Devices and "The Cloud", Part 4

Posted By Robert Peterson
Sr. Product Manager

We have been talking about the cloud and ways embedded device OEMs can benefit – but let’s specifically look at why Windows Azure is a great fit.  Only Microsoft can provide a familiar, complete solution to help your business from device to cloud.  In fact, for devices powered by a Windows Embedded OS, using Windows Azure has some distinct advantages:

Leverage Familiar Tools:

Embedded OEMs are familiar with Windows Embedded, operating systems such as Windows Embedded Standard 7 are cloud ready, meaning you can create applications, services and solutions connecting your device to the cloud. Windows Embedded Standard 7 includes an easy-to-use Image Build Wizard (IBW) and other embedded tools which speed up image development and prototyping.  We have a great whitepaper on how to do this.  If you are looking for a free evaluation version of the Image Build Wizard and tools, the website to get access through the Windows Embedded Standard 7 evaluation kit is here.

Visual Studio:  Create applications that can run on PCs, Devices, Phones, the web, and the cloud. The Windows Azure Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio includes the Windows Azure SDK which extends Visual Studio 2010 to Windows Azure. 
NET Framework: Provides a comprehensive and consistent programming model for building applications that have visually stunning user experiences and seamless and secure communication.  The Windows Azure SDK for .NET provides advanced installation of the Windows Azure SDK for .NET. 

Microsoft Partners to help at every step:
Only the Microsoft partner ecosystem can help you from devices, applications, services, and cloud computing:

Windows Embedded Partners for embedded devices
Microsoft Partner Network for consulting, applications and services
Microsoft Azure partners with specific expertise on transforming your business to the cloud with Windows Azure.  Plus the Azure Marketplace has easy to find, ready-to-use solutions available

Easy to move to the cloud with Windows Azure:
As I mentioned in earlier posts, moving to Windows Azure is easy, flexible and enterprise ready.

A wide variety of languages and frameworks are supported (including .NET, Java, PHP, Node.js)
Applications  and data that run on your servers can easily run on the cloud
Low risk – pay as you go each month, pay only for what you use and easily scale as your business grows.  In fact you can sign up for a free 90 day trial here.

Coming up: a cool demo and video (about devices and the cloud)