Windows Azure now spans east to west

Windows Azure originally covered the northwest and the southwest with existing data centers in USA  addition to covering  Europe and Southeast Asia with data centers in Europe and Asia. Now it has announced that it will cover clients in the US East as well. The location of data is not a critical issue in US as they are covered under uniform law as for as governmental access is concerned but it may affect latency for the users. In Europe it appears that each country has it covered by its own law, but a union-wide access may be in place before long.

This new coverage may require one or two data centers in the west. So far Microsoft is keeping mum about their location.

Get complete scoop from  RedmondMag.com .

SQL Azure gets a booster shot from an Australian SaaS Provider

Australia based SaaS provider Movideo is dumping its open source based cloud provider (based on the LAMP stack) and going with Microsoft Azure to improve performance of the company's bottom line.

Movideo is not so hot on either Google or Amazon for they lack certain features of Microsoft's Azure Cloud platform. With this Movideo will try to extend its wings and fly beyond its present Asia-Pacific region.

It appears Movideo has started migrating the hugh amount of data from its previous implementation and it may take almost half a year to port all the data.

With this the Azure Platform is sure to become more attractive for other similar customers. SQL Azure's administration features; and its close knit interactity with SQL Server; and synchronization services available on a global scale were some of the compelling features of the Azure platform that provided the motivation.

Do not forget to read more here & here. Perhaps the stocks of Microsoft and Akamai will begin to rise.

Do not forget to get a copy of my comprehensive book on SQL Azure here.