By Jim Lundy
Microsoft Ignite in Two Words: CoPilots and GPUs
If Microsoft did anything at this year’s Ignite conference it was to double down on AI in a big way. Ignite was all about the different flavors of CoPilot it is in the process of rolling out.
Microsoft also announced they are getting into the GPU game. This blog discusses the key takeaways from Microsoft Ignite 2023.
Nvidia Shortages Mean Microsoft GPUs
Microsoft is getting into the GPU business – partly due to supply chain issues with its partner nVidia. While one could argue that Microsoft is late to the GPU business, it is still very early in the AI era, so this will not hurt Microsoft at all – save for Amazon poking fun at them.
The Azure Maia 100 AI Accelerator is the new GPU from Microsoft and it is expected to see shipments to Microsoft Azure Data Centers in Q1 2024. We would note that while this is a very positive move for Microsoft, they are late when compared to similar efforts from Amazon and Google.
The Azure Cobalt 100 CPU is a new general-purpose offering to handle more routine processing (meaning non-AI workloads). Going forward, Microsoft customers should understand the hardware footprint and the costs of what their applications are running on.
Liquid Cooling is a Trend
Like Google, which just announced its liquid-cooled TPU v5p, Microsoft’s new Server Rack design enables liquid cooling for racks that have Azure Maia 100 Processors. So with continued focus on GPUs, Aragon is declaring that we have entered the GPU Computing era.
The New Azure Maia 100 Processor.
Microsoft CoPilot – Available for Microsoft Enterprise Customers Only
It’s important to understand what the meaning of enterprise customers is. For Microsoft its new copilot for Microsoft 6365 is generally available, but only for Microsoft 365 enterprise customers. For smaller firms such as Aragon Research, you can’t currently buy Microsoft 365 copilot.
Microsoft CoPilot for 365 looks better and more precise than when it was shown during the announcement last spring. That is because so many customers have been using it. New capabilities allow for custom preferences on formatting, style, and tone based on your writing and slide styles. CoPilot preferences will be available initially in Microsoft. Word and PowerPoint.
I’d also note that we have demonstrated newer versions of other Intelligent Assistants and there will be much higher satisfaction starting with the rollouts of these new versions in 2024.
CoPilot for Teams – Coming in 2024
For Microsoft Teams, Copilot, when available, will become a meeting assistant so it can take notes and action items. It can also catch a user up on what they missed if they are late in joining the meeting. It offers a ‘recap’ feature for people who want to see what happened during a meeting (it assumes they have permission to view the recap).
Microsoft CoPilot Studio For Customizing
Microsoft is allowing customers to customize Microsoft CoPilot using the new CoPilot Studio. This allows other data sources to be tapped including SAP, Workday, ServiceNow, and others.
Azure OpenAI Service
The Microsoft Azure Open AI Service is Microsoft’s answer to the security issues faced by Open AI. Microsoft assures customers that they have a security layer. New at Ignite is the preview of GPT-4 Turbo and GPT 3.5 Turbo. GPT-4 has a maximum of 128,000 tokens and can generate 4096 output tokens. It knows up to April 2023. GPT 3.5 Turbo has 16,385 tokens and can generate 4096 output tokens.
For readers, a token is a collection of words. In Aragon’s perspective, tokens can be thought of as a piece of knowledge. A set of tokens, which is a technical meaning for a set of knowledge or what Aragon calls a Knowledge Lake.
Microsoft Azure AI Studio
Like Amazon and Google, Microsoft Azure is all about providing a platform as a service so that enterprises can develop their own capabilities and AI applications. Azure AI Studio allows enterprises to build test and deploy AI solutions using state-of-the-art Microsoft and 3rd party LLM. In a word, Azure AI Studio is about getting customers to develop Generative AI apps using Azure.
The New AI Wars Are Here
Since OpenAI stunned the world in December 2022, there has been a race to develop compelling Generative AI-based Services. Microsoft is right at the forefront of this race and it is battling Google and Amazon. All three providers are being nice to Nvidia one of the critical suppliers of GPUs. 2024 will see more product announcements than ever before as Intelligent Assistants are launched in nearly every product category.
Bottom Line
Microsoft has doubled down on its focus on AI and the resulting Copilot-based Services it is rolling out. While it is late to market with its own GPU-based processors, it is not too late. With the rise of the new era of GPU computing, Microsoft is well positioned in both Services and its new CoPilot Assistants, as well as Search. However, the AI race is on and there will be winners and losers.
Get Ready for 2024 with Aragon’s 2024 Q1 Research Agenda!
Wednesday, January 17th, 2024 at 10 AM PT | 1 PM ET
Aragon Research’s 2024 Q1 Agenda
Aragon Research provides the strategic insights and advice you need to help your business navigate disruption and outperform your goals. Our research is designed to help you understand the technologies that will impact your business–using a number of trusted research methodologies that have been proven to help organizations like yours get to business outcomes faster.
On Wednesday, January 17th, 2024, join Aragon Research CEO and Lead Analyst, Jim Lundy for a complimentary webinar as they walk you through Aragon’s Q1 2024 research agenda.
This webinar will cover:
- Aragon’s coverage areas, analysts, and services
- Research offered by Aragon, including Visual Research
- The research agenda for Q1 2024
- Sneak peek at what’s coming in Q2 2024