The SME deserving recognition this month is Monolith Advertising, an Estonian-Croatian company. It began operations just 3 months ago with the single purpose of revolutionizing offline advertising by transforming existing advertising displays into smart and interactive tools. Monolith Advertising is run by a team of 6 people who, since May 2012, have already managed to partner with major corporate...

Concern, a global humanitarian NGO, build its worldwide email platform on the cloud in order to reduce IT costs, and to insure efficient communication when providing disaster relief and support.

The SME receiving recognition for the month of August is JamPot Technologies, a company of 12 employees from Northern Ireland. JamPot invented an application that allows other companies and individuals to build their own mobile applications without needing any technical knowledge. JamPot’s innovations simplify the use of sophisticated technology, enabling any of us to create smartphone apps for any...

A network of hospitals and health care facilities in Germany used cloud computing to increase their access to files in a reliable and secure way while lowering IT costs.

In this case study you can read about how through cloud computing, SIVECO Romania’s solution helped the Ministry of Education lower costs and offer new and more reliable services to the public.

In this case study, you can read about how IEG4 used cloud computing to help local UK governments deliver services faster and minimize costs.

Our July SME of the Month is Admiral Dynamics, a Belgian company that offers expertise in cloud-based solutions with particular focus on the powerful and efficient Microsoft Dynamics CRM and SharePoint tools. Its specialty is providing innovative, dynamic and flexible solutions that allow its customers to increase the efficiency and standard of their operations without making unnecessary...

Commerce Guys, a young company based in France, was also the winner of the Microsoft BizSpark European Summit. This innovative eCommerce specialist uses the open source Drupal technology on top of the Windows Azure cloud platform. It provides online merchants with the powerful, responsive and innovative eCommerce solutions needed to succeed with Drupal Commerce.

The SME receiving recognition this month is Avaelgo, a Romanian company of 10 employees that offers IT consulting services, software development, and technical training for customers worldwide. Their flexible and innovative solutions are based on rapid adoption of cutting edge cloud platform technologies, and they ensure that their customers are at the forefront of their respective fields.

In this case study, you can read about Global Business Register (GBR) and their cloud-based solution that aims to make the internet a safer place.

Small businesses can provide valuable solutions to the Public Sector, as Portuguese SME CaveDigital has demonstrated since 2005. Its 8 employees are committed to increasing the value of their clients’ technological investments by offering cloud-based solutions. Based in Portugal, their operations have extended across Europe, and North and Latin America since they formed 12 years. CaveDigital reaches...

Electronic voting can affect local, regional, federal and European institutions (political elections), companies (union elections, surveys), individuals (surveys). The target audience is broad and the remote vote can give a response to these multiple cases. Securing the vote and guaranteeing the reliability of results are fundamental success factors while implementing evoting solutions. Finally, the...

IBOR (Intergraal Beheer Publieke Ruimte) is an innovative smart control and management system for public areas. By remotely maintaining and controlling public infrastructure such as street lights, IBOR helps to save energy, decrease maintenance costs and reduce CO2 emissions. Delivered through the cloud, the tool is expected to help reduce urban area energy use by 25 to 40 per cent.

The Citizen Interaction Solution (CIS) is a case management tool for customer services on a multi-channel basis including in person, web, phone, email/facsimile and SMS. The solution is centered on the relationship between the organisation and its clients, being the front-end for the customer service and customer support. CIS targets the specific market set of Public Sector eGovernment multi-channel citizen...

Atomblock’s solution is designed to take away all the hard work involved in publishing and selling content  - such as video games – online.  With Atomblock, companies can become e-retailers in less than a week, complete with links to social media.  It is ideal for retailers who want to create online stores, but do not want invest in the time, cost and expertise themselves.

French company and IAMCP (International Association of Microsoft Channel Partners) member, ASCOT, demonstrates the potential for a small company to tailor cloud computing services for particular sectors: in this instance, the hotel business.

In this case study, you can read about Zartis, a company bringing job-hunting into the 21st century with cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about SkillPages, an Irish business that developed a platform to transform the way people with skills connect to the people who need them.

