If anyone doubts Microsoft’s commitment to cloud computing, today’s announcement of the discontinuation of Windows Essential Business Server (EBS), should give you a hint. The cloud is moving quickly over the horizon. And Microsoft’s Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) is the cloud offering to replace EBS.

The EBS Team Blog (http://blogs.technet.com/essentialbusinessserver/default.aspx) points to the cloud and BPOS among the factors driving the decision to drop EBS, saying “midsize businesses are rapidly turning to technologies such as management, virtualization and cloud computing as a means to cut costs, improve efficiency, and increase competitiveness. These capabilities are already available through offerings, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft System Center and the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS).”

Like EBS, BPOS is a packaged offering aimed at helping organizations deploy complex technology more easily. As I noted in a recent article for TechNet Magazine (“Clearing the Fog around Cloud Computing,” http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ff394351.aspx):

Microsoft has been packaging and licensing suites composed of its server and management products for years. Some server licensing packages you might be familiar with are Small Business Server (SBS), Essential Business Server (EBS), and—going way back in time—BackOffice Server. With such packages in mind, you can think of BPOS as just another suite of Microsoft products—the difference being that the BPOS products you access in your organization are physically located in Microsoft datacenters instead of in your facility.

It has taken many years for Microsoft to fully embrace non-packaged software solutions out of fear that this approach would undermine Microsoft’s core products. However, the future is now blazingly clear, and Microsoft has finally decided to change with the weather.

Microsoft will continue to support EBS customers during the usual five-year support lifecycle (see http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle for details). In addition, Microsoft has special offerings for customers who want to transition to the component products of the EBS suite (see http://www.microsoft.com/ebs). For answers to commonly asked questions, an EBS FAQ is available at http://www.microsoft.com/ebs/en/us/faq.aspx.

Not coincidentally, Microsoft today also launched a new Web site at www.microsoft.com/cloud, which opens with a Steve Ballmer video. Ballmer extols the value of the cloud and how it is "redefining" Microsoft's direction by "creating opportunity for businesses and their customers [and]enabling new and meaningful ways to communicate."

What are leading IT professionals doing to ensure success in their careers, and what advice do they have for you in the wake of the economic downturn? Those are the questions I've been asking in my new series of 6 podcasts for the Microsoft Thrive site (http://technetevents.com/click/thrive/Default.aspx?p=Community).

The first podcast is now live, and it was fascinating to talk with Patrick McDermott, the IT Director for a school district in Utah. His situation is uniquely challenging. Half of the school district lies within the Navajo Nation, and two-thirds of the students qulaify for free or reduced lunch programs. The district is by far the largest employer in the county. It has 12 small schools with a total student population of 3,000. It's a 5-hour drive to travel from the northern-most school to the southern-most.

Addressing the IT situation since the economic downturn, Patrick told me, "I am very familiar with operating in an environment that continually demands more from less. From my perspective, that's what operating in the real world is all about. I don't have a team of scores of developers awaiting their next instructions. I don't have unlimited budgets. I don't operate in a sterile environment where all of our data comes from the Northwind database. Instead, I have to use IT to help improve the education of students in ways that maximize our limited resources."

And Patrick is doing some amazing things with technology on a small budget. Download the podcast and find out about his innovations.

Here's a sneak peek at upcoming topics and IT pros I'll be talking to for this series of podcasts.

Michael Dragone, an IT manager for a title insurance company discusses how the economic situation affected his company and his IT department and how he and his team have found ways to raise the value of IT's contribution to the business, keep up their own skills, and find ways to grow as the economy starts to improve.

Sean Deuby, senior analyst for Platform Vision, talks about maintaining your personal "brand" and taking advantage of opportunities to network with your peers and IT experts to keep yourself marketable and valuable to your company.

Orin Thomas, a well-know book author, trainer, and author of numerous Microsoft certifications exams, talks about the role of training and certification, and well as the importance of being open to new skills and technology trends.

Dan Holme discusses how his consulting clients from very large, multinational corporations are evolving their approach to technology and the importance of cloud solutions such as Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS). But the most timely aspect of the conversation with Dan involves the sporting festivities in Vancouver and his role as Microsoft Technology Consultant for that event and the major television network that is broadcasting the competitions.

Just in time to get ready for the release of SQL Server 2010, Brian Lawton will discuss the database market, Business Intelligence (BI), and the value of database skills.

Please join me for all of this series. And let me know about your thoughts on how to Thrive in your career.