Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud

    Windows Azure Gains Traction in the Enterprise

    By
    Pedro Hernandez
    -
    June 18, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin
      cloud management

      Windows Azure, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform, is growing at a brisk pace and notching some crucial customer wins.

      Several of the biggest U.S. companies have adopted Azure, claims Microsoft. In a blog post, Windows Azure general manager Steven Martin wrote, “In just a year, we have grown to over 200 services for our platform, more than doubled our customer base (now at 250,000) and are seeing an average of 1,000 new customers per day.”

      “In fact, more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500 are using Windows Azure already,” added Martin.

      Microsoft first floated Windows Azure in 2008 after Amazon and Google had begun to cement their positions as cloud computing innovators and began offering the IT industry alternatives to on-premise software. As part of its “software plus services” vision, Windows Azure was pitched as a developer-friendly way for Windows coders to dive into the realm of cloud-based software.

      Microsoft’s customer adoption stats indicate that its efforts to bulk up Windows Azure—particularly in the midst of a scorching enterprise mobile market—are paying off. Last week, the company released Azure updates that facilitate mobile back-end development, including support for custom APIs, Git source control and Node.js Node Packaged Modules (NPM) support.

      Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president for Microsoft Server and Tools, stated in a June 14 blog post, “Windows Azure Mobile Services provides the ability to easily stand up a mobile backend that can be used to support your Windows 8, Windows Phone, iOS, Android and HTML5 client applications.”

      In a bid to lure enterprises and cloud application developers to its cloud, Microsoft finally flipped the switch on its infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) play, Windows Azure Infrastructure Services, on April 16. While announcing its general availability, Guthrie stated, “This release is now live in production, backed by an enterprise SLA [service-level agreement], supported by Microsoft Support, and is ready to use for production apps.”

      A year ago, Microsoft added support for some major open-source platforms and frameworks. On June 6, 2012, the company announced support for Linux-based workloads courtesy of Windows Azure virtual machines. Windows Azure Websites, Microsoft’s rapid Website development and deployment offering, gained support for the MongoDB, Solr and CouchDb data services.

      Today, those enhancements are not only strengthening Microsoft’s enterprise cloud credentials, they’re contributing to some massive infrastructure expansion.

      “The growth doesn’t stop with customer volume—we continue to double compute and storage capacity every six to nine months and are simultaneously expanding into Japan, Australia and China (operated by 21Vianet),” Martin wrote.

      At present, Windows Azure is home to more than 4 trillion objects and handles an average of 270,000 requests per second. During peak periods, “demand can grow to a staggering 880,000 requests per second,” added Martin.

      Pedro Hernandez
      Pedro Hernandez is a contributor to eWEEK and the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Previously, he served as a managing editor for the Internet.com network of IT-related websites and as the Green IT curator for GigaOM Pro.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×