www.ToddCarterCISSP.com

Hosted Exchange 2010 SP2 Info

2012-01-28T13:55:00.000-08:00

With new guidance provided by Microsoft, Hosting companies and Service Providers must reassess their options for deploying Hosted Exchange 2010. Parallels Automation for Messaging and Collaboration provides the solution.

To learn more, check out the following links:

Parallels Automation for Messaging and Collaboration

Exchange Server 2010 SP2 and Support for Hosting Exchange

Released: Migrating Exchange from HMC 4.5 to Exchange Server 2010 SP2 whitepaper

Exchange 2010 Service Pack 2 and Hosting

Released: Exchange Server 2010 SP2

The following links provide additional details:

http://www.parallels.com/products/automation/operations/modules/exchange/

http://www.parallels.com/products/automation/operations/modules/office365/

The following PDFs provide additional details:

http://www.parallels.com/r/pdf/ds/parallels_automation_saas_module.pdf

http://www.parallels.com/r/pdf/wp/automation/Microsoft_Office_365_WP_EN_LTR.pdf

http://www.parallels.com/r/pdf/ds/Parallels_Operations_Automation.pdf

...

Best Practices for Sales Engineering

2011-12-01T17:55:00.000-08:00

Throughout my career I have practiced the art of the Sales Engineer from both sides. As both an SE and as a manager. From UNIX mini-computer deployments and migrations as an engineer to break-fix operations as a Compaq Authorized Service Center Manger. From Systems Engineering Consultant, Network Systems Engineer, Infrastructure Services Manger, Product Manger and Principal Systems Engineer to Director of Sales Engineering.

A few key resources that have traveled with me and serve me well include the following:

Working with bright, insightful people at innovative technology companies is an exciting career path!

PS. Another great resource for Sales Engineers and Technical Sales Specialists is the Great Demo blog. You can check it out here

New Cloud Infrastructure Option for Service Providers

2011-09-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

New Cloud Infrastructure Option for Service Providers:

Parallels Automation for Cloud Infrastructure Launches; Provides the Industry’s First Turn-Key Solution to Deliver Cloud Infrastructure Services to Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs)

September 23, 2011
New, scalable Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) module of Parallels Automation is complete with integrated provisioning, billing, and self-service management

Cloud-ready virtualization solution – Parallels Server Bare Metal – is fully integrated into PACI, combining maximum density Cloud Infrastructure using Parallels Virtuozzo Containers with world-class hypervisor technology
- http://www.parallels.com/news/id,29042

Parallels to leverage Scality RING technology in its “Parallels Automation for Cloud Infrastructure” – February 23rd 2011
- Scality and Parallels Automation Announcement

vSphere storage changes bring opportunities for VARs
- vSphere storage changes bring opportunities for VARs

The Open Data Center Alliance is an independent IT consortium comprised of leading global organizations from a wide array of industries who have come together to provide a unified vision for long-term data center requirements.
- www.opendatacenteralliance.org

Parallels - Solution Provider Member:
“Parallels looks forward to advancing Open Data Center Alliance Service Catalog Usage Model in the public cloud, contributing our expertise in powering 5,000 Parallels Hosting Partners globally serving more than 10 million SMBs with a wide-range of IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS offerings. Parallels enables cloud service providers to shorten their time to revenue, raise average revenue per user, and lower customer churn. Open standards and interoperability across key cloud data center elements will help all parties optimize to Profit from the Cloud.”

John Zanni, Vice President, Parallels Service Provider Marketing and Alliances- http://www.opendatacenteralliance.org./membership/membervoice

How do I size Exchange 2010?

2011-09-28T18:09:00.000-07:00

Great Video Posted over on the Exchange 2010 TechCenter @
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/ff727932.aspx

How do I size Exchange 2010?
- About This VideoExchange 2010 introduces new functionality in server roles, including new high availability features. Join Nicolas Blank as he discusses how to size critical Exchange 2010 server roles using tools and calculators to establish the disks, IOPS, replication bandwidth, CPU cores, and memory requirement for each role.

Exchange Server 2010 SP2 and Support for Hosting Exchange

2011-09-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is going to be interesting. So if a Service Provider has deployed Exchange 2010 SP1 with the "/hosting" switch, do they have to redeploy?

http://blogs.technet.com/b/exchange/archive/2011/08/30/exchange-server-2010-sp2-and-support-for-hosting-exchange.aspx

Deploying Lync Server 2010

2011-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Deploying Lync Server 2010 (Part 1)
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/deploying-lync-server-2010-part1.html

Deploying Lync Server 2010 (Part 2)
http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/deploying-lync-server-2010-part2.html

Planning, Deploying, and Testing an Exchange 2010 Site-Resilient Solution

2011-08-29T10:55:00.000-07:00

Planning, Deploying, and Testing an Exchange 2010 Site-Resilient Solution sized for a Medium Organization (Part 1-13)

http://www.msexchange.org/articles_tutorials/exchange-server-2010/management-administration/planning-deploying-testing-exchange-2010-site-resilient-solution-sized-medium-organization-part1.html

So, You Want to Host Exchange? (repost)

2011-08-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

A new post by:
Michael van Dijken
Senior Product Management
Exchange Partner Marketing

http://blogs.technet.com/b/hameroff/archive/2011/08/08/so-you-want-to-host-exchange.aspx

One of the questions which I found come up consistently (both in conversations and in my interactive breakout session at WPC titled “So You Want To Host Exchange?” – BP22i) was whether to deploy Exchange 2010 using the “/hosting” mode switch, or to simply use the standard configuration typical of an on-premises deployment. Given that this was such a topic of interest, I thought I’d address it here on the Exchange Partner blog. But first a little background on the subject.

http://blogs.technet.com/b/hameroff/archive/2011/08/08/so-you-want-to-host-exchange.aspx

You might also be wondering how to deploy without using /hosting mode given that our published guidance is for /hosting mode. The best approach to do this today is to use a hosting automation solution, or to engage the services of a System Integrator with depth in the hosting industry (such as Implement.com). Following this approach both speeds your time to market, and offers you the confidence of a product already tested and proven in the marketplace. Check out these hosting automation solutions from the partners we work closely with:

•Parallels Automation Microsoft Exchange Service Module

"IT" will happen. Prepare for it.

2011-07-13T00:07:00.000-07:00

http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/cloud/231000954/the-10-biggest-cloud-outages-of-2011-so-far.htm

SPOLILER ALERT!!! There will be outages. The cloud is not immune. It turns out, the cloud computing services and architectures are just as prone to downtime as their on-premise counterparts.

GO FIGURE!

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V: Insiders Guide to Microsoft's Hypervisor

2011-05-18T23:02:00.000-07:00

Fully updated for Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, you will find additional content on new features and capabilities such as Live Migration and support for 64 Logical Processors (LP).

Teaches how to manage virtual machines with the latest System Center tools such as Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, Data Protection Manager 2010, and Operations Manager 2007 R2
Covers all of the new functionalities of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, including Live Migration, 64 LP support, Processor Compatibility Mode, enhanced processor functionality support, hot-add and remove of storage, TCP Offload support, and VM Queue support
Demonstrates key scenarios for Hyper-V, including server consolidation, testing and development, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, and Dynamic IT
Provides step-by-step instructions and examples

This insiders guide will help you get the most out of your hardware and reduce cost with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V.

Amazon EC2 Cloud Outage (Data Center Failure) Remediation

2011-05-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

When it comes to IT you must always be prepared!

Here are excellent posts that provide you direction and insight from lessons learned.

8kmiles Blueprint for Achieving High Availability: http://cloudblog.8kmiles.com/2011/04/29/design-for-failure-architecture-blueprints-for-achieving-high-availability-in-aws

How Netflix plans for Cloud failure: http://techblog.netflix.com/2010/12/5-lessons-weve-learned-using-aws.html

RightScale CTO, Thorsten von Eicken in regards to the Amazon outage:
Lessons Learned: http://blog.rightscale.com/2011/04/25/amazon-ec2-outage-summary-and-lessons-learned
Follow up to Amazon response: http://blog.rightscale.com/2011/05/02/aws-outage-follow-up-if-you-wanted-details-you-got-details

There is also a webinar that RightScale is putting on this week, May 6 at 11 AM Pacific Time:
Architecting for High Availability in the Cloud with Sr. RightScale Architect, Josep Blanquer
Register here: http://pages.rightscale.com/high_availability-050611.html

A "running history" of the Amazon Web Services outage can be followed by one of those hit by the outage:
http://blog.hootsuite.com/notes-on-todays-outage/

Amazon EC2 Cloud outage takes down big websites

2011-04-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

Wow. Your internet business just came to a screaching halt. Sorry about that.

While Amazons EC2 team struggle to get systems back online, customers are left pondering their options...

Amazon Web Services - Service Health Dash Board:

http://status.aws.amazon.com/

10:58 PM PDT Just a short note to let you know that the team continues to be all-hands on deck trying to add capacity to the affected Availability Zone to re-mirror stuck volumes. It's taking us longer than we anticipated to add capacity to this fleet. When we have an updated ETA or meaningful new update, we will make sure to post it here. But, we can assure you that the team is working this hard and will do so as long as it takes to get this resolved.

