations (small, medium, large and global) manage their technology improvements, migrations and transformations including PCs, Internet, virtualization, and as of late, cloud-based infrastructures… I have seen what it takes organizations adopt, transform and shift…
Cloud Storage Services
Wow! – It has been about a year since I’ve written about this… It was in my article back in April 2012, Google Drive: Have Cloud Drives Lost Their Way? I stated what I thought was needed and the challenges with the existing services (back then) were… Well – a lot of the issues have…
Cloud Services 101 – Welcome
Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the world of IT services. The term, which is still pretty nebulous for many users, refers to a model in which computing resources are hosted and delivered via the Internet than can dynamically grow and shrink depending on its demand and you pay only for…
Cloud Services: Primer
I am asked often to about this topic, having written a number of individual posts in the past, I thought, why not put it all together? So here it is… Let me know if you find it useful or have any comments! – Cheers. Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the…
Cloud Services 101
Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the world of IT services. The term, which is still pretty nebulous for many users, refers to a model in which computing resources are hosted and delivered via the Internet than can dynamically grow and shrink depending on its demand and you pay only for…
Cloud Services 101-5: Storage as a Service
Originally published for Averro.com blog. One of the major technical dilemmas that many small or medium sized companies face, is to have enough storage space for all the data its employees work with every day. Storage space can be pretty expensive; servers, hosting fees and support costs, can eat up a significant portion of the…
Cloud Services 101-Video 2: Key Benefits
Originally published for Averro.com blog. In Cloud Services 101- Video 1 presentation we covered the basics (Definition, types, and deployment models) of what is refered to as cloud services. In this part-2 presentation we cover the key advantages that small and medium businesses can benefit from the use of these technologies. We have a few…
Cloud Services 101-4: For Small Businesses
Originally published for Averro.com blog. Cloud computing is quickly altering the way small businesses work. Hardware procurement, setup and software licensing in order to support the applications for all users in the organization is a significant effort and constant concern for the management team in any small business. With the development of cloud based services,…
Cloud Services 101-3: Key Benefits
Originally published for Averro.com blog. As we discussed in our initial article of the series, Cloud Services 101: The Basics, the cloud services can be categorized into three areas, Infrastructure, Platform or Application related. In part 2 of the series (Cloud Services 101: Big Players in the Field) we touched up on some of the…
No More On-Premise Servers
I have long been talking to clients (especially small businesses) about the fact that they do not need to keep servers on-premise to do their work. In a press release dated 1/13/10 where Gartner lists its key predictions for IT in 2010 and beyond (read here), the first highlight is a prediction that by 2012,…
Cloud Services 101-2: The Big Names in the Field
Originally published for Averro.com blog. Thanks to the convergence of multiple technology trends, including virtualization, data center consolidation, web-services, browser and commercialization of hardware advancements, there is simply no way of ignoring or denying the impact that cloud services are having within the industry. Placing files, email and applications on the cloud has its significant…
Cloud Services 101-Video 1: The Basics
Originally created for Averro.com blog and posted on their blog. Following our April 17th posting, we have posted webcast — first of a series — explaining how can cloud services can help the Small Business. Each video is small and to the point, and intended for a business audience, and not a technical one. This…
Windows Intune – Cloud-based Desktop Management
The beta version of Windows Intune, formerly known as System Center Online Desktop Management, it is now officially part of the Microsoft Online Services. is now in full beta. Windows Intune simplifies how businesses manage and secure PCs using Windows cloud services and Windows 7—so your computers and users can operate at peak performance. Windows…
Cloud Services 101-1: The Basics
Originally published for Averro.com blog and posted on their blog. Cloud computing (or cloud services) is the new buzz in the world of IT services. The term, which is still pretty nebulous for many users, refers to a model in which computing resources are hosted and delivered via the Internet than can dynamically grow and…
Windows Azure – Simple Explanation
We are often asked what is Windows Azure, and how does it help the business. Explaining what an application hosting platform is, and how it can help it is not as simple as it sounds… Microsoft Azure is an application hosting environment rather than a server-based like Amazon’s AWS environment. Azure is a service that…
Cloud-Services vs Virtualization
As many of you already know, we have been strong proponent of cloud-based services for a very long time… The idea of maintaining an expensive and complex in-house infrastructure to support basic IT services is steadily shifting away from mainstream business. Adoption of cloud-based services continues to climb steadily. However, a recent article on the…
Behind the scenes on Cloud Computing
A very interesting video on the hardware architecture behind cloud computing was posted yesterday on Microsoft’s Channel9 site… The walk-though is presented by Patrick Yantz, a Cloud Architect with Microsoft’s Data Center Services Team at PDC09. Self contained 40-foot containers (yes the kind you see on the road) are used to store 1000’s of motherboards and…
What is Google Wave?
A great short explanation video of what googlewave is all about by epicheostudio.com “ Did you know that email was invented 40 years ago?” Thanks! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDu2A3WzQpo&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1]
Time Tracking Web-based
Time tracking software has come a long way from the early days of having to enter time into pieces of paper and spreadsheets, which had to then be manually entered into the billing systems. it was tedious and crazy work… These days, web-based tracking software tools range from the simple, to highly complex systems with…
Cloud Computing – Basics
Microsoft’ Ron Markezich, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Online, made available a basic but interesting video on his views on cloud computing adoption which he expressed at the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium in Boston, MA For one thing, chief information officers are uncertain how to fashion a roadmap that brings “cloud services” into their IT architecture….