14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is not only pushing Windows Azure hard around the world, but the company is also baking up the marketing with some special deals for new customers.
Normally, the basic offering from the Redmond company is Windows Azure Platform Consumption, which offers a “Pay As You Go” pricing plan, and is designed to cover compute hours, storage, data transfers, SQL Azure databases, Access Control transactions and Service Bus connections.
But the software giant has some additional options for companies that are ready to embrace the Cloud.
First off, it is allowing new users to test drive Windows Azure free of charge until March 31st, 2011, provided that they stick to the usage limitations of the Windows Azure Platform Introductory Special.
MSDN members with a Premium or Ultimate subscription, but also startups that are leveraging the Microsoft BizSpark program are also able to test the company’s Cloud platform free, including Windows Azure, AppFabric, SQL Azure, and data transfers.
Member offers are also available to companies enrolled in the Microsoft Partner Network, which get an automatic discount of 5% of any Windows Azure option they select.
In addition, the Windows Azure Platform Development Accelerator Core is available at a 54% discount of the normal consumption rates.
With the Windows Azure Platform SQL Azure Development Accelerator Core Microsoft is offering 25% off of the normal consumption rates, while for Windows Azure Platform Development Accelerator Extended the discount is again 52% off.
“If you want to try the Windows Azure platform with no financial commitment, you should sign up for our Introductory Special offer, which allows you to try a small amount of Windows Azure platform resources at no charge,” a Windows Azure team member explained.
“When you sign up for the Introductory offer, you will be asked for a credit card but your card will not be billed as long as you stay within the no-charge amount included in the offer.
“If you want to use Windows Azure but don't want to make a long-term financial commitment, select from our Standard consumption offers and simply pay for what you use.
“If you're prepared to make a 6-month commitment, select from one of our Commitment offers, which provide a significantly discounted price in return for a six-month commitment to pay a monthly base fee.”