Editor’s Note: Today’s post comes from Jamin Spitzer, Senior Director, Platform Strategy at Microsoft.

Directions on Microsoft recently published a new report entitled “What Windows Azure Means to Software ISVs”. It represents an excellent independent view on Windows Azure. The report is both an exploration of what’s in Windows Azure along with a good overview of the business issues facing ISVs who want to offer their solutions from the cloud. Sections include everything from an introduction to the services that make up Windows Azure and how we charge for the service, to an explanation of a set of paths to get from where you are, to having a live service running in the cloud. Other sections talk about various business model choices along with an exploration of why you should move to the cloud. The report can be found here.