Update: Microsoft launches Windows Azure for the cloud

From InfoWorld: At Microsoft's PDC (Professional Developers Conference) in Los Angeles, Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie unveiled the company's much-anticipated cloud computing platform, dubbed Windows Azure.

Primarily a platform for developers, Windows Azure plays host to the .Net Framework, SQL Server, SharePoint, Dynamics CRM, and an offering called Live Services, which, according to Ozzie, will extend Azure services "outward" to connect with locally running Microsoft software. Using this rich environment, developers will be able to build and deploy Web applications and services running on Microsoft's worldwide infrastructure of datacenters.

Previously known as Project Red Dog, Windows Azure "is a scalable hosting environment for you to deploy your apps in our cloud," said Microsoft corporate vice president Amitabh Srivastava, one of the key players behind the platform.

"Windows Azure is a new Windows offering at the Web tier of computing," Ozzie said. "This represents a significant extension" of the Windows computing platform, he said.

Windows Azure serves as the underlying foundation of the Azure Services Platform, which helps developers build applications spanning from the cloud to the datacenter and PCs, the Web, and phones, Microsoft said.

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