Introducing Microsoft Agent Factory
Microsoft Agent Factory is a new program designed for organizations that want to move from experimentation to execution faster. With a single plan, organizations can build agents with Work IQ, Fabric IQ, and Foundry IQ using Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio. They can also deploy their agents anywhere, including Microsoft 365 Copilot, with no upfront licensing and provisioning required. Eligible organizations can also tap into hands-on engagement from top AI Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) and access tailored role-based training to boost AI fluency across teams.The Future of AI: Generative AI for...Time Series Forecasting?!? A Look at Nixtla TimeGEN-1
Have you ever wondered how meteorologists predict tomorrow's weather, or how businesses anticipate future sales? These predictions rely on analyzing patterns over time, known as time series forecasts. With advancements in artificial intelligence, forecasting the future has become more accurate and accessible than ever before. Understanding Time Series Forecasting Time series data is a collection of observations recorded at specific time intervals. Examples include daily temperatures, monthly sales figures, or hourly website visitors. By examining this data, we can identify trends and patterns that help us predict future events. Forecasting involves using mathematical models to analyze past data and make informed guesses about what comes next. Traditional Forecasting Methods: ARIMA and Prophet Two of the most popular traditional methods for doing time series forecasting are ARIMA and Prophet. ARIMA, which stands for AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average, predicts future values based on past data. It involves making the data stationary by removing trends and seasonal effects, then applying statistical techniques. However, ARIMA requires manual setup of parameters like trends and seasonality, which can be complex and time-consuming. It's best suited for simple, one-variable data with minimal seasonal changes. Prophet, a forecasting tool developed by Facebook (now Meta), automatically detects trends, seasonality, and holiday effects in the data, making it more user-friendly than ARIMA. Prophet works well with data that has strong seasonal patterns and doesn't need as much historical data. However, it may struggle with more complex patterns or irregular time intervals. Introducing Nixtla TimeGEN-1: A New Era in Forecasting Nixtla TimeGEN-1 represents a significant advancement in time series forecasting. Unlike traditional models, TimeGEN-1 is a generative pretrained transformer model, much like the GPT models, but rather than working with language, it's specifically designed for time series data. It has been trained on over 100 billion data points from various fields such as finance, weather, energy, and web data. This extensive training allows TimeGEN-1 to handle a wide range of data types and patterns. One of the standout features of TimeGEN-1 is its ability to perform zero-shot inference. This means it can make accurate predictions on new datasets without needing additional training. It can also be fine-tuned on specific datasets for even better accuracy. TimeGEN-1 handles irregular data effortlessly, working with missing timestamps or uneven intervals. Importantly, it doesn't require users to manually specify trends or seasonal components, making it accessible even to those without deep technical expertise. The transformer architecture of TimeGEN-1 enables it to capture complex patterns in data that traditional models might miss. It brings the power of advanced machine learning to time series forecasting – and related tasks like anomaly detection – making the process more efficient and accurate. Real-World Comparison: TimeGEN-1 vs. ARIMA and Prophet To test these claims, I decided to run an experiment to compare the performance of TimeGEN-1 with ARIMA and Prophet. I used a retail dataset where the actual future values were known, which in data science parlance is known as a "backtest." In my dataset, ARIMA struggled to predict future values accurately due to its limitations with complex patterns. Prophet performed better than ARIMA by automatically detecting some patterns, but its predictions still didn't quite hit the mark. TimeGEN-1, however, delivered predictions that closely matched the actual data, significantly outperforming both ARIMA and Prophet. The accuracy of these models was measured using metrics like Mean Absolute Error (MAE) and Root Mean Squared Error (RMSE). TimeGEN-1 had the lowest MAE and RMSE, indicating higher accuracy. This experiment highlights how TimeGEN-1 can provide more precise forecasts, even when compared to established methods. The Team Behind TimeGEN-1: Nixtla Nixtla is a company dedicated to making advanced predictive insights accessible to everyone. It was founded by a team of experts passionate about simplifying forecasting processes while maintaining high accuracy and efficiency. The team includes Max Mergenthaler Canseco, CEO; Azul Garza, CTO; and Cristian Challu, CSO, experts in the forecasting field with extensive experience in machine learning and software engineering.