Sr. Content Developer at Microsoft, working remotely in PA, TechBash conference organizer, former Microsoft MVP, Husband, Dad and Geek.
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New Microsoft data innovations unlock what only your business knows

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Every organization has knowledge that is uniquely its own: the way its business operates, the data it has built over time, the expertise of its people and the context behind thousands of everyday decisions.

As powerful AI models become more widely available, that unique business intelligence matters more than ever. The difference will come from how effectively organizations combine those models with the data, expertise and business context that make them unique.

Turning that intelligence into lasting advantage requires three elements to work together: human ambition to set the direction, intelligence grounded in the organization’s unique knowledge and trust to provide the foundation for operating at scale. Microsoft’s approach is designed to bring those elements together so organizations can build on what they know and create greater value over time.

That value can compound through a continuous learning loop, where AI draws on an organization’s data and expertise, improves the systems and experiences it creates and generates better outcomes over time without making the organization dependent on any single model provider.

Today at the European Microsoft Fabric + SQL Community Conference in Barcelona, we are introducing advances across Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databases that help organizations put their data estate at the heart of a successful AI strategy.

Fabric IQ: Bring your unique business context into Microsoft Copilot

As Microsoft Copilot evolves across Home, Code and Autopilot, access to trusted business context becomes essential. Fabric IQ brings governed business context into Copilot, grounding experiences in the Power BI semantic models, metrics, relationships and business definitions organizations already trust.

With Fabric IQ in Microsoft Copilot Chat and Cowork now generally available, users can ask business questions and receive answers grounded in governed Power BI data, while Cowork can use those insights as part of broader multistep work. Integration with the new Code experience is coming through the Frontier program.

That means when someone asks Copilot for the latest sales forecast or another critical business metric, the answer can be grounded in the same semantic model that powers the organization’s reports, helping avoid confusion about which number is correct. For Power BI customers, this extends the semantic foundation they already have into Microsoft Copilot while preserving existing access controls and governance.

I experienced this myself recently as I was preparing for a sales review and asked Copilot, “What’s our latest sales forecast?” With Fabric IQ, that answer was grounded in the same governed Power BI semantic model that powers the team’s sales reporting, using the same business definitions and metrics my team already trusts. So, instead of spending the meeting uncovering and debating whose number was right, the team was able to get straight to what the numbers mean and focus on what we do next. That’s exactly the kind of experience we want to create.

For Fabric and Power BI customers, this capability is on by default in Copilot Chat and Cowork and extends the semantic foundation they already have into Microsoft Copilot while preserving existing access controls and governance.

IQ Sharing in Microsoft Fabric: Share unique business context without giving up control

Business knowledge does not stop at the boundary of a team or business unit. Organizations increasingly need to collaborate across customers, partners and broader ecosystems while maintaining control over the information they share.

IQ Sharing in Fabric, now in preview as part of Fabric IQ, breaks down company boundaries by enabling organizations to securely share data and the business context that gives it meaning, while maintaining governance over the underlying assets. Starting with key Fabric IQ artifacts and context, IQ Share is designed to evolve beyond preview to help customers discover, share and activate trusted context wherever it’s needed.

Together with OneLake mirroring and shortcuts, these investments create a more open foundation for sharing governed data and context across organizations, platforms and ecosystems.

Observability in Microsoft Fabric: Maintain visibility and control as AI scales

As organizations put more workloads on their unified data platform, they need to understand system health and address issues before they affect business and AI outcomes.

Observability in Fabric helps teams move from reactive troubleshooting to proactive operations. Cross-workspace monitoring and an enhanced Monitor Hub provide a unified view across jobs, capacities, workspaces and workloads, while Operations Agents and Activator help teams investigate issues, identify root causes with AI and automate responses.

Together, these capabilities help organizations maintain oversight as they scale data and AI.

Fabric Apps: Build applications directly on governed business data

AI is transforming how applications are created, but enterprises still need a secure, governed path from idea to production. Fabric Apps brings application development directly to governed data in Microsoft Fabric, helping organizations build and scale AI-powered business applications faster.

With new capabilities for data connectivity, transactional workloads, backend logic, storage and policy-controlled access, developers can move from prototype to production on a unified data foundation. These experiences bring application creation closer to where enterprise data and insights already live, helping more people turn data into action.

Agentic data engineering: Automate the work, stay in control

A continuous learning loop is only as good as the data behind it, which must be prepared, refined and improved without pause. As those environments become more complex, organizations need automation that can take on more of that work without pushing people or controls out of the loop.

