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.

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.

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.