Microsoft Lays It On The Line (Sort Of) With Azure Platform Calculator

Things will really heat up this week during Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC). The Windows Azure Platform, the company's cloud computing platform as a service (PaaS) offering, will be front and center. To push the benefits and cost savings of moving to the Azure Platform the company developed a TCO and ROI Calculator.

Just follow the steps and wait for the calculator to work its magic and you'll be shown "estimated line item costs for an accurate TCO and a 1 to 3 year ROI analysis for you or your company or organization".

Of course, there are some caveats: it's no guarantee and your mileage may vary. But, that's to be expected, especially in today's legal environment. Still, it's good to see Microsoft trying to put its money where its mouth is. The Azure Platform is a big step for the company and its huge developer base. Keeping the base happy and growing it will be a top priority as they move more and more into cloud computing.