Windows Azure is Microsoft’s cloud based application platform that is designed for hosting, managing and developing applications off-site. The several components of Microsoft Azure are SQL Azure, cloud operating system and .NET services. The cloud service runs on computers that are located in Microsoft data centers. Here are 7 reasons why most organizations consider using Windows Azure as their cloud computing platform.
FAMILIARITY WITH WINDOWS
Azure is built on Windows making it easier to write applications as it uses the same programming languages that are used for Windows apps like C#, C++, Visual Basic etc. This makes the organization’s hiring process easy as they would not face any difficulty in finding developers who have the skillset to create applications for the Azure platform.
64-BIT WINDOWS VMs
Each instance of the Azure apps runs on its own VM on the 64-bit Windows Server 2008 operating system.Therefore, users do not need to supply VMs or manage and maintain the OS as the apps are developed using worker role instances or web role instances that run in their own VMs. With Microsoft Azure, you do not have to worry about the hardware.
AZURE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT
The Windows Azure software development kit includes a version the Azure environment called the Windows Azure Development Fabricthat runs on any computer. It also includes the Azure storage and agent. It allows you to work locally even while debugging of developing an application and then move it to the cloud.
FLEXIBILITY AND SCALABILITY
The Azure platform is secure, scalable and provides performance-efficient storage services in the cloud. If you need to scale up, it is as easy as changing the settings where you specify the number of processors for the applications to use. Moreover, with “pay-as-you-go” model lets you to respond quickly to customers’ needs.
EFFICIENT PRICING MODEL
The pricing of Windows Azure services are purely based on consumption. So, you pay only for what you use. With Azure, the cost of creating, debugging, testing, and distributing web-based application goes down as you only have to pay for the storage space and computer processing time you need.
FAMILIAR SUPPORT RESOURCES
As Azure uses tools and technologies that are similar to other Windows platform, businesses can take advantage of support resources that are well-known and well-established such as MSDN and TechNet.
INTEROPERABILITY
Azure allows you to develop hybrid applications and its communications services work between cloud and on-premises applications as well as mobile devices. Azure also supports open standards and internet protocols such as SOAP, REST, XML, and HTTP. There are SDKs for PHP, Ruby, and Java for compatibility with applications written in these languages.
Net Activity, Inc. is a Tier 1 Microsoft partner and Windows Azure cloud service provider since 2002. To know further details about our cloud service offerings, please visit http://www.netactivity.us/services/cloud-computing-services.
