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Microsoft partners at Money20/20 USA 

Microsoft was proud to showcase powerful partnerships at Money20/20 USA, featuring many partner solutions driving AI transformation in the financial services industry.  

This included a suite of compelling demos from Microsoft partners including Temenos, Accenture-Avanade, Infosys, Backbase, Symphony AI, and Zafin. Accenture-Avanade demonstrated their Relationship Manager agent, which can improve relationship management across sales and services by freeing up capacity and enhancing client interaction quality. Additionally, Infosys’s Smart Agent and Smart Bank Assist showcased improvements to banking experiences for both employees and customers.  

Microsoft partners, including Cognizant, EY, Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), Personetics, D-iD, Integrate AI, and others, participated in theater sessions at the Microsoft booth. They presented their thought leadership around the most compelling AI-enabled use cases and deployment methods within banking and financial services. Additionally, Microsoft-sponsored panels with NVIDIA and BNY uncovered practical tips and considerations for scaling and deploying the latest AI technologies, further positioning Microsoft partners as thought leaders in the AI space. 

These collaborations reflect the Microsoft commitment to empowering partners to drive impactful, AI-powered solutions that help customers achieve their business goals and transform the future of financial services. 

Partners leading the way in delivering real-world AI value for financial services  

Taking a page from our Money20/20 USA presence, we’d like to share compelling examples where our partners are using AI to transform the banking experience, empower employees, help manage risk and compliance, and modernize core banking. These partnerships are not just exploring the possibilities of AI—they’re delivering concrete, measurable outcomes in the financial services space today.  

Transforming the banking experience 

Partners are transforming the banking experience by unlocking opportunities to enhance customer engagement. Backbase is delivering more compelling customer experiences around omni-channel for banking and wealth management based on their Engagement Banking Platform powered by Microsoft Azure AI. Capgemini, the Microsoft Global Financial Services Partner of the Year, has also driven AI innovation on the Microsoft platform, improving productivity and elevating the customer experience at financial services organizations worldwide.

“Capgemini and Microsoft have collaborated on enhancing business processes with Copilot Studio and Azure OpenAI Service, helping banks and insurers better serve their customers. For instance, Capgemini recently helped a major Global bank streamline and accelerate its customer onboarding process with Microsoft Intelligent Document Processing, using AI Builder for structured documents and Azure OpenAI Service for unstructured documents. These technologies have saved an enormous amount of time developing impactful solutions for our customers.”

Vivek Desai, VP and Global Head, Microsoft CoE for Financial Services.

Additionally, global financial services solutions provider, VeriPark, is advancing custom agents that span 40 use cases across corporate and retail banking. 

 “[Collaboration] allows us to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions that not only enhance operational efficiency but also empower banks to provide personalized, real-time services to their clients.”

Özkan Erener, CEO, Veripark 

Empowering employees 

There are also meaningful opportunities for AI to empower banking employees to be more effective trusted advisors to their customers. Using Microsoft Fabric and Copilot, Finastra’s Assist.AI, powered by Azure OpenAI, is boosting trade finance employee productivity with intelligent features that enable users to better prioritize and more efficiently complete everyday lending tasks. In addition, Tata Consulting Services (TCS) is modernizing how they engage with customers via an agent designed to optimize communication between banks and their users across all customer engagement channels. 

Managing risk and compliance 

When it comes to mitigating risk and crime, partners are delivering new intelligent approaches. ASC is providing institutions with more decision-making power around managing fraud and risk, while SymphonyAI is consolidating enterprise-wide risk and compliance across their Sensa Investigation hub solution, powered by Microsoft Azure and Azure Open AI. Additionally, partners like Holistic AI are helping customers such as Mapfre identify and mitigate risks associated with AI, while harnessing their data to ensure transparency, fairness, and compliance.  

Modernizing core systems 

Microsoft partners are also using AI in the mission-critical task of modernizing payments and core banking for greater efficiency, transparency, and high-value outcomes such as unlocking new revenue streams, reducing operational costs, and enhancing customer satisfaction. Temenos is delivering banking-specific solutions to provide agility, security, and innovation—to help banking customers reduce operational costs and uphold responsible AI standards via their commitment to explainability, secure operations, and safe deployment practices. Zafin advanced their leading software-as-a-service transformation and modernization platform for banks with Azure AI; this includes their de-risked implementation process that generates a 50% reduction in time to market¹. 

“The introduction of generative AI and Microsoft Fabric from a data standpoint are crucial…”

Chris Dickin, Executive Vice President, Zafin 

Additionally, the collaboration among Microsoft, our partner Quantexa, and European bank Novo Banco has delivered advanced banking data estate modernization in the era of AI. 

Learn more about financial services solutions from Microsoft 

Whether you joined us in person at Money20/20 to see the latest AI innovations from Microsoft and our partners, or are just now discovering the difference our technologies and partners are making in the industry, we invite you to collaborate with us on your own transformative AI experiences. 

• Learn more about Microsoft solutions in the financial services industry and our work with key partners by visiting Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services.  
• Learn how our partners are delivering industry-specific solutions faster with Microsoft Industry Clouds. 
• Visit our Solutions Partner learning path (which includes Microsoft Learn documentation, a playbook, and FAQs), and explore related financial services stories in our financial services industry blog.

