6 take aways from Microsoft Ignite 2019

This post was first published on CGIs company blog but is not available any longer.

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure to attend Microsoft Ignite 2019 in Orlando. It was a week full of great sessions, new experiences, information, and great discussions. In this article, I would like to share my top 6 of takeaways, new services/functions and stuff I learned on this event.

1. CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT IS NO MORE

The name, Customer Engagement (CE),  we used to identify the old “CRM” Part of Dynamics 365 will not be used any longer. Actually, the on-premises version of Dynamics 365 is still called CE, but in the online version, it will disappear. All the Apps that were previously named as Customer Engagement (Sales, Marketing, Field Service and Customer Service) are now standalone applications. This is also reflected in the new License model which is in place since the 1. of October.

Now there is the question: How we should call all those apps if we can not use CE anymore? I have not found an answer to this question yet. Maybe: CDS Apps?

2. AZURE DEVOPS PIPELINES

I attended a Pre-Day Workshop which was all about the Azure DevOps Pipelines and GitHub. I really learned a lot about Pipelines and how powerful they are. We already use them in some of our projects to run automated tests. I know already before that you can even automatically deploy or even create whole environments automated. Unfortunately, I have not known how. In this workshop, they told us in detail how to do this. 

3. VS 2019 & VS ONLINE

One of the best Sessions/KeyNotes for me where the Developer Keynote from Scott Hanselman. He showed the new possibilities of VS 2019 and VS online when it, for example, comes to debugging your Azure components, automatically creating a dedicated environment per developer and a lot of other great new features. I really recommend you to watch this KeyNote.

4. AI BUILDER

A really good session was an introduction to the new AI Builder. The AI Builder makes it possible for everyone to build and train AI’s in a simple way. In the Session Seth Juarez showed how we get to restore a deleted Database just with the Invoice PDF’s and the AI Builder. You can watch the session here.

5.  AZURE EDGE

Azure Edge are IoT devices, in different sizes, for all the “Edge” scenarios. Those devices run parts of the Azure stack. As an example Microsoft mentioned Drones that could run AI’s internally to optimize the flying route or small devices to improve and coordinate the search after a catastrophic event supported by AI and sensors that are built for exactly this scenario.

You can read more under the following links: 

What is Azure IoT Edge
Azure IoT Edge

6. AZURE ARC

Azure Arc is basically just the Azure software. Now it is possible to install the Azure software on an own Reg in the own Datacenter and connect it with the “normal” Azure world. This will in the future possibly allow creating an “onPremises” Azure installation, to use all the functionality of Azure but in the companies own DataCenter. At the moment this is still a Beta and just the Databases and some other Software parts are available. I hope Microsoft will continue with this project and soon bring more services to the Azure Arc. Could become an opportunity for customers that needs there data to be stored for example in Sweden.

Read more about Azure Arc

The best part, to be honest, where “The Hub”, where you were able to meet with Experts from Microsoft as well as Microsoft Partners. I had some really good and information talks there between my sessions. Those gave me a lot of insights in the Applications and also created some very good new contacts.

Microsoft presented a lot more on the Ignite. For example:

–    Introducing private Channels in Teams
–    Project Cortex 
–    Azure Quantum
 

It would be too much to mention everything in this Article, therefore I focused on things that affect or maybe will affect me directly.

I am really looking forward to all the changes that will happen and the new functionality that will introduced to the Azure, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 landscape.

Thanks to CGI who gave me the opportunity to attend this event.

Last but not least an image of the Acando/CGI group of attendees from Stockholm.

Thanks to Oscar Jonsson, Luchezar Kotzev and Mikael Roos for the really good companion these 6 days. 

All the images (except the one from our group of attendees) I used in this article are from Microsoft.

List of recommended sessions:

• Vision Keynote – Satya Nadella 
• Application Dev Keynote – Scott Hansleman 
• Technology Keynote – James Philipps 
• Envision Tomorrow Keynote – Mitra Azizirad
• Learning Path: Developers Guide to AI
  • Make sense of your unsctructured data with AI – Seth Juarez
  • Using pre-built AI to solve business challenge – David Smith 
  • Start building machine learning models faster than you think – Franscesca Lazzeri
  • Taking models to the next level with Azure Machine Learning best practices – Ari Bornstein
  • Machine learning operations: Applying DevOps to data science – Damian Brady 
• Dynamics 365: Establish and administer a cross organization business application strategy – Eric Boocock
• Configuring and managing Dynamics 365 Sales and Dynamics 365 Marketing – Luca Machetti 
• Power your marketing with the 365-degree customer view and AI – Shailesh Jain 
• Become a Microsoft Flow super hero – Serge Luca 
• Accelerate your success with Dynamics 365 Customer Insights – Saitish Thomas 
• Building the future of sales with Dynamics 365 – Miriam Ney & Daniel Dallala 
• Common Data Model (CDM): All you need to know about CDM – Robert Bruckner & Oleg Ovanesyan 
• Microsoft Flow: Building enterprise-ready flows – Jerry Weinstock 
• Microsoft Power Apps makeover: Basic to beautiful – April Dunnam