Microsoft came out with a preview of new interesting product, Live Mesh

What is Live Mesh?

Live Mesh is a “software-plus-services” platform and experience that enables PCs and other devices to “come alive” by making them aware of each other through the Internet, enabling individuals and organizations to manage, access, and share their files and applications seamlessly on the Web and across their world of devices. Live Mesh includes:

§ A platform that defines and models a user’s digital relationships between devices, data, applications, and people—made available to developers through an open data model and protocols.

§ A cloud service providing an implementation of the platform hosted in Microsoft data centers.

§ Software, a client implementation of the platform that enables local applications to run offline and interact seamlessly with the cloud.

§ A platform experience that exposes the key benefits of the platform for bringing together a user’s devices, files and applications, and social graph, with news feeds across all of these.

What differentiates Live Mesh is its underlying platform. As a platform company, Microsoft believes in the power of the operating environment—and that if that environment is built correctly, the entire ecosystem will benefit. Live Mesh is built on the Live Services Platform, providing a Web-centric Mesh Operating Environment that evolves the user experience from one of “My Computer” to one of “My Mesh,” with the user at the center of that experience.

While many existing offerings may appear similar in that they utilize hosted services for storage, sharing files, or peer-to-peer connections between PCs, most of those products fulfill only one specific need. Live Mesh is unique in that it takes a more robust approach, bringing together all of this functionality in one offering. By weaving together the best of software and Internet services, Live Mesh delivers a platform and experience that is comprehensive yet simple and open.

Further Information

Live Mesh Official Site

Live Mesh Blog

Live Mesh Review by Liveside

Situation

Microsoft IT knows that unanticipated downtime can have a significant negative impact. Loss of critical systems or services can reduce productivity, sales, and confidence from staff, partners, and customers.

Solution

Microsoft IT deployed the Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 where it needed a server to be dedicated solely to the roles and features that a Server Core installation supports.

Read the whole case study here:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc500983.aspx

LAS VEGAS — April 17, 2008— At RFID Journal LIVE! 2008, Microsoft Corp. today unveiled Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile — a lightweight platform for a variety of mobile devices, which simplifies the development of mobile applications that expose relevant, real-time business information. BizTalk RFID Mobile enables delivery of relevant information from mobile devices to core business processes for a variety of scenarios, whether for a dock worker verifying a shipment or a pharmacist verifying that the right medicine has been stocked.

Microsoft today made available a private beta with general availability expected in late 2008. Customers and partners can participate in the BizTalk RFID Mobile Technology Adoption Program (TAP) by registering at https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?S...eID=65.

“Given today’s fast-paced environment, customers have asked for business process technologies that enable real-time decision-making to help drive measurable business results,” said Burley Kawasaki, director of product management in the Connected Systems Division at Microsoft. “Together, with leading industry partners including Motorola Inc., Intermec Technologies Corp., Unitech, Samsung and Psion Teklogix Inc., we will deliver a cost-effective, mobile RFID platform that works with existing business processes and systems.”

As part of the Microsoft BizTalk product line, Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile underscores the company’s long-term commitment to deliver extensive service-oriented architecture (SOA) and business process management (BPM) capabilities as part of the overall Microsoft application platform. The platform is a set of compatible, mission-critical technologies and development tools that enable customers to develop applications that work with existing systems.

“BizTalk RFID Mobile represents an exciting opportunity for Motorola to build on our track record of delivering innovative products to meet customer needs,” said Joe White, vice president of RFID business development for Motorola Enterprise Mobility. “Motorola is actively working with Microsoft so that our customers will be able to reliably and seamlessly run applications on BizTalk RFID Mobile.”

Microsoft BizTalk RFID Mobile when used with BizTalk Server 2006 R2 enables real-time decisions by extending business process to Windows CE and Windows Mobile 5.0 applications. BizTalk Server 2006 R2, Microsoft’s core SOA and BPM technology, which was generally available in September 2007, included advancements for fixed RFID readers including device management, data filtering and business rules, electronic data interchange (EDI), and interoperability with line-of-business adapters for manufacturing, finance and healthcare.

