Windows Azure team has announced the transition from the Community Technology Preview (CTP) to the release and had provided information for developers who want to continue development.

Transition from CTP to Business

Windows Azure will go live at Professional Developers Conference (PDC09). The conference marks transition from a CTP to a business. For your planning purposes, this post maps out the key stages of that transition that you should be aware of.

1. At PDC 2009, on November 17, 2009, a number of new features in Windows Azure will be made available for the first time. The CTP will remain open through December 31, allowing you to experiment with the full feature platform and to give us any final feedback.
2. Beginning January 2010, new customers will have to sign up for an offer to access services on the Windows Azure platform. You’ll receive your first bill with a $0 balance, so you can see your exact usage while still enjoying free service.
3. On February 1, 2010, we will begin charging customers for using the Windows Azure platform.

Making the transition in these three steps accomplishes a few goals.

• You’ll be able to explore our full feature set for free.
• Our team can get your feedback on the new features and address any issues that arise.
• You preview exactly how billing will work before you need to start paying.

In an email to CTP participants, the Windows Azure team said, “PDC 2009 is an exciting event for all of us who are working on the Windows Azure platform as it’s our opportunity to show you the work that we’ve done over the past year, including some brand new features.  We’d like to thank everyone who has participated in our Community Technology Preview. Windows Azure, SQL Azure and .NET Services are better products because of you. We look forward to seeing you next month at PDC 2009.”

For more information on Windows Azure, see Windows Azure Platform. For steps for developers getting started see, Getting Started. For pricing, see Windows Azure Pricing.

MSDN Subscribers

MSDN subscribers can get started developing on the Windows Azure platform today. Later, following commercial availability of the Windows Azure platform, subscribers will benefit from compute hours, storage, data transfers, SQL Azure databases and .NET Services messages included at no extra charge as part of their subscription. The Windows Azure platform offers a simple, comprehensive, and powerful platform for the creation of web applications and services.

To learn more about the benefits you’ll receive as MSDN subscriber, see Windows Azure Platform Benefits for MSDN Subscribers.

To purchase MSDN subscriptions or to determine pricing, see Compare MSDN and Expression Subscriptions.

NOTE: MSDN Subscriptions and licenses are available as part of reaching Certified or Gold Certified membership in the Microsoft Partner Network too. For more information about the benefits, see Competency: ISV/Software Solutions.

Bruce D. Kyle
ISV Architect Evangelist | Microsoft Corporation