Database, Analytics, and AI/ML

SQL Server 2016/2017 BI Migration: Destinations Point to Power BI March 13, 2026 Power BI or Fabric are Microsoft’s direction for reporting and analysis services unless organizations consider...more Demystifying Microsoft’s Copilots Updated: March 6, 2026 Copilot is an umbrella brand applied to a range of Microsoft technologies, most of which...more M365 Agent Value Could Be Revealed by New Agent Dashboard March 1, 2026 The new Agent Dashboard in Viva Insights shows metrics of deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot-based agents...more Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit Doesn’t Have Copilot Studio Limitations February 24, 2026 The Microsoft 365 Agents Toolkit is for pro developers building AI agents that work with...more The Project Manager Agent Is an Assistant February 9, 2026 The Project Manager agent doesn’t manage projects but can benefit accidental project managers. Using the...more Enhancements Could Break Down Agent Adoption Barriers February 8, 2026 Copilot Studio continues to receive frequent significant updates. The latest round arrived in Nov. 2025,...more What to Use When: Copilot for Office, Agent Mode, and Agents in Office February 6, 2026 Agent Mode introduces chat in Office that directly modifies files but doesn’t support all the...more Maia 200 Aims to Lower AI Inference Costs February 5, 2026 The new generation of Microsoft custom AI silicon offers better price/performance for large-scale inference. It’s...more SQL Server 2016/2017 Database Migration: So Many Choices January 26, 2026 Organizations should develop plans to migrate off SQL Server 2016/2017 before the end of Extended support.  Migrating the database is likely the largest task but is manageable and less...more Microsoft IQ: Look at the Details, Not the Branding January 24, 2026 Microsoft IQ is a marketing term, not a product. It encompasses a combination of new...more Work IQ Models Work for Microsoft 365 Copilot January 22, 2026 Work IQ is the latest service to analyze Microsoft 365 tenant data for work patterns...more M365 Copilot Adds Choice (and Risk) with Anthropic’s Claude January 20, 2026 Microsoft has partnered with Anthropic, adding its Claude models to Microsoft 365 Copilot (M365 Copilot)....more Top Reasons to Use SQL Server 2025 and a Few Reasons to Avoid It January 14, 2026 SQL Server 2025 reached general availability in Nov. 2025 and offers compelling changes that should...more Foundry Gets New Name, Anthropic Models January 12, 2026 Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft’s Web-based tool for professional developers building AI-powered applications and agents, is...more Visual Studio 2026 Smooths AI Integration, First of Annual Releases Updated: January 11, 2026 Visual Studio 2026, Microsoft’s flagship development product, became generally available in Nov. 2025, and major...more Executive Focus: Valuing M365 Copilot   January 6, 2026 Assessing the ROI of M365 Copilot is difficult; but AI could soon be like e-mail—a...more

Server Application Version Support March 17, 2026 GitHub Copilot Tier Comparison June 3, 2025 Navigating Microsoft’s Copilots Updated: May 11, 2025

  Product Reference Viva Insights Viva Insights is a Teams-based application that provides employees with information to help improve work...more   Product Reference Azure OpenAI Service Azure OpenAI service enables developers to use large language models (LLMs) developed by OpenAI (a...more   Product Reference Microsoft Search Microsoft Search is the enterprise search engine for Microsoft 365   Licensing Reference Azure OpenAI Service An Azure service that enables developers to use large language models (LLMs) developed by OpenAI...more   Product Reference OneLake OneLake is the core data management component in Microsoft Fabric. It can host and query...more   Licensing Reference OneLake   Licensing Reference Data Lake Storage Cost optimization requires aligning storage tiers, redundancy, and transactions with access patterns.   Licensing Reference Fabric Data Engineering   Licensing Reference Fabric Data Factory   Licensing Reference Fabric Data Science   Licensing Reference Fabric Data Warehouse   Licensing Reference Fabric Real-Time Intelligence   Licensing Reference SQL Server Technology A limited use copy of SQL Server distributed with System Center, Azure DevOps Server, and...more   Product Reference Microsoft 365 Copilot New M365 Copilot features and Anthropic. Copilot Chat is moved to its own Product entry.   Product Reference Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat M365 Copilot Chat (unlicensed) is separated from M365 Copilot (licensed)   Licensing Reference Copilot Studio Copilot Studio provides makers (also known as citizen developers) with low-code tools to build agents...more

Database, Analytics, and AI/ML Roadmap

Copilot   Fabric