Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Platform and why you should care

The advent of cloud computing is forcing companies to re-evaluate their IT strategy. The following are a few scenarios in which companies find themselves today with respect to “Cloud Computing” adoption:

• You are an ISV or Enterprise with significant investment in Microsoft Technologies.
• You are trying to find ways to scale-up and scale-down based on user load, ensure high availability and performance by utilizing a world class infrastructure, and streamline your infrastructure and tightly manage your costs
• You want to focus on adding value for your customers as opposed to managing large IT infrastructure and server farms.
• You have heard about cloud computing models such as SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and IAS (Infrastructure as a Service), and would like to explore their relevance to your offerings.
• You want to explore how Azure, “Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Platform,” will impact your existing solution portfolio and IT planning.
• You want to extend your current offerings to the cloud by utilizing the Microsoft skillset that already exists in the company.

Attend this webinar to get an overview of cloud computing, understand key concepts behind Azure – Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Platform, and get guidance on how to take the next steps and other considerations when moving your applications to the cloud.

Agenda for the webinar:

• Introduction to Cloud Computing
• Explain SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and IAS (Infrastructure as a Service) models, and other key aspects of cloud computing
• Present key concepts and motivation behind Azure – Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Platform
• Windows Azure Value in Comparison to alternatives
• A glimpse into iLink’s Cloud Methodology © – a streamlined approach to decide, plan and implement your migration to cloud
• Demo a sample application built on Azure.

 Your host for this event:

Piyush Prakash, has over ten years of experience working on an array of strategic planning, technology assessment, internet infrastructure, software architecture, development and implementation projects. He has worked with several fortune 500 clients as well as startups and product companies evangelizing technology based solutions. He has managed large teams, developed and delivered enterprise solutions, and played key role in developing iLink’s Cloud based offering that enables organizations to decide, plan and implement their migration to cloud . His experience spans several industries including HealthCare, Finance, Entertainment, Chemical and Information Technology.

Shawn Murray serves as the Americas Director of Cloud Computing for Microsoft Corporation. He is responsible for executing on Microsoft’s Software “Plus” Services strategy. This approach includes hosting enterprise applications using Microsoft Online Services and creating new applications for the cloud using Microsoft’s development platform called Windows Azure.

For over 16 years, Shawn has advised and assisted enterprise customers with Microsoft technologies and solutions. Shawn joined Microsoft in 1998, where he was the Program Manager responsible for Worldwide Technical Readiness for the Windows 2000 launch. Shawn has spent the last decade working on infrastructure and collaboration technologies, which are now moving into the cloud. Prior to Microsoft, Shawn was the Regional Technology Director for a national certified training company where he taught classes and consulted on numerous topics including networking, e-mail, and internet development. Shawn holds a degree in Political Science from North Carolina State University.

About iLink Systems

iLink Systems is an ISO certified mid-size (200+ employees) software solutions provider offering Microsoft technology-based solutions to firms ranging from startups to Fortune 50 companies. iLink is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Preferred Vendor and one of the very few companies trained and certified by MCS (Microsoft Consulting Services) to be “Services Ready” to deliver SharePoint based solutions.. Technologies implemented for its clients include .Net (including WPF, WCF, WF and Silverlight), Business Intelligence – SQL Server 2005 (with integration, analysis, reporting, OLAP, etc), SharePoint 2007, BPI – BizTalk (with WF, HL7 accelerator), Mobility, ASP.Net, AJAX, etc. iLink’s core competency lies in Information Worker Solutions, Business Process Integration, Data Management Solutions, Microsoft mobility solutions, and horizontal solutions around User Experience, QA & Testing and Web Marketing. Based out of Redmond, WA, iLink also have offices in Austin TX, Fairfax VA, Atlanta GA and an off-shore software development center in India.