The latest news, insights and discussions about Microsoft Global Foundation Services.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com2013-05-08T15:30:40umbracoenCompliance is a popular and often debated cloud services topic. I see this firsthand in my role as a senior director in Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services (GFS) Online Services Security and Compliance organization. GFS manages Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure. The Online Services Security and Compliance team provides infrastructure security, compliance and reliability capabilities to Microsoft’s 200+ cloud and online services.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/may/8/cloud-compliance.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/may/8/cloud-compliance.aspx2013-05-08T17:00:00Microsoft’s General Manager of Data Center Services Christian Belady will present on Wednesday, May 15 at the Uptime Symposium in Santa Clara, Calif., discussing the company’s cloud infrastructure strategy and how the latest technology trends are influencing to changes in our data centers.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/may/1/microsofts-christian-belady-speaking-at-uptime-symposium-on-the-clouds-impact-on-data-centers.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/may/1/microsofts-christian-belady-speaking-at-uptime-symposium-on-the-clouds-impact-on-data-centers.aspx2013-05-01T16:05:00Last November we announced our zero carbon Data Plant R&D project in Cheyenne, Wyoming. For a quick refresher, we’re placing a small container data center we call an IT Pre-Assembled Component, or ITPAC, at a wastewater treatment facility in Cheyenne. A natural bi-product of a wastewater plant is methane gas, which is typically flared off because it’s uneconomical to recover and convert to grid energy. At our Data Plant, we view this methane gas as an opportunity to provide a reliable power source to power a data center, and we decided to launch this project to test the concept and the capabilities.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/22/microsofts-itpac-–-a-perfect-fit-for-off-the-grid-computing-capacity.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/22/microsofts-itpac-–-a-perfect-fit-for-off-the-grid-computing-capacity.aspx2013-04-22T16:00:00Earth Day is Monday, April 22, providing a moment to reflect on the daily work we are doing to drive greater environmental sustainability at Microsoft and for our customers, partners, and the industry. While Earth Day is only a single day, sustainability is a year-round effort for my Data Center Advanced Development team, as well as our extended teams from Global Foundation Services, Environmental Sustainability, Microsoft Research, and all our cloud services groups.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/17/10-earth-friendly-facts-about-microsofts-cloud-infrastructure.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/17/10-earth-friendly-facts-about-microsofts-cloud-infrastructure.aspx2013-04-16T17:30:00Microsoft has delivered online services since 1994 with the launch of MSN. Today, our engineering and operations teams build, manage and secure a$15 billion cloud-scale infrastructure that powers over 200 services for consumers and businesses 24x7x365 via globally distributed data centers, networks, and security mechanisms, software applications and tools. Our cloud supports more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in 76 markets. With an annual investment of $9.5 billion in research and development, we are enabled to continue to accelerate the innovations in our operational processes to maximize reliability, performance, and efficiency as our capacity grows. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/3/how-microsoft-operates-one-of-the-worlds-largest-cloud-infrastructures.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/3/how-microsoft-operates-one-of-the-worlds-largest-cloud-infrastructures.aspx2013-04-03T16:35:00Microsoft’s director of energy strategy, Brian Janous, will deliver the opening keynote address at the Data Center World Spring 2013 conference in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, on April 29th. Data Center World Spring, a bi-annual event produced by AFCOM, includes more than 60 educational sessions covering all aspects of data center and facilities management. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/1/brian-janous-to-keynote-data-center-world-conference-april-29th.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/april/1/brian-janous-to-keynote-data-center-world-conference-april-29th.aspx2013-04-01T15:20:00In a post last month, I shared some new details about how Microsoft focuses on the use of software to engineer resiliency into our global network of cloud-scale data centers. I explained the fundamental shift we’ve made to viewing data centers through a systems integrator model, where we look at every aspect of the physical and operational environment as a component of an integrated system to drive continual improvement in performance, efficiency and service availability. By sharing the responsibility for service availability – from development to data center – we’re breaking down the silos that traditionally separate IT engineering activities, allowing Microsoft to define the data center environment as a converged ecosystem delivering improved reliability of our services and more satisfied customers. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/march/26/microsoft-cloud-scale-data-center-designs.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/march/26/microsoft-cloud-scale-data-center-designs.aspx2013-03-26T22:00:00Two members of Microsoft’s Data Center team within the company’s Global Foundation Services organization will be speaking at industry events in New York City this month to join the conversation and share how we manage our cloud-scale operations. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/march/7/microsoft-sharing-data-center-management-practices-at-industry-events-this-month.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/march/7/microsoft-sharing-data-center-management-practices-at-industry-events-this-month.aspx2013-03-07T19:00:00Microsoft is committed to giving customers the information they need to have confidence in us as a cloud provider. Today, we continue to share our best practices and key learnings to be as open and transparent as possible, and contribute to industry and community efforts to increase trust in the cloud. While there is complexity in the cloud and in some of the security techniques necessary to protect cloud services, explanations should be clear.