Additional information at http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/21/technology/amazon_server_outage/index.htm

Build and Offer a Hosted CRM Solution - Guidance now available

2011-04-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

How to launch a Hosted CRM 2011 Solution - Guidance now available!
http://www.implement.com/blog/bid/62472/Hosted-CRM-2011-Deployment-Guidance-Posted

Thanks to our friends at Implement.com for this documentation on standing up partner hosted Dynamics CRM

Launch a Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Service with Parallels Automation

2011-04-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

Learn how to launch a Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Service with Parallels Automation.

Parallels and Microsoft together provide Hosting, Cloud and Service Providers a complete solution for building a Hyper-V foundation. The integrated solution includes automated provisioning, resource management, end user service plans for subscription and billing, complete control panels and much more...

Learn about Parallels Automation and how we can launch your Cloud Services Business.

Read about Parallels Automation and Hyper-V Integration for Hosting and Cloud Service Providers:
- Parallels Automation: Integration with Hyper-V Stage 1 [Click Here]
- Parallels Automation: Integration with Hyper-V Stage 2 [Click Here]
- Parallels Automation Hyper-V Application Deployment Guide [Cick Here]

Understand the Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Program:
Microsoft Consulting provided resources that will help prepare you for building your own cloud solution based on Hyper-V and System Center - your Microsoft and Parallels Sales and Technical teams can show you how:
- For planning resources for starting your Dynamic Data Center solution deployment [Click Here]
- Begin your DDC education by going through the assessment planning toolkit [Click Here]
- For the Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Architecture Brief [Click Here]
- For the Hyper-V Reference Architecture Technical White Paper [Click Here]

Find the technical resources you need to start working with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and other Microsoft virtualization technologies @ http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server/en/us/technical-resources.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server

Microsoft Dynamic Datacenter Boot Camp Module 1 Video Posted

2011-04-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Dynamic Data Center (DDC) Boot Camps hosted around the United States. The Microsoft Hosting team posted a recording of Module 1 DDC fundementals content => Module 1: Overview of the Dyanmic Data Center

Backup Agent - A Service Provider Data Protection Solution

2011-04-14T11:59:00.000-07:00

Backup Agent is a solutiona that provides Hosting and Cloud Service providers the ability to offer their customers Data Protection over the internet.

Learn how to deploy Backupagent as an APS package with Parallels Automation

Backupagent ‘sizing’ reference architecture

Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Planning Tools

2011-04-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Planning Tool - The Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Planning Tool provides prescriptive guidance to get you started with planning your topology.

Communications Server 2010 - Planning Tool Overview - YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoK61J-Y7wY&feature=related

Related Downloads:

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Trial
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=145A4AAA-1F0D-403A-AD10-A1166EC44C75

Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Planning Tool Readme
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=C8BA3275-270F-4C0B-90BB-EDC1D1216C2D

What Others Are Downloading:
Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Resource Kit Tools
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=80CC5CE7-970D-4FD2-8731-D5D7D0829266

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Planning Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=2DA9FA26-E032-4DCF-B487-DA916DDC508F

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Getting Started Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=E33765BC-9C5D-49B2-BB4F-EC8D42CCC1C7

Lync Server 2010, Best Practices Analyzer
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=030548DF-0DC7-4F86-B8A9-2F5EC8DE8BA5

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Enterprise Edition Deployment Guide
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=4CF4BED4-2F76-4B99-ADCB-60653521CC70

Users craft Windows images to run on Microsoft’s Azure cloud

2011-03-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Azure now offers users the ability to craft their own Windows images and run them on Microsoft’s cloud. These VM Roles are built by you (sysprep recommended) and uploaded to your blob storage. When you create a service around your custom VMs and start the instances, Fabric Controller takes pains to redundantly ensure redundancy. It makes a shadow copy of your file, caches that shadow copy (in the VHD cacher, of course) and then creates the three VHDs seen above for each VM needed. From there, you’re on your own; Microsoft does not consider having to perform your own patches an asset in Azure.

VM Role: User-created, unsupported Windows Server 2008 virtual machine images that are uploaded by the user and controlled through the user portal. Unlike Web and Worker Roles, these are not updated and maintained automatically by Azure.

Worker Role: An instance configured not to run IIS but instead to run applications developed and/or uploaded to the VM by the end user.

How-azure-actually-works-courtesy-of-mark-russinovich

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Active Directory Guide

2011-03-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Active Directory Guide - This document guides you through the process of preparing Active Directory for Microsoft Lync Server 2010 and includes the Active Directory schema reference.

Building Microsoft Messaging and Collaboration Cloud Services

2011-03-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

Building Microsoft Messaging and Collaboration Cloud Services - The documents in this file are intended to provide system integrators and service providers with guidance for migrating from Microsoft Solution for Hosted and Messaging Collaboration (HMC) to Microsoft® Exchange 2010 SP1 in Hosting mode.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Deployment Guides

2011-03-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 - Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software offers instant messaging (IM), presence, conferencing, and telephony solutions that can support enterprise-level collaboration requirements.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Capacity Planning - The topics in this section help you understand how to plan and deploy Microsoft Lync Server 2010 communications software so that you can adequately plan for the number of users in your organization and plan for the server load that their activities generate.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Deployment Guide - This document guides you through the process of migrating and deploying Lync Server 2010 Group Chat Server and the related components that are required to let organizations set up searchable, topic-based chat rooms that persist over time, allowing geographically distributed teams to better collaborate with one another while preserving organizational knowledge.

• Lync Documentation Overview
• Lync Capacity Planning
• Lync Capacity Calculator
• Lync Stress and Performance Tool

Microsoft & The BroadWorks VoIP & UC Platforms

2011-03-02T17:00:00.000-08:00

BroadWorks, integrated with the Microsoft Solution for Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) version 4.5, provides businesses with a unified communications offering to help improve the efficiency of how employees communicate, increasing productivity across all functional areas.

The BroadWorks Platform

Network Elements
Geographic Redundancy and High Availability
Capacity and Scalability
Network Management
Xtensibility

Related Threads and Posts of Interest:

- Microsoft & Broadsoft

- Hosted Versus Premises - It's not Black and White

Take your Windows-based hosting business to the next level

2011-02-27T13:42:00.000-08:00

HOSTING DEPLOYMENT ACCELERATORS:
Resources to help you grow your dedicated, shared, virtual and database hosting business or help you start your Managed or Cloud Hosting business @ http://www.microsoft.com/hosting/en/us/hda/default.aspx#WindowsServer2008HyperV_

Expand your portfolio of service offerings today! Access all the tools and resources you need to take your Windows-based hosting business to the next level. We will help you build, deploy and reach new customers so you can grow your web hosting, application hosting or managed services business @ Take your Windows-based hosting business to the next level [Click Here]

The New New World of Hosting: @ http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2010/09/17/microsoft-to-hosters-move-up-the-value-chain/

This document provides guidance on how a hosting provider can create a managed hosting offer by leveraging different technologies offered by Microsoft. In this document, there is no single definition for Managed Hosting, but in general, Managed Hosting is referred to as a Dedicated Server or Virtual Dedicated Server hosting plan with a set of management services @ Installation Guide for System Center Enterprise Suite [Click Here]

Resources for starting your Dynamic Data Center solution deployment

2011-02-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Consulting created the DDC Toolkit and has provided additional resources that will help prepare you for building your own cloud solution based on Hyper-V and System Center.
Begin your DDC education by going through the assessment planning toolkit.

Resources for starting your Dynamic Data Center solution deployment

http://cloud.com/
http://www.kaseya.com/
http://www.parallels.com/products/automation/

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Planning Guide

2011-02-17T20:36:00.001-08:00

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Planning Guide

Planning for Exchange 2010 Deployment Resources

2011-02-17T20:16:00.000-08:00

Planning for Exchange 2010 Deployment Resources

Getting Started With Exchange 2010

Microsoft has posted an Online guide for Planning your Exchange 2010 Deployment - Read how to plan and deploy Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 into your production environment:

Planning for Exchange 2010 Deployment - Online Deployment Guide

Planning Active Directory

Multi-Tenant Support

Deployment Checklist for Multi-Tenancy

Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V

With Hyper-V, it's easier than ever to take advantage of the cost savings of virtualization through Windows Server 2008 R2. Optimize your server hardware investments by consolidating multiple server roles as separate virtual machines running on a single physical machine, efficiently run multiple different operating systems in parallel, on a single server, and fully leverage the power of x64 computing.

DNS Namespace Planning Support

2011-02-17T19:53:00.000-08:00

DNS Namespace Planning Support

Additional Key Resources:

Namespace Planning for Domain Name System (DNS)
An introduction on the basics of DNS planning. Includes instructions on choosing domain names, DNS namespace planning for Active Directory, and integration planning for supporting multiple namespaces.

DNS Namespace Planning
How to plan and create a DNS Namespace.

Namespace Planning Example
The article explains some of the issues must be considered when planning a namespace by describing the configuration of two fictitious organizations.

Checklist: Deploying DNS for Active Directory
A checklist detailing the steps that should be considered when deploying DNS for Active Directory.

Microsoft Hyper-V Customer Perspectives

2011-02-16T16:40:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Hyper-V Customer Perspectives:

View example Customer Perspectives and Case Studies HERE
How can Microsoft products and services help your business succeed? Case studies provide the proof points you need to plan and deploy effective virtualization solutions. Learn from similar organizations in your industry, and see why they are choosing Hyper-V to achieve highly effective virtual environments.

