Microsoft Corp expects Windows Azure, a new "cloud computing" platform to allow companies to build Web applications using Microsoft's data centers, to be profitable at launch, the company's top software executive said on Monday. Cloud computing is the trend by Internet powerhouses to array huge numbers of computers in centralised data centers to deliver Web-based applications to far-flung users.
Microsoft built its business selling software to run on local machines - both computer servers and personal computers - but in recent years, it has invested billions of dollars in massive data centers.
In an interview, Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, said the company's new platform to let third-party developers to build, manage and store data for Web applications inside Microsoft data centers will eventually generate "a lot" of revenue albeit at a lower margin than traditional software.
"When we do offer it as a commercial service, we will be profitable from day one," said Ozzie at the Professional Developer's Conference, Microsoft's annual gathering of third-party engineers to detail the company's future plans. Azure is only available in a free, limited preview, but the company expects the platform to underpin a new wave of applications for itself and others looking to take advantage of the flexibility and cost benefits of cloud computing.
It will take a while before Azure will be a significant business on its own, but a benefit of the new platform will be in helping boost the margins and demand for existing Microsoft products built on top of Azure as they shift online. Ozzie, who replaced Bill Gates as Microsoft's top software guru in 2006, is spearheading the company's push into cloud computing.
Traditionally, software has run on a single computer's hard drive, but as Internet connections became faster and more reliable, companies started to deliver software as an online service by using the computing power of the "cloud," a network of powerful computer servers accessed over the Web. Similar to how its Windows operating system became the main platform for programs on personal computers, Microsoft aims to be the platform of choice for Web applications. "Right now, we are still in the early adopter phase of cloud computing, but I think this one will ultimately ... be really, really big," said Ozzie.