Microsoft Azure is a cloud computing and services platform hosted in Microsoft data centers, which enables you to quickly build, deploy and manage applications across the data centers. Running applications on machines in an Internet-accessible data center can bring plenty of advantages. Yet wherever they run, applications are built on some kind of platform. For on-premises applications, this platform usually includes an operating system, some way to store data, and perhaps more. Applications running in the cloud need a similar foundation. The goal of Microsoft's Windows Azure is to provide this. This Windows Azure tutorial is dedicated to provide the foundational knowledge IT Professionals and developers need in order to be successful with the Windows Azure.