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/february/28/how-microsoft-secures-its-cloud-scale-data-centers-and-infrastructure.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/february/28/how-microsoft-secures-its-cloud-scale-data-centers-and-infrastructure.aspx2013-02-28T14:00:00Attacks on Country-Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs) have far-reaching effects on private individuals, large and small companies, non-profits, and government organizations. Today, I wrote on the Microsoft Security blog about a new Microsoft Country-Code Top-Level Domain (ccTLD) Registry Security Assessment Service that we are now offering to address this challenge. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/february/26/microsoft-announces-free-security-assessment-service-for-country-code-top-level-domain-registries.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/february/26/microsoft-announces-free-security-assessment-service-for-country-code-top-level-domain-registries.aspx2013-02-26T17:30:00Operating and maintaining the infrastructure behind Microsoft’s huge cloud is a mission critical endeavor. With over 200 cloud services, including Bing, Office 365, Skype, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, and the Windows Azure platform running in our data centers, the Global Foundation Services’ (GFS) team is a key component in delivering the highly available experience our customers expect from the cloud. To do this effectively, we’re continuously evolving our operational strategies to drive quality and efficiency up while lowering costs and increasing overall value to our customers. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/february/11/software-reigns-in-microsofts-cloud-scale-data-centers.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/february/11/software-reigns-in-microsofts-cloud-scale-data-centers.aspx2013-02-11T14:00:00When most people think about data centers, and their main ingredients, they typically assume electricity and fiber are the primary components. Granted these are high on the list, but water is also a traditionally essential component particularly when outside temperatures are high.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/january/30/microsoft-helps-city-of-quincy-reuse-water-and-recharge-the-aquifer.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/january/30/microsoft-helps-city-of-quincy-reuse-water-and-recharge-the-aquifer.aspx2013-01-30T14:00:00Asia is one of the critical regions for Microsoft as the demand for our cloud services continues to grow. To help share our latest thinking and best practices with the industry in that region, on January 16, Microsoft’s General Manager of Data Center Services, Christian Belady will speak with data center executives and managers at the Datacentres Malaysia conference in Kuala Lumpur.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/january/11/christian-belady-at-datacentres-malaysia-conference,-january-16.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2013/january/11/christian-belady-at-datacentres-malaysia-conference,-january-16.aspx2013-01-11T16:15:00Many of us spend time reflecting this time of year. At least I do. And while there are certainly times we need to evaluate, learn, and grow from the various challenges we face, at year’s end I like to celebrate the positives and remember all the hard work our extended teams contributed to make them possible. I’d like to share a list of some of the big moments from my perspective – through the lens of the support the Global Foundation Services’ team provided to manage Microsoft’s growing cloud infrastructure. These were big moments in how they influenced our business and the lasting impact they will have on the company. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/december/31/2012s-big-moments-in-the-microsoft-cloud.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/december/31/2012s-big-moments-in-the-microsoft-cloud.aspx2012-12-31T00:00:00Our colleagues on Microsoft’s environmental sustainability highlighted a study recently that helps put our roles in Global Foundation Services into perspective. The new SMARTer 2020 study concluded the potential of the IT industry to reduce annual emissions by 9.1 GtCO2e by 2020, which is a staggering seven times greater than the carbon footprint of the IT industry itself.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/december/14/smarter-2020-study-offers-further-support-for-global-carbon-reductions-potential-of-the-it-industry.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/december/14/smarter-2020-study-offers-further-support-for-global-carbon-reductions-potential-of-the-it-industry.aspx2012-12-14T16:00:00Microsoft is excited to announce its research and development of the first zero carbon data center – called the Data Plant – that will be completely independent of the grid and will recycle common waste bi-products to sustainably power cloud services. Microsoft has been committed to developing more efficient and sustainable data center infrastructures that support our customers’ growing demand for online services since 1994.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/november/19/microsoft-recycles-waste-to-provide-clean-power-for-data-center-r-and-d.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/november/19/microsoft-recycles-waste-to-provide-clean-power-for-data-center-r-and-d.aspx2012-11-19T06:00:00Microsoft Office 365 to improve EPA’s access to communications and mobility tools. Today Lockheed Martin joined Microsoft in announcing receipt of a $9.8 million contract to migrate the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to Microsoft Office 365 for Government, our new multi-tenant service that stores U.S. government data in a segregated community cloud and includes e-mail, calendars, scheduling and collaboration tools for internal and external use.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/october/31/epa-migrates-to-the-microsoft-cloud.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/october/31/epa-migrates-to-the-microsoft-cloud.aspx2012-10-31T07:30:00Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing team today announced a Cloud Security Readiness Tool that provides organizations with resources to gain insight into their current IT security state and more easily evaluate cloud services. Security remains an important consideration and as a growing number of organizations take advantage of the cloud there is a need to better understand these issues. