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Windows Azure Will Be a Pay-As-You-Go Cloud Service By Mark Long July 14, 2009 12:05PM     Microsoft has outlined the business models for its Windows Azure cloud-computing services. Customers will pay only for the Windows Azure services they use. The services include a Microsoft SQL Azure database and .NET services. An analyst warned that comparisons of Windows Azure with Amazon and Google services involve more than pricing.   Related Topics Microsoft Windows Azure SQL .NET Amazon Google Latest News Plasma-TV Ban Could Be Costly Barnes & Noble Nook Is Delayed Flat PC Shipments Hurt Dell's Stock Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good New Pogoplug 'Cloud' Gets Social Microsoft has taken the wraps off its business and partner models for Windows Azure -- a services platform that enables computing applications to be hosted and run at the software giant's data centers. Through Windows Azure, Microsoft expects to help customers and partners quickly develop and deploy cloud -based computing solutions, said Bob Muglia, president of the server and tools business at Microsoft. "What's unique about the Windows Azure platform is that Microsoft manages the complexity, which allows partners to focus on what matters most for their business -- building innovative services solutions and driving new revenue," Muglia said. "This can drive down total cost of ownership by up to 60 percent for certain workloads during a three-year period." Pay as You Go Microsoft will offer Windows Azure under a pay-as-you-go pricing model where customers will pay only for the services they consume. Microsoft plans to charge 12 cents per hour for computing, 15 cents per gigabyte stored, and one cent per 10,000 storage transactions. The Azure platform includes a Web-based relational database in Microsoft SQL Azure together with connectivity and interoperability with .NET services. Microsoft said it will charge $9.99 for the basic Web edition of its SQL Azure database, which includes up to a one-gigabyte relational database; and $99.99 for the business edition with up to a 10GB database. By contrast, .NET services will be 15 cents per 100,000 message operations, including service-bus messages and access-control tokens, the company said. And when it comes to network bandwidth , Microsoft said it will charge between 10 and 15 cents per gigabyte for Windows Azure, SQL Azure and .NET services. The software giant also rolled out an enterprise -class guarantee backed by a service-level agreement that covers service uptime, connectivity and data availability for all three services. "What is interesting about the announcement was that Microsoft has put up pricing and service levels for Azure that are quite attractive to me," said Frank Gillett, a vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research. "Microsoft has taken a step in the right direction." (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   Advertisement  Microsoft/Windows 1.   Ballmer Says Windows 7 Sales Good 2.   Office 2010 Integrates with the Web 3.   MS Told To Stop Some Windows Sales 4.   Microsoft Releases Multiple Betas 5.   IE9 Likely To Access PC Hardware

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Network Security Spotlight

House Lawmakers Push Ban on Peer-to-Peer Software Stung by an embarrassing electronic leak revealing ethics investigations into dozens of lawmakers, Congress moved to prohibit federal employees from using the file-sharing software blamed for the disclosure.   GAO: Los Alamos Computer Security Has Weaknesses Security weaknesses uncovered in Los Alamos National Laboratory's computer network increase the risk of a classified-information breach, says the Government Accountability Office.   Computer Security Firm Fortinet Plans IPO This Week Fortinet plans to go public in an initial public offering, giving investors a chance to tap a network security provider with sales that are expected to grow. The IPO could be valued at $137.5 million or more.

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

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Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Flat Shipments Hurt Dell Despite Increased Earnings Dell's earnings are up and expectations are solid, but the company's stock still took a hit after analysts signaled the company isn't playing a key role in the PC market recovery.   Smartphones: A Bigger Target for Security Threats Smartphones are increasingly prevalent and adept at handling more tasks, including trading stocks, paying bills, and buying stuff online. That makes them attractive to thieves and hackers.   FBI Says Hackers Targeting Law Firms, PR Companies Hackers are targeting law firms and public relations companies with a sophisticated e-mail scheme that breaks into their computer networks to steal sensitive data, often linked to large corporate clients.

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