Wow, this week has been super exciting – Microsoft Ignite 2021 presented many cool new announcements…  and adding the fact that Microsoft already launched tons of news on the Spring Ignite earlier this year, this was just awesome!

The Ignite Book of News 2021 covers many of the announcements for Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, Security, Power Platform, AI and much more.

Here is my list of top 10 announcements @ Ignite 2021.

1. Collaborative Applications | Fusion Development | Teams (… as a platform)

The love story of Microsoft Teams and the Power Platform. Empowering any team to create custom solutions in their unique context that greatly expedites digital transformation. 

• https://almbok.com/office365/teams

2. Context IQ

Natively integrated AI experiences across Microsoft 365 that predict, seek, and suggest information people need, right in the flow of their work and offering users predictive assistance.

• https://almbok.com/office365/context_iq

3. Power Platform (…)

Power Apps Azure Subscription (Pay-as-you-go). Adaptive Cards in Power Apps. Power Apps Native Apps (iOS, Android). Open-source Power Fx. Process Advisor. BYO AI Models for AI Builder. Proactive messaging bots… and so much more.

• https://almbok.com/office365/context_iq

4. Microsoft Search | Search across the Dataverse

Tailoring the search experience for enterprise needs. Enabling Dataverse environments to Microsoft Search. Dynamics 365 federation search in Microsoft Search… and more.

• https://almbok.com/office365/microsoft_search

5. Microsoft Viva (…)

Now generally available to help transform your hybrid work experience. Microsoft Viva as a suite. New logos and new family member – Ally.io – enabling objectives and key results (OKR). And much more…

• https://almbok.com/office365/microsoft_viva

6. Microsoft Loop

New application that combines a powerful and flexible canvas with portable components that move freely and stay in sync across Microsoft 365 apps, enabling teams to think, plan and create together.

• https://almbok.com/office365/microsoft_loop

7. Office.com | Office JS API in Excel

New experience on Office.com to serve as a hub for files, content, and apps. Create your own custom data types, including images, entities, and formatted number values, backed by your own custom data sources in Excel using JavaScript API.

• https://almbok.com/office365/excel

8. Mesh for Microsoft Teams

The next leap for 2D and 3D with personalized avatars and immersive spaces where users can connect with presence and have shared immersive experiences. Bridges the gap between physical and digital, empowering users to connect across devices wherever they choose to live and work from.

• https://almbok.com/office365/mesh_for_microsoft_teams

9. SharePoint Online | SharePoint App Bar

Rich, secure content and collaboration for hybrid work. New templates, solutions, pages and news, including integrations with Microsoft Teams. Create content from App Bar. Dark Mode for app bar – Top of mind 😉

• https://almbok.com/office365/sharepoint

10. Microsoft Lists | Data in board view

Work with list data in a board -; Moving items through stages is as easy as dragging and dropping. Modern lookup columns. Create and view lists from the SharePoint app bar. Rich-text editor (RTE) updates. Fast and offline (General Availability) and much more…

• https://almbok.com/office365/microsoft_lists

This short list is just a fraction of the cool things Microsoft Ignite 2021 has to offer, even though the event is over the experience has just started and the sessions and digital content is available on demand – https://myignite.microsoft.com/home

Susan Hanley has kindly compiled a Microsoft Ignite November 2021 Roadmap Slides Summary containing valuable slides with roadmap releases for many of the announcements.

Thanks for a great event and looking forward to experience more awesome Microsoft tech…

Earners of the Citizen Developer Practitioner have demonstrated their knowledge of the tools & methodologies needed to efficiently create effective & scalable applications using low-code and no-code platforms, solving organizations’ problems. Earners understand how to determine if a problem can be solved using citizen development, effectively brainstorm solutions, evaluate the challenges that an app must overcome, gather the data & resources needed, and bring a project to fruition.

https://www.pmi.org/citizen-developer/practitioner-course

Friends, it has been a while… and this may come as a surprise, but the last month I have been working exclusively in the Apple ecosystem. I know, I know, this may feel traitorous and the fact that I have been so dedicated to Microsoft and spent countless hours in Windows over the years does make any type of comparison a bit unbalanced.

There were some key reasons why I wanted to explore and invest time in the Apple MacOS. Firstly, I am intrigued by the transition from traditional Intel x86 processors to the new Apple M1 processors. The bold promises Apple made on their release of the M1 Macs was not only confirmed by technology nerds benchmarking in real world situations, but in many cases the M1 is performing better even for emulated software. And this result by using much less energy consumption and a very attractive price tag. The numbers was so impressive that I just had to investigate… and so ordered a Mac mini M1 and decided to give this a real go and set out to do all my normal tasks and workflows in MacOS for at least 30 days.