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/october/9/microsoft-delivers-cloud-security-readiness-tool.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/october/9/microsoft-delivers-cloud-security-readiness-tool.aspx2012-10-09T17:00:00Microsoft has again been honored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for its investment in sustainable power, as discussed on a new Software Enabled Earth blog post this week. Adding to our previous recognition as a top green power purchaser by the EPA, Microsoft was recently named as one of four organizations nationwide to receive the EPA’s Green Power Partner of the Year award. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/october/7/microsoft-receives-epas-green-power-leadership-award.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/october/7/microsoft-receives-epas-green-power-leadership-award.aspx2012-10-07T14:00:00The New York Timeshas launched a series looking at the environmental and economic impacts of cloud computing. These are critical issues to all cloud users and providers, and areas in which Microsoft has dedicated substantial resources, helped create industry metrics for, and publicly shared our best practices on for many years. We may not agree with all of the conclusions that theTimesreaches, but we appreciate their desire to focus attention on these important topics. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/september/24/cloud-computing-creates-opportunities-for-greater-efficiency!.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/september/24/cloud-computing-creates-opportunities-for-greater-efficiency!.aspx2012-09-24T20:33:00From search engines like Bing and Google, to social media like Facebook and Twitter, to hosted services on Azure and other platforms, to a wide range of cloud services like Office 365, Xbox Live and Hotmail, online services are a critical part of our lives, and they will only get more prevalent and indispensable in the years ahead. Today, Microsoft delivers more than 200 online services to 1+ billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 76 markets worldwide. The data centers that provide these services require constant and reliable energy to operate, and the purchase of energy is one of a data center’s single largest expenditures. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/september/12/microsofts-energy-and-efficiency-evolution-to-power-the-cloud.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/september/12/microsofts-energy-and-efficiency-evolution-to-power-the-cloud.aspx2012-09-12T00:00:00Microsoft recognizes the tough challenges that data center and IT managers face today as they struggle to support their businesses in the face of rising costs and uncertainty about the future. But the fact is – being “lean and green” is good for both the business and the environment. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/august/9/microsofts-top-10-business-practices-for-environmentally-sustainable-data-centers.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/august/9/microsofts-top-10-business-practices-for-environmentally-sustainable-data-centers.aspx2012-08-09T07:00:00Data center operators are touting metrics like PUE to demonstrate energy efficiency leadership, but there is more to consider. Data centers exist because they can more efficiently and economically scale to house servers that host online services used by enterprises and consumers. However, we need a more holistic approach to ensure that we are minimizing the energy consumed to run these services. Performance matters, but so does the energy consumed to deliver that performance. During my past 40 years as a computer architect, I have seen processor power grow faster than processor performance.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/june/21/every-watt-matters!.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/june/21/every-watt-matters!.aspx2012-06-21T17:44:00Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services (GFS) organization delivers the global infrastructure and network for over 200 consumer and enterprise cloud services. The security, privacy and reliability expectations of the customers served by these services must be met in order to develop the level of trust necessary to support a global shift to online and cloud computing. Each of Microsoft’s online and cloud services focus on its respective customer requirements and GFS must meet the obligations that come from all of the more than 200 services because they all reside in the GFS infrastructure. While many of the capabilities must be provided at the service layer, all services have at least some level of dependency on the cloud infrastructure built, managed, and secured by GFS. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/june/22/harmonizing-cloud-security-requirements-to-enable-cloud-adoption.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/june/22/harmonizing-cloud-security-requirements-to-enable-cloud-adoption.aspx2012-06-22T10:00:00Global Foundation Services (GFS), which builds and operates Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure, has become one of the first in the industry to complete SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 audits. The SOC 2 is a new attestation report for service organizations that contains rigorous standards for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Guided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Trust Services Principles, SOC 2 reports are intended to establish trust and confidence with external customers regarding an organization’s service delivery processes and controls. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/june/20/microsoft-achieves-soc-2-type-ii-and-soc-3-for-cloud-and-online-services-infrastructure.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/june/20/microsoft-achieves-soc-2-type-ii-and-soc-3-for-cloud-and-online-services-infrastructure.aspx2012-06-20T05:15:00While at the RSA Conference in San Francisco recently, I had the opportunity to talk with Tim Rains, a director in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing team, about physical security measures and best practices deployed at our data centers. Security is among the top concerns for customers worldwide and physical security of data centers is a frequent topic. The conversation is featured in a segment on Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Cloud Fundamental Video Series and provides insights into Microsoft’s holistic approach to physical security that encompasses increasing levels of security controls from the outside perimeter of our data centers through to increased levels of controls placed closer to data assets based on the value of the assets. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/may/25/microsoft-cloud-fundamentals-video-series-available-on-data-center-security.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/may/25/microsoft-cloud-fundamentals-video-series-available-on-data-center-security.aspx2012-05-25T07:00:00Yesterday, Microsoft announced a significant step to reduce our environmental footprint by committing to achieve carbon neutrality by 2012. As the team that operates our cloud infrastructure, Global Foundation Services (GFS) will be instrumental in achieving this goal.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/may/9/making-carbon-neutrality-everyones-responsibility-at-microsoft.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/may/9/making-carbon-neutrality-everyones-responsibility-at-microsoft.aspx2012-05-09T17:10:00This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a list of the Top 50 Green Power Partnership organizations, listing Microsoft as the third largest purchaser of green power. The EPA evaluates organizations voluntarily using clean, renewable electricity from resources such as solar, wind, and low-impact hydropower. As Robert Bernard, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Strategist, details in his environmental sustainability blog post, ‘Microsoft earned this recognition by purchasing more than 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually. This is enough green power to meet 46 percent of Microsoft’s electricity use and is the annual equivalent to taking more than 150,000 passenger vehicles off the road’.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/april/27/microsoft-recognized-by-epa-as-leading-green-power-purchaser.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/april/27/microsoft-recognized-by-epa-as-leading-green-power-purchaser.aspx2012-04-27T07:25:00Question. Why do data centers need to be connected to a dirty, expensive, unreliable electrical grid? Answer. They don’t and they don’t want to be either. Integrating a data center directly into the power plant -- what we are calling our Data Plant program -- will allow a data center to pick its sustainable fuel source and shield itself from grid volatility.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/april/18/thinking-off-the-grid-independence-for-todays-data-centers-via-data-plants.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/april/18/thinking-off-the-grid-independence-for-todays-data-centers-via-data-plants.aspx2012-04-18T07:00:00When Microsoft delivered its first online service back in 1994, the cloud was still a relatively undefined, evolving space. Today, Microsoft’s cloud supports more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in 76 countries and it’s still growing. To support the increasing array of enterprise-level online services, Microsoft is investing heavily in a global cloud infrastructure that delivers security, reliability, scalability, efficiency, and performance. http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/april/16/operational-excellence-is-essential-for-a-reliable-cloud-infrastructure.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/april/16/operational-excellence-is-essential-for-a-reliable-cloud-infrastructure.aspx2012-04-16T07:00:00Last week, we announced an addition of 112,000 square feet and 13.2 MW of cloud computing power to our Dublin data center. This facility and one in Amsterdam...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/march/5/microsofts-dublin-data-center-grows-with-enhanced-efficiency-and-sustainability.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2012/march/5/microsofts-dublin-data-center-grows-with-enhanced-efficiency-and-sustainability.aspx2012-03-05T07:00:00Cross posted from the Software Enabled Earth blog Today IDG’s Computerworld named Microsoft as one of the top green IT organization as part of its annual Top Green-IT Organizations feature. Of the seventy organizations that participated in the...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/october/24/computerworld-names-microsoft-one-of-top-green-it-organizations.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/october/24/computerworld-names-microsoft-one-of-top-green-it-organizations.aspx2011-10-24T14:09:00Today we are transferring our $ multi-million water treatment plant to city of Quincy, WA By: Christian Belady, General Manager of Data Center Advanced Development Around the globe, water is becoming a scarcer and more valuable commodity, and that’s...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/october/13/microsofts-data-center-takes-fresh-approach-on-water-reuse.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/october/13/microsofts-data-center-takes-fresh-approach-on-water-reuse.aspx2011-10-13T10:00:00Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing team just launched their new blog site , where you can find an on-going discussion on trustworthy cloud computing at Microsoft and throughout the industry. The goal of this new blog is to give readers a look...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/september/15/microsofts-trustworthy-computing-blog-site-launches-today.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/september/15/microsofts-trustworthy-computing-blog-site-launches-today.aspx2011-09-15T21:08:00Today our team is releasing a video tour of four of Microsoft’s global datacenters. The video provides an inside look at how the company has invested heavily...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/july/25/microsoft-shares-video-tour-of-its-cloud-datacenters.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/july/25/microsoft-shares-video-tour-of-its-cloud-datacenters.aspx2011-07-25T23:59:00In late 2007 we were intrigued by the opportunity of deploying servers in ISO (shipping) containers. Our analysis showed that we could pack as many as 2500...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/july/20/the-cloud-infrastructure-journey-from-containers-to-modularity,-long-live-containment!.