In addition to an option to pay only for what users consume, Microsoft also will offer what it's calling a development accelerator that will allow people to pay a one-time fixed price for six months of access to Windows Azure as a more predictable pricing option, he said.

"We consider what it would take to run that application full time for six months and discount that 45 percent," Hauger said of how Microsoft is pricing Azure in the accelerator program. "It's a set amount."

What Microsoft is going for as it adds more pricing options beyond per-CPU pricing is a more continuous revenue stream, said Directions on Microsoft founder and CEO Rob Horowitz on a conference call with financial analysts this week.

"They're trying to go back to the old mainframe model where customers have to pay you something every year," he said. "It's like 'Hotel California,'" Horowitz continued, referencing a song by American rockers The Eagles with the lyrics, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

He added that there likely will be some "transition issues" as Microsoft moves enterprise customers to these new pricing models.