Windows Azure Q & A with Amitabh Srivastava

I should have posted this days ago, but it’s been so crazy with the holidays. Bryant over at AeroExperience has posted an excellent interview with Windows Azure lead Amitabh Srivastava.

How would you define “cloud computing?”

Amitabh: Microsoft believes the cloud is fundamentally about enabling the developer eco-system to reduce complexity of delivering software. Today, as an industry, we have made some strides, but most of that innovation has come around removing the complexity of installing, maintaining and optimizing hardware. We think that there is a huge opportunity to move beyond hardware, and remove the complexity of the application platform itself; letting customers focus on their applications and end user experiences.

What kind of customers are you targeting with the release of Windows Azure?

Amitabh: Windows Azure was designed with developers in mind. This is about enabling developers within ISVs, System Integrators and businesses to quickly and easily create, deploy, manage, and distribute web applications and services.

What was Windows “Strata?”

Amitabh: Microsoft often uses code names for products during their early developmental phases. Strata was the code name for “Azure”

There’s a lot more at the source interview, of course. Check it out.

Discuss this Article 7

mikegalos@msn.com
on Dec 25, 2008
Windows Azure and the related services are the story of the year at a minimum.
Ocean
on Dec 25, 2008
LOL @ Mike Guess you've never heard of a little thing called the iPhone? It's the next big 'it'. Thanks for the laugh.
robertsjoe
on Dec 25, 2008
"Windows Azure and the related services are the story of the year at a minimum. " I think Mike lives in a cave where he only gets the Microsoft Daily newspaper. Yes, certainly the iPhone blows this out of the water. Agree with Ocean, you're a funny guy. Even though you're not trying to be.
hodari
on Dec 25, 2008
robetsjoe - "iphone blows thisout of the water". What exactly does iphone blow out of the water ? MOBILEME that fails to deliver?. IPHONE is a consumer product. AZURES first and foremost is an enterprise class infrastructure that goes well beyond normal consumers demands - a service that probaly only Microsoft is capable of delivering today!. Others have tried and failed miserably. Evenly Google with its arrogant attitude has not be able able to make a dent in "the cloud Experience"
DRWAM
on Dec 26, 2008
In this economic environment, I think that many hospital systems will be adopting MS Amalga, for their IS. It seems a lot more affordable and certainly has much better IT support. Azure probably fits in the picture somewhere. Think of better support for much less money and better integration of third party software, with people working on problems that actually know what they are doing! We can better communicate as well [like attending web meetings when I'm too lazy to drive to a campus]. Again, reducing medical errors by a minimum of 50% and better patient care quality, at faster speeds. We docs can get information about our patients on the fly, and it's only getting better, and it's really the only way to reduce error [digital conversion]. While faxing reports to docs does speed things up, there's no guarantee that the pages print. This has electronic record capabilities that allow instant alerts for the digital copy.[ I will never be sued for delay in diagnosing]. Here's the link for my page preference: http://www.microsoft.com/amalga/products/microsoftamalgahis/default.mspx
Lindy
on Dec 26, 2008
Ummm Ocean and robertsjoe, I hate agree with Mike, but WTF does the iPhone have to do with Azure? One is a piece of hardware aimed at consumers, the other is software for developers of cloud applications. Both could win product of the year in their respective categories. Even if you compared iPhone application development to Azure it still would not be the same category. One is for a device the other the cloud. Ocean get you own blog, and start it off with an article comparing Intel's new 160gig SSD to FireFox 3.1??????????? Using your logic, the product of the year would be those digital converter boxes for the turn off of analog TV, probably outsold the iPhone.
Waethorn
on Dec 26, 2008
What does Azure and the iPhone have in common? Azure will make the Apple App Store irrelevent. LOL!

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