Windows Home Server is one example of a Microsoft technology that is taking services away from the cloud. Following the pseudo-retirement of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, the Redmond company, with Ray Ozzie at the helm in his new role of chief software architect, is heading toward a Software plus Services business approach.

 

This is the software giant’s way of marrying both the desktop, on which it remains anchored, and the cloud. With Windows Home Server, Microsoft is making available a fraction of cloud services right in the home. In this context, the product launched at the end of 2007 will have a consistent presence at the upcoming Professional Developers Conference 2008 in Los Angeles at the end of October.

 

"Not every service in "software services" will run in an Internet datacenter. The Windows Home Server team believes that some services should "stay at home." Want an example? How about a service that controls the energy usage in your home-- turning off the lights when no one’s around or adjusting the thermostat during peak demand hours? You probably don’t want to run that service on the Internet! But you do want it connected to the Internet - so it’s programmable remotely when you’re away and always up-to-date on energy prices," reads a fragment from a PDC2008 announcement.

 

While only four sessions have been confirmed for Windows 7 until this point in time, the agenda for Windows Home Server is a tad more luxuriant, sporting no less than 12 items. Two of the sessions will be focused on how Windows Home Server can act as a platform for Connected Home Solutions.

 

"We posit that the ideal solution is a Windows Home Server, the stay-at-home server platform from Microsoft for stay-at-home services. Why? Because it’s a robust, connected, always-available platform enabling developers to build the next generation of services that will turn ordinary homes into Connected Homes," the company added in the announcement for Windows Home Server.

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