I predicted earlier that one of the big trends this year would be "green". I have seen it a lot more lately. Last night as I was waiting for dinner I was flipping through a Wired magazine and saw a few ads from IBM on how they can make the data center green.

It is not just technology companies that are getting into the act. For years I have been seeing signs in hotels that say something like "Millions of gallons of water are wasted washing towels that have only been used once. To save the planet please hang up any towels that you want to reuse." I have done this. I have also put a small piece of paper in one of the unused towels to see if it has been removed. Early on I noticed that all of the towels were changed out each day whether they were used  or not. The signs were really there to help me feel better but didn't change the way the hotel staff serviced the room. Over the last 6 months I have noticed that the unused towels are being left in the room. That makes me feel a little bit better about my contribution to living on this planet. I still haven't seen a hotel that leaves the towel I hung up on the towel rack but maybe with a few more years of training the staff will get to the point where they are not washing towels that have been used once.

I got this message as part of my subscription to Microsoft Executive newsletters

The potential for information technology to drive business success has never been greater. Advances in software, devices, and networks are transforming the way companies streamline communications, automate processes, and enable employees to access the information and capabilities they need to respond to new opportunities.

At the same time, the complexity of IT has never been higher. Business success increasingly depends on providing mobile employees with easy access to corporate computing resources. People who use instant messaging, social networking sites, and other relatively new communications technologies at home expect to use similar tools at work.

The result is a growing number of contradictory requirements: ease of access vs. security and compliance; performance vs. cost; innovation and agility vs. reliability and continuity. For IT professionals, the real challenge is resolving the tension inherent in trying to create an infrastructure that provides both the flexibility to enable employees to drive business success and the control to protect corporate resources, maintain compliance, and provide continuity.

Helping companies find the right balance is one of Microsoft's most important priorities. To do that, we are focused on technology innovation that will enable companies to build systems that have the flexibility and intelligence to automatically adjust to changing business conditions by aligning computing resources with strategic objectives. This is a vision we call Dynamic IT. Virtualization technologies that provide powerful new tools for creating more efficient, flexible, and cost effective IT systems will provide a critical foundation for bringing this new vision to life.

In previous executive emails, Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer discussed advances that are revolutionizing communications, improving productivity, and transforming the way companies use information. Because you are a subscriber to executive emails from Microsoft, I want to share my thoughts about virtualization with you. As senior vice president of Microsoft's Server and Tools Business, I know that virtualization is helping IT departments reduce costs and improve business continuity and compliance, and I believe that over the long term, it will have a significant impact on the way businesses run IT. It is still early for this important technology--ultimately, virtualization will play an important role in improving business agility by making IT systems more flexible and more responsive to changing business needs.

Understanding Virtualization

Virtualization is an approach to deploying computing resources that isolates different layers--hardware, software, data, networks, storage--from each other. Typically today, an operating system is installed directly onto a computer's hardware. Applications are installed directly onto the operating system. The interface is presented through a display connected directly to the local machine. Altering one layer often affects the others, making changes difficult to implement.

By using software to isolate these layers from each other, virtualization makes it easier to implement changes. The result is simplified management, more efficient use of IT resources, and the flexibility to provide the right computing resources, when and where they are needed.

There are different types of virtualization. Machine virtualization uses software to create a virtual machine that emulates the services and capabilities of the underlying hardware. This makes it possible to run more than one operating system on a single machine. On servers, this approach is called server virtualization; on end-user PCs, it is called desktop virtualization.

Application virtualization separates the application from the operating system, reducing conflicts between applications, which can simplify deployments and upgrades. Presentation virtualization enables an application on a computer in one location to be controlled by a computer in another.

There is also storage virtualization, which lets users access applications and data without having to worry about where they are stored. And network virtualization allows remote users to tap into a company network as if they were physically connected.

Virtualization is not new. IBM first introduced virtual machine technology for mainframe computers in the early 1960s. Microsoft Windows NT included a virtual DOS machine. Virtual PC was introduced by Connectix in 1997 (Microsoft acquired Connectix in 2003). EMC's VMware introduced its first product, VMware Workstation, in 1999. Softricity introduced SoftGrid, the first application virtualization product, in 2001 (Microsoft acquired Softricity in 2006).

Currently, industry analysts estimate that fewer than 10 percent of servers are virtualized, despite the fact that virtualization has been around for many years. But its significance is growing as companies have introduced products that target today's high-volume, low-cost hardware. Now, more and more companies are using server virtualization to save money by consolidating the workload of several servers onto a single machine.

