Microsoft: Azure's showing business allure

Microsoft's cloud-computing push, Windows Azure, was only launched six months ago and while it is still early days for the technology, Azure has already attracted thousands of users and could prove central to the software giant's technology plans.

Azure is Microsoft's cloud-computing platform, which provides its users with scalable computing power and storage, as well as a number of other online services hosted on Microsoft data centers.

While Microsoft has offered online services for some time with consumer products such as Hotmail and Windows Live, Azure aims to boost its software-as-a-service presence to cater to its enterprise customers who are looking to push their computing infrastructure out into the cloud.

Azure was launched as a paid-for service in February and although Microsoft isn't giving exact uptake figures, President of Server and Tools Bob Muglia recently told Silicon.com that many businesses are continuing to use the service after its initial period as a free service ended.

Read more of "Windows Azure: Inside Microsoft's cloud computing strategy" at Silicon.com.