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The cloud helps you easily develop and deliver applications built using the tools and languages that you already know. It will help you create and host applications that scale up or down to meet demand from customers and the business. By taking advantage of cloud-based resources like Windows Azure, your IT organization can focus on its business instead of its IT infrastructure.
Richard Hein
Site Manager
CodeGuru.com
Richard Hein has covered Web technologies for 10 years in a variety of places including Internet.com publications like Developer.com, 4GuysFromRolla, HTMLGoodies and more. Rich is currently the CodeGuru Site Manager where he covers the Microsoft Developer Technology beat.

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Q: If you could pick one benefit of cloud computing for developers, what would it be?

A: There are a few good ones but I think the biggest benefit to building your application in the cloud is the fact that there isn't the big need to worry about your infrastructure, allowing developers to focus their efforts where they can have the most effect, on the application itself.

Q: With all of the cloud development platforms springing up do developers have concerns about interoperability?

A: Interoperability is always a consideration when developers decide to move to a new framework or platform. I've asked this very question to developers that I know and the general response is that developers need to be more concerned about building with standards than worrying about some type of [evolving] cloud standard. The industry isn't yet mature enough. There still needs to more innovation by cloud vendors, then we can start talking about standardization.

Q: How steep is the learning curve for developers moving to application development for the cloud?

A: It depends on the complexity of your applications, but the learning curve is rather small, developers are still developing their apps in their native language. The average .NET developer with about two days of training can be leveraging the power of the cloud. That said, you can't be a master without putting in your 10,000 hours.
more resources for developers
Microsoft's Windows Azure is gaining momentum as the cloud platform of choice for developers who applaud its agility, economies of scale, simplicity, focus and world-class enterprise service. ...more
Wherever they run, applications are built on some kind of platform. For on-premises applications, this platform usually includes an operating system, some way to store data and perhaps more. Applications running in the cloud need a similar foundation. Microsoft's Windows Azure provides this. ...more
While there are some clear opportunities to take advantage of specific offerings, the most profound impact of cloud computing comes about as a result of the choice and flexibility it introduces, and the service-centric approach to IT delivery it encourages. Read this paper to get an understanding of how it can help your business. ...more
Why should an independent software vendor (ISV) care about cloud computing? The answer is simple: Using the cloud has the potential to increase an ISV's revenues and/or decrease its costs. Running code and storing data on computers in large Internet-accessible data centers owned and operated by another organization can offer compelling advantages. ...more
This document describes the array of security controls implemented within Windows Azure, so customers can evaluate if these capabilities and controls are suitable for their unique requirements. ...more
This overview paper introduces the Services Bus and Access Control for the Windows Azure platform AppFabric and how they fit together. ...more
This whitepaper provides an overview of the SQL Azure Database. It lays out the advantages for using a cloud-based relational database service, and also describes practical usage scenarios that help you understand how SQL Azure Database can be used to optimize business solutions. ...more
Cloud-based database solutions such as SQL Azure can provide many benefits, including rapid provisioning, cost-effective scalability, high availability, and reduced management overhead. This document provides guidelines on how to sign up for SQL Azure and how to get started creating SQL Azure servers and databases. ...more
Cloud-based database solutions such as SQL Azure can provide many benefits, including rapid provisioning, cost-effective scalability, high availability, and reduced management overhead. This paper provides an architectural overview of SQL Azure Database, and describes how you can use SQL Azure to augment your existing on-premises data infrastructure or as your complete database solution. ...more
This whitepaper presents an overview of the Windows Azure and SQL Azure storage offerings, including a description of the different data types, available storage mechanisms, and a review of the different considerations between on-premises data and cloud-based data. ...more
With Windows Azure Drive, your Windows Azure applications running in the cloud can use existing NTFS APIs to access a durable drive. This can significantly ease the migration of existing Windows applications to the cloud. ...more
SQL Azure Database is a cloud database service from Microsoft. SQL Azure provides Web-facing database functionality as a utility service. This document provides an overview of security guidelines for customers who connect to SQL Azure Database, and who build secure applications on SQL Azure. ...more
Alinean is the leading provider of business value sales and marketing tools, helping B2B vendors assess prospect needs and opportunities; then helping them to quantify and calculate the financial (ROI) value of proposed solutions to the individual customer. Alinean projects almost 60% savings with Windows Azure and an estimated 160% ROI compared to current SaaS infrastructure. ...more
Four groups at Microsoft--from consumer and business product groups to groups that drive internal initiatives--are taking advantage of the Windows Azure platform for their own applications and services. What they found was a solution that not only provides the ability to scale up and down as demand dictates, but also a platform that enables them to use their existing skills, focus on competitive differentiators, and respond faster to customer business needs. ...more
Keep up to date with the latest Windows Azure and cloud computing news from the Windows Azure Team blog. ...more
Cloud computing is the IT foundation for cloud services. According to IDC, there are eight key attributes that define cloud services. ...more
Learn about the key challenges of migrating and Web enabling client application to be consumed over the Web and cloud, as well as offer possible solutions from the views of developers and architects. ...more
Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 comes packed with features aplenty that eases development of applications both for the desktop and the
Web. ...more
A Diagnostic Agent agent runs on each role instance of your application and is configured with a connection string to your Windows Azure storage account. ...more