Software giant Microsoft is set to release Microsoft Office for Android tabs and iPads and an Outlook Web app for iOS this fall.

Although officially Microsoft has no comment to make, reports have surfaced that the full suite of Office apps will have a November release, according to website BGR.

According to BGR’s source, the app is said to look almost identical to the leaked images from a few months ago.

The source also claimed the app’s loading screen read “Office for iOS,” suggesting iPhone and iPod Touch could have the software in their future as well.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the App Store may also see another Microsoft offering ahead of it, featuring the same Metro tile interface on Windows Phone, an Outlook app known as “OWA Mobile Client for iOS”, which is reportedly in the works for devices running iOS 5 or later.

Microsoft is currently believed to be planning for both Outlook Web App and the new Lync to debut on the iOS App Store before the end of October, both native of the iOS applications that render Web content with the same tiled Metro user interface style that can be found on Windows Phone.

Outlook apps are expected for Windows Phone and Android devices about the same time.

Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/personal-tech/computing/Microsoft-to-launch-Office-apps-for-for-Android-iOS/articleshow/13449907.cms

Global software major Microsoft will incubate 10 early-stage technology start-ups in cloud computing, internet and mobile using its Accelerator for Windows Azure programme to help them build businesses, a top official said on Wednesday.

“The start-ups will have access to our resources such as BizSpark programme and $60,000 in Azure credit through BizSpark Plus programme to take advantage of the cloud,” Microsoft India (R&D) Managing Director Amit Chatterjee told reporters here unveiling the programme in the Indian sub-continent.

Start-ups that can build any application using the company’s cloud platform and operate in any business or market segment will be eligible to apply for the programme, being launched simultaneously in Beijing (China), Tel Aviv (Israel), Seattle (US) and Bangalore.

The start-ups will also be able to leverage the company’s Metro user interface on Window 8 and Window Phone to operate in a cloud environment.

Cloud computing uses a network of computers, data centres and storage systems as an integrated IT infrastructure for seamless operations, eliminating investments in stand-alone IT installation by enterprises and small and medium businesses.

To be selected for the four-month incubation, prospective start-ups can apply online from Wednesday till July 1 and join the programme from September at the company’s office in this tech hub.

“The start-ups will have the benefit of mentorship and coaching from successful entrepreneurs, leading venture capitalists and industry leaders. We are also partnering with industry mentors to provide start-ups with the support they need to innovate and become successful businesses,” Chatterjee said.

The company will also facilitate meetings between start-ups and venture capitalists and prospective investors in addition to mentoring. “The benefit of the programme will be measured by the success of the start-ups though we will have no stake in them,” Chatterjee said.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/microsoft-to-incubate-10-indian-start-ups-in-cloud-computing/articleshow/13412220.cms

Hanu Software today announced that they have been selected for Microsoft Corporation’s elite Windows Azure Circle program. The Azure Circle is the highest level of Microsoft’s Cloud Accelerate Partner program designed to validate the credentials of highly trained and tested partner organizations.

Hanu Software has already established a reputation of excellence developing applications to operate on Microsoft’s Azure platform. In addition to the Azure Circle selection, Microsoft will release two success stories featuring Hanu Software’s Azure development services next month.

“The Azure Circle partner program showcases our Microsoft partners’ commitment to helping shared customers take full advantage of the benefits of cloud services,” says Francesco Rietti, Business Development Manager for Microsoft US Azure Partnerships. “We appreciate the resources that our partners dedicate to mastering the latest technologies and their continued drive for success.”

As a result of the Azure Circle designation, Hanu Software will have access to additional Microsoft promotional and technical resources that will deliver faster and more cost effective results to customers.

“We are excited to be a part of the Azure Circle, furthering our efforts to help customers make strategic choices about their future in the cloud,” Anil Singh, founder and CEO of Hanu Software. “Our strong alliance with Microsoft’s Azure team assures our customers that they have a direct connection with the latest platform developments.”

Hanu Software is fast becoming the leading Azure development source for Microsoft’s extensive ISV (Independent Software Vendor) partner network, who supply the customized applications that support Microsoft’s legacy product line. To remain relevant, ISVs rely on Azure development experts like Hanu Software to re-write the underlying code of their applications to support cloud deployment.

Source:http://eon.businesswire.com/news/eon/20120522005215/en/Cloud-Application-Development/Cloud-Computing/Microsoft-Cloud-Platform

Microsoft held its Security Development Conference 2012 in Washington DC to host a diverse set of companies, government agencies and academic institutions sharing their own experiences with adopting a Security Development Lifecycle (SDL).

The event, held May 15 and 16 at Washington’s Fairmont hotel included information for leaders in software engineering, process and business management who are responsible for implementing or accelerating the adoption and effectiveness of secure development practices in their organizations. The 2012 conference was the first in what is to be an annual series of SDC events, Microsoft said.

Keynote speakers included Scott Carney, corporate vice president for Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft; Richard A. Clarke, chairman of Good Harbor Consulting and former special advisor to the President for cyber security; and General Michael V. Hayden, principal at the Chertoff Group and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency and National Security Agency. Diamond sponsors of the SDC were Adobe, Cisco and Microsoft.

