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C2 were delighted to be amongst the 15,000 delegates who attended the Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference in Orlando, Florida. We attend the conference every year to ensure that we are up to date with the latest technology and industry trends. Below are just some of our personal highlights from this year’s conference.
See Day 1 highlights at vimeo.com/133465694
The Cloud Continues to Accelerate
Microsoft is continuing its transition to the cloud, with more products and services than ever being available. The growth of the cloud continues to accelerate with Microsoft targeting $20 billion of cloud revenue by FY18. Growth for C2 offerings such as Dynamics CRM Online continues at over 100% per annum for the last financial year. This reflects that Microsoft, the partner network and customers are accelerating their move and uptake of cloud technologies.
This commitment is also backed by the amazing growth of the Azure platform and services. The scale, reach and range of the offering is simply staggering. Microsoft now has over 17 datacentres worldwide, ensuring local access to cloud infrastructure on a scale that no other organisation can provide. This is complemented with the most extensive range of application services that will underpin the next generation of cloud based applications.
Power BI
Power BI (www.powerbi.com) is now ready for the mainstream and following WPC is now available on general release. We got a chance to see Power BI in depth at WPC and we are already showcasing how this new technology can transform reporting, dashboards and business intelligence within organisations.
The simplicity with which the tool allows staff to explore data across a range of different data sources is its key strength. Microsoft have also made available a range of data connectors to make it simple to connect Power BI to applications such as Dynamics CRM Online, Google Analytics, Mailchimp etc.
Cortana Analytics
Cortana Analytics (www.microsoft.com/cortanaanalytics) is a new offering from Microsoft that will be available in the autumn of 2015.
For all organisations data is growing at an exponential rate and this trend is accelerating. Whilst this data is everywhere, making informed decisions and taking action on the data is elusive. Cortana Analytics makes it easy to analyse massive amounts of data that can reinvent how organisations do business.
Microsoft talked about:
How businesses can move from seeing “what happened” and understanding “why it happened” to predicting “what will happen” and ultimately, knowing “what should I do”. Only then can they create the intelligent enterprise.
Cortana Analytics Suite enables analytics scenarios such as:
• Real-time customer recommendations
• Fraud detection
• Predictive maintenance from IoT connected devices
See an example of Cortana Analytic in action with Dartmouth Hitchcock
Mobile – More than just a Phone with Apps
It was interesting to learn about the definition of “mobile” and what that means in today’s cloud environment and the rise of wearable tech. Microsoft made it clear that it is not about the specific mobile phone or app, but rather it is about information flow across devices and platforms that people can use at any time. The dividing lines between different types of devices will continue to blur and people will expect to be able to access their information on any device at any location.
We are seeing this come to life with Dynamics CRM and how you can access information anywhere on any device. For Microsoft, Windows 10 will be the platform in use across these devices, but is encouraging to see their commitment to making their services and apps available across all devices and platforms including iOS and Android.