The Cloud OS: New solutions available today advance Microsoft’s vision

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by STB Blogger

Today Microsoft announced the release of new products and services available that further deliver against the company’s Cloud OS vision. Both customers and partners can capitalize on cloud opportunities with System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 (SP1), the new Windows Intune, and Windows Azure services for Windows Server.

In a blog post, Michael Park, corporate vice president of Server and Tools Marketing, outlines the Microsoft Cloud OS vision to provide customers with one consistent platform for infrastructure, apps and data - spanning customer datacenters, hosting service provider datacenters, and the Microsoft public cloud.

Solutions announced today include:

  • General Availability of System Center 2012 Service Pack 1: This update brings the full range of System Center management to Windows Server 2012 for private and hybrid cloud-based computing. It provides a single tool to manage cloud based applications and resources running in a private, hosted or public cloud. Learn more on the Server-Cloud blog.
  • Windows Intune: The new Windows Intune cloud-based service and System Center Configuration Manager are a unified PC and mobile device management solution. Together they provide a comprehensive approach to securing and managing the new generation of powerful Windows 8 PCs, Windows RT tablets and Windows Phone 8 smartphones, as well as the diversity of other platforms in today’s modern enterprise, including Android and iOS. More details can be found on the Windows Intune blog.
  • Windows Azure services for Windows Server: These new technologies allow hosting service providers to use their Windows Server datacenters to provide the same high-scale web site and virtual machine hosting capabilities announced this past summer in Windows Azure. These capabilities are specifically designed for easy incorporation into hosting service providers’ offerings for deployment to their customer base. More details are available on the Hosting Insights blog.
  • Global Service Monitor: System Center 2012 SP1 includes support for a new Windows Azure-based service called System Center Global Service Monitor (GSM) to evaluate and boost the performance of Web apps. GSM extends the application monitoring capabilities in System Center 2012 SP1 using Windows Azure locations around the globe, giving a true reflection of end-user application experiences. GSM is now available for trial and will be broadly available in March. Read Brian Harry’s blog to learn more about Microsoft application lifecycle management for “DevOps” solutions.
  • System Center Advisor: This Windows Azure-based management solution enables IT departments to assess server configurations and proactively avoid problems, help to resolve issues faster and reduce downtime. System Center Advisor is now available to all Microsoft customers, not just those with Software Assurance.

More information on today’s news, including the press release, can be found on the Microsoft Virtual Cloud Press Room. You can also follow the conversation on Twitter at @WindowsServer and through #CloudOS.