By Emeka Aginam, in Warsaw, Poland
With the global paradigm   shift to cloud computing as an alternative way of  reducing IT cost and complexities while improving  workload optimization, cloud computing leveraging on Windows Azure  is taking centre stage at  the on-going students technology competition even as  no fewer than  a third of the students competing in the software design category appear to be using Windows Azure, thereby leveraging on cloud computing  to help tackle the world’s  toughest  challenges, including poverty, disease, access to education among others as  contained in the Millennium Goals, (MDGs) of the United Nation.

Watching presentations after presentations in the software categories this afternoon ahead of the final result, majority of the teams were leveraging on cloud computing with Windows Azure solutions which are expected to tackle the Millennium Development Goals challenge which is the main theme of the Microsoft organized  Imagine Cup student technology competition.

Responding to their presentations,  Jon Perera, general manager of education strategy at Microsoft Cooperation  while challenging the students to use software development for global competitiveness observed that more than a third of the teams competing in the software design category are using Windows Azure to deploy their solutions that address issues such as hunger, poverty, and environmental sustainability “Just about every single student here is excited to take advantage of the cloud.

“What we are  hearing from students is that Azure takes care of running their solution so they can focus on the creative part of problem-solving.” He said, adding that the lies in the students who can IT to face the challenges of the 21^st century challenges” he added.

However, Croatia’s Team ThinkGreen is one the teams that used Azure solution as the solution  monitors and regulates conditions in greenhouses.

The goal, according to the team during their presentation is to bring technology and knowledge to farmers to help them increase food production.

“A key feature of ThinkGreen is its Knowledge Centre, a large database that pools information from crop experts around the world. Veron said the team decided to host the database in Azure so multiple users from around the world could access the knowledge center. This was the first time any of the ThinkGreen members had used Azure, and it was “an exciting experience.

“We wanted to get lots of data from experts, and we needed something to scale quickly so we didn’t have to worry about it,” he said. “Azure will help us bring knowledge and technology to farmers, and maybe make a small step toward ending hunger”,  Nebojsa Veron, one of four members of the team explained.

Tim Harris, senior marketing manager for Microsoft’s Developer and Platform Group, who was very excited on the student’s presentation using Azure noted that tackling the planet’s problems requires the ability to deploy solutions globally, and the Microsoft tool helps them do just that.

These students are dreaming big, Harris said, adding that, “They’re building applications that they want the whole world to use. When you’re looking to build something like that, you need a platform that can actually scale up to the entire planet.

“The IT industry is only on the verge of the cloud computing revolution, and Microsoft’s history suggests it can deliver what tomorrow’s developer’s need.

With Azure as a platform, developers can deliver services like InterPeter, the Imagine Cup project from Poland’s fteams. InterPeter uses Azure to help deaf people and the hearing impaired communicate, said Grzegorz Glonek.

The software is able to translate natural speech into sign language and vice versa. “Azure was an excellent way to provide scalability so we could connect to our service over the cloud,” Glonek said.

Currently, talented students from across the globe who are in Warsaw , Poland, are  struggling  for the last stage  to  win the World Cup of technology.