In a blog post about the event, Steve Lipner, partner director of program management for Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft, said:

“To see more and more private and public organizations recognize the value and importance of implementing secure development practices makes me cautiously optimistic that in the future software will be more secure than the software we’ve seen in the past. I remember when in 1997 I attended the RSA Security Conference held in the basement of the Mark Hopkins Hotel in San Francisco with a few hundred attendees. Today, the annual RSA Conference is a major industry event with more than 10,000 attendees. I’m not certain that the Security Development Conference will follow that sort of trajectory, but I do believe that secure development is of growing importance, and I also know that industry commitment can start small and grow.”

As part of the conference, Microsoft announced two new success stories – the Government of India and Itron have both integrated the SDL into their processes.

The Government of India has recognized the importance of a holistic integration of security and is promoting that key concept by including secure coding practices in their draft national economic five-year plan, Lipner said. “They believe this is a significant step that will help improve the security of all software and services produced in their programs. India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) which leads the country’s response to cyber threats has already taken steps to implement the five-year plan by leveraging Microsoft’s SDL as one of the core tenets for application security. In addition, the National Informatics Centre, part of the Central Government Office of India, requires training in SDL principles including the training of more than 10,000 of India’s cyber forensic investigators. The government of India is also encouraging domestic businesses to adopt similar processes, showcasing the significant role public-private partnerships play in making critical systems more secure. You can read more about the steps the Government of India is taking to secure its environment in the case study available for download here.”

Meanwhile, Itron, a provider of energy and water resource management solutions for nearly 8,000 utilities around the world, also has incorporated the SDL into their development process.

“With the increase in threats to critical infrastructures, Itron realized it needed to take proactive steps to protect its systems by building security in from the start,” Lipner said. “The company recently implemented Microsoft’s SDL, making it mandatory for the development of all of its software and hardware. Itron now has one of the most mature secure development programs in the Smart Grid space. You can read more about the steps Itron is taking to secure its systems through a case study we have published for download here.”

In addition to the keynote speakers, other speakers at the event included representatives from IBM, Symantec, Red Hat, the National Security Agency, Itron, Cisco, Adobe, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Lockheed Martin, EMC, Salesforce.com and a host of others, including several other speakers from Microsoft.

To date, Microsoft’s free SDL tools and resources have been downloaded over 940,000 times reaching over 150 regions around the world.

Recent Microsoft research has demonstrated an overall decline in the exploitability of vulnerabilities in Microsoft products by greater than 30 percent when comparing the latest version of all Microsoft software to all supported previous versions over the past 18 months.

350 days after implementing the Microsoft SDL, MidAmerican Energy was the only business unit inside its parent holding company, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, that external auditors found to have no security vulnerabilities. And, MidAmerican realized an overall productivity gain of up to 20 percent using Microsoft SDL.

A recent study by the Aberdeen Group, found the total cost of remediating an actual application security-related incident at about $300K and that organizations who implemented an SDL realized four times their return on annual investments in security. Forrester reconfirms this by stating those practicing SDL specifically reported visibly better ROI results than the overall population.

Source:http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Microsoft-Holds-Security-Development-Conference-827105/

Windows 8 may be the most significant reimagining of Microsoft’s OS in more than 15 years, but it still won’t change one eternal rule of Microsoft-powered PCs: wherever Windows goes, bloatware follows. Microsoft and its users have long complained to hardware makers about the amount of extra software that manufacturers include with Windows PCs such as extra media-playing software or trial versions of antivirus programs.

It sounds like the bloatware wars will favor users when Windows 8 launches later this year. But extra software may still creep onto your new Dell, HP, or Lenovo PC, even though Microsoft is reportedly getting ready to take on Windows 8 bloat.

Signature Upgrades

To fight off bloatware, Microsoft plans to offer Windows 8 users its $99 Signature Upgrade service available at Microsoft Stores across the U.S., according to PCWorld’s sister site Computerworld. Signature upgrade is an extension of the Microsoft Store’s Signature PC program that offers Windows 7 PCs tweaked for speed and performance, and the devices come without any manufacturer bloatware. If you didn’t buy your PC from the Microsoft Store, all you have to do is walk into one of the software maker’s 22 retail locations in the U.S., plunk down a hundred bucks, and a day or two later your bloat-free PC is ready to go.

Microsoft says compared to a regular PC, a Signature PC can go to sleep 23.1 percent faster, starts-up 39.6 percent faster, and can resume 51.3 percent sooner.

Metro and Bloatware

To get onto your computer, most Metro apps have to be approved by Microsoft and then distributed through the Windows Store, similar to how you download apps for your iPhone, Android or Windows Phone device. But it’s not clear whether the Windows Store would curb or prohibit device makers from installing Metro-style bloatware before their PCs ship.

Metro and Peripherals

Even if Metro-style bloatware rears its ugly head, Microsoft is trying to keep peripherals from filling up your machine with unneeded junk. Microsoft is pushing makers of webcams, printers, cameras, and other devices to focus on supporting the Metro side of Windows 8 instead of the traditional desktop.

