CIOL.com: Itron picks Microsoft Azure for its cloud platform

Microsoft Azure is the preferred cloud platform for Itron Inc. This cloud computing infrastructure platform will provide a secure, reliable and cost-effective option for hosting Itron Analytics, while harnessing the value of data generated by utility smart grid and smart distribution investments. With Microsoft Azure, Itron adds that it will have access to highly-available, scalable and durable cloud storage, backup and recovery capabilities.

NDTV: Microsoft launches Climatology App

Microsoft Research India has launched a new app called Climatology for both Android and Windows Phone users via their respective app stores. Instead of providing current temperature and a forecast for the next few days like most weather apps, as the name suggests, the Climatology app informs people about the weather conditions of different places at different time periods of the year. WPCentral notes that the app delivers the climate information through Research’s FetchClimate project.

Silicon India: Indian mathematician named joint winner of George Polya Prize

Nikhil Srivastava, an Indian mathematician from Microsoft Research India, became the first joint winner of the prestigious 2014 George Polya Prize for finding a solution to a problem that had eluded mathematicians for more than half a century. Srivastava, who has a PhD from Yale University and is presently based in Bangalore, is part of a three member team which found a solution to the Kadison-Singer conjecture that pertains to the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics.

Techshout.com: BBM for Windows Phone is here

The Windows Phone version of Blackberry’s messaging service—BBM is now ready for public testing, having entered the open beta phase. Interested users can download the test version, which supports group chats of up to 50 contacts and includes photo album sharing features.

Bloomberg: Satya Nadella outlines vision with more overhauls

Satya Nadella unveiled his first vision statement as chief executive officer, saying that more engineering and organizational changes are needed as he attempts to turn around the software maker. “We’ve got to back it up with products people love and that’s what we’re galvanizing to do,” Nadella said in an interview.

CRN.in: How to monetize opportunities in SMB?

With the SMB market estimated to witness huge growth, IT sector spending is set to cross Rs 1,00,000 crore by 2018. Meetul Patel, General Manager, SMSP, Microsoft India, said, “SMBs represent a significant part of India’s economy. Their contribution to the country’s growth can further increase through greater adoption of technology. Microsoft is proud to work with associations like NASSCOM to help SMBs unleash their potential through emerging technologies like cloud services.”