Hosting Deployment Guide for Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Beta

2011-02-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

This download contains topics that will help you plan, deploy, and manage Exchange Server 2010 SP1 in a multi-tenant organization - Hosting Deployment Guide for Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Beta

Exchange Server 2010 SP1 supports hosting deployments and provides hosting partners with the core Exchange features so that they can be deployed to multiple customers in a single installation. The Exchange 2010 SP1 Hosting Deployment guide augments the Exchange 2010 SP1 core content by highlighting the hosting deployment information.

Digging deeper into deploying Microsoft Dynamic Data Center

2011-02-15T22:10:00.000-08:00

I'm digging deeper into the deployment best practices for the Microsoft Dynamic Data Center (DDC) and I will post my findings here.

Starting with this link to the Microsoft System Center website where you will find tons of information and resources such as Interactive Overviews, Virtual Labs, Virtual Hard Disks and Downloads.

Download "Building Microsoft Messaging and Collaboration Cloud Services" docs

2011-02-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

Download "Building Microsoft Messaging and Collaboration Cloud Services" documents - Click HERE

The documents in this file are intended to provide system integrators and service providers with guidance for migrating from Microsoft Solution for Hosted and Messaging Collaboration (HMC) to Microsoft® Exchange 2010 SP1 in Hosting mode.

Download Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) - Click HERE

What is the Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track Architecture Brief?

2011-02-11T18:10:00.000-08:00

A few of the really smart folks at Microsoft recently produced some of the most helpful content that I have seen!

Take a look at the new Microsoft Hyper-V "Cloud Fast Track Architecture Brief"

I'm impressed. With so much "Virtualization" hype out there today, this really helps cut to the chase!

Get an infrastructure as a service private cloud with a pre-validated configuration from server partners in the Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track. Offerings from the Fast Track program combine Microsoft software; consolidated guidance; validated configurations from OEM partners for compute, network, and storage; and value-added software components.

Exchange Server 2010 Design and Architecture at Microsoft - Technical White Paper

2011-02-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

Exchange Server 2010 Design and Architecture at Microsoft:
- How Microsoft IT Deployed Exchange Server 2010 -

Technical White Paper
Published: July 2010

EMC Launches Journey To The Private Cloud Portal

2011-02-08T17:58:00.000-08:00

*NEW - EMC's Journey To The Private Cloud Portal

Microsoft Exchange 2010 HOT Links - includes SP1 for Hosters

2011-02-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Through hours of research and study, I've identified a series of key resources regarding Microsoft Exchange 2010 and SP1. I am publishing a series on this topic here on my blog that I will maintain and update. I hope that you will find this information and resources helpful too. Post a comment or send me a note if you have additional suggestions. Thanks.

Cut through the clutter and find answers to common questions and scenarios regarding Exchange 2010 here:

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Order Exchange Server 2010 Best Practices Click Here;

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Follow along in the Exchange 2010 Forums and at Blogs linked below:

Additional Resources for Hosters and Cloud Service Providers

Parallels Cloud Service Provider Portal

Downloads

Download Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) + Resources

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1 helps IT Professionals achieve new levels of reliability with greater flexibility, enhanced user experiences, and increased protection for business communications.

Flexible and reliable - Exchange Server 2010 SP1 gives you the flexibility to tailor your deployment based on your company's unique needs and a simplified way to keep e-mail continuously available for your users.
Anywhere access - Exchange Server 2010 SP1 helps your users get more done by giving them the freedom to securely access all their communications - e-mail, voice mail, instant messaging, and more - from virtually any platform, Web browser, or device.
Protection and compliance - Exchange Server 2010 SP1 delivers integrated information loss prevention, and compliance tools aimed at helping you simplify the process of protecting your company's communications and meeting regulatory requirements.

----

Order a copy of Exchange Server 2010 Best Practices

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What is Office 365?

2011-02-08T15:59:00.000-08:00

Microsoft Office 365 provides customers with access to hosted cloud services, rich local applications, and web-based solutions with a progressive approach to cloud applications. Office 365 is designed to work for a business of one or a business of one million and one.

Office 365 replaces some previous and familiar brands, including Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), Office Live Small Business, and Live@edu. A single now provides a clearer picture to customers and consolidate a lot of previously separate functionality under one offering.

There are two versions of Office 365: Office 365 for small businesses and Office 365 for enterprises. Both are subscription services that include access to Office Web Apps, Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and Lync Online (a next-generation version of Office Communications Server).

Office 365 small business version targets businesses with 25 or fewer employees and will cost $6 per user, per month. The enterprise version adds the Office 2010 Professional Plus client software, 24x7 support, and other features, and will cost $2 to $24 per user, per month, and have volume-license options.

The cloud-hosted Office 365 services will work through all major web browsers—including Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Google Chrome—and via popular smartphones and portable devices, including Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry and the Apple iPhone and iPad.

More @ http://office365.microsoft.com/en-US/online-services.aspx

Microsoft Online Service Help and How-to:
http://www.microsoft.com/online/help/en-us/helphowto/homepage.htm

Welcome to the Office 365 Community:
http://community.office365.com/enus/office365/default.aspx

Limited Beta for Office 365:
http://office365.microsoft.com/en-US/office365-beta.aspx

Office365 and ADFS

2011-02-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

A short post about Office365 and ADFS - more to come on this topic!
http://www.bposrocks.com/2010/11/office-365-and-adfs.html

Microsoft - The Dynamic Data Center Program for Hosters

2010-12-25T01:29:00.000-08:00

Microsoft - The Dynamic Data Center Program for Hosters: Partnering for Success

A new video posted on the Microsoft Hosting Partner Technical Advisor Blog outlines some of the business opportunities that are available for hosters (service providers) when they engage in the Dynamic Data Center (DDC) program.

If you haven't heard of the program or are still contemplating moving forward we encourage you to watch this recording below or download the attachment to this post.

In addition, make sure to checkout service provider automation specialist www.Parallels.com at their upcoming Summit 2011 and learn why hosters, telcos, IT resellers, ISVs and SIs should attend here

You can learn more about the Microsoft Dynamic Data Center by visiting the links below:

Lync Server Licensing and Pricing

2010-12-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

Lync Server Home Page

Here is a great post that explains the many components to the new Microsoft Lync Server.
http://www.lyncforum.com/news/Newsletter-12-17-2010.htm?goback=.gde_3047679_member_37947341

Lync Forum is an independent forum on Microsoft Communications, Unified & Contextual-Communications.
http://www.lyncforum.com/news/sharepoint/sharepoint-uc-chart.jpg
Microsoft Lync Partner Showcase:
http://lync.microsoft.com/en-us/launch/Pages/partner-showcase.aspx

Useful Links:

With this concise summary I'm confident you can have informed discussions with local Microsoft licensing resellers. Please make use of the fantastic resources available via links below. If considering Microsoft-hosted or Partner-hosted deployment models please refer to the licensing guide in the first instance.

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Pricing and Licensing Guide

Andrew Ord Unified Communications Blog

Lync Skill Search Demo

Lync Forward to Mobile Demo

Lync Location Demo

Lync Profile Pictures Demo

Follow andyord and ucfocus on twitter

Bill Gates on Microsoft Lync

Nexthop, the Microsoft Lync Server team's customer response channel

MX Records and BPOS (Office365)

2010-12-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Using MX Records to Enable Inbound Messaging

MX records determine whether email messages get delivered to the on-premise mail system or BPOS. The video concludes by walking us through how to enable inbound messaging via MOAC.

The video below explains more about MS records and how configuration works with your domain and it concludes by walking us through how to enable inbound messaging via MOAC.

Watch the Video HERE

New Atmail Webmail for Parallels Plesk

2010-11-23T19:03:00.000-08:00

New Atmail Webmail for Parallels Plesk offered as an APS package makes it simple for Plesk customers to add a premium webmail and collaboration client offering to their existing email platform.

Atmail Releases Atmail Webmail for Parallels Plesk - (Link to press release)
New Atmail Webmail APS package for Parallels Plesk server automation solution. Atmail Webmail for Parallels Plesk package includes Atmail Webmail Server 6, a premium webmail server with calendar and contact collaboration features. Open Protocols enable Atmail Webmail to access and share calendar and contact information using the open and widely supported CalDAV and CardDAV protocols.
Service providers using Parallels Plesk 9 or 10 can easily add a premium webmail and collaboration client offering to attract new customers and generate extra revenue with premium email services. They also avoid the time and cost of replacing their current email servers, because Atmail Webmail for Parallels interfaces directly with their existing email servers.

Currently Atmail Webmail for Parallels is available from directly from Atmail and Atmail resellers. Atmail Webmail for Parallels is available with a perpetual license and one year basic support and updates. Additional annual support and update subscriptions are available at a low cost. For additional package and pricing information see: http://atmail.com/atmailplesk.php

OCS 2007 R2 Architecture poster & W2K8R2 Sizing for hosting partners

2010-11-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

LYNC is coming, but for those Hosters who arent early adopters and are going for stability: a great blog post about OCS 2007 R2 and the associated data flow, click here: http://blogs.technet.com/b/ucedsg/archive/2010/02/03/very-cool-ocs-2007-r2-architecture-poster-available.aspx

How to size your Windows 2008 R2 RDS Session Host in your hosting environment:
Are you looking for sizing guidance on RDS Session hosting? Here is a document which has proven to be a great resource to get started for hosting partners: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=ca837962-4128-4680-b1c0-ad0985939063

Microsoft Partner Guides prepared and ready for YOU by Redmond Channel Partner Online

2010-11-18T17:29:00.000-08:00

After catching up on the latest Microsoft Lync news over at http://rcpmag.com I found myself browsing through their RCP Partner Guides and wanted to remind my followers about this great resource. Here are a few links to some excellent and timely examples:

Partner’s Guide to Cloud Computing - Cloud computing introduces new ways of doing business. Your success could hinge on how well your business adapts. Guide from Redmond Channel Partner.

