Analyst builds argument that Azure offers not only cloud but on premise advantages via technology like Visual Studio and BizTalk. Not sure that we buy into the proposition that "Look what you can continue to do just on our servers" wins ultimately over "Look at what you no longer have to do..." model. Maybe investors will be persuaded.
Why Microsoft's Hybrid Cloud Threatens Google
Charlotte Dunlap, 06.16.10, 02:00 PM EDT
Analysis of the software giant's Azure cloud computing platform.
Microsoft's official release last week of its cloud computing platform, Azure, gives developers the option to build applications in the cloud via Microsoft's data centers, rather than in a company's server. Giving customers this sort of flexibility in IT and software development is important to customers looking for ways to reduce costs, bandwidth demands and management responsibilities. Flexibility in delivery models is also Microsoft's key differentiator over cloud giant Google.
Cloud computing has become a key piece of an enterprise's IT strategy, typically used in a hybrid (cloud plus on-premise) model of computing that offers customers the best of both worlds: the ability to keep their data on-premise, while leveraging the cloud's accelerated software development speeds and lower costs by eliminating the need to invest in ongoing on-premise hardware and software. A common example of hybrid is being able to develop applications and test them in the cloud before releasing them onto internal networks.
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