I won't repeat the information here. Just read the Windows 7 team post. If not already, absolutely now need to pay full attention on how to move from Windows XP to Windows 7. Also do pick a few Windows 7 technologies and get really good at them. Direct Access, Boot from VHD, BitLocker to Go, and Windows XP Mode are Windows 7 solutions on top of my list to master. I have been putting in many weekends and hours. Probably too many. What do you have on your list? And are you ready for Windows 7?

Recently there have been active discussions on Cloud Computing and Microsoft also has brought in a new IT service delivery model called "Software + Services." This series highlights Microsoft’s strategies and efforts in extending the Windows experience to the cloud, and talks about how to take advantages of what cloud computing is offering by extending and transitioning existing IT infrastructure into the so-called “Software + Services” model. Here in Part 1, let's take a 50,000 foot view and get a perspective on what has happened in the past two decades and appreciate:

• What is Cloud computing?
• What is Software + Services? And how did we get here?
• As IT Pros, why should we care? What are the opportunities and what’s in for IT Pros?

To continue the discussion, in Part 2 we will walk through the process of acquiring Microsoft Online Services and basic administration including creating users, configuring SharePoint Online, and managing Exchange Online.

In part 1, I talked about what is Cloud Computing, what is Software + Services, and why IT Pros should care. Here in part 2, I focused on Microsoft’s efforts and offerings relevant to Cloud Computing, and introduced Microsoft Online Services with the following demos:

• Acquiring Microsoft Online Services
• Creating users
• Managing SharePoint
• Managing Exchange

So what are Microsoft Online Services? Very simply, they are enterprise solutions delivered through the Cloud with subscription services hosted by Microsoft. Specifically, Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) includes Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Communications Online and Office Live Meeting. With BPOS, Microsoft Online Services offer business the capabilities of Microsoft Exchange Server, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and Microsoft Office Live Meeting quickly, easily, and without the upfront costs of an on-premise deployment by hosting these solutions online. The best way to understand it is to try it out.

Directly form a just published case study:

Without MED-V, TÜV NORD employees in India would have had to connect to the company’s Terminal Services system in Germany, which would have required significantly more bandwidth (4MB instead of 500KB) at an additional annual cost of approximately U.S.$585,000.

“It’s much cheaper to install a MED-V image on a client than to give an inspector in India a separate computer and Internet connection,” Boerger explains. “Moving forward, we anticipate that offices in some countries won’t need complete, local IT infrastructures. With MED-V, we’ll be able to provide what they need at a fraction of the cost.”

Click the following image to bring up the case study and notice all Microsoft published case studies are available at http://ww.mircosoft.com/casestudies/