Strategize

Sharing is Caring: The audience for the Windows Azure site are renegades; they love the challenge of new technology and relish in figuring out something before anyone else. We knew we had to give them the ability to alert their networks to their newest discoveries as quickly and easily as possible via the most popular social networks (Twitter, Digg, Facebook) so that they can focus on the fun stuff--making things work. We designed the site as easy-in, easy-update, easy-out.

Open Design: Windows Azure is about enabling the many possibilities of computing in the cloud. We created an open feeling through color, design, and layout that resonates with the Windows brand but is a brand that can stand on its own.

Conceptualize

Hey, They're People Too: Channel 9 paved the opening up of the walled empire of Microsoft--allowing peeks of the innovations and giving users access to the people engineering the technologies. We knew that we wanted to support that feeling of openness for Windows Azure. The top internal Azure bloggers are prominently showcased and Azure-themed announcements can be made easily by Microsoft through a CMS built on the cloud and displayed on the website.

Execute

Authentic Azure: If we're going to speak about how easy it is to build your apps using Microsoft Azure's services and publish to the cloud, we better know what we're talking about. We walk the walk and not just talk the talk by developing a CMS on Windows Azure using Azure .NET and Azure SQL to update and maintain the site.

Optimize Doesn't Mean Noise: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can sometimes be taken to an extreme. We decided to focus on the user and not the search engine, relying on a combination of Microsoft and Windows Azure's existing presence on the web, sound coding and a plethora of syndicated and easy-to-understand marketing content to buoy the new site to the top of the list.

Maintain

Maintenance in the Cloud: For both ease of maintenance and authenticity, the Windows Azure site will continue to be updated via a CMS we built on Windows Azure using Azure .NET and Azure SQL. Viva la Revolucion!

Syndication-o-matic: The Windows Azure site is now the one-stop-shop for all things officially Azure. To stay up-to-date and mega fresh, the site pulls in blogs, forums, and videos from around the webisphere while the CMS allows for syndication to and from the site and a mini blog of announcements to be maintained easily from anywhere.