Microsoft

Overview

When Ray Ozzie announced Microsoft's formal entry into cloud computing with the Azure Services Platform he stated, "We have introduced a game-changing set of technologies that will bring new opportunities to Web developers and business developers alike. The Azure Services Platform...gives our customers the power of choice to deploy applications in cloud-based Internet services or through on-premises servers, or to combine them in any way that makes the most sense for the needs of their business." With that bold statement, Microsoft was off and running with their cloud computing platform.

The Azure Services Platform (Azure) is an application platform, or Platform as a Service (PaaS), hosted in the Microsoft data centers that provides an operating system and a set of developer services used to build new applications to run in the cloud or enhance existing applications with cloud-based capabilities. All services run on top of Windows Azure, "a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting and service management environment for the Azure Services Platform."

Azure includes five cloud services ready for use by customers and developers -- Windows Live, SQL Services, .Net Services, Sharepoint Services, and Dymanic CRM Services. Azure is designed to support both Microsoft and non-Microsoft languages and environments, allowing Java and Ruby developers to integrate with .Net Services.

Value Proposition

Azure benefits developers and businesses: developers get started quickly with their existing skills and gain control of their environments. They can specify their own performance standards while paying only for the resources needed for their applications. Businesses benefit from improved flexibility, control, and lower cost of ownership. Capacity planning can be dramatically improved, while paying only for the services used reducing the capital costs associated with purchasing hardware and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, infrastructure management can be greatly simplified and existing investments can be revitalized through integration with Azure.

Products & Services

• Windows Azure is a cloud services operating system that serves as the development, hosting, and management environment for Azure. Commercial availability is targeted for the end of 2009. .Net Services are a set of Microsoft-hosted, highly-scalable, developer-oriented services that provide the key building blocks required by many cloud-based and cloud-aware applications. SQL Services extends the capabilities of SQL Server to the cloud to enable a wide range of database services and reporting. Windows Live Services provide a consistent way for users to store, share and synchronize documents, photos, files and information across their PCs, phones, PC applications and Web sites. Sharepoint Services, a future offering, will provide a scalable, manageable platform for collaboration and the development of Web-based business applications. Dymanic CRM Services, a future offering, will provide developers with the building blocks for creating their own applications through the functionality of Dynamic CRM.