Last Updated: November 26, 2024
Published Date: Nov 26 2024
3 min read
Dan Finn's Top 10 Thoughts from Microsoft Ignite
- Being in the same room as Satya was fun. Top 15 richest person in the world? He had to notice Synergy sitting 5 rows from the back, right? The early wake up to get in line was worth it. My wife still thinks I’m a nerd though 😊 I pulled three big takeaways from his keynote, so I’ll list them next…
- Cloud PC’s: Microsoft clearly sees this as the future. Contract hires, Interns, BYOD scenarios – secure your data on a fully managed Cloud PC delivered to any device, anywhere. They noted 88% reduction in costs, $750 in hardware savings, and 120 hours of time savings. Microsoft has options based on your need and is heavily investing in this space based on the feature in Satya’s keynote. Interesting it was all W365 and not AVD. . . Hmm.
- Fabric: Democratize your Data! My team is sick of hearing this from me already, but this solution is 12 months old (and 26 days) and had a TON of buzz. Standing room only, customer anecdotes of how simple it was to configure and wishing they went wider with their initial rollout. I’m super excited to hear how customers leverage Fabric to enable data getting to the right stakeholders in a timely fashion.
- Ok fine: AI. I couldn’t NOT mention it but hey we made it to #4 without those two letters! What was great to see is Microsoft clarifying that 365 Copilot is a Personal Productivity tool and for redefining a Business Process, we should be looking at Agents, Agents, Agents! Copilot Studio and Agents enable AI-enabled workflows specific to your business process. Customers are struggling to build an ROI for AI if they think too broadly. If you’re asking the same questions internally, ask Synergy Technical about our AI Consulting services.
- Entra ID and Passwordless: Entra ID sessions and the Microsoft Security team are moving past traditional MFA (call me ASAP if this still isn’t rolled out). Microsoft is looking beyond MFA and now moving to Passwordless. The Microsoft Authenticator App and passkeys create phishing-resistant sign-ins for your users. Let’s move to Passwordless in 2025 – your Cyber Insurance provider will thank you.
- Data Governance: Did anyone see a vendor booth in the expo that didn’t say ‘Prepare your data for AI’? I’ll be keeping an eye on third-party tooling that stands out compared to what Microsoft is baking into its native toolset with capabilities like Sensitivity Labels across Teams Meetings, SharePoint Advanced Management, etc. If you’re still moving workloads to the cloud, build with AI in mind to not repeat crucial steps in the migration when you’re AI ready.
- Microsoft still has the least-told, best Security story in the business. Who intakes more signals than Microsoft? Who sees global activity at a scale larger than Microsoft? Customers across the nation in 2024 were looking for cost reductions – the Microsoft security stack baked into your Enterprise licensing can provide an ROI today. Sit in a Synergy Security Workshop to see how knocking down those information silos across your security stack can simplify your threat hunting and reduce costs.
- Exposure Management: The solution for Security Analysts – no longer a snapshot in time, log-in daily to view your estate from the view of Risk Management. Where is the single biggest choke point for vulnerabilities and what can I do about it today? Easy to view with Exposure Management.
- Expo Booth is where the goods are: I’m not talking swag bags, Microsoft SMEs are working the expo booths. Synergy’s very own Teams MVP could be found working the 365 Admin Center booth! I appreciate it wasn’t stocked with Sales/Marketing people – and that’s coming from a Salesperson 😊 I brought questions from our Technical and Sales teams and it was never easier to get answers quickly. I could have spent the full week in the expo.
- Complexity = Options: Microsoft has options...products, partner programs, funding vehicles, procurement agreements, licensing bundles, pricing tiers...What some call complex, can also be called flexible. Microsoft continues to meet customers where they are with a variety of solutions across these programs. We can help you understand it all and how they fit with your business and technology roadmap. It’s our job to keep track of it all – call us.
By: Dan Finn
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