For years now, cloud security has been a major deterrent for many companies to join the cloud bandwagon. This is an Achilles heel for cloud service providers too, as they spend billions of dollar each year on cloud and cybersecurity. One of the aspects that could possible ease this fear and spending is encryption and other data security strategies, and Microsoft is leading the way with a new product called Azure confidential computing.

Microsoft Azure is the first cloud provider to offer a collection of security capabilities and securities under Azure confidential computing. This product’s features is expected to fill in the gaps that are present in public cloud security today.

Azure confidential computing ensures that the data that has to be processed is protected inside an enclave called Trusted Execution Environment (TEE). This is an important step because if you look at past data breaches, you’ll notice that malicious intruders use administrative privileges to access data only when it is being processed. These TEEs ensure that no one can view the data or the operations that happen on it, so outside access or breach is impossible.

Microsoft goes one step further too. If it detects any change in the code, all operations are denied and the environment is instantly disabled. This mechanism is necessary to ensure that  hackers don’t use any malware or bugs to exploit the system.

All this functionality is offered to developers through the Azure confidentiality computing platform that runs on top of Intel’s Software Guard Extension (SGX) technology. With this, Azure is the first to offer SGX-capable servers in the public cloud sphere. Customers who’re enrolled in Microsoft’s Early Access program can now develop applications on this confidential computing platform.

This discussion can get you wondering about SGX. What is this and how does it help with cloud security?

Intel’s SGX is the latest technology from Intel that allows developers to protect selected code and data from disclosure or modifications. It uses different protection mechanisms to ensure that the data and code are protected even when the system that’s using it, is running. In other words, the application that’s using this selected code and data is protecting it not just from other applications running on the system, but also from the system’s own operating system, Hyper-V and even Intel’s management engine. So, it becomes almost impossible for anyone to reach this code or data.

Given these high levels of security, we can soon expect Azure confidential computing to be adopted across different organizations, particularly in the finance, healthcare, government, and artificial intelligence sectors. In oil and gas and IoT industries too, this platform can be used to protect the intellectual property of the company, regardless of which application or organization is generating and using the derived data.

In all, this is an exciting product that could pave the way for wider cloud adoption, so everyone gets to make the most of the benefits that come from cloud computing.

The post What is Azure Confidential Computing? appeared first on Cloud News Daily.

In a bid to expand its presence in Europe, Microsoft has embarked on a strategy to reach out to European software companies.

As a first step, Microsoft has created a program called “Microsoft for Startups” accelerator and this program will be based out of Berlin. Under this program, Microsoft plans to have a four-month program for startup software companies in Europe, and at the end of this program, $500,000 worth of Azure credits will be given to the best performers. Besides Azure credits, these chosen companies will also get access to outside investors, technical advisers, and inputs from the Microsoft sales team.

From a startup’s perspective, this can be a great opportunity to expand and learn under the proper guidance of an established tech company, while for Microsoft, it is a great strategy to expand its presence and customer base within the European Union. The idea is to catch these companies young and get them hooked on Azure, so when they grow, the use of Azure will also increase. Also, Microsoft believes with such a strategy, it can capitalize on the success of these startups in the future.

That said, Microsoft has laid down certain conditions on which companies can qualify for this course. First off, these companies should be headquartered within the EU and a substantial part of their operations should be geared for the European market. These startups should operate only in the areas of connected factories, connected vehicles, AI, blockchain databases and computer vision.

In addition, these companies should have raised early stage funding and should have at least a functioning prototype of their product. In other words, this program is not for startups, but for those companies that have reached a certain stage of operations and want a boost or accelerator to take their company forward.

By tapping into the startups, Microsoft wants to establish itself as the leader in Europe. But that’s not going to be easy, as similar programs have been rolled by its competitors such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google. In fact, Amazon’s AWS Activate Portfolio and Portfolio Plus packages reach out to startups that are in the acceleration and incubating stage and offer them anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 in AWS credit, along with technical help. Likewise, Alphabet’s Google Cloud Platform for Startup Program gives credits to use the Google Cloud Platform, besides technical and marketing help.

Both these programs from AWS and Google are available for European startups too.

In the light of this situation, how does Microsoft plan to achieve its goals? Well, for starters, it’s offering way more than what other cloud companies offer in terms of credit worth. This alone should be a deciding factor. Secondly, it’s ensuring that the money is used only for the brightest of prospects that have the highest chances of success, so this way Microsoft is associating itself only with the best startups.

Maybe both these aspects can give it a lead, but it’s definitely hard to say at this point in time.

The post Microsoft Targets European Cloud Startups appeared first on Cloud News Daily.

