Microsoft unveiled more than 50 new products and features at its flagship developer event, Build, with a focus this year on AI.
Microsoft Build 2022 focused on the impact of AI and AI-enabled development. The various opportunities Windows presents to developers include hybrid AI app patterns for new edge endpoints with no walled gardens and increased organizational automation.
Noting that AI and coding have become a common combination, Microsoft unveiled a suite of tools to aid AI development, including GitHub Copilot.
GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programmer that provides full code suggestions derived from code and comments.
The company previewed this offering last year and received positive feedback, with more than a third of those who signed up becoming daily users.
GitHub Copilot is now generally available, allowing more developers to use these tools to write code through AI and use AI to understand the code it created and make improvements in the future.
Microsoft Dev Box allows developers to automatically create a virtual machine in the cloud.
This means it reduces limitations and delays and allows developers to work from anywhere instead of being limited to a physical PC.
Furthermore, this enables developers to use Microsoft’s AI tools and the AI-infused cloud to write apps and deploy them in their chosen place.
Noting that developers are exploring intelligent cloud solutions with multiple endpoints and neural processing units (NPUs), Microsoft says the logical next step is to create hybrid apps with unique capabilities.
The tech giant now offers a set of tools in the cloud that automate the process of creating these apps, so developers can get the most out of using hybrid apps.
Microsoft says it created this product to address developers’ common problem: being forced to start within a walled garden rather than a hybrid environment, meaning that working apps can only be made by running code. Write for each chipset.
Using Microsoft’s new service after writing an app allows developers to target NPUs regardless of the chipset.
The company also uses ONNX Runtime, Azure Machine Learning, and an AI toolchain to create a cross-platform development pattern for building AI experiences in the cloud and on edge.
In addition, the upcoming Project Volterra is an AI-capable development kit with an advanced, more efficient AI computing capability.
Microsoft recognizes that while Build is an event aimed at developers, it knows that everyone would like to have tools that can help them complete tasks in a more efficient, easy way.
In addition to developer tools, the company unveiled options for the wider Microsoft community, including Power Pages, a low-code development and hosting platform that allows low-code creators and professional developers to design, configure, and publish websites in desktop and mobile environments. . through a streamlined aesthetic experience.
In addition, Express Design, available through Power Apps, allows users to upload a PDF, PowerPoint, or hand-drawn sketch and turn it into a working app in seconds.
Text summaries for customer support also enable users to summarize complex conversations to reduce processing time and improve job satisfaction.
Microsoft now also offers cloud developer environments, DevSecOps, and the general availability of .NET Multi-platform App UI (.NET MAUI).
In addition, cloud-native app offerings provide improved scale, performance, and reliability.
This offering includes Azure Container Apps, a serverless container hosting service that allows developers to focus on apps rather than managing the underlying cloud infrastructure.
Additional items released during this year’s Build event include:
A new, integrated platform that unifies databases, analytics, and governance so organizations can spend more time creating value rather than integrating and managing a fragmented data park.
A new product designed to help developers grow their business by getting their apps or games to the right customers at the right time.
In the coming months, developers can participate in the pilot program, which will create ad campaigns for the Microsoft Store using Microsoft Advertising.
This offering improves screen sharing in meetings by making the Teams meeting stage interactive.
Developers can build Live Share apps in Teams that allow meeting participants to edit, annotate, zoom, and interact with shared content in new ways.
Microsoft also notes the opportunities presented by the metaverse, explaining that it will provide users with metaverse experiences at every layer of its stack so that customers can more effectively model, automate, simulate, and predict changes within their industrial environments.
The company says it will also give customers a stronger presence in the new hybrid work world, enabling them to create immersive worlds that open up new possibilities for connecting and experimenting.
