In November, Microsoft hosted the biggest event of the year: Microsoft Ignite. During our live event, we generally covered the most important developments coming our way. On December 10, we organized an in-depth session on Data & AI as a follow-up to our live event around Microsoft Ignite. In this session, our colleagues Olivier Giraud, Joost van Bommel and Aucke Bos went into a live table discussion about the developments in Data & AI. With insights into tools such as Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI and Copilot, we gave a complete overview of the latest innovations and possibilities. Below you can read the key points of the session.

Webinar Overview: Data and AI at the core of innovation

The session began with an overview of the webinar. The team emphasized how crucial data and AI are for organizations looking to innovate and stay competitive. Tools such as Copilot, Azure AI, and Azure AI Foundry were discussed as key components of a modern data and AI strategy.

Data Governance and Security: the basis for reliability

A key theme was data governance and security. The team discussed the role of containers and governance frameworks in ensuring data integrity and compliance. These foundations are essential to ensuring that organizations handle data securely and responsibly.

Microsoft Fabric: a unified data platform with AI integration

A key topic of the session was the continued development of Microsoft Fabric, a powerful and unified data platform. This platform supports a variety of data-related tasks, such as:

• Data warehousing
• Data science
• Real-time intelligence

Integrating AI within Microsoft Fabric helps organizations get value from data faster and make better decisions.

Industry-specific solutions and use cases

The team shared inspiring use cases deploying Microsoft Fabric within various industries, including:

• Production: Optimization of processes through real-time insights.
• Retail: Improved customer experiences through personalized recommendations.
• Sustainability and ESG: Support in monitoring and reporting sustainability goals.

These examples showed how organizations can effectively leverage their data to address specific challenges.

Functionalities of the data platform

The team explained the versatility of the data platform, including:

• Support for both transactional and analytical workloads.
• Integration with various data sources.
• Management of data in various environments, such as on-premises and in the cloud.

Security and Governance: a priority

The session also focused on platform security and governance measures. Protecting data and meeting industry standards were highlighted as critical elements for trust and compliance.

Future plans and developments

The session concluded with a look to the future. The team discussed plans for new features and enhancements within the data platform, aimed at an even better user experience and expanded capabilities.