Scalable Infrastructure in the Cloud - Bring It. Azure will Run It.

Today is an exciting day for Microsoft, Windows Azure, today marked the general availability of Windows Azure Infrastructure Services. This new service now makes it possible for all customers to move applications into the cloud. The announcement today are not only about Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) or Platform as a Service (PaaS), it’s about Infrastructure Services and Platform Services and hybrid scenarios.  The cloud should be an enabler for innovation, and an extension of your organisation’s IT fabric. for more details of today announcement see https://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazure/archive/2013/04/16/the-power-of-and.aspx

Scalable, On-demand Infrastructure for Your Apps

Dramatically reduce your wait time to provision IT resources by rolling out apps and infrastructure in minutes. Bring your Windows or Linux-based application to the cloud as-is. Scale up or scale down as needed for a wide range of app hosting scenarios and pay only for what you use.

Extend and Synch. Connect Hybrid Infrastructure Services with a Single Identity

Build hybrid services that take advantage of what you already have while enabling new innovation in the cloud. Bring your existing identities to apps running in Virtual Machines by simply connecting to your on-premises Active Directory. Running Office 365? Simply run Active Directory Federation services in Virtual Machines to sync with on-premises identities for single sign on.

Build. Learn. Test. Rapid Innovation Using Infrastructure Services for Dev & Test

Spin up a test lab within minutes. Connect to your existing infrastructure if required. When you’re done, tear it down, bring your app back in house to run it using your on-premises infrastructure, or keep it in the cloud. The choice is yours.

Customize. Collaborate. Maintain. SharePoint on Windows Azure Infrastructure Services.

Spin up SharePoint farms in minutes without major capital investments. Integrate full trust code to run rich apps and business logic, and provide internet facing collaboration sites on SharePoint that scale with your business needs.

Develop. Scale. Unlock. Robust Infrastructure for SQL Server

Start small, go big. Whether you are building a lab to prototype your newest app with SQL Server or extending data marts into the cloud, Windows Azure Virtual Machines is a solid foundation you can count on. With full SQL Server compatibility you get capabilities like full-text search, or transparent data encryption for greater security.

This is a great infographic from https://www.dotnetsolutions.co.uk/

Teaching/Learning and Research Opportunity

If your interested in testing or teaching Azure Cloud services see https://www.windowsazure.com/education