This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Welcome to our June Terraform on Azure bimonthly update! We hope the first update was helpful towards giving you insights on what the product team has been working on. This update is our first bimonthly update with collaboration between Microsoft and HashiCorp. We will be aiming for the next update in August!
AzureRM provider
The resources exposed by the AzureRM provider are what most customers think of and include in their configurations when managing Azure infrastructure with Terraform. Azure is always adding new features and services so we work hard to ensure that you can manage these when they are generally available (GA).
Latest Updates
A new version of the provider is released weekly that includes bug fixes, enhancements and net new resources and data sources. Here are some notable updates since our previous blogpost:
Azure Export for Terraform is a tool that seeks to ease the translation of Terraform and Azure concepts between each other. Whether it’s exporting your code into a new environment or creating repeatable code from an existing environment, we believe the tool provides functionality that simplifies tougher processes.
Latest Updates
The Team has published comprehensive documentation for a variety of Azure Export for Terraform scenarios. We’re excited to have you test this exciting tool and provide feedback – both on the product as well as our documentation for it. Read the overview of the tool here: https://aka.ms/tf/exportdocs
We’ve also recently merged a PR that supports import blocks for Terraform 1.5 onward: https://github.com/Azure/aztfexport/pull/398. To read up on import blocks, check out the HashiCorp documentation here, and if you’re curious about the difference between Azure Export for Terraform and import blocks, we also have a pinned issue detailing this: https://github.com/Azure/aztfexport/issues/406
Last, but certainly not least, we’ve released a video for Azure Export for Terraform! Make sure to give it a watch, as it includes benefits, scenarios, and demos:
Verified Modules
Have you ever encountered below problems related to modules:
Modules are out of date, not actively supported, and no longer functional
Cannot override some module logic without modifying the source code
Get confused when you see multiple modules with similar functions
When calling various modules, inconsistencies exist that cause instability to existing infrastructure
……
To help tackle the above problems and more, the Azure Terraform team has established a verified module testing pipeline, and only those modules that have passed this pipeline will be marked as “verified”. This pipeline ensures consistency and best practices across verified multiple modules, reduces breaking changes, and avoids duplication to empower the “DRY” principle.
Latest Updates
We have now released nine Azure verified modules. We prioritized these modules based on customer research and telemetry analysis. Meanwhile, we have continuously updated our verified modules for bug fixes and feature enhancements. For instance, for the AKS verified module, we have added support for the linux_os_config block in default_node_pool and default node pool’s node taints. For a full list of updates to each module, please refer to the changelog: Azure/terraform-azurerm-aks: Terraform Module for deploying an AKS cluster (github.com).
For our next modules, we are planning on releasing modules for hub networking, firewalls and key vaults, with close collaboration with the broader developer community. We hope you become one of the proactive contributors to the Azure Terraform verified modules community as well!
Community
The Terraform on Azure community is a key investment for our team in bringing the latest product updates, connecting you with other Terraform on Azure users, and enabling you to engage in ongoing feedback as we aim to improve your Terraform experience on Azure. This section will consistently speak on community related feedback or engagements. As always, register to join the community at https://aka.ms/AzureTerraform!
Community Calls
Our latest community call was on April 6th! The recording of the event is at https://youtu.be/Zrr-GXN6snQ and we hope you give it a watch. Ned Bellavance talks in depth about Azure Active Directory and OIDC authentication, and we spend some time exploring GitHub Copilot with Terraform.
We also announced our new slack channel, which you can join at https://aka.ms/joinaztfslack. Not only will you get access to fellow Azure Terraform community members, but also the product team.
Our next community call is June 22nd at 9 am PT. Make sure to register here. It’ll be a time of open discussion with the team on Terraform, Azure, and the future of AI. Come with your thoughts and opinions!
We are also taking applications to co-present with us at our community calls! Our only prerequisite is that you are a member of the community. If you are interested, fill out our form at https://aka.ms/aztfccspeakers and we will reach out if we like your topic! Don’t worry if you don’t get picked for the next one; we will keep your talk on file and may reach out later.
