New Copilot for Microsoft 365 CSP Resources!
To support the expansion of Copilot for Microsoft 365 into all channels, we’re excited to share an extended, new set of resources and content available to help Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) partners and partners who serve small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers grow their AI practices and pitch Copilot. Visit the Copilot for Microsoft 365 CSP practice page to leverage this information. In addition, to drive customer intent to learn more about Copilot, we’ve launched the new Get Copilot Ready SMB Briefing for partner use. This new briefing enables you to demonstrate the capabilities of Copilot in a real-world scenario. Find this briefing and all our briefings on our Microsoft SMB Briefings page. Additional Copilot Resources: Bringing the full power of Copilot to more people and businesses - The Official Microsoft Blog Copilot for Microsoft 365: expanded partner opportunity - Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program -- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is a Microsoft Partner offering that provides unmatched value through a wide range of Partner benefits including account management, technical cloud enablement consultations, and an elevated technical support experience across the Microsoft Cloud (Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform) Partners in ASfP have higher Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Capability Scores, attain more Solutions Partner designations, and see uplifts across Azure, M365, and D365. View the data and learn more on the new ASfP Impact slide below. To learn more.. Book a meeting with an ASfP Evangelist Download the ASfP Fact Sheet View the ASfP Impact Slide Visit the ASfP Website Stop by the ASfP Partner Community Visit the PSfP WebsiteMicrosoft 365 Copilot for Enterprise Generally Available November 1, 2023
Last month at an event in New York, we announced our vision for Microsoft Copilot – a digital companion for your whole life – that will create a single Copilot user experience across Bing, Edge, Microsoft 365, and Windows. As a first step toward realizing this vision, we’re unveiling a new visual identity – the Copilot icon – and creating a consistent user experience that will start to roll out across all our Copilots, first in Windows on September 26 and then in Microsoft 365 Copilot when it is generally available for enterprise customers on November 1. Next steps Read the Microsoft 365 blog post to get full details about the announcement. Find resources to help you get ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot, engage with customers, and make the most of the opportunity. -- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is a paid, Partner offering that includes a Partner Success Account Manager and technical, consultative benefits to help you grow in the Microsoft Cloud more quickly. To speak with an ASfP specialist about your needs and the benefits of ASfP, complete this form today.Day 1: CSP Masters Sales Bootcamp: Copilot for Microsoft 365
Duration: 240 minutes Day 1: CSP Masters Sales Bootcamp: Copilot for Microsoft 365 (M365v601EXT) January 24, 2024 9:00 AM America/Chicago Day 1: CSP Masters Sales Bootcamp: Copilot for Microsoft 365 - China (M365v604EXT) January 31, 2024 7:00 PM America/Chicago Day 1: CSP Masters Sales Bootcamp: Copilot for Microsoft 365 - Korea (M365v604EXT) January 31, 2024 7:00 PM America/Chicago Day 1: CSP Masters Sales Bootcamp: Copilot for Microsoft 365 - APAC (M365v604EXT) January 31, 2024 7:00 PM America/Chicago Microsoft 365 | Microsoft 365 Sales & Technical Bootcamp Series Powered by CSP Masters Training Join us for a half-day of virtual training focused on building a practice and landing your first sale with Copilot for Microsoft 365. During this sales bootcamp, you will learn how to build a profitable managed services practice with Copilot for Microsoft 365, and how to land your first sale. It is developed for CSP business leaders, sales leaders, and sellers. CSP Masters Sales Bootcamp agenda Introduction to Copilot for Microsoft 365 Build a successful CSP managed services practice with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Get customers ready for Copilot for Microsoft 365 Sell the value of Copilot for Microsoft 365 Go to market programs, tools and resources to accelerate in CSP Stay Connected! For additional Microsoft 365 training and resources, visit the Microsoft 365 & Security for Partners Portal and subscribe to receive our email communications. Interested in the On-Demand Recordings? The on-demand recording and a copy of the presentation(s) will be published within 7-10 business days post-event. For webinars, visit the M365 Modern Work for Partners site. For bootcamps, visit the M365 Partner Readiness Hub site. Please contact iplive@microsoft.com to cancel your registration and include the session title or session ID in the subject line. If you choose to participate in this session using Microsoft Teams, your name, email address, phone number, and/or title may be viewable by other session participants. -- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is a Microsoft Partner offering that provides unmatched value through a wide range of Partner benefits including account management, technical cloud enablement consultations, and an elevated technical support experience across the Microsoft Cloud (Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Power Platform) Partners in ASfP have higher Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Capability Scores, attain more Solutions Partner designations, and see uplifts across Azure, M365, and D365. View the data and learn more on the new ASfP Impact slide below. To learn more.. Book a meeting with an ASfP Evangelist Download the ASfP Fact Sheet View the ASfP Impact Slide Visit the ASfP Website Stop by the ASfP Partner Community Visit the PSfP WebsiteGetting ready for Microsoft AI and Microsoft 365 Copilot Webinar - August 24, 2023
Getting ready for Microsoft AI and Microsoft 365 Copilot Register Now When: August 24, 2023 10:00 AM (America/Chicago) Duration: 60 minutes As a partner, you have the opportunity to leverage the power of AI to enhance your solutions, services, and customer experiences. But how do you get started with AI and what does it mean to be AI-ready? Being AI-ready means that you have the skills and mindset to embrace AI as a strategic asset, the ability to identify the potential use cases for AI, and the know-how to help customers navigate the benefits, challenges, concerns, and expectations. In this session, you will explore: How to build your foundational understanding of AI Services opportunities around Microsoft 365 Copilot Getting customers ready for Microsoft 365 Copilot We recommend that attendees watch the June 22 webinar to help prepare for this session: Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot: The AI-Powered Future of Work. For additional Microsoft 365 training and resources, visit the Microsoft 365 & Security for Partners Portal and subscribe to receive our email communications. The on-demand recording and a copy of the presentation(s) will be published at the M365 Partner Readiness Hub within 7-10 business days post-event. Please contact iplive@microsoft.com to cancel your registration and include the session title or session ID in the subject line. If you choose to participate in this session using Microsoft Teams, your name, email address, phone number, and/or title may be viewable by other session participants. Presented by Robert Gates Principal Partner Solution Architect MicrosoftAzure Announcements Newsletter - August 2023
AZURE ANNOUNCEMENTS NEWSLETTER August 1, 2023 – August 31, 2023 Announcements Summary Advisor Preview Features – 1 Update General Availability – 1 Update Application Gateway Preview Features – 1 Update App Services General Availability – 1 Update New Features – 1 Update Backup Preview Features – 1 Update Chaos Studio Region Updates – 1 Update Preview Features – 1 Update Container Apps General Availability – 5 Updates Retiring Features – 1 Update CosmosDB Preview Features – 2 Update General Availability – 1 Update Database for MySQL General Availability – 1 Update Database for PostgreSQL General Availability – 2 Updates Preview Features – 1 Update Databricks General Availability – 1 Update Firewall General Availability – 1 Update Preview Features – 1 Update Front Door New Features – 1 Update Region Updates – 1 Update Functions General Availability – 3 Updates Kubernetes Service General Availability – 2 Updates Load Testing New Features – 2 Updates Updated Features – 1 Update Region Updates – 1 Update Machine Learning Preview Features – 1 Update Managed Lustre General Availability – 1 Update Marketplace General Availability – 1 Update Migrate Preview Features – 1 Update Monitor General Availability – 1 Update NetApp Files General Availability – 2 Updates Preview Features – 2 Updates Redis Cache General Availability – 3 Updates Resource Manager General Availability – 1 Update Site Recovery Preview Features – 1 Update General Availability – 1 Update Sphere Preview Features – 1 Update SQL Database General Availability – 1 Update Preview Features – 1 Update Storage Region Updates – 1 Update Preview Features – 1 Update General Availability - 1 Update Virtual Machines General Availability – 2 Update Preview Features – 1 Update Updated Features – 1 Update Virtual Network Preview Features – 1 Update Announcements Details Azure Service: Advisor Preview Features The Azure Cost Optimization workbook serves as a centralized hub for some of the most used tools that can help you drive utilization and efficiency goals. It offers a range of recommendations, including Azure Advisor cost recommendations, identification of idle resources, and management of improperly deallocated Virtual Machines. Additionally, it provides insights into leveraging Azure Hybrid benefit options for Windows, Linux, and SQL databases. