Azure

Strategic Data Systems (SDS) has been selected to speak at devLINK Technical Conference 2011,  August 17-19.

devLink is a highly attended event in Chattanooga, TN, focused on improving the skills of the IT community. iT featurES some of the top industry experts, with sessions for Developers, Project Manager, IT Pro and beyond. devLink is not only about technical know-how, but about building relationships with others interested in expanding their horizons.

There seems to be two major concerns I hear from people when I talk to them about the cloud: Security and Vendor Lock-In. 

I can see real validity in the security discussion with some of the issues being valid and others just being chalked up to FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt). But I just can’t understand the vendor lock-in concern, at all. In this article, I’ll talk a little bit about both of these concerns.

White Paper: 

Briefing - Clearing up Cloud Concerns

Mike Wood, Cloud Specialist at Strategic Data Systems, is a featured Cloud Expert on the Microsoft Cloud Power Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mypage/171778879523030?sk=app_206041179421115

The Cloud Power page is a helpful collection of video interviews and blog postings. While you are there, be sure to view Mike's video interview: Windows Azure Increases Productivity.

Take a few minutes to hear benefits companies can experience from Cloud technologies. SDS Cloud Specialist and Windows Azure MVP, talks with Dave Neilson during a recent trip to Redmond, WA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZXNf27tkN8

Take our advice. Try the cloud for 30 days, for free. Here is what you get:

Windows Azure
3 Small Compute Instances; 3 GB of Storage; 250,000 Storage Transactions

SQL Azure
2 One-GB Web Edition Database

Take a few minutes to hear benefits companies can experience from Cloud technologies. Mike Wood, Cloud Specialist with Strategic Data Systems, and Windows Azure MVP, talks with Dave Neilson during a recent trip to Redmond, WA.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZXNf27tkN8

To learn more about our Cloud Practice, please contact us today or review the overview of services provided here.

White Paper: 

SDS_Cloud Computing Overview Hand-out.pdf

We are excited to see some link love from Brian Prince, Microsoft, in his article on Top 7 Tools for Azure. (Thanks, Brian!) Check out the "...great and free tool...", as Brian calls it.

You can read the article at http://www.codeguru.com/csharp/.net/article.php/c18451/Top-7-Tools-for-Microsoft-Azure.htm.

An Azure hosted application built by Strategic Data Systems is featured in CodeGuru.com article, Top 7 Tools for Microsoft Azure, authored by Brian Prince, Architect Evangelist with Microsoft.

For those of you who joined Rob Gillen, Mike Collier, Brian Prince and I today for the Azure and Amazon Cloud Workshop, thanks for coming!  For those of you who couldn’t make it I’ve posted our presentations and resources on my SkyDrive.

Microsoft is continuing the road show of Windows Azure Boot Camps in 2011. 

The Windows Azure Boot Camps are two-day events focused on getting you hands-on experience deploying applications to the cloud.  I’ve been a trainer at several of these events and the people I’ve talked to about them afterwards have all said they obtained a lot of good information from them. 

The boot camps cover the Azure Platform and how to leverage the cloud.

For Azure Boot Camps in my area (and where I will be instructing) we have:

Azure MVP Michael Wood with Strategic Data Systems and Microsoft Evangelist Brian Prince to discuss Windows Azure and the community. This interview was conducted at the MVP pre-PDC 2010 event in Redmond, WA. View it at:

Discussion on Azure and the Community.