14 DAY TRIAL // As of the start of July 2011, all inbound data transfer to Windows Azure will no longer be billed by Microsoft.
The tweaking of the Windows Azure billing policy was announced in the second half of June, and it came into effect as of July 1st.
According to the software giant, the change will have the largest impact on customers that need to upload high volumes of content to their Cloud applications / services.
In addition, the billing change is also designed to make Windows Azure more appealing to new customers looking to embrace the Cloud operating system, since it will cut down the costs associated with migrating their data from any existing platform they’re using.
“The Windows Azure team has announced change in pricing for the Windows Azure platform that will provide significant cost savings for customers whose cloud applications experience substantial inbound traffic, and customers interested in migrating large quantities of existing data to the cloud,” revealed Bruce D. Kyle, ISV Architect Evangelist | Microsoft Corporation.
“For billing periods that begin on or after July 1, 2011, all inbound data transfers for both peak and off-peak times will be free.”
The Windows Azure billing modification for inbound data transfer will benefit most companies which upload massive quantities of content, first and foremost.
In this regard, smaller projects housed on Windows Azure will most probably not start seeing consistent cost reductions.
The pricing change is “a significant step in making Windows Azure more affordable for companies of all sizes. Whether a company is dealing with megabytes, gigabytes or terabytes, eliminating data ingress fees will significantly reduce their research and development, testing and operational costs,” revealed David MacLaren, president and CEO of VRX Studios.
According to the software giant, additional customers leveraging Windows Azure have provided positive feedback over cutting the costs of inbound data transfers.