Partner Action Plan for Software-as-a-Service - This report from Redmond Channel Partner examines seven of the best opportunities that Microsoft partners can try now to start making money in SaaS.

Guide to Hosting Solution Providers - This information-rich report will help you make sense of hosted services. It includes details of Microsoft's hosted unified communications product stack, the market forces driving it and much more.

Cloud Management - Eucalyptus 2.0 now available!

2010-11-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

Eucalyptus 2.0 now available - Click HERE for more...

Eucalyptus has been in the news of late on multiple fronts:

They launched a new V2.0 release, announced a new agreement with Jamcracker that provides integration between their product offerings to enable enterprises to self-provision Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) private and hybrid clouds and move workloads among internal servers, or to and from Amazon Web Services (AWS). They state that the integration of both platforms provides a turnkey solution for procuring through Jamcracker all the resources required to implement scalable IaaS-style private and hybrid clouds that then uses the Eucalyptus platform for provisioning and management.

Eucalyptus was also identified by the Obama administration, which has a keen eye out for emerging technology players, and steered NASA to become the company’s first customer. Using Eucalyptus’ platform, NASA built a facility to manage cloud services at Moffett Air Field and the White House now operates USASpending.gov – a site devoted to transparency in government spending – out of the facility in Moffett Field.

Eucalyptus also landed $20 million in a second round of funding led by New Enterprise Associates (Benchmark Capital and BV Capital are also investors) and they launched their Cloud coalition and officially named it "The NRE Alliance" in reference to the coalition partner members; newScale, rPath and Eucalyptus Systems - The Independent Website to support the New coalition can be found at www.nrecloud.com

Mark Bregman, CTO for Symantec to Keynote at Parallels Summit 2011 - Parallels, the leader in cloud enablement solutions

2010-11-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

Mark Bregman, CTO for Symantec to Keynote at Parallels Summit 2011 - Parallels is the leader in cloud enablement solutions. Parallels Service Delivery system lets you offer a wide range of profitable services from hosted email and website hosting to Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting, and Hosted Applications (SaaS). Over 5,000 cloud service providers worldwide rely on Parallels to deliver best-of-breed applications and services for their customers.
You can provide Cloud Services - Offer Cloud Services to grow your business with Parallels Cloud and Hosting Automation products for:

NEW!! Now available - Parallels Plesk Panel 10 - The most complete, best-integrated hosting and server automation system available anywhere!

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Hosted Edition

2010-11-06T14:29:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Hosted Edition now includes Multi-Tenant Support
As of: 2010-10-04

With Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1 built-in multi-tenant support, service providers that use Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) no longer need a solution like Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) to host multiple organizations. Multi-tenant support provides the core feature-set of Exchange Server in a manner that can be deployed to multiple customers in a single installation, and provides ease of management and flexibility of provided features to end-users.

The hosting solution available for Exchange 2010 SP1 includes most of the features and functionality available in Exchange 2010 SP1 Enterprise deployments, but also includes features and functionality that will allow you to create and manage tenant organizations.

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 SP1 will form part of the suite of multi-tenant capable products that will replace the Hosted Messaging and Collaboration 4.5 solution.

What's Available in Exchange 2010 SP1 Hosting Deployments? The following features and functionality are unique to hosting deployments:

Hosting Installation When you install Exchange 2010 SP1 for hosting deployments, you will run the installation from the command line and include the /hosting switch. Once installed, your servers will be running in Hosting Mode.
Tenant Organization Configuration Because you will be creating and managing multiple organizations in the hosting deployment, you can use cmdlets and parameters that aren't available to Enterprise deployments. For more information, see Checklist: Create a Tenant Organization.
Service Plans A service plan allows you to enable or disable certain features when deploying tenant organizations. They simplify tenant administration by automatically setting up feature configuration and automatic feature provisioning of mailboxes. In addition, service plans allow you to grant the correct set of RBAC permissions to tenant based on available features.
Mailbox Plans A mailbox plan is a template that automatically populates multiple user properties and assigns default permissions to new or existing user accounts. You use mailbox plans to provision accounts for a particular user population with a common default configuration.

For more information, see Understanding Service Plans and Mailbox Plans.

Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC) Support Details can be found online [Click HERE] - With the release of Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Microsoft is creating a new way to support hosted Exchange deployments. Hosting in Exchange Server 2010 will be available approximately twelve months after the release of Exchange Server 2010. HMC 4.5 is the last version of this solution. Microsoft will support HMC 3.5 through July 12, 2011, and will support HMC 4.x through December 12, 2011.

• You can find the latest HMC updates available [Click HERE] on Microsoft Technet

Brief Overview of Microsoft Hosted Messaging and Collaboration (HMC):
(For a detailed Overview of HMC [Click HERE])
HMC 4.5 brings together powerful Microsoft enterprise products such as Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, and now gives you Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, which manages all real-time communications such as instant messaging (IM) and audio and video conferencing.

Other new features and enhancements:

Exchange Server 2007 SP1: Web-based OABs and resource mailboxes
Windows SharePoint Services: multi-tenant People Picker functionality
Provisioning capabilities have been expanded: Microsoft Provisioning System (MPS) cross data store integration procedures and Individual Information Worker (IIW) tenant model

Microsoft Exchange 2010 Related Analyst Reports

2010-11-06T13:57:00.000-07:00

Below are NEW links to the latest Microsoft Exchange Related Analyst Reports:

• Gartner MarketScope for E-mail Systems, 2010
Microsoft received a “strong positive” rating in the 2010 Gartner MarketScope for E-mail Systems. The report evaluates the major e-mail vendors and Gartner found “E-mail/calendar systems are the most important communications channel for enterprises.” (Gartner Research, August 12, 2010)

• Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications, 2010
Microsoft is positioned in the Leaders Quadrant. According to Gartner, “unified communications offers the ability to improve how individuals, groups and companies interact and perform tasks.” This research reviews relevant technologies and vendor offerings that can assist in these goals. (Gartner Research, July 28, 2010)

• Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wireless E-mail, 2010
Microsoft is positioned in the Leaders Quadrant. According to Gartner, “The market for enterprise wireless email products is mature, with most new demand coming from the expansion of the user base in companies that have already deployed the technology. Wireless e-mail continues to be a priority for mobile investments.” (Gartner Research, June 10, 2010)

Stay on TOP of latest Microsoft Exchange 2010 News!

2010-11-06T13:54:00.000-07:00

To stay on TOP of the latest Microsoft Exchange 2010 News! [Click HERE]

Specific Links to review:
- Review What's New in Exchange 2010
- Read the Exchange 2010 Product Overview
- Learn How to Buy Exchange 2010
- Download Exchange 2010 Trial Today

Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, the cornerstone of Microsoft’s Unified Communications solution is launched… - Exchange Server 2010 is now available for businesses worldwide and is already helping organizations reduce costs, protect communications and delight e-mail users.

Microsoft OCS 2007 is now Microsoft Lync

2010-10-27T11:52:00.000-07:00

Microsoft OCS 2007 is now Microsoft Lync. Microsoft announced the new name change and they've made the "bits" available to download to the public. Microsoft's Kirk Gregersen, Lync Product Management said:

"A key part of the release is the re-branding to Microsoft Lync." [Click HERE for more...]

Microsoft Lync, what was commonly known as "OCS" is made up of the following products:

Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2
Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 R2
Microsoft Office Communications Online
Microsoft Office Live Meeting

At the same time that we needed one name to help unify things with this release, we also wanted to make sure that the new name really reflects the big product transformation with this release. In that sense, Lync - a combination of "link" and "sync" - is about connecting people in new ways, anytime, anywhere. Beyond simplifying and shortening the current branding, the team's customer research found that the name Lync appeals to end users and IT pros, even more than descriptive options, and really helped land the value prop with end users. We hope you'll grow to like the name as much as we have.

The Lync Server 2010 RC includes both the Enterprise and Standard editions of the server, plus the Lync 2010 client (new Communicator). Microsoft Lync Server 2010 is 64-bit only.

Here's an overview plus important info posted about Microsoft Lync on Microsoft's site:

Microsoft Lync Server 2010 provides complete presence, instant messaging, conferencing and enterprise voice capabilities through a single, easy-to-use interface that is consistent across PC, browser, and mobile device. You can Architect your deployment for high availability using data center resiliency and survivable branch appliances. Administrators benefit from a single, consistent management infrastructure, new capabilities to increase availability, and interoperability with existing systems. Administrators also use a new PowerShell-based foundation for administration consistent with Exchange Server, Active Directory, and other Microsoft server products.

This Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Release Candidate includes both editions of the server (Enterprise Edition and Standard Edition), along with the Microsoft Lync 2010 client.

