November 27, 2024 | Digital Marketing, Microsoft, Microsoft Ignite Event
The foundation of Microsoft’s AI advancements is built on a robust, custom-designed infrastructure that powers some of the world’s most demanding and widely used services. For over a decade, we have been diligently evolving our systems, from software to silicon, ensuring that our infrastructure is optimized end-to-end. This relentless focus on innovation has allowed Microsoft to stay at the forefront of the generative AI revolution, empowering businesses to reimagine operations and industries alike.
As we continue this journey, we’re bringing more choice and flexibility to organizations of all sizes—whether agile startups or multinational corporations. Microsoft’s infrastructure enables businesses to scale AI adoption with the perfect balance of performance, power, and cost-efficiency. At Microsoft Ignite, we introduced cutting-edge updates across our cloud and AI infrastructure, from next-gen chips and liquid cooling technologies to new data integrations and flexible cloud deployments. These advancements ensure that our customers have the tools they need to drive innovation and thrive in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.
With Microsoft’s AI infrastructure, the possibilities for transformation are limitless. We’re not just preparing businesses for today’s challenges, but for the future of AI-powered growth and success.
At Microsoft, we continue to push the boundaries of innovation, combining the best of industry advancements with our unique approach to building next-generation infrastructure. Our ongoing commitment to optimizing every layer of our system ensures that we are equipped to handle the most demanding workloads, particularly in the realm of AI.
One of our key innovations is the Azure Integrated HSM (Hardware Security Module), which strengthens security by keeping encryption and signing keys within a dedicated hardware environment. This new in-house security chip allows for robust protection without sacrificing performance or introducing latency, and will be deployed in every new server in Microsoft’s data centers starting next year, enhancing security across Azure’s hardware fleet.
Additionally, we are introducing the Azure Boost DPU (Data Processing Unit), designed specifically for data-centric workloads. This custom silicon is built for high efficiency, low power consumption, and superior performance—expected to run cloud storage workloads with three times less power and four times the performance of traditional servers.
As part of our holistic approach to infrastructure, we are also advancing our cooling technologies. Our next-generation liquid cooling “sidekick” rack will support AI systems, including those from leading industry players like NVIDIA. These innovations ensure that we can scale AI workloads efficiently while maintaining low energy consumption and optimal performance.
Microsoft’s custom infrastructure is setting the stage for a future where AI can drive transformative change across industries, all while enhancing efficiency, security, and sustainability. With our continued advancements in hardware and cooling technology, we are paving the way for the next wave of AI innovation.
Azure’s multicloud and hybrid strategy, also known as adaptive cloud, is revolutionizing how organizations manage and operate their systems across diverse environments. By integrating cloud-native and AI technologies, Azure allows businesses to efficiently run applications and manage data across hybrid, multicloud, edge, and IoT platforms. Central to this approach is Azure Arc, which extends Azure services to any infrastructure, helping organizations manage workloads seamlessly across varied environments. With over 39,000 customers, including prominent names like La Liga, Coles, and The World Bank, Azure Arc has proven its value in driving global digital transformation.
We are also introducing Azure Local, a hybrid infrastructure solution that brings together Azure Stack capabilities into a unified platform. Powered by Azure Arc, Azure Local supports containers, servers, and Azure Virtual Desktop, offering flexibility with custom latency, near-real-time data processing, and compliance requirements. With enhanced security settings and flexible configuration options, such as GPU-enabled servers for AI workloads, Azure Local paves the way for greater performance and security in hybrid environments.
Furthermore, the launch of Windows Server 2025 and the preview of SQL Server 2025 demonstrate Azure’s continued commitment to pushing the boundaries of security, performance, and AI capabilities. SQL Server 2025, for instance, integrates AI support with advanced features like vector support, helping simplify AI application development and retrieval augmented generation (RAG) patterns.
Together, these innovations showcase how Azure’s adaptive cloud approach empowers organizations to achieve greater agility, security, and scalability across on-premises and cloud environments, ensuring they are well-equipped for future growth and innovation.
The data and AI landscape has long been fragmented, forcing organizations to stitch together disconnected services manually. Today, Microsoft is proud to announce Fabric Databases (now in preview), a revolutionary step toward a unified, open, and extensible platform for transactional and analytical workloads.
