Nothing like a sunny day with clouds!

With the arrival of Spring I look forward to awesome sunny days… but it wouldn't be perfect without Clouds! … and in terms of computing forecast, the future is just as sunny with Cloud Computing at the center stage of the next big step in Information Technology.

This morning, as I pondered about writing my first of a series of entries on the subject, I came across a set of articles that I considered relevant and that could serve as a good starting point for our discussion. I share them below.

Cloud[s]?

The trend and possible evolution of Cloud Computing may be that we will have a Public cloud (based on the public internet), a Private cloud (just like the intranet) and a Hybrid cloud (a mix of both). In general the concept and principles of a Public cloud computing environment makes the most sense for most computing scenarios.

What’s in the Cloud?

Cloud computing is a natural abstraction of everything we have in a typical enterprise data center made possible through high-speed networks and virtualization. It is a conglomerate of Applications, Clients, Identity, Platforms, Services, Standards, Storage, Provisioning, Infrastructure and Management.

I intend to explore how the Microsoft Azure cloud platform addresses these critical components to make our cloud computing experience very natural; specially for those already familiar with our platform and development tools.

So, as a starting point,  I want to share the following collection of articles specifically related to Microsoft's cloud computing strategies.

• Microsoft Opens Windows Azure to PHP Developers.  Microsoft at the MIX09 conference on Wednesday revealed several moves intended to bolster its Windows Azure cloud-computing platform, adding support for PHP application development and native code as well as full trust capabilities.
• MS Wants MVPs in Windows, Cloud Computing, Virtualization. Despite recent layoffs and belt-tightening at Microsoft, the company is heavily recruiting for its volunteer army of tech experts.
• How the Red Dog Team Built a Cloud OS from Scratch.  Amitabh Srivastava, who directed Microsoft's Red Dog project, discusses the process of building the operating system for Windows Azure.
• Ballmer Maps Microsoft's Future in the Cloud.  Microsoft knows what it wants to offer to companies through its new cloud-based services: absolutely everything it sells as software.
• Windows Azure Cloud Platform Set for Release This Year.  Microsoft is plugging away at its Windows Azure cloud-computing platform and plans to release it by the end of the year, the company confirmed Tuesday.
• Microsoft Pumps Cloud, Trumps Google with GSK.  Announcing a 100,000-seat deployment by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Microsoft Online Services has stepped up its validation of cloud applications at the same time as making Google Apps' 15,000 seats at biotech leader Genentech look small by comparison.
• Windows Azure: Where You Go to Build Cloud Applications.  Microsoft's Steven Martin discusses the Windows Azure platform as a place where customers can build their applications using Microsoft products.
• Five Great Microsoft Web Services You're Probably Not Using.  When you think of Web apps and services, Microsoft doesn't immediately come to mind. Lately, though, the company has been rolling out a slew of them, including several that match or beat competing offerings from Google and Yahoo.
• Enterprises Will Be Able to Self-Host Windows Azure.  Future versions of Windows Server will enable companies to efficiently provide and manage virtualized applications through the Web just like Microsoft's upcoming platform as a service, Windows Azure.
• Database in the Cloud: Microsoft Steps Up.  Microsoft recently announced plans to enable direct access to SQL Server databases in the cloud using Tabular Data Stream (TDS), the native SQL Server network protocol. This is exciting news for Microsoft developers, but not for Microsoft competitors.
• Microsoft Won't Let Companies Host Windows Azure on Own Premises.  Microsoft has no plans to let businesses license and host its Windows Azure cloud-computing infrastructure on their own premises, the company said this week.

“Anything that has been a server needs to be a service,” – Steve Ballmer

It should be an interesting next two years to see how this new nirvana of computing evolves. I look forward to this forward step in IT evolution.

Enjoy the sunny days ahead… with Cloud[s]!

Joel Reyes