Docs
It’s been a busy couple of months in Azure Terraform documentation!
A key goal we’re making progress on is to bring the Terraform Azure-service documentation into parity with ARM Templates and Bicep. The object is to make it easier to find and compare Azure infrastructure-provisioning solutions across the various IaC options.
To that end, we’ve published 15 new Terraform articles covering many different Azure-service topics.
Second, Terraform Cloud has announced dynamic provider credentials, which enables OIDC with Azure in TFC. If you want a video explaining the benefits of dynamic credentials, check out a great presentation here.
Upcoming Events
Make sure to sign up for the Terraform on Azure June 22nd 9am PT community call here! We’ll be discussing in an open panel discussion with the team about the future of Terraform on Azure, especially regarding the latest developments in AI.
We’ll aim for our next blogpost in August. See you then!
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Microsoft invites you to our Microsoft Operations: Community Q&A calls for CSP Partners. These sessions are dedicated to assist CSP Direct Bill and Indirect Providers with questions related to CSP launches and upcoming changes. Our goal is to help drive a smoother business relationship with Microsoft. We offer sessions in English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Register Today to join a live webinar with Subject Matter Experts or listen back to past sessions.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
In my conversations with customers about the future of business applications and low-code development, generative AI innovations come up frequently as the next transformative platform shift. This is especially true at Microsoft. Over the last several months, we have introduced new AI-powered copilot experiences in Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform that revolutionize how businesses and people work.
Of all the questions that customers have, one of the most common is how Microsoft continually delivers new AI innovations at a rapid pace. This includes the major enhancements covered in blog posts and videos from Microsoft Build 2023. Our customers also want to understand how they can infuse AI into their own applications and products.
If you are still running systems on-premises, it starts with application modernization in the cloud. To help customers understand what such a journey might look like and how potentially to go about it, we documented our work to modernize Microsoft Dynamics 365 on Microsoft Azure. The key takeaway is that moving to the public cloud is more of a journey than a destination. But if you approach it right, you can realize substantial new value at every step, making incremental and concrete progress as you move to modern public cloud applications on Azure.
Dynamics 365
A portfolio of intelligent business applications that delivers superior operational efficiency and breakthrough customer experiences
Up through 2016, before the move to Azure, Dynamics 365 ran as a traditional, on-premises or hosted software solution. Customers could either install and run it on their own, or they could access it via a software as a service (SaaS) model, where Microsoft ran and supported it in its private datacenters.
Under the hood, both options were the same—the major difference being that the SaaS offering ran in Microsoft data centers at a much larger scale. It was powered at the lowest technical layer by thousands of bare-metal servers running Windows Server 2012 R2, with a frontend based on Internet Information Services (IIS) and backend based on Microsoft SQL Server 2012 R2, as illustrated in the left half of the following diagram.
Compared to the modern-day Dynamics 365 SaaS offering, both 2016-era deployment options suffered from limited availability, scalability, and flexibility. Product release cycles were measured in months, major customizations by customers required professional developers or partner assistance, and infrastructure upgrades required significant planning and downtime. Customers who chose the on-premises model also had to invest in expensive infrastructure up-front, which made it more difficult for smaller businesses with limited IT budgets (and expertise) to adopt.
Lift-and-shift isn’t always exciting, but it buys time and frees-up cash to modernize
The first step in our journey was to lift-and-shift the existing Dynamics 365 solutions to Azure. An as-is migration allowed us to focus on operational simplicity and delivery of a SaaS capability in a timely manner, begin transitioning from siloed areas of ownership to an integrated DevOps culture, develop experience operating a public cloud service at scale, and start migrating our existing customers.
Envisioning the future of Dynamics 365 solutions
In parallel to lifting existing Dynamics 365 solutions into the cloud, we started to envision the future—more specifically, how we wanted to go to market and have customers experience our offerings. Over the next several years, we proceeded to focus on several key areas.