In Microsoft’s ideal scenario, you would connect your new Canon all-in-one printer to your PC and then Windows 8 would automatically download Canon’s supporting app from the Windows Store. Microsoft in September said it would limit hardware makers to offering just one Metro app per external device.

Of course, in an ideal world most of your peripherals wouldn’t bother with supporting apps at all. Do you really need that snazzy interface from Iomega to use your external hard drive? I didn’t think so. The good news is deleting a Metro-style app will be a fairly easy process, so if you don’t want an HP specially-designed printer interface, you can nuke it pretty quickly.

Windows 8 is expected to launch on new PCs around October 2012. A second consumer preview of the new OS is expected in the first week of June.

Source:http://www.pcworld.in/news/windows-8-microsoft-tries-rein-crapware-72082012

Microsoft today added two new recruits to its Secure Development Lifecycle (SDL) — a SCADA and smart-grid supplier and the government of India.

The software giant named the latest adopters of its process for writing secure applications today at its first-ever Security Development Conference. in Washington, D.C. The announcement follows that of BITS, the technology division of The Financial Services Roundtable and the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC), which in February issued an SDL-based blueprint for financial-services firms to write more secure internal and customer-facing applications.

Liberty Lake, Wash.-based Itron, which sells smart meters, data collection, and software solutions to around 8,000 utilities in more than 130 countries and regions worldwide, has made SDL mandatory in all hardware and software development. Its first SDL-based products were an encryption server and a new family of smart meters. “We are really delighted that a major critical infrastructure firm is making the software it supplies more secure,” says Steve Lipner, partner director of program management in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group.

Itron isn’t the first company in the utility industry to go SDL: MidAmerican Energy Company also uses the framework in its application development process. The government of India’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN), meanwhile, has begun deploying SDL for application security, as well, Microsoft also announced today, and the Indian government’s National Informatics Centre is mandating SDL training for 10,000 cyberforensic investigators there.

“The government of India has included SDL practices in its [draft] five-year economic plan,” Lipner says. “This is the strongest endorsement yet of the SDL by a government,” Microsoft’s Lipner says.

Source:http://www.darkreading.com/advanced-threats/167901091/security/application-security/240000526/scada-smart-grid-vendor-adopts-microsoft-s-secure-software-development-program.html

In a media roundtable here Wednesday, Sumit Gupta, senior director for Tesla GPU computing at Nvidia, said the U.S. was about 50 years ahead in HPC skills compared with the Asian region due to the former’s longer history working with supercomputers.

To address this, Gupta urged for more training and specialized workshops to bring the required skills to this region. “The bottom line is, the more young engineers and scientists get to be educated, the faster the adoption will be,” he said.

He noted that the Chinese government has been “doing a good job” by building supercomputers, as well as providing funds for engineers to develop their HPC skills. While this is the right step, he added that there needs to be more training.

In Asia, for research centers that are building high-end HPCs such as Tianhe-1A in China, K Computer and Tsubame 2.0 in Japan, the cost of building a supercomputer is “not a big deal”, said Gupta. Small and midsize universities, however, can benefit from more affordable HPCs, he noted.

The executive said Nvidia has addressed this need, enabling research labs to build a supercomputer with 1 petaflop per second performance with 10 racks, using its new GPU (graphics processing unit) computing architecture, Kepler.

In contrast, 42 racks of the older architecture, Fermi, were needed to build the Tsubame 2.0 supercomputer which also has a performance of 1 petaflop per second, he said.

In addition, Kepler provides better energy efficiency. Gupta said the Tsubame 2 supercomputer required 1.3 megawatts of power but a Kepler-based 1 petaflop super computer needs only 400 kilowatts.

Intel’s architecture a “good PowerPoint”
Queried about how competitor Intel’s many integrated core (MIC) architecture will affect Nvidia, Gupta said: “Intel’s MIC is a really good PowerPoint slide.”

Noting that Intel’s processor was built specifically for the HPC space, he said: “Any product that is developed specifically for HPC cannot sustain on its own.”

According to him, Intel’s MIC would require a server workstation to operate while Nvidia’s product could be operated with a laptop.

Intel did not respond to ZDNet Asia’s query about its HPC roadmap.

Server players support hybrid supercomps
At a pre-briefing, Gupta noted an increase in GPU-accelerated applications after Nvidia launched its Fermi architecture in 2010. He shared that the use of GPU in top super computers stood at under 20 percent in 2011 but increased to slightly less than 60 percent after 2011.

The “big jump” in performance provided had attracted supercomputer centers to use a hybrid computational architecture which includes central processing unit (CPU) and GPU chips in the same HPC system, he said.

Stephen Bovis, vice president and general manager for industry standard servers and software at Hewlett-Packard Asia-Pacific and Japan, agreed that GPUs were gaining acceptance in the marketplace, especially among organizations that needed to accelerate application delivery.

“GPUs are able to speed up delivery from between 10 and 100 times, depending on the application itself,” he said.

“However, not all applications will run on GPUs as it takes time for an application to be ported to run on GPUs”, Bovis added.

Arun Ulag, general manager of server and tools division at Microsoft Asia-Pacific, added that the combination of GPU and CPU was “a great way” of using multi-core processing.