Virtualization: A Foundation for Dynamic IT

As important as server virtualization can be in reducing costs, saving money is just the beginning of the value that virtualization offers. At Microsoft, we believe that virtualization will play a significant role in enabling companies to create IT systems that are not only highly efficient, but that have the self-awareness to adapt automatically as business conditions change.

By separating the layers of the computing stack, a virtualized IT environment makes it possible to quickly deploy new capabilities without having to configure components. In a virtualized environment, testing requirements and application compatibility issues are reduced, processes are easier to automate, and disaster recovery is easier to implement.

In the data center, virtualization not only supports server consolidation, but it enables workloads to be added and moved automatically to precisely match real-time computing needs as demand changes. This provides greater agility, better business continuity, and more efficient use of resources.

On the desktop, application virtualization reduces management costs. And when the operating system, applications, data, and user preferences are all virtualized, it makes it possible for users to access the computing resources they need anywhere, from any machine. The result is tremendous flexibility for employees and greater efficiency and agility for IT departments.

Microsoft Virtualization Products and Solutions for Dynamic IT

While each layer of virtualization delivers an important set of benefits, the real power of virtualization comes when companies implement an integrated virtualization strategy that extends across their IT infrastructure. Today, Microsoft provides a comprehensive set of virtualization products, tools, and services that span from the datacenter to the desktop:

Server Virtualization: With Microsoft Windows Server 2008, server virtualization will be available as part of the operating system with the new "Hyper-V" feature. Microsoft's design approach improves virtualization efficiency and delivers better performance. (This technology is also available separately through Microsoft Hyper-V Server.) Hyper-V technology--as well as the currently available Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2--supports server consolidation, re-hosting of legacy operating systems and applications on new hardware, and disaster recovery based on application portability across hardware platforms.

Application Virtualization: Microsoft SoftGrid Application Virtualization transforms applications into centrally-managed virtual services that are streamed to desktops, servers, and laptops when and where they are needed. SoftGrid dramatically accelerates application deployment, upgrades, and patching by simplifying the application management lifecycle.

Presentation Virtualization: With Microsoft Windows Server Terminal Services, a Windows desktop application can run on a shared server machine and present its user interface on a remote system, such as a desktop computer or thin client.

Desktop Virtualization: Microsoft Virtual PC runs applications that are not compatible with the operating system on a desktop PC by supporting multiple operating systems on a single machine. It also accelerates testing and development of new software and systems. In addition, with the Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop license for hosted desktop architectures (also known "virtualized desktop infrastructures"), an entire desktop can be hosted on a server and remotely delivered to another desktop computer.

Our goal is to provide companies with the underlying technology they need to implement a flexible infrastructure that delivers the capabilities that employees and customers need, when and where they need them.

The Importance of Integrated Management

In a virtualized environment, a comprehensive management approach that provides the ability to monitor and track physical and virtual resources becomes critical. To achieve Dynamic IT, management solutions must also provide the foundation for automating the allocation of resources as business conditions change. It is the combination of virtualization technologies running across computing layers and orchestrated by a single set of management tools that provides the foundation for Dynamic IT.

Microsoft System Center delivers management software that enables IT professionals to manage all of their computing resources--both virtual and physical. System Center provides provisioning, monitoring, and back-up tools for virtual and physical environments across desktops and servers, and operating systems and applications. System Center enables companies to capture information about their infrastructure, policies, processes, and best practices so they can automate operations, reduce costs, and improve application availability.

Dynamic IT from the Server to the Desktop

Although virtualization has been around for more than four decades, the software industry is just beginning to understand the full implications of this important technology. Server virtualization to consolidate multiple machines into a single server is the most common form of virtualization in use today but it is still very early in the adoption cycle. At Microsoft, we believe that in the coming years, sever virtualization will become ubiquitous. Adoption of other forms of virtualization is just beginning, too, and their potential value remains largely untapped.

To help make this valuable technology more accessible, Microsoft is delivering innovations that make virtualization more affordable and less complex. We also are actively working with industry partners to develop new products and services that will unlock the power of virtualization for companies of all sizes.

