The write stuff from reseller to developer

To simply access, the tools and infrastructure, we needed to install everything on an instance of Windows Server 2008. If it looks like a lock-in, quacks like a lock-in ... you get the picture.

But lock-ins don’t have to inhibit business. Some would say Apple’s strategy surrounding iPhone and iPad is to build a lock-in, and that hasn’t hurt Apple.

And in previous computing eras, lock-in certainly hasn’t hurt Microsoft in a noticeable way.

So you’ve met the requirements 

to install the Azure tools, you’re familiar with Microsoft’s Visual Basic-based programming environment and you want to build cloud-based applications.

Azure isn’t free. There are pay- as-you-go plans and subscription plans, based on storage, data transfer, fabric access control transactions, caching and use of SQL Azure.

SDK and Available Tools: Microsoft’s Azure SDK, and an infrastructure that is fully integrated with Visual Studio and the .Net framework, which also supports Eclipse, Java, PHP and Ruby, means developers with a broad range of competencies can jump in and begin working — whether it’s writing new software for the cloud or porting legacy software.

Opportunities: If Microsoft says it is moving its entire product line to the cloud, that would, in fact, be a fairly sizable opportunity. On the flip side, not being able to write code that works in the cloud — particularly the universe of software written to run on Microsoft platforms — would be a fairly sizable disadvantage.

Challenges: Writing an application for the cloud using Azure isn’t exactly like writing a quick script or browser plug-in. Not only that, but it’s not clear how much small or midsize businesses are investing right now — or will invest in the near term — in putting their Microsoft-based enterprise into the cloud. VARs who invest in developing on Azure as a platform will undoubtedly see a payoff at some point, but it’s not clear when.

Differentiation: For many resellers building a software-development business, Azure’s differentiation will be its familiarity. Investments made in core skills in .Net, for example, can be leveraged in Azure. Microsoft also has a TechNet community that is among the most robust technical communities in the world, which can provide a critical support element for resellers who are seeking more stable footing as they build a software-development practice in the cloud.

Platform: OpenStack

Last year, NASA and Rackspace announced they were teaming up to create an open-source  cloud development platform, called OpenStack, and they were working with a number of different companies throughout the IT industry.

This is not development for the faint of heart. When this community’s own introduction to the SDK’s installation instructions uses such phrases as, “mileage may vary,” and to “consider them to be rough outlines or general guides for helping you deploy your own development or test environment."