Inspired by Inspire

Some take-aways from Microsoft Inspire 2019

What’s happens in Vegas should not stay in Vegas…. Microsoft Inspire is one of the major events for the global data community. It is exciting to learn about the developing vision of Microsoft as the leader in all things data for everyone.

From 14-18 July, 2019, Microsoft Inspire invited its partners from over the whole world to Las Vegas. As a Microsoft Partner, we were there to learn, network, do business and have fun with other partners and the Microsoft solution specialists, managers and senior leadership. We will share our experiences and thoughts with you in a series of blogs.

In his keynote Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, covered the increasing intensity and impact of tech to society. Gaming, modern home and workplace, business applications, IoT devices, AI and Machine Learning…  this tech intensity changes the way we live and work. One thing is for sure: we have become data-driven and data will rule the world “That’s what’s leading to us building out Azure as the world’s computer. We now have 54 data center regions.” (Nadella Quote)

To facilitate the new world of data, Microsoft works on the creation of a ‘limitless data estate’ based on Azure Databases and Azure Analytics. Limitless in scale, variety and place: in the cloud and at the edge.

Nadella propagated the democratization of AI and of app development. AI will expand to the many sorts of apps, services and devices that we use in daily life. Consumers and workers will benefit from the help of their digital environment in their doing and decision-making.

All those emerging innovations need to be created. Nadella forecasts that 500 million apps will be built in the next 5 years, more than we saw emerging in the past 40 years. But who makes them? One of the growing pains the digital transformation our society is going through, is the increasing shortage of application developers.

Citizen development, by ordinary users who build and then share their applications, will help to meet this huge challenge. The tools for easy and no-code development are here to stay. This allows everybody to become a developer.

Big Data is Dead, long live Big Data AI.

Nadella’s keynote was also about the big numbers. Of connected devices (50 billion in 10 years time), of users (3,2 billion worldwide at the end of 2019) and – of course – of data. To illustrate the scale of the data explosion: 90% of all data is created in the last 2 years! And mind this: 73% of the data (old and new) still needs to be analyzed.

This leads to a growing ocean of dark data with hidden treasures beneath its surface. You only need to find them and bring them to the surface! And exactly that’s where Synerscope comes in: we can help to create value by accelerating and optimizing the safe and controlled exploration and exploitation of your data. As Gil Press noted in Forrester early July: Big Data is Dead, long live Big Data AI.

In our next blog we will explain how to deal with the ocean of dark data in a safe and cost-effective way. Stay tuned!