As always on our website, we try and bring you a wide variety of opinion pieces from specialist guest bloggers from both the private and public sector.

Our January European Cloud SME of the Month is Link, a Portuguese company that provides businesses with innovative consulting, management solutions, and specialized services. Link helps their customers to streamline business operations and achieve their goals without having to maintain cumbersome processes. Cloud computing platforms are now enabling Link to provide these services more effectively.

2011 was a year dominated by discussions around the debt crisis, but from a technology point of view Europe saw its fair share of milestones and breakthroughs which can greatly contribute to the economy.  Among others, Vice-President Kroes, endorsed the adoption of cloud computing, a technology solution that gives everyone access to scalable computing power and resources, by promising to make Europe...

In this case study, you can read about how Aer Lingus scales up their operations with cloud computing and improves customer experience to drive revenue for the company.  

In this case study, you can read about Belgacom, a telecommunications company being able to focus on increasing competiveness after unifying its IT systems with cloud computing.  

In this case study, you can read about London Borough of Newham’s leading example of utilizing cloud computing in public sector services and sharing technology with neighbouring boroughs which has resulted in improved service delivery and digital engagement with its citizens.  

Cloud computing is currently considered to have great potential in mitigating the financial and administrative difficulties of public administrations in Germany. It promises to both optimize the use of IT resources, and encourages a great variety of collaboration options.

This month’s European Cloud SME of the Month is MailTalk™, a Danish company that provides a platform for “digital dialogue”, enabling more effective and productive marketing and communications.  MailTalk is a very young company, with 10 employees, but sees global potential.  MailTalk’s sells advanced software tools that can help any organisation both automate and...

Video games are a worldwide boom industry and Europe is one of the strongest regions for potential growth. And much of that is being driven by small businesses and young entrepreneurs, who could turn their ideas into something big. Take Angry Birds from Rovio which started out as a small mobile games development studio in Finland. Now it’s a worldwide phenomenon.

In this case study, you can read about the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), a non-profit that has not only gained transparency with its operations through cloud computing, but has also helped protect music rights of musicians and producers who are an integral part of the SME economy in Ireland.

Last month I revealed the recent outcomes of the white paper “Cloud Computing in Turkey: Players, Policies, Challenges and Opportunities” at a Cloud Computing conference hosted in Turkey.

Doctors want to reduce their administrative work and patients want easy access to healthcare. Why not use mobile technology to help them?

The world is changing. We now have something called cloud computing!

More than ever now, the European Commission needs to focus on building and growing the high-performance computing (HPC) market. High-performance computing (HPC) uses supercomputers to solve advanced computation problems and is a key enabler of ground-breaking innovation that creates high wage jobs and allows Europe’s competitiveness to be maintained.

In this case study, you can read about innovative entrepreneurs that opened the doors to Italian small business in helping ministries with commercial waste management.

In this case study, you can read about a partnership between Microsoft and the Spanish company, Telefónica in creating a solution for software developers to minimise their business risk by simplifying revenue collection.

Looking for web-based teaching tools to prepare its students for the future, Kello School in Finland deployed Microsoft Live@edu to give students a rich online learning experience, foster peer collaboration and enable students to work away from school all within a secure online environment.

I truly believe that Europe has an immense potential to innovate. As stated by the EU Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will be the powerhouse of the Innovation Union, as they represent more than 99% of all businesses and employ more than 90 million people in Europe.

In this case study, you can read about how Barcelona, a city with a reputation of being a premiere location for business conferences, has developed a “new way of working” for its citizens and tourists through cloud computing. The city of Barcelona in Spain serves more than 1.6 million inhabitants and draws about 6.5 million visitors each year. Many citizens work remotely...

In recognition of SME Week and in celebration of entrepreneurship in Europe, we are hosting a roundtable discussion on the benefits of cloud computing for European SMEs – as creators, service suppliers, and consumers. We invite you to join this discussion, as well as a short tour of technology demos, which will concentrate on cloud services developed by European SMEs.

