>>Not really desktop applications but background tasks. If your data is SQL based then using SQL azure might be the way to go but you could also setup a VPN connection from Azure to your own SQL server elsewhere.
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>>Pricing here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsazure/features/
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>>Bear in mind that not only do you save on the cost of hardware but also the OSs, SQL Server etc and you can scale what you need (up and down) depending on requirements.
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>Thanks, it is a little bit over what I have obtained from another location. But, this is all shared environment, which explains why it is so low compare to what dedicated hosting environment would cost. Of course, on a share environment, which is all what those providers are offering with their cloud and VM products, we are dependant on other clients on the same box. So, what if someone decides to eat the entire CPU. Or, do they already set it up it that it would be based on a percentage.

I think the size Compute instance you select (and the number of Instances) quarantees you that degree of processing power.

> I also have a class C, which means 256 IPs, I doubt someone would be able to offer me that within that range. I use 40% of that right now.

I don't think static IPs are an issue on azure. Something I haven't looked at properly yet, but you can map your own domain names to the unique url allocated to website on Azure.

>Yes, it is true, it would mean no more hardware to buy, support, OS licences, Windows updates, etc. As, I assume they would do regular maintenance to do the Windows update or maybe that part will fall within the cloud of VM solution and we would have to do it on our own.

MS are responsible for updating the OS and Services that you use on Azure (unless, of course, you are using a VM) Since any process is actually running on three different servers it quarantees two will still be running whilst the third is being updated and recycled.