Yesterday, Microsoft announced System Center 2012.

I am pleased to see that licensing has been greatly simplified in System Center 2012 without compromising on value and by increasing scalability – more power to the customer!

System Center 2012 maximizes your private cloud value while simplifying purchasing. This is achieved by:

• Private Cloud Value – Maximizing cloud capacity with unlimited virtualization
• Simple Licensing – Delivering a consistent, easy-to-manage model
• Consistent Capabilities – Every license includes all private cloud features.

The licensing changes at a glance:

• No more console licenses. Console licenses (with SQL Runtime) are included with the System Center Standard or Datacenter licenses.
• No more standalone server management licenses.
• Both the Standard and the Datacenter licenses include server management licenses for all 8 System Center components. The 8 components are:
• Operations Manager
• Configuration Manager
• Data Protection Manager
• Service Manager
• Virtual Machine Manager
• Orchestrator (formerly Opalis)
• Endpoint Protection (formerly Forefront Endpoint Protection)
• App Controller (new product)

• Both Standard & Datacenter Edition are on a processor-based model. Each single System Center license (Standard or Datacenter) covers 2 processors on the host machine.
• Standard Edition allows a maximum of 2 Operating System Environments (OSEs)
• Datacenter Edition allows unlimited OSEs.
• A single license cannot be ‘split’ between multiple hosts. (Example: A single Standard Edition license which supports 2 processors cannot be ‘split’ between two 1-processor servers)
• Software Assurance is included with all licenses.
• Client Management licenses are still required for client machines being managed by System Center (non-Server OSEs).

Here are some licensing examples based on the new scheme:

We organized a Microsoft Solution Selling Process training on January 16 and 17, 2012 at the Marriott Hotel in Doha for salespersons working for our top partners in Qatar.

During the two day program, partners were trained on enabling World Class Selling using the Microsoft Solution Selling Process (MSSP). This equips partners to better understand customer needs and creatively position technologies that benefit the customer, leaving the customer with a positive experience and helping them earn respect as a trusted advisor.

Today, Microsoft announced a major new development in the Microsoft private cloud strategy and core management platform, the launch of Microsoft System Center 2012. System Center 2012 allows you to manage your virtual, physical, and cloud environments from a single console, using common and consistent experiences that provide full control across your existing datacenter investments.

Optimized for service delivery and providing both flexibility and control, the Microsoft private cloud enables you to experience IT as a Service on your terms. Adopting a more service-driven IT model can help you provision services faster—freeing up resources and enabling greater business agility to respond quickly to customer demands.

As part of the System Center 2012 release, Microsoft is simplifying how you purchase and gain access to the economic benefits of the cloud by offering two editions:

• System Center 2012 Standard Edition, for managing environments with no or low density virtualization
• System Center 2012 Datacenter Edition, for managing high density virtualization environments

With these streamlined purchasing options and enhanced private cloud capabilities, we are also announcing changes in the licensing and pricing of System Center 2012.

I am very excited about this brand new release of System Center and this is definitely testament to the fact that today we are committed to having the best and most complete Private Cloud solution in the market.

I will soon be posting more information on the new Standard and Datacenter editions and also provide more clarity on the new licensing scheme for System Center 2012 and how this will benefit both new and existing customers alike.

In the meantime, you can learn more about the Microsoft private cloud and the exciting new features in System Center 2012 at the Microsoft private cloud website.

Guess what is the biggest event we’re doing in Qatar this year? It’s the Microsoft Open Door 2012!

This is one event you don’t want to miss. Make sure you save the date now!

What is Open Door, anyway?

Open Door is Microsoft’s premier technical education event aimed at offering technology professionals and decision makers the chance to explore and connect with a broad set of current and soon-to-be-released Microsoft technologies, tools, platforms and services.

An all-encompassing 2-day event, Open Door is the perfect venue for customers and partners to engage and interact, while learning about Microsoft’s breadth of solutions, technologies and innovations.

Who is coming to Open Door?

Open Door will be attended by a wide range of Microsoft customers including IT professionals, developers and IT decision makers from small and medium-sized businesses, government institutions and large enterprises.

When and Where is it being held?

It’s going to be held at the Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC) on February 7-8, 2012.

How do I register? What sessions/topics are covered? How much does it cost?

Go to www.opendoor-gulf.com for more information and registration. Registration is FREE.

Coffee and Pins: What’s common between the two?
Here’s a hint: Internet Explorer 9

Still don’t get it? Find the answer by visiting me at Starbucks Coffee, near Hamad Hospital on Saturday, 26th November at 10:00 AM.