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/july/20/the-cloud-infrastructure-journey-from-containers-to-modularity,-long-live-containment!.aspx2011-07-20T15:29:00Sustainability is an interesting thing. It really means so many things to so many people but I really like the way it is defined in Wikipedia; “Sustainability is the capacity...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/july/20/the-disappearing-datacenter….aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/july/20/the-disappearing-datacenter….aspx2011-07-20T07:00:00As the demand for cloud services continues to grow, there are many companies in the datacenter industry (particularly start-ups) that have met with me to discuss...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/march/14/how-big-is-the-datacenter-construction-business.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/march/14/how-big-is-the-datacenter-construction-business.aspx2011-03-14T10:37:00On Friday, March 11th, 2011, a magnitude 8.9 earthquake hit Japan followed by a series of tsunamis, causing widespread damage. In response, Microsoft activated its Disaster Response protocol. We are...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/march/11/offering-support-to-help-victims-of-the-japanese-earthquake.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/march/11/offering-support-to-help-victims-of-the-japanese-earthquake.aspx2011-03-11T17:45:00I’m pleased to announce that we are continuing with our strong global environmental sustainability efforts in our cloud infrastructure by signing a contract to purchase renewable wind power...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/february/22/microsoft’s-cloud-gets-even-greener-in-ireland.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/february/22/microsoft’s-cloud-gets-even-greener-in-ireland.aspx2011-02-22T08:00:00Microsoft Datacenters have captured the attention of the computing industry over the last few years, fueled mainly by the tremendous growth in cloud...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/february/1/datacenter-efficiency.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/february/1/datacenter-efficiency.aspx2011-02-01T14:42:00Many of you may have already heard that I have change roles yet again in Microsoft. It was only 11 months ago that I had moved to Microsoft Research to pursue...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/january/27/the-gravitational-pull-was-too-strong.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/january/27/the-gravitational-pull-was-too-strong.aspx2011-01-27T09:00:00It’s an exciting time for Microsoft’s datacenter program. In addition to operating one of the largest global datacenter footprints in the industry, we have been super busy working...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/january/4/shedding-light-on-our-new-cloud-farms.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2011/january/4/shedding-light-on-our-new-cloud-farms.aspx2011-01-04T07:00:00I recently had the privilege to deliver a keynote speech titled “Watt Matters in Datacenters” at the Server Design Summit in Santa Clara, CA on...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/december/13/watt-matters-in-energy-efficiency!.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/december/13/watt-matters-in-energy-efficiency!.aspx2010-12-13T07:00:00Although cloud computing has emerged as a hot topic only in the past few years, Microsoft has been running some of the largest and most reliable online services...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/december/2/microsoft’s-cloud-infrastructure-receives-fisma-approval.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/december/2/microsoft’s-cloud-infrastructure-receives-fisma-approval.aspx2010-12-02T10:00:00I often hear questions that are variations of “How does Microsoft secure its cloud?” and “How does Microsoft manage compliance in the cloud...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/november/12/information-security-management-system-for-microsoft-cloud-infrastructure.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/november/12/information-security-management-system-for-microsoft-cloud-infrastructure.aspx2010-11-12T10:10:00A little over three years ago, I joined Microsoft to lead the hardware engineering team that helped decide which servers Microsoft would purchase to run its...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/august/2/holistic-approach-to-energy-efficient-datacenters.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/august/2/holistic-approach-to-energy-efficient-datacenters.aspx2010-08-02T08:00:00Last week, at the 6th Data Centres Europe 2010 Conference, our Dublin datacenter received a prestigious award for being the Best European Enterprise Datacenter Facility . The Dublin datacenter incorporates a free air cooling design and is one of the...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/july/11/dublin-datacenter-recognized-by-industry-as-the-best-european-enterprise-datacenter-facility.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/july/11/dublin-datacenter-recognized-by-industry-as-the-best-european-enterprise-datacenter-facility.aspx2010-07-11T19:32:00Security challenges exist in the cloud and applications must take these challenges into account. Our team recently collaborated with other security experts to publish...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/june/11/security-best-practices-for-developing-windows-azure-applications.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/june/11/security-best-practices-for-developing-windows-azure-applications.aspx2010-06-11T09:07:00Today, Microsoft won a prestigious Green Enterprise IT Award from the Uptime Institute for the bold IT initiatives we utilized in our recently opened datacenter in Chicago. The facility integrates new design solutions which have led to greater efficiencies...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/may/18/chicago-datacenter-wins-green-enterprise-it-award-from-uptime-institute.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/may/18/chicago-datacenter-wins-green-enterprise-it-award-from-uptime-institute.aspx2010-05-18T08:18:00The 40th anniversary of Earth Day is a very appropriate time to reflect on the aggressive sustainability objectives that Microsoft has for the Dublin datacentre and the great progress we’ve made so...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/april/20/celebrating-earth-day-from-the-emerald-isle.