There was big news this week with the Comcast-Time Warner merger. In case you missed the furor as it was happening, Matthew Ingram explains everything you need to know about the $45 billion deal and why bringing the two largest cable providers together could change TV forever . Meanwhile, on Gigaom Research, our analysts were focused on another industry giant (Microsoft), a new definition for the HR department, and more.

Note: Gigaom Research is a subscription-based research service offering in-depth, timely analysis of developing trends and technologies. Visit research.gigaom.com to learn more about it.

Cloud: Microsoft Windows Azure: strengths and weaknesses
Janakiram MSV

According to analyst Janakiram MSV, just when everyone thought that Microsoft lost the cloud game, the company bounced back to become a formidable player. In this report, he reviews the positive drivers that allow Microsoft to catch up to AWS and the opportunities for improvement including lack…