Azure make simpler the building of web applications in a method that Amazon does not, but Amazon's cloud-based effective machines have the advantage of working with multiple programming models, O'Brien says, predicting that above time Microsoft will shift more into infrastructure-as-a-service and Amazon will cross over into platform-as-a-service.

O'Brien, senior executive of Microsoft's Platform policy Group, discussed his take on the cloud market in an interview with Network World, plus a public appearance at the current Cloud Leadership Forum, hosted by IDC and IDG Enterprise.