Earlier this year, we shared our vision for autonomous data engineering. Now, new agentic data engineering features in Fabric bring that vision to life, bringing autonomous execution to complex data engineering initiatives while keeping organizations in control. Engineers define the outcome and set the boundaries. Inside those limits, the agent plans and executes the work, validates the results and refines the approach.

SQL Server on Azure Local: Keep critical data and workloads where you need them

Maintaining control over business knowledge also means having flexibility over where critical data and workloads run.

Now generally available, SQL Server on Azure Local brings SQL Server and Azure services into local environments, giving organizations more choice to run workloads closer to their applications and operations. SQL Server on Azure Local with disconnected operations, now in preview, extends that flexibility to environments where cloud connectivity is interrupted, restricted or unavailable.

These options give organizations operating across regulated, local, edge and disconnected environments greater choice over where their critical data and workloads reside and operate.

Database Hub in Fabric: Simplify database management with agentic assistance

Intelligent applications depend on operational data. Teams need a clear view of the databases that power those applications and practical tools to manage them.

Building on its introduction at FabCon Atlanta, Database Hub in Fabric is now in public preview. It provides a central control plane for managing SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB and SQL databases in Fabric, helping administrators monitor and govern their database estate.

Complementing this management experience, specialist database agents for SQL and PostgreSQL in Database Hub in Fabric and Visual Studio Code, coming soon to public preview, help teams investigate issues, understand performance bottlenecks and identify optimization opportunities within their development environment.

Together, these capabilities help teams understand their database estate and make more informed operational decisions.

Build AI on the knowledge that makes your business different

Our goal is straightforward: help organizations use the best AI models and tools available while turning their proprietary data, expertise and workflows into an advantage that grows more valuable over time. That direction is reflected across today’s announcements as the data foundation comes into focus.

At Ignite, we’ll broaden this story across the full Microsoft Frontier ecosystem, connecting data, applications, agents, governance and infrastructure into one system that turns AI ambition into business outcomes.

Explore the complete set of announcements across Microsoft Fabric and Azure Databases in today’s blog from Arun Ulagaratchagan, Executive Vice President of Azure Data.

The post New Microsoft data innovations unlock what only your business knows appeared first on The Official Microsoft Blog.

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Your phone is AI’s newest hardware

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Ryan sits down with Div Garg, CEO at AGI Inc., to talk about running AI agents entirely on mobile devices, optimizing models for edge computing chips, and building safety mechanisms into autonomous app interactions.
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Raspberry Pi Smart Display Module available now at $30

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Back in January, we introduced the Raspberry Pi Smart Display Module, an adapter board for Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 that is designed to deliver high-quality, low-power display experiences for digital signage and other visual applications. Today, we are delighted to announce that the Smart Display Module is available to buy now from our global network of Approved Resellers.

The Raspberry Pi Smart Display Module was developed in collaboration with Sharp Display Solutions Europe and works with any display or device that supports products conforming to the Intel® Smart Display Module (SDM) specification. It provides cost-effective performance with 4K video playback and is fully compatible with numerous content management systems that already support Raspberry Pi 5 or Compute Module 5.

By slotting into compatible displays, the Smart Display Module offers a fully integrated solution with internal connections for power, video, audio, data, and control interfaces. It also features an on-board M.2 expansion slot for optional high-speed storage or AI acceleration when paired with a Hailo processor or other compatible AI accelerators.

Fanless and silent, it is ideal for customers looking for a dependable solution for continuous 24/7 operation. It is perfect for applications such as flight information display systems (FIDS), wayfinding, and retail and corporate signage. When paired with projectors that support Intel SDM, the Smart Display Module can be used to power visual applications including exhibits and immersive experiences.

Don’t just take our word for it

Since we showcased the Raspberry Pi Smart Display Module at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in Barcelona in February, there has been a lot of interest in the product, with a number of companies taking it for a test drive. Media Looper, a managed digital signage service for small businesses, tested the Smart Display Module with a Sharp display for three months and was extremely happy with its performance and form factor. Founder Jon McIntosh said:

“It does everything our Raspberry Pi 5 does, with no cable, power supply, or bracket for a customer to disturb. We would deploy it as our default for any customer whose display has an SDM slot.“

Get yours today

The Raspberry Pi Smart Display Module is priced at $30 and is available to buy now from our network of Raspberry Pi Approved Resellers. Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 is sold separately.

