After working pretty quietly for the last several years on Windows Azure Active Directory—the Microsoft identity management service for organizations—we are excited about the opportunity to start sharing more information about what our team...

To meet evolving customer needs across both ends of the database size spectrum, we are lowering the price of SQL Azure and introducing a 100MB database option. Customers will realize 48% to 75% savings for databases larger than 1GB. The 100MB DB option...

Today, we are ushering in the new era of Hybrid Cloud, bringing together the best of on-premises and cloud computing. Virtual Machines, Virtual Network, and Web Sites are now available as new preview services for Windows Azure. SQL Reporting is now Generally...

Folks, we’ve traditionally bylined our blog posts as “Windows Azure Team”. This has kept the team creating these blog posts behind the curtains. However, we think it would be valuable for our readers to get to know the Windows Azure...

Slow or long-running queries can contribute to excessive resource consumption and be the consequence of blocked queries; in other words poor performance. The concept of blocking is not different on SQL Azure then on SQL Server. Blocking is an unavoidable...

How would you like to try SQL Azure and Windows Azure for a month - for free?  Now you can, with the Windows Azure Platform One Month Pass USA .  Through this unique offer, US developers can get a one month pass to try out SQL Azure and Windows...

Microsoft Project Code-Named “Houston” (Houston) is a light weight database management tool for SQL Azure. Houston can be used for basic database management tasks like authoring and executing queries, designing and editing a database schema, and editing...

I see this come up from time to time, so I thought I would set the record straight; a server isn’t a machine. In SQL Azure, there is a concept of a server, which appears in the SQL Azure portal looking like this: However, a server isn’t the same as a...

SQL Azure doesn’t currently support page level or row level compression like the enterprise edition of SQL Server 2008. However, you can implement your own column level compression in your data access layer to take advantage of the performance and cost...

In this example application, I am going to build a Bing Maps tile server using Windows Azure that draws push pins on the tiles based on coordinates stored as spatial data in SQL Azure. Bing Maps allows you to draw over their maps with custom tiles; these...

SQL Azure currently supports 1 GB and 10 GB databases. If you want to store larger amounts of data in SQL Azure you can divide your tables across multiple SQL Azure databases. This article will discuss how to use a middle layer to join two tables on different...

“Why?” my five year old asks. “Because I said” is my usual response. In the blog comments, we have noticed an abundance of “Why do we have to have a clustered index on our tables?” In this case “Because we said” is not going to cut it and really does...

Hi! For those who I haven’t met yet, I’m Patric McElroy and I’m the GPM for the SDS team. I’ve been with the team since last summer and it has been an amazing ride so far – lots of progress, lots of learning and lots of cool stuff ahead of us. For most...

The SDS team was extremely busy last week at TechEd North America in L.A.. We presented 3 sessions, recorded 4 TechEd online videos and spent a great deal of time speaking with customers. Here is a video we did on what the provisioning experience will...

At PDC ‘09, I showed a glimpse of a new Silverlight tool we were working on to allow you to develop and manage your SQL Azure databases. We showed updated versions of this at MIX’10 and TechEd North America 2010 and promised for a CTP this summer. Looking...

Announcing Infrastructure Services GA and New Price Commitment Today is an exciting day for Microsoft, Windows Azure and all of our customers around the world. I am very pleased to announce the general availability of Windows Azure Infrastructure Services...

Would you like to know how to leverage your existing ASP.NET skills to build Windows Azure applications? Then be sure to check out two new articles, Cloud Development in Visual Studio 2010 and Developing and Deploying Windows Azure Apps in Visual Studio...

This post, which is the first part of a two-part series on SQL Azure, focuses on the new features and functionality in the SQL Azure Q2 2011 Service Release. Today we are excited to announce that we have finished the rollout of the Q2 2011 Service...

Windows Azure Caching is a distributed, in-memory, scalable, reliable caching solution that can be used to speed up Windows Azure applications and reduce database load. The first production service was released in May 2011; we are pleased to see that...

During the BUILD 2012 conference we announced a new capability of Windows Azure: the Windows Azure Store . The Windows Azure Store makes it incredibly easy for you to discover, purchase, and provision premium add-on services, provided by our partners...

Editor’s Note: Today’s post, written by Minitab Enterprise Web Architect Michael Yeaney, describes how the company uses Windows Azure and continuous integration to rapidly build analytics solutions for its customers. Minitab Inc. is the...

In this blog post we will cover some new abilities in SQL Server Management Studio 2012 (SSMS) that enhance the ability to work with SQL Azure . Specifically, we will highlight support in SSMS for the new SQL Azure feature known as SQL Azure Federation...

A newly updated version of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit is now available for download . This January update provides new and updated demo scripts, as well as a new Windows Phone 7 hands-on lab (HOL) for the Windows Azure platform. Other...