Already, virtualization products from Microsoft and our partners are helping companies match computing capabilities to business needs. Imagine, for example, if your employees could access their personalized desktop, with all of their settings and preferences intact, on any machine, from any location. Or if workloads running on the servers in your data center automatically redeployed to respond to a sudden surge in demand for a specific capability. Or if your entire infrastructure could restore itself instantly following a catastrophic power outage.

Today, using existing Microsoft technologies, these Dynamic IT scenarios are already possible. Tomorrow, they will be the norm as we continue to bring new innovations in virtualization and systems management to market that help companies build truly dynamic infrastructures, from the server to the desktop.

Bob Muglia

I am in Iceland now and tried to go to Google to search for something. I was surprised to see this page appear.

Fortunately the interface is very simple and I could also read the link at the bottom for Google.com in English but I would have been lost of a more text based interface had appeared in Icelandic. I tried out some other major sites to see if they also redirected to a page for Iceland. I thought Google or the local ISP (whoever that is) might have been redirecting google.com to save on bandwidth. In my informal survey only Google returned a "localized" page so I am guessing now that this is something that Google is doing. Pretty cool if you speak Icelandic.

The other day I was shredding some papers from the early 90's. I was shocked to find a letter from my bank (I don't use that bank any more and the more I think about it I think it was a good idea to switch). In the letter, the bank had just sent me a debit card to use to withdraw funds from my checking account. On the letter was the bank account number, the number from the debit card, and my social security number. Needless to say I couldn't get that piece of paper into the shredder fast enough.

It would be nice to go back to a time of innocence when I would have looked at that paper and thought it was kind of the bank to have me double check the information instead of thinking about how if an identity thief were to get that paper they would have a lot of information that they could use to steal my money and my name. Now I am wondering how many other papers I have that have escaped the shredder.

The Utah County .NET User Group will be having thier January meeting on Wednesday, January 16. Ben Miller will be speaking about the new features of SQL Server 2008. For more information about the meeting and topic please see the UCNUG web site at www.ucnug.org.

Earlier this week I upgraded my AT&T 8525 phone from Windows Mobile 5 to Windows Mobile 6. It was a fairly painless process to do the upgrade. I was looking forward to it since I had heard lots of good things about the latest version of Windows Mobile but hadn't really had a chance to play with it.

My first impressions were good. Setting up my e-mail and the partnership with the computer was easy to do. My only complaint in this area is that the new Pocket Outlook (or something on the phone) is smart enough to realize that my HotMail account is not normally accessible through Pocket Outlook and it redirects me to Pocket IE to go to the HotMail site. This is a minor inconvenience since I was able to read HotMail in the old version of Pocket Outlook.
One thing I really like is the ability to look up e-mail addresses in the "company directory" a.k.a. Global Address List from Exchange. This is great because I don't have to add everyone I might want to send an e-mail to into my contacts list. I can just add the ones I am going to send e-mail to a lot and the others I can look up as I need to.

I really like the larger screen for typing in my PIN to unlock the device. Before I had to use the keyboard which meant either sliding out the device to get to the built in keyboard or using the stylus. The new buttons are big enough that I can use my finger. This is useful when all I want to do is make a call.

The alarms started working again. I don't know what I did before but the alarm sound only chimed when I was turning the phone on. That meant I got a lot of alarms every time I landed at a new destination and turned the phone on. It was kind of embarrassing to have the phone beeping at me in the plane. It also meant that the phone couldn't work as a backup alarm clock when I was traveling.

I haven't had a lot of time to add new applications to the phone but the ones that I have added seem to work just fine.

I got this in my e-mail today for the meeting happening tomorrow. It sounds like the lucky few first people will be able to get a copy of Visual Studio 2008 and install it on their laptop right there.

VISUAL STUDIO INSTALLFEST!

For this month’s meeting we'll all get together and install Visual Studio. We have a very limited number of copies of Visual Studio 2008 Professional. Show up and get yours, first come first serve, then sit down and install! Bring your laptop and a powerstrip.

So come out and have some fun, we hope to see you there!

Many thanks to Richard Hunhausen for pointing me to http://www.microsoft.com/heroeshappenhere/default.mspx where resistration for the Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008 launch event in Los Angeles on February 27 is now open. This will be the big lauch event with Steve Balmer giving the keynote. I am sure it will be a good show and there will be some really cool demos that have been held in reserve for the lauch.

If you are unable to make Los Angeles you can also check the same site for registration for your local event. I was pleased to see that Salt Lake City is on the list for May 20 but registration is not yet open.

First of all let me say Happy 2008 to everyone out there. It seems hard to believe that another year has come and gone.

I have sworn off swearing off making predictions and will attempt to come up with a list of things that I think will be important to all of us working in technology.

1. The Economy - In the past few years it seemed to me that IT budgets were increasing and companies were willing to take a chance on newer technologies or new ways of thinking. With the mixed signals on the economy and nobody really knowing if the US is headed for inflation or a recession but it seems from my informal polling that IT budgets are staying flat or increasing at a smaller rate. That could be a local phenomenon but if it is true it means that we will all be back to justifying costs and showing a shorter ROI for our projects.
2. Green - No, not the lime green color that my daughter is crazy about but the environmentally conscience type of green. Before "green" has been seen as something you do because you are an activist. After all, three years ago when I looked at purchasing a car I just couldn't justify the increased cost of a hybrid vehicle. I would have loved to own one but I just couldn't ever see saving enough in fuel costs to justify the larger up front cost let alone the expected higher maintenance costs. Most companies have looked at their "green" initiatives in the same manner. If they could save money by consolidating servers (and save the environment as a side effect) they were willing to do it but nobody in their right mind would spend extra money just to be green. I now see more companies seeing green as an investment that might cost them money in the short term but that will pay off large dividends in the long term. Besides that being green can be used as a competitive advantage if you can show how your competitors are polluting worse than you are.
   I think technology can help out a lot here. Not only are newer computers getting better about saving energy, the newer operating systems like Windows Vista are pre-configured with energy saving settings that will shut down monitors, spin down hard drives, and will eventually put the computer to sleep. There are other technologies that allow me to shut down my machine but have it wake up when it needs to be patched by the IT group so I don't have to leave my machine on all night long one or more nights in the month. There is also tremendous potential for IT applications to be used for tracking energy usage and providing plans for cutting down on the impact of our technology on the environment.
3. Open Source - I think that open source software has become such a large portion of our industry that to think that it will ever go away is just a fantasy. I also don't see it taking over the world and all "closed source" software going away. I think there is room for both models. I still don't see how you can build a long term business on creating and giving away software but if someone can figure a way to do it I am more than willing to use their software. I see a longer term where Linux and a few successful large projects will be supported and a lot of small utilities but the majority of the software industry will still be run on closed source software. I am not sure what the final percentages will be but I will expect that for the next few years at least we will see open source gaining in prominence. I also expect to continue to hear open source touted as the fix to all the software ills just like structured programming and object oriented programming and a lot of other "silver bullet" ideas before it. One thing is for sure and that is the whole collaborative model of most open source projects has proved that quality software that addresses a business need can be developed by large, geographically distributed teams.
4. Communications - A lot of major players in the industry have "unified communications" offerings. If you take a larger look at software a lot of it is about communicating ideas. I am putting software like Microsoft Office, blogging, pod casting, and web conferencing software into this larger bucket of communications software. There are countless articles and studies talking about how we are overwhelmed with data but starving for information. I think a lot of this problem lies in the way that we try to communicate facts to each other. I think that whoever is able to come up with software that will help us weed out irrelevant facts and drill down on the data that will ultimately become information that we can use will have done us all a service.
   I see a bunch of different technologies that can help with this communication issue. Some of the most obvious are the web conferencing and telecommunications type software like skype but there is a large range from the spam filters that we use to the business intellingence and data mining that drives the dashboards, KPIs, and reports that we rely on to software for creating presentations (just an aside, anyone who could figure out a way to stop boring PowerPoint presentations from being delivered would be a real hero). As we are innundated with information and expected to be constantly available this software will become more and more part of our lives. I think it might be too soon for it to appear this year but within a few years I would expect to see the resurgence of "agent" software that will go out and find information that is of interest to us and put it into neat little packages of information that we can get whenever it is convenient for us.
5. Security - I just read a report on the rise in data breaches last year. It is staggering how much data is lost because someone left a laptop in a cab or because somone sent unencrypted data through the mail and the package was lost. I see many more companies implementing a Chief Security Officer or similar position that will be responsible for making sure that data is secured. I also hear more about encrypting data whenever it is at rest so it will not be compromised. We also have to be aware of phishing attacks and other on-line scams. All of these threats will need to be addressed if we are to continue growing our digital economy.

These are a few (fairly obvious) trends that I think will be important in 2008. Who knows, if I am right I may do something crazy in 2009 like predict when the next version of Visual Studio will be released.