Since the pandemic, the last couple of years has seen a lot of change and disturbance to not only our culture but also the ways in which we work and the technology we use to do it. This has meant any business that wants to keep up and thrive in this new era will need to adapt and enable any and all modern technology offered so that they can rise to the task and continue to grow and benefit.
Microsoft used this idea to set the focus of this year’s Ignite event to how they can support users to achieve more; greater results, more choice, etc with less through Microsoft Cloud.
Microsoft Ignite is the platform for Microsoft to show off the latest and greatest of what’s to come in terms of supporting its partners, organisations, and users in the future.
These latest features and updates announced are all created with the focus of helping and allowing all users, partners, and business developers to gain the full benefit from Microsoft’s technologies.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these exciting announcements!

The structure that works for every user
With the earlier announcement of Microsoft’s Intelligent Data Platform, Microsoft’s goal was to unite data governance, analytics, and its database in order to make it easier on and for their users. This joining together of broken or unconnected information workloads meant users were able to gain insights much quicker allowing them to spend more valuable time on the projects that were most important.
Microsoft has now announced the expansion of this platform, which includes twelve new partners within its network. Azure Cosmos DB, their business-class database is already supporting any sized or scale goal-crucial apps by bringing the best speed and accessibility to users, no matter their location all whilst boosting scalability and allocation. Now Microsoft has added allocated database support for PostgreSQL. The developers of this commonly used database engine can now benefit from the speed and accessibility of Azure Cosmos DB.
Microsoft is also empowering users to benefit from Azure’s resources, no matter location or functionality by deploying Azure Kubernetes Service on-premises as a part of their hybrid offering, whilst constantly advancing the foundation underneath it all with Azure public multi-access edge compute.
Utilizing the power and drive of AI
Through Power Automate, Microsoft is focused on streamlining workflows by utilising AI in to everyday natural language, allowing users to develop a flow that communicates the demand made aiding the development of turning low-code into no-code.
The launch of Microsoft Syntex combines products from across the Cloud such as Microsoft 365 to the Power Platform. It automatically scans and labels a high volume of subject matter and then attaches it to the section or place where it is needed. Syntex’s importance lies in making people the focus.
With the recent release of Viva Sales and Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, Microsoft is making conversation intelligence-free, especially for those sellers working around the world and on the road. Conversation intelligence provides sellers with insights that will support them in being as productive as possible by utilising data science and analytics allowing them to reduce time spent on admin and putting it where it belongs, with their customers.
Supporting businesses to succeed in this new era and work environment
A huge announcement from Ignite came with the release of Microsoft Places. This latest workplace app enhances the use of physical space. Many employees going into a physical office are doing it for the sole reason of seeing and meeting up with their colleagues. Microsoft Places allows individuals to see when their colleagues are coming in, whilst also offering insights into which scheduled meetings are best suited or need to be in person.
There is also Intelligent Recap, a virtual assistant available for all meetings. This draws on AI to help allocate meeting-decided tasks whilst sharing individualised insights from the meeting recording allowing users to view and gain insights only from the parts of the meeting that they need.
Through Microsoft Edge, Microsoft is constantly advancing any distinctive experience shown to make users’ workdays a little easier. Microsoft Edge Workspace, a communal set of tabs is a place where set groups can examine the latest working files and joint docs all from one place.
Complete protection requires safeguarding all, no matter the working location
Defender for DevOps, the latest release, helps to face one of the key issues faced by the tech industry today: brand-new and old code written without security and therefore easily abused by attackers. Businesses can safeguard current or in-creation apps by offering developers the reassurance they need so that when they receive externally sourced data, they know they will be ahead of any security weaknesses, therefore, delivering a stronger, safer solution.
Microsoft is also providing Power Platform Managed Environments, allowing companies to present low code in order to encourage innovation, safe in the knowledge that the IT department or admins will uphold any governance and security capabilities, permitting teams to build at scale without any concerns for safety or security.
Microsoft is focused on helping companies create an identity system for their future, a linked network that empowers all whether that’s people, apps, or devices to make real-time access assessments.
One way they are hoping to provide this is through Microsoft Entra. Microsoft is launching a number of identity and entry management solutions created to work safely across various cloud platforms. Microsoft Entra Identity Governance allows businesses to ensure that the correct people have the access to the right resources at the exact time they need them. Contained by Entra Identity Governance is Workload Identities. This monitors and safeguards identities for digital workloads and regulates user access to cloud resources, while certificate-centred verification allows customers to easily implement deployable phishing-resilient validation.

Are you interested in finding out more about the latest Microsoft Ignite announcements? Then click the link to catch up on all the releases and upcoming features from this year’s event.
Apply these latest updates from Microsoft Ignite and keep up to date with upcoming features by getting in touch with us today and become the latest part of the business community, focused on upgrading and modernizing their companies in this new hybrid era. You will see why using a reliable, trustworthy, and highly regarded Microsoft consultant will help your business on its journey to digital renovation.