This April, the desktop computing giant jumped into the game with its own Windows Azure-based IaaS. Microsoft announced that it would price-match Amazon EC2 for storage, compute power and network bandwidth.
Windows Azure-hosted versions of Dynamics NAV and Dynamics GP will arrive in mid-2013 according to the article as well.
Not surprisingly given Microsoft's big cloud push, the emphasis with the upgrade is on improving how well the software scales for internet hosting -- the company wants one common backbone that can handle as little as a small e-mail server to large-scale Azure deployments and virtualization.
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The fix was successfully deployed to most of the Windows Azure sub-regions and we restored Windows Azure service availability to the majority of our customers and services by 2:57AM PST, Feb 29th.
The sensors, said Ballmer, will eventually be integrated into PCs and smartphones and powered by the cloud-based Windows Azure platform.
Included in the lot are a classic gold Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet, a white travel watch from Girard-Perregaux, and a striking azure chronograph from (no watch list is complete without it) Patek Phillippe.
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The two companies aim to help develop and deploy telematics applications on the Windows Azure platform, which includes Windows Azure and Microsoft SQL Azure, starting with TMC's electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in 2012.
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These include highly desirable (and, obviously, well-secured) rides like the Bentley Azure and Brooklands, Bugatti Veyron, BMW M3, M5 and M6, Dodge Viper, Porsche Boxster or Cayman and the entire Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce lineups.
But think of what the company has announced over that period: new products (Surface tablets), new OS (the Windows 8 tiles thing), and a cloud-based offering (Office 2013 and broader Azure strategy).
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"We are delighted to work together with Microsoft to bring Agawi cloud-based game streaming to Windows 8 via the Windows Azure platform, " said Peter Relan, Executive Chairman of Agawi.
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But you can also dine on sophisticated Polynesian fare such as sake-steamed manila clams in the Royal Hawaiian's new Azure restaurant.
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For Microsoft customers, the great news is that we acknowledged this shift several years ago and began laying the foundation for it with our investments in public cloud offerings such as Windows Azure and by integrating private cloud technologies into our existing Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V virtualization and System Center IT management offerings.
Microsoft will announce an expanded partnership with Hortonworks as part of its effort to provide customers with access to an enterprise-ready distribution of Hadoop that is fully compatible with Windows Server and Windows Azure.
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The Banff Venture Forum this year is going to allow some of the hot new Canadian start-ups present to a group of Canadian and US VCs including Panorama Capital, Azure Capital, Chevron Technology Ventures, ConocoPhillips Technology Ventures, and NGEN Partners.
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