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-assess-cost-optimization-opportunities-using-new-workbook-template-in-azure-advisor/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/advisor/advisor-cost-optimization-workbook Azure Service: App Services General Availability The JBoss EAP on App Service clustering feature is now generally available on Azure. With it, JBoss EAP automatically starts as a clustered service, improving efficiency for high availability applications. Plus, Azure App Service now supports auto-scaling for JBoss EAP. You can easily adjust cluster size based on service load or other criteria, streamlining code deployment, scaling, and configuration updates. This update simplifies the use of Red Hat solutions on the cloud and offers flexibility for cloud cost planning. It's a testament to Red Hat and Microsoft's commitment to Java, giving you more choices for your cloud-based Java applications. Access JBoss EAP directly via the Azure console or deploy on Azure VMs through the Azure Marketplace. Leverage the power of JBoss EAP on Azure App Service today. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-jboss-eap-on-app-service-clustering/ Documentation: https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com/marketplace/apps/redhat.rh-jboss-eap?ocid=RedHatJbossPR Azure Service: Chaos Studio Region Updates Azure Chaos Studio is a managed service that uses chaos engineering to help measure, understand, and improve cloud application and service resilience. Azure Chaos Studio is now available in Southeast Asia region. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-chaos-studio-is-now-available-in-southeast-asia-region/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/chaos-studio/ Azure Service: CosmosDB Preview Features Intra-account container copy in Azure Cosmos DB is now extended for preview to the API for MongoDB. You can use container copy jobs to migrate data from one collection to another within the same Azure Cosmos DB account in an offline manner. Using Azure CLI commands, you have the flexibility to create and manage container copy jobs at your convenience. Plus, there's no additional cost for migration. Take advantage of this powerful new feature to streamline your data migration process and improve your workflow with Azure Cosmos DB. Try it out today and experience the benefits of easy, cost-effective container copy management. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-intraaccount-container-copy-in-azure-cosmos-db-for-mongodb-2/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cosmos-db/intra-account-container-copy Azure Service: Database for MySQL General Availability The autoscale IOPS feature allows you to scale your storage IOPS up and down automatically, eliminating the need for manual adjustments. The feature adjusts your storage IOPS based on your workload needs to accommodate peak usage and ensure optimal performance and cost efficiency. As a result, it is easier and more cost-effective for you to run mission-critical workloads on Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.co/updates/general-availability-autoscale-iops-in-azure-database-for-mysql-flexible-server/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/mysql/flexible-server/concepts-storage-iops#autoscale-iops Azure Service: Database for PostgreSQL General Availability In-place major version upgrade enables you to upgrade your Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server to a higher version without going through a complex migration process. With just one click, you can perform an offline in-place upgrade to optimize costs and minimize downtime using the same server and endpoint. Major version upgrade for Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server is generally available across all Azure regions. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-major-version-upgrade-in-azure-database-for-postgresql-flexible-server/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/postgresql/flexible-server/concepts-major-version-upgrade General Availability The PostgreSQL community releases a major version every year that includes advanced features, functionalities, performance improvements, security enhancements, and bug fixes. PostgreSQL 15, the latest release, introduces various new elements, such as the widely used MERGE command, which enhances the developer’s experience. It also expands capabilities for observing the database's state, improves performance for both in-memory and disk-based sorting, and introduces support for two-phase commit and row/column filtering for logical replication. Azure Database for PostgreSQL - Flexible Server now provides support for PostgreSQL 15 across all Azure regions. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-postgresql-15-support-with-azure-database-for-postgresql-flexible-server/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/postgresql/flexible-server/concepts-supported-versions Azure Service: Databricks General Availability Enhanced Security and Compliance (ESC) add-on helps simplify the complexity of meeting security and regulatory requirements for Azure Databricks customers. Enhanced Security and Compliance (“ESC”) provides the technical capabilities to support the security and compliance needs of Azure Databricks customers when processing regulated and sensitive data sets. It is comprised of two offerings: Enhanced Security Monitoring (“ESM”): ESM couples a hardened security image with additional security agents to support customers that need additional protection and security monitoring capabilities for their most sensitive data. Compliance Security Profile (“CSP”): CSP facilitates the compliance governance for workspaces by providing a validated security baseline that combines the security capabilities of ESM with additional security features to address the applicable controls of PCI-DSS and HIPAA ESC is offered at 10% of list price added to the Azure Databricks product spend in a selected workspace. Discounting may apply. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/enhanced-security-and-compliance-addon-for-azure-databricks-now-generally-available/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/databricks/security/privacy/security-profile Azure Service: Load Testing New Features You can now run tests for durations up to 24 hours in Azure Load Testing. To run tests longer than 3 hours (up to 24), raise a support ticket request to increase your quota for 'Test duration' by following the steps mentioned here. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-load-testing-run-tests-for-up-to-24-hours/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/load-testing/resource-limits-quotas-capacity New Features Azure Load Testing now supports Azure CLI to manage tests, and test runs. You can now perform end-to-end operations using simple CLI commands, including: Creating a Load Testing resource, creating a test and test run, and fetching the test run metrics. Azure CLI now supports the following: • az load test command group to manage load tests. • az load test-run command group to manage load test runs. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-load-testing-create-and-manage-tests-and-test-runs-using-azure-cli/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/cli/azure/load?view=azure-cli-latest Updated Features You can now run tests with up to 400 engine instances, simulating up to 100,000 virtual users in Azure Load Testing. To run tests with 100,000 virtual users, raise a support ticket to increase your quota for 'Engines instances per test run' following the steps mentioned here. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-load-testing-run-tests-with-100000-virtual-users/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/load-testing/resource-limits-quotas-capacity Azure Service: Marketplace General Availability Cloud NGFW by Palo Alto Networks is the first ISV next-generation firewall service natively integrated in Azure. Developed through a collaboration between Microsoft and Palo Alto Networks, this service delivers the cutting-edge security features of Palo Alto Network's NGFW technology while also offering the simplicity and convenience of cloud-native scaling and management. NGFWs provide superior network security by offering enhanced capabilities compared to traditional firewalls. These include deep packet inspection, advanced visibility and control features, and the use of AI to improve threat detection and response. The service is now more broadly available in the following 12 regions: US (Central, East, East 2, West, West 3), Australia (East, Southeast), UK (South, West), Canada Central, East Asia and West Europe. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-cloud-nextgeneration-firewall-ngfw-by-palo-alto-networks-an-azure-native-isv-service/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/secure-your-cloud-environment-with-cloud-nextgeneration-firewall-by-palo-alto-networks-an-azure-native-isv-service-now-in-preview/ Azure Service: Monitor General Availability Container insights expands on the cost optimization settings public preview, by now allowing a third dimension for adjusting container insights data collection settings, with per-table configuration. Customers can now individually select which data tables* to ingest into their Log Analytics workspace: Perf InsightsMetrics ContainerInventory ContainerNodeInventory KubeNodeInventory KubePodInventory KubePVInventory KubeServices KubeEvents *Note that all the above tables are required for the default container insights visualizations, applying custom per-table configurations by dropping one or more tables will render the visualizations unavailable Per-table configurations can be enabled via ARM, CLI, and Azure Portal. Portal users will have the ability to select from bundled data tables defined as the following: Performance Logs and events Workloads, deployments, and HPAs Persistent volumes This feature continues to support the public preview offering, which enabled users to specify how often to collect data between 1 and 30 minutes at one-minute increments. And users can opt to include or exclude certain namespaces from their data ingestion. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/containerinsightscostoptimization/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-monitor/containers/container-insights-cost-config?tabs=create-CLI Azure Service: NetApp Files General Availability To enhance resiliency during storage service maintenance operations, SMB volumes used by Citrix App Layering, FSLogix user profile containers and Microsoft SQL Server on Microsoft Windows Server can be enabled with Continuous Availability. Continuous Availability enables SMB Transparent Failover to eliminate disruptions as a result of service maintenance events and improves reliability and user experience. This feature is now Generally Available. It can be enabled on new or existing SMB volumes. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-azure-netapp-files-smb-continuous-availability-ca-shares/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-create-volumes-smb Azure Service: Redis Cache General Availability The Enterprise and Enterprise Flash tiers of Azure Cache for Redis now support using native JSON functionality on caches configured to use active geo-replication. Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise supports storing, querying, and searching JSON formatted data, allowing you to store data more easily in a document-style format in Redis. This feature allows you to use those popular JSON functions on caches that are geo-replicated across up to five regions. As a result, you can create a globally synchronized network of caches using the RedisJSON module to store and search JSON-style data. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-json-support-for-active-georeplication-on-azure-cache-for-redis/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-cache-for-redis/cache-redis-modules Azure Service: Site Recovery Preview Features We are excited to announce the Private Preview of DR for Azure Shared Disks for workloads running Windows Server Failover Clusters (WSFC) on Azure VMs. Now you can protect, monitor, and recover your WSFC-clusters as a single unit across its DR Lifecycle, while also generating cluster-consistent recovery points – which are consistent across all the disks (including the Shared Disk) of the cluster. Salient Features: Private Preview will support protection of Windows Server Failover Clusters. Some applications that use this architecture are SQL FCI, SAP ASCS, Scale-out File Servers, etc. OS Support: Windows Server 2016 and above. Nodes: Up to 4 nodes per cluster. Shared Disks: Any number of Shared Disks can be attached to the cluster. Failover operation supports the failover of the entire cluster at once. We also support failover of clusters where one or more nodes are unavailable or undergoing maintenance. The scope is limited to forward direction protection. Once a failover is performed, the customer will have to re-enable replication for reverse direction protection. Any node ownership changes within the cluster (also called cluster failovers) will require a disk re-sync. This limitation will be resolved in Public Preview. With this release, you can: Protect your cluster together with ASR Shared Disk Support. Generate recovery points (App and Crash) that are consistent across all the VMs and disks of the cluster. Monitor Protection and Health of the cluster and all its nodes from a single page. Failover the cluster with a single click. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/private-preview-dr-for-shared-disks-azure-site-recovery/ Documentation: https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=v4j5cvGGr0GRqy180BHbR9f3ns27wIpNkEpXVzCZTaVUNDNKMFEyQldIT1A3RUxEOTBQUUM4QldTQi4u Azure Service: SQL Database General Availability In early August 2023, the following updates and enhancements were made to Azure SQL: Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance now support XML compression to reduce storage and memory footprint. Connect apps to Azure SQL Managed Instance using private endpoints. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-sql-general-availability-updates-for-earlyaugust-2023/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-sql-general-availability-updates-for-earlyaugust-2023/ Preview Features In early August 2023, the following updates and enhancements were made to Azure SQL: Azure SQL Database and Azure SQL Managed Instance now support TDS 8.0 that brings strict encryption for data in transit. A new failover rights benefit removes the SQL license cost for Azure SQL Managed Instance when used as a passive disaster recovery site for SQL Server 2022 with Software Assurance or pay-as-you-go license. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-sql-public-preview-updates-for-earlyaugust-2023/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-sql-public-preview-updates-for-earlyaugust-2023/ Azure Service: Storage Announcements Details Azure Service: App Services New Features WordPress on App Service now supports integration with Azure Communication Services Email, enabling out-of-the-box support in App Service for scenarios such as: Email verification and authentication Password resets Notification emails Promotion emails This streamlines your WordPress email workflows by removing the need to sign up for, install or configure 3rd party email plugins. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/wordpress-on-app-service-integration-with-azure-communication-services-email/ Documentation: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/apps-on-azure-blog/wordpress-on-azure-appservice-email-integration/ba-p/3890486 Azure Service: Chaos Studio Preview Features Azure Chaos Studio experiments can now utilize user-assigned managed identities to manage permissions. Users can enable Chaos Studio to automatically assign necessary permissions to their identity selection by enabling custom role assignment. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-chaos-studio-has-userassigned-managed-identity-and-custom-role-assignment/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/chaos-studio/chaos-studio-permissions-security Azure Service: Migrate Preview Features Azure Storage Mover can now migrate your SMB shares to Azure file shares. Storage Mover is a fully managed migration service that enables you to migrate on-premises files and folders to Azure Storage while minimizing downtime for your workload. Together with Just-in-time permission setting and Azure Key Vault, your migration is secure from source to target. Besides the existing general available capability to migrate from an on-premises NFS share to an Azure blob container, Storage Mover will support many additional source and target combinations in the near future. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-storage-mover-support-for-smb-and-azure-files/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/storage-mover/service-overview Azure Service: Site Recovery General Availability This update provides the following improvements for the latest version of Azure Site Recovery components. Mobility Service – Added support for Linux OS for: Azure to Azure - RHEL 8.8 and Cent OS 8.8 Modernized VMware/Physical to Azure - RHEL 8.8 and Cent OS 8.8 This update also provides bug fixes. