14 DAY TRIAL // Although launched officially in mid-November 2009, Windows Azure was only stripped of the Community Technology Preview (CTP) label as of January 1st, 2010. Earlier last year, in August, Microsoft kicked up a notch the Windows Azure Blob features, streamlining the usage of the Windows Azure platform component that allows applications to both store and manipulate large objects and files in the Cloud. But, the software giant is not the only company working to make it simpler for customers to leverage Windows Azure. In this regard, Gladinet Cloud Desktop, a third party solution, is designed to make it easier for Windows Azure users to manage Windows Azure Blob storage.
At the end of the past year, Gladinet pushed Cloud Desktop up to version 1.4.232, offering a way for customers to manage Azure Blob Storage directly from Windows Explorer. The solution makes it possible for Windows Azure Blob storage to be mapped as a virtual network Drive.
“You can map multiple Azure Blob Storage Accounts as side-by-side virtual folders in the same network drive. You can do drag-and-drop between local drive and the Azure drive,” revealed Jerry Huang, from the Gladinet Team. The promise from Gladinet is that Azure Blob Storage mapped as a virtual network drive will function much in the same manner as traditional local drives, and that customers will be able to manage and use cloud storage right from Windows Explorer.
Additional features of Gladinet Cloud Desktop include scheduled backups of a variety of content (with extended support for various file formats including documents, pictures, music or videos), but also scheduled automatic backup of local folders and even Cloud-to-Cloud backup.
Cloud Desktop Professional Edition comes with a price tag of $39.99 for home users, with the possibility to install the software on multiple PCs under the same license. Customers looking to take advantage of Cloud Desktop for commercial use will need to pay $59.99 for a license.
Gladinet Cloud Desktop 1.4.232 is available for download here.