HPE Discontinues Public Cloud Platform For Microsoft Partnership

Hewlett Packard Discontinues Helion To Offer Azure

Wow!  What an interesting business decision for HP’s public cloud platform business.  When I saw this, I just had to dig deeper to get the full scoop.  I had already seen a previous article on this new relationship between HP and Microsoft.  At first I was stunned.  Why would HP drop its own public cloud platform to offer a competitors?  Then I remembered all the years of partnership between the two companies in the past.  So what do we think will come out of this particular venture? Most analysts are saying that this move will open doors for providers to operate more in the hybrid cloud space.  It’s strange to me that hybrid cloud has been labeled as weak in the cloud space.  I remember going to vendor sponsored seminars on cloud computing four years back where public, private and hybrid cloud we featured.  Has hybrid cloud really not been taking off?  Could HP dropping its public cloud platform really change the face of cloud services completion?  What do you think about this new relationship?  Let me hear from you.

 

Its public cloud soon gone, HP aligns with Microsoft Azure

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise has partnered with Microsoft to offer its Azure cloud services to customers, filling a gap when HPE closes its own public cloud early next year. Microsoft will be a “preferred” public cloud partner to HPE, and HPE will become a “preferred provider” of Microsoft Azure services, CEO Meg Whitman said on HP’s quarterly earnings call Tuesday.

Google Cloud Platform Prices Reduced Up To 30 Percent

Preemptible Virtual Machine Instances Provide Reduced Google Cloud Platform Prices

There’s an interesting new development in Google Cloud Platform prices that I think is worthy of review.  I’ve always felt that cloud computing prices should be lower.  The technology has been around long enough for many providers to have recouped their upfront deployment costs.  Cloud companies can now begin to pass on cost savings to their customers as the next generation of IT begins to pick up additional momentum.  Also, the level of service provider maturity is bringing about new and more robust offerings.  This in turn continues the technology road map for those companies who have been early adopters.  Check out the additional resources provided below.  You’ll learn more about Google’s cloud platform pricing structure and philosophy, and even how to create your first cost savings virtual machine.  I definitely recommend that you take the time to review these resources and any others found within the web of links.  You can also give us a shout if you’re looking to learn more about the product.

 

Google Drops Cloud Computing Prices By Up To 30 Percent, Launches Preemptible Instances

Google today announced yet another round of price cuts for its cloud computing platform, as well as a new instance type that will allow businesses to save even more on some of their cloud computing tasks. Today’s cuts focus on the Compute Engine side of the service and include cuts of up to 30 percent for the smallest instances.

 

Google Proposes “Pay Less, Compute Moore” (Not a typo)  New Tab

Google Cloud Platform Pricing Philosophy  New Tab

Google Cloud Platform vs AWS TCO Tool  New Tab

Google Compute Engine Pricing  New Tab

Google Cloud Pricing Calculator  New Tab

How To Create A Preemptible Virtual Machine Instance  New Tab

 

Booz Allen Hamilton Uses Office 365, SharePoint – YouTube

Office 365 And SharePoint Online Selected For Booz Allen Hamilton Company Intranet

I was really surprised when watching this video.  Booz never came across to me as a people focused kind of company.  However, you’ll see how Office 365 and SharePoint Online have helped them to increase productivity within the company’s work style.  Many employees are remote and need to be able to access company resources quickly and seamlessly.  Using the Office 365 and SharePoint platform has enable them to do just that.  The document co-authoring features have been one of the biggest benefits of moving to Office 365.  With so many of their workforce being at client sites or working from home, being able to collaborate on documents was absolutely crucial.  Check out the Microsoft case study link at the bottom of the page after you watch the video.  Let us know what you think about how Booz Allen Hamilton implemented Office 365.

 

Booz Allen Hamilton Office 365 Case Study  Microsoft Word 2013 Logo

Office Videos YouTube Channel  YouTube Icon

Disaster Recovery Options For Your Business – YouTube

Fully Utilize vCloud Air As Part Of Your Disaster Recovery Options

Check out this great tutorial series on the VMware TV YouTube channel.  David Hill is the Senior Technical Marketing Architect for vCloud Air and he hosts the seven part series on vCloud Air Disaster Recovery.  Each of the tutorial segments is a little under 10 minutes and is a very informative series on disaster recovery options available to you as you plan out your DR plan.  The introduction segment sets up the series with a very specific use case scenario detailing the use of vCloud Air as a DR option.  I have created a playlist with all of the segments in one place.  Just use the YouTube playlist icon in the top left-hand corner of the player to switch videos.  Take the plunge and don’t forget to leave your comments.