¹Zafin launches Zafin IO and Zafin Data Fabric, a new offering to accelerate banking transformationThis offering will simplify integration processes, cut core modernization risks to support uninterrupted banking transformation, all while breaking down data silos and unlocking the power of banks’ first-party data – Zafin

The post Beyond Money20/20 USA: Microsoft partners redefining financial services appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

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A growing need to transform security

Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) at power companies know this reality well. They’re tasked with managing a complicated portfolio while protecting against cyber risks from both insiders and nation-state actors. Left unresolved, these challenges create a ripple effect across the enterprise and lead to issues like:   

• Increasingly complex environments: Widespread digital adoption combined with evolving customer preferences, decentralized energy generation, and a changing workforce are driving utility providers to rethink their services and business models to help increase flexibility and maintain a resilient grid. In a recent survey conducted by Guidehouse and Public Utilities Fortnightly, 61% of respondents agreed that increasing flexibility to improve energy system resilience is the highest priority outcome for utility investments today.²
• Tool fatigue: Many power companies work with hundreds of disparate management tools that are costly to manage and limited in cross-visibility. These tools must be integrated and maintained by teams with the right skillsets. As tools are added or replaced and personnel come and go, companies face the inevitable costs of re-skilling and new integrations.
• Technical debt: While many utilities are designing new solutions in support of energy transition and the grid of the future, they still rely heavily on legacy infrastructures that carry significant tech debt. These legacy systems increase cybersecurity and operational risks as well as operational expenses through extended support costs, timelines, and integration complexities. Research shows companies pay an additional 10 to 20% to address tech debt on top of project base costs.³  

Modernizing infrastructure is costly and not easily adaptable as the risk landscape evolves. In fact, 59% of cybersecurity teams identify integration of legacy operational technology (OT) and modern information technology (IT) systems as their biggest challenge to securing OT.⁴ If you’re a CISO, how do you solve the challenge of securing both IT and OT against modern and fast-changing threats? 

The answer is to work with technology partners who not only understand threat actors around the world, but who also recognize the business risks and operational concerns across the industry. 

Increasing security and efficiency without sacrificing value 

With a unified security stack running on the Microsoft Cloud, utilities can significantly reduce the number of tools they manage every day for lower costs, time-savings, and better insight into IT and OT environments.  

For example, Turkish energy provider Enerjisa Üretim partnered with Senkron.Energy Digital Services to build Senkron ROC, a remote operations center that represents a critical piece of becoming cloud-native. Knowing that a single cyberthreat could shut down operations, Enerjisa Üretim also established its Operational Technology-Specific Security Operation Center (OT SOC), which relies on Microsoft Defender for IoT and Microsoft Sentinel to operate around the clock and process 3.3 million security events daily.   

The IBM Maximo Application Suite on Azure for asset operations and maintenance is another example. High performance and ultra-low latency combined with the multi-layered security capabilities of the Microsoft Azure stack provide a foundation for secure analytics that boost operational resiliency and reliability. With those advanced security features, utility providers can scale their operations to handle varying workloads without compromising operational security.  

Security solutions to meet your needs 

With Microsoft Security services, customers can leverage the latest technologies and deep industry understanding to enhance their security posture today. Microsoft Defender for IoT offers a complete inventory and continuous monitoring of connected assets across vendors and protocols; Microsoft Purview can secure and govern data across your entire estate while helping to reduce risk and meet compliance requirements; and Microsoft Sentinel provides enterprise-grade intelligent security analytics that help detect previously undetected threats and minimize false positives.  

Microsoft security solutions can also offer improvements across key use cases, including: 

• Augmentation of security operations centers (SOCs): Microsoft security solutions empower SOCs with cloud-native capabilities that enable faster detection and response times—even automating entire responses to security events. Machine learning, AI, and advanced analytics perform the heavy lifting so SOC workers can clarify what’s happening in the SOC environment and focus on the highest-priority events. Our unified security platform eases tool fatigue in SOCs with solutions that work together seamlessly for optimal visibility and efficiency. Solutions such as Microsoft Defender Experts for XDR and Microsoft Incident Response allow for expanded capabilities to support the SOC analysts in their mission.
• Business continuity and disaster recovery: Microsoft security solutions provide automated backup processes that are both scalable and cost-effective, and they can be integrated with on-premise data protection solutions. Our solutions include features like encryption and multi-factor authentication, which protect data during the backup and recovery process and help keep sensitive information secure. This holistic approach helps utility organizations quickly recover from data loss incidents, minimizing downtime and maintaining business continuity. 

Supporting the energy customer and partner ecosystem for a secure future 

To support continued innovation in data security and cloud adoption, we collaborated with the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and the Department of Energy’s Grid Deployment Office on an initiative for seamless integration of cloud technology into the grid of the future. Now in its pilot phase, the Cirrus cloud feasibility assessment tool (Cirrus) offers strategic guidance on how to prepare for, or deploy, a cloud solution responsibly, with the ultimate objective to strengthen the resilience and future adaptability of a decarbonized electric grid.  

Built on the security and reliability of Azure, the online version of Cirrus is also accessible through independent platforms with a license. The tool provides valuable insights to integrators, stakeholders, and operators by clarifying goals, future plans, and risk tolerance.  

With visual outputs like key performance indicator (KPI) graphs and consequence diagrams, Cirrus offers contextualized understanding, helping users prioritize critical systems and data based on potential benefits and risks associated with cloud disruptions. Additionally, Cirrus incorporates threat detection and alerts, leveraging Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) principles to empower organizations to make risk-informed decisions and address high-consequence events. 

Opportunities on the horizon with AI 

It’s an exciting time for the industry as AI creates tremendous potential for energy companies to increase their security posture.  

