What is .NET Native and who is it for?

You might have noticed that Microsoft has recently developed a technology called .NET Native. What is this new technology, and who should be using it?

Shortly put, .NET Native takes an existing .NET application, and compiles it using Microsoft Visual C++ backend compiler into a native application. This means that the .NET application doesn't need to JIT (Just-In Time) compilation step when it runs, and thus applications start faster, but also run faster.

There's a nice video about this technology on Channel 9, titled "Inside .NET Native". Be sure to check it out.