Microsoft Ignite took place in Orlando last week and I had the privilege of being there. I have been to many Microsoft events over the years (I spent almost 17-years working there), but this was my first time at Ignite. So, as a newbie to the event, I thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts on what the key takeaways were - especially given many of our customers and partners from around the globe may not be able to attend in person.
Skype Server 2019:
- Microsoft reinstated its support/commitment to on-premises customers with the upcoming release of Skype Server 2019 towards the end of CY18 and the roadmap promise of incremental updates after launch
- Microsoft recognizes there remains a substantial on-premises install base that isn't going to move to the cloud immediately, the server will help big enterprises whose move to the cloud may well be slower than customers in the SMB space.
- The 2019 release provides integration of on-premises calling and cloud calling data - take on-premises data and move it to the cloud for analytics
- The new server release will include some of the advantages of the cloud allowing customers to accommodate users that are on-prem, online/in Teams
- The ability to connect cloud analytics with PowerBI to create custom reports
Microsoft Teams:
- Microsoft focused heavily on the momentum Teams has experienced this year, it is now the the fastest growing business app in Microsoft's history!
Image Courtesy: Microsoft Tech Community
- Whilst many customers will remain on-premises for some time to come, others are seeing the barriers between them and a move to the cloud, to Teams coming down and the time to move getting closer.
- New personal and shared Teams devices released from Polycom/Plantronics, Crestron, Yealink, Jabra
What's to come
Microsoft is clearly committed to give people the tools to do their jobs across the M365 stack, with a number of the features that were in preview now available, we should expect to see more updates coming in this current quarter as we round out the calendar year.
These were my key takeaways - what were yours? Leave your thoughts below and join the discussion. For more info, download the Microsoft Ignite Book of News
Finally - what would a trip to Ignite be without a few happy-snaps.