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-site-recovery-update-rollup-68-august-2023/ Documentation: https://support.microsoft.com/topic/update-rollup-68-for-azure-site-recovery-a81c2d22-792b-4cde-bae5-dc7df93a7810 Azure Service: Storage General Availability Azure Blob Storage Cold Tier is now generally available. It is a new online access tier that is the most cost-effective Azure Blob offering for storing infrequently accessed data with long-term retention requirements, while providing instant access. Azure Blob Storage is optimized for storing massive amounts of unstructured data. With blob access tiers, you can store your data most cost-effectively based on how frequently it will be accessed and how long it will be retained. The pricing of the cold tier storage option lies between the cool and archive tiers, and it follows a 90-day early deletion policy. You can seamlessly utilize the cold tier in the same way as the hot and cool tiers, through REST API, SDKs, tools, and lifecycle management policies. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-cold-storage/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/blog/efficiently-store-data-with-azure-blob-storage-cold-tier-now-generally-available/ Azure Service: Virtual Machines General Availability Azure Premium SSD v2 Disk Storage is now available in Brazil South, East Asia and Central India regions. This next-generation storage solution offers advanced general-purpose block storage with the best price performance, delivering sub-millisecond disk latencies for demanding IO-intensive workloads at a low cost. It is well-suited for a wide range of enterprise production workloads, including SQL Server, Oracle, MariaDB, SAP, Cassandra, MongoDB, big data analytics, gaming on virtual machines, and stateful containers. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-premium-ssd-v2-disk-storage-is-now-available-in-more-regions-2/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/disks-types#premium-ssd-v2 Azure Service: Backup Preview Features Cross Region Restore of PostgreSQL backups for Azure Backup customers is now in public preview. Azure Backup leverages Read-Access Geo Redundant Storage (RA-GRS) which stores 3 replicas of backup data across each of two paired regions. While leveraging Geo-Redundant Storage (GRS) allows you to access your secondary region backups when Azure declares a disaster, enabling Cross Region Restore enables you to access and perform restores from the backups residing in the paired region at all times which includes non-outage scenarios. You should consider enabling Cross Region Restore option when: 1. You need to perform recovery drills on your secondary region backups to assess disaster readiness. 2. You need high resiliency of backup data. The feature is currently available for PostgreSQL backups in select public regions. With this, Azure Backup offers a compelling set of durability options for your backup data residing in Backup Vaults including Zonally-redundant Storage (ZRS) for intra-region high durability, Locally-redundant storage (LRS) for low-cost single region durability, and Geo-redundant storage (GRS) for high durability across region when primary region is unavailable by opting in for Cross Region Restore feature, you can also access the secondary region backup data from Azure Backup. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-backup-now-supports-cross-region-restore-for-postgresql-backups/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-backup-now-supports-cross-region-restore-for-postgresql-backups/ Azure Service: Container Apps General Availability Azure Container Apps support for Cross Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) is now generally available. By default, requests made through a browser to a domain that doesn’t match the page’s origin domain are blocked. The CORS feature allows specific origins to make calls on their app through the browser. Now Azure Container Apps customers can easily set up Cross Origin Resource Sharing from the portal or through the CLI. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-cross-origin-resource-sharing-cors-in-azure-container-apps/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-cross-origin-resource-sharing-cors-in-azure-container-apps/ General Availability The init containers feature in Azure Container Apps is now generally available. Init containers are specialized containers that run to completion before application containers are started in a replica, and they can contain utilities or setup scripts not present in your container app image. Init containers are useful for performing initialization logic such as setting up accounts, running setup scripts, and configuring databases. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-init-containers-in-azure-container-apps/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/container-apps/containers#init-containers General Availability Azure Container Apps now supports session affinity, also known as sticky sessions, for HTTP-based workloads. This feature is generally available. Session affinity enables you to route all requests from a single client to the same Container Apps replica. This is useful for stateful workloads that require session affinity. Container apps in single revision mode support session affinity. When enabled, Container Apps automatically adds a cookie to HTTP responses to track the replica being used by the client. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-session-affinity-for-azure-container-apps/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/container-apps/sticky-sessions?pivots=azure-portal General Availability Support for secrets volume mounts in Azure Container Apps is now generally available. In addition to referencing secrets as environment variables, you can now mount secrets as volumes in your container apps. Your apps can access all or selected secrets as files in a mounted volume. This feature works with secrets stored directly in Azure Container Apps and secrets referenced from Azure Key Vault. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-secrets-volume-mounts-for-azure-container-apps/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/container-apps/manage-secrets?tabs=azure-portal General Availability Azure Container Apps support for Azure Key Vault references in application secrets is now generally available. Azure Key Vault references enable you to source a container app’s secrets from secrets stored in Azure Key Vault. Using the container app's managed identity, the platform automatically retrieves the secret values from Azure Key Vault and injects it into your application's secrets. Both versioned and non-versioned secrets are supported. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-key-vault-references-for-secrets-in-azure-container-apps/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/container-apps/manage-secrets?tabs=azure-portal Azure Service: CosmosDB General Availability With Terraform infrastructure-as-a-code support, you can now programmatically perform all cluster management operations such as cluster create, PostgreSQL server parameter change, cluster node add, cluster node compute, and storage scaling based on your growing workload needs. In addition, you can perform these operations in a unified way for all Azure services supported by Terraform. When you use the Terraform template-based configuration files you can define, provision, and configure your Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL clusters in a repeatable and predictable manner. As a robust infrastructure-as-a-code solution, Terraform helps reduce human errors and the cost of spinning up production and development environments on demand. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-terraform-support-for-azure-cosmos-db-for-postgresql/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cosmos-db/postgresql/product-updates#august-2023 Preview Features Azure Active Directory (AAD) authentication integration with Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL allows you to improve managed database security by delegating credential management and authentication to a centralized identity provider. Azure Active Directory supports advanced security features such as two-factor authentication options, password lifecycle management, applications and managed identities, and conditional access. Azure Active Directory authentication integration with Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL provides full support for managed identities and support for invited users. You can choose to have AAD-only authentication on your Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL cluster. You can also combine AAD authentication with native PostgreSQL roles. You can configure authentication methods for each Azure Cosmos DB for PostgreSQL cluster individually depending on its role and security requirements. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-active-directory-integration-with-azure-cosmos-db-for-postgresql/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/cosmos-db/postgresql/concepts-authentication Azure Service: Database for PostgreSQL Preview Features We’re excited to announce that Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server users can choose to opt-in to storage auto-grow, which is currently available in public preview. With auto-grow enabled, Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server will automatically increase the size of the provisioned storage of your database servers. As a result, there’s no longer a need to worry about rightsizing when beginning to use these services or about running out of storage. Additionally, we have introduced online disk scaling globally, eliminating the requirement for server restarts during storage scaling operations. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-storage-autogrow-online-disk-scaling-for-azure-database-for-postgresql-flexible-server/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/postgresql/flexible-server/concepts-compute-storage#storage-auto-grow-preview Azure Service: Firewall General Availability Structured Logs (general availability): New logging format that provides a more detailed view of firewall events. Structured Logs provide the following benefits: they are easier to work with data in log queries and help discover schemas; they improves performance and reduce latency; they allow ability to grant Azure RBAC rights on specific tables Latency Probe (general availability): The Latency Probe metric is designed to measure the overall latency of Azure Firewall and provide insight into the health of the service. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-new-monitoring-and-logging-updates-in-azure-firewall/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/firewall/firewall-structured-logs Preview Features Resource Health (public preview): Monitor that provides visibility into Azure Firewall health status and allows you to address service problems that may affect your Azure Firewall resource. Embedded Firewall Workbooks (public preview): Integrated workbooks into the Azure Firewall Portal that provide valuable insights and statistics regarding your firewall activities and events. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/new-monitoring-and-logging-updates-in-azure-firewall/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/service-health/resource-health-overview Azure Service: Functions General Availability Support of Durable Functions with the Azure Functions v2 programming model for development in Python is now Generally Available. Durable apps can now be organized in a manner more idiomatic to Python developers. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-durable-functions-for-python-v2-programming-model/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-functions/durable/quickstart-python-vscode?tabs=macos%2Cazure-cli-set-indexing-flag&pivots=python-mode-decorators General Availability Most function apps use Application Insights for telemetry. Today, we’re making the experience of working with Application Insights even better for .NET function apps using the isolated worker model. Now, you can fully control the emission of telemetry using standard controls available from the Application Insights SDK. For example, through registration in your application startup, you can configure custom filtering rules, adjust log levels, and more. Please note that any configuration you define in your application startup will only affect logs emitted from your application code. Some logs from the Functions host remain controlled by the `host.json` file. Similarly, the `host.json` file does not impact configuration of logs from your application. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-application-insights-integration-for-the-azure-functions-net-worker/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-functions/dotnet-isolated-process-guide#application-insights General Availability Azure Functions triggers and bindings enable function authors to easily integrate event and data sources. Today, function apps on the isolated worker model can leverage general availability support for an expanded range of types, such as those from the Azure SDK for .NET. Now, a .NET function in an isolated worker process could, for example, start with a BlobClient passed into it. Using that type, the function can stream data incrementally and process larger blobs than it could before. Some workloads may see throughput improvements as well. Function authors should be aware that if a binding expression relies on trigger data, the trigger itself cannot be one of the newly supported types. Support covers the extensions for Blobs, Queues, Tables, Cosmos DB, Event Hubs, Event Grid, and Service Bus. Support for the Service Bus trigger does not yet cover message settlement scenarios, but this general availability update does enable use of `ServiceBusReceivedMessage`. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-sdk-type-bindings-in-azure-functions/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-functions/dotnet-isolated-process-guide#sdk-types Azure Service: Kubernetes Service General Availability AKS now facilitates Private Link Service (PLS) creation for Kubernetes services through annotations, simplifying PLS setup. You can add the necessary PLS annotation to the service manifest file with an 'azure-load-balancer-internal' annotation and LoadBalancer service type. This eliminates searching for Azure Load Balancer IP configuration for PLS creation, as AKS will handle PLS provisioning with the Kubernetes service. You can also establish a PLS resource by adding the PLS annotation to the manifest file after service provisioning. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-private-link-service-integration/ Documentation: https://cloud-provider-azure.sigs.k8s.io/topics/pls-integration/ General Availability AKS support for Kubernetes 1.27 is now generally available. Kubernetes 1.27 contains over 50 features and enhancements focused on improving security, scalability, reliability, and performance of cloud native applications. With the general availability of 1.27 support, you can now take advantage of these capabilities in production. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-kubernetes-127-support-in-aks/ Documentation: https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/blob/master/CHANGELOG/CHANGELOG-1.27.md Azure Service: Load Testing Region Updates Azure Load Testing is now available in Japan East and Brazil South Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-load-testing-in-japan-east-and-brazil-south/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-azure-load-testing-in-japan-east-and-brazil-south/ Azure Service: Machine Learning Preview Features Two new features now available in PuPr enable you to work with improved data size and model support and generate a default Responsible AI dashboard for the best AutoML model. Perform distributed training for tabular datasets in AutoML – You can now execute distributed training for your tabular datasets in AutoML to work with large datasets. Evaluate AutoML tabular models with the RAI dashboard (supporting regression/classification) – You can now leverage the more robust and richer debugging and analytical Responsible AI dashboard, which is automatically generated for their best model, instead of generating it separately (as you had to do before). Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-machine-learning-public-preview-for-august/ Documentation: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-machine-learning-public-preview-for-august/ Azure Service: NetApp Files Preview Features To harmonize the authentication ID Domain settings in your NFSv4.1 environment, you can now configure a custom NFSv4.1 ID Domain in Azure NetApp Files for non-LDAP volumes. The ID Domain is set for all non-LDAP volumes in the same region and subscription, and can co-exist in environments with LDAP-enabled volumes. Once the ID Domain on Azure NetApp Files matches your NFSv4.1 clients, ‘root’ and non-root users will no longer be squashed to ‘nobody’. This setting helps either prepare for a future implementation of LDAP with Active Directory in the future by enabling the use of the same authentication ID Domain across all NFSv4.1 clients, or just ensures scripts and software installation routines that use ‘root’ can modify files on NFSv4.1 volumes correctly. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-custom-nfsv41-id-domain-in-azure-netapp-files/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-netapp-files/azure-netapp-files-configure-nfsv41-domain Preview Features Azure NetApp Files datastores for Azure VMware Solution provide the ability to scale storage independently of compute and can go beyond the limits of the local instance storage provided by vSAN reducing total cost of ownership. With Cloud Backup for Virtual Machines, you can now create VM consistent snapshot backups of VMs on Azure NetApp Files datastores. The associated virtual appliance installs in the Azure VMware Solution cluster and provides policy based automated and consistent backup of VMs integrated with Azure NetApp Files snapshot technology for fast backups and restores of VMs, groups of VMs (organized in resource groups) or complete datastores lowering RTO, RPO, and improving total cost of ownership. