My colleague, Bruno Terkaly, really knows Azure. And, he has put together a brilliant post to help Windows 8 developers understand their options with Azure and their opportunities with Azure. If you are going to include a web service in your application, read Bruno’s article first.
Client-side developers do need to embrace the cloud. The increasing popularity of connected devices like tablet computers and smartphones is having a direct effect on the adoption rate of personal cloud services. You can expect both connected devices and cloud services to grow together.