I will show you how you can retain visitors on your website and increase the number of returning visitors by adding simple browser capabilities to your website. The session is free to attend for all web developers.

What’s more? Coffee and pastry is on me

If you’re a web developer and you want to register, send me a private message or write a comment below.

Cloud Computing! It’s one of the biggest opportunities for IT Professionals in recent years.  But wouldn’t it be great if there was a simple, effective way to get the skills and training you need to take advantage of this opportunity, and also get the recognition and rewards that you deserve?

This is where Microsoft can help give your career a boost.

Visit the Microsoft Virtual Academy training portal now and register to receive free and easy access to training for IT Professionals who want to get ahead in cloud computing. This content was developed by leading experts in the field, and the modules ensure that you acquire the essential skills and gain credibility as a cloud computing specialist in your organization.

MVA courses include:

• Introduction to SCVMM, Architecture & Setup
• Creating VMs,Template & Resources in VMM
• Managing Windows Azure
• SQL Azure Security
• Identity & Access
• Data Security and Cryptography

Best company to partner with in the world

I am very excited to announce that Microsoft was just named the 2011 #1 Best Company to Partner with by CRN and the Partner research survey they ran. This is exciting news, particularly as the finding was purely based on Partner-driven responses.

You can read more about it here: http://www.crn.com/slide-shows/channel-programs/231902705/2011-best-companies-to-partner-with.htm;jsessionid=J1RWHOHu48RLsVv6nf4dQA**.ecappj03?pgno=26

I want to thank our partners for valuing our partnership and wish for more success moving forward.

Best place to Work in the world

A few weeks ago, Microsoft was also listed as 2011 #1 Best Place to work, ranked by Great Place to Work, a research and consulting firm that has collaborated in the past with Fortune magazine to produce a "Best Companies to Work for" series of publications.

Read more: http://www.greatplacetowork.com/best-companies/worlds-best-multinationals/list-of-the-25-best-from-2011

Windows Live Mesh not only helps you synchronize documents between computers, it also helps you synchronize Office settings such as Outlook email signatures, custom dictionaries, templates, etc.

I stumbled upon this feature this morning when I was synchronizing files between my Windows 7 PC and my Windows 8 tablet.

Windows Live Mesh is now part of the Windows Live Essentials bundle (free download).

You can also use Windows Live Mesh to synchronize Internet Explorer favorites between multiple computers. One of the great many advantages of running Windows all your computers – be it PC, laptop or tablet!

Qatar is one of the 23 countries in the world where Microsoft Surface 2.0 is available for pre-order as of November 17, 2011. The product is available through Samsung resellers via the Samsung Electronics website.

The Samsung SUR40 with PixelSense technology makes it possible for people to share, collaborate and explore together using a large, thin display. Recognizing up to 50 points of simultaneous touch, including fingers, hands and other objects placed on the screen, it has been well-received by new and existing Surface customers as companies such as Dassault Aviation, Fujifilm Corp. and Royal Bank of Canada prepare to deploy units around the globe in early 2012.

Announced earlier this week, the next-generation device was named a 2011 “Best of What’s New” award winner by Popular Science magazine.

Partners and Software developers interested in creating solutions for the Samsung SUR40 can visit the Surface Developer Center to get started with the Surface 2.0 software developer kit, featuring the Input Simulator, which enables developers to write Surface applications on any Windows 7 machine, as well as other helpful developer-related resources. There are already hundreds of highly skilled Surface software development partners that can be found at http://www.surface.com.

The 23 countries where Samsung SUR40 is available for pre-order are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Solution Incentives reward partners for driving sales of specific Microsoft solutions, chosen for their growth and market potential. The program creates opportunities for partners to build new sustainable revenue streams and increase their value to customers.

What partner types can participate?
Solution incentives are customer segment and partner-type agnostic. Partners need to meet eligibility requirements and each opportunity being registered needs to meet the eligibility criteria described in the Program Guide, to be eligible for incentives.

What if the Solution Partner also transacts the order?
Whether the Partner is only advising the customer, or advising and transacting, there will be no difference in the solution incentives calculation and payment.

For more information, check out the following documents:

Management and Virtualization

Download the Summary and FAQ Download the Program Guide

Windows 7

Download the Summary and FAQ Download the Program Guide

Application Platform (Microsoft SQL Server)

Download the Summary and FAQ Download the Program Guide

Microsoft Lync

Download the Summary and FAQ Download the Program Guide

New to PSX? Check out the PSX resources here.