How can you explain a cloud operating system in just 145 seconds? Microsoft has the perfect answer to this, and you will be able to find the video embedded at the bottom of this article. Moreover, the Redmond company also managed to add comic value to its inhouse developed video explanation of Windows Azure, codenamed Red Dog. The video does not manage to break any cinematic boundaries, but it is a testimony of how much Microsoft has evolved its communications strategy.

“OK, so it’s hardly Monty Python but… This was a bit of work that myself, Mark Quirk, Michael McClary, George and Will worked on as a simple explanation of Azure (RedDog at the time…). Yes, that’s me on the treadmill with the bandage on my head. The things we do,” revealed Marc Holmes, Evangelist at Microsoft UK.

“Holmesey reckons it’s not exactly Monty Python but I’m not so sure…this is the video our DPE gurus put together for our UK company conference to explain Red Dog (aka Windows Azure). They get the message across in 145 seconds of comic value. Seriously, Mark and Marc’s talents are wasted in DPE,” stated Microsoft's Steve Clayton.

A more by the book definition of Windows Azure is an Internet-scale cloud services platform which uses Microsoft datacenters for hosting. Via Azure, Microsoft is essentially offering an Internet operating system along with a collection of tools and services designed to enable developers to build Cloud applications.

But at the same time, Windows Azure is not limited to just Cloud applications. The platform supports applications designed to run on connected devices, as well as on PCs and on servers, and even online and on-premise hybrid programs.

Microsoft released the first Community Technology Preview of Windows Azure at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles at the end of October.