An interesting exchange took place between two top tech giants – Microsoft and Baidu.

Microsoft offered cloud services to Baidu and in return got an autonomous car!

Yesterday, China’s Baidu announced Microsoft as a partner on its new open-source driving platform that’s called Apollo. Baidu started building this platform using actual data bout autonomous driving from China’s streets, and it expects this car to hit the roads by 2020.

Baidu has been working on this ambitious project for sometime now, as it has opened centers in Singapore and the U.S to collaborate with local partners to build this new platform. According to a spokesperson of the company, Apollo is more an open-source autonomous platform that aims to power the global self-driving industry rather than restrict itself to a small geographic or technological niche.

Microsoft, on the other hand, will be providing the cloud services needed to power this platform. Both companies haven’t said much about the specific services that’ll be used. In fact, a question to Microsoft in this regard was not answered and at this time, it looks like both the companies want to keep the specifics under wraps.

Nevertheless, this move by Microsoft is a smart one, according to analysts. Since autonomous driving is likely to be the future of our roads, it makes sense for Microsoft to get on it at the earliest. Instead of focusing on building its own cars, this company is doing what it knows best, which is to provide the technology that can drive these cars.

Already, Microsoft has partnered with companies like Ford to power thier infotainment system called SYNC. Currently, this is running in about five million cars and over the next few years, it is expected to double. This product uses Microsoft’s Windows Embedded Automotive to create unique in-car experiences for automobile owners and drivers. To take this idea to the next level, Microsoft has entered into this agreement with Baidu.

This is a sensible move on the economic front too because China is a big market for automobiles, and getting a firm foothold in it early can give a big market lead for Microsoft. of course, in China, no foreign company can go alone. Rather, they have to tie up with local Chinese companies to reach the market and that’s exactly what Microsoft has also done.

The good part about this deal is that Baidu started exploring this option only in April of this year, which means, there’s room for a solid partnership and growth for both Microsoft and Baidu. When the self-driving car industry matures, both these companies would be in the driver’s seat to tap into the opportunities and the exploding revenue expected from it.

For all these reasons, it’s a smart move by Microsoft to enter into a deal with Baidu. Let’s hope this translates into a fruitful venture for both these companies and for the eager customers and self-driving industry as a whole.

The post An Interesting Exchange Between Microsoft and Baidu appeared first on Cloud News Daily.

In a clear sign of reorganization within the company, Microsoft has announced that it will be focusing more intently on its cloud services. The announcement said that Microsoft is reorganizing its global workforce to give more importance to cloud services than mere standalone pieces of software.

It’s not so much of a surprise due to many reasons. Firstly, its cloud business is doing amazingly well and has exceeded all expectations. At the same time, revenue from its traditional businesses has slowed down. Putting all this together, cloud is definitely the future of this company, so it’s only right that it focuses its resources on the most profitable sections.

Secondly, reorganization has been taking place in fairly frequent intervals since Satya Nadella took over as the CEO in 2014. Through his visionary ideas, he has been able to make Microsoft a key player in the cloud. At the same time, it has also necessitated many structural changes and Nadella has been doing it to improve the overall efficiency of the organization.

However, this is not good news for many employees who work here. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft plans to cut down thousands of jobs as a part of this latest reorganization. Most of these jobs are likely to be on the sales side.

Though the exact numbers and the locations where the layoffs will happen is not yet clear, it is worrying to some extent because economies of the U.S and other Western countries is slowly stabilizing after the 2008 financial crisis. Even unemployment rates are one of the lowest in a decade. Considering these improvements in the economy, it’s a spot of bother if Microsoft embarks on any mass layoff.

Also, countries like India and China are facing an economic slowdown, so if the layoffs happen here, it could again create an unpleasant effect.

Microsoft though expects no huge impact on its business on a day-to-day business. So, we’ll have to wait and see the impact these layoffs will have on economies and maybe even the IT industry as a whole.

But one thing that we can infer is the growing might of cloud. All major companies believe that we’re moving into a new phase of technology that is likely to be dominated by cloud, artificial intelligence and machine learning. In fact, many analysts and economists are already warning about spikes in unemployment that can come when machines start performing many of the mundane jobs currently being done by lower and middle class residents of a country.

This doesn’t mean machines will take over humans, just like what happens in Hollywood movies. Rather what it means is that the nature of jobs will change. Many of the lower-end jobs will be replaced by machines and robots and we’ll move higher up to create robots or even do other things that’ll drastically improve the overall quality of our lives.

In this sense, there’s much to look forward to, even if Microsoft and others layoff people now.

The post Microsoft Could Lay off Thousands of Employees appeared first on Cloud News Daily.