One of the interesting architectural discussions that comes up when designing highly scalable systems, such as those that run on Windows Azure, is how to co-ordinate multiple “nodes” so that they use use unique keys within an application or system. It...

It’s great to see one of the partners I have worked with, bbits , who developed the excellent Windows Azure application Love Clean Streets , get involved in the discussion around the future of mobile development, in a recent Computer Weekly article, ...

A few days ago, Eric Nelson and I locked down the dates for www.sixweeksofazure.co.uk which is fantastic news. We also confirmed that our core set of webinars and online surgeries will happen on the Monday and Wednesday of each week – with additional...

I met up with one of my UK ISV partners, Newgrove to find out more about their new cloud based product, Orpheus, used by client's such the FT , to help them make sure they are getting the best value from their advertising. In the video he find out how...

In my latest video case study for Channel 9 , I talk to Media Science about how they have used the Windows Azure platform to help solve the problem of "Big Data" - millions and millions of chunks of data, in a wide variety of different formats...

Our team are hosting another Windows Azure BizSpark Camp in London, on Friday 30th September, 2011. So, if you are a start-up and you have been wondering about Windows Azure, or more generally about your cloud strategy, why not come along for the day...

If you are in the process of evaluating the Windows Azure platform, one of the questions you are may be asking yourself is, who else is using Windows Azure? Our Developer and Platform Group within Microsoft here in the UK has been working closely with...

Our team do all our work with partners who are the early movers, those who see the cloud, and in particular, Windows Azure, as a great opportunity to reduce costs, create new ideas or take existing products to new levels of functionality. As part of that...

The whole area of autoscaling Windows Azure applications comes up as a regular topic in discussions about the platform, mainly because there isn’t an “out the box” solution for it. This is for a number of factors, not least of which is the fact that we...

The Windows Azure Platform went live in January 2010 which means that in the UK we already have some great examples of solving real business problems elegantly through the use of cloud computing. At TechDays in May, I introduced on stage four partners...

Active Web Solutions, one of the UK partners that has been working with Windows Azure since before its launch, has launched their “Global Alerting Platform” on Windows Azure. Read more about it in this Register article , and how they build it here .

As a software architect, I admit that I don’t have the practical experience around the hardware and operational side of the business, so I found Rick Bakken’s session at TechEd 2011 “How Microsoft Manages Its Cloud Infrastructure at a Huge Scale” a fascinating...

I, and some of the other folk at Microsoft who care about Windows Azure, will be presenting at TechDays next week in London. We have created a special track for the day, focused on cloud computing, and in particular, the Windows Azure Platform. If you...

David Chappell has a gift for writing very clear and very readable white papers that explain quite complex topics, so it’s great that he has written a number of such papers on the Windows Azure Platform. So, if you want to read more, check out his blog...

I got my camera out, and met up with Richard Prodger, from Active Web Solutions (AWS) to discover more about how they built their new “Global Alerting Platform” , a system that ushers in a new generation of devices that mean “no matter where you are,...

Our team are pleased to announce the second annual Microsoft BizSpark Camp for the Windows Azure Platform on the 25th March, 2011, in London. The is a day designed to offer the following assistance to entrepreneurs, in particular, the CTOs and developers...

I have been running our series of free One Day Windows Azure Briefings for Microsoft Partners, on the “Second Monday of Every Month" , for 6 months now. They have been very well received, and the informal environment we create has been ideal for...

I have worked with the folks from Koodibooks for many years, and indeed, two of the founders are ex-members of our team at Microsoft, so its great to see them up and running on Windows Azure. Its a really cool idea, so check out their site , and read...

On Monday our team held a Windows Azure briefing to partners. My slides are now on-line here Understanding the Windows Azure Platform – Dec 2010 View more presentations from DavidGristwood . Eric Nelson has also done an excellent job of providing some...

Another video about Microsoft partners using Windows Azure, this time with Mydeo ( http://www.mydeo.com/ / ) at the end of an intense 2 week Windows Azure “Proof of Concept” activity at our Microsoft Technology Center (MTC) in the UK. In the video they...

One of the great strengths of .NET is its language neutrality –whilst I may be a C# programmer, because my background is C and C++, there are lots of developers who favour other programming languages. One language that has caught a lot of attention recently...

These briefings are designed for Business decision makers, CTOs, senior architects and system designers, and will cover Cloud Computing, and in particular, the Windows Azure platform . The sessions are designed to help ISVs and SIs understand the opportunities...

Although there is a lot of on-line material for Windows Azure, there are times when you can’t beat the traditional instructor led training.  We are pleased to announce this two-day intensive instructor-led workshop, which provides delegates with...

Earlier this year, Eric Nelson and I ran a virtual course “ 6 Weeks of Windows Azure ”. The format, a mixture of Live Meetings and coursework  proved so popular that it has been re-run in other parts of the world, and an evolution of it, a two week...

One of the questions that crops up on a regular basis when discussing the Windows Azure platform is around the idea of folk either running Windows Azure in their own hosting center, or having the machines running Windows Azure physically reside in a certain...