Microsoft combines Azure and Windows Server orgs: “Server and Cloud Division”

Microsoft announced today that Windows Azure and Windows Server will together become a new division in the Server and Tools Business: the Server and Cloud Division. If it wasn’t clear before, Microsoft is heavily invested in “the cloud”, and this move further solidifies Azure into the mainstream of Server and Tools.

As the only company in the industry that has the leading server platform complemented by a massive investment in online services, we have the unique ability to offer our customers a choice to tap into one or both approaches simultaneously through one consistent platform.

Here are some details, from the Windows Server Division blog:

Together, Windows Server, Windows Azure, SQL Server, SQL Azure, Visual Studio and System Center help customers extend existing investments to include a future that will combine both on-premises and cloud solutions, and SCD is now a key player in that effort.

The details of this organizational change are noted below:

1. The Windows Azure development team, will move from under Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie to the Server & Tools Business, led by Bob Muglia, President, Server and Tools Division. Senior Vice President Amitabh Srivastava will lead the newly formed SCD, reporting to Bob.

2. The Windows Server and Solutions group, led by Corporate Vice President Bill Laing, will join the Windows Azure team to form the Server & Cloud Division. Bill will report to Amitabh and will continue his role as a key member of the STB leadership team. Bill will partner with Amitabh to continue the bilateral sharing of technology between Windows Server and Windows Azure, which has been a key design goal of Microsoft’s software + services strategy.

3. The Windows Azure business and marketing team, will continue to be led by Doug Hauger. Doug will join the Server and Tools Marketing Group, led by Corporate Vice President Robert Wahbe, reporting to Corporate Vice President Bob Kelly, who is also responsible for Windows Server, System Center, and Forefront.

Source:http://www.liveside.net/main/archive/2009/12/08/microsoft-combines-azure-and-windows-server-orgs-server-and-cloud-division.aspx

Microsoft Announced Launch of Windows Azure Platform

Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the Windows Azure platform at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC). In his opening keynote address, Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft, described Windows Azure and SQL Azure as core elements of the company’s cloud services strategy. The company also announced a set of new Windows Azure features, Windows Server capabilities, and marketplace offerings that will make it easier for developers to build profitable businesses from their Microsoft-based solutions.

“Customers want choice and flexibility in how they develop and deploy applications,” Ozzie said. “We’re moving into an era of solutions that are experienced by users across PCs, phones and the Web, and that are delivered from datacenters we refer to as private clouds and public clouds. Built specifically for this era of cloud computing, Windows Azure and SQL Azure will give developers what they need to build great applications and profitable businesses.”

In his keynote address, Ozzie described the company’s “three screens and a cloud” vision, where software experiences are seamlessly delivered across PCs, phones and TVs, all connected by cloud-based services. Underscoring the IT industry’s shift toward a hybrid approach of online services combined with on-premises software, Ozzie described the programming model for a powerful new generation of applications for both businesses and consumers, enabled by new Microsoft development tools and technologies. He also demonstrated customer and partner commitment to Microsoft’s development platform with Seesmic, WordPress and Cheezburger Network.

Marketplace and Information Services for Developers, Partners and Users

Ozzie also unveiled the next evolution of Microsoft Pinpoint, an online marketplace for Microsoft partners to market and sell their applications. The company introduced a new information service, Microsoft Codename “Dallas,” also available through Pinpoint and built completely on the Windows Azure platform, that enables developers and users to access premium commercial and reference datasets and content on any platform. Datasets currently available through “Dallas” include those from the Associated Press, Citysearch, DATA.gov, ESRI, First American Corp., infoUSA.com Inc., NASA, National Geographic TOPO!, NAVTEQ, RiskMetrics Group, the United Nations, WaveMarket Inc. and Weather Central Inc. Starting today, “Dallas” is available as a limited community technology preview (CTP)

Next-Generation Application Model

Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft, detailed the company’s strategy and road map for extending the Windows developer platform to the cloud, which is the next-generation application model, according to Muglia.

“Microsoft is converging on a common developer platform for both servers and services,” Muglia said. “Through this convergence, Microsoft will enable developers to continue using familiar .NET Framework and Visual Studio tools and technologies, as well as third-party tools such as Eclipse, to create and monetize applications that run on the server and as services in the cloud.”

Full Story Here:http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2009/nov09/11-17PDC1PR.mspx?rss_fdn=Press%20Releases

Window Azure pricing

Microsoft is also in the hosting business. Windows Azure has just announced pricing for its services. If you are running on Microsoft Platform this may make sense for you:

Windows Azure:

* Compute = $0.12 / hour
* Storage = $0.15 / GB stored / month
* Storage Transactions = $0.01 / 10K
* Bandwidth = $0.10 in / $0.15 out / GB

SQL Azure:

* Web Edition – Up to 1 GB relational database = $9.99
* Business Edition – Up to 10 GB relational database = $99.99
* Bandwidth = $0.10 in / $0.15 out / GB


.Net Services:

* Messages = $0.15/100K message operations , including Service Bus messages and Access Control tokens
* Bandwidth = $0.10 in / $0.15 out / GB

http://www.microsoft.com/azure/pricing.mspx