Windows Azure Mobile Services

Chapter 1

Introduction and Fundamental Concepts

IN THIS CHAPTER:

• Learn how Windows Azure evolved from its early days as a moderately useful product to become the collection of services that form the heart of Microsoft’s online functionality
• Understand the different products and services that exist under the Windows Azure banner
• Create your first Windows Azure Mobile Service

The concept of “cloud computing” has taken on gargantuan proportions over the past few years. Though the actual definition of “the cloud” is still open for debate, its impact on the technology field is much more certain. After years of taking a back seat, many companies are moving discussions about virtualization and cloud computing to the forefront of strategic planning. This growth can be traced back to the idea, first espoused in the 1990s, that the network is the computer. However, it took much more than a decade for the technology to catch up to the promise. But now it seems that the day is at hand. The Internet is little more than a delivery channel for cloud services (in fact, I’ve always said that web pages were the first commonly used web services). People have become comfortable putting the frequently used services onto the web. Teenagers don’t recognize LPs, and are barely aware of CDs because music is available, online through their phones, tablets, or any other connected device.

It has taken us developers just as long to get with the program. A number of reasons are possible for the delay, but ...