If Windows Dies, Rest Azure, Microsoft will Survive…

Microsoft, love them or hate them, they are a significant cog in the IT world. With the legacy Windows (or should we say Office software suite) Divisions, and the Xbox and Bing (which have yet to make money) alone Microsoft looms as one of the larger software providers in the world.

However, there is a Server and Tools side that comprises of the mosaic of various products such as, Visual Studio, SharePoint, and consulting services just to name a few.  In short, at least six (6) separate lines that generate over a billion in revenues each.  In fact,  its Microsoft’s third largest division, which consistently achieves double digit growth and will likely rack up about $20 billion in revenues this year while operating at impressive 40% margins.  It is also where the bulk of that massive R&D budget is probably going.

This is where they have their cloud computing platform Azure, which is the direct answer to Amazon’s AWS, and is likely a significant player in Microsoft’s long term strategy. If, as many critics would have us believe, Windows slowly dies a natural death, it’s not hard to see how Azure would be the response.

Windows Azure is Microsoft's cloud application platform. Windows Azure can be used to build a web application that runs and stores its data in Microsoft data centers. It can connect on-premises applications with each other or map between different sets of identity information.

In June 2012, Windows Azure released the following new features:

• Websites allows developers to build sites using ASP.NET, PHP, or Node.js and can be deployed using FTP, Git, or Team Foundation Server.

• Virtual machines let developers migrate applications and infrastructure without changing existing code, and can run both Windows Server and Linux virtual machines.

• Cloud services - Microsoft's Platform as a Service (PaaS) environment that is used to create scalable applications and services. Supports multi-tier scenarios and automated deployments.

• Data management - SQL Database, formerly known as SQL Azure Database, works to create, scale and extend applications into the cloud using Microsoft SQL Server technology. Integrates with Active Directory and Microsoft System Center and Hadoop.

• Media services - A PaaS offering that can be used for encoding, content protection, streaming, and/or analytics.

• The Windows Azure Platform provides an API built on REST, HTTP, and XML that allows a developer to interact with the services provided by Windows Azure. Microsoft also provides a client-side managed class library which encapsulates the functions of interacting with the services. It also integrates with Microsoft Visual Studio, Git, and Eclipse.

So as we watch Microsoft’s legacy businesses, like Frank Abagnale, print money until they fall out of favor, and slowly watch the non-profit pieces (Bing and Xbox) grow proportionally, we may be overlooking their greatest asset that no one knows are notices, Server and Tools.  Believe us when we say, Microsoft isn't.

Source(s):

• http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2013/04/22/the-blockbuster-microsoft-business-that-nobody-ever-seems-to-talk-about/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Azure

So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;”

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About Rick Ricker

An IT professional with over 21 years experience in Information Security, wireless broadband, network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.

For more information, contact Rick at (800) 399-6085