A number of major cloud updates crossed the wire this week, starting with the update to the Dell Boomi cloud-based integration platform.

Boomi lets developers connect apps with data and other apps for less than what they would have to invest in more traditional alternative services. The 12 Summer edition introduces a number of new features to the mix in order to sweeten the deal even more, including a Hadoop connector and more automation. What’s also rolling out is a crowdsourcing tool called Assure that allows companies to share their integration processes with Boomi so that the platform can be tailored to more use cases with future releases.

Microsoft also had some news this week. The software giant finally announced that it’s adding VM support to its popular Azure PaaS:  support for the virtual hard disk (VHD) open standard allows users to migrate Microsoft Server and Linux images, as well as workloads, between the cloud service and on-premise infrastructure.

The last enterprise in this recap is the Verizon-owned Terremark, a service provider that has made the decision to expand to the cloud.  With the help of hardware from EMC and its existing global channel, the company is building a new cloud services portfolio from the ground up.

Over in the consumer space, cloud gaming is in the highlight.  Gaikai partnered up with gaming network Machinima to combine the latter’s content with its hosted platform. Machinima’s videos are viewed about 1.6 billion times a month and the agreement will undoubtedly put it in an even stronger position – gamers will be able to access clips with a minimal effort. Competitor OnLive has identified the opportunity in offering greater convenience (while growing its audience at the same time) earlier, but the competition is still strong.