Although he's presided over the expansion of Microsoft's server business, Bob Muglia is ready to help companies move away from that same server software.
Well, he is at least as long as those businesses are moving to the Microsoft cloud-based services that are replicating the software that, at one point, ran only in a company's own data center. Muglia
(Credit: Microsoft) In an interview, the president of Microsoft's server and tools business talked about the shifts to the cloud, Google's role in the enterprise and the future of Microsoft's server products, including the next version of Windows Server, which he said will be a major update.
Here's an edited transcript of our conversation.
You mentioned that Microsoft is pretty much doing everything for the cloud first. Does that mean that over time on-premises customers are actually going to be getting technology that's somewhat older, for better and for worse?
Muglia: Well, I think the way to look at it is that we're able to use the cloud to do a lot more of our early validation than we've ever been able to do before. You know, you see us with labs, you know, Live Labs and things like that, being able to take ideas and put them up in the cloud. More and more what you'll see is the beginning of our beta processes will be run for new things up in the cloud, because our ability to get feedback from customers is so much more rapid if customers don't have to deploy the infrastructure themselves. So, there's a set of things that we can do, which will help to reduce our cycle time, and bringing new features to market.
Muglia: Well, I think the way to look at it is that we're able to use the cloud to do a lot more of our early validation than we've ever been able to do before. You know, you see us with labs, you know, Live Labs and things like that, being able to take ideas and put them up in the cloud. More and more what you'll see is the beginning of our beta processes will be run for new things up in the cloud, because our ability to get feedback from customers is so much more rapid if customers don't have to deploy the infrastructure themselves. So, there's a set of things that we can do, which will help to reduce our cycle time, and bringing new features to market.
I mean, in general our products run on two- to three-year cycles, and it very often takes customers at least that long to deploy them. I actually think the cloud will expedite customers' ability to get our software and our innovations, even if they run it themselves, because it will shorten our cycle for delivery, and also I think customers as they see these things available in the cloud will have a better understanding of the advantages they can get if they deploy it themselves. So, I actually don't think it slows down things at all for our customers that choose on-premises.
How much more will the next version of Windows Server resemble Azure?
Muglia: We're not talking a lot about the next version of Windows Server today, but I think what you'll see is... that the learnings that we have from Windows Azure will be pulled back into Windows Server, just like there's features in Windows Server and SQL Server that are being pulled up into Windows Azure and SQL Azure. (Windows Server head) Bill Laing works in (Azure development chief) Amitabh (Srivastava)'s group, and those guys are talking every day. So, there's a lot of cross-pollination.
Muglia: We're not talking a lot about the next version of Windows Server today, but I think what you'll see is... that the learnings that we have from Windows Azure will be pulled back into Windows Server, just like there's features in Windows Server and SQL Server that are being pulled up into Windows Azure and SQL Azure. (Windows Server head) Bill Laing works in (Azure development chief) Amitabh (Srivastava)'s group, and those guys are talking every day. So, there's a lot of cross-pollination.
We hear a lot about this term, private cloud, meaning taking a cloud-like infrastructure and deploying it in one's own data center, taking the idea of a public cloud and having a completely private version of that replicated in someone else's data center. I guess I'm kind of curious what are you hearing the most demand from customers for when they say private cloud.
Muglia: Well, you know, one of the things we've learned is that customers have different views of the term private cloud. And so what we've been talking about is customers' ability to build their own clouds in their own data centers or for partners to be able to build clouds.
Muglia: Well, you know, one of the things we've learned is that customers have different views of the term private cloud. And so what we've been talking about is customers' ability to build their own clouds in their own data centers or for partners to be able to build clouds.
But fundamentally we do see a great deal of demand for that, because customers have some very reasonable concerns about their ability to control the environment, and they often have security concerns. So, for many circumstances having a customer build their own cloud is what absolutely makes sense for them, and we're supplying them with the tools and products they need in the form of Windows Server, System Center, and SQL Server to build their own clouds.
Is the current version of Windows Server, is that well enough set up to do the private cloud or do you need something that more closely resembles Azure but can be used on-premises?
Muglia: Well, remember Windows Azure is designed to run at a scale of tens of thousands of servers. Really no customer is running at that kind of scale. So, there's definitely capabilities in Azure that are interesting, but frankly they go beyond what most customers -- really what all customers would need to build their own cloud and their own data center.
Muglia: Well, remember Windows Azure is designed to run at a scale of tens of thousands of servers. Really no customer is running at that kind of scale. So, there's definitely capabilities in Azure that are interesting, but frankly they go beyond what most customers -- really what all customers would need to build their own cloud and their own data center.
Windows Server and Hyper-V are very much structured to be able to build your own private cloud, absolutely. The area where we see probably the greatest set of evolution happening is in System Center, and let me give you some examples. We will evolve System Center to have capabilities like self-service so that departments, business units within an organization can provision their own instances of the cloud to really virtual machines within the cloud to run their own applications.
I know there's not too much you're going to say about the next version of Windows Server, but is it fair to say you guys are still on a major release, minor release cycle? So, that means we should be due for a major release the next time?
Muglia: There's no question we're due for a major release of Windows Server, no question.
Muglia: There's no question we're due for a major release of Windows Server, no question.
Anything more you can say about it in terms of timing or features?
Muglia: No. The only thing I'll say is just like with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, we worked on a common schedule and a common thing with our friends in the client team, and we're still doing that.
Muglia: No. The only thing I'll say is just like with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7, we worked on a common schedule and a common thing with our friends in the client team, and we're still doing that.
In your keynote you talked about both the responsibilities and the opportunities of the cloud. Certainly there's plenty of vendors out there that are bringing a lot of the capabilities of the cloud. How do you feel that Google and others are doing on the responsibility side of that equation?
Muglia: I think they have some things to learn about being an enterprise player. Google has clearly demonstrated a set of behaviors that have led enterprise customers to have concerns about, for example, will Google keep and maintain the privacy of information, of data that's put inside the Google cloud? I mean, Google has been very, they've been all over the map on that one.
Muglia: I think they have some things to learn about being an enterprise player. Google has clearly demonstrated a set of behaviors that have led enterprise customers to have concerns about, for example, will Google keep and maintain the privacy of information, of data that's put inside the Google cloud? I mean, Google has been very, they've been all over the map on that one.
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