Parallels Plesk Panel 10 – Marketing Preview #3 - PLUS 10-10-10- A ten year history of Parallels Plesk Panel 10

2010-10-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Jon McCarrick, Senior Manager Product Marketing with Parallels posted on Oct 10, 2010:

Parallels Cloud Service Provider Blog: 10-10-10- A ten year history of Parallels Plesk Panel 10

10-10-10- A ten year history of Parallels Plesk Panel 10

10-10-10- A great day for:

10 years of Parallels Plesk Panel

10 years of Parallels

The 10th version of Parallels Plesk Panel!!

So, in honor of this momentous occassion, Parallels presents the 10 year history of Parallels Plesk Panel 10: Both a 1 minute version and a Longer Version are posted.

Migrating to VoIP, Data Center Virtualization, Lotus Notes Migration

2010-10-08T17:02:00.000-07:00

Papers and presentations on virtualized data centers, migrating to VoIP, Lotus Notes migration, mobile marketing and cloud services

Papers & Presentations:

HP/3Com: A Comprehensive Framework for Securing Virtualized Data Centers
Learn about the security challenges of virtualization.
Interactive Intelligence: A Practical Guide to Migrating to VoIP: Planning and Design Considerations
If you're going to transfer to a VoIP system, you might as well do it right.
Quest: Ten Ways SharePoint 2010 Will Impact Your Lotus Notes Migration
Augment or replace your Lotus Notes installation.
Limelight Networks: 5 Proven Ways to Drive Mobile Marketing Results
Mobile video audiences are expected to jump threefold before 2014, don't pass up the marketing opportunities this presents.
AT&T: Cloud Services: What Are They, What Value Do They Provide?
You see a lot of adds for cloud this or cloud that, but what makes it actually better?

Top IT News You Can Use:Verizon's LTE network to reach 38 cities this year (Computerworld)How One Company Made SharePoint 2010 More Social (CIO)Don't expect to peer into Google cloud services security (Networkworld)

Top Cloud Security White Papers - October 08, 2010

2010-10-08T15:22:00.000-07:00

New White Papers and Webcasts
October 08, 2010

New white papers, case studies, webcasts and product information on the topics you are interested in.

Identity as Security Glue for the Cloud
by CA Technologies.
Join Matthew Gardiner, Director of Security Management at CA, for this webcast, in which he provides a framework for thinking about identity and how it relates to both the different modes in the cloud as well as the consumption and use of the cloud.

Business Strategy for Cloud Providers: The Case for Potential Cloud Services Providers
by IBM
This paper is focused on helping those who want to emerge aswinners in the new cloud provider marketplace. Read on to learn tips for creating a winning cloud provider business strategy and model.

Podcast: Developing for the Future - The new trend for Hosted VXML
by West Interactive
By taking advantage of the Voice XML platform (VXML) to manage infrastructure scale and support, companies are freeing up IT dollars and resources to focus on creating best-in-class customer experiences using IVR applications. This podcast will provide you with key information necessary to execute a comprehensive PaaS strategy using VXML.

Webinar: Deploying a Major Server Upgrade on the Cloud
by RightScale
This webinar continues the exploration of how to manage deployments on the cloud. We demonstrate how much easier and more efficient it is to perform maintenance tasks on the cloud using the RightScale Cloud Management Platform, while staying in control through the entire process.

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Host Your Web Site In The Cloud: Amazon Web Services Made Easy: Amazon EC2 Made Easy

2010-09-23T04:43:00.000-07:00

A prior colleague of mine, Jeff Barr, Cloud Computing evangelist extraordinar at Amazon Web Services has released his new book "Host Your Web Site In The Cloud: Amazon Web Services Made Easy: Amazon EC2 Made Easy."

I am looking forward to reading it!

PCI Compliance for Dummies - Free ebook

2010-09-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

PCI Compliance for Dummies

Get the facts on PCI Compliance and learn how to comply with the PCI Data Security standard.

http://downloadebookz.tradepub.com/free/w_qa36/prgm.cgi

Webcast: Stand It Up and Go As Fast As You Can – Parallels Virtuozzo Containers for High Performance Cloud Computing

2010-09-11T15:52:00.000-07:00

Join experts from Parallels and Intel for an informative discussion on cloud computing for performance-sensitive workloads. Learn how Parallels Virtuozzo Containers use a performance-friendly architecture to enable companies to truly maximize their Intel hardware investment.

Thursday, September 16th, 2010
11:00 a.m. ET

REGISTER

More information to enhance your webcast experience:
Download Reference Architecture Discuss Reference Architecture
FAQ Executive Summary

The Intel Cloud Builder series can be found here:
http://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/intel-cloud-builder/

Learn about Parallels internal cloud solutions:

Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 adds Plug-In controls for the Rackspace Cloud

2010-09-08T22:11:00.000-07:00

Rackspace Announcement:
With the Rackspace Cloud Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In, developers are fully aware of everything that is going on with their cloud server instances when they are developing or deploying an application, thus reducing overall complexity and errors by providing a layer of automation not possible without integration. The toolkit provides a new level of abstraction, making it easier and faster than ever for .NET developers to create and deploy applications to Cloud Servers for Windows. Additional application programming interface (API) features of the Rackspace Cloud Visual Studio 2010 Plug-In include the ability to:
http://tools.rackspacecloud.com/applications/rackspace-cloud-visual-studio-2010-plug-in

ZDNET Post:
Cloud hosting provider Rackspace rolled out on September 8 a new toolkit for customers who want to develop and deploy to its Cloud Servers for Windows service. The new tookit, known as the Rackspace Cloud Plug-In for Visual Studio 2010, was developed by Microsoft Gold partner Neudesic. Rackspace is touting the toolkit as reducing deployment and provisioning time for its hosted Windows servers, as well as providing users of those Windows servers with a single cloud-management portal.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/rackspace-fills-out-its-windows-cloud-story/7318

www.cloudave.com Posting:
Today, Rackspace announced the release of Windows based Cloud Servers to compete with Amazon EC2 Windows instances and Windows Azure. According to Rackspace, the new service delivers a highly scalable environment ideal for Windows-based hosting, testing and developing applications and supporting the high levels of traffic required for launching online gaming platforms or the next social networking phenomenon. This was expected for a long time because they needed to have Windows based offerings in order to effectively compete with Amazon.
http://www.cloudave.com/61/rackspace-offers-windows-cloud-servers

Amazon Web Services launches series of new events

2010-09-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

Amazon Web Services launches series of new events:

Upcoming AWS Events - Fall 2010 - Details @ http://lnkd.in/4xcpim

Terremark vCloud Express - What do you think?

2010-09-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

I was reading whitepapers on Terremarks vCloud Express. It looks great! Have you worked with it?

http://vcloudexpress.terremark.com/

Powered by Terremark

vCloud Express is delivered from Terremark’s top-tier datacenters connected to a global web of 160 networks. It’s built on enterprise-class technology and supported by a leader in managed services and cloud computing.

Virtualized by VMware

vCloud Express is Virtualized by VMware, the leader in virtual server technology. VMware’s robust and secure virtualization platform gives you freedom and control, complete reliability and high security. That’s why VMware is the overwhelming choice for cloud computing, in use by all of the Fortune 100.

Easy to Use

vCloud Express features a simple Web-based console based on Terremark’s class-leading Enteprise Cloud platform. A full-featured API allows programmatic access to compute capacity. Standards-based architecture and support for a broad range of operating systems means we’re ready for your applications today, no customization required.

No Minimum Commitment

With vCloud Express, you pay only for the capacity you use, when you use it. You can add capacity at the click of a mouse for peak times, then scale back down when you don’t need it. Getting started takes just minutes and a credit card.

Cloud webcasts I'm attending that you may be interested in

2010-09-08T14:48:00.000-07:00

Webcast: Sep 29 2010 8:00 am Orchestrate Digital Initiatives to Better the Customer Experience
Channel: Cloud Computing
Attend: http://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/22774

Webcast: Oct 27 2010 12:00 pm Enterprise Cloud Computing: A Complete Lifecycle
Channel: Cloud Computing
Attend: http://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/22837

The Cloud's impact on online security, PCI and more...

2010-09-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

A BrightTALK Channel
Sept 14th, 2010 - BrightTalk will host a 1-hour webinar with Rackspace customer GoCompare along with Alert Logic where you can learn about Security in the Cloud and best practice advice to avoid risk. Get insight from GoCompare's experience with the Cloud. Learn about PCI in the Cloud and more.
http://brighttalk.com/summit/1544

With the continued growth of Online Video, everyone wants a piece of the pie!

2010-09-03T10:31:00.000-07:00

Key announcements can be reviewed at the following links:

- NetFlix adds content from Epix - NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Pay-cable movie channel Epix agreed to supply movies to Netflix Inc. (NFLX) for the online movie company's on-demand service starting next month in a deal that adds momentum to the rise of video streaming on the web.

- Netflix: Defying the Laws of Gravity - Netflix (NFLX) has a strong business operation that is highly successful and has driven strong revenue, EPS, and cash flow growth over the past several years.

- Apple is jumping in too - Whether Apple delivers from in-house or via CDN, Apple's new approach sets streaming bar high.