Imagine equipping workers with Microsoft Copilot for Security to help them identify threats earlier, build their risk mitigation skills, and respond to incidents faster. What took hours or days to complete can now be finished in minutes with AI. The efficiency is about more than labor costs. Every minute that goes by gives attackers more opportunity to wreak havoc across the board.  

With AI advancements analyzing trillions of security signals daily, together we can build a safer, more resilient digital energy ecosystem.  

Learn more with Microsoft for energy and resources 

Ready to dive deeper? Don’t miss our webinar, Rethinking cybersecurity in a renewable-powered energy system on October 10, 2024, where we will be sharing how leading energy companies are using the power of technology to safeguard their businesses. Read more about the webinar and sign up to attend.  

• Visit the Microsoft for energy and resources page.
• Read the Microsoft Industry Blogs: Energy and resources blog to learn about themes and actions critical for energy transition.
• Learn about Microsoft security solutions.
• Read more from the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2023.
• Check out the Microsoft Defender family of products.
• Visit our Microsoft Copilot for Security Blog.
• Sign up for news and insights from Microsoft Security.

¹ Microsoft Digital Defense Report, October 2023.

² The Power Industry: Presently and Projected, Guidehouse, July 2024.

³ Breaking technical debt’s vicious cycle to modernize your business, McKinsey & Company, April 2023.

⁴ How is cyber innovation disrupting the energy sector and critical infrastructure?, World Economic Forum, October 2023.

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The goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 requires tremendous investment and rapid innovation. From solutions that optimize grid management and carbon capture and storage to more sustainable, resilient mines, AI technologies can help address the biggest challenges in the complex, multidimensional global energy transition.  

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Accelerate the clean energy roadmap with new AI innovation 

We’re proud to share some highlights from the past year, starting with the announcement that Cognite is Microsoft Partner of the Year 2024. Cognite and finalists Scheider Electric, Accenture-Avanade, and Kongsberg exemplify the new wave of innovation currently transforming the energy sector.  

Cognite is integrating new AI advances shared at last year’s Ignite event, including Microsoft Fabric and expanded Microsoft Copilot experiences. In January 2024, Microsoft and Cognite announced a collaboration that integrates flagship product Cognite Data Fusion with Microsoft Fabric and Azure OpenAI Service. Cognite AI is a prebuilt, comprehensive AI architecture specifically designed for energy and resource companies to deliver a faster path to implementing AI. Cognite Data Fusion incorporates AI across the data stack from generative AI-powered contextualization to an intuitive natural language Copilot interface embedded in day-to-day tools. Most recently, Cognite announced a new solution, Cognite Atlas AI which brings context augmentation generation to Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, pushing the boundaries of what language models can do for industrial organizations

Schneider Electric continues making an impact with solutions that accelerate digital transformation and sustainability. Built on Azure, the Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Grid solution portfolio shows the company’s commitment to a more digital and electric world, and together with its Grid Operations Platform as a Service, supports the growth of distributed energy resources, microgrids, energy communities, and other flexible resources across digitally planned, designed and operated lifecycles. AVEVA, part of Schneider Electric, also uses Microsoft technology to help accelerate the energy transition and support long-term decarbonization with a cloud-native industrial data and application platform to give energy companies a digital backbone to unlock, contextualize, and share data for better decision making and more profitable and efficient operations. 

Driving more sustainable, efficient operations in asset-heavy industries, Kongsberg leverages the Microsoft Cloud and AI for its Industrial Work Surface, an industrial metaverse that includes mixed reality and digital twins. The solution is designed to help energy companies improve decision-making, maximize business performance, and drive value across the organization—in support of the world’s growing demand for more secure, equitable, and sustainable energy.

Microsoft partners SLB, Halliburton, and Accenture are also innovating with Microsoft Azure Data Manager for Energy, a secure, reliable, hyperscale and fully managed cloud-based data platform service. Customers can speed toward goals by taking advantage of easy interoperability across an extensible application ecosystem. They can integrate virtually any dataset, application, or cloud service while leveraging the applications they already use from SLB, Halliburton, Accenture, and many others. The platform is expanding to new regions and offers a new developer tier pricing to increase accessibility for more partners and customers. 

We are also pleased to announce EY as the Sustainability Changemaker for the second year in a row. Creating customer tools built on Microsoft technology has positioned EY as a leader in sustainability consulting within the energy sector. With EY’s tailored solutions, decision-makers in the energy industry can now oversee transformations across their enterprises, leveraging technology and data to modernize governance structures, tackle industry-specific risks, meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) obligations, and deliver value for both their organizations and their stakeholders. These solutions provide a comprehensive view into energy demand, verifiable and assured value chain data, and sustainability performance management, enabling energy companies to achieve their sustainability goals and enhance operational efficiency.

Sharing thought leadership at industry events 

You can learn more about Microsoft and partner innovations at Microsoft Ignite either online or in person in Chicago on November 18 to 22, 2024. This is the first Ignite event to include both customers and partners, and we hope you’ll join us to celebrate our partners and learn more about how the latest advances in AI are delivering business value to our energy customers. 

The Microsoft Energy and Resources Industry team is also excited to connect with customers and partners at upcoming events including the ONS conference in Stavanger on August 26 to 29, 2024 and the SLB Digital Forum 2024 in Monaco on September 16 to 19, 2024. These events will feature how new developments in AI and other digital technologies are transforming energy systems for a more secure, equitable, and sustainable energy future. You can always anticipate exciting news at the SLB Digital forum, where two years ago SLB announced the availability of the SLB Enterprise Data Solution, a comprehensive data management toolkit built on Azure Data Manager for Energy. The innovation is a result of the expanded strategic partnership between SLB and Microsoft, includes enhancements to Azure Data Manager for Energy, and a carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiative with Northern Lights joint venture to support global climate goals by accelerating development of scalable, cost-effective solutions for the CCS value-chain. 

