Microsoft have never been all that great with internet. And, with their leap into big data and platform as a service cloud, they have tried to embark on yet another ambitious feat. However, the Azure platform leaves one desiring more and yet not getting enough of the basics. The fundamentals are lacking especially the aspects that are supposed to make platform as services seamless. One not only has to find their way around the maze of user interface iconic interactions, but also to keep playing around with access logins. The credential side of it alone should make one wonder off back to the AWS for good. One also is expected to utilize the ugly looking PowerShell. Not to mention it would be quite laughable if they were running Big Data services on Windows based commodity hardware. Windows is a guarantee show stopper for most cloud based services. Especially, Semantic Web and Linked Data services will be dragging in performance if run in such a manner. For many, Linux and Unix are the default standard to have on the Cloud environment. Azure attempts to provide support for Linux, Python, and even Java. However, to what degree are we going to see their support team keep doing their salesman pitch at customers every time they decide to opt out of the .Net environment. Also, giving up on Windows in the cloud would imply Microsoft have finally accepted defeat that the OS is inferior to Linux and Unix. For all intents and purposes, Azure is really only good for the .Net based developers and businesses. One will often find Heroku, Google, and even Amazon open for comparison with Azure. However, one often finds an Azure support team totally besides themselves, often bewildered, and perplexed over why a customer would even dare mention these other cloud providers. There is a rare level of arrogance that behooves the Microsoft brand and all the products that come with it. Yet, over time they are failing by miles to play catch up with the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, and even Oracle.
