Today at the PDC 2009 keynote, Microsoft Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie announced that its Windows Azure cloud computing platform would go-live on January 1, 2010. The service, announced last year at PDC 2008, is currently available as a free Community Technology Preview (CTP). The service will remain free throughout January and customers will start incurring charges beginning in February, 2010.
Other Azure highlights included Microsoft touting the new datacenters it has added to the Azure infrastructure, as well as the interoperability features of the Azure platform being able to run apps on Java and Tomcat as well as PHP and MySQL. Also announced was Azure “AppFabric” (formerly .NET Services) that can be used to scale out the middle-tier, services layer of Azure applications. Microsoft also announced a new CTP Codename “Dallas” which is an open catalog and marketplace for data as a service.
Day 1 news also includes:
- “App Store-like” enhancements to Microsoft Pinpoint that allows partners to market and sell their applications. Pinpoint can now be used to find Azure services (both free and commercial), and its service catalogue is now integrated into the Azure front-end.
- RTM of Windows Identity Foundation which simplifies user access to both cloud and on-premises applications.
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V virtual machines support on Windows Azure.
Stay tuned for more highlights from PDC 2009…
Wed, Nov 18, 2009
Azure, General