Today at Build 2013, Microsoft announced the general availability of Windows Azure Mobile Services, a platform that enables app developers to store data in the cloud, authenticate users and send push notifications for their Windows, Windows Phone, iOS and Android apps. Mobile Services is free until August 1, when three tiers of pricing will be introduced, and developers can sign up here for a trial today.
Windows Azure Web Sites, a scalable platform for websites, is also now available to all developers. You can find pricing details for Web Sites here. “Windows Azure Web Sites is the fastest way to build, scale and manage business grade Web applications,” wrote Windows Azure GM Steven Martin in a blog post today.
“It’s open and flexible with support for multiple languages and frameworks including ASP.NET, PHP, Node.JS and Python, multiple open-source applications including WordPress, Drupal and even multiple databases. ASP.NET developers can easily create new or move existing web-sites to Windows Azure from directly inside Visual Studio.”
Discussing the announcements, Satya Nadella, president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business, said that “developers are increasingly demanding a flexible, comprehensive platform that helps them build and manage apps in a cloud- and mobile-driven world.”
“To meet these demands, Microsoft has been doubling down on Windows Azure. Nearly 1,000 new businesses are betting on Windows Azure daily, and as momentum for Azure grows, so too does the developer opportunity to build applications that power modern businesses,” he added.
For more information about Windows Azure Mobile Services and Web Sites, read Martin’s post on the Windows Azure blog and today’s press release. For more news from Build 2013, and to watch today’s keynote, head over to the Microsoft News Center.
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Steve Wiens
Microsoft News Center Staff