Robert J. Mullins

SAN FRANCISCO – As Microsoft continues to deepen its relationship with the open-source software movement, it announced May 21 that it plans to release a beta version of a new product that enables data centers to manage Linux servers with the Microsoft System Center management platform. At the Open Source Business Conference 2012 here, Microsoft […]

Mobile computing, cloud computing and analyzing huge amounts of data are among the top IT trends in 2012 and are also the focus of the Open Source Business Conference (OSBC) 2012 that begins May 21 in San Francisco. About 40 percent of the new open-source projects started in 2011 were related to cloud computing, 19 […]

Enhancements to Microsoft’s Windows Server 2012 beta, including to Hyper-V, are a match for VMware’s capability and could give data center operators reason to switch from market leader VMware, experts said at a Microsoft IT workshop in Silicon Valley. Hyper-V in Server 2012 improves security and isolation in multi-tenant cloud environments, allows the migration of […]

Payday had been a tense day for Celia Heywood, the vice president of sales solutions for Bank of America Merchant Services. Salespeople would complain to her when they felt they’d been shorted on their commissions, resulting in “hours of angry phone calls,” she said.Once Merchant Services switched to automated SaaS-delivered software, phone calls became more […]

SAP is throwing more support behind its HANA in-memory computing platform with the introduction of eight new business applications, a mix of on-premise and cloud-delivered solutions. At its Sapphire user conference in Orlando, Fla., SAP launched HANA apps such as the Sales and Operations Planning tool that translates demand fluctuations into plans for adjusting manufacturing, […]

SAP is rolling out a suite of cloud-delivered applications that are tied to its February acquisition of SuccessFactors. The strategy is to offer cloud computing and application services for businesses in four specific categories: people, money, customers and suppliers. SAP executives detailed the company’s new cloud offerings at the Sapphire Now conference, which kicked off […]

A study released May 14 by Microsoft reveals that security worries among small and midsize businesses about embracing cloud computing are easing. A similar survey from Symantec shows SMBs are seeing improved disaster preparedness in virtual or cloud environments.The global Microsoft study, conducted by comScore, shows that 35 percent of SMBs surveyed said they have […]

A subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is reportedly starting to look into allegations from the Mozilla Foundation and Google that Microsoft is purposely making it difficult for their Web browsers–Firefox and Chrome, respectively–to run on Windows-powered mobile devices. Antitrust Subcommittee staff will begin looking to the allegations, according to an aide to the […]

Microsoft is going to be rolling out a new and improved Bing search engine over the next few weeks that will allow users to enlist their social media friends to aid their searches, a move Microsoft hopes will put more of a dent in Google’s dominance of the search category.Bing is being revamped to offer […]

Citrix has announced technology partners for its HDX-Ready system-on-chip, which delivers a high-definition desktop application to thin-client displays using Power-over-Ethernet technology to send data and electricity over the same wires.At this week’s Citrix Synergy Conference 2012 in San Francisco, Citrix announced that device partners such as HP, NComputing, LG and Fujitsu are among those deploying […]