As we mentioned several times before, cloud computing is an evolution in the technology industry that promises significant economic benefits in Europe – for both users and technology providers. SMEs are the engine of economic growth in Europe, and as users, SMEs will quickly take advantage of the cost reductions and productivity gains enabled by cloud computing.  Added to this, there are also...

In this case study, you can read about how a Madrid based company has developed a cloud solution to enable its 17,000 residents help the city council maintain its 245,000 trees and keep the city green, with the help of an innovative SME – Tecnigral.

In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing helps the Hungarian Water Rescue Service free up more than 1,500 man-days to focus on saving more lives, with the help of an innovative SME - Central Europe On-Demand (CEOD).

In this case study, you can read about Procore, a Dutch company setting precedence for other SMEs with its flexible, forward thinking business model and way of work with the smart use of cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about how Partners HealthCare has enabled increased accessibility of healthcare by making health data and communication between patients and providers possible virtually through cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about the Lincoln Specialists Schools Group (LSSG) which is making advanced and specialised school courses available to students in Lincoln through cloud computing, and fighting the decline in student population in rural UK – with the help of an innovative SME - F1 Group.

Over the last few decades microprocessors and software have been increasingly present in cars. Today, an average car might contain as many as 50 microprocessors, each with their own piece of software on them. Electric cars have even more electronics on them and it is likely that tomorrow’s car will have even more!

Microsoft and the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced the latest awardees for the joint Microsoft-NSF research partnership in cloud computing. As part of this agreement with the NSF, Microsoft is making available access to Windows Azure , Microsoft's cloud computing platform. In addition, a support team of Microsoft researchers and developers is working with grant...

In this case study, you can read about how TradeFacilitate, an Irish company successfully scales-up its operation to serve a larger market without proportionally adding more personnel and technology resources.

Cloud computing brings great benefits to Europe’s start-ups and SMEs in terms of cost benefits, ease to up-scale their businesses and efficient computing capabilities. Besides using the cloud power to operate their own business, SMEs also have the opportunity to widen their portfolio and innovate by building new applications and services on the cloud platforms.

Meander needed to convert its timesheet and leave request system from paper to digital. By using a cloud-based set of messaging and collaboration solutions, rather than running its own servers, it achieved cost savings of over 60%.

For Irish entrepreneur John Dennehy, the arrival of cloud computing offered a powerful argument to launch a new company. Dennehy was convinced that many smaller businesses would shift to buying software and computer services delivered and managed over the Internet – the so-called cloud – because it would allow them to save money, grow faster and go global at a fraction of the cost.

I underlined in several of my previous posts that cloud computing brings great benefits such as scalability and increased energy efficiency, but what about the next phase? As data centers grow in capacity and the rate of adoption increases, we need also to look to the future.

In this case study, you can read about how students and staff at the University of Bologna can now collaborate and learn anytime and anywhere, thanks to cloud computing.

The global scale of climate and energy challenges is daunting. As world population approaches the 7 billion mark a growing majority people now live in cities. These billions of new urbanites need energy; energy for lights, for heating, for cooling; energy for transportation, housing and emergency services, energy for water systems and sanitation, and they want the same conveniences and luxuries that city...

Environmental futurists have said smart cars will increasingly be able to provide drivers GPS information that will help avoid and create traffic.

In this case study, you can read about how the shift to cloud computing has enabled up to 60% cost savings in Italy’s largest paediatric research and treatment centre, freeing up more resources to be invested in research.

In this case study, you can read about cloud computing has enabled the Government of Catalonia to expand its IT infrastructure to support 144,000 users in a cost-effective way.

Last week, I was in Nairobi, Kenya for the United Nations Chief Executive Briefing, where Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, launched the UN’s new energy neutral Nairobi office building. The building is the first of its kind for the UN in Africa and is a global showcase of sustainable design and technology.

Middlesex University serves 33,000 students, with campuses in London and Dubai.  The university was using an on-premises e-mail system based on Microsoft Exchange Server that it wanted to expand to meet the growing volume of e-mail and to offer students a variety of online tools for collaboration.

