Bytes by MSDN: Frank Galarraga and Clark Sell on how companies can transition their Applications to the Cloud

Dive into this fascinating interview with Frank Galarraga, Technical Architect for Brand Journey Venturing. As a development partner for General Mills, Frank's group built glutenfreely.com, a social and ecommerce site designed for the gluten-free community. Adding commerce to the site prompted a move to the cloud and an entire site rewrite, using: SQL Azure and Microsoft CRM 2011 as the solution. This is a great discussion for any developer interested in how companies transition applications to the cloud.

About Frank

Frank Galarraga is Chief Technology Officer for The BrandJourney Group of Companies and deNuvem. Frank is the driving force behind the company's mission to provide cutting edge, robust technology solutions that are easy to use and support. Throughout his nearly 20 years of experience in technology, he has spearheaded the team that designed, developed and implemented the first online cruise booking engine for Carnival Cruise Lines, developed the first Microsoft .NET application in South Florida in conjunction with Microsoft and, most recently, assisted a large CPG company move portions of their technology onto the Microsoft Azure platform. He looks forward to 20 more years of innovation and learning.

About Clark

Clark Sell is a Senior Developer Evangelist at Microsoft. Name a role in the software industry, and Clark has probably played it. He started as a Y2K tester and has since worked as a developer, lead, "build monkey," solutions architect and product manager. His professional sweet spot however, lies in designing and building software solutions that make life easier – there's no chance for boredom and constant opportunities for growth. Clark is MCSD certified and received top Microsoft honors with the Circle of Excellence Award. He's a graduate of Western Illinois University and before joining Microsoft in 2005, he served as a solutions architect at Allstate Insurance Company. As a senior developer evangelist and Visual Studio team system ranger, Clark brings a good dose of humor and a zest for life to the podium. You can hear Clark's technical musings on "The Smackdown" at DeveloperSmackdown.com and The Thirsty Developer podcast – or find him getting grease under his nails in the garage. Clark's a muscle car fanatic who's currently finishing a body-off restoration of his 1970 Chevrolet Camaro while driving his 1968 Camaro SS. You can also take a look at what Clark's been up to on his blog.

Frank Galarraga and Clark Sell recommend you check out

• deNuvem website
• Frank's blog
• Free Windows Azure Trial
• Windows Azure SDK
• Microsoft Cloud Services
• SQL Azure