There are quite a few ways to learn more about how Windows Azure can cut development times and enter new markets faster. One way is to attend an in-person event for half a day. These are three free events are taking place in the eastern US – just click...

Putting a software-as-a-service (SaaS) application up in the cloud is all well and good but what about making money from that application? There has to be light at the end of the tunnel for any commercial application development. The business decision...

Now trying out and adopting the Windows Azure platform got little easier. Call center teams are ready and willing to help answer your Windows Azure platform questions. How much will the Windows Azure platform really cost me? What am I getting myself in...

I mentioned in an earlier blog post that we had plugged in some estimates for Windows Azure usage for different types of application scenarios. I’ve posted a more detailed analyses for the scenarios here: Windows Azure Pricing Scenario: Asset Tracking...

I often get asked by phone developers about some good ways to make noise about their Windows Phone 7 apps. There are a few steps below to create a great app and tell Microsoft about. Get started creating and submitting an app: Download and install the...

I like to cook. I’m not great at it. 60% of the recipes I try get the “no comment” family review. But I like to try. And I like to save time and build on other’s success. I’ve talked to a lot of phone developers that want to put their mobile applications...

My colleague George is working hard on the SQL Azure Migration Wizard [SQLAzureMW] Some of the tool reviews speak for themselves. Why SQL Azure? Relational database service built on SQL Server technologies If you know SQL, why waste development hours...

The free edition of SQL Server offers the full programmability of the SQL Server database engine, but with some scalability restrictions.  SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition offers hardware support for massively scalable database solutions and enterprise...

Sure. You can put up a website on a hosted or on-premise environment. You can then spend hours a month patching, monitoring, configuring your server. Or, sure. You can go cheap and put up a site in a low monthly cost environment. Azure is not about that...

As I’ve always said with Windows Azure and SQL Azure you can just concentrate on coding. Let someone else worry about server provisioning, patching and configuring. It now gets better for social applications. Build Facebook apps quickly and on Windows...

New “marketplaces” are emerging for developers, startups and ISVs that are building Windows Azure platform applications and who want visibility with VARs and to develop new channel development leads. The new Ingram Micro Cloud Marketplace will feature...

I was in an email thread today chatting about the apparent lack of cloud apps for the small, small business [1-10 persons]. Like magic, my friend Joe emails me with a “Tony, just thought you’d like to see this” email. Typical bright, smart yet humble...

First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are for the people of Japan. Red Cross . Second, organizations fired up mirror sites using Windows Azure. Implemented by volunteers using an Azure free pass . Tohoku Electric http://tohokuepcocache1.cloudapp...

New Microsoft partner Learning Plan Tool: This package will help Web VAPs understand the opportunity with developing on the Windows Azure Platform, and also review the technical aspects of deployment with a special concentration on dynamic scaling. Windows...

I enjoyed this technical webinar given by Juan De Abreu . It covers using the Windows Azure platform for scale up, burst demand scenarios. I like how this topic is covered from a real-world “we have really done this for clients” angle and the deck is...

The Windows Azure platform is clearly well suited for web projects that need to be fired up in a day or so. More importantly, Windows Azure is superb for meeting spikes in demand without having to configure multiple servers and make numerous back-end...

Windows Azure Marketplace DataMarket is a fairly simple premise. Enable content providers to more easily market and sell their services and data Allow data consumers to acquire simpler to use content from a single location I pulled this from the Windows...

I helped out at this virtual event on Dec 2nd and there were some great sessions that will be available on demand until March 2011. http://www.virtualtechsummits.com/Register.aspx?EventID=6 Steve Marx and Getting Started with Windows Azure Development...

Looks like The Code Project is running another Windows Azure platform contest. They’re offering money and Xbox with Kinect to developers. http://www.codeproject.com/Competitions/440/Windows-Azure-App-Competition.aspx  

I see this question pop up quite a bit: “I have a web app that I would like to build...Where would be the best place to start?” Here are some ideas to get you started. Remember, with the Windows Azure platform you pay only for what you use. 1. not a pre...

I wrote about this a while back. For small businesses that are trying to keep costs down really low and who want to save money, there is (almost) free from Microsoft when it comes to website hosting. Nancy has helped us update some initial how-to content...

A few months ago Intuit and Microsoft made an announcement regarding the Intuit Partner Platform (IPP) and the Windows Azure platform. The goal was to broaden the selection for small businesses from a variety of SaaS applications to solve their critical...

The team I work has several sessions taking place at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) July 11-15. Stop on by to not just listen, but interact with your ideas and experiences in the cloud. Plus, feel free to schedule time to chat 1:1 at...

  For those developers looking for ways to reach their customers to tell them about the latest in cloud technologies, www.pinpoint.com looks to be one place to go. I did a search on “Azure” and found quite a few Windows Azure and SQL Azure applications...

I get asked many times by developers about Microsoft’s “cloud” efforts and technologies and where they might “plug in”. I’ve found this rather simplistic response helps steer developers in the right direction. Developer options in the era of the “cloud...