< Their collective goal is to simplify the forecasting process, making powerful tools available to users with varying levels of technical expertise. By integrating TimeGEN-1 into easy-to-use APIs, they ensure that businesses and individuals can leverage advanced forecasting without needing deep machine learning knowledge. The Azure AI Model Catalog TimeGEN-1 is one of the 1700+ models that are now available in the Azure AI model catalog. The model catalog is continuously updated with the latest advancements, like TimeGEN-1, ensuring that users have access to the most cutting-edge tools. Its user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate and deploy models, and Azure's cloud infrastructure provides the scalability needed to run these models, allowing users to handle large datasets and complex computations efficiently. In the following video, I show how Data Scientists and Developers can build time series forecasting models using data stored in Microsoft Fabric paired with the Nixtla TimeGEN-1 model. The introduction of Nixtla TimeGEN-1 marks a transformative moment in time series forecasting. Whether you're a data scientist, a business owner, or a student interested in AI, TimeGEN-1 opens up new possibilities for understanding and predicting future trends. Explore TimeGEN-1 and thousands of other models through the Azure AI model catalog today!The Future of AI: Power Your Agents with Azure Logic Apps
Building intelligent applications no longer requires complex coding. With advancements in technology, you can now create agents using cloud-based tools to automate workflows, connect to various services, and integrate business processes across hybrid environments without writing any code.The Future of AI: Reduce AI Provisioning Effort - Jumpstart your solutions with AI App Templates
In the previous post, we introduced Contoso Chat – an open-source RAG-based retail chat sample for Azure AI Foundry, that serves as both an AI App template (for builders) and the basis for a hands-on workshop (for learners). And we briefly talked about five stages in the developer workflow (provision, setup, ideate, evaluate, deploy) that take them from the initial prompt to a deployed product. But how can that sample help you build your app? The answer lies in developer tools and AI App templates that jumpstart productivity by giving you a fast start and a solid foundation to build on. In this post, we answer that question with a closer look at Azure AI App templates - what they are, and how we can jumpstart our productivity with a reuse-and-extend approach that builds on open-source samples for core application architectures.The Future of AI: Customizing AI agents with the Semantic Kernel agent framework
The blog post Customizing AI agents with the Semantic Kernel agent framework discusses the capabilities of the Semantic Kernel SDK, an open-source tool developed by Microsoft for creating AI agents and multi-agent systems. It highlights the benefits of using single-purpose agents within a multi-agent system to achieve more complex workflows with improved efficiency. The Semantic Kernel SDK offers features like telemetry, hooks, and filters to ensure secure and responsible AI solutions, making it a versatile tool for both simple and complex AI projects.The Future of AI: Unleashing the Potential of AI Translation
The Co-op Translator automates the translation of markdown files and text within images using Azure AI Foundry. This open-source tool leverages advanced Large Language Model (LLM) technology through Azure OpenAI Services and Azure AI Vision to provide high-quality translations. Designed to break language barriers, the Co-op Translator features an easy-to-use command line interface and Python package, making technical content globally accessible with minimal manual effort.The Future of AI: Computer Use Agents Have Arrived
Discover the groundbreaking advancements in AI with Computer Use Agents (CUAs). In this blog, Marco Casalaina shares how to use the Responses API from Azure OpenAI Service, showcasing how CUAs can launch apps, navigate websites, and reason through tasks. Learn how CUAs utilize multimodal models for computer vision and AI frameworks to enhance automation. Explore the differences between CUAs and traditional Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and understand how CUAs can complement RPA systems. Dive into the future of automation and see how CUAs are set to revolutionize the way we interact with technology.