- Can Redbox Challenge Netflix Online? - Redbox is a division of Coinstar(CSTR) that offers movie rentals via DVD kiosks. Redbox recently announced plans to launch an online streaming service in competition with Netflix(NFLX), which is well established in the streaming video market.

- Sorenson Has A Winner With Their New 360 Video Platform (Hands-On Review) - Back in May, Sorenson Media, best known for their Squeeze encoding software and the Spark video codec, launched a new video platform called Sorenson 360. After being hands on with the offering for the past three months, I've come to the conclusion that it's one of the most well thought out platforms on the market for small and medium sized customers.

Citrix announced plans to acquire VMLogix

2010-09-01T17:17:00.000-07:00

Early this week, Citrix (NASDAQ:CTXS), a leader in virtualization with annual revenue of $1.58 billion, announced its plans to acquire VMLogix, a leading provider of virtualization management for private and public clouds. The VMLogix acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter, and Citrix plans to use the technology from VMLogix to extend the Citrix OpenCloud platform and add an intuitive self-service interface to to its popular XenServer virtualization platform. Gartner expects the market for server virtualization management to reach $2 billion in 2014, growing at a compound annual rate of 39.2%. Let’s take a closer look.

Mike Vizard of CTO Edge says Citrix is attempting to promote the proprietary approaches to virtual switching and cloud computing management that have been taken by VMware and Cisco. According to Wes Wasson, chief marketing officer for Citrix, as cloud computing continues to rapidly evolve, the need for open standards that promote interoperability is quickly becoming a major industry issue affecting the rate of cloud computing adoption.

In July, Citrix reported second quarter revenue of $458 million, up 12%. Net income was $48 million or $0.25 per share versus $43 million or $0.23 per share last year. The company repurchased shares for $101 million and ended the quarter with $1.41 billion in cash and marketable securities. Q1 coverage is available here.

During the quarter, Citrix closed eighteen customer transactions of over $1 million each, including several deals over $5 million. New license sales were $149 million, up 15% from last year, driven by growth in both the Desktop and Data Center businesses. Revenue from license updates increased 13% due to strong customer interest in the XenDesktop Trade-up program. Tech Services grew 35% and Online SaaS revenue was $89 million, up 18% driven by 35% growth in Web Collaboration.

The Desktop business, which includes both Application and Desktop Virtualization solutions, generated revenue of $290 million, up 15%, with revenue from XenDesktop, a desktop virtualization tool at $60 million. During the earnings call, CEO Mark Templeton said demand for XenDesktop was driven by the unstoppable wave of new iPads, Macs, and smartphones often with the client’s CIO leading the charge.

The Data Center and Cloud Computing business, which provides Application Networking and Server Virtualization solutions, generated revenue of $74 million, up 20%, with the NetScaler customer base increasing 50% mainly in the enterprise market.

Citrix expects third quarter revenue of $450 million to $460 million and EPS of $0.31 to $0.32. It raised its fiscal 2010 revenue guidance to $1.81 billion to $1.83 billion from $1.765 billion to $1.78 billion. It expects EPS of 1.27 to $1.31 versus earlier guidance of $1.29 to $1.34. The stock is trading around $58 with market cap of about $10.85 billion. It hit a 52-week high of $59.53 on August 20.

SaaS market to reach $40.5 billion by 2014

2010-09-01T07:41:00.001-07:00

According to IDC, the SaaS market had worldwide revenues of $13.1 billion in 2009, and IDC expects it to reach $40.5 billion by 2014, representing a CAGR of 25.3%. Consolidation is happening at all levels of cloud computing, both applications (SaaS) and infrastructure. SaaS vendors Taleo, SuccessFactors, RightNow, and Salesforce.com have already started consolidating, and Citrix is the latest cloud computing consolidator but at the infrastructure level.

Gartner: Seven cloud-computing security risks | Security Central - InfoWorld

2010-08-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

Placing your data "in the cloud" has its risks! Constructing a plan that mitigates risk and identifies applications that best fit into the cloud are key to your success.

Learn about the risks from the POV of Gartner:
Gartner: Seven cloud-computing security risks | Security Central - InfoWorld

2010 investment ideas that hit -- and missed - MarketWatch

2010-07-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

Looks like some good ideas to work into an investment portfolio.
UPDATE - 2010 investment ideas that hit -- and missed Weekend Investor - MarketWatch

1. Stocks with a global footprint

Coca-Cola Co. (KO 55.25) and Google Inc. (GOOG 484.60) Big-cap U.S. stock ETFs with a global slant include Vanguard Large Cap ETF (VV 50.21) , PowerShares Active Mega Cap (PMA 22.14) and iShares Russell Top 200 Index (IWL 25.60)

2. Stock dividends as bond substitute

Stocks:
Intel Corp. (INTC 20.62) , Kraft Foods Inc. (KFT 29.32) , McDonald's Corp. (MCD 69.90) , Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM 59.82) , Procter & Gamble Co. (PG 61.25) , Johnson & Johnson (JNJ 57.98) and Coca-Cola (KO 55.25) - Each of these stocks yields above 3% and Kraft offers 4%.
ETFs:
Jensen Portfolio (JENSX 24.20) use dividends as a cornerstone of their investment strategy. Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF (VIG 46.87) , SPDR S&P Dividend (SDY 48.52) , iShares Dow Jones Select Dividend Index (DVY 45.52) , WisdomTree LargeCap Dividend (DLN 40.99) and PowerShares International Dividend Achievers (PID 14.00).

3. Larger-cap index funds = Stay away for now it sounds like...

4. Technology stocks

Stocks:
EMC Corp. (EMC 19.86), Intel (INTC 20.62), Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO 23.11), NetApp Inc. (NTAP 42.29), International Business Machines (IBM 128.65).

ETFs:

Funds:
Dynamic US Growth Fund (DWUGX 14.16), which has almost half of its portfolio invested in technology companies including Apple Inc. (AAPL 257.02) , NetApp (NTAP 42.29) and VMware Inc. (VMW 77.30)

5. Energy stocks- energy sector is down (buying opportunity?) – The oil patch was hit hard w/ implosion of BP PLC (BP 38.57).

Stocks:
ExxonMobile and Companies in the exploration and production business, include Noble Energy Inc. (NBL 67.21), Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK 21.06) and Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM 17.14).
ETFs:
Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE 53.92), SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (XOP 40.58).
Funds:
RidgeWorth Mid-Cap Value Equity Fund (SAMVX 10.54) about 15% of its portfolio in energy sector.

6. Industrials- strong foundation so far this year (aerospace and defense firms, railroads, electrical equipment makers and construction and engineering firms)

Stocks:
Flowserve Corp. (FLS 98.89) , ITT Corp. (ITT 46.95), Fluor Corp. (FLR 48.29), Ingersoll-Rand PLC (IR 37.41), Lennox International Inc. (LII 43.60) and A.O. Smith Corp. (AOS 54.66)
ETFs:
Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI 30.29), Vanguard Industrials ETF (VIS 55.92)

7. M&A trends

Global merger and acquisition activity rose almost 8% in the first half of 2010 - will be an ongoing global trend. Companies with cash are increasingly looking across the globe for opportunities.

Lazard Ltd. (LAZ 29.67) investment bank and asset manager. "It's ridiculously cheap, and without the regulatory and balance sheet risk of the other banks"

8. U.S. dollar

The strong-dollar theme continues to play out,

9. Avoid long-term government bonds

10. Emerging markets consumers

Consumer-services companies in emerging markets, present a compelling and relatively more predictable investment picture - emerging middle class - providers of consumer services.
Stocks:
China Life Insurance Company Ltd. (LFC 67.17), multinationals Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM 10.09), Nike Inc. (NKE 73.51) and Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (MJN 53.15) ways to take advantage of rising incomes in China.
Consumer-staples companies
Funds:
Artio Global Equity Fund (JGEIX 33.44

The original article is posted here:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ten-money-making-investment-ideas-for-2010-2010-01-08

GREAT collection of public presentation about Amazon Web Services Use Cases and Examples

2010-07-02T10:06:00.000-07:00

GREAT Roundup of Amazon Web Services Presentations
http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2010/04/aws-presentation-roundup.html

Apple's iPhone 4: A Tale of Two Platforms—HTML5 and The Other One - www.StreamingMediaGlobal.com

2010-06-25T10:36:00.000-07:00

Apple's iPhone 4: A Tale of Two Platforms—HTML5 and The Other One - www.StreamingMediaGlobal.com

Building a Secure Cloud Infrastructure - BrightTALK

2010-06-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

A BrightTALK Channel

Amazon Web Services Overview - 06-10-2010

2010-06-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

Here is a good overview of Amazon Web Services.

EVRYTHING fails at some point.

2010-05-10T06:25:00.000-07:00

11 points by brk 29 minutes ago | link

Although I sometimes get downvoted for this, I'll say it again:

You can't outsource your liability.

Posted Here:

If your product is a webapp, then the underlying messy bits of backups, hardware, availability and redundancy also require some amount of conscious thought on your part. Not every site/app needs it's own mini-datacenter, and you might not even need your own dedicated server (though you probably do when you reach a certain minimal amount of scale). But you DO need to have someone who is thinking about backups and availability, and a valid solution is not to assume that the smart folks at Amazon or Rackspace or any other hosting provider are going to be completely and consistently working with your best interests and uptime in mind.

