The cloud is supposed to bring efficiencies to computing that, at times, can also mean efficiencies in the IT personnel needed to launch and drive cloud initiatives. In short, the cloud can seem like a job killer. At least that's the general perception among many of our Redmond readers. Popular perception often trumps facts and figures, even with good evidence to the contrary in the form of an IDC report -- albeit, commissioned by Microsoft -- that shows cloud computing will effectively create about 14 million jobs in the next three years.
The study show that a third of cloud-based hiring will form around mainly communications and media, banking, and manufacturing; also, half of all cloud-related jobs will originate in emerging markets (mainly China and India). IDC derived the data from forecasts it made from cloud spending trends globally.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 03/08/2012 at 5:13 PM2 comments
A Fortune article that has some pretty positive things to say about Microsoft's future makes a side note about Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer likely retiring after the launch of Windows 8. The thinking goes, Ballmer will take the opportunity to leave the company in the wake of a highly successful launch, with the OS'es success vindicating Ballmer's mission to provide Windows throuugh various form factors (PCs to mobile phones to tablets to embeds).
I believe it'll happen -- do you? The article names Stephen Sinofsky as a likely successor, but a likely successor isn't often the best one. If Ballmer indeed retires, who would you want to see at the helm?
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/17/2012 at 3:38 PM3 comments
Microsoft's Official Windows 8 logo
has been revealed and it seems to be the most talked about tech story, albeit on a quiet Friday afternoon. Personally, I think it's a non-story, but you tell me why it matters that Windows 8 now has a logo that's an actual window and not a flag this time out.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/17/2012 at 3:35 PM5 comments
You've earned your MCITPs for both SQL Server 2008 certification tracks, so you must be an expert. If that's the case, you might consider taking a step upward and attempting the Knowledge Exam for the Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008. The exam will set you back $500, even for retakes, so only those with supreme confidence in their SQL mastery should even consider sitting for this exam without prepping for it. For all others, Microsoft offers online training on a periodic basis, and one of those training periods is coming up March 6 through April 19. Details on that training are here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/09/2012 at 9:37 PM0 comments
February's patch cycle will break IT hearts everywhere: Microsoft's advance security bulletin calls for nine fixes. On Valentine's Day, to be exact. Most of those fixes will take dead aim at flaws in more recent OS versions.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/09/2012 at 9:41 PM0 comments
I'm sure many of you are familiar with former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates' philanthropic efforts through his foundation to rid the world of disease and pestilence. You might be less familiar with Microsoft itself providing matching funds to nonprofits through its Employee Giving Program, a program that has been running since 1983. A press release indicates that the program broke a company record last year, contributing $100.5 million in employee and corporate-matched funds.
A more interesting aspect of the program: Microsoft also contributes a matching gift of $17 for every hour that a Microsoft employee contributes through volunteering, up to $12K for qualified NPOs. Last year, employees volunteered more than 420K hours, which resulted in Microsoft matching that time to the tune of $7.2 million.
Is your company a giver? Tell us about it here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/09/2012 at 9:46 PM0 comments
The Michelangelo virus wreaking havoc with computers worldwide was big enough news 20 years ago that CNN reported on it. The debut of Microsoft's certification program didn't even register then, but the program's longevity and impact probably makes it much more newsworthy in retrospect. Microsoft Learning is celebrating 20 years of the program by the slow reveal of 20 special events and offers over the next 12 months.
To start off, Microsoft's "Get 1, Help 1" program provides for one free exam to an "aspiring IT professional" for each exam you pass from now until April 15. The offer applies only to a specific number of exams. Details on those exams as well as how to participate in the program is here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/02/2012 at 8:09 PM1 comments
Windows XP's end of support lifecycle (it's 10 years old) is just around the proverbial corner, so what explains its enduring popularity with IT folks? Net Applications reports that XP market share has increased (slightly) in January from the previous month, with Windows 7 slipping (slightly).
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/02/2012 at 8:04 PM4 comments
Microsoft's latest earnings reports showed that its Entertainment and Devices division raked in 15 percent more business from the year-ago quarter. We're not sure if there's a correlation to be made with that division's strong growth and the fact that Dave Cutler, the father of Windows NT, has been reporting to CEO Steve Ballmer from there. Coincidentally, Kinect 1.0 for Windows was recently released, but it's hard to tell what role Cutler plays in the Kinect's proliferation beyond the Xbox.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 02/02/2012 at 9:50 AM0 comments
If you attended MIX last year, the MIX tchotchkes are now a collectors' item (well, highly specialize collectors). Microsoft has canceled the confab that was mainly a mega-meetup for Web developers and business professionals. I remember attending MIX in 2006; the technology that would later become SilverLight was the highlight.
Compared to other Microsoft conferences like TechEd, PDC or MMS, MIX seemed skimpy attendance-wise. And over the years, there seemed to be less emphasis on Web development and it became more about newer versions of IE and later about Windows Phone. Microsoft said it would be rolling most of the MIX content into another developer-focused event, but my suspicions tell me that the company's shift to the cloud played a large part in the death of MIX.
Trivia Question: What is MIX an acronym for? Real and made-up guesses are welcome here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/26/2012 at 5:42 PM0 comments
This is the year that Windows 7 migrations are supposed be on the upswing. Gartner even recommends that all businesses start to decommission any Windows XP boxes before year's end. By all accounts anecdotal and personal, Win7 is a pretty solid OS, less prone to crashing and even better, able to recover more quickly from crashes. It definitely makes sense for those on XP to jump over. (And if you're still on Vista, I have two things to say: 1) Whoa! 2) What's keeping you on it?)
But Windows 8 is expected to debut later this year and, well, it seems to make sense to just migrate directly to Windows 8, right? Windows 8 has a slew of new features going for it, like its cloud-readiness, a new file system, and whatnot. We've had a fairly reliable version of the beta OS on a lab machine soon after it was made available after the PDC, that now Metro is starting to look like last year's tech. Still, would any of you consider upgrading directly to it, or are you planning to take the tried and true migration path that goes through Windows 7 first?
Of course, some of you may be jumping ship altogether and instead throwing out old boxes in favor or Apple iPads (or some other tablet). If that describes you, tell us why here.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/26/2012 at 5:45 PM2 comments
Microsoft sees declining PC sales at a pace worse than analysts would imagine. Microsoft still a distant second in search. Microsoft affected by Apple making a dent in the enterprise. Microsoft's future appears bleak -- until you look at Microsoft's recent financials.
The good news is that the company's latest earnings report ,just released on its Web site, shows nearly every segment of Microsoft's business gaining signficant percentage points over last year. Lync and Dynamics CRM in the Business Division and System Center in the Server & Tools looks like the darlings of their divisions, growing 30 and 20 percentage points respectively over last year's quarter. Disconcerting is the 6 percent drop in Windows sales (which includes Windows Live revenue) from a year ago, which explains why Microsoft said what it said about analysts' PC forecasts. Business Insider, which is prone to hyperbole, sees an upside in this dip.
Posted by Michael Domingo on 01/19/2012 at 5:40 PM0 comments