As corporations race to construct or modernize clever apps that incorporate generative AI, many are discovering gaps of their tech-stack modernization efforts as they discover and check use circumstances.
Not too long ago, Microsoft commissioned Forrester Consulting to judge modernization efforts at international organizations. The examine discovered that almost 90% of resolution makers mentioned they’ve a contemporary tech basis and are prepared for the longer term. The examine additionally discovered there’s a notion hole and lots of aren’t as prepared as they suppose they’re. Some nonetheless take care of rigid, outdated, and brittle legacy software program programs that stifle innovation and go away substantial room for enchancment.
A few of this comes from a cloud method targeted on migration. There’s a lot to realize merely in migrating to the cloud, however modernization is far more than carry and shift—it’s about what you are able to do when you get there.
The examine additionally discovered that one in 5 corporations surveyed are overcoming foundational limitations of their utility modernization journey to convey crucial worth again to the enterprise. These corporations are doing a number of widespread issues: implementing a transparent know-how technique constructed round AI and coaching, integrating analytics and key metrics to attach with enterprise outcomes, and upgrading know-how stacks, supported by strategic partnerships with related suppliers. In adopting these practices, these corporations can transfer quickly to deal with inner gaps and overcome thorny challenges in the best way of their modernization targets.
Is your tech stack AI-ready? Are you on the lookout for greatest practices to assist execute your modernization technique? Wish to study extra in regards to the Forrester examine? Be a part of us on Could 8, 2024 for our subsequent Microsoft Azure webinar: “Harness the Energy of Clever Apps: Modernize with Azure.” Along with listening to from me, you’ll hear from:
- Amanda Silver on “Powering Future Innovation with Azure Utility Platform”
- Ali Powell on “Imaginative and prescient to Worth: Accelerating Modernization to Azure with Azure Buyer Success”
- Cyril Belikoff on “Empowering Modernization with Microsoft Applications, Gives, and Companion Ecosystem (Closing Keynote)”
And we’ll be joined by Invoice Martorelli, Principal Analyst at Forrester, who will talk about the examine.
Be a part of us for the Azure webinar collection
“Harness the Energy of Clever Apps: Modernize with Azure”
Subsequent, right here is the most recent from Microsoft knowledge, AI, and digital apps that will help you together with your modernization.
What’s new in knowledge, AI, and digital functions
Snowflake partnership extends Azure choices to your knowledge
Some of the empowering issues Microsoft does for patrons is forge partnerships with corporations who lengthen the worth of our platform. Snowflake is a superb instance of this in motion. I had the chance to affix Snowflake Chief Advertising and marketing Officer Denise Persson to speak about how we work collectively to assist clients benefit from their knowledge to drive AI transformation. Partnerships like these are simply another reason why Azure is the perfect cloud to your knowledge.
Extra alternative—Microsoft Azure AI mannequin catalog of open and frontier fashions simply acquired greater with additions from Snowflake, Microsoft Analysis, Meta, Databricks, and extra
The Azure AI mannequin catalog now affords greater than 1,600 basis fashions (giant language fashions (LLMs) and small language fashions (SLMs)) enabling Azure clients to decide on the perfect mannequin for his or her use case. Our catalog continues to develop, with the addition of latest cutting-edge fashions, together with Snowflake Arctic, Meta Llama 3, databricks/dbrx-base and databricks/dbrx-instruct, and Microsoft’s Phi-3 household of open fashions, probably the most succesful and cost-effective small language fashions out there, outperforming fashions of the identical measurement and subsequent measurement up throughout a wide range of language, coding, and math benchmarks. The brand new fashions not solely increase our catalog, but in addition improve our capability to fulfill various enterprise calls for.
Extra scale at no extra price: Elevated vector capability in Azure AI search
Azure AI Search now has considerably elevated storage capability and vector index measurement at no extra price. To help elevated demand for retrieval augmented era (RAG) and generative AI functions at scale, AI Search has drastically raised storage limits, giving clients extra vectors per greenback with out compromising excessive efficiency. With this modification, clients can obtain extra scalability at a decrease price, belief AI Search to deal with their giant RAG workloads, and apply superior search methods to navigate complicated knowledge to innovate in methods beforehand unimaginable.
