Free Windows Azure Benefits Extended for MSDN Subscribers

Developers visiting the Windows Azure Platform Benefits for MSDN Subscribers page on the Microsoft Developer hub will be greeted by this message: “the 8-month introductory MSDN benefits have been extended to 16 months!” Essentially, the Redmond company has taken the decision to offer free Windows Azure to MSDN Premium, MSDN Ultimate and BizSpark subscribers for a total of 16 months after the introduction of the Cloud platform in January 2010. The initial Windows Azure introductory MSDN benefits were scheduled to expire after just 8 months.

“Today we are announcing that we are doubling the initial Windows Azure benefits to MSDN subscribers by extending the offer from eight months to 16 months. Windows Azure is a flexible cloud-computing platform that provides developers with on-demand compute and storage to host, scale, and manage web applications on the internet through Microsoft datacenters,” revealed S. Somasegar, Microsoft Senior Vice President, Developer Division.

The two tables on the left are designed to illustrate the benefits associated with the Introductory 16-month Offer, which is already available, as well as the Future Subscriber Benefits, which will only kick in November 2010 or later. According to the Redmond company, developers with MSDN subscriptions will get to leverage Windows Azure, AppFabric, and SQL Azure completely free, as part of their existing deals with the company. Microsoft emphasizes that if devs were to pay for the Introductory 16-month Offer, they would have had to cough up $2,518 (USD).

“This January we introduced Windows Azure benefits as part of the MSDN Premium, Ultimate and BizSpark subscriptions with an eight month introductory offer. This offer allows MSDN subscribers to take advantage of the benefits of the Windows Azure platform, including the ability to quickly scale up or down based on your business need without the hassle of dealing with operational hurdles such as server procurement, configuration, and maintenance. With Azure, you pay only for what you use. I encourage MSDN subscribers and BizSpark members to sign up for their Azure benefits if you have not done so already,” Somasegar added.

Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-Day Evaluation is available for download here.

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