Microsoft Ignite 2024: all the news from Microsoft’s IT pro event

Microsoft Ignite is the company’s yearly league for developers and IT professionals wherever we get to perceive astir the changes successful Copilot, Windows, Microsoft 365, and Azure that volition interaction immoderate of Microsoft’s biggest customers. Microsoft Ignite 2023 included a large absorption connected AI, and this year’s amusement volition beryllium precise overmuch the same.

The Verge will beryllium covering each the quality retired of Microsoft Ignite. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella volition footwear disconnected the main keynote astatine 9AM ET / 6AM PT connected November 19th. It’s being livestreamed connected Microsoft’s site and volition beryllium followed by sessions and heavy dives into the main announcements from the show.

• Azure AI Foundry is Microsoft’s caller ‘unified’ AI exertion platform.

  The thought with Azure AI Foundry is that it volition assistance organizations negociate their AI tools. As Microsoft says successful a blog post:

  Azure AI Foundry helps span the spread betwixt cutting-edge AI technologies and applicable concern applications, empowering organizations to harness the afloat imaginable of AI efficiently and effectively.

  
  

• Microsoft announces its ain Black Hat-like hacking lawsuit with large rewards for AI security

  

  Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

  Microsoft is creating an in-person hacking event, Zero Day Quest, which it says volition beryllium the largest of its kind. The lawsuit volition physique upon Microsoft’s existing bug bounty program, and incentivize probe into high-impact information flaws that tin impact the bundle powering unreality and AI workloads.

  “This caller hacking lawsuit volition beryllium the largest of its kind, with an further $4 cardinal successful imaginable awards for probe into high-impact areas, specifically unreality and AI,” explains Tom Gallagher, VP of engineering astatine Microsoft’s information effect center. “Zero Day Quest volition supply caller opportunities for the information assemblage to enactment manus successful manus with Microsoft engineers and information researchers — bringing unneurotic the champion minds successful information to share, learn, and physique assemblage arsenic we enactment to support everyone safe.”

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• Windows successful mixed world arrives for Meta Quest 3 headsets successful December.

  Meta has been working connected improving the Windows VR acquisition with its Quest headsets successful caller months, and present Microsoft says the afloat capabilities of Windows 11 are coming to the Meta Quest 3 and Quest 3S successful December. You’ll beryllium capable to person a ample multiple-monitor workstation done Quest 3 headsets successful nationalist preview adjacent month. We’re inactive waiting to perceive erstwhile Windows Volumetric Apps volition beryllium available, though.

  
  

  

  

  Screenshot: Meta Connect

• Microsoft’s caller Windows Resiliency Initiative aims to debar different CrowdStrike incident

  

  Image: Microsoft

  The CrowdStrike catastrophe that took down 8.5 cardinal Windows PCs and servers successful July has near galore of Microsoft’s biggest customers looking for answers to marque definite that specified an lawsuit ne'er happens again. Now, Microsoft has immoderate answers successful the signifier of a caller Windows Resiliency Initiative that’s designed to amended Windows information and reliability.

  The Windows Resiliency Initiative includes halfway changes to Windows that volition marque it easier for Microsoft’s customers to retrieve Windows-based machines if there’s ever different CrowdStrike-like incident. There are besides immoderate caller Windows level improvements to supplier stronger controls implicit what apps and drivers are allowed to run, and to assistance let anti-virus processing extracurricular of kernel mode.

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• Microsoft is making it a batch easier to hunt for files connected Copilot Plus PCs.

  A caller “improved” Windows hunt volition let you to hunt for documents, photos, and different files by conscionable describing them — adjacent erstwhile you’re not connected to the internet. The caller AI hunt acquisition volition rotation retired to Windows Insiders connected Copilot Plus PCs aboriginal adjacent year.

  
  

  

  

  Searching for thing similar “red barn” volition propulsion up matching images and record names.

  Image: Microsoft

• Microsoft’s caller Copilot Actions usage AI to automate repetitive tasks

  

  The Verge

  At Microsoft’s Ignite league contiguous the bundle elephantine is introducing Copilot Actions, a caller mode for Microsoft 365 Copilot users to automate repetitive tasks. Microsoft is besides adding AI agents to SharePoint, allowing PowerPoint to construe full presentations, and improving however Copilot works successful Outlook to find the champion clip for meetings.

  Copilot Actions, present successful backstage preview, enables anyone to automate repetitive mundane tasks. That could see automating a summary of gathering actions from Teams meetings, generating play reports, oregon adjacent automating gathering prep. Copilot Actions are designed to beryllium thing you acceptable and forget, overmuch similar an AI-powered macro that goes disconnected and does its happening based connected immoderate fill-in-the-blank prompts.

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• Microsoft Teams volition assistance you talk successful a overseas connection during meetings

  

  Illustration: The Verge

  Microsoft Teams meetings are getting a caller interpreter diagnostic that lets each subordinate talk oregon perceive successful the connection of their choosing. Interpreter successful Teams uses real-time AI-powered speech-to-speech translation to simulate your speaking dependable during meetings.

  A preview volition beryllium disposable successful aboriginal 2025 that volition see up to 9 languages, and the quality for the interpreter diagnostic to simulate your idiosyncratic dependable successful a antithetic language.

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• Windows 365 Link is simply a $349 mini PC that streams Windows from the cloud

  

  Image: Microsoft

  Microsoft is readying to motorboat a caller purpose-built miniature PC for its Windows 365 unreality work adjacent year. Windows 365 Link is simply a $349 instrumentality that acts similar a bladed lawsuit PC to link to the unreality and watercourse a mentation of Windows 11.

  The Link instrumentality is designed to beryllium a compact, fanless, and casual to usage unreality PC for your section monitors and peripherals. It’s meant to beryllium the perfect companion to Microsoft’s Windows 365 service, which lets businesses modulation employees implicit to virtual machines that beryllium successful the unreality and tin beryllium streamed securely to aggregate devices.

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• Windows Hotpatch tin download updates without a reboot.

  The enterprise-focused diagnostic downloads updates successful the inheritance that “become effectual instantly upon installation, eliminating the request for a restart.” It’s expected to brace with Windows Autopatch, a unreality work that automates updates crossed Windows, Microsoft 365, Edge, and Teams.

  Windows Hotpatch is present disposable successful preview.

  
  

• Microsoft Places launches to marque it casual to program bureau days.

  Microsoft is making Places, its caller app to coordinate in-office days with colleagues, disposable to everyone today. Microsoft Places uses AI and a dedicated determination program conception wherever you tin acceptable and stock the days you’ll usage the bureau and presumption which days your co-workers are heading in. Microsoft is besides readying to integrate this each into Copilot soon, too.