The first database in Fabric, SQL Database, is built on the industry-leading SQL Server engine and the SaaS simplicity of Microsoft Fabric. Early users have reported:
Fabric Databases enable developers to build AI apps confidently with autonomous, AI-optimized databases. This innovation simplifies workflows, improves productivity, and paves the way for future database enhancements in Microsoft Fabric.
Start exploring Fabric Databases today and transform how your organization handles data and AI development. The future of unified data is here.
General availability of Fabric Real-Time Intelligence
Microsoft is excited to unveil the general availability of Real-Time Intelligence, empowering organizations to make instant decisions with high-volume, high-granularity streaming data.
With Real-Time Intelligence, businesses can harness the power of streaming data to improve agility, enhance decision-making, and unlock new opportunities.
Microsoft is thrilled to announce the OneLake Catalog, a comprehensive solution for discovering, managing, and governing your entire Fabric data estate.
Building on OneLake—Fabric’s unified, multi-cloud data lake—the OneLake Catalog ensures everyone in your organization can:
The OneLake Catalog is your foundation for collaboration, trust, and innovation in the era of unified data.
Microsoft Fabric is evolving to address the growing opportunities of generative AI and accelerate data projects. With Fabric, we’re redefining how organizations use data by focusing on four key pillars:
At Microsoft Ignite 2024, we’re excited to share the continued growth of Microsoft Power Platform, with nearly 600,000 organizations now using AI-powered features like Copilot, up 4x year-over-year.
Key updates include:
These innovations are reshaping business processes, enhancing efficiency, and accelerating digital transformation across industries.
For years, Microsoft Power Platform has empowered organizations with AI-driven low-code tools. Now, with Copilot Studio, businesses can build autonomous agents that execute tasks and workflows independently—no coding required.
Autonomous Agents in Preview:
These innovations transform customer engagement, employee experience, and operational efficiency, putting the power of automation in every organization’s hands.
We’re excited to announce the preview of Agent Builder in Power Apps, empowering organizations to embrace the AI-first era effortlessly.
By leveraging existing app knowledge, logic, and actions, makers can now build agents to autonomously handle tasks, eliminating repetitive processes. This innovation not only redefines individual productivity but also drives greater business efficiency—helping organizations unlock new levels of automation and success.
Microsoft Power Platform continues to redefine rapid solution development, now enhanced by Copilot’s AI-first approach. With natural language, images, and documents, building apps, automations, and more has never been faster or more accessible.
The new Plan Designer (preview) integrates AI into app creation, letting makers describe challenges, share process diagrams, or upload screenshots of legacy apps. Copilot drafts roles and requirements, refines them with AI suggestions, and transforms problem definitions into solutions—all within one conversational interface.
Seamlessly integrate Copilot Studio with Azure AI Foundry Portal to use custom models, prompts, and knowledge without heavy coding. Starting December 1, 2024, developers can also leverage pay-as-you-go Copilot Studio messages through Azure subscriptions, offering flexibility to scale AI usage effortlessly.
Streamlined managed security and operations introduce threat protection, proactive alerts, and disaster recovery, now integrated into the Power Platform Admin Center. These features ensure secure, scalable, and high-performing applications for every organization.
With Copilot and autonomous agents, Microsoft Power Platform is empowering organizations to innovate faster, make smarter decisions, and deliver unmatched value—reshaping the future of business and AI-first development.
Today at Microsoft Ignite 2024, we’re accelerating our vision to empower every employee with Copilot as a personal assistant and transform business processes with agents built in Microsoft Copilot Studio.
These innovations aim to streamline workflows, enhance collaboration, and provide businesses with more power and control over their digital environments.
At Microsoft Ignite 2024, we’re continuing to enhance Copilot—our AI-powered personal assistant—to tackle the biggest pain points in work and help employees scale their impact. With the best feedback loop on AI performance from our customers, we’ve improved Copilot’s speed and satisfaction, making tasks easier than ever before.
These innovations are designed to boost productivity, enhance collaboration, and make work more enjoyable for everyone.
At Microsoft Ignite 2024, we’re taking Copilot to the next level by integrating agents that streamline business processes and empower employees to scale their impact. These new agents are designed to transform how organizations operate, bringing automation, efficiency, and real-time intelligence to everyday tasks.
