Microsoft Build is more than just a technology conference. It’s a gateway to celebrate innovation, foster growth, and unlock your professional potential through technical opportunities on Microsoft Learn. In this blog, we’ll look back at some of the most exciting Microsoft Azure tools introduced at Build 2024 and guide you on your path to mastery.
Microsoft Build is more than just a technology conference. It’s a gateway to celebrate innovation, foster growth, and unlock your professional potential through technical opportunities on Microsoft Learn. In this blog, we’ll look back at some of the most exciting Microsoft Azure tools introduced at Build 2024 and guide you on your path to mastery.
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Build intelligent apps using AI and cloud-based technologies
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Master intelligent app development to unleash the power of AI
Empower your developers to achieve unprecedented productivity
Accelerate your cloud journey with seamless Azure migration
Master cloud-scale data analytics for powerful business insights
Achieve maximum cloud efficiency and cost savings with Azure
Master intelligent app development to unleash the power of AI
Azure offers a comprehensive ecosystem of services, tools, and infrastructure tailored to the entire AI lifecycle. At Build, we highlighted how teams can efficiently develop, scale, and optimize intelligent solutions using cutting-edge technologies.
At Build this year, Microsoft announced the general availability of Microsoft Azure AI Studio, which allows developers to build and customize models. We recently dropped an episode of the Azure Enablement Show that walks viewers through how to build their own Copilot using Studio. Watch a demo of how to create a custom Copilot using prompt flows, chat with your AI model, and deploy it to an endpoint.
In another episode, we focus on the new Microsoft Azure Cosmos DB Developer Guide for Node.js and Python and the learning path for building AI chatbots using Azure Cosmos DB and Microsoft Azure Open AI. You will learn how to set up, migrate, manage, and leverage Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB based on V Core to create generative AI apps, and conclude with a live demo of an AI chatbot.
If the Azure Enablement Show episode has you excited to learn more about Azure Cosmos DB, check out the Microsoft Developers AI Learning Hackathon, where you can explore the world of AI further, learn how to build innovative apps with Azure Cosmos DB, and even get a chance to win prizes! To help you prepare for the hackathon, we’ve put together a two-part series that walks you through building AI apps with Azure Cosmos DB, including deep dives into AI fundamentals, Azure Open AI APIs, vector search, and more.
You can also review the official collection of Azure Cosmos DB learning resources, which includes classes, technical documentation, and reference sample code.
Looking for a more structured lesson plan? Plans, newly launched on Microsoft Learn, now offer guided learning on the best Azure tools and solutions, including Azure Cosmos DB. Think of it as a structured roadmap for you or your team to acquire new skills, with focused content, clear milestones, and support to accelerate your learning journey. Look for more official Plans on Microsoft Learn in the coming months!
You can learn more about how to build intelligent AI apps using other exciting Azure tools in our two official collections for Azure Kubernetes Service: Build intelligent apps using AI and cloud-native technologies and Take Azure Kubernetes Service out of the cloud and into your world, and Build AI apps using Azure Database for PostgreSQL.
Empowering developers to improve productivity
Accelerating developer productivity isn’t just about speeding up your code; it’s about delivering high-quality software that unlocks innovation, reduces costs, and drives business growth. Azure developer tools and services help you streamline processes, automate workflows, and use advanced technologies like AI and machine learning.
Join us for another fun episode of the Azure Enablement Show and discover technical resources and tools from Microsoft that can help you code more efficiently in Python. Learn how to build intelligent apps with Azure’s cloud, AI, and data capabilities, and follow hands-on modules that cover deploying Python web apps and building machine learning models in Azure.
There are also three official collections of learning resources covering different aspects of developer productivity.
- Microsoft Developer Tools @ Build 2024: We’ll show you how to build the next generation of modern, intelligent apps with cutting-edge developer tools and insights. Learn how to build, test, and deploy apps in the cloud with Microsoft Dev Box and Microsoft Visual Studio, and how to easily test modern apps with Microsoft Azure Load Testing and Microsoft Playwright Testing.
- Accelerate developer productivity with GitHub and Azure for Developers: Continue to unlock your full coding potential in the cloud with GitHub Copilot. A series of videos, articles, and activities will show you how GitHub Copilot can help you and accelerate your productivity across a variety of programming languages and projects.