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-netapp-files-cloud-backup-for-virtual-machines/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-netapp-files/whats-new Azure Service: Redis Cache General Availability Azure Cache for Redis now offers an additional metric in Azure Monitor to measure the 99th percentile latency of server-side commands. This allows you to see the worst-case latency experienced by your Redis instance, which helps in debugging latency challenges in your application stack. You can also use this metric to help determine when long-running commands are increasing the response latency of your Redis instance. The 99th percentile latency metric is available in the basic, standard, and premium tiers of Azure Cache for Redis. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-99th-percentile-latency-metric-in-azure-cache-for-redis/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-cache-for-redis/cache-how-to-monitor#list-of-metrics General Availability To prevent unexpected data loss, caches using active geo-replication in the Enterprise or Enterprise Flash tiers of Azure Cache for Redis have the FLUSHDB and FLUSHALL commands blocked by default. This is because flushing one cache in a geo-replication group will also flush all other synchronized caches. Now, a control-plane operation is available that will force flush the data in all caches in the same geo replication group. This operation can be used either through the portal or through CLI/PowerShell. As a control-plane operation, Azure role-based access control roles can be used to limit access to specific users. This provides a safer and more consistent way to clear geo-replicated caches. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-simplified-flush-operation-for-caches-using-active-georeplication/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-cache-for-redis/cache-how-to-active-geo-replication#flush-operation Azure Service: Resource Manager General Availability Help API is now Generally Available! Help API provides you relevant and high-quality, self-help solutions to resolve issues with your Azure resource quickly and conveniently. With Help API you gain access to rich Azure diagnostics that can potentially reduce your overall downtime in resolution of support incidents and thereby your support costs. This feature is currently available at NO COST, empowering you to troubleshoot issues with your Azure resource within seconds from your preferred UI ,or by using API tools such as Postman without the need to create support tickets. Additional support is also offered for different programming languages and interfaces, as outlined in the documentation. Help API offers two key capabilities : Solution Discovery: Returns relevant diagnostics specific to the issues with your resource. You can narrow your solution search results by adding specific inputs such as the problemClassificationId, in addition to the resourceId. Solution Execution: Execute applicable diagnostics which are then presented in a step-by-step format, guiding you through the process of resolving your issue efficiently. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-help-api-provides-access-to-selfhelp-diagnostics/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/rest/api/help/ Azure Service: Sphere Preview Features We are excited to announce the Public Preview of Azure Sphere (Integrated), a new management interface for Azure Sphere services that is natively integrated with Azure via the Azure Resource Manager. This Azure Sphere (Integrated) Public Preview comprises: A new REST API for the Azure Sphere Security Services, integrated with Azure Resource Manager Azure Portal and Azure CLI integration Azure Monitor integration Azure RBAC integration Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-sphere-integrated-public-preview/ Documentation: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/internet-of-things-blog/introducing-azure-sphere-integrated-public-preview/ba-p/3886554 Azure Service: Storage Preview Features As we approach the general availability of Azure Elastic SAN, we continue improving the service and adding features based on feedback from Azure customers. Today, we are releasing private endpoint support and volume sharing support via SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) Persistent Reservation. With the addition of private endpoint support, you can now access Elastic SAN volumes via either private endpoints or via public endpoints that are restricted to allow network access from specific virtual network subnets only. If you require the additional layer of security that private endpoints add, this is an essential update. By adding shared volume support, you can attach and use an Elastic SAN volume from multiple compute clients like virtual machines, while using SCSI reservation commands to choose from a range of supported access modes to read or write to the volume. You can even maintain reservations across reboots because we support persistent reservations to ensure that access to data remains uninterrupted. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/azure-elastic-san-updates-private-endpoints-shared-volumes/ Documentation: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-storage-blog/azure-elastic-san-updates-private-endpoints-amp-shared-volumes/ba-p/3899408 Azure Service: Virtual Machines General Availability We are announcing the general availability (GA) of incremental snapshots support for Premium SSD v2 and Ultra Disk with instant restore capability in all regions where Premium SSD v2 and Ultra Disk are supported. You can now instantly restore Premium SSD v2 and Ultra Disks from snapshots and attach them to a running VM without waiting for any background copy of data. This new capability allows you to read and write data on disks immediately after creation from snapshots, enabling you to recover your data from accidental deletes or a disaster quickly Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-incremental-snapshots-for-premium-ssd-v2-disk-and-ultra-disk-storage-3/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/virtual-machines/disks-incremental-snapshots?tabs=azure-cli#incremental-snapshots-of-premium-ssd-v2-and-ultra-disks-preview Preview Features Today we are announcing the public preview of the next generation Mv3 Medium Memory (MM) virtual machine series. These virtual machines provide improved performance and higher reliability over previous generations. Key features on the new Mv3 MM VMs for memory-optimized workloads: Powered by the 4th Generation Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor and DDR5 DRAM technology, the Mv3 medium memory (MM) virtual machines can scale for SAP workloads from 250GB to 4TB with faster performance and lower TCO. With Azure Boost, Mv3 MM provides a ~25% improvement in network throughput and up to 1.5X improvement in remote storage throughput over the previous M-series families. Azure Boost’s isolated architecture inherently improves security for Mv3 MM virtual machines by running storage and networking processes separately on the purpose-built hardware, instead of on the host server. Increased resilience against failures in memory, disks, and networking based on intelligence from past generations. Available in both disk and diskless offerings, allowing customers the flexibility to choose the option that best meets their workload needs. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-mv3-medium-memory-virtual-machines/ Documentation: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/running-sap-applications-on-the/announcing-public-preview-of-new-mv3-medium-memory-virtual/ba-p/3897091 Azure Service: Virtual Network Preview Features Virtual Network (VNet) flow logs enable you to capture information about IP traffic flowing through your Virtual Networks for usage monitoring & optimization, troubleshooting connectivity, compliance, and security analysis. Flow data is sent to Azure Storage accounts. From there, you can access the data and export it to any visualization tool, SIEM (security information and event management) solution, or intrusion detection system (IDS) of your choice. You can also enable Traffic Analytics that aggregates and enriches flow data to provide advanced visibility into user and application activity as well as malicious IP communication in your networks. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-azure-vnet-flow-logs/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/network-watcher/vnet-flow-logs-overview Azure Service: Advisor General Availability One of the best practices, according to the Well Architected Framework (WAF) guidelines, is zonal deployment. By adopting this recommendation, you can now design your solutions to utilize zonal VMs, ensuring the isolation of your VMs from potential failures in other zones. With this, you can expect enhanced resiliency in your workload by avoiding downtime and business interruptions. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-elevate-vm-resiliency-with-azure-advisors-availability-zone-recommendation/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/advisor/advisor-reference-reliability-recommendations#compute Azure Service: Application Gateway Preview Features Azure’s regional Web Application Firewall (WAF) running on Application Gateway now supports rate-limit custom rules. Rate-limiting enables you to detect and block abnormally high levels of traffic destined for your application. By using rate limiting, you can mitigate many types of denial-of-service attacks, protect against clients that have accidentally been misconfigured to send large volumes of requests in a short time period, or control traffic rates to your site from specific geographies. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/public-preview-ratelimit-rules-for-application-gateway-web-application-firewall/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/web-application-firewall/ag/rate-limiting-overview Azure Service: Container Apps Retiring Features Starting on November 16, 2023, Azure Container Apps control plane API versions 2022-06-01-preview and 2022-11-01-preview will be retired. Before that date, please migrate to the latest stable API version (2023-05-01) or latest preview API version (2023-04-01-preview). Required action If you're using Azure Resource Manager API version 2022-06-01-preview or 2022-11-01-preview to manage Azure Container Apps, please update your API requests to use version 2023-04-01-preview or later. Management operations using the retired API versions may fail after the retirement date. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/retirement-azure-container-apps-preview-api-versions-20220601preview-and-20221101preview/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/container-apps/azure-resource-manager-api-spec?tabs=arm-template#api-versions Azure Service: Front Door New Features You can now create Azure Front Door Standard and Azure Front Door Premium endpoints from within the Azure portal, just like any other Azure CDN endpoint. This integration allows you to manage all the Azure Front Door and/or Azure CDN profiles associated with a storage account from a single interface. Creating a new Azure Front Door Service and endpoint for a storage account is as simple as browsing to your storage account in the Azure portal and navigating to the Front Door and CDN profiles blade. From there, you can create new endpoints, quickly navigate to the endpoint profiles, manage custom domains for your endpoints, and enable security features such as Web Application Firewall and/or Private Link. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/quick-create-azure-front-door-endpoints-for-storage-accounts/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/frontdoor/scenario-storage-blobs Region Updates Azure Front Door (AFD) Standard and Premium tier is now generally available in Azure Government, in the regions of Arizona and Texas. After this release, Local Government (US) customers and their partners can benefit from the new and enhanced capabilities on standard and premium. The new and enhanced capabilities include, but are not limited to, better reporting and diagnostic capabilities, expanded rules engine with server variables, enhanced Web Application Firewall (latest DRS rule set, Bot protection, Web Application Firewall Notebook using Sentinel for security investigation and monitoring, Microsoft Sentinel Analytics) and security capabilities (Private Link connectivity to your origin, subdomain takeover prevention) and many upcoming new features. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-azure-front-door-standardpremium-in-azure-government/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/frontdoor/standard-premium/tier-comparison Azure Service: Managed Lustre General Availability Azure Managed Lustre now offers two new performance tiers, offering tailored solutions for various workload sizes and throughput needs. 40MB/s per TiB performance tier:Ideal for customers with larger datasets, this tier delivers 40MB/s of read and write throughput per provisioned TiB. With a minimum cluster size of 48TiB and a default maximum cluster size of 768TiB, it provides a cost-effective alternative to the previously available 125MB/s and 250MB/s per TiB options. 500MB/s per TiB performance tier:Designed for customers with smaller datasets and demanding throughput requirements, this tier ensures 500MB/s of read and write throughput per provisioned TiB. The minimum cluster size is set at 4TiB, empowering you to achieve remarkable performance even with modest storage needs. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-40mbstib-and-500mbstib-performance-tiers-for-azure-managed-lustre/ Documentation: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-high-performance-computing/introducing-new-performance-tiers-for-azure-managed-lustre/ba-p/3900329 Azure Service: NetApp Files General Availability Version 9 of the AzAcSnap tool is now generally available. Azure Application Consistent Snapshot Tool (AzAcSnap) is a command-line tool that enables customers to simplify data protection for third-party databases in Linux environments. AzAcSnap 9 introduces the following new capabilities and improvements: IBM Db2 Database support General Availability System Managed Identity support for easier setup while also improving security posture Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/general-availability-azacsnap-9-azure-application-consistent-snapshot-tool-updates/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/azure-netapp-files/azacsnap-introduction Azure Service: Virtual Machines Updated Features We're delighted to announce the generally available support of Cross Subscription Restore for Azure Virtual Machines. You can now restore your Azure VMs to another subscription within the same tenant of the subscription where source VM is present, provided you have the relevant permissions to restore in that secondary subscription. By default, restore happens in the same subscription where the source virtual machine is present. This feature is only allowed if you have Cross Subscription Restore property enabled for your Recovery Services vault. Cross Subscription Restore allows you to restore by either creating a VM or restoring the disks. You can use Cross Zonal Restore and (/or) Cross Region Restore as well along with this restore option. Announcement: https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/generally-available-cross-subscription-restore-for-azure-virtual-machines/ Documentation: https://learn.microsoft.com/azure/backup/about-azure-vm-restoreMicrosoft Copilot Sales Bootcamp Available On Demand!
If you missed the Microsoft Copilot Sales Bootcamp in September, you can now access the content on demand! We help demystify AI and Copilot by covering the narrative, customer conversations, and technical requirements to take advantage of the AI opportunity. Discover how to make the most of this opportunity and get your customers ready for Copilot. What’s covered Day 1 – Azure and GitHub Day 2 – Dynamics 365 and Power Platform Day 3 – Modern Work and Security Register to start watching today! Find more on-demand content If you’ve missed one of our recent digital events or want to revisit an event you watched live, visit the On-demand Digital Events page on our website or the Readiness Hub to find all the latest digital events that are available on demand. --- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is an economically priced Microsoft Partner offering that provides unmatched value to partners through a wide range of benefits including account management, technical cloud enablement consultations, and an elevated technical support experience across the Microsoft Cloud, including Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and the Power Platform. To learn more.. Book a meeting with an ASfP Evangelist Download the ASfP Fact Sheet View the ASfP Impact Slide Visit the ASfP website Stop by the ASfP Partner CommunityMicrosoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Newsletter - September 2023