Energizing the energy transition with new startups 

The climate crisis affects people globally, and an inclusive startup ecosystem is critical for helping ensure that solutions have far-reaching benefits. We are proud to support underrepresented startup founders at events like CERAWeek and through programs such as Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders Program (ACCEL) from Greentown Labs, Browning the Green Space, and the Energy Transition Studio for Startups which we launched this year in cooperation with high-growth climate tech companies FlexDAO, Line Vision, and Utilidata. The program is designed to empower energy transition startups worldwide, and we are pleased to welcome six more companies to the first cohort, including Carbon Guardian, GridBeyond, Hygenox, IEMS, Noda Intelligent Systems, and Norwegian Hydrogen.

Investing in sustainable AI 

In addition to supporting startups, we are also engaging in strategic regional partnerships to help ensure a sustainable future and equitable access to energy and digital technologies for everyone. Microsoft is investing $1.5 billion in G42, a leading AI company based in Abu Dhabi, to co-innovate and deliver advanced AI solutions with Azure across the Middle East, central Asia, and Africa. Microsoft and G42 are partnering to invest $1 billion in a data center and Kenya, which will be powered by geothermal energy and give east Africa access to Microsoft Azure. Other global investments include a $2.2 billion investment in Malaysia’s cloud and AI transformation, and a significant commitment to enable a cloud and AI-powered future for Thailand. 

Unlocking the transformative potential of AI for sustainability also requires best practices for investment, digital and data infrastructure, resource usage—such as Microsoft’s deal with Brookfield Asset Management to invest more than $10 billion on renewable energy capacity to power data centers—policy and governance, and workforce development. To learn more about AI enablement, read the Microsoft AI and Sustainability Playbook. We are also investing in the sustainability of AI itself, with projects to optimize datacenter energy and water efficiency. 

Partnerships to advance our energy future 

This blog reflects the power of partnership and the growing importance and potential for AI in the energy industry and beyond. This has been a year of exciting change, with groundbreaking advances like the launch of Copilot+ PCs—from both Microsoft and our OEM ecosystem—partnership with OpenAI, and a rethinking of our cloud infrastructure to optimize performance and energy efficiency. 

Microsoft Copilot continues to evolve, with innovations that include the world’s first Copilot in both CRM and ERP with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Copilot. Chevron is already using Copilot in Dynamics 365 Guides to transform frontline operations and optimize its operations, empower workers, and infuse informed decisions throughout its value chain. 

Success stories like these remind us once again that people working together are at the heart of every broad-sweeping, foundational transformation. The world’s complex energy challenges demand global collaboration as we advance toward a more secure, equitable, and sustainable future in an ever-evolving ecosystem of innovation.  

Learn more about Microsoft Energy and Resources solutions 

• Energy and resources – Microsoft Industry Blogs 
• Microsoft energy partner webinar series 
• Microsoft AI solutions  
• Microsoft Azure AI services  
• Microsoft Intelligent Data Platform   

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The severity of cyberattacks has grown exponentially in the past decade, with nation-states and criminal organizations frequently targeting the financial services sector, sometimes to devastating effect. These threats have prompted government and industry leaders to undertake deep evaluations of cyber security practices, which in turn have generated a set of upcoming regulations that firms must now prepare for. Designed to enhance resiliency through greater transparency and cooperation across the value chain, these important regulations have significant implications for how firms manage technology and engage with regulators. 

Helping financial services businesses become more secure in a world of escalating threats is an area of special focus for Microsoft Cloud for Financial Services. We’re working closely with customers, governments, and stakeholders across the industry to strengthen cybersecurity technologies and practices to protect against future attacks. This is a critical responsibility, and very much in line with our commitment to making security the top priority at Microsoft, above all else.

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The impact of cyberattacks on financial services resilience 

The resilience of financial services has been strained by the evolving cyber threat landscape in recent years, as attackers have employed ever more sophisticated tools and techniques to penetrate business networks and operations.  

For example, when nation-state cyber attackers compromised the widely used SolarWinds Orion IT monitoring and management platform in 2019, they were able to operate undetected for months. By the time the breach was discovered, the damage was far reaching, with billions of dollars in economic losses and an untold espionage impact.¹ This and other incidents have prompted industry leaders and regulators to undertake a comprehensive re-evaluation of cybersecurity practices in order to identify and address key areas of improvement. One of these concerns the risk posed by third-party suppliers, in the form of what is called a “supply chain attack.” This is what happened with SolarWinds, where a trusted technology provider was exploited to send malicious code downstream to unsuspecting customers, underscoring how a successful attack on just one link of the chain can have global repercussions.  

The financial services sector, which increasingly relies on cloud computing to innovate, has sharpened its focus on mitigating these and other third-party risks with new regulatory frameworks.  

