Chapter 2. The Nickel Tour of Azure

So, we're enterprise developers, architecting an application to enhance some core business processes. The decision makers need more information about Azure before they're sold on a cloud-based application. They want to know what can Azure do, will we be able to include all the features we need, and will it cost more to develop for Azure?

Microsoft's marketing group tends to work with a thin thesaurus, so if you're a fan of confusing product names, Microsoft does not disappoint with their Azure offering. We'll clear up the mystery of three Azures and four fabrics.

This chapter is by no means an exhaustive answer to the questions that will be raised and, as the technology is changing so rapidly, it's important to augment this chapter with some additional research before committing to any features of the application.