Windows Azure

I’ve recently discovered Microsoft’s Windows Azure and find it a fantastic idea. The service offers a platform to build, test and host applications on the internet and allows you to do so on a pay-as-you-go basis. Azure allows you to execute applications in 3 ways – on virtual machines, as a website or as a cloud service. Azure enables you to create the platform you need in an instant, for example, creating a virtual machine requires little more than a few clicks to select the specifications you require and you have a machine ready to use. From there, the possibilities are endless and I think Azure will be an extremely useful tool. The best way to see if Azure can work for you is to compare the in house costs of a service you provide and then use the Azure calculator to find out the money you can save by using the cloud based platform to host it. Check out what Azure is capable of! http://www.windowsazure.com/en-us/home/features/overview/