Windows Azure unmasked

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If you’re building applications on Azure you’ll be charged on a usage basis – and also for different tiers of SLA. There’ll also be additional pricing for applications that work with SharePoint Services and Dynamics CRM Services. ISVs will be able to take advantage of Windows Azure to build their own software-as-a-service applications.

“This is Microsoft offering a platform as a service, letting developers work on a cost-effective, multi-tenancy platform with global reach,” said Rogers.

He argues that there are various scenarios where businesses will want to use Windows Azure. It’s firstly a way to take existing services into the cloud, as well as a way of deploying new services, and finally as a tool for composing and managing composite SOA applications. Developers will find it a familiar environment, as they can use familiar techniques – a form of .NET container in the cloud.

There’s one big problem facing anyone developing cloud services: making sure your users are who they say they are. Windows Azure builds on Microsoft’s existing identity framework to provide token-less claims based access control model, which can work with many different identity providers and services, using open standards.

You don't need to develop for the whole of the Azure platform at any one time, as there are dedicated SDKs for each of the front-end service platforms. You can download the SDKs for Visual Studio, and start working locally, just to find out what works for you and for your business. As Microsoft rolls out more of Windows Azure over the next year it’s going to be interesting to see just who uses it, and how.

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