At Microsoft Ignite 2024, we’re empowering IT teams to play a pivotal role in the AI transformation journey. Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and IT professionals are central to adopting and scaling AI technologies, and we’re introducing several tools to help them lead the charge.
These new capabilities are designed to give IT teams the tools they need to manage and accelerate Copilot adoption, ensuring that AI transformation can be scaled and governed securely across the organization.
As cyberattacks become more frequent and sophisticated, particularly with the rise of AI and global events influencing the threat landscape, security has never been more critical. Over the past three years, password cyberattacks have surged from 579 to more than 7,000 per second, doubling in just the past year. This alarming trend challenges our security frameworks and calls for innovative approaches to safeguard organizations globally.
At Microsoft, security remains our top priority. Through our Secure Future Initiative (SFI), we have committed the equivalent of 34,000 full-time engineers to enhancing cybersecurity efforts, making it the largest cybersecurity engineering project in history. This initiative drives continuous improvement in our cyber resilience and supports our goal of staying ahead of emerging threats.
At Microsoft Ignite 2024, we will showcase new security solutions, a leading-edge bug bounty program, and advancements in AI capabilities to further bolster our security posture. These innovations are designed to help organizations reduce risk, foster transparency, and provide customers with the tools they need to safeguard their digital environments in this new era of security. By focusing on culture, governance, and cybernorms, we aim to better support customers in their security efforts, ensuring they can thrive even in the face of evolving cyber threats.
As cyber threats become more sophisticated, the traditional security model of defending in siloes is proving to be ineffective against advanced persistent threats (APTs). Microsoft’s Security Fellow, John Lambert, “Defenders think in lists, cyberattackers think in graphs. As long as this is true, attackers win,” By exploiting the relationships between entities like identities, files, and devices, cybercriminals can cause more damage, extending well beyond the initial point of intrusion. Traditional security solutions often fail to see these intricate connections, making it harder to detect or disrupt complex attacks.
To address this, we are excited to announce the general availability of Microsoft Security Exposure Management. This cutting-edge solution leverages our security graph to dynamically map the relationships between critical assets such as devices, data, and identities. By integrating third-party connectors for platforms like Rapid 7, ServiceNow, Qualys, and Tenable (currently in preview), Exposure Management provides a comprehensive and evolving view of IT assets and potential attack paths. This empowers security teams to proactively identify and address vulnerabilities across their networks.
Exposure Management not only helps security professionals visualize potential attack paths but also allows them to assess the effectiveness of their security practices. Whether it’s zero trust, cloud security, or other initiatives, the solution provides actionable insights into how well security policies are working. Today, more than 70,000 cloud tenants are using Exposure Management to protect their critical assets and continuously measure their cybersecurity efforts, ensuring they stay one step ahead in the constantly evolving cyber threat landscape.
As part of our ongoing commitment to security through the Secure Future Initiative (SFI), we are excited to announce Zero Day Quest, the industry’s largest public security research event. This initiative builds upon our history of collaboration across the security community to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities before they can impact our customers. By working together, we continue to enhance our products’ security and ensure that they are built with the highest standards of protection, both by design and by default.
Our bug bounty program has been instrumental in driving innovation and improvement in security, awarding over $16 million last year alone for high-quality security research. Zero Day Quest amplifies this effort with an additional $4 million in rewards, focused specifically on cloud and AI—areas that have the greatest potential impact on our customers’ security. This event will foster collaboration between top security researchers and Microsoft’s engineering teams, with a focus on real-world vulnerabilities and threats.
The Zero Day Quest will culminate in an in-person hacking event in 2025, where security experts will have the chance to tackle critical vulnerabilities. As part of our commitment to transparency, once these vulnerabilities are addressed, we will share the details with the broader industry, ensuring that everyone can learn from these discoveries and strengthen their own defenses. After all, security is a team sport, and together, we can continue to build a safer digital future.
AI adoption is quickly outpacing many other technologies, and Microsoft Security Copilot is at the forefront of this transformation, empowering security teams to work smarter and faster. Trusted by leading organizations like National Australia Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Oregon State University, and Eastman, Security Copilot is significantly enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of security operations.
