Cloud Computing has been a hot topic in the IT industry for a while now. Microsoft is not a new player in this area. Microsoft’s cloud history began in October 2008, when it released the first CTP for Windows Azure.
Initially Windows Azure was primarily ‘Platform-as-a-Service’ meant mainly for building & running apps and storing data in the cloud. It could run IIS as web servers with.NET. It worked great so long as developers were coding with.NET. There were fewer restrictions on deployment. However, when it came time to deploy native code such as Java and PHP, it was a problem. They needed to be deployed without the need for an installation process. Deployment was only one of the restrictions. For cloud use, developers had to stick with.NET or in other words Windows Azure.
Microsoft wanted to change that perception and has been working since then to improve Windows Azure. Windows Azure offers all cloud services, including IaaS, PaaS and web hosting. It is Open, Flexible, and Solid, as Microsoft calls it. I would also add the word “SIMPLE” to it. It supports open source development platforms such as Node.Js Java, Python, PHP, Big Data platforms such Hadoop, and open source Operating System virtual machines such as SUSE, Ubuntu, CentOS, and CentOS. It allows you to scale your apps to any size, based on your needs automatically. It also provides a flexible platform that can be used for any type or app. It allows you to build, deploy, and manage reliable, scalable, and low-cost solutions.
CloudThat offers a 2 Day Level-2 Windows Azure Course. This course will teach you more about Windows Azure and its capabilities.
Microsoft offers a free trial for 90 days to test their products.
