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Taking place November 18-22, 2024 at the McCormick Place West Building in Chicago, with online access November 19-21, Microsoft Ignite 2024 looks set to reshape the way we use Microsoft’s cloud technologies and servers.

Previous years have brought new features to Microsoft Azure and provided insight into some of the AI ​​developments we now take for granted in Microsoft Copilot. This year promises a few more new features, as well as clarity on some previously revealed products.

Although the event is sold out for in-person tickets, you can still register to view various keynotes, lectures and demonstrations on site. Microsoft Ignite 2024 registration page. This will give you online access to a limited collection of yet important sessions.

But before you do that, here are five things you can expect to see at Microsoft Ignite 2024.

The cloud, of course!

This may have gotten a little blurry over the past few years, but Ignite is essentially a Microsoft Azure event. And behind every AI-powered web service is a cloud server. Ignite will therefore focus a lot on Microsoft Azure.

These days, Azure itself is spread across multiple products. In particular, Azure Arc, Azure Monitor, Microsoft Copilot in Azure and Azure Backup will be presented at Ignite.

Meanwhile, the Azure Arc adaptive cloud management system is expected to feature prominently. This uses AI assistance to manage various assets – wherever they are located or whatever the endpoint type – using a single control plane. Along with this control, each asset is associated with data that can also be accessed, monitored and reported.

Breakout sessions, live demos and hands-on sessions have been scheduled for Azure cloud services at Ignite 2024. Microsoft is clearly very positive about Azure Arc, so it will be interesting to see how it is received .

AI almost everywhere

It’s hard to turn on a device these days without being greeted with an offer for improved artificial intelligence. But while AI was recognizable as a seemingly standalone feature, often accessible through a dedicated app or service, it is now more widely integrated.

Ignite 2024 will be dominated by AI, whether in the form of new features in Microsoft Copilot, demonstrations of how AI is used by Microsoft and its partners, or how it improves Azure.

Almost every session scheduled at the event includes an AI element. A particularly interesting event, The Azure AI platform unlocks the AI ​​revolutiondirected by Asha Sharma, stands out. In the meantime, other discussions (such as Transform your business with Azure AI and Microsoft Fabric) demonstrate how AI now permeates everything from server security to business intelligence.

AI can now manage server security and help develop new KPIs. This should become more widely understood at Ignite 2024.

Copilot: a single application or a brand?

Microsoft Copilot has become one of the most recognizable names in AI, thanks to its integration into Windows 11 and Microsoft Teams. However, the lack of clarity on what Copilot is and does has led to some confusion.

Although the initial Copilot chatbot app was integrated into Windows 11 earlier in 2024 and standalone apps for Android and iOS are available, it has much more to offer. The Copilot name is essentially a brand for a range of AI-related products, from chatbots and assistants to server tools. Microsoft is improving the delivery of AI on Azure and Windows Server, for example aiming for improved security and business intelligence capabilities. These enhancements are called Copilot, but it’s a fairly different implementation from the tool you find on your phone.

This confusion seems to have been noticed at Microsoft, and it’s likely that things will be cleared up regarding Copilot at this year’s Microsoft Ignite. In the end, everyone should know what Copilot is.

Selling Microsoft Places as a solution

Announced in 2022, Microsoft Places has yet to make a real impact, but that could be about to change with Ignite 2024.

Like Copilot, some confusion surrounds Microsoft Places. It’s fair to say that awareness of the product has been limited. Given that it’s essentially an Outlook/Microsoft 365 calendar extension that adds AI-based time management to the office, it’s perhaps unusual that it hasn’t gained popularity. The AI ​​element of Microsoft Places uses Copilot to manage office space for hotdesking, meeting room availability, and even to tell staff where they should be.

Microsoft will almost certainly add some spice to Microsoft Places at Ignite 2024.

Windows Server 2025

One of Microsoft’s oldest products, Windows Server will almost certainly play a major role at Ignite 2024. It is at the heart of almost everything Microsoft does in the cloud, from storage to Microsoft 365, Azure, Azure Arc and of course the artificial intelligence and machine learning that underpin it.

Essentially everything about Ignite is built on Windows Server, and with the new version now available, Microsoft Ignite 2024 is a great opportunity for attendees to see what’s new in Windows Server 2025.

What else is at Ignite 2024?

It’s quite difficult to summarize the most promising aspects of a four-day event in just five sections.

Microsoft Ignite 2024 has a lot more going for it, including the presence of almost every Microsoft-adjacent tech company you can name.

Slack, Nvidia, IBM and more will be in attendance, all highlighting how they use Azure, Copilot and other Microsoft cloud and server technologies.

However, the one event that could completely shape the event is Satya Nadella’s keynote speech. The Microsoft CEO has a strong background in cloud technology, which has helped the organization lead the cloud revolution and support delivery to SaaS providers.

Scheduled for 2 p.m. local time on Tuesday, November 19, Nadella’s keynote will be important for anyone interested in cloud, AI, and enterprise IT.