Microsoft rolled out several improvements to its Windows Live SkyDrive product, a free consumer-oriented cloud storage and file-sharing service, this week.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft unleashed System Center Orchestrator 2012 to beta testers last week.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    My list of the best that server virtualization has to offer over physical servers.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Midsized and large businesses are largely reluctant to adopt unified communications (UC) services over a public cloud, according to a study commissioned by Seattle-based Azaleos Corp., a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    According to a panel of CIOs representing defense and civilian agencies, moving applications to a cloud computing provider does not mean giving up control of the data -- as long as agencies get a guarantee in writing.
                    
			            - By Rutrell  Yasin
- 06/14/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Talend, a commercial open-source middleware maker, is pushing its new Unified Integration Platform into the cloud.
                    
			            - By John K. Waters
- 06/14/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    SolarWinds this week solidified its line of virtualization management tools, with new versions of its Hyper9 virtualizaztion management solution and SolarWinds Storage Manager. 
                    
			            - By Michael  Domingo
- 06/09/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Raxco adds new feature called Virtual Awareness, aimed at thwarting fragmentation in virtualized disks automatically.
                    
			            - By Michael  Domingo
- 06/08/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Fujitsu plans to launch a commercial cloud service in August using Microsoft's Windows Azure platform, the two companies announced on Tuesday.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft is expected to release Office 365, the cloud-based successor to its Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) with added desktop productivity functionality, on June 28.
                    
			            - By Scott  Bekker
- 06/06/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Exchange hoster Intermedia has been acquired by private equity firm Oak Hill Partners for an undisclosed amount.
                    
			            - By Jeffrey  Schwartz
- 05/26/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    VMHA via vSphere works most of the time, but sometimes you'll need to get at those scripts to fix something.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Developer of Java/.NET interoperability solutions now supporting interop in the cloud. 
                    
			            - By John K. Waters
- 05/25/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Storage visibility is essential for managing virtual infrastructure performance
                    
			            - By Dave  Bartoletti
- 05/24/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Adding to Microsoft's string of public-sector cloud deals, the city of San Francisco announced plans to migrate 60 departments and agencies to Exchange Online over the next 12 months.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    At this week's Microsoft Tech-Ed conference in Atlanta, Kemp Technologies released its Virtual LoadMaster Exchange for Hyper-V, a load-balancer designed to work exclusively with Exchange 2010 and Microsoft's hypervisor. 
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    I haven't found a public cloud provider yet that allows me to run a nested ESXi server as a virtual machine.
                    
		            
                
                    
                    
                    
                 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Microsoft officially kicked off its Tech-Ed North America conference on Monday with a keynote that focused, in part, on moving to the cloud and managing services and applications in hybrid environments and across multiple devices.
                    
			            - By Kathleen  Richards
- 05/17/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    Hosting solutions providers able to manage various cloud infrastructures from Hyper-V. 
                    
			            - By Michael  Domingo
- 05/16/2011
 
            
                
	                
                    
                                        
		            
                    A report this morning from Bloomberg News points to hackers using Amazon's Elastic Computer Cloud as a staging area for the attack on Sony's PlayStation Network -- which led the service to be shut down for almost a month.