InfoWorld has done some initial tests on the Azure Services Platform and said, "Microsoft's Community Technology Preview reveals a thoughtfully designed cloud computing architecture where seasoned .Net developers will feel at home". It's article, entitled Test Center preview: Windows Azure Services Platform gives wings to .Net positions Azure as a platform aimed at "lone developers starting up a new Web-based company on a shoestring to large teams of enterprise developers looking for high-performance."

Some of the key points in the article:

• The Azure team has picked and chosen existing Microsoft technologies -- virtual servers, the .Net Framework, IIS, worker processes, databases, queues, enterprise service bus, workflows, authentication, and so on -- and adapted them to the cloud.
• One very promising note is how these services are tied together. ... The Azure team used open standards: REST, SOAP, Atom, and the like. This inclusive choice opens the Azure services to easy integration with almost any programming language and operating system.
• The Azure team made the programming model familiar to developers who have worked with the .Net Framework.
• Once I realized that what I was learning was a carefully designed, scalable SOA tied together with RESTful APIs, it began to gel for me.

It's a good read for anyone interested in learning more about Azure Services Platform.