Microsoft has introduced around 100 new services and updates as part of its AI-forward strategy, including key developments within its productivity and security offerings.
The announcement was made at Microsoft Ignite 2023, the company’s annual conference for developers and IT professionals.
The company noted that nearly every industry in Africa is undergoing a collective transformation, with estimates that AI could expand the economy by as much as 50 percent of current GDP by 2030 if the continent could capture just 10 percent of the global AI market.
Forward-thinking organisations and enterprising startups alike are discovering entirely new ways of working and harnessing the power of AI to address some of society’s most daunting challenges — from improving access to quality legal services in South Africa to extending the reach of healthcare professionals in low-resourced communities in Nigeria.
Microsoft Ignite is a showcase of the advances being developed to help customers, partners and developers achieve the total value of Microsoft’s technology and reshape the way work is done.
There are strong signals of AI’s potential to transform work across the continent. As it stands, more than half of employees in Africa and the Middle East say they would change their minds about seeking out a new job if their current employer invested in new technology like automation.
Eight months ago, Microsoft introduced Copilot for Microsoft 365 to reduce digital debt and increase productivity so people can focus on the work that is uniquely human. Already, the company’s research, from a combination of surveys and experiments, demonstrates significant productivity gains.
70 percent of Copilot users said they were more productive, and 68 percent said it improved the quality of their work; 68 percent said it helped jumpstart the creative process.
Overall, users were 29 percent faster at specific tasks (searching, writing and summarising).
The company’s latest announcements are geared towards helping accelerate existing progress, enabling faster and more profound transformation across sectors.
Microsoft has led groundbreaking advances like partnerships with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT capabilities into tools used to search, collaborate, work and learn. As we accelerate further into AI, Microsoft is rethinking cloud infrastructure to ensure optimisation across every layer of the hardware and software stack.
Microsoft Azure Maia, an AI Accelerator chip designed to run cloud-based training and inferencing for AI workloads such as OpenAI models, Bing, GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT.
Microsoft Azure Cobalt, a cloud-native chip based on Arm architecture optimised for performance, power efficiency, and cost-effectiveness for general-purpose workloads.
The company, concluded, that it is combining the power of leading solutions in SIEM, XDR and generative AI for security into the first unified security operations platform to help defenders by simplifying the complexity of their environment.
“We are also adding new embedded experiences of Security Copilot across the Microsoft Security portfolio,” it said.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Three energy-rich Gulf Arab nations are racing to turn their influence over Donald Trump into…
"The use of colourful illustrations and imaginative storytelling can significantly attract young readers and stimulate…
He cited the recent 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a conflict…
As someone who has benefitted from homegrown initiatives, I can confidently say that every program…
In a year where blockchain projects are battling for relevance in an increasingly selective market,…
"We expect Russia to confirm a ceasefire – full, lasting, and reliable –
This website uses cookies.