How Can Hosters Leverage Windows Azure?

As a Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) reseller, you want to help your SPLA Accounts leverage every opportunity to reach new customers, increase revenue and become more successful.

The Windows Azure Platform offers your SPLA Accounts the opportunity to create new scenarios to reach customers. Hosters, in particular, can offer tools and solutions for Azure Services development, aggregate customer offerings, and expand geographically by offering hosting solutions via Windows Azure in markets where they do not have the infrastructure.

Hosters Can Scale Quickly

The Windows Azure Platform provides a flexible, familiar environment for developers to create cloud applications and services. When hosters partner with the Windows Azure Platform, they have access to the three primary elements that allow developers to increase their time to market and enhance scalability.

1. Windows Azure operating system as an online service.
2. Microsoft SQL Azure as a fully relational cloud database solution.
3. Windows Azure platform AppFabric as a way to connect cloud services and on-premises applications.

SPLA Accounts have the ability to develop, integrate, and utilize the flexibility and scalability of the Windows Azure Platform cloud hosting solutions while running and maintaining applications within their own data center or network infrastructure. The possibilities of new and enhanced services are nearly endless.

Hosters Can Deploy New Offerings Quickly

The Windows Azure Platform provides a scalable cloud solution that hosters can utilize to develop new tools, services, and offerings to their customers. When hosters utilize the Windows Azure Platform, they can test, launch, and maintain applications their customers can use without having to invest in a costly infrastructure, expensive equipment, and other resources required to manage and maintain a cloud-based product or service offering. The Windows Azure Platform provides everything your SPLA Accounts need to develop their own tools, platform-based services, and other cloud solutions.

Hosters Can Build Tools

With the Windows Azure Platform, hosters are uniquely positioned to offer services to support developers in deploying and managing applications deployed on Windows Azure. Hosters can integrate tools and control panels to market to developers looking for a cloud solution. For example, by building a control panel on the Windows Azure Platform, hosters can enable customers to purchase popular PHP and .NET applications hosted in a reliable and scalable environment.

While minimizing infrastructure investments, hosters can offer specialty services that require unique hosting capabilities and build tools that simplify access and usage of cloud services to expand revenue opportunities. Hosters that want to move away from infrastructure management can also make their services available on Windows Azure infrastructure via their existing developer offerings.

Hosters Can Package Platform-based Services

With the Windows Azure Platform, hosters have an opportunity to package platform-based services such as cloud storage or media streaming, for resale through a reseller network. For example, hosting solutions businesses can expand by offering solutions for different workloads and business scenarios such as offering “Pay-as-you-go IT Services” that customers can deploy and run instantly. Examples for simple use cases include Web sites, cloud file servers, or simple cloud databases.

Hosters can leverage opportunities with the Windows Azure Platform to develop scalable ecommerce solutions and services that businesses and organizations need in today’s highly competitive marketplace.

To learn more about how hosters can leverage the Windows Azure Platform visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/