A recent study revealed that just three months after adopting Security Copilot, organizations experienced a 30% reduction in their mean time to resolve security incidents. This improvement highlights the efficiency gained through AI-driven insights and automation in responding to security threats.
More than 100 partners have integrated with Security Copilot, enriching the platform’s capabilities by bringing in valuable ecosystem data. Additionally, new Copilot skills are now available for IT administrators in Microsoft Entra and Microsoft Intune, as well as for data security and compliance teams using Microsoft Purview, and security operations teams within the Microsoft Defender product family. These updates enable organizations to have a more unified and proactive approach to security, further amplifying their resilience in the face of evolving cyber threats.
According to our Security for AI team’s new “Accelerate AI transformation with strong security” white paper, with over 95% of organizations either already using or planning to develop generative AI solutions. In fact, two-thirds (66%) of organizations are focused on developing multiple AI applications in-house. This fast-paced shift has spurred global legislative action, with 37 new AI-related bills passed worldwide in 2023, aimed at addressing the security, safety, compliance, and transparency challenges posed by AI technologies.
As AI usage grows, the need to secure and govern the data driving AI becomes more critical. Through Microsoft Defender, customers have secured more than 750,000 generative AI app instances, and Microsoft Purview has audited over a billion Copilot interactions, helping organizations safeguard their AI-driven environments.
Microsoft Purview is playing a pivotal role in helping thousands of organizations—including Cummins, KPMG, and Auburn University—navigate their AI transformations by offering comprehensive data security and compliance capabilities across both Microsoft and third-party applications.
Key updates to Microsoft Purview, now available for preview, include:
These capabilities help organizations manage AI risks and comply with evolving regulations, ensuring that as AI adoption accelerates, data security remains a top priority. For more information, visit the blog on the Tech Community.
AI adoption is growing rapidly, and Microsoft Security Copilot is helping security teams across industries enhance productivity. Organizations like National Australia Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo are performing security tasks more efficiently. After three months of use, companies saw a 30% reduction in time to resolve incidents.
New Copilot skills are now available for IT admins in Microsoft Entra and Intune, data security teams in Microsoft Purview, and security ops teams in Microsoft Defender, helping them improve identity management, compliance, and threat defense.
These updates strengthen security and streamline processes, empowering teams to manage risks more effectively in the fast-evolving AI landscape.
The AI industry is evolving rapidly, with Microsoft AI technology already benefiting hundreds of thousands of customers. By adopting Microsoft’s platform early, these customers are not only reaping significant rewards now but also future-proofing their businesses for the next wave of AI advancements.
Microsoft Ignite, our annual event, showcases the latest updates and innovations designed to help customers, partners, and developers maximize the potential of Microsoft technology and transform how we work. This year, we are unveiling about 80 new products and features, including enhancements to Microsoft 365 Copilot, additions to the Copilot + AI stack, and new Copilot+ devices offerings. Central to these innovations is our unwavering commitment to security. Following the launch of our Secure Future Initiative (SFI) a year ago, we have made security a top priority across Microsoft, with 34,000 engineers dedicated to ensuring it. At Ignite, we’ll present innovations grounded in SFI’s principles: secure by design, secure by default, and secure operations.
More than 200,000 people have registered for this year’s Ignite, with over 14,000 attendees at the in-person event in Chicago. With over 800 sessions, demos, and expert-led labs available, there’s plenty to discover. Additionally, much of the content will be available on demand for those who can’t attend live.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is rapidly gaining momentum as more organizations successfully deploy it, with nearly 70% of the Fortune 500 now using the AI assistant for work. This growth reflects a broader trend, as a recent IDC study shows 75% adoption of generative AI among companies in 2024. Companies are seeing significant returns on their AI investments, with some realizing up to $10 for every $1 invested.
The success stories from Microsoft 365 Copilot highlight its impact on organizations. For instance, Eaton, an intelligent power management company, used Copilot to streamline operations, automate processes, and save 83% of the time spent on documenting standard operating procedures. Similarly, McKinsey & Company developed an AI agent to speed up client onboarding, reducing lead time by 90% and cutting administrative work by 30%. By automating complex tasks, Copilot allows teams to focus on higher-value activities, driving innovation and improving efficiency across industries.