Microsoft proclaims new industrial AI improvements from the cloud to the manufacturing unit flooring
We introduced new AI-driven options for manufacturing that purpose to unify knowledge estates, improve operational resilience, and empower front-line employees with AI copilots for environment friendly knowledge querying and concern decision. The non-public preview consists of Microsoft Material knowledge options and the Microsoft Copilot for Azure AI template, promising to optimize operations and speed up AI integration throughout international manufacturing websites.
New infrastructure for the period of AI: Rising know-how and developments in 2024
From cloud to edge, CPUs to GPUs, and application-specific built-in circuits (ASICs), the AI {hardware} and software program panorama is increasing at a formidable fee. Our new “Microsoft Azure: The State of AI Infrastructure” report helps you retain up with the present state of AI, its developments and challenges, and to find out about greatest practices for constructing and deploying scalable and environment friendly AI programs. Learn the inaugural weblog in our new Infrastructure for the Period of AI collection for extra and to obtain the report.
Mirroring in Microsoft Material for Azure SQL Database and Azure Cosmos DB now in public preview
Azure SQL Database Mirroring in Microsoft Material constantly replicates your SQL knowledge into Delta tables in Microsoft Material’s OneLake in close to real-time. This new characteristic helps keep away from complicated and time-consuming extract, remodel, load (ETL) processes and allows quicker time to insights. Mirroring additional reduces your total complete price of possession with zero compute and storage prices to copy, serving to you rapidly and cost-effectively reply to modifications in your online business.
With Azure Cosmos DB Mirroring in Microsoft Material, you may seamlessly convey your Azure Cosmos DB knowledge into OneLake in Microsoft Material with no-ETL and close to real-time insights in your operational knowledge, permitting you to react extra rapidly to modifications in your online business setting and market situations.
Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL: New AI capabilities in Azure AI extension and new migration service
The Azure AI extension in public preview now consists of real-time predictions to invoke machine studying fashions hosted on Microsoft Azure Machine Studying on-line endpoints. That is extraordinarily useful for constructing fraud detection in banking, product suggestions in retail, affected person predictions in healthcare, and extra. Additionally new is real-time textual content translation utilizing Microsoft Azure AI Translator to translate textual content from inside SQL. This facilitates constructing clever multilingual functions on Azure Database for PostgreSQL. It additionally helps mechanically detecting the language of the enter textual content and filtering profanities.
A new migration service now usually out there simplifies the method of transferring PostgreSQL databases from anyplace to Azure. The service affords each offline and on-line migration choices from an on-premises server, AWS RDS for PostgreSQL, Azure Digital Machines (VMs), and Azure Database for PostgreSQL—Single Server. The service helps clients transfer to Azure Database for PostgreSQL—Versatile Server with ease and confidence.
Microsoft Defender for Cloud now helps Azure Database for MySQL—Versatile Server
Shield databases from threats with out affecting efficiency or availability, and decrease the chance of knowledge breaches, assaults, and unauthorized entry with safety monitoring of anomalous or suspicious actions. Clients can simply allow Defender for Cloud from the Azure Portal to start out getting safety alerts and insights for Azure Database for MySQL—Versatile Server and obtain suggestions to mitigate doubtlessly dangerous threats. Study extra about Defender for Cloud.
Healthcare knowledge options in Microsoft Material in public preview
The healthcare knowledge options present knowledge fashions and transformation actions that assist clients create a multi modal warehouse. It allows clients to align with {industry} requirements, reminiscent of Quick Healthcare Interoperability Sources (FHIRs) and Digital Imaging and Communications in Drugs (DICOM), and helps compliance with rules, such because the Well being Insurance coverage Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and Common Information Safety Regulation (GDPR). Study extra about healthcare knowledge options.
