19 “Think of Copilot Analytics as a tool for all of us to change how work, workflow and work artifacts are getting done,” said Nadella. In October 2024, Microsoft also added voice and vision capabilities to Copilot to make the AI assistant feel “more human”. Copilot Voice will provide quick, digestible and fluent answers to users’ questions about the web content (including text and images) they are viewing, as well as suggested next steps, feedback and advice, without disrupting their workflow. Users can choose from four voice options for Copilot Voice. Another new feature, Copilot Daily, will provide a summary of news and weather in users’ chosen Copilot Voice. It will pull content from authorised sources only, such as Microsoft partners Reuters, Axel Springer, Hearst Magazines, USA Today Network and Financial Times. More sources are due to be added over time. Also during his Ignite keynote speech, Nadella launched Windows 365 Link, a portable cloud PC solution designed to provide users with access to their Windows 365 desktop wherever they have access to a monitor. Device features include high-fidelity experiences for Teams, 4k monitor support and security baseline policies to ensure user data remains protected. Windows 365 Link will be available from April 2025. Microsoft’s new platform, Azure AI Foundry, was also launched at Ignite. It has been designed for developers to explore, build, test and deploy apps using AI tools and machine learning models. Developers will be able to access all existing Azure AI Services with Azure AI Foundry, while IT professionals and business leaders can use the tools to measure return on investment from AI initiatives. Azure AI capabilities will be accessible from familiar tools like GitHub, Visual Studio and Copilot Studio via the Azure AI Foundry software development kit. In addition, Microsoft showcased Fabric Databases, a new class of cloud databases designed for application developers, at Ignite. Fabric Databases enable users to bring together transactional and analytical workloads with a built-in vector search, retrieval augmented generation support and Microsoft Azure AI integration. The first available database is the SQL database, which helps data professionals to complete common tasks up to 71 per cent faster. Fabric Databases is available now in preview. Read more about Microsoft Ignite on page 28. Available from April 2025, Windows 365 Link can be used on dual screen monitors “ It’s not about tech for tech’s sake but it is about translating it into real outcomes”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=