“It’s only natural that Microsoft extends BizTalk RFID out to mobile devices, and it complements its mobile hardware partners’ very well,” said John Fontanella, vice president of Research at AMR Research Inc. “The ability to operate at the edge in real time opens up opportunities that can only further enhance RFID’s value.”

Today, Microsoft also announced the BizTalk RFID Standards Pack, for customers to seamlessly integrate their RFID solutions with Electronic Product Code (EPC) global ratified standards, including Tag Data Translator (TDT) and Low Level Reader Protocol (LLRP) standards.

SAN FRANCISCO, April 7, 2008 - HP today strengthened its security portfolio, HP Secure Advantage, with the introduction of several products that increase data protection and compliance in storage environments.

New to the portfolio are a secure fabric switch; an encryption kit for tape autoloaders and libraries; integration of compliance and key management appliances; and, an online security assessment tool.

These offerings provide customers with a holistic approach to data security, from evaluating existing security strategies to identifying and combating potential security threats. As a result, companies can reduce the risk of security breaches, achieve regulatory compliance and safeguard against lost intellectual property, revenue or corporate reputation.

“Companies of all sizes are grappling with how to handle increased business risks associated with data center sprawl, network attacks and new regulatory pressures,” said Jon Oltsik, senior analyst of Information Security at analyst firm Enterprise Strategy Group. “The breadth of HP’s Secure Advantage portfolio, combined with its services strength, addresses evolving challenges with security and compliance.”

In a recent survey of technology security professionals, respondents cited data protection as their No. 1 priority for 2008. The survey revealed that the number of company records exposed due to security breaches increased threefold in 2007 over the previous year.⁽¹⁾

HP has been protecting the majority of the world’s financial transactions for the past 35 years, safeguarding ATM, point-of-sale networks, credit card information and electronic funds transfers. HP Secure Advantage bolsters this effort by delivering a portfolio of servers, storage, software and services that provides customers with integrated security solutions – from the desktop to the data center.

Data protection and compliance in storage environments

HP added new storage encryption, key management and compliance capabilities to its Secure Advantage portfolio, including:

• The HP C-Series MDS 9000 Storage Media Encryption (SME) fabric switch secures data stored on tape drives and virtual tape libraries in a storage area network environment. The SME feature is designed to run on the MDS 9000 family, offering encryption and key management functionality for legacy tape devices to ensure maximum protection of existing product investments.
• The HP StorageWorks 1/8 G2 & MSL LTO-4 Encryption Kit offers small to midsize businesses data encryption capabilities. This easy-to-install encryption accessory kit is designed specifically for the HP 1/8 G2 Tape Autoloader and MSL Tape Libraries with LTO-4 tape technology. It generates and retains encryption keys so critical business information remains private in the event that tapes are lost or stolen.
• HP has integrated the HP StorageWorks Secure Key Manager with the HP Compliance Log Warehouse to deliver a comprehensive compliance validation solution for LTO-4 enterprise tape libraries. The combined solution provides a secure audit trail through features that centralize event log collection and long-term retention. The HP Compliance Log Warehouse also collects the business intelligence needed to generate regulatory reports for forensic investigations with a single click of the mouse.
• The HP Storage Security Assessment tool, available on the HP website, enables customers to gauge their most critical storage privacy vulnerabilities online and free of charge. Customers answer a series of questions and receive a personalized report to better manage risk, protect sensitive data and comply with data privacy regulations. This tool was developed by the HP Consulting & Integration Security and Risk Management Practice.

Information about additional new solutions and services that bolster the HP Secure Advantage portfolio is available at www.hp.com/go/secureadvantageadvisory.

Pricing and availability⁽²⁾

The MDS 9222i switch combined with the SME License to Use (LTU) is now available with a U.S. list price of $83,500.

The HP StorageWorks 1/8 G2 & MSL 2024/4048/8096 LTO-4 Encryption Kit is expected to be available in June with a U.S. list price of $2,500.

The Secure Key Manager cluster has a U.S. list price of $100,000 and the Compliance Log Warehouse has a U.S. list price that starts under $125,000. Both are currently available.