Microsoft is set to deliver Windows Azure to the public by the end of this year, with an imminent announcement at Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles on November 17, 2009. 

When Steve Ballmer mentioned this February that Windows Azure “will reach fruition with the PDC this year” I didn’t really believed it, considering where the product was and how much we knew about the progress Microsoft was making on delivering Windows Azure and related services. Even TechEd this year was surprisingly quiet about Windows Azure, but this is just the silence before the storm. Microsoft is revving up the software development and marketing machine so at this year’s PDC cloud computing and Windows Azure will take again center stage.

Starting this summer with the 2009 Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC), New Orleans, July 13-16, we will see more and more announcements about Windows Azure. So what to expect in the next months? Continue reading…

Getting ready for the trip tomorrow to Los Angeles, lots of things to prepare. Meanwhile, check out this cool mascot azurejournal has! Unfortunately it doesn’t have a name! I think I’ll name it at TechEd, if you think of a cool name, shoot me an email. I’ll be mostly around the expo area, If you see a guy with the azurejournal shirt, you can stop me and say Hi. I even have a couple of t-shirts to give away!

Here’s the little guy!

See ya’ll there!! (… and what’s up with HT #tela09? huh?)

TechEd 2009 is less than a week away so get ready for a fresh new stream of Windows Azure news. Check out the available sessions, and notice how many are related to Windows Azure and Cloud computing in general. 

Bill Veghte, senior vice president of the Windows Business, will be kicking off TechEd next Monday, May 11. If you’re on Twitter, you can follow and contribute to the chatter at TechEd using hash tag #Teched09. You can follow me as well for a fresh look at the new cloud technologies.

I’ll be around there talking to people, I already have scheduled a few interesting meetings. I won’t be attending any sessions though, I got an expo pass this year (unless somebody will sponsor me the last minute ), but from previous conferences experience, I learn more on the floor talking to people than sitting in a conference room through a presentation I will find later anyways.

Twit me up (what?!), drop me an email, shout “azurejournal!” if you want to meet me at TechEd and talk about Windows Azure and Cloud Technologies. Also if you have interesting stuff or know about “Azure Parties“, let me know, I’ll track them through my blog and twitter.

See you there!