Microsoft 365 Copilot continues to redefine productivity by introducing innovative capabilities that streamline everyday tasks and empower users to focus on higher-value activities. With features like Copilot Actions, employees can now automate repetitive tasks, such as generating meeting summaries or compiling weekly reports, directly within Microsoft 365 apps, leading to significant time savings.
New agents further extend the capabilities of Microsoft 365, transforming business processes and scaling individual impact. Key features include:
These innovations collectively enhance collaboration, simplify tasks, and ultimately boost workplace productivity, making Microsoft 365 Copilot an essential tool for modern organizations.
The Copilot stack is designed to empower users to create more ambitious products by leveraging advanced technology at every layer. To provide a unified experience for designing, customizing, and managing AI applications and agents, Microsoft introduces Azure AI Foundry, which combines all existing Azure AI services and tooling with exciting new features:
Further bolstering Microsoft’s commitment to Trustworthy AI, the company is launching new tools such as AI Reports and Risk & Safety Evaluations for images. These tools enable organizations to improve observability, ensure governance, and evaluate the safety and compliance of AI-generated content, particularly harmful image content. These efforts underscore Microsoft’s dedication to providing customers with secure, scalable, and reliable AI solutions.
As businesses increasingly move workloads to the cloud for better security and flexibility, Microsoft is expanding its Cloud PC solution with Windows 365 Link, a new class of devices designed to securely connect to Windows 365 in just seconds. Currently in preview, Windows 365 Link will be available for purchase in April 2025, with an MSRP of $349. This device provides users with a secure, familiar Windows desktop experience in the Microsoft Cloud, offering responsive and high-fidelity performance.
Windows 365 Link is secure by design—it has no local data, no local apps, and no need for administrative users, ensuring that corporate data remains protected within the Microsoft Cloud. This security-first approach makes it ideal for businesses looking to ensure data safety while enabling flexible, remote work environments.
For commercial customers, Copilot+ PCs are introducing powerful capabilities, such as built-in native processing units (NPUs) to support local AI. Additionally, improved Windows Search and the new Recall experience (in preview) will make it easier for users to find exactly what they need on their devices by simply describing it. These innovations will first be available to the Windows Insider community on Copilot+ PCs before a broader rollout.
Four years ago, BlackRock, one of the world’s leading asset management firms, entered a strategic alliance with Microsoft to transition its Aladdin platform to Microsoft Azure. This shift laid the foundation for BlackRock to integrate generative AI tools with Aladdin, through the launch of Aladdin Copilot. By leveraging Microsoft’s technology, Aladdin Copilot enhances connectivity across the platform, allowing users to access answers instantly, unlock new efficiencies, and uncover critical business insights more quickly. This AI-powered tool makes Aladdin smarter and more responsive, driving productivity and enabling scale.
The partnership has continued to evolve, with BlackRock rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot across 24,000 seats. Today, around 60% of BlackRock’s Copilot users engage with the tool weekly, showing the significant adoption and effectiveness of the platform. Furthermore, BlackRock migrated its on-premises CRM solution to the cloud with Dynamics 365, largely due to its seamless integration with Teams and Outlook, marking another milestone in the ongoing collaboration between the two companies.
As the threat landscape rapidly evolves, staying ahead of cyber adversaries is a top priority. At Microsoft, we recognize that security is a collaborative effort, and by partnering as a community, we can effectively combat bad actors. This philosophy is at the heart of our Secure Future Initiative (SFI), which is now launching the Zero Day Quest, the largest public security research event in history. Focused on AI and cloud security, this competition offers an unprecedented $4 million award pool, alongside the ongoing $16 million annual bounty program. The aim is to bring together the world’s top security experts to address high-impact security challenges critical to our customers.
In response to increasingly sophisticated attack strategies, such as those exploiting relationships between identities, devices, and files, Microsoft is evolving its security approach. Traditional security tools often fail to provide full visibility into attack paths, which is why we are introducing Microsoft Security Exposure Management. This new platform, powered by AI and graph data, offers real-time insights and visualizations, enabling security teams to identify and mitigate risks before attackers can exploit them. With cloud-scale performance, Exposure Management equips organizations with the tools to protect their infrastructure and make informed cybersecurity decisions
atQor is a Microsoft Technologies focused boutique consulting, project services and product development company that aims to help end users increase business productivity by automating processes and compliance reporting.
