Yesterday Microsoft, Zend and others launched the Simple API for Cloud Application Services project, a new open source initiative that allows developers to use common application services in the cloud, while enabling them to unlock value-added features available from individual providers.

In essence, this project will allow developers to write basic cloud applications that work in all of the major cloud platforms. More specifically, it gives developers who use the PHP scripting language a “speed dial” to develop basic cloud applications that can be deployed across all major cloud platforms, including Windows Azure, while making it easier to complement software vendors’ fully-featured technology interfaces in a harmonious way.

This is good for our customers because we know they work in mixed environments and this should make it easier to access new technologies from cloud vendors. And its good for our industry because while we’re still in the early stages of collaborating on cloud interoperability issues, we’ve made great progress with our own products and standards support, as well as through industry collaboration such as this project announced today with Zend, IBM, Rackspace and others.

To read more about the “Simple API” project, please read today’s blog post from Vijay Rajagopalan, principal architect, Microsoft at: https://blogs.msdn.com/interoperability/archive/2009/09/22/microsoft-zend-and-others-announce-simple-api-for-cloud-application-services.aspx

To read the full release, go here: https://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090922006086&newsLang=en

And please feel free to post a comment here with your thoughts or questions; we’d love to hear from you.