The Belgian Federal Public Service of Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment used a cloud-based storage and collaboration environment to ensure that its own staff as well as external users could jointly manage the European Presidency.

Size doesn’t matter anymore, the over-riding lesson we are learning worldwide is that a business that gets ahead of the curve is a smart one, not necessarily a big one.

In this case study, you can read about how the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) collaborated with Microsoft in developing an interactive application to engage citizens in the exploration of Mars.

In this case study, you can read about how a French software development company is managing to stay competitive in the gaming industry by having an easily scalable IT cloud infrastructure that can meet demands of the unpredictable social, casual gaming market. Headquartered in Paris, France, Kobojo is a software development company that produces social, casual games that customers can access...

On the topic of cloud computing, Neelie Kroes, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, put a stake in the ground recently at the World Economic Forum, saying that she wanted Europe not simply to be cloud-friendly but also to be cloud-active. I was pleased to see her emphasis on several legal, technical and commercial issues that are most relevant to a...

In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing has provided the Associated Press (AP) with new opportunities to open its revenue streams and find new customers for its content. The Associated Press (AP) provides up-to-the-minute news and information for newspapers, radio, television, and the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In this case study, you can read about how the European University Institute (EUI) overcame limitations in storage space of its previous email system with cloud computing, achieving 100 times more storage and 43% in cost savings. The European University Institute (EUI) was set up in 1972 by the six founding Member States of the European Communities to provide advanced academic training to...

In this case study, you can read about an Irish company which is enabling SMEs in Europe by developing multi-featured and highly customisable HR management tools through cloud computing.

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Legal & Corporate Affairs, talks to France’s Assemblée Nationale about the opportunities that cloud computing represents for the European Union.

In this case study, you can read about the new way a UK based company is engaging with its customers and building its software business due to the simplicity cloud computing is enabling the deployment of its services.

In this case study, you can read about how HCL Technologies is enabling enterprises to easily monitor its carbon footprint which is helping businesses and governments’ better account and manage carbon emissions.

In this case study, you can read about a Catalonian centre which is helping Spanish businesses become more productive through collaboration with Microsoft in providing Microsoft Office 365, an enterprise-class, cloud-based solution.

In this case study, you can read about how a Danish transport company has achieved 76% cost savings on IT investments and can now provide a much more reliable information service to its customers, thanks to cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing helps a Nordic hotel chain save up to 3 million SEK on IT maintenance costs annually.

On November 8-11, I took part in the 2010 Care Innovation summit on ‘Going Green’, held this year in Vienna. Participants from across the ICT sector attended the two-day event to better understand how our sector should be part of the answer to reduce greenhouse gases and not part of the problem.

In this latest video recorded at the European Summit earlier this year we ask: Is Europe prepared for cloud computing? 

We’ve been underlining this idea many times before, the ICT industry has the power to contribute to the worldwide carbon reductions not only within the ICT sector itself, but also to help other sectors and industries such as production, transport, construction and logistics become more sustainable.

For some, the talk of cloud computing produces more haze than light, and there is no doubt: we all need to see the deeper analysis of the economics of the cloud in order to make decisions about information technology strategies.  I work with public administrations across Europe, and see that the interest level in cloud computing is high, but there is also widespread desire for better understanding of...

This Microsoft-hosted workshop will examine how the use of new technologies, especially cloud computing can ease the path toward e-Health. The workshop will gather together important leaders in the European Medical Community as well as Health organizations involved in innovative telemedicine projects. It is being held on November 11/12 in the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre in Brussels.

This Microsoft-hosted workshop will examine how the use of new technologies, especially Cloud Computing can ease the path toward e-Health. The workshop will gather together important leaders in the European Medical Community as well as Health organizations involved in innovative telemedicine projects. It is being held on November 11/12 in the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre in Brussels.

This Microsoft-hosted workshop will examine how the use of new technologies, especially Cloud Computing can ease the path toward e-Health. The workshop will gather together important leaders in the European Medical Community as well as Health organizations involved in innovative telemedicine projects. It is being held on November 11/12 in the Microsoft Executive Briefing Centre in Brussels.