Implement support for a modular set of offerings, instead of a monolith, from which customers could adopt only the functionality they wanted instead of having to go all-in when adopting Dynamics 365. From an application modernization perspective, this meant projecting the surface of Dynamics 365 as modules while evolving the existing codebase.
Empower customers and partners to customize and extend their Dynamics 365 applications through Microsoft Power Platform, a low-code/no-code platform for rapidly building customized end-to-end business solutions. A major enabler for all this was a Common Data Service (CDS)—now called Microsoft Dataverse—which today supports both transactions and analytics across all Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform solutions.
Build AI-driven insights directly into Dynamics 365 applications to help drive actions and further optimize experiences and interactions. We are also continuing to infuse generative AI through copilot experiences across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, enabling users to describe what they want to create using natural language—for example, “Build a site-inspection mobile application” and then have an app created automatically.
Looking back: Substantial new value at every step of the journey
Our multiyear work to modernize Dynamics 365 on Azure has empowered enterprises in many new ways, at every step of our journey. Immediate benefits of our initial lift-and-shift to Azure were primarily technical, resulting in better scalability, performance, and reliability. The larger benefit, however, was that the move to Azure set the stage for reimagining the customer experience and bringing that vision to life.
Once on Azure, we began harnessing the power of managed services in the cloud to accelerate value delivery. A modular approach gave customers greater choice, enabling incremental and rapid time-to-business outcomes when adopting Dynamics 365. Microsoft Power Platform expanded extensibility, enabling customers and partners to extend their Dynamics 365 solutions the way they wish, including easy version control, packaging, and distribution. Dynamics 365 Customer Insights let business users extract the insights needed to personalize customer experiences and orchestrate optimized, real-time customer journeys. The infusion of AI across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform user experiences has further empowered our customers, enabling them to describe what they need using natural language and have it done for them.
A stronger business today
The modernization of Dynamics 365 on Azure has had an increasingly profound impact on the business, making Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform some of the fastest growing software categories for Microsoft. We’ve been able to launch new products, new features, and new user experiences at a faster pace, and with more precision, due to our cloud migration. We better understand our customers and can quickly solve unmet needs. The DNA of the team has fundamentally changed, and it shows throughout our products.
The journey continues
Looking forward, we are working to adopt Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) as our main compute infrastructure, and to deliver further improvements in scalability and resiliency through increased use of Availability Zones. The real game changer, however, is generative AI, which we will continue infusing into Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform, enabling virtually anyone to build and deploy (and automatically scale and govern) apps, workflows, and chatbots using natural language.
Although the future is bright, it all started with that initial cloud migration. Across Dynamics 365 and Microsoft Power Platform, the Business Applications and Platforms group is now innovating at the fastest pace in our history, and we were ready for the generative AI opportunity because of the investments we made back in 2017. Our biggest lesson learned is that we should have started the move to Azure earlier.
Take the next step
Read an in-depth case study covering our Dynamics 365 application modernization journey. Enterprise customers and independent software vendors (ISVs) can utilize the patterns and lessons it covers to help plan for their own modernization journeys, as they make the move from on-premises systems to modern applications in the cloud. In addition, customers and ISVs may be able to further accelerate their journeys by building atop Dataverse and Microsoft Power Platform, as a means of accelerating time-to-market while reducing their initial and ongoing engineering investments.
AI Builder is a powerful capability within the Microsoft Power Platform that enables you to automate processes and predict outcomes, improving your business performance. By harnessing AI Builder, you can seamlessly integrate AI into your applications and workflows, connecting them to your business data stored in Microsoft Dataverse or various cloud data sources like SharePoint, OneDrive, or Azure.
Building AI Models Made Easy:
One of the key advantages of AI Builder is its user-friendly approach, making AI creation accessible to individuals with varying levels of technical expertise. With AI Builder, you can create custom AI models tailored to your business requirements or choose from a range of prebuilt models. The best part is that you can leverage these models to enhance your apps and workflows without the need to write complex code. AI Builder even offers prebuilt AI models that you can immediately utilize without the hassle of data collection and model training.
