Machine Learning, blockchain and Intelligent Edge: All the news coming to Microsoft Azure

Microsoft is investing a lot of resources on its Azure platform, already used by 95% of the companies in the prestigious Fortune 500 list. The Redmond giant has announced innovations related to both AI algorithms and machine learning and hybrid cloud and edge computing that will be officially presented during the Build 2019 event to be held from 6 to 8 May in Seattle.

Microsoft and the Intelligent Edge

The cloud is rapidly changing the approach of companies towards the network infrastructure, so much so that in the coming years we will see an ever increasing diffusion of edge computing solutions, fundamental to shift the computing power towards the network perimeter, so to quickly process the data where they are acquired, before sending them to the core where they will be further processed.

In this regard, Microsoft announced Azure SQL Edge Database, an SQL database engine optimized for reduced computing environments with integrated artificial intelligence capable of enabling AI even in edge environments. Since it shares the same SQL Server Programming Surface Area, programmers can continue to use the same tools and languages, accelerating the development process.

IoT Plug and Play is a new modeling language aimed at applying Internet of Things solutions on a large scale. Its advantage is to allow developers to be able to count on a greater level of abstraction so as not to have to write specific software for each individual IoT device. IoT Plug and Play will offer customers a large ecosystem of devices certified by partners that can connect quickly.

Speaking of edge computing, one cannot fail to mention the new Hololens 2 Developer bundle and the support of the mixed reality viewer for Unreal Engine 4, scheduled for the end of May. Despite the fact that Epic’s Unreal engine is particularly well-known in the gaming industry, the applications envisaged are not dedicated to an audience of players but to the world of architecture, product design and the manufacturing sector.

Microsoft Azure, AI and blockchain

The cryptocurrency market has been experiencing a deep crisis for a year now, with the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum collapsing.

Despite this, blockchain technology is catching on in various types of applications and Microsoft, which does not want to stay out of this sector, announced Azure Blockchain Service, which simplifies the creation, management and governance of Consortium Blockchain Networks, allowing companies to focus on the logic of workflow and app development. The first ledger of Azure Blockchain Service is Quorum, JP Morgan’s Ethereum platform.

In terms of artificial intelligence, Microsoft has announced a new category for Azure Cognitive Services, Decision, which includes the Content Moderator, Anomaly Detector and the Personalizer service, which thanks to reinforcement learning offers support for decision-making activities. Finally, Cognitive Search is the new Azure Search feature aimed at extrapolating new insights from structured and non-structured content.

According to Scott Guthrie, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President Cloud and AI Group ” It’s an exceptional time to be a developer. From apps that integrate AI and machine learning, to the use of blockchain to solve business problems, skills and potential of developers are growing rapidly. I am proud to announce the innovative Azure services that will help developers build a new generation of apps. ”

In the coming days, we will provide more information on the news that will be presented during Build 2019.