One of the first things one notices when unpacking any Apple product is the feeling you get when opening the boxes. The attention to details and materials is impressive. This is a great starting point as the first impressions lasts a long time. The material touch of the hardware is so much better than largely anything I have seen from any other pc supplier. One of Apples core values is privacy, and information privacy is something I also strongly believe in and on the privacy topic Apple is leading the way and even dragging some nasty trolls into the sun.

“Privacy is a fundamental human right. At Apple, it is also one of our core values. Your devices are important to so many parts of your life. What you share from those experiences, and who you share it with, should be up to you. We design Apple products to protect your privacy and give you control over your information. It’s not always easy. But that’s the kind of innovation we believe in.”  – Privacy – Apple

I have documented some of my findings in this tier list ranking screencast:

Conclusion:

One of the best things I have experienced on this exercise is the “sound of silence”. The Apple mini M1 is completely silent and yet deliver performance like a beast, amazing engineering by Apple.

Apple leads the way in both privacy and low energy consumption, this is key aspects for the future. On top of this, the pricing for the new Apple M1 computers is probably the best value for money you could find today.  

The next generation Windows devices will really have to step up to match the engineering brilliance that Apple has delivered. But there are still some ways to go before I could use MacOS for everything I use the computer for. I am already deeply invested in Microsoft tools and technologies so I will not migrate completely any time soon but see myself using MacOS more as I feel creative in this universe and want to be in control of my information, by design.

If you would like to create your own tier-list ranking, please visit the ALMBoK.com – Tier lists

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Gott Nytt År!

Laimingų Naujųjų Metų
Frohes Neues Jahr
عام سعيد
Sretna nova godina
Bon any nou
新年快乐
שנה טובה
Gelukkig nieuw jaar
Head uut aastat
Gëzuar vitin e ri
Onnellista uutta vuotta
Gelukkig nieuwjaar
Bonne année
Sretna nova godina
Nav varsh ki subhkamna
Gleðilegt nýtt ár
Felice anno nuovo
Laimīgu Jauno gadu
¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Szczęśliwego nowego roku
Feliz ano novo
Srečno novo leto
สวัสดีปีใหม่
šťastný nový rok
Seni yılınız kutlu olsun
Frohes neues Jahr / Prosit Neujahr
S novym godom
Mwaka mzuri
Blwyddyn Newydd
Hyvää uutta vuotta
Gelukkig Nieuwjaar
あけましておめでとう
Godt nytt år
Happy New Year

Wow, this week has been super exciting – Microsoft Ignite 2020 is like a never-ending digital injection of awesome new announcements.

Microsoft Ignite had 811 sessions lined up, all-digital and free for everyone. The Ignite Book of News 2020 covers almost 100 new announcements. Very impressive!

Here is my list of top 10 announcements @ Ignite 2020.

1. Project Oakdale | CDS within Teams

Microsoft Project Oakdale, a built-in, low code data platform for your apps, bots, and automation within Teams.

• https://almbok.com/office365/project_oakdale

2. Project Nucleus | Microsoft Lists offline sync

Project Nucleus power the next generation of our web apps and portals. Using intelligent sync to a database to keep a cache on the client that our web apps use to deliver a better performance.

• https://almbok.com/office365/project_nucleus

3. SharePoint Syntex | Project Cortex first product

The first product from Project Cortex and uses advanced AI and machine teaching to amplify human expertise, automate content processing, and transform content into knowledge.

• https://almbok.com/office365/sharepoint_syntex

4. Microsoft Stream | Manage video as any other file

Vision for Microsoft Stream: to bring intelligent video creation, sharing, and viewing to all parts of Microsoft 365, while empowering users and administrators to manage video just as they would any other file.

• https://almbok.com/office365/stream

5. Microsoft Search | Smarter enterprise search

Microsoft Search is the evolution of search, smarter search to help you stay in touch with what’s important and trending around you in Microsoft 365 and your connected systems.

• https://almbok.com/office365/microsoft_search

6. Microsoft Teams | Future of work

Many new capabilities to help people stay connected, collaborate, and build solutions in Teams. 

•  https://almbok.com/office365/teams

7. Github Code Spaces | .NET 5 single file applications

Cloud-powered developer environments that seamlessly integrate into GitHub. Single file applications in .NET 5.

• https://almbok.com/tools/github

8. Power Automate Desktop | Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

Automate your time-consuming manual processes with robotic process automation (RPA) in Power Automate.

• https://almbok.com/office365/microsoft_power_platform

9. Project for the web | Project Acceleration

Microsoft Project and the Project Accelerator give you best-in-class project management capabilities that integrate with your digital platform.

• https://almbok.com/office365/project

10. SharePoint App Bar | Homesite App for Teams

The SharePoint App Bar is a consistent navigation that provides access to your most used sites, files, and also organizational news.

• https://almbok.com/office365/sharepoint

This short list is just a fraction of the cool things Microsoft Ignite 2020 has to offer, even though the event is over the experience has just started and the sessions and digital content is available on demand.