Empowering AI globally with investments in Japan and United Arab Emirates, a brand new AI Hub in London, and a worldwide partnership with Cognizant
Microsoft will make investments USD2.9 billion over the following two years to extend our hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Japan. We will even increase our digital skilling applications, open our first Microsoft Analysis Asia lab in Japan, and deepen our cybersecurity collaboration with the Authorities of Japan.
We’re investing USD1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi’s G42 to speed up AI improvement and international growth, and to strengthen our collaboration on bringing the most recent Microsoft AI applied sciences and skilling initiatives to the United Arab Emirates and different nations world wide.
Microsoft AI Chief Government Officer Mustafa Suleyman introduced Microsoft AI is opening a brand new AI hub within the coronary heart of London. Microsoft AI London will drive pioneering work to advance state-of-the-art language fashions and their supporting infrastructure, and to create world-class tooling for basis fashions, collaborating intently with our AI groups throughout Microsoft and with our companions, together with OpenAI.
Cognizant and Microsoft are increasing our partnership to combine Microsoft’s generative AI and Microsoft Copilot into Cognizant’s digital transformation providers. With a big funding in generative AI, the partnership is about to drive AI adoption and create industry-specific options, whereas upholding moral AI requirements. The initiative additionally consists of intensive coaching for Cognizant builders and the deployment of Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 to an enormous consumer base.
Study one thing new
Microsoft Study helps deal with the AI abilities hole
With greater than 6 million individuals globally engaged with AI studying, Microsoft Study is your AI skill-building companion in addressing the AI abilities hole. We designed a easy framework that will help you chart your personal course for constructing the required AI abilities to understand the worth of the Microsoft platform. Study extra with the “Speed up AI transformation with ability constructing” place paper. For extra, see the weblog from Kim Akers, Company Vice President, Enablement and Operations for Microsoft Buyer and Companion Options, on the best way to remodel your online business with AI ability constructing on Microsoft Study.
The way to customise your generative AI mannequin
There are three key strategies to customizing a LLM: immediate engineering, RAG, and fine-tuning. On this weblog, you’ll discover ways to:
- Optimize prompts to make sure a mannequin produces extra correct responses.
- Retrieve info from exterior sources for higher accuracy.
- Educate a mannequin new abilities and duties.
- Educate a mannequin new info from a customized dataset.
LLMOps Maturity Mannequin Evaluation and framework, plus new educational video collection
LLMOps describes the operational practices and techniques for managing LLMs in manufacturing. Unsure what your group’s LLMOps maturity stage is? Take a 10-minute evaluation to search out out. Then get steering on the best way to advance your capabilities in LLMOps based mostly in your group’s maturity stage.
There are loads of intricacies concerned in constructing programs that use LLMs: deciding on simply the proper fashions, orchestrating LLM flows, and monitoring them utilizing accountable AI toolchains. LLMOps is greater than know-how or product adoption. It’s a confluence of the individuals engaged, the processes used, and the merchandise carried out. In a new educational video collection, we’ll discover the idea of LLMOps in depth, alongside introducing the most recent Azure AI instruments designed to facilitate the adoption of sturdy LLMOps practices for enterprises.
New weblog: Bettering Azure Capabilities chilly begins
Our new weblog, “The way to Conquer Chilly Begins for Higher Efficiency” is now stay on The New Stack, the platform for the most recent information and assets for cloud native applied sciences. Ability-up totally free on leveraging AI with cloud-native and serverless applied sciences on Azure.
Insights Tomorrow: A podcast for knowledge fanatics
Insights Tomorrow options in-depth conversations with knowledge leaders and specialists in regards to the revolutionary journeys they’re taking on this planet of knowledge, analytics, and governance. Be a part of host Patrick LeBlanc to discover how unlocking worth from knowledge is trailblazing the best way to digital transformation.
Clients innovating with generative AI
MultiChoice boosts consumer satisfaction with Azure Machine Studying and Microsoft Azure Databricks
Have you ever ever wished for a viewing expertise that is aware of your style higher than you do? MultiChoice, Africa’s premier leisure vacation spot, has made {that a} actuality with Azure Machine Studying. Customers take pleasure in extremely customized suggestions that cater to their tastes, making each view depend. As MultiChoice is making the viewing expertise higher, smarter, and extra satisfying, it has seen a exceptional uptake in consumer engagement and satisfaction.