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/april/20/celebrating-earth-day-from-the-emerald-isle.aspx2010-04-20T14:19:00The datacenter industry is at an inflection point. We need the ability to build out “at right scale” based on capacity needs at unprecedented price points. Oh by the way - it’s also imperative...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/march/23/one-small-step-for-microsoft’s-cloud,-another-big-step-for-sustainability.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/march/23/one-small-step-for-microsoft’s-cloud,-another-big-step-for-sustainability.aspx2010-03-23T06:20:00Some folks have already heard that I am changing roles in Microsoft, but the reality is that just like the evolution with our data centers, my career is going through a...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/march/3/apples-don’t-fall-far-from-the-tree.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/march/3/apples-don’t-fall-far-from-the-tree.aspx2010-03-03T17:36:00For an interesting discussion on Windows Live Hotmail and the importance of operating and engineering the service (at huge scale), please visit the Windows Live Team’s Blog site and Arthur de Haan’s December 22, 2009 posting titled: A peek behind the...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/january/6/a-peek-behind-the-scenes-at-hotmail.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2010/january/6/a-peek-behind-the-scenes-at-hotmail.aspx2010-01-06T17:22:00This week our team was honored to receive the Datacentre Leaders Award 2009 for Innovation in the Mega Data Centre category for our...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/18/microsoft-receives-leaders-award-for-innovation-in-the-mega-data-centre.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/18/microsoft-receives-leaders-award-for-innovation-in-the-mega-data-centre.aspx2009-12-18T16:11:00I speak about server rightsizing from time to time at technology conferences, and am surprised that the basic concepts are new to some people in the...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/15/rightsizing-servers-to-achieve-cost-and-power-savings-in-the-datacenter.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/15/rightsizing-servers-to-achieve-cost-and-power-savings-in-the-datacenter.aspx2009-12-15T07:07:00The Gartner graph (included in Part 1 of this blog) also made me think about the...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/7/the-polarization-of-the-data-center-industry-(at-least-for-now)-part-2-of-2.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/7/the-polarization-of-the-data-center-industry-(at-least-for-now)-part-2-of-2.aspx2009-12-07T20:21:00I read a lot about what others are doing in the industry, and a recent post by Rich Miller of Data Center Knowledge caught my attention...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/7/the-polarization-of-the-data-center-industry-(at-least-for-now)-part-1-of-2.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/december/7/the-polarization-of-the-data-center-industry-(at-least-for-now)-part-1-of-2.aspx2009-12-07T20:01:00Microsoft has released several papers over the last couple of months on how we secure the cloud infrastructure, manage online service security, and how we developed...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/november/16/continuing-to-share-best-practices-on-security-and-privacy-for-the-cloud.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/november/16/continuing-to-share-best-practices-on-security-and-privacy-for-the-cloud.aspx2009-11-16T10:04:00Just a short post to let you know that I’ll be in Berlin for Tech-Ed EMEA from November 9 - 13 and I hope to see some of you there. I’ll be providing deeper insight into our new Dublin and Chicago datacentres, including our approaches to delivering on...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/november/4/presenting-our-datacentre-strategy-at-tech-ed-emea.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/november/4/presenting-our-datacentre-strategy-at-tech-ed-emea.aspx2009-11-04T11:41:00A few weeks back we had the privilege of hosting a data centre visit and tour for the residential neighbours of the Dublin data centre. Given the long projected lifespan of our new facility, we’re going to be neighbours for a long time, and so we felt...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/october/26/rolling-out-the-green-carpet-for-dublin’s-neighbors.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/october/26/rolling-out-the-green-carpet-for-dublin’s-neighbors.aspx2009-10-26T12:01:00Sometimes it can seem like half the battle of securing online services involves satisfying audits and otherwise demonstrating that you are complying with industry...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/october/25/introducing-the-microsoft-compliance-framework-for-online-services.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/october/25/introducing-the-microsoft-compliance-framework-for-online-services.aspx2009-10-25T22:00:00Containers Increase IT Efficiency of Microsoft’s Cloud Computing Infrastructure Microsoft’s cloud computing infrastructure takes another big step forward this week with the grand opening of our Chicago data center. At more than 700,000 square feet...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/september/28/microsoft-celebrates-chicago-data-center-grand-opening.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/september/28/microsoft-celebrates-chicago-data-center-grand-opening.aspx2009-09-28T13:14:00Environmental advances and expanded international computing delivered This is a big week for Microsoft’s online, live, and cloud services as we celebrate the grand opening of our new data center in Dublin, Ireland. The Dublin facility delivers two...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/september/23/dublin-data-center-celebrates-grand-opening.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/september/23/dublin-data-center-celebrates-grand-opening.aspx2009-09-23T21:00:00I recently participated in a Podcast for InsideHPC.com with a discussion on “the differences on going green in general IT and going green in HPC” which John West put so eloquently (go to Episode 2: IT, HPC, and where the twain shall meet at http://tinyurl...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/july/21/change-is-driven-by-competition-and-constraints.