The Azure™ Services Platform (or simply just "Azure") is an internet-scale cloud services platform hosted in Microsoft data centers which provides an operating system and a set of developer services for housing enterprise applications. Azure’s flexible and interoperable platform can be used to build new applications to run from the cloud or enhance existing applications with cloud-based capabilities. Its open architecture allows developers to build applications running on connected devices, PCs, servers, or hybrid solutions offering the best of online and on-premises.
Azure reduces the need for up-front technology purchases, and it enables developers to quickly and easily create applications running in the cloud by using their existing skills with the Microsoft Visual Studio development environment and the Microsoft .NET Framework. Azure simplifies maintaining and operating applications by providing on-demand computing and storage to host, scale, and manage web and connected applications. Infrastructure management is automated with a platform that is designed for high availability and dynamic scaling to match usage needs.
The Azure Services Platform lets developers provide their own unique customer solutions by offering the foundational components of compute, storage, and building block services to author and compose applications in the cloud.
For more information on the power of Windows Azure and cloud computing, see the www.microsoft.com/azure website.