Windows Azure 90-day free trial
Try Windows Azure for free with no cost or obligations
Get the tools you need
Windows Azure enables you to quickly build, deploy and manage applications across a global network of Microsoft-managed datacenters. You can build applications using any operating system, language or tool. And you can integrate your public cloud applications with your existing IT environment.
What is Azure
5 Steps
Step 1
Learn about developing for Windows Azure platform: Introduction = Developer Center, Building Hybrid solutions with Windows Azure
Step 3
Trial/download: Try Azure for free and get tools you need
Step 5
How to: Deploy & manage Windows Azure services: Deploy, Manager Center
Product and technology description
Windows Azure is Microsoft's application platform for the public cloud. You can use this platform in many different ways. For instance, you can use Windows Azure to build a web application that runs and stores its data in Microsoft datacenters. You can use Windows Azure just to store data, with the applications that use this data running on-premises (that is, outside the public cloud). You can use Windows Azure to create virtual machines for development and test or to run SharePoint and other applications. You can use Windows Azure to build massively scalable applications with lots and lots of users. Because the platform offers a wide range of services, all of these things-and more-are possible.
To do any of them, though, you need to understand the basics. Even if you don't know anything about cloud computing, this article will walk you through the fundamentals of Windows Azure.