Attached is the latest Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Newsletter for September 2023. This newsletter provides links to the latest news, blogs, and articles about Microsoft solutions for systems management. This includes Azure services and the System Center suite of products for configuration, management, and monitoring. Here is a bulleted summary of some of the topics within this Newsletter: • Generally Available: Azure Update Manager • Upgrade to App Service Environment v3 • How we interact with information: The new era of search • Accelerating the pace of innovation with Azure Space and our partners • Azure Landing Zone Review Assessment • What’s new in Windows Autopatch: August 2023 • Azure Monitor cost optimization using Azure Advisor • Intune Support Team - Twitter Feed • Create Windows 11 23H2 SCCM Device Collection • Introducing Microsoft Sentinel Optimization Workbook • Microsoft Sentinel's new incident experience is generally available • Manage Windows LAPS policy with Microsoft Intune • Increase ConfigMgr Client Cache size during OSD • Microsoft Purview DevOps policies for Azure SQL • Fortifying Your Defenses: How Microsoft Sentinel Safeguards Your Organization from BEC Attacks • Entra AzureAD private access an identity centric zero trust • Performing Simple Queue Storage REST API operations using CURL • Best practices for utilizing Azure SQL to host Mainframe Data Tier & Workloads • Generative AI in Azure Machine Learning See attachment below for complete Microsoft Cloud and Datacenter Management Newsletter for September 2023. -- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is a paid, Partner offering that includes a Partner Success Account Manager and technical consultative benefits to help you grow in the Microsoft Cloud more quickly. To speak with an ASfP specialist about your needs and the benefits of ASfP, complete this form today.Sales and Pre-Sales Enablement for Partners - Register Today + On-Demand Training Available Now
Sales & Presales Enablement Bootcamps for Partners FY24 Solution Play Sales Bootcamp November 28-30, PT November 29 – December 1, GMT SMB Sales Bootcamp December 5-7, PT December 6-8, GMT Sales & Pre-sales Enablement for Partners Whether you are new to sales or want to dive deeper into a specific Microsoft solution area, there are training options that fit your knowledge level, role, and, most importantly, your schedule. This hub provides resources to build a flexible learning journey across the depth and breadth of our partner sales and pre-sales training programs. Register now to access on-demand content straight away and enroll for new events as they become available. -- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is an economically priced Microsoft Partner offering that provides unmatched value to partners through a wide range of benefits including account management, technical cloud enablement consultations, and an elevated technical support experience across the Microsoft Cloud, including Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and the Power Platform. To learn more.. Book a meeting with an ASfP Evangelist Download the ASfP Fact Sheet View the ASfP Impact Slide Visit the ASfP website Stop by the ASfP Partner CommunityUnleashing Success: The Impact of Advanced Support for Partners on Microsoft Cloud Businesses
Unleashing Success: The Impact of Advanced Support for Partners on Microsoft Cloud Businesses A blog post by Asher Nierman, Sr. Campaign Manager at Microsoft Are you a Microsoft partner who wants to accelerate your cloud business, differentiate your solutions, and grow your customer base? If so, you might be interested in Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP), a paid partner offer that provides you with a range of benefits to help you succeed on the Microsoft Cloud. ASfP is more than just a support plan; it is a comprehensive partner experience. The Partner Success Account Manager (PSAM) and the global team of experts alongside them provide the foundation of the ASfP offering. Additional layers include Microsoft-direct consultative technical guidance, improved reactive support, and various components that help Partners grow and expand their operations to new levels. But don't just take our word for it; we have data to back up the value of ASfP for our partners. We recently conducted an analysis of the impact of ASfP on the partners and the results are impressive. They clearly show that ASfP partners outperform non-ASfP partners in several key areas. Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Impact We compared the performance of ASfP Partners and non-ASfP partners and found that ASfP partners have a significant advantage in attaining Solutions partner designations and growing their cloud business. Here are the highlights from our analysis: ASfP partners have a 47% uplift in Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program Capability Score, which reflects their overall cloud maturity and readiness.* ASfP partners are 2.2x more likely to have at least one Solutions partner designation, which demonstrates their proven expertise and technical capability and success in the Microsoft Cloud* Microsoft Cloud Revenue Uplift Building on the success of ASfP partners in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program, our analysis reveals further compelling advantages when looking at actual revenue uplift for three primary solution areas, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Azure. Here are the highlights from the study: ASfP partners have a 3x deployment rate across Dynamics 365 solutions, ASfP partners have a 1.7x deployment rate across Microsoft 365, 1.7x, and For Azure, ASfP partners drive 92% more Azure Consumed Revenue (ACR), vs the control group.* These results show that ASfP partners are more capable, more differentiated, and drive more Cloud revenue than non-ASfP partners. Advanced Support for Partner Satisfaction But that's not all. ASfP partners are highly satisfied with their PSAM and have a higher overall partner satisfaction (OSAT) than non-service plan partner OSAT. From active ASfP Partners: ASfP partners rate their Partner Success Account Manager (PSAM) 4.8 out of 5, indicating a high level of satisfaction with the account management and guidance they receive.* ASfP partners rate their proactive services satisfaction an average of 4.7 out of 5, based on 7,500 delivered services that help them improve their cloud skills and solutions.* ASfP partners have a higher overall partner satisfaction (OSAT) score than non-service plan partners, reflecting their positive perception of the value and support they get from Microsoft.* This data serves as a testament to the value ASfP partners place on the personalized and proactive partner experience provided by ASfP. They also highlight the importance of the PSAM, a key differentiator and trusted advisor who helps partners navigate the Microsoft partner ecosystem, align their business goals with Microsoft priorities, and leverage the best resources and opportunities to gain skills and knowledge that leads to expanded cloud businesses and offerings. How to Join ASfP and Start Your Journey to Success If you are interested in joining ASfP and benefiting from the partner experience and impact that we have described or to speak directly with our team to discuss your unique needs and to assist with options, please complete this form today. ASfP is a paid partner offer, though we believe that the value and return on investment that ASfP delivers far outweighs the cost. A quote from one of our Partners and documented on the ASfP Website in a published success story: “Our experience in ASfP has been invaluable and is directly correlated to our ability to serve more customers, across more technologies, and with higher levels of customer satisfaction, which has allowed us to exceed our growth targets and properly plan for the future.” Lance Wilson, CEO – AMG Services. Premier Support for Partners For Partners seeking the highest level of technical enablement and support, another option for Partners to consider is Premier Support for Partners (PSfP). This offering includes benefits, features, and add-ons beyond those in ASfP and is a great option depending on needs and budget. To learn more, please visit Microsoft Premier Support for Partners and leverage that form to speak with a PSfP specialist. We hope that this blog post has given you insights into the impact of ASfP on our Partners and how ASfP can help you achieve more across the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program and Microsoft Cloud. We invite you to join ASfP and continue your journey to Microsoft partner success with us. To speak with an ASfP Evangelist, complete this form today. *The ASfP Impact slide with additional information and sources can be found here.* Additional resources available to you: Visit the ASfP Website Visit the PSfP Website Stop by the ASfP Partner Community Download the ASfP Fact Sheet View the ASfP Impact Slide Book a meeting with an ASfP EvangelistSucceeding with AI: How to Make AI Work for Your Business (e-book)
Learn how to select and manage AI projects for business success—no engineering background or AI knowledge required. Whether you’re a business leader tasked to deliver results with AI or a data scientist who is business or leadership focused, read Succeeding with AI: How to Make AI Work for Your Business to learn how to bring AI to your organization. Read the e-book to: Explore the business applications of AI methods. Discover the critical versus nice-to-have elements of a successful AI project. Learn how to facilitate conversations between people with technical and business backgrounds. Get the e-book here. -- Advanced Support for Partners (ASfP) is a paid Microsoft Partner offering that includes account management and technical enablement consults that help partners grow in the Microsoft cloud. To discuss your business needs and all the ASfP benefits, complete this form today.
