Question: Is Microsoft so focused on Windows Azure that it doesn’t care about helping UK software product authors that have no plans to use it? Short answer:   We absolutely do care about helping software product authors (ISVs) adopt other MS technologies. Check out Microsoft Platform Ready and...

This one has come up several times lately. Hence the need for a Q&A. Question: Or to put it another way. Given the copy takes “some time”, is the new database transactionally consistent with the original database at the point where the copy was started or at the point where the copy completed? Short...

[Check out other QandA posts ] Quick Answer: Very healthy, thanks for asking. Longer Answer: Product developers need to make careful and informed choices when selecting platforms to target – as each new platform significantly increases the demands placed on the development and support functions of the...

Question: Windows Azure AppFabric Access Control Service supports Federated Security. Errr… what exactly is Federated Security? Answer: To understand the purposed of the Access Control Service you need to first understand Federated Security. My colleague Steve has an excellent Federation Primer which...

Question : My application works on Windows Azure – now how do I get to use the Powered by Windows Azure Logo? Answer : You can either follow the process outlined on the Windows Azure Co-marketing site OR if you a partner, successfully test your application using the Microsoft Platform Ready (MPR) test...

Over on the LinkedIn group I asked  “What is the one question you would most like answering about "the cloud" and/or the Windows Azure Platform? Bit of fun - but also an important topic for any ISV thinking about their own product roadmap. What is the one question you would really like...

Question: Do I really need to build my web applications to work with IE6? Answer: Probably not. It does depend on who your target audience is but usage of IE6 worldwide has been shrinking for sometime. You can track the decline at http://www.ie6countdown.com/ As of March 8th 2011, the UK is at 3.5%....

Answer I have been asked a couple of times this year about taking compute intensive operations to Windows Azure and/or High Performance Computing on Windows Azure. It is an interesting (if slightly niche) area. The good news is we have a great paper from David Chappell on HPC Server and Windows Azure...

Official Answer: If you like flowery marketing words then check out the description on the site http://www.microsoftcloudpartner.com/ else read on. Short Answer: It is an awesome FREE offer to Microsoft Partner Network partners to help them get on the Cloud and to help them build software products running...

We keep mentioning “Microsoft Platform Ready” (MPR) on this blog and ISVs keep asking me – “What the heck is it?” Official Answer: If you like flowery marketing words then check out the description on the MPR site www.microsoftplatformready.com . Else read on. Short Answer: MPR is an attempt by Microsoft...

[This is a placeholder – it will be updated after the 25th with all the presentations etc] A big thanks to everyone who attended on the 25th and to my fellow speakers for doing a great job. Ok – they haven't presented yet but I know they will :-) Microsoft Technology Roadmap – Eric Nelson ( blog | twitter...

On my personal blog I have built up a pretty significant number of Q&A posts in response to questions I typically hear from developers looking to adopt the Windows Azure Platform.  Given my new role focused on ISVs (such as your good selves) I thought I would continue the series on this blog...