Amazon Web Services is baiting some of Microsoft’s legacy customers with a new offering that allows them to move applications like SQL Server, Sharepoint and custom apps built with .NET onto its cloud. Called the AWS Directory Service for Active Directory, it should prove tempting to businesses that are looking to switch from on-premises deployments of Microsoft’s software to AWS.

AWS Directory Service for Active Directory has been designed to make that happen as easily as possible. When fired up, the service creates a pair of domain controllers which are connected to the customer’s virtualized private cloud on Windows Server 2012 R2. The two domain controllers run in different zones of the customer’s chosen AWS region, with Amazon taking care of the bulk of the work – such as data replication, host monitoring and snapshots.

The service allows admins to configure a trust relationship between the Active Directory in AWS’ cloud and their own on-premises directors, which lets users login to both systems in one go.

Amazon is offering the service to companies for free for one month, or for up to 750 hours (whichever comes first). Once that trial period is over, AWS will charge $0.40 per hour.

AWS is effectively throwing down the gauntlet to Microsoft here, because the Redmond company uses its own Azure Active Directory as one of its main weapons to push enterprises to its cloud services. That service is a fully managed, cloud-based version of Microsoft’s authentication and user management services, and it’s baked with a bunch of other services and integrations. The idea is to give enterprises a taste of Azure, and then try to reel it in by offering a range of other cloud services.

The AWS Active Directory service joins the introduction of AWS Dedicated Hosts last month as shots across the bow of Microsoft in the competition to host enterprise apps in the cloud.

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