- Securing your developer platform with GitHub and Azure: Learn how to strengthen your code security with GitHub Advanced Security, an add-on to GitHub Enterprise. Protect your private repositories at every stage of development with advanced features like secret scanning, code scanning, and dependency management.
Accelerate your cloud journey with seamless Azure migration
Migrating to Azure opens up a world of opportunities for your organization. At Build, we showed how enterprises can modernize legacy systems, strengthen security and compliance, and integrate with AI using the robust, scalable Azure cloud platform.
Want to get more hands-on with Azure migration tools? Check out the lineup of Microsoft Azure Virtual Training Days. These free two-day, four-hour sessions are packed with hands-on practice and hands-on knowledge of in-demand technologies.
- Data Fundamentals: In this introductory level course, you will learn core data concepts and technologies in Azure cloud data services. Learn the differences between relational and non-relational databases, explore Azure products such as Azure Cosmos DB and Microsoft Azure Storage, and gain insight into large-scale analytics solutions such as Microsoft Azure Synapse Analytics and Microsoft Azure Databricks.
- Migrate and Secure Windows Server and SQL Server Workloads: Comprehensive information on how to migrate and secure on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server workloads to Azure, providing insights into assessing workloads, selecting the right migration option, and leveraging the flexibility, scalability, and cost-saving capabilities of Azure.
Microsoft Azure SQL is an intelligent, scalable, and secure cloud database service that simplifies operations and provides valuable insights to your business. Curated learning paths in the official Azure SQL collection help you focus on domain-specific database management and optimization activities that are critical to your business.
For a more structured learning experience, there are official Plans on Azure Cloud-Scale Database to Enable AI available on Microsoft Learn. Designed to equip you with the expertise needed to unleash the full potential of Azure SQL, Microsoft Azure Database for MySQL, Microsoft Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Microsoft SQL Server, supported by Microsoft Azure Arc for hybrid and multi-cloud environments, these plans immerse you in the latest features and best practices.
Master cloud-scale data analytics for insightful decision making
Cloud-scale analytics helps enterprises gain valuable insights and make data-driven decisions at unprecedented speed. Microsoft Fabric, a unified analytics platform, simplifies data integration, enables seamless collaboration, and democratizes access to AI-driven insights within a single, integrated environment.
Interested in taking the Fabric Analytics Engineer Associate certification exam? Prepare with Microsoft Fabric Learn Together, a series of live, expert-led sessions designed to build proficiency in tools like Apache Spark and Data Factory, and understand concepts from Medallion Architecture design to Lakehouse.
There is still time to register for the Virtual Training Day session, Implementing a Data Lakehouse with Microsoft Fabric. This session aims to provide data professionals with technical experience on how to integrate data analytics and extract key insights using AI. Key objectives include identifying core workloads in Fabric to deliver insights faster and setting up a data lakehouse foundation for ingestion, transformation, modeling, and visualization.
Of course, don’t miss the official collection of learning resources for Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databricks, which includes modules on implementing a Data Lakehouse and using Copilot in Fabric, and workshops on building a Search Augmented Generation (RAG) application and Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore. For a more curated experience, jump into the Plans in the Microsoft Learn collection, starting with how to ingest data using pipelines or data flows, how to transform data using data flows, procedures, and notebooks, and how to store data in Lakehouse and Data Warehouse.
Achieve maximum cloud efficiency and cost savings with Azure
Enhancing resiliency in Azure is a strategic approach to efficiently managing cloud resources and ensuring optimal performance while minimizing costs. You can maximize the value of your Azure investment by sizing virtual machines (VMs), leveraging reserved instances or savings plans, and leveraging automated tools like Microsoft Azure Advisor.
In another fun episode of the Azure Enablement Show, we explore Learn Live resources that can help you optimize your cloud adoption journey. Confident cloud operations require understanding how to manage cost efficiency, reliability, security, and sustainability. Whether you’re an IT professional or just trying it out, this two-part episode will show you the learning resources you need.
There’s always more to explore on Microsoft Learn.
As every year, Microsoft Build has delivered exciting new products and advancements in Azure technology. Don’t be left behind! Start your skills journey today with Microsoft Learn.