“In this co-processing model, the compute-intensive portions of an application use the parallel computing capabilities of the GPU, while the sequential part of an application’s code runs on the CPU,” Ulag explained.

He said several GPU offerings from multiple vendors including Nvidia and AMD could be used for general-purpose computation in a Windows HPC Server 2008 cluster. These products include Nvidia Tesla 10-series GPUs, Tesla 20-series GPUs, AMD FirePro V8800 computing processor, and AMD FireStream computing processors.

An IBM spokesperson told ZDNet Asia GPU was just one of several variations of accelerator for HPCs. He pointed to the IBM Roadrunner which uses a blend of Cell processors and AMD x86 chips, adding that other technologies include field-programmable gate array.

Source:http://www.zdnetasia.com/asias-hpc-space-needs-to-catch-up-on-software-62304825.htm

Satisfaction with Microsoft’s software slipped last year, part of an industrywide downturn driven by U.S. consumer discontent with traditional PC programs, a national survey said today.

Microsoft scored 75 points in the poll conducted since 2006 by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), down from a record 78 last year.

The three-point drop from 2010’s results — representing a decline of about 4% — put Microsoft software’s satisfaction rating at its lowest level since 2009, but still higher than the company’s worst showing of 69 in 2008, when it was dealing with the fallout over Windows Vista.

Microsoft’s skid in 2011 wasn’t due to any Vista-like debacle, said David VanAmburg, director of ACSI.

“We’re not finding any lapse in quality per se,” said VanAmburg, referring to Windows 7, the current edition of Microsoft’s operating system. “It’s somewhat of a relativity game, where the mobile environment is recasting how people think of traditional software.”

That thinking revolves around words like “cumbersome,” “difficult” and “expensive.”

“[Mobile] apps are so much easier to manipulate, and they’re a lot cheaper,” said VanAmburg. “For 99 cents you buy an app that does some kind of very cool thing, and by comparison, traditional software looks cumbersome.”

Microsoft wasn’t alone in seeing its satisfaction score drop: ACSI’s “All Other” category, which includes software from vendors such as Adobe and Symantec, fell by two points to 77, a decline of 2.5%.

“I don’t think this problem is only Microsoft, it’s the entire software industry,” said VanAmburg. “Mobile has taken a little bit of the edge off software.”

While he downplayed the extent of the decline in software satisfaction — Microsoft’s score for 2011, after all, was higher than in the years 2006-2009 — VanAmburg questioned whether it was another hint that Microsoft faces tougher times in the face of sluggish PC sales and the quick rise of tablets.

“How is Microsoft going to reinvent itself when everything starts to be much more about mobile?” VanAmburg asked, pointing to the weakening software satisfaction. “It’s hard to see how much longer the Windows OS will get Microsoft by.”

Others, including Microsoft, have asked that same question.

Microsoft’s answer is Windows 8 and an offshoot, dubbed Windows RT, designed specifically for ARM-powered devices, including tablets. Both operating systems, which analysts expect will debut in the fourth quarter, feature a touch-first interface, an app model similar to Apple’s and Google’s, and an emphasis on mobile hardware.

Source:http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9227160/Consumer_love_for_mobile_sparks_discontent_with_Microsoft_s_software?taxonomyId=125

Customer satisfaction with Microsoft software fell this year amid an overall dip in satisfaction with computer software, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which released its annual survey today.

Microsoft’s customer satisfaction score dropped 3.8 percent from a high last year of 78 (out of a possible 100) to 75 this year.

“The lessening of customer satisfaction may prove challenging for Microsoft as sales of its Windows software stall amid a shrinking PC environment and a growing mobile computing market,” the ACSI said.

Overall, customers continue to be more satisfied with computer software compared to other information industries, according to the study, but it too dipped in the customer satisfaction score — down 1.3 percent from 78 last year to 77 this year.

The ACSI, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., surveys thousands of customers annually to measure customer satisfaction. Its May report covered eight industries: cell phones, computer software, fixed-line and wireless telephone service, motion pictures, newspapers, subscription TV service, and TV news.

Customer satisfaction with the cell phone industry dipped 1.3 percent to 74, and satisfaction with wireless services dropped 1.4 percent to 70.

Among cell phone manufacturers, Apple’s iPhone scored 83 in the survey; Nokia, HTC and LG Electronics scored 75; Samsung scored 71 and RIM brought up the rear at 69.

Viewer satisfaction with network and cable TV news programs dropped 3.9 percent to 74. The newspaper industry fared worst, with a 1.5 percent drop in score to 64 this year.

Source:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoftpri0/2018212014_customer_satisfaction_with_microsoft_dips.html

A global leader focused on improving the health and safety of people and the environment, has launched the Search Genius application, designed for the Microsoft SharePoint platform. The new system provides researchers with a single software system to search, save and share unstructured data stored throughout their organization, thereby making enterprise-wide knowledge accessible for more productive and effective workflows.