New regulations and frameworks for greater cyber resilience  

Aiming to improve cyber security and strengthen resilience overall, regulators around the world are developing guidelines that impact many financial services companies. Below are some of the most prominent ones:  

• DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act): A European Union regulation that establishes a framework designed to strengthen and harmonize risk management for financial institutions operating in the European Union. DORA goes into full force on January 17, 2025. 
• United Kingdom consultation paper 26/23: A consultation paper from the Bank of England that outlines proposed requirements for strengthening third-party risk management in the United Kingdom financial sector.  
• United States Department of the Treasury report: An assessment of cloud adoption in financial services, highlighting the importance of strengthening cybersecurity and ensuring proper provider due diligence and monitoring. 
• Financial Stability Board (FSB) toolkit: A recently published toolkit from the FSB that provides tools to manage risks associated with outsourcing and third-party service relationships to both firms and regulators around the world.  

New practices to promote more effective cybersecurity 

The changes mandated by new regulations have broad implications for financial services businesses and the technology providers who support them. Among other things, they incur new obligations around risk governance and management, incident notification, regular operational resilience testing, and pre-contractual screening for third-party service providers.  

These requirements take companies out of the on-premises mindset by which they have traditionally managed cybersecurity. Now they need to expand the horizon of the threat landscape beyond the network perimeter and consider that an attack can originate from vectors far beyond their traditional security purview. Conversely, they must assume zero trust for any entity inside or outside the perimeter—validating each user and device at every turn and providing the least amount of access required to fulfill a task. 

New cybersecurity practices are also required. For example, DORA mandates Threat-led Penetration Testing (TLPT), which involves deploying a team of ethical hackers to simulate sophisticated real-world attacks on critical systems using the tactics, techniques, and procedures of known threat actors. The findings and insights are then shared with regulatory bodies and stakeholders.  

During penetration testing, a distinction is made between testing in the cloud (for example, testing the security of resources deployed by an organization on its own tenant), and testing of the cloud (such as testing the underlying shared cloud fabric and services operated by the provider.) Our Microsoft Cloud Penetration Testing Rules of Engagement already allow customers to extensively test their security in the cloud. Testing security of the cloud is continuously done by Microsoft internal teams, as part of our third-party Pen Test and Security Assessments, and by security researchers through the Microsoft Bug Bounty Programs.  

How Microsoft further helps to enable end-to-end cyber resilience 

An important element of a highly effective cyber security strategy is to minimize the number of independent security vendors that are used by financial services firms. Having too many security suppliers makes it harder to maintain oversight, and limits the ability to correlate suspicious events. By reducing the number of vendors, firms can foster key benefits such as consolidated signal processing and faster incident reporting, which under DORA, must happen in four hours or less for critical incidents.

Fortunately, the maturation of cybersecurity technology has enabled Microsoft to build a comprehensive suite of solutions that collectively enable seamless, end-to-end enterprise cyber defense—at a level that is arguably greater than the sum of its individually excellent parts. The cornerstones for financial services include: 

• Microsoft Sentinel: A cloud-native security information and event management (SIEM) system that enables real-time analysis, detection, and response to security threats—facilitating compliance with incident reporting requirements. 
• Microsoft Defender: An extended detection and response (XDR) security platform that coordinates detection, prevention, investigation, and response across endpoints, identities, email, and applications. 
• Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence: A platform that streamlines threat hunting, incident response, and threat intelligence analyst workflows—making it easier for security teams to neutralize cyberthreats such as ransomware.  
• Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management: A compliance solution to help detect, investigate, and act on malicious and inadvertent activities. 

These and related cybersecurity solutions are enhanced by Microsoft’s ongoing investments in ensuring that Microsoft Azure delivers a highly secure cloud foundation, with multilayered security controls and unique threat intelligence.  

Employing generative AI to advance cybersecurity in financial services 

As much as generative AI has delivered value to financial services and other industry sectors, it has also been a boon to cyber attackers. From small-scale criminal actors to nation-state organizations, AI is increasingly being employed in cyberattacks against financial services businesses.  

Among many other things, generative AI is being used to build and continuously modify malware tailored to specific vulnerabilities in financial services, create new phishing and social engineering attacks featuring fake identities and multimedia messages, and power automated attack execution.  

Fortunately, generative AI is an equally powerful tool for cyber defense. The first and most immediately effective step that firms can make is to evaluate Microsoft Copilot for Security—the first generative AI security product designed to defend businesses at machine speed and scale. It combines the most advanced GPT models from OpenAI with a Microsoft-developed security model, powered by Microsoft’s global threat intelligence and expertise. 

Designed to work seamlessly with a firm’s financial systems and the Microsoft enterprise cybersecurity suite, Copilot for Security offers numerous benefits to streamline and accelerate security operations. For example, it can help manage anomalies and threats, respond rapidly to minimize the impacts of attacks, automate time-intensive routine tasks such as creating security alerts, and much more. 

Importantly, Copilot for Security also helps solve the talent challenge by empowering analysts to become more effective threat hunters and responders without specialized technical training.  

Learn more  

Cybersecurity will only become more essential in enabling financial services innovation and success through technology. Microsoft and our global partners are ready to help every company identify and implement a modern protection strategy that will address their unique needs, today and in the years ahead.  

Here are some useful resources to help you in your cybersecurity journey: 

• To learn more about how Microsoft empowers financial services companies to achieve more, visit our website.  
• For a set of actionable steps to improve operational resilience in financial services with the Microsoft Cloud, see our earlier blog post, “6 steps to improve operational resilience in financial services with the Microsoft Cloud.” 
• To stay updated on Microsoft’s security progress, see the Microsoft Security Blog.
• To learn more about Microsoft’s commitment to the advancement of ethical AI, see the Microsoft responsible AI standard. 
• Discover more information on how Microsoft addresses threat and vulnerability management.
• To review Microsoft’s annual penetration testing reports, visit our Service Trust Portal.