EVRYTHING fails at some point. Every server, every generator, every upstream connection, every hosting provider big or small. And in this case I mean fail as in goes dark for some period of time not covered by backups or hot-spares.

So, plan accordingly.

Capitalize on your Expertise, Monetize Websites and Blog Posts

2010-04-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Todays business models continue to embrace new revenue streams. One such revenue stream that get's easier to integrate into just about any business model is affiliate ads.

Simply pick vendors and programs that enhance your own expertise and away you go!

Well, it's not that easy, but, it IS getting easier!

With Google AdSense and Google AdSense for RSS feeds, you have well known monetization techniques that can be easily integrated with your websites and blogs.

This weekend I will work with the new Blogger integration launched recently for Amazon Associates.

With this integration, you can search the Amazon product catalog without leaving the Blogger interface and insert links to the products you find into your posts.

Not only is the process of linking to products more efficient, but Amazon makes it easy for you to earn money whenever your readers actually buy the products you write about. This is known as an “affiliate program”, and it’s designed to let you recommend products you like to your audience — if they buy the product, you’ll earn a commission on that purchase.

Click Here for a review on ProBlogger.net that reviews affiliate programs in general.

And click Here for a good overview at ProBlogger and Darren’s “11 Lessons Learned” post about Amazon Associates describing how to get the most out of the program.

Lessons from the Trenches: Deploying Hyper-V R2 and NetApp

2010-04-05T16:55:00.000-07:00

Avanade presents good advice in this whitepaper.

This article covers:

* Information about our current virtual server environment
* Our experiences moving to Hyper-V R2
* Building for performance
* Planning for live migration
* Storage tips for cluster shared volumes (CSVs)
* Server and storage management and virtual machine (VM) self-service portals

Host your Web Site in the Cloud & The Solution Selling Fieldbook

2010-02-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

Two GREAT books to add to your reading lists!

The folks at CNNMoney.com posted the Top 50 Jobs

2009-12-21T17:59:00.000-08:00

Top 50

Symantec launches on Amazon Web Services

2009-12-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

This is an impressive announcement by two significant companies providing and protecting the future of Utility computing and IT as a platform.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) users can now use Symantec’s Endpoint Protection and Veritas Storage Foundation™ Basic to help protect and manage their instances running Microsoft Windows Server® on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2).

Amazon Web Services (AWS) delivers a set of services that together form a reliable, scalable, and inexpensive computing platform 'in the cloud'. These pay-as-you-use cloud computing services include Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon SQS, Amazon FPS, and others .

For Details - Click Here

Top Buys and Sells at Oak Value Fund

2009-11-19T22:58:00.000-08:00

Top Buys and Sells at Oak Value Fund

Social Networking and advertising - You can make money from this?

2009-10-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

I was reading an older article about how "Some Indie Facebook Developers Pulling In Over $700,000 A Month" and it referenced the source as SocialMedia.

Clicking over to their website and reading about how they "turn standard ad units into social experiences that resonate with friends, influencers, and community members" is impressive.

The ability to target a consumer based on their likes, hobbies, associates and multitudes of other miscellaneous facts that they may publish about themselves begs the question "Are we creating our own experiences?"

If what we are surrounded with is created from our own visions of what we like how do we experience life beyond what we know we like?

An interesting conundrum.

-Todd

Did Microsoft Just Kill the Cloud?

2009-10-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

I've been reading all the news about the sidekick and it's lost data and how it's somehow "The Clouds Fault" Such nonsense. Reading through the article posted here by the folks at The Motley Fool points to more "Cloud FUD". Or is it the users fault? Blindly trusting their data to a dark and murky "Cloud"? Or is it the fault of the owner of the server that crashed? It depends. But it's NOT "The Clouds" fault. This vague notion that things we don't understand must be "in the cloud" is rampant these days. Yet, at the end of the day, it is really "A Utility" and needs to be thought of as such. The biggest difference between your power or water as a utility is that with "The Cloud" you have many providers to choose from depending on the type of "Power" or "Water" you need and the level of service you require.

Utility providers are fallible. How many times have you lost a power transformer in your neighborhood? Or a water main line burst somewhere in the city?

Cloud Computing/Utility Computing - It is up to the owner of the server to make the service they provide to their customer as Highly Available as possible or at least to the level of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) they present to their customers. It's not some magical "Cloud" floating somewhere beyond physical reach. It is physical servers and storage and switches and routers owned and operated my your third party of choice depending on the application you wish to use.

Don't blindly put your faith in any one provider without fully understanding your risks. It's NOT "The Clouds Fault". It is a persons fault for not designing and implementing a highly available architecture that included data replication and backup services with full recovery scenarios documented and properly tested.

How often do you test YOUR System and Data recovery process?

-Todd

CMS Watch: Drupal vs Joomla vs EE vs WordPress

2009-10-10T16:02:00.001-07:00

CMS Watch: Drupal vs Joomla vs EE vs WordPress

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Do you wonder what "The Cloud" is all about?

2009-10-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

Then check out this crazy Spoof! Pretty funny...

Click here ==>> Cloud-Cloud-maybe

With RIO winning the bid for the 2016 Olympics

2009-10-02T10:01:00.000-07:00

What does this mean to the South American economy? Between now and 2016, many things can happen. Yet, there will also be a new spot light placed on Rio in the coming years...

Alaska Airlines Savings

2009-09-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

"Alaska and Beyond Sale: Autumn Adventures from $109 Each Way on Alaska Airlines! > Expires 10/04/09"

The Cloud Computing Tsunami Gartner Predictions

2009-08-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

The Cloud Computing Tsunami Gartner Predictions
- Efficiency and Cost Control Will Transform the IT Industry.

It's amazing that it has taken this long for "Utility Computing" to gain the hold that it has. Who builds and operates their own generator so that the lights come on at the flick of a switch? I know of a few folks in the hills of Hawaii who still capture rain water in huge black plastic tubs and use gravity feeds plumbed into their homes for their water, but it's so much easier to pay a small monthly fee to my water district and turn on my tap when I want a glass of water and it is the way computing infrastructure will be made available to us. Turn it on when you need it at the flick of a switch.

Take a look at these key predictions and you may agree:
- Key Gartner predictions for the data center for the next 5 years:

-Todd

Amazon CloudFront High Performance Content Delivery Network

2009-07-09T09:10:00.000-07:00

Amazon CloudFront delivers your web content to your audience by routing them to the closest Point of Presence (POP) - for details, click here =>> http://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/

View Amazon CloudFront in a larger map

Cloud Computing a Perfect Storm?

2009-06-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

Cloud Computing Set to Unleash a Perfect Storm in Business

- “We are witnessing a seismic shift in information technology, the kind that comes around every decade or so, and it will have a huge impact on business, especially in today’s dire economy,” says business strategy expert and former CIO, Peter Fingar.

Amazon Web Services Tool - S3Fox (Easily manage data in the Cloud)

2009-06-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Working with the S3Fox Organizer to manage my data in the Amazon Cloud is sweet. It is a very easy tool I use to manage my data between my local premise and cloud storage environments.

The S3Fox Organizer(S3Fox), offers the ability to upload or download files to and from Amazon S3. The interface, which opens in a Firefox browser tab, looks much like that of FTP clients with a dual-pane layout. It displays files on your PC on the left, files on Amazon S3 on the right, and status or information in a panel on the bottom.

Check it out here - "Click"

Which States will recover first? Jobs ready to rebound?

2009-06-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

From CNBC - http://www.cnbc.com/id/31086859

If you’re not prepared to go to Australia to ride out the recovery, great news! A new report shows the five U.S. states poised to lead the nation out of recession.

There was only one state that, as of the end of March, still had enough growth that it wasn’t technically in recession. Can you guess what it is? You betcha, it’s Alaska!

To ride this wave, you might want to get out your hiking boots and trail mix because most of the states where growth and jobs will recover fastest are out in the northwest: Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington.

Its GOOD to live in the Northwest!
-Todd

Cloud Computing Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008-2009

2009-06-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Cloud Computing Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008-2009 - The following companies are among the providers and contributors of Cloud Computing technology:

10Gen, 3Leaf, 3Tera, Absolute Performance, Accenture, Akamai, Amazon.com, Appirio, Appistry, Areti Internet, Boomi, Box.net, Canaan Partners, Cloud9 Analytics, CloudWorks, CNI Systems, CohesiveFT, CSRware, DataDirect, Dell, DNAmail, eBay, Elastra, EMC, EngineYard, Enki Consulting, Enomaly, Excelian, Flexiscale, Fortress ITX, Forum, GigaSpaces, GoGrid, Google, HP, IBM, IBRIX, Joyent, JumpBox, Layered Technologies, Level 3 Communications, Linxter, LongJump, MDV, Microsoft, Moka5 (MokaFive), Mosso, NewServers, Nirvanix, Ocarina Networks, OpSource, Panorama Software, Peer1 Networks, Pervasive Software, Platform Computing, PLX Technology, Qlayer, Rackspace, RampRate, Red Hat, RightScale, rPath, Salesforce.com, Saugatuck Technology, ServePath, Skills Matter, Skytap, SnapLogic, SOASTA, Sun Microsystems, Symphoniq, Symphony Services, Tap In Systems, Teneros, Terremark, Transitive Corporation, Univa UD, Verizon Business, Vertica, VMware, XCalibre, Zabovo.com, ZOHO and Zuora.