The Search Genius platform is a powerful search application that enables researchers to use both text and structure searches of reports and technical documents stored using the SharePoint framework and E-Notebook system, as well as text searches of the Internet. With the Search Genius platform, researchers can more readily gain broader access to previously difficult-to-access data. This enables greater and more holistic visibility to organization-wide information resources that researchers can then more easily leverage into new and existing projects. Scientists can also save their search results and easily create links and annotations that document their ideas and facilitate collaboration.

“Researchers in life sciences, whether in academia or commercial biopharma, are increasingly finding that simply generating data and analysis are not enough to provide the workflow efficiency and productivity they need to succeed,” said Michael Stapleton, general manager, Informatics, PerkinElmer. “The ability to find information that correlates with their immediate and long-term requirements, as well as to utilize and share it across their organization, is becoming a paramount ongoing need. Search Genius provides researchers with access to data that enables them to make decisions faster, based on its ability to collect, consolidate and analyze, so they can act on disparate pieces of information that may otherwise not be thought of or known to be important or relevant.”

The Search Genius platform utilizes Microsoft’s FAST Search Server 2010 to create an out-of-the-box solution for researchers that is not separated and isolated from other applications. Researchers can use the Search Genius platform to carry out text and structure searches from the Microsoft SharePoint platform as well as from inside PerkinElmer’s E-Notebook system, while simultaneously conducting and documenting their research.

The application also allows for the extension of search capabilities to include any data sources that can be indexed by FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, including Electronic Laboratory Notebook (ELN) content from other vendors and from scientific journals. Completely integrated into the FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint framework, the Search Genius system requires no additional IT overhead.

The Search Genius platform allows researchers to easily save the hits that result from their searches, something that is difficult to do with most web search engines. This makes it possible to organize their research ideas within an organizational space that includes text and structure searches from multiple sources. Scientists can also annotate those hits with notes to help them recall the inspiration behind their search – not just where they found the information.

Features of the Search Genius application include: integrated search of ELN content, SharePoint content and the Internet, structure searches of SharePoint and E-Notebook content, ability to annotate and share search results, easily created hyperlinks to interesting content, access from the SharePoint framework directly or from PerkinElmer’s E-Notebook and complete integration into the SharePoint 2010 FAST framework, avoiding additional IT overhead.

PerkinElmer is a leading provider of discovery, collaboration, and knowledge enterprise solutions, desktop software, scientific databases and consulting services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and chemical industries.

Source:http://pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=68917&sid=2

Epicor is planning to work with Microsoft to bring Epicor’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications to the Azure cloud service, the companies announced Tuesday during Epicor’s Insights conference in Las Vegas.

The companies already had a close relationship, as Epicor’s software uses Microsoft’s .NET development stack. In addition, Epicor has been working on Azure-related products for several years, including a search engine. But the pending move of its ERP software to Azure represents a bigger step to the cloud for Epicor.

For some time, Epicor has sold a SaaS (software as a service) product called Epicor Express, but this is aimed at small companies with limited user counts. Azure will allow Epicor to target larger cloud deployments, said analyst Frank Scavo, managing partner of IT research firm Strativa.

This week, Epicor also unveiled the third major version of its ICE (Internet component environment) application integration platform. Epicor plans to use ICE together with Azure’s on-demand SQL database service and compute infrastructure to create a PaaS (platform as a service) to develop add-ons and tie together its software.

The company’s plans for Azure emerge as Microsoft itself has begun moving its own Dynamics ERP software lines to the cloud platform, with the first set for arrival there in the fourth quarter. Epicor’s announcement didn’t state a timetable for its own plans.

While Epicor goes head-to-head with Dynamics in many software deals, Microsoft tends to be “very good about serving an ISV community that does compete with them,” Scavo said.

In any case, Azure hasn’t been ready until now to handle the features and performance needed to run cloud ERP, Scavo said.

The move makes sense for Epicor, since it will also gain the use of Azure’s global data center footprint. Nor does it need to worry about developing its own PaaS, as cloud-centric companies like Salesforce.com have done, Scavo said. “There’s a case to be made to leave the structure of the platform to someone who’s good at it.”

Overall though, “it’s a forward-looking move,” he added. “There’s not a large percentage of Epicor customers today that are demanding Epicor give them a way to leave their on-premise systems and go to the Azure cloud. But the tide is moving in that direction, especially with new customers.”

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/255225/epicor_moving_its_applications_to_microsofts_azure_cloud.html

Microsoft says that the sheer number of applications makes it more and more difficult for software developers to reach the eyeballs they need to score downloads. A viral distribution method that is based on word of mouth to distribute software may be much more effective in the future, a patent application that was filed in November 2010 claims.

That may be rather common sense until that point, but Microsoft believes that such an idea that results in software downloads that can be traced back to social “likes” deserves to be awarded with a patent. The only noteworthy specific feature of the technology described in the patent application is a capability for a device to automatically find a version of a recommended app that runs on the device of the user – which would cut out the “inconvenience” for a user to search for that app.

Source:http://www.tomshardware.com/news/software-patent-microsoft-social-likes,15558.html

TagVault.org, a registration and certification authority for ISO/IEC 19770-2:2009 software identification (SWID) tags, today announced that Microsoft will begin supporting standardized SWID tags. With this announcement, the last major impediment to software buyers being able to require SWID tags in software they purchase has been removed.

