At PDC 2010 Microsoft announced the Extra Small Instance, which will be priced at $0.05 per compute hour in order to make the process of development, testing and trial easier. This will make it affordable for developers interested in running smaller applications on the platform. A beta of this role will be available before the end of 2010.

Please let us know if this addresses your needs for a more cost effective Azure offering.

We're working on ways to provide free and low cost onramps for developers, and expect to make more announcements in 2011. Today, there are already multiple ways for developers to get onto Azure cost effectively:

Free Introductory Offer - provides a limited monthly quota of Azure resources at no cost, with standard rates applying above those thresholds: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/offers/

MSDN Premium, Ultimate, and BizSpark Subscription Benefit - provides significantly higher free quotas of Azure resources to MSDN subscribers for several months: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/ee461076.aspx

Cloud Essentials for Partners - provides free/low cost access to Azure resources to members of the Microsoft Partner Network. http://www.microsoftcloudpartner.com/

At PDC 2010, we announced that the Web role will soon provide full IIS functionality, which enables multiple IIS sites per Web role and the ability to install IIS modules. The full IIS functionality enables developers to get more value out of a Windows Azure instance. Full IIS Support will be generally available to customers later this year.

Please let us know if there are important scenarios that the combination of admin mode + full IIS won't solve for you.

We do still intend to support secondary indexes. However, no firm timeline has been established for when that capability will be made available. Based on our most current information, secondary indexes are not going to be released as a feature in 2011.

At PDC 2010, we announced a number of enhancements to the operator experience on Azure. These include a completely redesigned portal, access to new diagnostic information, a vastly simplified sign-up process, and scenario-based forums to help answer questions and facilitate knowledge sharing.

These Windows Azure enhancements will be generally available by the end of 2010.

Please continue to let us know how we can improve the deployment experience on Windows Azure for you.

Earlier this year, we announced the Windows Azure Platform Appliance, which will allow customers to run the Windows Azure environment in their own data centers or via a third-party hosting provider. Look for more announcements about the Platform Appliance in 2011.

At PDC 2010, we announced Windows Azure AppFabric Caching - a distributed, in-memory cache for applications running in Windows Azure.

Based on Windows Server AppFabric Caching capabilities, it's intended to significantly speed up access to data for your Windows Azure applications.

This feature is in CTP now, and should be generally available in 2011. You can find more details here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsazureappfabric/archive/2010/10/22/windows-azure-appfabric-ctp-october-release.aspx

At PDC 2010, we announced the introduction of new diagnostic information in Azure, and remote desktop functionality to make it easier to connect to a running instance for monitoring and troubleshooting. Both will will be generally available later this year.

We look forward to hearing how much these new features improve the remote debugging experience for you.

This work is in progress

At PDC 2010, we announced the introduction of new scenario based Windows Azure platform forums to help answer questions and to enable more efficient knowledge sharing in the community. We've also vastly simplified the setup process, and made the Windows Azure portal more intuitive and user friendly.

What other kinds of features would help you get up to speed more quickly?

At PDC 2010 Microsoft announced the Extra Small Instance, which will be priced at $0.05 per compute hour in order to make the process of development, testing and trial easier. This will make it affordable for developers interested in running smaller applications on the platform. A beta of this role will be available before the end of 2010.

What other pricing models would you like to see in Azure?

At PDC 2010, Microsoft announced Virtual Machine Role support for Windows Server 2008 R2 in Windows Azure. Windows Azure Virtual Machine Role eases the migration of existing Windows Server applications to Windows Azure by eliminating the need to make costly application changes and enables customers to quickly access their existing business data from the cloud. A public beta will be available by the end of 2010.

What else would help you migrate your applications more easily?

Windows Azure will soon support multiple Windows Live IDs to have administrator privileges on the same Windows Azure account. The objective is to make it easy for a team to work on the same Windows Azure account while using their individual Windows Live IDs. The Multiple Admins update will be generally available later this year.

Would this address your requirements?

At PDC 2010, we announced that we will be adding new CDN nodes in the Middle East and improve existing connectivity in Brazil and the US. Stay tuned for more announcements going forward!

At PDC 10, we announced three CDN features that will be available to customers in CY2011: CDN Dynamic Content Caching, CDN SSL Delivery, and improved global connectivity through the addition of new Windows Azure CDN nodes in the Middle East and expanded connectivity in the US and Brazil.

An Application Marketplace was announced at PDC2010

An application marketplace was announced at PDC2010