Sharepoint Online

tara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:36:12 GMT

Just when you thought Sharepoint could not possibly be any more fantastic, Microsoft announce the release of Sharepoint Online!

This is a hosted service, which means customers no longer need to worry about deployment, configuration and management of Sharepoint server farms, but can still make use of the excellent collaboration and information sharing possibilities that Sharepoint provides.

There are two service offerings for Sharepoint Online (and for all other Microsoft Online Services): Standard and Dedicated.

Standard, where many companies will securely use the same architecture, has a minimum requirement of only 5 seats, so Sharepoint Online is available for even the smallest of businesses.

Dedicated, where each company has access to an individual, dedicated architecture, is also available, giving Enterprise level organisations access to more server features.

Troy Hopwood gave an excellent PDC session on Sharepoint Online. Check it out here. It's well worth viewing the whole session, but if you're not too techy, or don't have 75 mins to spare, make sure you watch the first 15 mins for a great overview of Sharepoint Online plus a quick high level demo. Troy also fields some interesting questions from 59 mins onwards. And don't forget to download the PowerPoint presentation that accompanies the session as a reference for the differences between standard and dedicated, as well as a feature comparison of MOSS and Sharepoint Online.

Last but not least, sign up for the beta of Sharepoint Online from www.microsoft.com/online.

Windows Azure

tara — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 02:21:55 GMT

It's PDC (Professional Developers Conference) time, and that means lots of very exciting Microsoft product announcements! (It's like Christmas for geeks) :)

One of the very anticipated announcements was around Microsoft's strategy for Cloud Computing. Enter Windows Azure.

Windows Azure is a new cloud based operating system from Microsoft, due for release around the same time as Windows 7. It essentially will provide the same operating system services for the cloud, that traditional Windows operating systems provide for desktops.

This is super exciting, as it's a huge change of direction for Microsoft's corporate strategy, and it shows how committed Microsoft is to constantly changing and growing as the technical world advances. It's a very exciting time for Microsoft employees and partners alike.

Ray Ozzie's keynote speech is a great way to learn about Azure, as well as Microsoft's strategy for the future. There are also other (slightly shorter) Azure videos worth looking at:

Introducing Windows Azure

Windows Azure for Developers

The Amazing Adventures of Geek Girl : pdc

Sharepoint Online

Windows Azure