“Questions about Microsoft’s support for the SWID standard have been asked by every organization that has been briefed about the standard,” said Steve Klos, TagVault.org executive director. “Now that this key question is answered, we are on the cusp of a new era of software publishing, one where buyers will make purchasing decisions based on the ease of management and security of software titles. Additionally, because this is an ISO/IEC standard, governments world-wide are exploring the option of requiring SWID tags in the software they purchase.”

Microsoft’s shift towards SWID standardization coincides with their appearance at TagVault.org’s sponsored 2012 Software Identification Summit being held May 2, 2012 at the Campbell Community Center in Campbell, California. Heather Young, Senior SAM Program Manager, Microsoft will be presenting information about this pivotal announcement.

The summit will also highlight Richard Struse, Deputy Director for Software Assurance, U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s, National Cyber Security Division. Richard will present how SWID tags are an integral part of a standards-based cyber security ecosystem and the need for public-private collaboration to accelerate their adoption and use in both government and the private sector.

Focusing on the critical importance for software publishers to incorporate tags into their development process as early as possible, the summit is a forum for software publishers, purchasers and tool providers to discuss security, logistics and compliance problems that are directly attributable to the lack of accurate and authoritative software identification information.

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/04/24/prweb9436320.DTL

Microsoft has updated its automated software development tools to the new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012, and in a sign it wants to push its cloudy productivity has added the ability to automate Office 365 deployments.

Details are sketchy at present, but the download page for the software promises “Comprehensive tools and guidance to efficiently manage large-scale deployments of Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 365.” That’s a step up from the “Office 365 Assessment Report” offered in the tool’s predecessor, the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, which did little more than check if PCs were capable of running Office 365.

MDT 2012 can handle deployments of Windows 7,Office 2010, Windows 8 Consumer Preview, Windows Server “8” Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Redmond also promises the following features:

New support for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
Integration with Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset 7 (DaRT) and Security Compliance Manager (SCM)
Support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview in a lab environment
Support for Windows Server 2012 Beta

There’s no explanation offered, among the various pages about MDT, about just what constitutes a “lab” environment, in terms of either the number of machines allowed or the functionality afforded.

Source:http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/04/23/microsoft_deployment_toolkit_2012/

For years Microsoft Corp. waged war against open-source, a technology movement that threatened to undermine the company’s dominance with its tightly controlled software.

These days, however, it is making peace with open-source programs, even going so far as to establish a subsidiary last week to advance its work on such software.

Open-source refers to software that is released along with the underlying computer code used to create it, enabling programmers to make changes and enhancements. Such products—which include Google Inc.’s Android operating system and the Mozilla Foundation’s Firefox Web browser—often are available free but also may be sold in commercial …

Source:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304432704577347783238850756.html

If you’ve ever tried to work with a Microsoft Office document on a mobile device, you know that the traditional tools–mobile productivity suites such as Documents To Go and Quickoffice, or Web apps such as Google Docs and Zoho Office–are imperfect. They often lack features found in the native applications, or they mess up the document’s formatting.

But several new services take a different approach to helping you do real work on tablets and smartphones: They run Microsoft Office or other productivity programs on remote servers, delivering to your mobile device a version of the traditional user interface optimized for the device’s capabilities.

In a way, the three services I looked at–CloudOn, Nivio, and OnLive Desktop–are basically updated implementations of the thin-client concept that has been kicking around for years. (Remember Larry Ellison’s New Internet Computer?) Though the idea was never a big hit in the past, the time may have finally come for that approach, thanks to the widespread availability of broadband Internet access and the rapid growth of devices that don’t run Windows or OS X and have limited computing power.

All three services deliver the popular Office trifecta (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) to the iPad (some to Android devices as well). And all three have a Web-based storage component so that you can access your files anywhere (Nivio and OnLive offer storage as part of their service, while CloudOn integrates with Box.com and Dropbox).

They differ significantly in other ways, however. CloudOn delivers its applications (in addition to the Office apps, it has just added Adobe Reader and a universal image file viewer) in a spartan user interface of its own design. Nivio and OnLive Desktop, meanwhile, both provide a full-blown virtual Windows desktop, including versions of Internet Explorer that support (in varying degrees) technologies such as Flash and run sites that Safari doesn’t.

At this writing, OnLive Desktop also offers Windows’ Paint and Calculator accessories, plus Microsoft Surface Collage–a touchscreen-optimized app for turning the desktop into a digital photo frame with a slew of customization options. Nivio, which is still in invitation-only beta (you can get on the wait list at Nivio’s website), offers a menu of apps to which you can buy monthly access. All three services say they are working to add more applications.
What Device Do You Want to Use Today?

The devices these services support vary. CloudOn, at this writing, runs on Apple’s iPad, but the company expects to add Android (2.3 or later) support within a month or so. OnLive supports iPads and Android (2.3 or later) tablets. Nivio can run in any HTML 5-capable browser, but it offers apps for Windows, OS X, iOS, and Android (2.1 or later) devices.

