Tech Central: Would you trust Microsoft with your digital life?

Microsoft, the world’s biggest computer company, yesterday unveiled a platform called Windows Azure that will allow customers to access the group’s products over the internet, rather than installing them on to their own machines.

The new services form part of so-called cloud computing where companies exploit the speed of the internet to access Microsoft programmes. Microsoft has been forced to catch up with Google, the internet giant, which has already been offering cloud computing to its customers and Amazon.

The move was announced by Ray Ozzie, the chief software architect at Microsoft, who took over from Bill Gates in 2006. Mr Ozzie said that he expects Windows Azure, which is currently only available in a free, limited preview, to be profitable at launch.

“It’s a transformation of our software. It’s a transformation of our strategy,” Mr Ozzie said at the Professional Developer’s Conference yesterday, Microsoft’s annual gathering of third-party engineers to outline the company’s future plans.

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