Windows Azure

Windows Azure is breathtaking in vision and ambition: The idea is simple: create a version of Windows that runs Windows applications in the cloud at unbounded scale. Pioneers of successful Cloud applications and services (e.g. Facebook) all say that scalability is the critical design issue -- if your scalability model isn't right then success will literally kill you. Windows Azure has no less an ambition than enabling scalability while bringing forward the richness and tools in Windows programming. This isn't HotMail warmed over with a new face. Ozzie views the PC, the phone and the Cloud (all running Windows of course) as the three pillars of future applications, with Live Mesh keeping data synchronized among all the participants. Windows Azure builds on the success of Windows as an applications platform. The key question going forward is whether Microsoft can herd the huge and valuable Windows developer community toward Azure. PDC was a loud and strong beginning but only time will tell.