Developers: Why and How - All In the Cloud

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I get asked many times by developers about Microsoft’s “cloud” efforts and technologies and where they might “plug in”.

I’ve found this rather simplistic response helps steer developers in the right direction. Developer options in the era of the “cloud”:

  1. If you develop on-premise applications – no change here – you might be building super high power CAD/CAM, video, audio processing applications that need dedicated processors, lots of memory and very, very fast data read/write.
    1. The cloud might not be for you.
  2. If you develop software-as-a-service in the cloud that needs lots of custom configurations and maybe specific hardware specs.
    1. Working with a hosting company that has lots of experience on-boarding applications on to their hosting infrastructure
    2. Possibly a Microsoft a Software+Services Incubation Center partner can help you launch your product as a service
      1. https://www.microsoft.com/hosting/en/us/programs/incubationcenter.aspx
  3. If you develop applications using familiar tools like Visual Studio and technologies like .NET and the applications might require storing relational and other types of data or the ability to connect to other applications running in the cloud or on premises.
    1. Windows Azure might be for you see: https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=158011 
    2. Why Azure: https://www.msdev.com/Directory/SeriesDescription.aspx?CourseId=153
  4. If you customize hosted collaboration solutions like Microsoft SharePoint 2010 then the Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) https://www.microsoft.com/online/business-productivity.mspx might be an opportunity for you to offer developmental services to customers.