Google Apps Poster Child Switches to Microsoft BPOS

Just a little more than a year after touting its move from Microsoft Exchange to Google Gmail, Serena Software has decided to make the switch back to Microsoft and dump its Google Apps support.

Unlike the University of California, Davis, which dumped Gmail over security and privacy concerns earlier this month, Serena's reason was much more old school and basic. In short, it all came down to cost. Microsoft came back to Serena with an offer the ALM (application lifecycle management) software company could not afford to refuse, sources said.

Indeed, sources close to the situation said Microsoft offered Serena a price point for its enterprise software that included on-premise software, Microsoft's new Business Productivity Online Service Suite (BPOS) and migration services. The deal was simply too good to pass up. Microsoft Business Productivity Online Standard Suite is a set of messaging and a collaboration solution hosted by Microsoft, and consists of Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, Office Live Meeting and Office Communications Online.

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http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/Google-Apps-Poster-Child-Switches-to-Microsoft-BPOS-171445/

Appirio Bets On The Cloud ... And Wins

Appirio gets it.

The company steps into the ring, gloves laced and ready for battle. When the bell rings, it strikes with speed, agility and precision.

In the world of cloud computing solution providers, consider Appirio the Manny Pacquiao: pound for pound one of the best in the biz.

In less than four years, San Mateo, Calif.-based Appirio has grown from its four founding fathers to more than 200 strong and has done so with a jarring one-two cloud partner punch with Salesforce.com and Google (NSDQ:GOOG). Add other key vendors such as Workday and Amazon (NSDQ:AMZN), and Appirio is a leader in offering myriad products and professional services in the cloud.

But to hear Ryan Nichols, Appirio's head of cloud sourcing and cloud strategy, tell it, the cloud sort of formed around Appirio.

"When Appirio was founded three years ago, even we didn't call it the cloud," said Nichols.

Appirio first signed on with Salesforce.com when it launched in 2006. Shortly thereafter it built a Google practice around Google Apps. With those two powerful partners in its corner, Appirio made the move from Software-as-a-Service to what are now known as cloud platforms. Appirio marries consulting and product development with cloud technologies to help customers forge a new business path.

Today, the biggest part of Appirio's business is building custom applications on top of those cloud platforms, Nichols said. Appirio is credited with building a good number of the best-selling applications in Salesforce.com's AppExchange and for devising applications that tie together Salesforce and Google Apps and Salesforce and Facebook.

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All About The Cloud: Microsoft Reaffirms Cloud Computing Commitment

The investment and the drive to capture cloud mindshare with Windows Azure and Office 2010, Hauger said, proves Microsoft is serious about the cloud and that it can attack the five key dimensions of cloud computing head on.

“There are some dimensions of the cloud that have become fairly apparent,” he said. Hauger said those dimensions are:

• The cloud creates opportunities and responsibilities.
• The cloud learns and helps you learn, decide and take action.
• The cloud enhances your social and professional interactions.
• The cloud wants smarter devices.
• The cloud drives server advances that drive the cloud.

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http://www.crn.com/software/224701573