Windows Azure Learning Opportunities

In the past when asked about Windows Azure and the cloud in general, I would reply that it was a great technology and something that would be important in the future, but that it wasn’t mainstream yet. But that has changed. The future is NOW! According to Gartner, 80% of organizations plan to use the cloud within the next 12 months!

Are you up to speed on the cloud? Do you know how to leverage these new technologies? I’m going to do a few blog posts describing some techniques to use Windows Azure for dev/test environments. But if you’re interested in getting a head start, one of my Canadian counterparts (Adam Gallant) has posted a great “Using the Cloud for Dev/Test” video on Channel 9.

Beyond the dev/test focused videos and blogs, Microsoft and our partners are hosting some great IT Focused live events for the US Desert/Mountain Region. Although developers are definitely welcome, the focus for these events is generally the infrastructure and operations teams. Feel free to pass the following along or show up yourself if you’re so inclined…

Location Event City Event Name Event Date Reg Link
Arizona Tempe IT Camp: Windows Azure 10/10/2013 Register
Arizona Phoenix En Pointe Tech Summit and Golf Event 10/16/2013 Register
Arizona Phoenix Microsoft Technology Roadmap Event 11/5/2013 Register
Colorado Denver Azure IT Camps 10/9/2013 Register
Colorado Denver Microsoft Technology Roadmap Event 10/15/2013 Register
Colorado Denver IT Camp: Windows Azure 10/9/2013 Register
Nevada Las Vegas Your Organization + Office 365: A Powerful Combination 10/24/2013 Register