¹ United States Senate RPC, The SolarWinds Cyberattack, January 29, 2021.

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At the heart of this transformation is our global ecosystem of partners and developers who build industry solutions on the Microsoft Cloud. Organizations are only beginning to grasp the full extent of the possibilities that lie ahead to innovate and transform with AI. Microsoft and our partners are investing in industry-specific capabilities to help customers adopt revolutionary AI solutions faster like copilot templates to create AI assistants for high value scenarios and industry data solutions that provide a data and analytics foundation to ensure your data is AI ready. 

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The age of copilots

Copilots, your everyday AI companion that assists with complex cognitive tasks, helps streamline operations, and enhances decision making, are becoming integral to almost every aspect of work and creativity. Powered by advancements in machine learning and natural language processing, copilots are impacting nearly every industry and business function, such as healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and agriculture.  

For example in healthcare, Stanford Medicine is deploying Nuance DAX™ Copilot, an AI assistant that automates clinical documentation such as visit summaries and care instructions, to reduce heavy administrative workloads that lead to physician burnout and expand access to personalized, high-quality care. In a preliminary survey of Stanford Health Care clinicians using DAX Copilot, 78% reported that it expedited clinical notetaking.  

In manufacturing, Volvo Group is using Microsoft Azure AI to streamline invoice and document processing in their customer service and finance departments, which had to process critical internal and customer-facing paperwork in various forms from emails to PDFs and written bills. By extracting data from images, like photographs and stamps, and translating documents to and from multiple languages, Volvo Group is saving more than 850 manual hours per month. 

These success stories are just the beginning. We are also collaborating with industry partners to bring the power of copilots to their workforce and their customers, including LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group) in financial services, Bayer in agriculture, and Siemens in manufacturing.  

LSEG (London Stock Exchange Group), one of the world’s leading providers of financial markets infrastructure with more than 45,000 customers in over 170 countries, is using AI to improve productivity with interoperable, secure, and compliant solutions that help optimize strategies and enable faster data-driven decisions in financial services. By integrating Microsoft Copilot capabilities into existing workflows, LSEG is working with Microsoft to build a new, interoperable solution to streamline meeting preparation for financial services professionals like investment bankers, built directly into Microsoft Teams. This solution makes it easier to discover data, summarize documents, and support investment bankers, making their customer interactions more efficient and informed. 

Additionally, LSEG is creating custom chatbots and copilots within its flagship LSEG Workspace platform that makes it easier to switch to Teams through seamless, end-to-end workflows, enabling interoperability with custom application environments to provide quick answers to financial queries. Capitalizing on AI, LSEG’s solutions will transform the financial services industry by improving productivity and accelerating value creation for customers. 

Bayer, a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of healthcare and agriculture, is piloting a unique generative AI solution for agriculture, trained by Bayer agronomists using proprietary Bayer product data. The solution aims to assist Bayer team members by providing quick and accurate answers and support to agronomy, farm management, and Bayer agricultural product-related questions. The system responds to natural language queries, generating concise, relevant information within seconds, a significant improvement over the traditional time-consuming process of information gathering and synthesizing. AI is quickly becoming an indispensable technology for the agriculture industry, with the potential to serve agronomists and benefit farmers globally. The collaboration with Microsoft as a leading technology partner is enabling exploration of ways to integrate this technology into Bayer’s digital offerings, with broad opportunities for collaboration with other agricultural offerings and partners. 

Siemens is a leading technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, transport, and healthcare. Siemens’ Industrial Copilot is a generative AI-powered assistant designed to enhance human-machine collaboration and boost productivity in manufacturing, exemplifying the transformative solutions and sustainable growth potential of our global partner ecosystem. Siemens Industrial Copilot allows users to rapidly generate, optimize, and debug complex automation code, and significantly shorten simulation times from weeks to minutes. It ingests automation and process simulation information from Siemens’ open digital business platform, Siemens Xcelerator, and is enhanced with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service.  

To find out more about solutions specific to your industry, please visit Microsoft AppSource.  

New copilot templates for retail and sustainability

In our ongoing effort to foster innovation, we are excited to introduce more ways to help you jumpstart your copilot journey. At Microsoft Build 2024, we announced new copilot templates for retail and sustainability. 

1. Store operations help retail frontline workers improve customer service and productivity by using natural language to query store operating procedures, processes, and policies on topics such as product returns. 

2. Sustainability insights enable users to easily obtain insights, facts, and data around their own company’s sustainability goals and progress. 

Available through Copilot Studio, these templates provide ready-made dialogs, intents, entities, prompts, and actions that can be easily customized and extended according to the user’s needs. 

Additionally, we will be adding industry-specific prompts to the Microsoft Copilot Lab. These new prompts will help customers quickly get started using Copilot for sector, job, and role-specific scenarios and can be customized with domain specific details, best practices, and industry context to reduce trial and error and ensure high-quality output. 

Fuel AI with industry data solutions in Microsoft Fabric

An AI-ready data estate is critical to the success of AI. Analyzing vast amounts of data, often unstructured or semi-structured, poses a significant challenge for any organization. Our industry data solutions built on top of the Microsoft Fabric platform provides a one-stop-shop for data integration, data engineering, real-time analytics, data science, and business intelligence without compromising the privacy and security of your data. Data solutions in Microsoft Fabric provide a robust platform for customers and developers to manage all their data in one place, leverage a suite of analytics experiences that work together seamlessly, and apply AI to help make data driven decisions that address challenges unique to their industry. Some of these data solutions available in preview include:  

Healthcare data solutions in Microsoft Fabric (preview) 

This tailored solution enables healthcare organizations to break down data silos and harmonize their disparate healthcare data in a single unified store where analytics and AI workloads can operate at-scale. Leveraging the native capabilities of the platform, healthcare organizations can create connected experiences at each point of care, empower their workforce, and unlock value from clinical and operational data.  

