Announcing the Microsoft Tech Community!
Today we are pleased to announce the launch of the Microsoft Tech Community, bringing multiple communities together in one central location to support discussions and best practice sharing across a variety of Microsoft products and services. The Microsoft Tech Community is an evolution of the Office 365 Network, growing to support new Azure; Windows Server, and SQL Server Communities and in future many more communities. The URL of the new community will change soon to http://techcommunity.microsoft.com and redirects will be in place for any existing URL on the http://network.office.com domain. In today's announcement, not only will you see new communities added but you will also see the following features: New Navigation Menu that reflects all of your favorite spaces, making it easier for you to navigate from space to space. Spaces can be discussions, blogs or idea exchanges and when favorited will appear here. Microsoft Ignite Community page launched: https://network.office.com/t5/Microsoft-Ignite-Conversations/bd-p/IgniteCommunity Discussions about Microsoft Ignite are happening here: https://network.office.com/t5/Microsoft-Ignite-Conversations/bd-p/IgniteCommunity Coming soon: Discussion threads for each session! Make sure you favorite the Microsoft Ignite Content space to stay up to date on the latest sessions! You can find the Microsoft Ignite Community Page via the new navigation menu under 'Events'. In our roadmap, this Events landing page will house more than just Microsoft Ignite but in the lead-up to the September event all our events efforts will be focused on Microsoft Ignite. New styling applied to Avatars. Colored rings indicate different community roles: 'Red' = a MTC (Microsoft Tech Community) Community Manager 'Blue' = a Microsoft Employee 'Green' = a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) Profile Hovercards activated when hovering over a member's avatar so you can easily see which organization they belong to and what their activity is on the MTC A 'Follow' button will be applied soon and we are working on a 'People' section to help you manage your networks and feeds from the people you follow in the MTC Toggle between Blogs and Discussions in Communities: While we don't have blogs everywhere in the community yet, we are supporting the concept of blogs in the community. This will be where Microsoft Product Experts will be sharing product news, insight into how Microsoft products work and best practices they've observed. 'Favorite' Blog spaces to power your feed in your Home Page. We have temporarily taken the Community Ideas section offline while we are working on some bug fixes. While you wait you can use the Community Discussion space to share feedback on the new community. Once Community Ideas are back online we'll be making an announcement in the Community Info Center. Coming soon: 'More Resources' links in the right hand rail of Communities Continuing to refine threading and whitespace in conversations for desktop and on mobile Ability to 'Follow' users via a button on their hovercard 'People' section (more on this soon) More Blogs & More Communities! The following fixes to bugs have been applied: Notification alert is now back on your Avatar via the Profile Menu To fix this bug we had to revert back to our original larger Profile Menu. We are investigating ways to make this profile menu smaller Community Spaces tiles are now wider to support longer Space names Removed the 'Sign In' text next to the Avatar placeholder image to support a better mobile experience Known bugs and issues we are working on fixing: @mentions not working on all browsers Line breaks in Firefox and on iOS in incorrect places Styling of the hyperlinks in the notifications feed Replies, Likes and Views Icons not appearing in IE 11 and IE 9 browsers Please continue to share your feedback in the new Microsoft Tech Community. We are scheduled to shut down the Office 365 Network on Yammer on September 15 (read announcement here). If you have questions about the future of groups that exist on the Yammer network and unable to find them on the new Microsoft Tech Community, please let us know via the Community Discussion space. Thank you for your input so far, we will continue to make updates to features of the MTC and the best way to stay informed is by favouriting the Community Announcements space to power your feed.Microsoft Tech Community: Upgrade complete
The Microsoft Tech Community platform upgrade is complete! This significant enhancement brings you a modernized user experience, powerful tools for seamless content creation and discovery, and a more accessible and inclusive community environment. With this upgrade, we have laid the groundwork for ongoing innovation, growth, and engagement. We invite you to explore the new features and share your feedback in the Community Lounge. We will continue to monitor performance and address any issues promptly to ensure a smooth experience for all users. Thank you for your continued support and active participation in the Microsoft Tech Community. We are excited about the future enhancements this upgrade will bring and look forward to your valuable feedback.Welcome Tech Academy, the newest addition to the Tech Community!
