31 October 2008

Microsoft introduced the Windows Azure Platform for software-plus-services at PDC2008

Microsoft’s new platform and services will enable developers to create experiences that connect people across all devices by linking personal and business applications through the Web. OnWindows explores.

Today’s powerful computing technology includes mobile phones with the processing power of recent PCs, quad-processor computers that have moved from data-centres to retail electronic stores, and huge high-definition digital televisions. The Web has grown in similar ways, and today its wealth of information and social networking capabilities make it the first stop when people turn on a PC or notebook.

Meanwhile, developers often have to choose technology that optimises a given device or application environment, but may also reduce that device’s capabilities in other circumstances. As a result, current applications don’t always take full advantage of both the power of devices and the power of the Web because they simply aren’t designed to do that.

A new set of platform technologies from Microsoft, unveiled at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC2008), is designed to change all that. The Azure Services Platform combines the growing power of the Web-based cloud and today’s computers and devices with a suite of services designed to help developers deliver compelling new experiences across the PC, Web and mobile phone or PDA. Microsoft claims that the new platform will extend to developers the ability to build and deploy new applications into the cloud, without having to worry about how they will scale up. It gives businesses a new set of choices for how they deploy IT.

“Today we’re delivering a game-changing set of technologies that bring new opportunities to the global community of developers,” says Ray Ozzie, Microsoft’s chief software architect. “In many ways it’s a turning point for Microsoft. But every time there’s been a major platform shift in our industry, it has meant new opportunity and growth.”

The foundation of the platform is Windows Azure, a new cloud-based operating system that serves as the development, run-time and environment. It is designed for what Ozzie and Microsoft describe as the ‘Web tier’ of computing – a layer that scales to handle the giant computation, storage and networking loads of today’s Web-based world. Windows Azure extends Windows to the Web, where developers can build, deploy and maintain new cloud-based applications using existing skills and familiar tools such as Visual Studio. They’ll also be able to deliver applications built around a collection of existing Microsoft developer services. Additionally, developers can soon market new applications built on the platform directly to their own customers.

Businesses need to infuse applications with the best-of-Web and social software to improve the flexibility and dynamic nature of their IT infrastructure. They need to be able to connect systems and data securely, but still share information so they stay connected with customers and partners. They need to invest in technology, but in a way that lets them grow, scale and stay focused on business opportunities.

Consumers, meanwhile, want better connectivity and computing options across their growing array of multimedia technology, knitting them together across a Web that is growing exponentially more powerful.

Developers want more opportunities to create innovative computing experiences with the power of today’s computing devices and the opportunities the Web provides. The current challenge they face is in bringing together disparate islands of data, applications and contacts. When trying to create scalable solutions that involve multiple devices, developers have difficult choices to make regarding the architecture and technology they use.

Microsoft’s software-plus-services model is founded on the premise that users benefit most when software and services exist together, taking full advantage of powerful client devices and delivering maximum flexibility and choice.

“There’s this notion out there that all technology will be sucked up into this thing called the cloud, and that the cloud will virtually replace all the other technology or render it irrelevant,” said Walid Abu-Hadba, corporate vice president of the Developer and Platform Evangelism Group at Microsoft, at the PDC2008 event. “The reality is that the cloud only complements existing technology and provides people with flexibility and another way of doing things. Our intent with the Azure Services Platform is to seamlessly extend Microsoft’s platform out to the cloud so customers don’t have to choose, or deal with silos of Web-based information.”

With Azure, developers can build new applications that run in the cloud, or enhance existing applications with cloud-based capabilities. Business customers can elastically scale their systems up or down as needed to meet changes in their business environment, such as a holiday shopping rush, a burst of news about the company, or downtime during vacations.

“Web demand might be seen as a series of peaks and valleys,” said Ozzie. “It might shoot up during the holidays, or during new product introductions, or when bad things or good things go on in the blogosphere.”

IT departments will also be able to build applications that use the cloud to employ data storage like a utility, paying less when usage is low, but gaining the ability to vastly and rapidly scale up their usage during critical periods.

A developer managing a large retail company’s e-store, for example, can quickly create a cloud-based application to market a new product through blogs, wireless devices and other channels. Changes to the product information or application can be pushed out instantly, and when orders start pouring in, the cloud- based infrastructure scales to meet the demand.

Businesses have further choice when it comes to how they design their IT infrastructure. They can use the computing power of a Microsoft data centre, a Microsoft hosting partner, their own servers or any combination of the three. A business can focus its IT resources on tasks that are strategic and mission-critical, while sending other services to the cloud.

Small and medium-sized business can more easily meet the needs of their customers by taking advantage of scalability and applications typically reserved for large enterprises. With systems that are fully integrated and connected, entrepreneurs can save time and money. If an interior designer in Chicago learns that a fabric she needs from Italy isn’t available, she can adjust her designs, and the change gets picked up and sent automatically through her network in real-time – from manufacturer to client – with updated information about delivery, cost and special handling instructions.

Consumers, meanwhile, will benefit from the new cloud capabilities the Azure Services Platform extends to Live Services, including Live Mesh to automatically synchronise and share data across multiple devices. In the future, a college student surfing in Australia can take a picture of his friends and upload it to Live Mesh, and the photo is instantly sent to his PC, his phone and a wireless digital photo frame that sits atop his grandmother’s television back in Los Angeles.

Microsoft’s global ecosystem of partners and developers will play a key role in creating applications that take full advantage of the cloud capability Microsoft is deploying. By using the Azure Services Platform, developers will be able to create new applications and user experiences that change the way people work, live and play.

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