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What is the Cloud:

Cloud computing is a model for enabling convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources.

Source: http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SNS/cloud-computing/cloud-def-v15.doc

What is Microsoft® Office 365:

Microsoft® Office 365 delivers the power of cloud productivity to businesses of all sizes, helping to save time, money and free up valued resources. Office 365 combines the familiar Office desktop suite with cloud-based versions of Microsoft’s next-generation communications and collaboration services: Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and Lync Online. Office 365 is simple to use and easy to administer – all backed by the robust security and guaranteed reliability you expect from a world-class service provider.

Key Microsoft Office 365 Benefits:

• Anywhere-access to email, documents, contacts, and calendars on nearly any device
• Work seamlessly with Microsoft Office and the other programs your users already count on everyday
• Business-class features including IT-level phone support, guaranteed 99.9% uptime, geo-redundancy, and disaster recovery
• Pay-as-you-go pricing options which give you predictability and flexibility for all or part of your organization
• Latest version of Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), which has millions of business users today

What is Microsoft Windows Azure:

The Windows Azure Platform is a comprehensive Platform as a Service (PaaS) offering that is an open and flexible.

The Windows Azure Platform allows you to choose your language and tools offering many of the tools developers are already familiar with:

• .NET, Java, Ruby, php, python developers can build applications on the Windows Azure Platform. There are many case studies (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/evidence/ ) which highlight the success ISVs have had on the Windows Azure Platform using Java. (Examples include: INFORM, Zuora ,HCL Technologies)
• Use familiar tools such as Visual Studio and Eclipse
• Built on open standards and web protocols such as REST & SOAP
• SQL Azure uses same familiar relational model and tools as SQL Server

The Windows Azure Platform is a:

• Broad set of developer services (compute, storage, caching, integration etc.)
• Mix & match services based on the needs of your application

Each of the components of Windows Azure Platform are described in more detail below.

Windows Azure — A cloud services operating system that serves as the development, service hosting, and service management environment for the Windows Azure Platform. Windows Azure Platform provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage Web applications on the Internet through Microsoft® data centers.

Why get into the cloud:

According to IDC (March 2010) Cloud computing is growing fast(5x – traditional IT services) and next 3 years see the cloud market almost tripling based on industry momentum.

The cloud offers elegant solutions to some of the key challenges faced by ISVs

Additionally Gartner Says in its forecast (Public Cloud Services, WW and Regions, Industry Sectors, 2009 -2014):

Cloud computing/cloud services continued to gather momentum in 2009 and into early 2010 and looks set to increase its material impact on the overall IT industry over the course of the next few years. Although there are many caveats that need to be applied to understanding its development — there are many buyers and sellers whose vested interests are challenged by cloud computing and thus are unlikely to embrace it — it is hard now to convincingly argue that "the cloud" is a passing phase and will "lift" anytime soon. Providers of technology products and services need to ramp up their efforts to leverage cloud computing strategically and tactically; strategically through senior executives communicating internally and externally that cloud computing is a significant part of their plans; tactically through mobilizing and energizing their staff to work through the myriad, complicated, sequential minor steps that need to be executed to address the opportunities and threats cloud computing/cloud services will continue to pose.

There are clear opportunities for both ISV/Partners and customers. Schakra provides different offers that will help you ride into the cloud wave.

Schakra can enable you in the cloud: