Sick of constantly
hassling people to clean up files on the server? Want more compute resource at
peak times but don’t want the added overhead? Combine your SharePoint with
Windows Azure and these problems, and more besides, are solved. Azure can
handle your document storage, as well as holding huge amounts of SharePoint
application data, all within the cloud.
Azure’s dynamically
scalable hosting potential can bring practical service-based scenarios into
SharePoint. And it’s not just added space that Azure offers; it’s also ease of
use. You can create customer-facing interfaces in Azure, that can be easily
integrated into SharePoint’s architecture, and your developers can continue to
leverage their skills in Microsoft Visual Studio, Microsoft .NET, Java or other
development environments.
Azure’s simple
pay-as-you-go pricing model also streamlines budgeting and removes the need for
capital expenditure on upfront purchases, provisioning and management of
additional server infrastructure. In short, Windows Azure is about simplicity:
creating an easier life for you, while improving the performance of your
current SharePoint system.
An
overview of Windows Azure
Azure is already
improving businesses through the following key features and benefits:
- Simplified operations and maintenance of applications – by providing on-demand scalability of both compute and storage.
- Reduced need for up-front purchases – with a pay-as-you-go pricing model, budgeted from Opex, not Capex.
- Increased compatibility – providing an open environment that supports multiple internet protocols, including HTTP/HTTPS, REST, SOAP, and XML. This enables your developers to easily create cloud-based applications in their preferred scripting language without further training.
- Responsive management – Azure handles load balancing and resource management automatically, giving users all the bandwidth and storage they need, the instant they need it.
StorSimple solved their forever
increasing storage issues with Windows Azure.
Start-up software
vendor StorSimple is using Windows Azure to solve the storage issues of
companies with high-growth applications. StorSimple’s hybrid solution
seamlessly integrates cloud storage services for Microsoft Exchange, SharePoint
and Windows Server with on-premises servers to deliver a scalable, on-demand
cloud storage model.
Who’s
using Windows Azure with SharePoint?
Point8020 - Learning content provider Point8020
uses Windows Azure to enhance the delivery of expert-led instructional videos
that help businesses make the most of SharePoint.
Read more
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“Our
customers already have an investment in Microsoft technology. I’m sure they
will be happy knowing our product is based on Windows Azure. It gives them
confidence that the services will be reliable, available, and offer great
performance.”
Martin
Harwar, Chief Executive Officer, Point8020
Hitachi - Global IT consulting firm Hitachi
Consulting is streamlining reporting for U.S. Government contractors with their
Program Management Framework combining the Microsoft SQL Azure cloud database
service with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010.
“With SQL
Azure and our solution, we anticipate that a typical client will save at least
$200,000 annually in hardware and licensing costs alone. Plus, the reduced
administrative burden of SQL Azure and Windows Azure will allow our clients to
refocus scarce technical resources on higher value activities.”
Rob Rae, Director Microsoft Platform
Practice, Hitachi Consulting
Curtsey: Microsoft Corp.