It’s a clear message my colleagues gave me at a recent event: the ICT industry and cloud computing are key components in helping to reduce the carbon footprint in Europe.  But of course ICT people would say that, I hear you cry!

In this case study, you can read about an Italian company that was able to quickly develop and deploy its software to new markets just by using a cloud computing platform.

In this case study, you can read about LoveCleanStreets, a cloud-based application that helps London authorities manage street care with the help of crowdsourcing – supported by an innovative SME bbits.

In this case study, you can read about an Italian company providing flexible, cost-effective communication and collaboration solutions to businesses, especially timely during tough economic times.

The BizSpark European Summit in Paris proved to be a great platform to exchange ideas and best practices for start-ups in Europe.  In fact, we came away with so much good information to share that we decided to save some of it for after the summer break.

In the final video in our cloud computing interview series we have taken clips from a number of speakers like Geert Ferranti, Sale Director – Ferranti; Jean Michel Davault, Managing Director – Hommes & Process; Wolfram Borchers, CEO – ITA systemhaus.

Interoperability – the ability of different IT systems and services to work together – continues to be an important objective not only for the regulators, but for the industry. This important feature of technology enables users to control their data and allows them to work with products and services from different vendors. As interest in Cloud Computing grows, users are discovering the...

What does the cloud mean for the future production, distribution and consumption of audiovisual services? Does it mean the end of location-based production; lower production values and more user generated content displacing high value material? How can content be made secure and monetised? Is the cloud the answer to pan-EU content availability? Will the cloud overshadow broadcast TV or provide a flash...

The potential economic gains from cloud computing are greatest when users and suppliers enjoy a large-scale, borderless market - such as the one envisioned in the Single Market initiative. However, in Europe today some barriers limiting the flow of data in the cloud still persists, thus affecting both the productivity gains for users and the number of commercial opportunities for smaller EU companies...

This video looks at the experience of entrepreneurs using the Azure platform. Aidan Gallagher, CEO Inishtech & Conor O’Riordan, CEO Tradefacilitate give us a quick overview to why they chose to use Azure for their businesses and the benefits cloud computing brings.  

In this case study, you can read about the cloud solution developed by a French SME currently deployed to more than 3500 users in 300 offices around France.

In this case study, you can read about how MiniLiner, an air-cargo firm is managing chaos caused by scaling up and saving up to €50,000 annually by switching to a cloud-based communications solution for its employees.

In this case study, you can read about cloud provides a simplified communications solution for a Spanish company who went virtual, helping them boost competitiveness and reduce costs.

In the third video in our cloud computing interview series Andrea Ferravante - Diamante, gives us the Italian perspective on the potential challenges of cloud computing. 

 It’s a type of Rorschach inkblot test: two people could look at the EC’s Communication on the Digital Agenda for Europe and see interesting variations.

The discussion about cloud computing really has come out of nowhere, and yet everywhere in the information and communications and technology industries, we find people talking about it.

If cloud computing is to reach its potential, it needs standards that ensure that different systems work together. But over-rigid standards could hold development back.

Can Europe use cloud computing to stimulate economic growth?  If so, what skills will be needed to make most advantage of this technology trend? 

In this interview Nigel Gibbons, Executive Chariman – Unitech talks about the cloud and how it is changing the way we do business. 

Every year we bring together and discuss trending topics with business start-ups  and growing companies developing products and services on Microsoft platforms. This year we interviewed some of these developers about their views on  cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about how Chronorace, a logistics company, handled huge demands for accessing multimedia on its Brussels Half-marathon website after the event with Windows Azure, the Microsoft cloud platform.

You may have caught one of my earlier post in this video series in which I discussed why Microsoft is so involved with start-ups and entrepreneurs and give a few insights into some of the programmes we run to support them.

The Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC) is taking part in a pioneering EU Framework Programme 7 project on cloud computing , Venus-C - a project that aims to foster the development of a cloud computing platform based on virtualisation technologies not for individuals, but for industry and the scientific community.

The Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and Microsoft joined forces in 2008 to create the BSC-Microsoft Research Centre.

In this case study, you can read about a small Danish business, able to adopt enterprise-class messaging and collaboration software and grow with the help of cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about how a Swiss consultancy uses cloud to boost business agility and take more time to invest in the people and in their business without worrying about infrastructure. Lodestone is a management consultancy that ensures a lean operational structure by selectively outsourcing its IT functions. It is based in Switzerland and operates across 13 countries.

On June 20th 2012, in the presence of Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, IPCC Chair Rajendra K. Pachauri, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard and 150 VIP guests at Rio+20, Eye on Earth has been chosen for the prestigious SUSTAINIA 100 list of solutions. For more information, you can visit:...

A converted chapel in Barcelona is the home for a supercomputing centre that is helping to revolutionise the way we will use cloud computing.

In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing helps Dutch orthopaedic centre help 30% more patients and scale up without worrying about continuously expanding or managing escalating IT expenses. Annatommie is an orthopaedic diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation centre in the Netherlands. With ambitious plans to open 14 offices, annatommie needed to automate manual processes to...

In this case study, you can read about YouSAAS, a software vendor who achieved an increase of over 20,000 users in six months due to cloud computing. Founded in 2006, YouSAAS is a Microsoft® Gold Certified Partner that offers its reseller and independent software vendor partners a shared platform to sell hosted solutions.

“I believe in horses….The automobile is a transient phenomenon”.

The cloud is one of the most popular terms in IT today but perhaps also one of the least well defined. FUTURES guides you through the how and the why.

In this case study, you can read about how the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) worked with Active Web Solutions (AWS) to develop a cost-efficient, cloud-based application to help them save more lives at sea. High numbers of deaths at sea is a major concern for anyone in the fishing industry, with an estimated 24,000 crew members drowning worldwide each year. To try and prevent these...

Computer science can play a major role in fuelling scientific breakthroughs in other fields, but only if it can meet its own grand challenges, said Craig Mundie, chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft at a symposium in Brussels debating how best to use EU-funded research programmes to solve grand challenges.

In this case study, you can read about the partnership between the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Microsoft to develop the “Eye on Earth” application on cloud to give Europeans data on water and air quality. An agency of the European Union, the European Environment Agency (EEA) provides independent and reliable information on the environment for policy makers and the general...

In this case study, you can read about how Aviva, a global organisation who unites its operations in 28 countries with cloud computing. Aviva is a global life and general insurance services company built around the needs of its customers. It has offices in 28 countries with 54,000 employees serving 50 million customers, and first started operating more than 300 years ago.

Our guest blogger today is Riitta Raesmaa, partner and co-founder of Sopima, a Finnish SME and part of the Microsoft BizSpark programme!

In this case study, you can read about how the Swedish Red Cross (SRC) has boosted communication within its organisation by 50%, after implementing the Microsoft Online Service cloud offering. The Swedish Red Cross (SRC) is the largest humanitarian voluntary organisation in Sweden. Their work improving conditions for people requires a great deal of coordination across the organisation, especially...

  In this case study, you can read about how cloud computing has enabled a Dutch hospital to switch to a cost-effective email solution to comply with changes in regulation in a quick and seamless manner.

In this case study, you can read about how a French SME was able to provide a flexible, hosted, and worry-free communication solution for its consultants through cloud. Based in Lyon, France, Peaks is an IT company with a mobile workforce of consultants deployed at customer sites. Peaks wanted better messaging and collaboration tools for its consultants to share data and expedite service. It...

In this case study, you can read about the Royal Mail Group has improved their efficiency by giving its employees reliable & simple ways to access information through the adoption of Microsoft’s cloud solution. In the United Kingdom the Royal Mail Group has expanded their IT services agreement with CSC to include Microsoft’s Business Productivity Suite from Microsoft Online...

In this case study, you can read about how Finnish company used the Microsoft Azure cloud platform to achieve rapid deployment while reducing capital expenditure in a secure way. Microsoft BizSpark member Sopima Oy, has launched an innovative business contract service. Use of the Microsoft Azure platform has helped rapid deployment while reducing capital expenditure.

With the uptake of cloud computing and web3.0 (web2.0 + mobility), consumers will have more access to information than ever before. But what are effective ways to optimize the information they get – and distill the information they need? How to process data meritoriously?

The age of ‘cloud computing’ is dawning, which will allow our data, software and computing power to be on our desktop and extended online as and when needed. This will provide many new opportunities for businesses and other organisations to manage large amounts of data and activities securely, efficiently and cost-effectively.

Our favorite Geek in Disguise, Steve Clayton from the UK, provides on his blog a short and useful summary of Steve Ballmer’s speech yesterday in which the Microsoft CEO described how “we’re all in” cloud computing.

I strongly believe that innovation is the lifeblood of the 21st century economy. If we just take the way research is done today compared to 15 to 20 years ago we can see a huge difference.

In Europe and elsewhere, computing is experiencing a powerful transformation. Driven by continuous innovations in software, hardware and the Internet, traditional models of computing are gradually shifting.   

I had the pleasure of interviewing Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s Chief Research and Strategy Officer, when he was last in Brussels.

As you may have read before on this site, we opened one of the largest data centres in Europe just last year in Dublin. Large-scale facilities such as this can play a big role in the development of cloud computing, providing companies with better and cheaper computing facilities. Great news to resource-strapped companies in particular.

Cloud computing is hitting the headlines, and for good reason: it is providing business and consumers with a vast array of new services. In addition, it is making computing more cost-effective, allowing businesses to do more with less. This is especially relevant to SMEs, which in the past often suffered under the strain of IT costs but can now scale without having to wonder how they can afford to make the...

As I had announced on the weekend, yesterday I was lucky to accompany Microsoft’s General Counsel, Brad Smith, to a presentation he gave on the company’s vision on Cloud Computing (find a nice summary by my colleague Steve Clayton here, or just have a look at the speech yourself).

Over the past months there has been a remarkable upraise in discussions around the topic of Cloud Computing (or Software+Services).

Ray Ozzie introduced the term Software plus Services about 3 years ago and since then it’s where I have focused all of my time at Microsoft.

Brad Smith, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation gave a speech on: “Technology leadership in the 21st century: How cloud computing will change our world”

Join our partner – EEA – and  help build a community showing how we can IMPACT and CONTRIBUTE to addressing Climate Change!!

Times have changed. "Microsoft has been on a journey itself... doing things on interoperability that were unimaginable just a few years ago..."

With Eye On Earth providing near to real-time information on Water and Air quality, encouraging two-way collaboration with citizens, Environmental Atlas of Europe now extends our digital platform to educate on climate change. (See my previous post )

The European Environment Agency and Microsoft launched their latest project this month - the Environmental Atlas of Europe (Atlas) at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen.

For all the buzz about cloud computing, the potential benefits are real: cost savings as well as the exciting possibilities for small European entrepreneurs to reach global audiences with a minimum of upfront IT costs. Yet the adoption of cloud computing services will depend a great deal on how industry addresses the fundamental interests of users in security, privacy and interoperability, interests about...

We were very proud to announce the grand opening of our Dublin data centre last month. This state of the art facility helps to improve cloud computing capacity and network infrastructure throughout Europe to meet the demand generated from Microsoft’s online, live and cloud services (like Bing, Windows Live and the Azure Services Platform).

We were very proud to announce the grand opening of our Dublin data centre in September 2009.

In the coming five years, only 10% of jobs will be left for those who have no ICT skills, a figure that is especially significant at a time of rising unemployment in Europe and worldwide.

As part of its drive to foster innovation and the knowledge economy in Europe, the Commission has designated 2009 as the Year of Creativity & Innovation.

On 16 June 2009, the King of Belgium, Albert II, visited one of Belgium’s innovation hotspots, the Digital Innovation Valley in Mons. During the visit the King, Walloon Minister for Economy Jean-Claude Marcourt and Mons mayor Elio Di Rupo stopped by the Microsoft Innovation Centre in Mons.