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/july/21/change-is-driven-by-competition-and-constraints.aspx2009-07-21T08:34:00I am really excited that our team is now reaching another key milestone in data center innovations. July marks the launch of our two newest mega data centers in Chicago and Dublin. Our Dublin facility will go live on July 1, followed by our Chicago facility...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/29/microsoft-brings-two-more-mega-data-centers-online-in-july.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/29/microsoft-brings-two-more-mega-data-centers-online-in-july.aspx2009-06-29T09:55:00Building an organization around exceptional leaders with the deepest industry expertise is core to how we evolve our Global Foundation Services organization. One such leader is Kevin Timmons , who joined Microsoft Global Foundation Services (GFS) today...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/22/microsoft’s-infrastructure-services-team-welcomes-kevin-timmons.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/22/microsoft’s-infrastructure-services-team-welcomes-kevin-timmons.aspx2009-06-22T10:00:00Following our posting further below we received a question about what the objectives were for our SAS 70 certification. Here's our response: The Global Foundation...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/16/response-to-question-about-sas-70-objectives.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/16/response-to-question-about-sas-70-objectives.aspx2009-06-16T19:45:00The release last week of our white paper on Securing Microsoft’s Cloud Infrastructure has generated a lot of discussion in the industry, which was our intent...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/8/securing-microsoft’s-cloud-infrastructure-part-2.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/june/8/securing-microsoft’s-cloud-infrastructure-part-2.aspx2009-06-08T12:10:00Companies considering moving their IT operations to the cloud are understandably concerned about security, privacy, reliability, and operational controls. To address these concerns and help share best practices with the rest of the industry, the Online...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/may/28/how-microsoft-is-securing-the-cloud-infrastructure-and-our-data-centers.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/may/28/how-microsoft-is-securing-the-cloud-infrastructure-and-our-data-centers.aspx2009-05-28T16:45:00When we talk with business customers about what they expect from cloud computing, two main themes emerge. On the one hand, technology business decision makers are...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/may/27/securing-microsoft’s-cloud-infrastructure.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/may/27/securing-microsoft’s-cloud-infrastructure.aspx2009-05-27T12:24:00Part # 2 (A couple of years ago, when our Data Center Services’ Research & Engineering team within Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services (GFS) group kicked off the Generation 4.0 Data Center design project, we began with the question of: What...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/may/4/designing-generation-40-data-centers-the-engineers’-approach-to-solving-business-challenges…continued.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/may/4/designing-generation-40-data-centers-the-engineers’-approach-to-solving-business-challenges…continued.aspx2009-05-04T08:01:00Part 1: A couple of years ago, when our Data Center Services’ Research & Engineering team within Microsoft’s Global Foundation Services (GFS) group kicked off the Generation 4.0 Data Center design project, we began with the question of: What...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/29/designing-generation-40-data-centers-the-engineers’-approach-to-solving-business-challenges.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/29/designing-generation-40-data-centers-the-engineers’-approach-to-solving-business-challenges.aspx2009-04-29T07:00:00How to Reduce Energy Consumption, Waste, and Costs while Increasing Efficiency and ROI What does environmental sustainability mean to data centers, industry operators, and IT businesses? A lot of managers in these areas may barely notice the Earth...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/21/microsoft’s-top-10-business-practices-for-environmentally-sustainable-data-centers-(celebrating-earth-day).aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/21/microsoft’s-top-10-business-practices-for-environmentally-sustainable-data-centers-(celebrating-earth-day).aspx2009-04-21T03:00:00This post represents a bittersweet moment in my career. As you have no doubt heard I am moving on from Microsoft to take on an exciting senior role at Digital Realty Trust. I will save the specifics on my new role and its mission for a future post on...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/13/farmers,-so-long….aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/13/farmers,-so-long….aspx2009-04-13T13:56:00As you may have already read, Mike Manos will be leaving Microsoft in early May to return to Chicago and take a leadership position with Digital Realty Trust. Those of you who read this blog regularly, or who followed his Loose...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/9/changes-at-microsoft.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/april/9/changes-at-microsoft.aspx2009-04-09T19:08:00By Christian Belady What’s the upside to a downturn? As the economy shrinks and budget and program cutting expands throughout our industry, how can data center facility and IT infrastructure teams identify opportunities that create value for their...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/february/4/what’s-the-upside-to-a-downturn-recessions-heighten-focus-on-efficiency!.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/february/4/what’s-the-upside-to-a-downturn-recessions-heighten-focus-on-efficiency!.aspx2009-02-04T13:01:00Sorry folks, I am attending the 2009 ASHRAE Conference in Chicago this week and need to catch up on finalizing my blog. I will post it next week. Thanks for your patience.http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/january/27/look-for-a-new-post-next-week.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/january/27/look-for-a-new-post-next-week.aspx2009-01-27T11:33:00By Arne Josefsberg and Mike Manos, January 23, 2009 As you might have read in Microsoft’s Q2 FY09 earnings release yesterday, the company has announced cost management initiatives due to the global economic downturn. And with the earnings release back...