If you’d like to learn more about the Smart Display Module or companies that support the SDM form factor, please get in touch with our sales team via the contact form on our website.

The post Raspberry Pi Smart Display Module available now at $30 appeared first on Raspberry Pi.

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The Agile Team Split Between Seniors and Juniors | Pankaj Kumar

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Pankaj Kumar: The Agile Team Split Between Seniors and Juniors

Read the full Show Notes and search through the world's largest audio library on Agile and Scrum directly on the Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast website: http://bit.ly/SMTP_ShowNotes.

 

"We have to focus not on individual tasks, but the team goals. Shared goals." - Pankaj Kumar

 

Pankaj describes a team that had all the ingredients for friction: senior people with deep experience, junior people who needed support, and a Sprint Goal that required everyone to move together. The weak signal showed up in the retrospective. The junior team members were quiet, and the seniors were implicitly treating mentoring as work that did not help them. Pankaj started with one-on-one conversations to understand what was behind the silence. Then he reframed mentoring around the team outcome. The senior people were not being asked to "lose time" helping juniors. They were being asked to build the capability the whole team needed to deliver. He also pointed out that learning flows both ways: junior team members often bring fresh technical knowledge that experienced people have not yet seen. By pairing senior and junior people on shared tasks, the team started to build trust, empathy, and confidence. The result was visible outside the team too. Stakeholders could see the difference in sprint reviews when the team showed up with more alignment.

 

In this segment, we talk about team dynamics, psychological safety, and mentoring.

 

Self-reflection Question: Where is your team still optimizing for individual tasks when the real need is a shared outcome?

Featured Book of the Week: Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch

Pankaj mentions several leadership books that shaped his thinking, including Start With Why by Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek, and Stay Hungry Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal. The one that stayed with him most was Straight from the Gut by Jack Welch. What connected the book to his Scrum Master work was the push against bureaucracy and the image of building a speedboat instead of a large, slow ship. For Pankaj, that linked directly to empowered teams, fast learning, and the Scrum Master responsibility to help people move from hierarchy into ownership.

 

[The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

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Angela thought she was just there to coach a team. But now, she's caught in the middle of a corporate espionage drama that could make or break the future of digital banking. Can she help the team regain their mojo and outwit their rivals, or will the competition crush their ambitions? As alliances shift and the pressure builds, one thing becomes clear: this isn't just about the product—it's about the people.

 

🚨 Will Angela's coaching be enough? Find out in Shift: From Product to People—the gripping story of high-stakes innovation and corporate intrigue.

 

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[The Scrum Master Toolbox Podcast Recommends]

 

About Pankaj Kumar

 

Pankaj Kumar is an experienced Scrum Master and Agile Coach with over 18 years in IT. He helps teams adopt Agile ways of working, improve collaboration, remove impediments, and deliver value consistently. He facilitates Scrum ceremonies, coaches teams and stakeholders, and supports Agile transformation across organizations.

 

You can link with Pankaj Kumar on LinkedIn.





Download audio: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/scrummastertoolbox/20260929_Pankaj_Kumar_Tue.mp3?dest-id=246429
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Why are ships called 'she'?

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1224. This week, we look at why English speakers call ships "she," even when the ship is named Henry. Then we have a follow-up on "maxxing" from two listeners, including its roots in 1990s gaming and a cameo in the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" theme song.


The ships segment was written by Karen Lunde. Find her on igofirst.org.


A hearty thank-you to our Keepers of the Commas on Patreon. We appreciate your support!

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🔗 Share your familect recording in Speakpipe or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475)

🔗 Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

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Download audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6ab190d71fc066503dd6e33a/media.mp3
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The Real Risks of AI Agents

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From: AIDailyBrief
Duration: 25:44
Views: 4,260

AI agents don’t have to pose an existential threat to cause serious disruption. NLW examines recent OpenAI security incidents, the limits of agent permissions, and how agents doing exactly what users want could upend systems built around human friction. In the headlines: US-China AI talks, Trump meets Dario Amodei, and new agent features from Google and Microsoft.

The AI Daily Brief helps you understand the most important news and discussions in AI.
Subscribe to the podcast version of The AI Daily Brief wherever you listen: https://pod.link/1680633614
Get it ad free at http://patreon.com/aidailybrief
Learn more about the show https://aidailybrief.ai/

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