1. Microsoft announced a number of new updates to its cloud product line at its Ignite Conference in Orlando. The company has released a new version of Windows Virtual Desktop that will let users run Windows 10 in the cloud. Microsoft also announced a special-purpose artificial intelligence box, named Azure Data Box Edge, just for cloud computing customers. This tool will carry the same type of chips that Microsoft uses in its own cloud servers. Microsoft also announced several security initiatives designed to entice enterprise users to Azure and away from Amazon and Google. –TECH CRUNCH

2. The White House has released a new cloud computing strategy for the federal government for public comment. The government’s Cloud Smart strategy updates the 2010 Cloud First strategy developed during the Obama administration. The strategy focuses on three considerations for federal agencies that look to the move to the cloud: procurement, workforce, and security. While federal agencies have been pushed to move to the cloud, many have taken a slower approach because of security concerns and limited funds. –FEDERAL TIMES

3. Joseph Tucci, the former CEO of EMC, has started a holding company, GTY Technology Holdings, designed to make cloud-related acquisition. Tucci said in a recent interview that he plans to buy and roll up digital companies that can improve technology in state and local government offices. He said that a small percentage of applications in state and local governments run on the cloud with many still using spreadsheets. “It is pretty arcane,” Tucci said. –CNBC

1. Adobe will acquire Marketo, a leading cloud platform for the business-to-business market, for $4.75 billion. The deal is the largest in Adobe’s history and puts the company in a better position to compete with Oracle and Salesforce. When the deal is complete, Adobe will add Marketo’s engagement platform to its “Experience Cloud,” giving Adobe a set of solutions to help business-to-business marketing customers more access to customer data. –FIRST POST

2. Microsoft will change the way it reports its cloud computing numbers. The company announced that it will include the commercial portion of LinkedIn’s business in its Commercial Cloud metrics. The company will also restate its 2018 fiscal year numbers to include LinkedIn’s commercial business. Since Microsoft acquired LinkedIn in 2016, it has kept the unit’s revenue separate from other business sectors. –ZDNET

4. Alibaba has launched ET City Brain 2.0 in Hangzhou. The system is a cloud-powered and AI-driven urban traffic management platform that aims to boost the city’s efficiency. The first version of ET City Brain has already been in use in Hangzhou for the past two years, but more for testing. The system manages traffic over 420 square kilometers, including more than 1,300 traffic lights. –ALIZILA

3. The Indiana Pacers have partnered with Salesforce to improve the fan experience of games. The team will use the technology to interact with fans during games, looking to find out and work in real-time to fix in-game issues posted by fans on Twitter. The system will serve as a backbone of customer engagement to ensure issues get handled in a timely manner. –INSIDE INDIANA BUSINESS

4. Alibaba Cloud will now offer VMware’s hybrid cloud software stack on its cloud infrastructure. It is the latest announcement in a busy week for Alibaba, which is in the midst of the company’s annual developer conference in China. The partnership makes Alibaba Cloud the first Cloud Verified Partner in China for VMware. –SDX CENTRAL

1. Security researcher Remco Vermeulen claims to have found a security flaw in Western Digital’s My Cloud devices. The flaw reportedly allows hackers to bypass the admin password on the drive to gain complete control over user data. The bug was “easy” to exploit, Vermeulen said, and was remotely exploitable if the device was connected to the internet. Another research team independently found the flaw as well, which went unpatched for more than a year. –TECH CRUNCH

2. Intel and Alibaba have entered into a new cloud partnership. The two have created the Joint Edge Computing Platform, a new open architecture that leverages machine learning techniques. It is seen as a marriage of Intel’s software, hardware, and AI technologies and Alibaba’s cloud and IoT products. The cloud effort is just one of a number of new partnerships between the two companies across several technology sectors. –VENTURE BEAT

3. Despite lower than expected cloud sales last quarter, Oracle’s Larry Ellison believes there is a bright future for the company’s two flagship cloud products. Ellison said during the company’s earnings call that Oracle’s Cloud-based ERP and Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud Service are poised to help the company gain share in the cloud infrastructure segment “very, very rapidly.” –FORBES

4. Google has announced a new security feature that automatically scans container images built using Cloud Build for OS package vulnerabilities. The feature is currently in beta. The images will be scanned for vulnerabilities when they are pushed to Container Registry once the Container Analysis API is enabled. The feature should help prevent the deployment of vulnerable images and reduce time spent dealing with security issues downstream. –ZDNET

1. Olympic Broadcasting Services has partnered with Alibaba to offer cloud-based technical solutions for live broadcasts of the 2020 Olympic Games. The two will provide visual and audio content to all rights-holding broadcasters through a new cloud platform. They will also pair with Intel to improve delivery of 3-D and virtual reality content over Alibaba’s cloud as well. –VARIETY

2. Microsoft has opened Azure availability zones in the western United States and Northern Europe. An availability zone is a unique physical location in each Azure Region with one or more data centers equipped with independent power, cooling and networking. Microsoft also announced that Immutable Storage is now generally available in all public regions. This tool allows administrators to create Blobs, generally massive amounts of unstructured data such as documents. –THE REGISTER