Microsoft announced today that Windows Azure has met two significant milestones. The milestones are related to compliance and security. The lack of PCI compliance is one thing that has kept some potential Windows Azure customers away from building services and applications on the platform. Compliance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards (DSS) will allow you […]
January #WindowsAzure Training
Microsoft is offering several opportunities to get up to speed on Windows Azure. I’m listing just a few options available this month (January 2014). The below items are available via the Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) or via webinars. Also coming up in March is the Global Windows Azure Bootcamp (#GWAB), a full day of hands […]
Windows Azure updates for Web Sites
Web Sites are by far one of my favorite features on Windows Azure. As a developer, I didn’t like having to manage the infrastructure. Web Sites allow me to focus on my application and data and let the platform manage the rest. In the last couple of updates there have been a few improvements to […]
Windows Azure Import/Export Hard Drives to Blob Storage
In the past, it has been a bit of a pain to move large amounts of data from on-premises to the cloud. As of the end of October Windows Azure released a new service to make the transition a lot smoother. Now you can securely ship hard disk drives to the Windows Azure data centers. […]
Hashtags to get answers #AzureChat and #SqlHelp
I’ve been using Twitter for some time. While I don’t normally take part in all the conversations, I do know how to get help from colleagues in the community. Hashtags have been around for several years and are now used in most main stream social networks. Hashtags are mainly used for joining people with similar […]
A digital renaissance in public school innovation and technology
One of the primary methods that schools can innovate is with technology. I live in an area where they’re trying to provide technology to all students by providing laptops or tablets from kindergarten to seniors in high school, all grades K through 12. In any one school district they now have to manage these devices […]
Windows Azure is acting on it’s Cloud OS Vision
Microsoft and the Windows Azure team are acting on their Cloud OS Vision. In a previous post I talked about the site improvements made as part of Microsoft’s vision. Microsoft I believe is truly committed to it’s customers and partners. The enterprise cloud in several cases is ready. Are you ready for the enterprise cloud? Besides […]
Microsoft Surface Blades
I’ve seen several articles talking about the Surface “Blade” concepts. I truly believe this is a great innovation on Microsoft’s part. The possibilities are truly endless. I truly believe the Surface is the best tablet for those who want a device that can be used for work, play and entertainment. Having different “Blades” as accessories […]
Windows Azure Updates: VMs, AD, Storage, Spending Limits
Earlier today Scott Guthrie let everyone know about the new improvements to Windows Azure. Below is the bullet list straight from Scott’s blog. This week we released some great updates to Windows Azure. These new capabilities include: Compute: New 2-CPU Core 14 GB RAM instance option Virtual Machines: Support for Oracle Software Images, Management Operations […]
Office 365 Power BI updates
Microsoft announced today that the Power BI for Office 365 preview has been updated. One of my colleagues, Andrew Tegethoff, previously mentioned the compelling features in a previous post. The features were not all available in the preview at the time of the earlier posting. They have added natural language search with Q&A, as well […]
Windows Azure now has Java and Oracle pre-configured VMs
A little over a month ago I had a post about Windows Azure supporting Java and Oracle. I had mentioned that pre-configured options should become available. That day is now upon us. There is several pre-configured options for Java, Oracle Database, and Oracle WebLogic Server. Not just on Windows operating systems either, there is a […]
Windows Azure and AT&T
Microsoft and AT&T announced today they are working together to deliver private networks for businesses to connect to Windows Azure. Windows Azure already has virtual networking capabilities. So now customers will have multiple options for connecting on-premises to Windows Azure.