As customers transition to the cloud, a number of tasks traditionally handled in-house become the responsibility of a trusted cloud provider. While the idea of using a vendor for technical support isn’t new, the role of Customer Support in the cloud...

Earlier this month we released an updated version of the Windows Azure Platform Training Kit. The September 2011 update of the training kit includes updated hands-on labs for the Windows Azure SDK/Tools version 1.5 (September 2011.) The September update...

Once you’ve decided to make a move to the cloud, a million questions will arise about specific details and capabilities. Finding the answers to your questions isn’t always easy but Windows Azure partners can help by providing you with the...

Want to hear first-hand about Microsoft's own move to the cloud and Windows Azure ? Would you like to know more about the benefits, implications and strategies involved? Then be sure to listen in to a new series of TechNet Edge interviews with top...

The Atlantic hosted a digital town hall today on how to create the jobs and the economy of the future. Assisted by the Microsoft Town Hall cloud-computing tool and with sponsorship from Microsoft, the conversation featured interviews and panel discussions...

We’re introducing a new section in the Windows Azure technical library called Real World Windows Azure Guidance , which features articles written by MVPs and other members of the community. The articles provide useful information based on real...

Don't miss this FREE three-part series of webinars that cover the benefits, implications of - and best practices for - adopting Windows Azure . Click on the session title to register. The Business Case for Azure (Part 1) - January 12, 2011...

Given the right circumstances, website management in the cloud drastically reduces costs and time, and allows your company to devote resources to its core competencies. But is website management in the cloud a good fit for your organization? Join a...

Windows Azure Developer Evangelist David Gristwood , spotlights several UK customers who have had great success on Windows Azure in his most recent post, “Who Else is Using Windows Azure…?” The post also includes videos taken during...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] As part of the Real World SQL Azure series, we talked to Robert Johnston, Founder and Vice President of Paladin Data Systems, about moving to SQL Azure to easily and cost-effectively serve both larger...

Security is often reported as one of the top concerns or barriers to cloud adoption for businesses. To help dispel this perception, today Microsoft released r esearch that shows that small and medium sized businesses (SMB) are gaining significant IT security...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] Sitecore has been chosen as our first ISV of the month. Sitecore provides a content management solution for Enterprise websites and has strong momentum within the ISV community and with customers alike...

Todd Papaioannou is currently at Yahoo!, in the role of vice president of cloud architecture for the cloud platform group. Before taking on that role, Todd was responsible for new product architecture and strategy at Teradata, including driving the...

The London Olympics were a massive orchestration of 302 gold medal events squeezed into just 19 days. Multiple heats or rounds, often happening simultaneously, across 32 sports, challenged content providers to deliver flexibility to viewers in just about...

Today at 9:40 AM PDT, Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business (STB), will participate in an onstage fireside chat moderated by Derrick Harris, GigaOm senior writer, at the GigaOm Structure event. Tune in to hear Nadella...

We are excited to share that we have released a number of enhancements to the new Windows Azure Management Portal. These new capabilities are all live now in production and available to use immediately. They include: Service Bus Management and Monitoring...

Editor's Note: The following is a post from Satya Nadella, President of the Server & Tools Business at Microsoft. As the worldwide demand for cloud computing continues to grow, so does Windows Azure. Microsoft is the only at-scale global public...

Last month we announced the Developer Preview of Windows Azure Active Directory (Windows Azure AD) which kicked off the process of opening up Windows Azure Active Directory to developers outside of Microsoft. You can read more about that initial release...

[This article was contributed by the SQL Azure team.] TechNet has an interesting article on understanding query performance in SQL Azure. The article discusses how database administrators can track exactly what Transact-SQL statements are being submitted...

Customers tell us that the only thing they know for sure is that their needs will change over time. As they tune and grow their applications they find they need more of one thing and less of another. Current commitment offers in the market tempt customers...

If you plan to attend MIX11 , next week in Las Vegas, NV don't miss these sessions to learn how the Windows Azure platform and ASP.NET CMS providers can enable you to build highly scalable, rich and compelling web experiences quickly and seamlessly...

The world’s premier student technology competition, Microsoft’s Imagine Cup , kicked off its finals on, July 6 th in Sydney Australia with more than 350 young technologists from 75 countries and regions. This year marked the event’s...

If you’re looking for more information about the news we shared in yesterday’s blog post, “Announcing New Windows Azure Services to Deliver “Hybrid Cloud” by Bill Laing, be sure to read Scott Guthrie’s new blog post...

[This article was contributed by the AppFabric team.] Today at the TechEd conference we announced that we have released enhancements to Service Bus as part of the Windows Azure AppFabric CTP May release, and the upcoming release of the AppFabric Developer...