Office Pro 2010 Tax concerns to push Microsoft Azu

Microsoft is making preparations to move applications that developers are hosting on its Azure cloud infrastructure from its Washington state datacenter, as a result of a change inside the tax laws there.Microsoft warned clients testing their apps about the Azure check release in regards to the planned change previously this week. Microsoft is readying a migration tool to assist testers together with the move, organization officials said.Cloud-computing and .Net expert Roger Jennings place with each other all the diverse reports and clues right into a detailed August 5 post on his OakLeaf Techniques weblog.As Jennings mentioned, on August 3, the Windows Azure staff introduced ideas to disable the “USA - Northwest” option for new Azure-hosted applications. (Existing applications that are part of the Azure beta may be allowed to remain hosted inside the Quincy, Wash., datacenter,Microsoft Office 2010, as the Microsoft weblog post says. Later on, the staff appears to contradict that fact, however, saying all apps and storage would be moved.)From the Azure team;s post:“This change is in preparation for our migration out with the northwest region. Because of a change in local tax laws,Microsoft Office Standard 2007, we’ve decided to migrate Windows Azure applications from our northwest data center prior to our commercial launch this November. This means that all applications and storage accounts within the ‘USA - Northwest; region will need to maneuver to another region inside the next few months, or they will be deleted.”Earlier this year, there were reviews that Microsoft (and Yahoo) had halted datacenter construction in Quincy. At that time, a lot of provider watchers believed the halt was likely temporary and was because of the poor economy. It turns out it was because of a Washington state tax alter, as DataCenter Knowledge explained.“Late last year Washington State attorney general Rob McKenna ruled that data centers were no longer covered by a state sales tax break for manufacturing enterprises,Windows 7 Pro, and thus must pay a 7.9 percent tax on data center construction and equipment.”(Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire is trying to restore the exemption for data centers, according to a Seattle Post-Intelligencer story cited by Jennings.)Jennings speculates that Microsoft might be moving its U.S.-based Azure-hosted applications to its San Antonion datacenter.I;ve asked Microsoft for more information on this, including what is going to happen to its Quincy datacenter. I;m also asking whether the decision to maneuver the Azure-hosted apps out of Quincy will stand if a tax exemption comes to pass. If and when I receive responses to these questions from Microsoft, I;ll update this post.Update: So far, this is all Microsoft is willing to share on this matter. A corporate spokesperson sent me the following e-mailed statement:“Beyond the information in the Windows Azure team blog post that you referenced in your post this afternoon, we don;t have additional specifics to share concerning the Windows Azure data migration from NW to SW datacenters.”Update No. 2 (August 6): The aforementioned Microsoft spokesperson just e-mailed a second statement, with an answer to my question on Quincy;s future. No word on which services will continue to be housed in Quincy or why users; Azure apps but not other services are going to be moved to the Southwest. But here;s what the corporation is saying:“Microsoft will continue to host a large number of Microsoft online services out of our mega data center in Quincy,Office Pro 2010, Washington.“The delivery of online services is a fairly new enterprise model. We are working with all the Washington state legislature and the Governor to identify ways the state can offer competitive advantages over other states eager to attract this business enterprise,Cheap Windows 7, including areas such as tax regulations. Microsoft continues to be committed to our home business within the state of Washington and the data center in Quincy.”