Windows Azure

A key benefit of Windows Azure is creating highly scalable applications using Cloud Services.
Applications can shrink and stretch to accommodate changes in usage, removing the need for expensive on- premises hardware.
A key strategy is to design in scale units, which are a base configuration of web and worker role instances with supporting services such as data stores and caching.

Three reasons to create Windows Azure scalable applications:

• Demand Peaks
• Distributed Users and Devices
• Partition able Workload



Scaling Applications using Windows Azure Cloud Services

How to enroll / sign-up for Office 365 Education - Plan A2

1) Go to http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/education/compare-plans.aspx 

2) Sign-up for a 30 Day Trial by filling up the Sign-Up Form.

3)  Once done with the Registration you will be asked to Sign-In to the Portal.

4) As soon you will Sign-In you will be asked for "Verification of the eligibility for O365 for Education"

5) It's a 4 step process mainly comprising of providing and verifying your Domain Name by entering the TXT Record at your Domain Name Provider (Control Panel)

6) As soon as it's done successfully you are eligible to Purchase (by going in the Purchase tab or clicking the Purchase Now button) Office 365 for Education Plan A2 for 0.00 USD for your Academic Institution.

So this is how you can subscribe to Office 365 Plan A2 for Free by following the above simple steps. (only applies for valid Academic Institutions)

Via Salman Shakeel Blog