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/january/23/building-a-better-mousetrap-aka-optimizing-for-maximum-efficiency-in-an-economic-downturn.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2009/january/23/building-a-better-mousetrap-aka-optimizing-for-maximum-efficiency-in-an-economic-downturn.aspx2009-01-23T10:31:00Christian Belady (Our Principal Power and Cooling Architect) and David Gauthier (One of our Data Center Engineering teams) put a post up answering some of the many questions we have been getting around our Generation 4 Approach. Its some good additional primer information and addresses some of the recurring themes we are getting in mail...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/december/9/generation-4-–-a-deeper-look.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/december/9/generation-4-–-a-deeper-look.aspx2008-12-09T14:13:00Microsoft's Generation 4 Data Center Vision - the Architects' Perspective By David Gauthier, Data Center Infrastructure Architect and Christian Belady, Principal Power and Cooling Architect, Microsoft Corp. On Tuesday, December 2, our Global Foundation...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/december/8/microsofts-generation-4-data-center-vision-the-architects-perspective.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/december/8/microsofts-generation-4-data-center-vision-the-architects-perspective.aspx2008-12-08T06:44:00Data Centers are a hot topic these days. No matter where you look, this once obscure aspect of infrastructure is getting a lot of attention. For years, there have been cost pressures on IT operations and this, when the need for modern capacity is greater than ever, has thrust data centers into the spotlight...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/december/2/our-vision-for-generation-4-modular-data-centers-–-one-way-of-getting-it-just-right-.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/december/2/our-vision-for-generation-4-modular-data-centers-–-one-way-of-getting-it-just-right-.aspx2008-12-02T02:13:00I was personally greatly disappointed with the news coming out of last week that the Uptime Institute had branded Microsoft and Google as the enemy to traditional data center operators. To be truthful, I did not give the reports much credit especially given our long and successful relationship with that organization. However, when our representatives to the event returned and corroborated the story, I have to admit that I felt more than a bit let down...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/november/3/in-disappointment,-there-is-opportunity-.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/november/3/in-disappointment,-there-is-opportunity-.aspx2008-11-03T10:52:00With modern conventional thinking and untold management consultants coaching people to think outside the box, I find it humorous that we have actually physically manifested an “Out of the Box Paradox” in Chicago...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/october/20/out-of-the-box-paradox-–-manifested-(aka-chicago-area-data-center-begins-its-journey).aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/october/20/out-of-the-box-paradox-–-manifested-(aka-chicago-area-data-center-begins-its-journey).aspx2008-10-20T11:06:00Matt Stansbury over at Data Center Facilities Pro posted an interesting post regarding a panel containing Uptime’s Ken Brill. The note warns folks on the use of PUE as a benchmarking standard between data centers. I can’t say I really disagree with what he says. In my mind, self measurement is always an intensely personal thing...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/august/15/datacenter-think-tanks-sheepish-on-weightloss.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/august/15/datacenter-think-tanks-sheepish-on-weightloss.aspx2008-08-15T11:15:00This week I had the honor and privilege of being a guest at the US Army War College as part of their 2008 Strategy Implementation Seminar. The program focuses on strategy and leadership to further prepare the graduates for their future roles as leaders of the United States Military. ..http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/25/reflections-on-my-visit-to-the-us-army-war-college.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/25/reflections-on-my-visit-to-the-us-army-war-college.aspx2008-07-25T11:21:00I recently did a panel at TechEd in Orlando. While there Lewis Curtis caught me for a moment to shoot some questions at me around Data Center leadership...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/24/data-center-leadership-video-posted-at-teched.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/24/data-center-leadership-video-posted-at-teched.aspx2008-07-24T11:28:00There are times when two concepts merge and the result makes something better than the whole. It is not unlike the old television commercial where two people collide into each other. One eating a chocolate bar, the other a vat of peanut butter...http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/18/green-grid-data-center-indicator-plus-cade-=-something-useful!.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/18/green-grid-data-center-indicator-plus-cade-=-something-useful!.aspx2008-07-18T11:36:00I guess I should start out this post with the pre-emptive statement that as a key performance indicator I support the use of CADE or metrics that tie both facilities and IT into a single metric. In fact we have used a similar metric internally at Microsoft. But the fact is at the end of the day I believe that any such metrics must be useful and actionable....http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/18/struggling-with-cade,-mckinsey-uptime-metric-(re-post).aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/18/struggling-with-cade,-mckinsey-uptime-metric-(re-post).aspx2008-07-18T11:05:00I have a pretty incredible job. My current role has me leading Microsoft’s efforts at designing, constructing, and operating its world-wide Data Center infrastructure in support of our cloud services initiatives, or more correctly “Software + Services”. There aren’t many people around tasked with this kind of challenge, in fact the number of companies attempting this challenge can be counted on one or two hands....http://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/16/do-not-tighten-bolts.aspxhttp://www.globalfoundationservices.com/posts/2008/july/16/do-not-tighten-bolts.aspx2008-07-16T11:51:00