Unlocking the Potential of AI Builder
Let’s explore some of the remarkable capabilities you can unlock with AI Builder:
1. Text Analysis: AI Builder empowers you to analyze text for classification, key phrases, language, and sentiment. By harnessing this capability, you can gain valuable insights from customer feedback, product reviews, survey responses, and support emails. Identify negative sentiment or key phrases to take informed actions and improve your business strategies.
2. Predictive Analytics: AI Builder enables you to predict future outcomes based on historical data. By leveraging this capability, you can make data-driven decisions and anticipate trends, empowering you to stay one step ahead in various aspects of your business.
3. Business Card Processing: Say goodbye to manual data entry. With AI Builder’s business card processing feature, you can automatically extract information from business cards and streamline your contact management process. Simply capture an image of a business card, and let AI Builder handle the rest.
4. Image Text Extraction: Extracting text from images is a breeze with AI Builder. Whether you need to process text from documents, images, or any visual content, AI Builder offers the tools to quickly and accurately extract information, saving you valuable time and effort.
5. Object Detection: AI Builder’s object detection capability allows you to recognize and count items in images. This can be particularly useful in scenarios such as inventory management, quality control, or any situation where you need to identify and quantify objects within images.
Real-World Applications of AI Builder
Let’s explore a few real-world applications of AI Builder to ignite your creativity:
1. Invoice Processing: Automate the tedious task of processing invoices by leveraging AI Builder. Extract text, key/value pairs, and tables from invoices and effortlessly integrate them into your database. Create workflows that automatically handle the information, streamlining your invoice processing workflow.
2. Text Analysis for Insights: Uncover hidden insights from large volumes of text data. Whether it’s customer feedback, support emails, or product reviews, AI Builder’s text analysis capabilities can help you identify key phrases, sentiment, and trends. Use these insights to drive improvements, make informed decisions, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Where to Access AI Builder
AI Builder is conveniently accessible within Power Apps and Power Automate. In Power Apps, you can find AI Builder on the Build tab, where you can refine existing models or utilize tools like the business card reader. The Models section provides a dedicated space for your created and shared models, ensuring easy management and collaboration.
Next Steps
Now that you have gained an overview of AI Builder’s potential, it’s time to dive deeper into its available AI capabilities. Explore the Microsoft Learning Pathway for AI Builder Microsoft Learning Pathway, where you will find comprehensive resources to expand your knowledge and master the art of leveraging AI in your business.
Conclusion
AI Builder opens up a world of possibilities for students and educators alike. By harnessing the power of AI Builder, you can streamline processes, gain valuable insights, and make data-driven decisions. Whether you’re an aspiring developer or a business professional, AI Builder empowers you to integrate AI into your applications and workflows without the need for extensive coding. Embrace this powerful tool and unlock the true potential of AI in your educational journey and professional endeavors.
Stay tuned for our upcoming blogs, where we will explore AI Builder’s features and use cases in more detail.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Happy Friday, MTC! Wonder what you may have missed this week? Let’s talk about it!
MTC Moments of the Week
On Wednesday, we had a special collab edition of Tech Community Live! Experts from across four Microsoft content collaboration products – SharePoint, OneDrive, Lists, and Stream – went live for an AMA video stream to talk about their recent innovations and future roadmaps, as well as answer questions. Huge kudos to all the experts, their teams, and community personnel involved on this highly engaging event, including (but not limited to) Mark Kashman, Dave Cohen (US), Cathy Dew, Suyog Gadgil, Miceile Barrett, Paul Diamond , Gaia Carini, Carter Green, Vishal Lodha,Miceile Barrett, Lincoln DeMaris, Harini Saladi, Marc Mroz, Daniel Escapa, Paul Diamond, Ignacio Davila, Owen Paulus, and Emily Perina!
We also had our monthly Windows Office Hours this week, where the team hops on to answer any burning user questions about keeping devices up to date effectively with product experts representing Windows, Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Windows 365, Windows Autopilot, security, public sector, FastTrack, and more. Thank you to our panelists Jason Sandys, Joe Lurie, Jay Simmons, Roy Barton, Aria Carley, and Steve Thomas for joining us! Keep an eye out for the next Office Hours session to be announced soon!
