Build the next generation of AI applications with Microsoft Azure at DevIntersection, Las vegas

Join us at DevIntersection Las Vegas, September 10-12, 2024, to explore the transformative power of intelligent apps on Azure. Azure offers a robust environment tailored for enhancing .NET applications, providing seamless integration with GitHub Copilot and various cloud services. Visual Studio simplifies deploying .NET apps to Azure, making it easy to manage web apps, microservices, and serverless functions using Azure's powerful cloud infrastructure.

The powerful trio—Visual Studio, GitHub, and Azure—empower developers to build, collaborate, and deploy apps with unmatched efficiency and confidence. Let’s take a sneak peek at what you can expect this week.

Frictionless developer experience with GitHub and Azure

Join Anthony Bartolo as he discusses how AI-assisted programming using GitHub Copilot can make adopting C# in Visual Studio easier. See real-world examples of how these tools enhance your development process with advanced customization, troubleshooting issues using high-quality suggestions from Copilot, and diverse use cases where Copilot helps with unit testing, refactoring, code comprehension, translation, and more, simplifying your workflow. In his presentation, Jon Galloway will explore how to write a useful GitHub Action using .NET, Copilot and the brand new Octokit SDK. Get ready to live code an action, using Copilot to get around some of the quirks of both GitHub Actions and Octokit. Then take a look at how to build a custom extension in VS Code with Burke Holland so that you can take control of GitHub Copilot to get it to do just about anything, and get GitHub Copilot, VS Code, and AI tips and tricks in a demo-heavy session from John Papa.

In an era where developer productivity is paramount, this integration is a game-changer, enabling you to enhance your development process from ideation to deployment, ensuring that your projects are not only efficient but also secure and scalable.

Unmatched Scalability and Performance with .NET Aspire

Azure provides a powerful environment specifically optimized to enhance .NET applications, offering developers seamless integration and a range of cloud services designed to support and extend .NET capabilities. Visual Studio, the preferred IDE for many .NET developers, includes built-in tools that make deploying .NET applications to Azure straightforward and efficient.

.NET Aspire offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to streamline cloud-native development on Azure, allowing developers to focus more on business logic and less on infrastructure management. If you’re new to this technology, don’t miss the introduction by Damian Edwards for a crash-course in how to get productive with it right away. .NET program managers Maddy Montaquila and Jeff Fritz come together to show you how you can adapt an existing library to work with .NET Aspire, deliver great telemetry, and deploy easily. And in Justine Cocchi’s session on building AI Copilots, she covers .NET Aspire integration with Semantic Kernel, Azure OpenAI, and Azure Cosmos DB.

Azure’s global network of data centers and AI capabilities further enhance this experience, providing the scalability, performance, and intelligence needed for modern applications. This combination enables faster development cycles and the ability to build robust, AI-powered solutions that can handle massive datasets and complex computations with ease.

Transforming business outcomes with Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The market demands for AI applications are growing exponentially, and with this growth comes the need for confidence in deploying AI in real-world scenarios. We will share practical approaches to integrating AI into your applications, demonstrating how to harness the power of Azure AI to create solutions that are not only innovative but also reliable and effective.

Trupti Parkar's session on AI app development covers moving from prototype to production using LLMOps and new tools for debugging, evaluation, deployment, and monitoring. We'll test a copilot app with the code-first prompt flow SDK and LangChain, debug it interactively in VS Code, ensure it meets performance and safety standards, deploy it, and collect essential signals in production. Jordan Matthiesen discusses the rapid growth and evolution of AI, noting the increasing number of models like Phi and Mistral. His talk will cover using Semantic Kernel to simplify working with these models in .NET applications, both locally and in the cloud. Azure AI Search product manager Vinod Valloppillil will share the latest product updates, including increased storage limits, advanced capabilities for detailed retrieval pipeline control, built-in support for content beyond text, and re-ranking improvements to boost quality of responses.

Azure offers a rich ecosystem of tools and services that cater to your needs to develop AI apps in your favorite language, with first-class support for the latest versions of .NET, .NET Core, Java, Node.js, PHP, and Python. Moreover, Azure's robust security framework and compliance certifications provide peace of mind, knowing that your AI applications and data meet the highest level of regulatory and security requirements.

Featured Keynotes with Microsoft Speakers

The sessions in this blog are but a snapshot of the opportunities for education, best practices and knowledge for how to deliver real world impact. We have over 30 sessions and 5 workshops throughout the event, along with the 3 keynotes highlighted below. You will find in-depth explorations of Microsoft technologies you can incorporate into your projects today, including .NET Aspire, Microsoft Visual Studio 2022, C# 12, .NET Multi-platform App UI, Kubernetes, as well as the latest advancements in AI, Azure, and web technologies. Check out Mehul Harry’s blog for a selection of key .NET sessions you don’t want to miss!

Finally, the keynotes by Microsoft leaders will share insights, experiences, and visions for the future of technology. These include keynotes by Scott Hanselman, Vice President of Microsoft Development Community, Scott Hunter, Vice President of Product Management for Azure Development Experience, and Eric Boyd, Corporate Vice President of AI Platform Engineering.

But wait... there’s more!

The learning continues with Build Intelligent Apps campaign that kicks off on September 16, 2024. It is a multi-format learning opportunity that includes snackable demo bytes, learn live sessions, skilling challenge, and a sample-based blog series grouped into themed weeks - taking you from core concepts to end-to-end solution examples in #30days. Each article, or episode, will provide conceptual lessons paired with exercises and resources to help you reinforce learnings and take next steps. Check out the kick off announcement.