Microsoft scrapes Windows Azure name off cloudy kit
Marketing blues or something more?
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Windows Azure is the latest brand name to be scratched off Microsoft’s labels.
The name “Azure” and in some cases even “Windows Azure” are being dropped from components and services in the company’s cloud, according to a report here.
For example, Windows Azure Compute will now be Cloud Services, Windows Azure CDN is CDN, SQL Azure is SQL Database and SQL Azure Reporting Service is SQL Reporting.
The nomenclature change has emerged in an apparent email to customers. Of course the change could be just for billing, but if it's more then it means Microsoft's burying the Azure name after just three years in existence while also dropping the symbolic connection to the Windows name.
Like the death of Windows Live the significance of the changes are cosmetic than meaningful; had Microsoft delivered a cloud devs could easily program for and which was genuinely different or provided something better than Amazon, then the platform would have spoken for itself. ®
COMMENTS
On the value of code names
"Cloud Services", eh? I'm totally certain that searching for such a phrase on the internet search engine of your choice will totally return entirely useful results about Microsoft's products. Having an identifier with limited ambiguity is a good thing; why is it that the MS branding folk don't seem to understand that?
Still, its a hell of a lot less irritating than 'dot net'.
"had Microsoft delivered a cloud devs could easily program for and which was genuinely different or provided something better than Amazon, then the platform would have spoken for itself."...Thats in your opinion.
I actually think MS have got a pretty good service here but the name is really confusing. MS should learn that putting the word Windows in front of something that has very little to do with Windows desktop doesn't make sense and turns people off.
anyone feel that MS has a few too many marketing people with nothing to do?

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