Retail data solutions in Microsoft Fabric (preview) 

For retailers to truly deliver personalized experiences through generative AI for their customers, the first step is to break down data silos within their organizations and get a holistic understanding of their data estate. A unified data platform is the key to unlocking deeper, actionable insights that give retailers the ability to drive more meaningful experiences for customers. Achieving data compatibility is also a key step to getting value from AI investments, ultimately allowing retailers to optimize store operations, enhance store associates’ performance and productivity, and uncover insights for product upselling and shelf optimization. Partners like Sitecore are already connecting and building on top of the platform to further help retailers overcome data incompatibility and unlock new capabilities in Microsoft Cloud for Retail. 

Sustainability data solutions in Microsoft Fabric (preview)  

The solution allows organizations to centralize and transform disparate data into standardized environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data lakes. It also enables the collection and processing of subscription and resource level emissions data. Users can connect to their data in Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability solutions to create custom environmental notebooks and build insights to better understand their carbon, water, and waste emissions. These capabilities are provided through prebuilt and preconfigured Fabric resources, that can be easily configured for your sustainability needs. 

Resources to drive innovation

To get started and learn more about our complete set of data and AI industry solutions, visit Microsoft Industry Clouds or sign-in to your account on Microsoft Cloud Solution center. 

Learn more at the Copilot learning hub, where you can discover how Microsoft Copilot can help you in your specific industry.  

Learn more about these announcements at Microsoft Build 2024

• Microsoft Build opening keynote with Satya Nadella, Kevin Scott, and Rajesh Jha
• Next generation AI for developers with the Microsoft Cloud
• Enabling ISVs to transform industries in the age of copilots
• Launch AI applications and get to market faster with marketplace
• Transforming the most valuable industry workflows with Copilot
• Shaping next-gen development: the future of Copilot in Power Platform
• Microsoft Fabric: What’s new and what’s next
• Build your own copilot with Microsoft Copilot Studio
• Grow your business with Copilot extensions and marketplace

¹Number of employees worldwide from 1991 to 2024, Statista.

The post Accelerating business transformation with industry AI and copilots appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

The breadth to which Azure OpenAI technologies can be applied is increasing exponentially but must be applied responsibly and in accordance with responsible AI principles and policies.  

As a former defense leader, this blog considers the breadth of opportunities and will highlight three use cases covering the broad spectrum of defense and intelligence missions:

1. Personnel support.
2. Multi-source intelligence analysis.
3. Enterprise knowledge discovery.

These use cases focus on low-classification data, which can be securely optimized by harnessing the collective value and capabilities of Azure OpenAI and the Microsoft Azure Cloud Services. 

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Azure OpenAI use cases    

1. Personnel support. Personnel support spans the spectrum from recruitment to retention and includes numerous capabilities, such as career management, conditions of service, leave, and pay. Azure OpenAI aids this area by providing individuals with answers to their questions across a plethora of personnel-related topics through intuitive chatbots. It also equips decision makers with tools to analyze data, create reports, and make more informed decisions around human resource (HR) policy development. Currently, large quantities of data are stored in enterprise applications or in siloed systems, and substantial levels of resources and time are required to analyze that data and develop the appropriate HR policy proposals. Most notable is the ability to provide valued, timely insights from personnel data at the individual, collective, and enterprise levels as needed. For example, when service personnel are trying to gain policy advice on benefits, Azure OpenAI natural language query capability allows the investigation of policy, with follow-on questions and queries to support an informed decision.   

2. Multi-source intelligence analysis. Multi-source intelligence analysis is a method to gather, process, and interpret information from multiple sources. It involves the integration of data from various intelligence disciplines. Azure OpenAI has the potential to assist analysts as they triage, prioritize, search, analyze, and cross-reference intelligence, ultimately producing actionable information for decision makers at the time of need. Currently, analysts are challenged by an ever-increasing volume, variety, and veracity of data, much of which is unstructured and in different formats. In the future, we envisage Azure OpenAI, cloud-based services, and data being accessible from HQ to the edge. This will allow insights to be derived from both historical and real-time data and deliver actionable intelligence for mission success.  

3. Enterprise knowledge discovery. Defense and intelligence organizations store large quantities of data in enterprise systems that are siloed, and across multiple organizational boundaries. This data is often not clean or structured. Azure OpenAI can expose and correlate this data across different types and sources to find relevant information in response to a natural language query. Examples include querying large repositories of lessons learned from previous operations and exercises matched with current doctrine, and the insights gained from After Action Reviews to support mission planning, simulation, and training for future activities.   

Accessing Azure OpenAI for your organization 

Azure OpenAI has created new possibilities that were once seen as very hard and costly to implement in military systems.  

For ‘non-tactical’ scenarios, cloud-based computing provides the most secure and highest security offering available. The computing resources can be put to work continually enhancing and optimizing planning, analysis, and operational management using the best tools available. Advances in Azure OpenAI and multi-agent frameworks usher in a new era of the role of humans in the loop as a manager and orchestrator of agent computing resources rather than conducting technical analysis and planning. The result is a substantial increase in the speed and capacity of our valuable skilled resources to achieve the mission.  