You’ll find differences under the hood, too. CloudOn and OnLive Desktop do all the computing on their servers. Enter a number in a cell in Excel, for instance, and the cloud servers crunch your data. The service then sends to your mobile device an interactive image of what you would see if you were running Excel on your desktop, a process that is sometimes referred to as pixel-streaming. The services’ respective secret sauces lie in how they optimize the transmission of data, as well as in the adjustments required to operate a point-and-click application on a touchscreen.

Nivio is a bit more complicated. On an application-by-application basis, it determines which functions are more efficiently performed in the cloud and which are better managed by the mobile device, and then hands off processes accordingly. The company believes that this highly customized approach will ultimately enable superior application offerings and performance, but it may take longer to optimize some features. For example, Sachin Duggal, Nivio cofounder and “chief wizard,” says that video performance in IE isn’t yet what it should be.

Prices for these services, all on a subscription basis, are in flux. OnLive is offering a basic free service with 2GB of file storage and the core Office apps, but you can’t run IE or access file attachments in email without upgrading to the $5-a-month Plus service.

Also, Microsoft has said that OnLive’s service violates its licensing agreements. OnLive recently replaced the Windows 7 desktop with Windows Terminal Server, a move that Microsoft says is a step in the right direction. Microsoft says that the licensing negotiations continue; OnLive declined to comment on licensing issues. Whether any settlement with Microsoft might affect pricing is unclear.

CloudOn and Nivio both say that they have licensing agreements for their hosting of Office apps. CloudOn is free for now, but Milind Gadekar, CEO and cofounder, says he expects to introduce competitive pricing soon. Nivio’s website lists several plans that it intends to offer when it comes out of beta, all of which include free access to 10GB of file storage; basic plans start at $2 a month for 10 hours of access to its desktop service, and $15 a month buys you unlimited access. However, on top of that you must also pay subscription fees for the apps you use: For example, Microsoft Office access will cost $15 a month, and individual apps such as Word or Excel will run $7.50 a month.

People who are reasonably content using free Web apps to tinker with Office documents while away from their PCs may decide that they don’t want to pay for these services. But if you’re hoping to replace a laptop with a tablet (preferably one with a Bluetooth keyboard) without giving up the full functionality of Microsoft’s desktop software–and if broadband access isn’t a concern for you–these services are well worth a look. If nothing else, they might well prove to be an attractive alternative to commercial mobile office packages.

Source:http://www.pcworld.com/article/253616/can_your_software_live_in_the_cloud.html

Leading IT infrastructure provider Microland Ltd has entered an alliance with global software major Microsoft Consulting Services ( MCS) to jointly offer cloud solutions to large enterprises in the Indian market.

“With Microsoft software products, we will help enterprises leverage private cloud-based solutions and services to transform their businesses in the Indian private cloud market, which is estimated to accrue $3.5 billion in revenues by 2015,” Microland vice president M.D. Bobby said in a statement Friday.

The solutions will be based on Microsoft’s data centre services, an integrated framework built on industry – leading architectures, spanning hyper-visor cloud services, infrastructure as a service transformation, optimised data centre transformation and well managed date centre transformation.

“The partnership will enable us to deliver services that support heterogeneous hyper-visor environments with operating systems and application development frameworks, which allow customers to face challenges in data centre management such as server sprawl, security threats, service downtime and regulatory changes,” Microsoft Services general manager Meetul Patel said.

As alliance partners, both will jointly provide lifecycle, end-to-end range of services, from consulting, design and architecture to delivery, deployment, implementation and management to enable customers maximise returns on investments in data centers by reducing operational costs and leveraging virtualisation and cloud technology.

“By partnering with Microland, we will bring our industry-leading architectures and best practices to customers in India, to help them reduce costs, improve service levels and drive business agility,” Patel observed.

Microsoft private cloud solutions are built to provide enterprise class virtualisation, end-to-end service management and insight into applications so customers can focus on delivering business value.

Microland is already working with an unspecified large enterprise customer for the deployment and migration to a private cloud across verticals such as banking, financial services, and government.

Source:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-04-07/software-services/31304687_1_data-centre-cloud-investments-in-data-centers

The Veterans Affairs Department has canned a key enterprise software license agreement for Microsoft products, Nextgov has learned, a move that could save VA nearly 30 percent in annual licensing fees, analysts said.

The department has discontinued its Microsoft Software Assurance for Volume Licensing agreement, which typically requires customers to pay an annual fee of 29 percent for desktop software and server software to lock in discounts on upgrades, Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said in a memo to VA’s information technology staff on March 30, and confirmed by a spokeswoman today. Approximately 300,000 employees use Microsoft operating system and desktop application software.

VA did not respond to a query about how much it spends on Microsoft licenses, but based on past contracts, it easily represents a revenue stream measured in millions of dollars a year. In 2002, the department signed a $225 million agreement with Hewlett-Packard for Microsoft software licenses under an internal VA contract that ran through 2006.

Tim Hegedus, an analyst with Miro Consulting in Woodbridge, N.J., said the licensing agreement is not “one of the best bets” an enterprise can make, particularly if its upgrade path does not dovetail with Microsoft’s upgrade roadmap. Hegedus said, “Microsoft is making an incredible amount of money,” off its software assurance licenses, which he described as an annuity for the company.

