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Microsoft announced in a blog post that it plans to discontinue Essential Business Server, their infrastructure solution designed for midsize businesses. The blog states that their reason for dropping EBS was due to the change in the way midsize businesses are turning to new technologies for management, virtualization, and cloud computing as a means to cut costs, improve efficiency, and increase competitiveness. Microsoft states that their other business products deliver these solutions more effectively than EBS could. Microsoft will continue to provide EBS support for existing customers, and will encourage those customers to switch to other MS products by offering free individual component software through the end of the year.
Microsoft’s CFO Peter Klein said on Tuesday that Microsoft will offer free upgrades to Office 2010 to customers that purchase Office 2007 during the Office 2010 Technology Guarantee upgrade period. The period was rumored to start March 5 and run through September 30, however Mr. Klein did not confirm the start date, only stating that it will start this month. Under the program customers will be able to download a corresponding edition of the version of Office 2007 that was purchased from a download site to be established in June. Customers wanting a DVD copy will have to pay shipping and handling fees.
The FTC sent a letter to about 100 companies, informing them that they have found sensitive and confidential data from their networks on public P2P networks. The agency found data relating to financial records, driver license numbers, Social Security numbers, and other private information. The FTC can take actions against those companies that do not harden their security practices and take measures to prevent sensitive information from being leaked to the public. One source of the leaks have been cited to employees that install P2P software on their computers without realizing that they are exposing the entire contents of the computer on which it was installed. In the letter the FTC reminded those companies that they are responsible for the control and use of P2P software on their networks.
Motorola will split into two publicly traded companies in 2011 reports the IDG News Service. One company will focus on handsets and home entertainment devices, and the other company will focus on enterprise communications gear. The handset operation, the biggest part of Motorola’s business, has been lagging behind other parts of the company. The company had been talking about splitting off the unit for years. CEO Greg Brown of the Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks business said the companies operating independently have a better opportunity for success in their respective industries, and can create long term shareholder value.
HP opened an environmentally friendly 360,000 sq ft data center, a facility located in the northeast section of Billingham, England. The entire facility is air-cooled. Air runs through a bank of modular filters that removes dust and contaminants and circulates under the floor of the data center halls. The air is forced up through the floor and runs over the front of server racks. Temperature is kept at a constant 75°F. The facility has chillers on standby on days where the temperature may rise above 75°F. HP is expected to save $4.16 million in power annually. The facility also harvests rainwater which is stored in 80,000-liter tanks. If the humidity drops below 40%, the water is sprayed in a fine mist to bring humidity up before the air passes in the halls. In the event of a power outage, the facility has thousands of batteries available, and 10 diesel generators that can run the facility up to four days.
