Microsoft Announcements Ignite Excitement for Future Computing

All that’s new and incoming for the near and far terms inundated attendees at Microsoft’s Ignite conference in September.

As usual, the announcements demonstrated yet again Microsoft’s mastery of all things digital and they are promising users new and novel solutions to problems and avenues to success. Bundled into three themes, the conference provided a glimpse of everyone’s computing future.

Security

The technology giant continues to lead on the data and digital security front. Embracing the reality that every technological tool is vulnerable to intrusion or attack, the company has emphasized its commitment to enterprise-class protections that support individuals and corporations of all sizes.

• Microsoft Threat Protection is an end-to-end solution for every security concern. The integrated programming now provides full security coverage that encompasses the full range of digital activities, from email to documents to identities and infrastructures.
• Because passwords are, by far, the most compromised aspect of security practices, Microsoft is getting rid of them altogether. For their Azure suite of apps, a new Microsoft Authenticator app bypasses the password step in hundreds of thousands of Active Directory apps, effectively slamming that door closed in the face of password thieves.
• Secure Score is an enterprise-class, dynamic report card for cybersecurity. The programming provides continuous assessments and recommendations to improve perimeters and reduce the opportunity for breaches. IT professionals can use it to understand their over-all security situation and develop even stronger defense and recovery mechanisms.

Artificial Intelligence

Microsoft’s artificial intelligence innovations make decades of science fiction movies look like, well, fiction.

• Cortana matures into an end-to-end solution for enterprise use, letting companies build custom agents, test them live and deploy across the enterprise.
• Bots become better with the Bot Framework v4 SDK, which gives users multilanguage tools to build and connect intelligent robots that can offer a range of services.
• Now you can search all your Microsoft 365 organizational files, networks and data from a single unified search portal. The AI-powered engine connects across Office apps, Office.com, Windows, SharePoint and OneDrive to identify relevant results to each individual inquiry.
• Meetings are easier in Microsoft 365, too, when you use AI-powered features in your Microsoft Teams, Yammer and Stream systems. New features include a background blur that hides what’s behind you so your virtual meeting attendees can focus on what you’re saying. Intelligent recordings automatically create captions and time-coded, searchable transcripts, so your note-taking duties may finally become obsolete.

Internet of Things (IoT)

The exploding IoT is driving a reinvention of how you do business by adding smart appliances and smarter controls. Within the Azure system, the IoT provides opportunities to reduce the unknown while better managing the existing world.

• The “Digital Twins” concept creates a virtual model of any physical environment. Using it gives leaders insights into how people use spaces and things so they can design custom solutions to location-based problems. Once the physical layout is optimized, the productivity capacity will be optimized, too.
• Newcomers to the IoT universe will find their entry eased by the recently released (December 2017) IoT Central solution. Allowing access to the security and scale of Azure, companies can build enterprise-grade, IoT networks and applications without having to develop the infrastructure at the same time.
• The new IoT Hub Device Provisioning Service gives customers the ability to provision, register and scale their IoT devices. Enrollment-level rules provide control over newly introduced devices and allow movement of devices from one IoT system to another.

This is just a short list of all the exciting developments introduced at the Ignite Conference. If one or all of these unique new opportunities ignite your curiosity about how Microsoft can improve your enterprise, be sure to contact your nearest Microsoft Gold Partner for more information.