Thoughts on most recent Microsoft Ignite

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I want to share some personal thoughts on most recent Microsoft Ignite in this post whilst they are still in my head.

In this post I am sharing my thoughts about sessions and announcements at Microsoft Ignite. Plus, some fantastic links for others to use.

Bear in mind that I work with the Microsoft Data Platform, so most of the focus will be on those announcements. I do cover Microsoft Teams and inclusion towards the end though.

Of course, I will not be covering my thoughts about every single announcement at Microsoft Ignite because there is just too many. Instead, you can read the full details about all the updates in the Microsoft Ignite Book of News.

SQL Server 2022

I want to start by covering my thoughts about some of the Data Platform announcements at Microsoft Ignite. For a lot of Microsoft Data Platform professionals, the big announcement was SQL Server 2022.

Which introduces some nice new updates, including various ways to integrate with Azure services like Azure Synapse Analytics and Azure Purview. Like the new Azure Synapse Link for SQL Server 2022 feature.

It made me realize just how far SQL Server has evolved in the last couple of decades.

I remember going through the SQL Server 2000 Bible. It goes deep into a lot of areas and is the first place I saw the title case script for SQL Server. To this day it is my most heavily read technical book.

My paper copy is around 5cm thick. Imagine how thick an updated version of this comprehensive book would have to be to include all updates that have happened up to and including SQL Server 2022. In reality, it would have to be a number of separate books if it was as comprehensive.

Microsoft have already released a webpage introducing SQL Server 2022. In addition, you can watch the Microsoft Mechanics video about what’s new in SQL Server 2022 starring Bob Ward.

There were a couple on interesting announcements relating to SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines at Microsoft Ignite as well. Including the fact that the SQL assessment feature is now in preview. It’s hard to believe it’s been sixteen months since I posted about using SQL assessment in Azure Data Studio.

Other Data Platform announcements at Microsoft Ignite

I must admit some Azure Synapse announcements at Microsoft Ignite got my attention. Including the lake database templates and Azure Synapse Data Explorer. Due to various reasons, it has been a busy week for me. After DataWeekender I am looking forward to diving into it all a lot more.

Azure SQL Managed Instance has also had some nice updates introduced to improve the customer experience.

Azure Purview also had some interesting announcements. Including public preview of Amazon RDS support. Which is funny because I was asking somebody if they had experience with Amazon RDS on VMWare recently.

Some of the Azure Cosmos DB announcements were interesting as well. Especially the new cost-controls, which I am sure some people will be keen to use. You can read more about this is the official post which covers the new features announced for Azure Cosmos DB.

Finally, some interesting Power Platform capabilities were announced at Microsoft Ignite as well. Including a much welcomed pay-as-you-go option for Power Apps, which is now in preview.

Microsoft Teams updates at Microsoft Ignite

I have a couple of thoughts about some of the Microsoft Teams updates shown at Microsoft Ignite. Due to the fact that they stuck in my head for a couple of different reasons.

First of all was the announcement about Mesh for Microsoft Teams. It looks great in practice. It made perfect sense that the avatars did not have legs. Because you do not tend to see from the waist down when you are using Microsoft Teams.

I also like the ability to automatically translate as well.

Second announcement was the security updates for Microsoft Teams. Because I was in a discussion elsewhere about Microsoft Teams at the same time it was announced.

Inclusion session at Microsoft Ignite

Finally, I want to share my thoughts about the ‘Inclusion in the evolving world’ session at Microsoft Ignite. Because I found it very interesting. During the session it covered some interesting points relating to microaggression.

It was interesting for me, because I had always thought of these actions as passive-aggressive behavior. Sessions like this makes you think about a lot of things.

Final words

I hope my thoughts on most recent Microsoft Ignite has been an interesting read. Because I think that the most recent Microsoft Ignite has been great and full of good announcements. Of course, if you have any comments or queries about this post feel free to reach out to me.

Now that it Ignite is coming to a close it’s time for me to focus more on DataWeekender. Which is happening on Saturday November 6, right after the most recent Microsoft Ignite.

To be honest, I am hoping to see some new material from speakers after this weeks announcements at Microsoft Ignite. Anyway, you can register for it by clicking on the logo below.