The Tech Academy is now available from the Microsoft Tech Community navigation bar. The Tech Academy unifies Microsoft's learning and readiness platforms for IT Professionals and Developers into a single place. It gives you access to a centralized repository of readiness content and lets you track your progress as you complete it. Our content library allows you to search across nearly 20 channels, including Microsoft Virtual Academy, Channel 9 and docs.microsoft.com, with more to follow, saving you space in your browser favorites. To help you on your learning journey we have also created structured Learning Pathways. So whether you are looking to kick-start your cloud knowledge, find out more about Microsoft 365 or learn about the latest updates to our existing products and feature sets, we have a pathway to fit your learning needs. And the best news is, that whenever new content becomes available, we will add it to the relevant learning pathways. As a subscriber to a learning pathway, you will then be notified to come back for the new materials if you want to stay up to date. This way, you will never stop learning and have a single place to find out more about our latest product advancements. If you missed the Microsoft Ignite Conference last month or want to review some of the content, do not worry we have you covered with specific pathways for all Microsoft Ignite materials. We also want to give you the power to keep track of your own learning progress. That is why we have created the Workspace and Dashboard area. Using these areas you can set deadlines, see what you have already achieved and how you compare to the rest of our community of learners. Try the Tech Academy now! Help us make the Tech Academy the best resource for all your learning and readiness needs by sharing any feedback you have below.New Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification
AI is transforming how data-driven applications are built, and SQL professionals are at the center of this new era. Whether you're a database developer, administrator, analyst, or architect, your SQL expertise is more critical than ever. With the rise of AI, quality data and secure, optimized queries are foundational to building intelligent, scalable solutions. We’re introducing the Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification to help you validate your ability to integrate AI capabilities directly into SQL-based solutions without needing to move your data, learn entirely new platforms, or move away from the T-SQL skills you already use every day. To earn this new Certification, you need to pass Exam DP‑800: Developing AI‑Enabled Database Solutions, currently in beta. Is this the right Certification for you? The Microsoft Certified: SQL AI Developer Associate Certification is designed for SQL professionals who build and maintain SQL-based applications and who want to integrate AI capabilities directly into their data solutions. As you collaborate closely with application developers, database administrators, architects, AI engineers, and DevSecOps teams, skills validated by this certification support the delivery of scalable, secure, and high-performance AI‑enabled applications. This Certification demonstrates your ability to: Design and build database solutions using structured and semi-structured data. Use AI-assisted tools to accelerate SQL development and database management. Secure, optimize, and deploy enterprise-grade SQL solutions. Implement vectors, embeddings, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) patterns within SQL database architectures. As a candidate for this Certification, you should have experience writing T-SQL, developing databases on Microsoft SQL platforms, and working with continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) workflows in GitHub. We also recommend familiarity with AI concepts, such as embeddings, vectors, and models, in addition to AI-assisted development tools. Skills measured by the exam include: Applying advanced T-SQL techniques for AI-ready database solutions. Building vector and semantic search experiences directly in SQL. Implementing RAG workflows to ground large language model (LLM) outputs and reduce hallucinations. Integrating LLMs into SQL-based applications without migrating data. Designing secure, compliant, and scalable AI-enabled data solutions. Exposing SQL data through APIs by using Data API builder. Building and monitoring data APIs by using Data API builder and event-driven change patterns. These capabilities power use cases like semantic and hybrid search, chatbots, personalized recommendations, fraud detection, and predictive analytics. Ready to prove your skills? The first 300 candidates can save 80% Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam DP-800 (beta) on or before April 3, 2026, can get 80% off. To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code DP800Belzoni. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before April 3, 2026. Please note that this discount is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China. How to prepare Get ready to take Exam DP-800 (beta): Review the Exam DP-800 (beta) exam page for details. The Exam DP-800 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam. Work through the self-paced skilling Plan on Microsoft Learn: Become a SQL AI Developer: Prepare for Certification Exam DP-800. Connect with Microsoft Training Services Partners in your area for in-person offerings. Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams? Ready to get started? Remember, the number of spots is limited to the first 300 candidates taking Exam DP-800 (beta) on or before April 3, 2026. Beta exam rescoring begins when the exam goes live, with final results released approximately 10 days later. For more details, read Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live. Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in May 2026. Additional information You can take Certification exams online, from your home or office. Learn what to expect in Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare. For more cloud and AI Certification updates, read our recent blog post, The AI job boom is here. Are you ready to showcase your skills? Get involved: Help shape future Microsoft Credentials. Join our Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials on LinkedIn for beta exam alerts and opportunities to help shape future Microsoft learning and assessments. Explore Microsoft Credentials on AI Skills Navigator.
