What is the Windows Azure platform - A quick start for beginners?

Microsoft has announced a new cloud-based version of Windows called Azure. Windows Azure allows you to build, host and scale applications in Microsoft datacenters. They require no up-front expenses, no long term commitment, and enable you to pay only for the resources you use. Azure applications run on Microsoft's data centers instead of in-house servers. There is nothing new in hosting applications on the internet, but what's interesting is what Microsoft is doing to make such applications easier to create and, crucially, to scale smoothly at times of peak demand.

Azure service will be pay-as-you-go computing, with Azure bringing new virtual servers online as needed. Azure also provides essential services such as database and document storage. The end user will not notice any difference, since Azure applications will look like any other web or Windows application, but companies benefit by off-loading investment in computer hardware and management to Microsoft, and paying only for the computing power they actually use.

This is not the first cloud computing platform. Amazon is a pioneer in the field, with services such as the Elastic Compute Cloud, which hosts virtual computers running Linux or Windows, the SimpleDB cloud database and the Simple Storage Service, which stores files online. Google has its App Engine, which is like Azure in that it hosts applications, along with a data store called BigTable. Salesforce.com has an online application platform called Force.com, which it calls Platform as a service.

Microsoft's advantage is that Azure is familiar territory for developers who already know Windows. Azure uses the .NET Framework for programming and hooks into other Microsoft services like Exchange for email and SharePoint for document collaboration. Azure also allows companies to extend their existing user directory to Azure web applications.

Microsoft expects organizations to adopt Azure gradually, integrating it with their existing systems. It is a hybrid approach that will be attractive to organizations wary of trusting everything to the cloud.

That said, Microsoft also has challenges in selling Azure. It is perceived as a Windows company, not a web company, and its current business model depends on selling software licenses for on-premise servers, supported by armies of partners with skills in installing and maintaining these systems. If Azure succeeds, the need for all these partners will diminish, so Microsoft is disrupting its own community.

Companies like Google and Amazon do not carry all this baggage. Another snag with cloud services is that they sometimes fail, with potentially severe consequences for business. "We wouldn't say we'd never have downtime," admits Mark Rogers, director of cloud services. Even in the preview phase, the industry will be watching Azure to see whether that promised resilience will be delivered.

Important Links:

1.      1.  Learn More about Windows Azure
2. Create an Windows Azure Application
3. Sample Windows Azure Lab Examples
4. Download Windows Azure Training Kit
5. Windows Azure Tools
6. Deploying Windows Azure Application On Cloud
7. Sample Lab examples on Deploying Windows Azure Application On Cloud
8. Windows Code Examples.