Nexi makes use of Microsoft Azure App Service to modernize its FinTech apps to supply a personalised cost resolution to clients
Nexi is a European PayTech firm that helps its clients pay and settle for digital funds by way of an entire and customized vary of straightforward, intuitive, and safe options. To simplify transactions and empower individuals and companies to take pleasure in nearer relationships and prosper collectively, Nexi wanted a unified resolution with extra flexibility to permit its builders to spend a lot much less time on infrastructure actions and supply extra worth on delivering merchandise. Working with Microsoft and cVation, Nexi moved ahead to implement app modernization and transformation.
Coles accelerates from month-to-month to weekly utility deployments with Azure
Coles, which operates greater than 800 shops in Australia, wanted to modernize its know-how to fulfill rising buyer demand for an omnichannel expertise that served them equally effectively in retailer and on-line. Within the extremely aggressive grocery enterprise, meaning quickly evolving in response to buyer enter. Coles gained wonderful effectivity with Azure DevOps, shifting from month-to-month to weekly deployments, decreasing construct instances, and enabling fast deployment of modifications to manufacturing. The client expertise is additional optimized with Azure Cosmos DB, which gives an aggregated view throughout channels to allow additional buyer insights, permitting Coles to supply an much more custom-made expertise.
Alternatives to attach
Construct multimodal apps with Microsoft and win at Microsoft Generative AI Hackathon—now by way of Could 6, 2024
Do you wish to discover ways to use Azure AI and GitHub Copilot to construct multimodal apps that mix textual content, picture, video, or voice inputs and outputs for a big effect? Do you wish to win money prizes, Azure credit, and recognition to your work? When you answered sure to any of those questions, then you need to be part of us for the Microsoft Generative AI Hackathon, an internet problem the place you need to use your abilities to create thrilling generative AI options.
Microsoft Construct—Could 21 to 23, 2024
Develop the AI abilities wanted for tomorrow, in the present day. At Microsoft Construct 2024, you’ll study from in-demand specialists, expertise the most recent improvements in breakouts, and make connections with a neighborhood that may allow you to obtain extra. Register for Construct.
Microsoft Builders AI Studying Hackathon, win as much as $10,000 in prizes! Now by way of June 17, 2024
This hackathon challenges you to push the boundaries of what’s attainable by constructing your very personal AI app utilizing Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB. Concentrating on each Node.js and Python builders, the hackathon guides you thru complete studying to delve into the basics of AI apps— and also you would possibly win as much as $10,000 in prizes. By the tip of the hackathon, you’ll know the best way to construct your very personal customized AI copilot with Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB. Get began now!
Azure Cosmos DB Conf 2024 out there on-demand
Missed the thrill and innovation-packed Azure Cosmos DB Convention in April? No worries, we’ve acquired you coated! The occasion introduced collectively the sharpest minds within the {industry}, together with product leaders, chief technical officers, and neighborhood members who shared insights on constructing groundbreaking generative AI functions powered by Azure Cosmos DB. Whether or not you missed a bit or missed all of it, catch the replays on-demand.
Microsoft’s AI Classroom Hackathon winners
Microsoft’s AI Classroom Hackathon winners had been chosen from greater than 3,700 college students from over 100 nations, collaborating in Microsoft’s name to construct the following era of clever functions that reimagine the way forward for schooling utilizing Azure AI and Azure databases. Among the many winners is Dialogues By way of Time, that lets you have interactive AI-driven dialogues with historic figures like Socrates and Leonardo DaVinci. Additionally, EquEdu, an AI-powered content material accessibility instrument that makes on-line academic content material accessible for the visually impaired. Plenty of inspirational concepts right here—try the winners and their initiatives.
What’s new?
Jessica shares insights on know-how transformation together with vital updates and assets in regards to the knowledge, AI, and digital utility options that make Microsoft Azure the platform for the period of AI. Discover Jessica’s weblog posts right here and be sure you observe Jessica on LinkedIn.
