Windows Azure is the "cloud platform" offering from Microsoft that consists of developer services and infrastructure used to construct Internet-scale hosted applications. The .NET Services component of Windows Azure introduces cloud-based functionality which addresses connectivity, access control and workflow. The three core components (Service Bus, Access Control Service and Workflow Service) form an exciting and innovative way to securely move your organization into cloud computing with an intriguing set of features.
The Service Bus provides a robust infrastructure for connecting cloud users to services residing behind secure organizational walls. I can take a service that is not currently public Internet-addressable and expose it securely to the "message bus" in the cloud. This relay capability is loaded with message exchange pattern options ranging from one-way message to request/response all the way to broadcast scenarios. All of this is done with new WCF bindings,...