Who would start a business development for start-ups in a slump? That’s precisely when it has to be done, says Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Akhtar Badshah wants to be a disruptive influence

Microsoft’s first European “mega data centre”, which opened recently on the western outskirts of Dublin, uses 50 per cent less energy than a traditional data centre built some three years ago.

Earlier this week Microsoft joined with the European Environment Agency to launch a compelling example of how Microsoft’s cloud computing technology can be a real ‘change maker’ in the fight against climate change.

Through Eye on Earth, a repository for geographical environmental information created by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and Microsoft, Europeans can see and rate the air quality with an online application called AirWatch.

Prof. Jacqueline McGlade at EEA, Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist at Microsoft Corp and Ludo de Bock, Senior Director EU and NATO, Microsoft Corp. 

With the web providing access to entertainment, banking and even healthcare, EU citizens are increasingly spending more time online. We have grown to rely and trust the internet to help us get on with our daily lives. However, the internet will fail to achieve its full potential if people lose faith in the way we protect people’s privacy and the information we share online. As a global leader,...

Microsoft's Vice President for EU affairs blogs via video on how ICT can stimulate Europe's growth

On June 20th 2012, in the presence of Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, IPCC Chair Rajendra K. Pachauri, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard and 150 VIP guests at Rio+20, Eye on Earth has been chosen for the prestigious SUSTAINIA 100 list of solutions. For more information, you can visit:...

On June 20th 2012, in the presence of Prime Minister of Denmark Helle Thorning-Schmidt, sustainability legend Gro Harlem Brundtland, IPCC Chair Rajendra K. Pachauri, EU Commissioner for Climate Action Connie Hedegaard and 150 VIP guests at Rio+20, Eye on Earth has been chosen for the prestigious SUSTAINIA 100 list of solutions. For more information, you can visit:...

While living in a world of easily available mass market technology, it always strikes me how little we do with it in an interactive way to create broad awareness and collaboration on topics that will determine ours and the next generations future living conditions. 

Atlas, an online portal, uses the intuitive interface of Bing Maps to allow people to view stories about the impact of climate change across Europe.

PDC: Ray Ozzies keynote, highlighting choice, diversity -- and interoperability

What is Microsoft's vision for the future? Take a look.

I just looked up the term Cloud computing on Google News and unless I’m doing something wrong, it appears that the term has turned up in as many news items in the last month as it has in the last year.

John Vassallo (Microsoft VP EU Affairs) outlines the crucial role small and medium enterprises active in the ICT industry play in strengthening the European Economy.

Microsoft's Vice President for EU Affairs talks about the role of ICT into driving European growth

We at Microsoft are delighted to see the opening of the first "mega data center" here in Europe. The Dublin Data Center is part of Microsoft’s long-term commitment in the region, and is a major step in realising Microsoft’s Software plus Services strategy.

This week I have been lucky to be one of a handful of business executives speaking at the European Union’s Green Week conference in Brussels. 

The internet is developing at a tremendous pace as more businesses and peopleworldwide gain access to an ever greater range of online services including online office functionality, video and music downloads and more. 

Viviane Reding, European commissioner for all things hi-tech, is known for telling it like it is. A passionate advocate for new technologies, she has made a name for herself by confronting anything or anyone she thinks hinders European citizens from benefiting from what technologies have to offer.

In February 2008, Microsoft launched the Microsoft Embedded Systems Development Centre (MESDC) in Aachen, Germany. The MESDC was created to foster product development in Europe by addressing the needs of industry partners and customers. Products developed at the MESDC are intended to tackle challenges faced by European customers, but also demonstrate applicability throughout the globe. Bill Dunlap,...

Collaboration is at the heart of the European project. Implementation of numerous European policies depends on cooperation between the Member States. Information technology plays a crucial role in enabling these policy goals to become a reality, and collaboration among the many stakeholders involved presents a need for technologies as well as processes that can work together. 

European Environment Agency and Microsoft Eye on Earth Observatory bring Europaan beach quality into sharp focus