Dive into the Summer with Architects: Microsoft Cloud Power

In half an hour

Today, nearly every one of Microsoft's products has features or services that support cloud computing. Our Cloud Power vision encompasses all our products including tools and processes. Or in other words, as Steve Ballmer has said, when it comes to cloud computing, we are all-in. We are all-in across every product line that we have and across every dimension of the service.

As we only have half an hour, I would like to suggest different ways of learning more about what Microsoft is doing when it comes to cloud computing. You can either explore the new website that is available with consolidated content and case studies dealing with Microsoft's efforts in the cloud space.

Or you can watch the highlights of Steve Ballmer's speech presented in a shortened video form that you will find here. Or, if time is really short, the summary is provided below:

Cloud computing has never been as hot as it is now. As such, Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft, spoke on 6 March to a group of students and a faculty at the University of Washington to discuss how cloud computing will change the way people and businesses use technology.

His goal was to challenge people to look at cloud computing more broadly and to understand the multidimensional nature of the cloud transformation revolution happening today. Other companies have defined cloud computing in a narrow, one-dimensional way. Although these companies provide some interesting components, Microsoft is unique in delivering on a wide range of cloud capabilities that bring increasingly more value to their customers.

Mr Ballmer outlined the five dimensions that define the way people use and realize value in the cloud:

• Cloud computing creates opportunities and responsibilities
• Cloud computing teaches and helps you to learn, decide and take action
• Cloud computing enhances your social and professional interactions
• Cloud computing wants smarter devices
• Cloud computing drives server advances that in turn drive cloud computing

This view fuels Microsoft's investments across the entire company, from data centres to cloud platform technologies to cloud-based development tools and applications.

In half a day

Microsoft occupies a unique position in the cloud computing market as it is today, because its cloud computing solution portfolio provides the different cloud types regardless of whether they are deployed on-premises, hosted or public.

Microsoft Cloud Power Vision:

• Watch Steve Ballmer's speech and learn more about Microsoft's vision on Cloud Computing.
• Read more about innovation in the cloud.
• Read this white paper explaining how to achieve competitive advantage in the age of cloud computing
• View my Microsoft Cloud presentation providing an overview of our vision and strategy

In a full day

Microsoft strongly believes that it should provide you as an architect with the best possible ways of supporting your stakeholders by providing you with a maximum of available choices. The Power of Choice truly defines Microsoft's overall vision in providing the best cloud computing capabilities across the board.

Different kinds of cloud computing are available that can be deployed either on-premises, hosted or publicly – and choosing between them can be challenging at times. Each of them being either Software as a Service, Platform as a Service or Infrastructure as a Service is out there and each provides a unique set of capabilities allowing you to implement a specific business need.

You as an architect should have the possibility of choosing between these different kinds of cloud computing solutions, irrespective of where they are being deployed, thereby maximizing your choices in implementing the right solutions and maximizing the support to your business while minimizing the overall cost involved.

With the Power of Choice Microsoft is delivering each of the different kinds of cloud computing that are available and perceived by the market for independent deployment.

General

In this section I would like to present some papers and other resources that enable you to grasp the overall cloud concepts without diving into each of the different cloud types available within the Microsoft Cloud Continuum.

• Read this excellent whitepaper by David Chappell in Examining Cloud Platforms: Microsoft and Its Competitors
• Learn in this Technet article how Microsoft secures its cloud infrastructure
• Read this great article to learn more about the challenges facing with cloud computing
• As architects learn how to map applications to the cloud

Software as a Service

In this section you can find Software as a Service-related resources ranging from a high-level overview to more architecture-oriented topics, including enterprise specific and other perspectives.

• A great presentation about Software as a Service from a historical perspective
• A must read for any architect involved with architectures based on cloud computing
• Learn more what a Software as a Service oriented Architecture looks like
• Learn how to deal with the Software as a Service concept from an Enterprise perspective
• Learn more about best practices in facing integration the challenges ahead by reading Enterprise Integration and Distributed Computing: A Ubiquitous Phenomenon

Platform as a Service

Platform as a Service provides the foundation for several paradigms, including Software as a Service. The platform provides you with a number of managed services and runtimes allowing you to build and deploy your own applications in addition. This section provides more details that I think that are important for understanding what Platform as a Service means within a Microsoft context.

• A great presentation by David Chappell provided at the latest Architect Council about the Windows Azure Platform
• An excellent whitepaper by David Chappell introducing Windows Azure
• Watch how to use AppFabric in building, managing high-density, multi-tenant applications
• Learn as an architect more about Windows Server AppFabric
• Watch Elasticity starting on-premise and extending with Windows Azure

Infrastructure as a Service

Infrastructure as a Service provides the possibility of having your own virtual machines uploaded and hosted by the cloud platform and scaled accordingly, depending on incoming load or other criteria. This section provides more resources, enabling you to explore the capabilities found within the Microsoft Cloud Continuum in providing this kind of service:

• View the Dynamic Datacenter Toolkit Video explaining how to setup your own cloud infrastructure within your enterprise
• Explore the Infrastructure Planning and Design Guide for Dynamic Datacenter
• Learn as an architect more about Server Virtualization with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
• Learn more about security and virtualization in Hyper-V Security Guide