I’ve been looking in to Azure and trying to figure out a killer application to build on it. Before doing that though I need to know what the heck is Azure.
When I first heard about Azure I thought it would be a huge game changing product. As I’ve learned more about it I’m not quite so sure. I don’t mean to diminish what Azure offers but the few things I’ve read don’t quite leave me with that feeling.
First is David Chappell’s overview of Azure: An Overview of the Azure Services Platform. It is a word document that must have been written fairly early in the cycle because it only covers the core services:
· .NET Services
· SQL Services
· Live Services
· Windows Azure
A lot of other stuff has been added sense the document came out, but this document seems to cover the essential core. Currently if you go to http://www.microsoft.com/azure/default.mspx you can see a lot more information, but I think David’s document is a good place to start (or at least a place to start – there is a lot to consume).
I don’t yet have a complete handle on everything Azure offers. There are additional features like CRM, and SharePoint that have been added and it looks like even more stuff is on the way.
· The real question, to me anyway, is what do I do with this? Microsoft is offering BizSpark as bait to anyone who wants to take a swing at building a business on their platform. It really is a sweet deal. But here is the deal: You have to build something that fits in with the “Software as a service”. I like the sound of “software as a service” or “SAS” if you prefer.
SAS sounds good because the meaning isn’t that tight. To me it suggests:
· Subscription based sales
· Automatic upgrades
· Aggregation
The first to things I think are Microsoft’s biggest problems. I’m still running XPSP3. I’m waiting to upgrade to Vista for now. Even being the Microsoft fan boy that I am I’m waiting. Vista is probably safe now, but I’m not at a good place to upgrade. Plus Clippy told me that Windows 7 was going to be major L33T HAX0RZ stuff. So I lose nothing by waiting a little longer. Problem is: lots of people are doing the same thing. Microsoft had the same problem with Windows 2000. People didn’t want to give up Windows 98. It took Windows XP to get people to finally upgrade. Microsoft’s biggest competitor isn’t Apple, it is Microsoft from nearly 10 years ago they have to beat. So circling back to subscriptions and automatic upgrades: That is what I want to deliver. My customers pay a set price to access my software and I release fixes, new features and upgrades as I’m able. Customer’s don’t like something – they tell me and I change it. Not sure how that will work with there are a million, but right now my problem is getting a million customers so I can have that problem. One problem at a time.
The aggregation thing is a cool feature because I can partner with other services (mash ups) to offer something even better without having to write each and every friggin feature by myself.
The final piece for me is that I want to focus on consumers. I think selling to enterprises and business is too big of a pain. There are huge wins to be made selling to a large company, but there is a long sales cycle and lots of expenses involved. For a one man shop that is not possible.
That also brings up a cool part of BizSpark: you can go solo and shoot for the moon without needing investors. I’m not big on investors. I see them mostly as parasites. They don’t innovate, they don’t really contribute anything expect money. Yes, money can buy time, but you pay a steep price for that money and time. Being a solo player (or even a small team) I am accepting a slower pace, but the return on my investment will be larger. If I do get the right formula I’m the only share holder so whatever happens I own it (including the risk).
Anyway – if you’re like me, give Azure and BizSpark a look. Maybe you’ll come up with the right formula and build the next facebook or twitter. Then you’ll be a rock star.