The new division will “deliver solutions that help our customers realize even greater benefits from Microsoft’s investments in on-premises and cloud technologies,” according to the Windows Server Division blog. The Windows Azure team blog adds that the combined team will “ensure that customers get the full benefit of Microsoft offerings that span Microsoft’s public cloud, on-premises solutions, private clouds, and clouds that our partners host.”

The move makes sense, as the company’s “software plus services” strategy requires consistency in the management and execution capabilities of both Windows Server and Windows Azure. Microsoft has been working on both Azure and private cloud capabilities for some time now, though its Web site currently pitches its Dynamic Data Center Toolkit as a “foundation” for both private and partner cloud services.

It should be noted that this move means that CTO Ray Ozzie is no longer heading the Azure team, a signal that Azure has graduated from a technical project to a full-fledged Microsoft business.

Also announced was the move of the Windows Azure Business and Marketing team, headed by Doug Hauger, to the Server and Tools Marketing group, under Corporate Vice President Robert Wahbe. bron

The cloud was omnipresent at the Web 2.0 Summit as industry executives discussed the migration from the client to millions of virtualized servers as the information pipe. “There is a lot of hype. We think about the cloud as the next evolution in computing,” said Cisco Chief Technology Officer Padmasree Warrior. “It’s a way of abstracting the services and applications from the physical resources and using a more on-demand layer.”

Warrior believes that cloud computing will evolve from private and stand-alone clouds to hybrid clouds, which allow movement of applications and services between clouds, and finally to a federated “inter-cloud.”

“We will have to move to an ‘inter-cloud,’ with federation for application information to move around. It’s not much different from the way the Internet evolved. It will take us a few years to get there. We have to think about security and load balancing and peering,” she said. “Flexibility and speed at which you can develop and deploy applications are the basic advantages that will drive this transformation.”

Warrior laid out the cloud-computing stack as having four layers: IT foundation, flexible infrastructure, platform as a service, and applications (software as a service). Paul Maritz, CEO of VMware, noted that platforms as a service, such as Salesforce.com or Microsoft’s forthcoming Azure, present a challenge for developers. “Developers have to make big bets and choose a platform. I think there is room to see other sources of technology that are more open and standardized,” he said.

Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch, acknowledged that compatibility at the cloud platform layer is a problem. “The level of lock-in in the cloud in terms of applications running and data aggregation is at a risky juncture right now in terms of continuity,” he said.

Dave Giroaurd, president of Google Enterprise, brought up the potential legal tangles of moving intellectual property between clouds. “It’s an unclear area of the law as to who owns what,” he said. Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff touted integration between his Force.com platform and Google and Facebook as an example the way cloud services can be mashed up.

Eventually, cloud computing providers at all of the layers will become more open and adhere to standards that allow for federation and movement between clouds. Maritz sees cloud computing as helping to drive the information economy and stimulate new information marketplaces.

“The challenge is how to selectively and securely make information available so other parties can add value,” he said. But just having the data and applications in the cloud won’t be enough to create dynamic information marketplaces. “We need to find new data representations and ways to annotate data,” Maritz said. Indeed, cloud computing won’t be very compelling without what is variously called Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web.

European Cloud Computing

About EuroCloud

The vision eurocloud, including the brand, has been imagined and designed in 2009 by Pierre-José Billotte, founder & chairman of the former French ASP Forum now EuroCloud France. The EuroCloud project has been presented publicly the first time at the Aéroclub de France, Paris, the 4th of june 2009, in presence of Phil Wainewright and Rodolfo Lomascolo.

Why build such a business network?

* Europe has a fast growing SaaS and Cloud Computing industry, but each country is currently operating separately with few contacts in other European countries.

* National SaaS vendors are growing and are looking to build European and international relationships through business and technological partnerships.

* The European Authorities do not currently recognise the European Cloud Computing industry, which is an industry that can help stimulate the economic and technological environment to promote new Cloud Computing industries.

* Cloud Computing implies application integration into an Application-Oriented Ecosystem. Developing new application partnerships, both european and worldwide represents the next crucial step.

Eurocloud, the pan European Cloud Computing business network, through action at both local and European levels will help to answer these new demands.

EuroCloud Goals

* To build a pan European network organized in two tiers with a national level (France, Espagna, England, Belgique, etc.)  and a European level. The national level focuses on local topics and the European level on European topics,under the EuroCloud brand (or another if appropriate in a national setting). Only companies who have an interest in Cloud Computing and participate in the Cloud ecosystem can be members of the network.

* Build relationships with the European authorities (Commission and Parliament) to help recognise the Cloud Computing industry as the future of IT in Europe and to promote a stimulating environment for development and growth of the industry.

* Promote business relationships between members throughout Europe and internationally with counterparts such as SIIA.

* Promote technological relationships between members throughout Europe and internationally.

Organization

The organization relies on a two-level framework including respect to local cultures along with the will to promote a real European spirit.

Why be part of Eurocloud?

Benefit from valuable services:

* Be part of the European board

* Be part of the European network and enjoy access to all European members

* Promote your business within the network

* Promote you business on European marketing materials (website, etc.),

* Access European public information (R&D projects, etc.),

* Participate in European business and technological events

EuroCloud local communities will have all the benefits and liberties proper to a local organization and all the benefits to be part of a large pan European organization.