Because Microsoft requires buyers to purchase the package for three years, at the end of that period VA would have forked over 87 percent of the license value, Hegedus said.

The software assurance package also includes support, but Paul DeGroot, an analyst with Pica Communications LLC in Camano Island, Wash., said large enterprises such as VA probably also buy premier support contract, which pushes Microsoft license maintenance costs up to 30 percent a year compared to 22 percent charged by Oracle and 20 percent by IBM.

VA has started to shift its computing environment from the standard Microsoft server/desktop environment to smartphones and tablet computers favored by hospital clinicians. It also is eyeing cloud computing services. In that case, DeGroot said, it makes even less sense for VA to continue with its Microsoft software assurance licensing program.

Baker said in his memo that “discontinuing software assurance will allow us to move away from automatically paying for all new releases and updates, giving us the opportunity to foster competition between vendors and assess the value of the software before purchase.”

He added, “The market for desktop and server software is changing, with substantial impact from both cloud service providers and personal mobile devices. In the future, we are looking to increase our flexibility and the amount of competition for our business to ensure that we provide the best value and emergent technologies to our customers.”

Baker said the decision to drop the licensing agreement will have “no near-term impact to VA operations from this decision. VA currently has a license for the latest released version of each product we use. In many cases, such as Windows 7, we do not yet widely utilize the latest version of the product. We will continue to use the software we have installed, and we will be able to upgrade to these newer versions of the software in the coming years.”

He cautioned that the decision not to renew the software assurance license means “we will need to make smart decisions about whether a product needs to be installed on a particular desktop or server. We will begin to closely monitor where we have these products installed, to ensure that we do not exceed the number of licenses we have paid for.”

Source:http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20120403_2451.php?oref=topstory

2X Software, a global leader in Cloud Computing and a Tech Data StreamOne Vendor, is pleased to partner with Microsoft to exhibit at Tech Data Channel Link 2012. Over 500 resellers will be attending the event from the 10-12 April 2012 at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

Channel Link 2012 will cover a range of technologies including Cloud and Mobility solutions where 2X are ideally placed to offer insights to the channel.

2X ApplicationServer XG www.2x.com/applicationserver/, transforms the foundation of Microsoft Terminal Services/Remote Desktop Services to combine the best in application delivery and virtual desktop (VDI) management allowing administrators to publish applications and virtual desktops from a single platform.

Enhanced capabilities include simplified configuration and management, mobile device support, universal printing and scanning, improved load balancing and support. The 2X Client is also available for Mac, Android and iOS.

2X Software has a CRN award winning tiered partner program with no barriers or up-front investment required for entry level resellers to quickly start selling and deploying 2X’s innovative solutions. 2X supports it resellers with leads, regular 2Xpert training and certification sessions and a willingness to work hands-on through to sales closure and implementation.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Microsoft at Channel Link,” said Scott Sims, General Manager of 2X Software Americas, “Having recently achieved Tech Data StreamOne partner status we look forward to showcasing all that 2X has to offer the channel.”

Source:http://www.openpr.com/news/216422/2X-Software-Exhibits-Together-with-Microsoft-at-Tech-Data-Channel-Link-2012-in-Las-Vegas.html

A Microsoft Partner since 1990, recently announced it has attained a Silver Independent Software Vendor (ISV) competency, demonstrating its ability to meet Microsoft Corp. customers’ evolving needs in today’s dynamic business environment. To earn a Microsoft silver competency, partners must successfully demonstrate expertise through rigorous exams, culminating in Microsoft certifications. And to ensure the highest quality of services, Microsoft requires customer references for successful implementation and customer satisfaction.

Mitchell Humphrey & Co. has been providing software solutions and services to clients in both the public and private sectors since 1977 and has been a Microsoft Partner since the 1990’s. With clients all across North America, Mitchell Humphrey provides them with advanced solutions in citizen services, accounting, human resources/payroll, community development, and cashiering.

“This Microsoft Silver ISV competency showcases our expertise in today’s technology market and demonstrates our knowledge of Microsoft and its products,” said Kim Schaefer, President and COO of Mitchell Humphrey. “Our plan is to accelerate our customers’ success by serving as technology advisors for their business demands.”

“By achieving a silver competency, organizations have proven their expertise in specific technology areas, placing them among the top 5 percent of Microsoft partners worldwide,” said Jon Roskill, corporate vice president, Worldwide Partner Group at Microsoft Corp. “When customers look for an IT partner to meet their business challenges, choosing a company that has attained Microsoft competencies is a smart move. These are highly qualified professionals with access to Microsoft technical support and product teams.”

An ISV is a profitable software business that can attract new customers, keep development costs down, and train a highly skilled team. With the Windows Server operating system, you can build a scalable platform, leverage virtualization to create an even richer set of managed services, and extend development to build rich Web 2.0 applications.

The Microsoft Partner Network helps partners strengthen their capabilities to showcase leadership in the marketplace on the latest technology, to better serve customers and, with 640,000 Microsoft partners in their ecosystem, to easily connect with one of the most active, diverse networks in the world.

Source:http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9312977.htm