The document introduces Microsoft's Windows Azure cloud platform. It summarizes that Windows Azure provides an operating system for the cloud that abstracts away hardware and provides services for automated management, scalable computing and storage. It allows developers to build applications and services that can easily scale across large, connected data centers. The talk demonstrates how Windows Azure allows building complex service architectures from simple components like web and worker roles that interact through a durable storage system. It emphasizes that the platform aims to provide a familiar development experience while handling all the complexities of highly scalable cloud services.