Analysts expect TechEd to be all about Azure

As delegates gather for TechEd 2010 analysts look at the likely focus of the week-long event

This year's TechEd is Microsoft's chance to convince the industry of the seriousness of its Azure plans, according to analysts.

TechEd is traditionally where Microsoft makes some of its biggest announcements, especially in the enterprise space.

As delegates head down to New Orleans for the annual get-together, V3.co.uk talked to industry analysts to see what they were expecting.

While one of the keynotes will cover Microsoft's plans for the general business intelligence market, the opening keynote is as yet unannounced.

No-one wanted to speculate on the topic, but it was clear from the analysts we talked to that Microsoft will make much of its cloud computing plans and, in particular, Azure.

"I expect a lot of focus on Azure," said Jeffrey Hammond, a principal analyst at Forrester. "We'll see a lot of success stories rolled out. Microsoft needs to convince the mainstream market that this is real."

Forrester's research suggests that developers are moving behind the platform slowly but surely, and that early adopters are getting good results.

Just four per cent of the developers questioned were writing for the platform last year, but this has risen to the 10-12 per cent range.

"Microsoft is making progress, but it hasn't jumped the chasm quite yet, " said Hammond.

Others too are expecting a cloud-focused event at which Microsoft will make a play for new market sectors with its cloud operations.