If you are looking for a quick and great 15 minute summary, check out Matt Wades (jumpto365) Microsoft Ignite 2020 Recap – Biggest Microsoft 365 announcements for everyday users.

Susan Hanley from Microsoft has kindly compiled a Microsoft Ignite 2020 Microsoft 365 Roadmap Slide Summary containing valuable slides with roadmap releases for many of the announcements.

Thanks for a great event and looking forward to experience more awesome Microsoft tech…

Improvised review/demo using the new Microsoft Surface Go 2 to showcase my use cases and leveraging capabilities of Windows 10 and Microsoft 365 cloud services.

This video review was recorded and edited completely on the Surface Go 2 using the new Windows 10 Video Editor inside the Photos application.

Demo of using Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) filters and virtual camera in Microsoft Teams online meetings.

Subscribe for more…

The world is changing fast. We are experiencing rapid and fundamental changes never seen in recorded history. Decision makers are forced to take radical decisions that will have long term impacts on our lives. Social distancing is the best bet in order to flatten the curve, implicitly making the timespan of the curve longer… its first when the smoke is cleared, we will know the full impact.

Countries, organizations, individuals and communities are basing decisions on common datasets from the open Internet, not really able to validate the authenticity. The established media is publishing headlines based on the same datasets and the information arena is completely flooded with voices trying to be heard… we are in times of crisis.

”There’s no need to panic … but we need to get going.” – Bill Gates said on the TED 2015 talk (The next outbreak? We’re not ready). To this point Microsoft has created several impressive cloud platforms and solutions to facilitate for organizations to better adapt to the new VUCA-world (ever increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity). Microsoft Teams has seen an explosive growth as many more workers are now working from home. The digital workplace services in Office 365 is making this transition possible, with security and governance built in. Benefiting from the raw power of the Power Platform everyone is empowered to innovate and make custom solutions, ready to be deployed today.

In these times of crisis Microsoft recently has made two impressive solutions freely available for customer organizations to quickly adjust and implement for improved crisis communication and healthcare organizations emergency response capabilities. Showcasing the effectiveness of the Power Platform and integrated Office 365 cloud services.

What is the Crisis Communication app?

Connects users with information about a crisis in one easily accessible place. Includes internal company news, RSS feeds, frequently asked questions, links and emergency contacts. Data is stored in SharePoint lists and the included administration application allows for activation of selected features and content creation.

https://aka.ms/ppemergencyresponsecomm

What is the Emergency Response solution?

Provides capabilities for healthcare organizations (hospitals) to collect data for situational awareness of available spaces and supplies, related patients, staffing, and pending discharges. Data is stored in the Common Data Service (CDS) and the solution includes a Power BI dashboard to summarize key data and insights for managers to make well informed decisions.

https://aka.ms/EmergencyResponseApp

For even more crisis management solutions and remote working check out the related episode of the Intrazone – https://intrazone.libsyn.com/crisis-management-and-remote-work

What is Microsoft Power Platform?

Foster innovation everywhere across your organization with the Microsoft Power Platform – analyze data, build solutions, automate processes, and create virtual agents.

What is ALMBoK.com?

Application Lifecycle Management Body of Knowledge (ALMBoK.com) is a free online knowledge base with all things related to Governance, Development and Operations of software applications and digital products. The ambition of ALMBoK.com is to structure insights about business and software development methods, tools and processes along the entire lifecycle from the cradle to the grave. ALMBoK.com is completely free and without advertising revenue, but with the opportunity to be supported as a Patreon.

Please visit ALMBoK.com for additional information on how you can establish an effective software governance and guidance for digital transformation. Some hot areas of knowledge with regards to Microsoft Power Platform include:

• Power Platform
  • Power BI
  • Power Apps
  • Power Automate (previously called Flow)
  • Power Virtual Agents
  • Addons/Capabilities
    • AI Builder
    • UI Flows
    • CDS (Common Data Service)
    • Connectors
    • Gateways
    • …
  • Office 365 Overview
  • Citizen Development
  • Architecture (in the context of Digital, Software, Information)
  • Agile | Business Agility | Project Management
  • DevOps | DevOps Toolchain
  • …and more…

If you would like to help further develop ALMBoK.com with new areas of knowledge, please contact me directly on Linkedin or join the LinkedIn group – https://www.linkedin.com/groups/6668160/

Maybe for the first time in human history the opposite seems true for ancient storyteller Aesop’s quote:

“United we Stand, divided we Fall”. – Aesop

In these times of crisis and social distancing it seems more like…

“Divided we Stand, United we Fall” – Social Distancing, 2020

Stay safe, stay creative and together we make powerful digital solutions that truly empowers users for effective change in times of crisis and beyond.

Watch on YouTube: Exploring the Microsoft Power Platform from a citizen developer perspective.

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Exploration of the Microsoft Power Platform from a citizen developer perspective.

Covering Empowerment, Power BI, PowerApps, Microsoft Flow and AI Builder.

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