Azure is Microsoft’s cloud computing operating system. It enables the development of cloud based applications using Azure’s Services platform. Hosting on Azure comes at $0.12/hour while storage is at $0.15GB per month. The company claims that over 3000 apps have been developed on the platform.

Microsoft has finally embraced the cloud it appears, exemplified by a recent talk by Ballmer http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/steve/2010/03-04Cloud.mspx. A rather late entrant to this area, it will be interesting to watch how Microsoft differentiates itself against established offerings such as Amazon Web Services and Google Apps Platform.

One thing is clear, though. Cloud Computing definitely promises to be the next big thing. What was considered to be more hype than substance not so long ago is now becoming a part of enterprise strategy.

Would welcome comments and experiences on use of cloud computing.

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