AMAZING - The number of Virtualization Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008-2009

2009-06-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

Virtualization Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008-2009: WOW...

The following companies are among the providers and contributors of Virtualization technology: 3PAR, Accellion, Acronis, Actional, Active Endpoints, ActiveGrid, activePDF, ActiveServers, ActiveState, Actuate, Adaptec, Agile Software, AGiLiENCE, Agilysys, Akorri, AlachiSoft, Alter Logic, Altor Networks, Altova, AMD, AMDAHL, Amentra, Amyuni, anacubis, Apani, APC, Appcelerator, AppSense, AppStream, Array Networks, Ascential, Astaro, Attune Systems, Autodesk, AutoVirt, Availl, Avanade, Azul Systems, Barracuda Networks, BEA Systems, B-hive, Black Duck Software, Blackbaud, Blade Network Technologies, Blue Coat, Blue Lane, BlueArc, BlueNote Networks, BluePheonix Solutions, BMC Software, Borland, Bristol Technology, Brix Networks, BroadVision, Brocade, Burton Group, Business Objects, CA, CalAmp, Cassatt, Cast Iron Systems, Catbird, Cayenne Technologies, Ceedo Technologies, Cenzic, Certeon, CiRBA, Cisco Systems, Cision, Citrix Systems, ClearApp, ClearCube Technology, CollabNet, Compass America, Composite Software, Compugen, Compuware, Configuresoft, Continuity Software, Coraid, Courion, Coyote Point Systems, Crescendo Networks, CSC, DataCore, DataSynapse, Dell, Desktone, Digipede Technologies, Double-Take Software, Ecora Software, EDS, eG Innovations, Egenera, Elastra Corporation, Electric Cloud, Embotics, EMC Corporation, Emulex, Endeavors Technology, Enigmatic Corporation, Enterprise Management Associates, Entuity, EqualLogic, Ericom Software, ESRI, EVault, eXludus Technologies, F5 Networks, FalconStor, FastScale Technology, Foedus, Force10 Networks, Fortisphere, Forum Systems, Fujitsu, GemStone Systems, Getronics, GlassHouse, Green Hills Software, Grid Dynamics, GridGain Systems, GT Software, Hitachi, HP, Hyper9, Hyperic, IBM, ICEsoft, IGEL Technology, Illumita, ILOG, IMEX Research, Information Builders, Ingres, InstallFree, Integrien, Intel, Intellium, International Computerware, iTKO LISA, JBoss, Juniper, KACE, Kidaro, LeftHand Networks, Leostream, Lifeboat Distribution, Liquid Computing Corporation, Liquid Technology, Lynux Works, Mainline, ManageIQ, Managed Methods, ManageSoft, Marathon Technologies, McAfee, Mellanox Technologies, Microsoft, Mid-Atlantic Computers, Mindbridge Software, Mindreef, MKS, MonoSphere, Motorola, MQSoftware, mySoftIT, NASTEL, Ncomputing, NEC, Neocleus, NeoPath Networks, Neoware, NetApp, Netegrity, Neterion, Netuitive, Neverfail, Nexaweb, NextAxiom, Nimbus, Nimsoft, Niyuta, NoMachine, Novell, ONStor, Opalis Software, Open Kernel Labs, OpenSpan, OPNET Technologies, Optaros, OpTier, Oracle, Pano Logic, Parallels, Parasoft, Perforce Software, PHD Technologies, Phoenix Technologies, Phurnace Software, Pillar Data Systems, PlateSpin/Novell, Progress Software, Prolifics, ProSync Technology, Provision Networks, QLogic, Quest Software, Racemi, Raritan, Raxco Software, Red Hat, Reflex Security, Resolution Enterprises, RingCube Technologies, Riverbed Technology, Rogue Wave Software, RSA Security, Sagnet Solutions, SanDisk Corporation, SAP, SAVVIS, ScaleMP, Scalent Systems, Seanodes, Secure Command, Secure Computing, Sentillion, Shavlik Technologies, ServInt Internet Services, Silpion IT Solutions, SIMtone, Skytap, Skyway Software, Software AG, Sonasoft, SourceGear, Splunk, StackSafe, SteelEye Technology, StillSecure, StoneFly, Stonesoft, Stoneware, StoreVault, StrikeIron, STT WebOS, Sun Microsystems, SunGard, Supermicro Computer, Surgient, SWsoft, Sybase, Symantec, Systar, TBD Networks, Tenfold, TheInfoPro, Thinstall, Third Brigade, TIBCO Software, Tidal Software, Tideway Systems, TOA Solutions, TRANGO Virtual Processors, Trend Micro, Tresys Technology, Trigence, Tripwire, Ulteo, Unisys, United Devices, VaST Systems, VDIworks, VeeAm Software, Verari Systems, Verio, VeriSign, Vicom Computer Services, VirtenSys, Virtera, Virtual Iron, VirtualLogix, Virtugo Software, Virtutech, VisionCore, Vizioncore, VKernel, VMLogix, vmSight, VMware, Vordel, vThere-Sentillion, Vyatta, WaveMaker, Web Age Solutions, WSO2, Wyse Technology, XDS, XenoCode, Xiotech, xkoto, Xsigo Systems, Zenith Optemedia, Zeus Technology.

Enterprise security is not keeping pace with cloud computing | 9 Jun 2009 | ComputerWeekly.com

2009-06-10T10:34:00.001-07:00

Enterprise security is not keeping pace with cloud computing | 9 Jun 2009 | ComputerWeekly.com

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Amazon Web Services/Cloud - Systems Integrator Training

2009-06-10T09:25:00.000-07:00

Systems Integrator Training - AWS is offering technical training for qualified systems integrators building solutions and practices on our cloud computing services. Trainings are conducted on a recurring monthly basis at several locations in the U.S. and Europe. To apply, please send an email to aws-ecosystem@amazon.com.

International Virtualization Conf & Expo November 2-4, 2009 Santa Clara, CA

2009-06-09T23:48:00.000-07:00

November 2-4, 2009 Santa Clara, CA
http://www.virtualizationconference.com/

We are in the midst of a revolutionary change in how applications are sold, delivered, deployed and managed. Virtualization cuts across just about all of what you might find in the data center: clients, servers, applications, storage systems, data networks, and security can all be virtualized to one degree or another. And chief executives are discovering that virtualization has the potential to not only improve the balance sheet, but strengthen competitive advantage and put a shine on the corporate brand. Join us in Santa Clara, CA, at the 7th International Virtualization Conference & Expo and find out for yourself how the industry's leading practitioners are implementing their virtualization strategy.

4th International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo: Call for Papers | Open Source Magazine

2009-06-09T23:43:00.001-07:00

Sounds like a good source - I'm going to look into attending and providing content - 4th International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo: Call for Papers | Open Source Magazine

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The Economics of Cloud Computing Part 1 | Virtualization Journal

2009-06-09T23:34:00.001-07:00

The Economics of Cloud Computing â Part 1 | Virtualization Journal

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The Economics of Cloud Computing – Part 1

2009-06-09T23:18:00.000-07:00

I'm studying a web site tonight that has exceptional content you should review if you are working with either Virtualization or Cloudonomics

-www.ToddCarterCISSP.com

Netbooks are exploding (growth)

2009-06-03T22:42:00.000-07:00

Netbooks are exploding and expected to continue to sell like gangbusters, and a new generation of wireless-carrier-sponsored devices should make this phenomenon even more obvious.

Citrix is providing Citrix C3 Lab Blueprints for Cloud Services Delivery

2009-06-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

Citrix Expands Citrix C3 Cloud Computing Platform and Program

C3 Platform Now Enables Windows Applications and Desktops to be Delivered as a Cloud Service; New Service Provider Program Adds Pay-as-you-Go Pricing

Citrix C3 Lab Built on Amazon Web Services to Connect Cloud Computing to the Corporate Datacenter

2009-06-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Citrix C3 Lab Built on Amazon Web Services to Connect Cloud Computing to the Corporate Datacenter

New Virtual Lab Offers Easy Low-cost Way for IT to Model and Test the Delivery of Virtual Applications and Desktops from the Cloud

Amazon Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) is the biggest and most mature Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) architecture existing on the market

2009-06-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

Citrix Announces Citrix C3 Lab Built on Amazon Web Services to Connect Cloud Computing to the Corporate Datacenter

Richard Jones, VP of Data Center Strategies at Burton Group, said on his corporate blog:

"The announcement on May 6th at Synergy of Citrix-Amazon collaboration on internal/external cloud interoperability has “we’re moving to Citrix XenServer as our EC2 hypervisor infrastructure” written all over it."

Free Citrix XenServer includes XenCenter, XenMotion, Resource Pools and Storage Management

2009-06-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

Citrix has officially announced it’s next version of XenServer will be free. Obviously a strategic move to bolster production deployment of the XenServer hypervisor, Citrix is also confident that today’s move will ultimately provide a low cost enterprise class virtual infrastructure alternative, improve hosted cloud services already using Xen Server (such as Amazon EC2), and enable cost effective private cloud infrastructure.

You can download a free trial version today at http://www.citrix.com/freexenserver.

New management and automation products, such as Citrix Essentials for XenServer and Hyper-V were also announced, are expected to generate revenue for the Citrix virtualization products.

Citrix is not holding back on the features available in the free release!!