Easton (The Quince Man Quincy) Royce

I know through a lot of discussions I’ve been having with IT Pro’s that Cloud Computing is top of mind.  Our internal IT folks our having the same thoughts and concerns about how to use cloud computing in the best way.

Cloud computing is a top priority for Microsoft customers and partners. For CIO Tony Scott, and the rest of the IT organization, the internal use of cloud computing is job number one.

Through this growing collection of content, Microsoft IT professionals show how they leverage the familiar and consistent experience of Microsoft best-in-class products in the cloud—Windows Azure, Office 365, SQL Azure, and Hyper-V—using existing IT skillsets and technology IT organizations already have, while taking advantage of new value the cloud environment provides.

The Microsoft IT Showcase team has released a bunch of content and has some upcoming TechNet Radio broadcasts coming as well.  Check out all the details below.

Cloud Computing Content

• Video: What Does the Cloud Mean to the CIO
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, January 26, 2011
• Video: Microsoft IT Enterprise Architecture and the Cloud
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, February 2, 2011
• Video: Cloud Computing: What Customers are Discussing with Microsoft IT
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, February 9, 2011
• Video: Microsoft IT CISO Perspective on Cloud Security
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, February 16, 2011
• Video: Microsoft IT’s Lessons Learned: Moving Applications to the Cloud
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, February 23, 2011
• Video: Microsoft IT Developing Applications with Microsoft Azure
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, March 2, 2011
• Video: How Microsoft IT is Integrating Operations with the Cloud
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, March 9, 2011
• Video: How Microsoft IT is Using SQL Azure to Enable Self-Service BI
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, March 16, 2011
• Video: How Microsoft IT Built Application Segmentation and Migration Strategies for the Cloud
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, March 23, 2011
• Video: How Microsoft IT is Implementing a Hybrid Messaging Deployment
  TechNet Radio session coming Wednesday, March 30, 2011
• Article: Microsoft IT Starts Migration of Microsoft.com to the Windows Azure Platform
  

Jeffa

written by Easton Royce \\ tags: Cloud Computing, IT Showcase

 

 

 

 

 

The Microsoft Solution Accelerator team has recently announced the first public beta of the MAP 5.5 toolkit.  I’ve been a big fan of this tool for quite some time now and this latest version adds a host of new options--with assessment for easier migration to Windows Azure and SQL Azure, heterogeneous database discovery (of MySQL, Oracle and Sybase instances) for SQL Server migration projects, Internet Explorer 8 upgrade assessment, and much more.  Some of the new changes include the following:

• Assess your environment for upgrade to Windows 7 and Windows Internet Explorer 8 (or the latest version) The MAP 5.5 Internet Explorer Upgrade Assessment inventories their environment and reports on deployed web browsers, Microsoft ActiveX controls, plug-ins and toolbars, and then generates a migration assessment report and proposal—information they need to more easily migrate to Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8 (or the latest version).
• Identify and analyse web application, and database readiness for migration to Windows Azure and SQL Azure  - Customers can simplify their move to the cloud with the MAP 5.5 automated discovery and detailed inventory reporting on database and web application readiness for Windows Azure and SQL Azure. MAP identifies web applications, IIS servers, and SQL Server databases, analyses their performance characteristics, and estimates required cloud features such as number of Windows Azure compute instances, number of SQL Azure databases, bandwidth usage, and storage.

• Discover heterogeneous database instances for migration to SQL Server - Now with heterogeneous database inventory supported, MAP 5.5 helps customers accelerate migration to SQL Server with network inventory reporting for MySQL, Oracle, and Sybase instances.

• Enhanced server consolidation assessments for Hyper-V - Enhanced server consolidation capabilities help customers save time and effort when creating virtualization assessments and proposals. Enhancements include:

  • Updated hardware libraries allowing you to select from the latest Intel and AMD processors.
  • Customized server selection for easy editing of assessment data.
  • Data collection and store every five minutes for more accurate reporting.
  • Better scalability and reliability, requiring less oversight of the data collection process.
  • Support for more machines.

  
  So if you haven’t already had a look at this beta make sure you Join the Beta on our Connect site.  And for more about MAP in general make sure you check out the MAP Homepage.

   

  Technorati Tags: MAP,Solution Accelerators

Jeffa

written by Easton Royce \\ tags: Cloud Computing, MAP, Solution Accelerators, Windows 7