Have you worked with any competing platforms, or is Azure pretty much the platform you know? I'm just curious about your thoughts on Azure from a comparative, rather than strictly technical in-a-vacuum, perspective.
It is impossible to be good at any technical niche if you don't know the nitty gritties of every other option out there. I just happen to talk about Windows Azure a lot because that's what I work on :).
Would you mind giving me a quick, thousand-foot view of your thoughts on the various options, relative to each other, then? I must admit to knowing little more about Azure than the simple fact of its existence (in part by having seen your book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble), and I am afflicted by idle curiosity.
That really depends on what your application is, what your constraints and priorities are and what your appetite for risk is. The discussion I have with a large NY financial services company is very different from the one I have with a 2 person YC startup. There are many, many ways to slice up your options.
I'll be happy to help (my email address is in my profile) but remember that I'm not unbiased - I work on one of those options :)
Have you worked with any competing platforms, or is Azure pretty much the platform you know? I'm just curious about your thoughts on Azure from a comparative, rather than strictly technical in-a-vacuum, perspective.