Microsoft Azure cloud computing platform announced

Enterprise-aimed solution sees "Windows in the cloud"

27 October 2008 16:51 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

Microsoft has announced the Azure Services Platform at the ongoing Professional Developers Conference 2008.

Azure is Microsoft's cloud computing framework that will eventually be offered alongside Windows 7.

The Azure Services Platform is said to provide developers with the ability to create applications with existing technologies such as the Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual Studio.

Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect is quoted as saying that computer users should expect to Windows Azure to replicate the same operating system but "in the cloud."

"Windows Azure is a new Windows offering in the Web tier of computing, a significant extension in the company's family of platforms," Ozzie said.