Over on the Blogs, the Microsoft Viva team has announce that as of June 14, Viva Pulse is available for public preview! Viva Pulse is a lightweight feedback solution designed to empower managers and team leaders to get real-time insights into how their teams are doing. To learn more about how Viva Pulse works and how to try it out for yourself, check out this blog post by @TranissaCreme_PMM!
And last, but certainly not least, our MTC Member of the Week spotlight this week goes to @David Mehr! Based in Switzerland, David is an M365 Apps & Services MVP who is about to celebrate 7 years as a member of the MTC. We appreciate all you do for Microsoft and the MTC, David!
On this day in 1911, IBM was founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York, making it one of the world’s oldest technology companies!
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
There are many ways to join Teams meetings depending on your account, device and even the type of the meeting (defined by who organizes the meeting). This blog post covers a few key scenarios how to join a meeting organized by a Teams for work or school user when you are using the free version of Teams.
Windows 11
When invited to a Teams meeting organized by a Teams for work or school user and if you don’t have a Teams for work or school account, there are two options to join the meeting. When you tap the Teams meeting link or select ‘Join’ from Calendar, the following page opens in your default web browser:
You can join the meeting as a guest in browser. This option requires no app installation and is a quick way to join the meeting. Most meeting features are available in browser like in the Teams app. Please note that the Teams app coming with Windows 11 supports only personal accounts and it does not support joining Teams for work or school meetings in the app.
Alternatively, you can download and install the Teams for work or school app (which is separate from the Teams app coming with Windows 11) and use that to join the meeting as a guest. After tapping ‘Download it now’ and installing the Teams app, it opens automatically and connects you to the meeting. If this does not happen, you can tap the button ‘Join on the Teams app’ to join the meeting after the app is installed.
If you have a Teams for work or school account, you can install the Teams for work or school app and sign in with the account. You can then join a Teams for work or school meeting in the app instead of browser. Please note that when you join a meeting with your work or school account, the organizer of the meeting will see your account name and your company or school name. If you don’t want the meeting organizer to see this information, you can join as a guest as described above.
Windows 10 and macOS
When invited to a Teams meeting organized by a Teams for work or school user and when there’s no Teams app installed on your computer, tapping a Teams meeting link opens the following page in your default web browser:
You can join the meeting as a guest in browser. This option requires no app installation and is a quick way to join the meeting. Most meeting features are available in browser like in the Teams app.
Alternatively, you can download and install the Teams app and use that to join the meeting as a guest. Tap ‘Download it now’ to install the Teams app.
When you have the Teams app installed on your computer, tapping a Teams meeting link opens the Teams app on this screen:
You need to type in your name, select if you want to join with camera and/or microphone enabled and tap ‘Join now’ to get connected to the meeting.
If you have a Teams for work or school account, you can sign in with that account for the best meeting experience. Please note that when you join a meeting with your work or school account, the organizer of the meeting will see your account name and your company or school name. If you don’t want the meeting organizer to see this information, you can join as a guest as described above.
Android and iOS
When joining a Teams for work or school meeting without a Teams for work or school account, you can join the meeting as a guest in the Teams mobile app. You can install the Teams mobile app by opening this link on your mobile device. After installing the Teams mobile app, when you tap the Teams meeting link, the following page opens in the Teams mobile app:
Tapping ‘Join as a guest’ asks you to type in your name and then connects you to the meeting.
If you have a Teams for work or school account, you can sign in with that account instead by tapping ‘Sign in and join’ for the best meeting experience. Please note that when you join a meeting with your work or school account, the organizer of the meeting will see your account name and your company or school name. If you don’t want the meeting organizer to see this information, you can join as a guest as described above.
How to send feedback and suggestions?
We are always happy to receive feedback and suggestions to make our product even better. To participate in our feedback program and help us in our endeavor, please follow the steps below:
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