When we consider ‘tactical’ scenarios, the limitation of bandwidth, weight, and power can influence the adoption of Azure OpenAI applications that can be deployed. Smaller models are less capable and must be finely tuned to their purpose to be highly effective. Additionally, carrying a large number of models not relevant to the mission takes up valuable computing and power resources. As such, when deciding on what Azure OpenAI to access in the field, nations must have robust deployment, collection, and ModelOps pipeline updates that can continually—at speed—update models for specificity and relevance to the tactical edge. The ability to access models in disrupted, disconnected, intermittent, and low-bandwidth (DDIL) environments is essential when operating as close to the edge as Size, Weight, Power, and Compute (SWaP-C) permits. 

Responsible use of AI 

Microsoft is committed to responsible use of AI. That is why Microsoft has long been a leader in ensuring the development of responsible AI, with principles designed to put people first. We believe AI exists to enhance human capabilities, not replace them, and we are committed to empowering responsible AI practices that benefit the world at large. The six key principles for responsible AI include: 

1. Accountability—ensuring transparency and responsibility in AI systems. 
2. Inclusiveness—building AI that considers diverse perspectives and avoids bias. 
3. Reliability and safety—prioritizing safety and robustness in AI deployment. 
4. Fairness—striving for equitable outcomes and avoiding discrimination. 
5. Transparency—providing clear explanations of AI decisions. 
6. Privacy and Security—safeguarding user data and privacy. 

The Microsoft Responsible AI Standard provides actionable guidance for their teams, going beyond high-level principles to create AI systems that uphold these values and earn society’s trust. We also have an Office of Responsible AI that sets governance policies, advises leadership, and ensures responsible practices across the company. 

Begin your AI transformation  

Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service offers unprecedented opportunities to augment human capabilities and enhance decision-making across the defense ecosystem. Harness the value of Azure OpenAI to achieve mission success across the spectrum of capability with greater speed, accuracy, and efficiency.  

To learn more:  

• Attend the AI in the Public Sector Microsoft Build session.
• Visit and bookmark the Microsoft Defense and Intelligence page to stay informed.
• Take the LinkedIn Learning Course, Generative AI for Leaders.
• Reach out to your Microsoft Account Team.

The post Informing defense missions with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

It is a remarkable shift, which I and others in Microsoft for government have gauged over the past year as we’ve worked to help city governments solve their most important challenges through technology. 

At the SXSW 2024 conference, the Esri Infrastructure Management & GIS Conference, and in my recent meetings with city leaders from Canada, Finland, and the Netherlands, generative AI has been at the center of most conversations. This excitement is notable because cities are traditionally cautious about technology adoption for important reasons such as risk, privacy, security, and governance, and many are still working through their cloud migration journeys.  

The potential benefits of generative AI to improve operations and service delivery are too compelling for many cities to ignore. To cite just one example, the City of Kelowna in Canada launched an early AI initiative and is using cognitive search and conversational AI to deliver a 24-hour helpline for its 150,000 residents. Project leaders report that generative AI also enables them to automate and streamline internal processes around data entry and analysis, refactor legacy databases and code, and create new apps in minutes.  

This type of innovation has prompted other cities to explore AI innovation, beginning with creating an effective and actionable plan. 

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Success factors for AI adoption in city governments 

Every city is unique, with its own ambitions for the use of generative AI and its own set of requirements and technology considerations. In our work with cities, we have identified a set of success factors that are common across cities investing time and money in generative AI and are enjoying early success.  

1. Empower the workforce with effective upskilling  

Realizing the value of AI starts with the workforce. According to research conducted as part of Microsoft’s Public Sector Insights on Skilling, the lack of skilled workers is often the number one barrier to AI implementation among organizations worldwide.

The imperative to upskill the workforce is particularly important for cities, whose early use cases usually focus on employee productivity and the internal processes they manage. Well-trained and confident workers also help ensure the success of public-facing initiatives. Executive support is key. Workers are empowered when leadership gives them the direction and license to responsibly use AI tools within the context of their day-to-day work. 

To answer the skilling challenge, cities should invest in learning programs, building public-private upskilling partnerships, and giving people adequate time to gain skills and confidence. An ongoing learning experience platform, such as the one developed by Bank of Canada, can promote a culture of learning. Microsoft offers effective resources and strategies, including the Public Sector Center for Digital Skills, which provides specialized insights, guidance, and content, and Microsoft Learn, which offers customized training options. 

2. Build an AI-ready data strategy 

AI is only as good as the data that is made available to it. In city systems, data is often siloed or locked in spreadsheets or other static locations. A modern data strategy is one that integrates such diverse data sources, ensures data quality, establishes rules and processes for data access and management, and keeps data and systems secure.   

An excellent example of how a complete data strategy can deliver ongoing AI benefits is the Smart Qatar (TASMU) Program built by the State of Qatar. Essentially a service platform built on a common data model across multiple domains, TASMU will empower a broad array of AI applications that are expected to help contribute 2% to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP).  

This sort of comprehensive data strategy is an important long-term goal, but cities should not wait to begin innovation on AI. Many cities are taking an incremental approach, leveraging the quality data they have in hand, with their existing cloud foundations and data governance standards to experiment with new AI use cases. A careful step-by-step approach will guide your data strategy. 

3. Establish frameworks for governance, compliance, and sovereignty  

Some city governments have been reluctant to use AI due to concerns about security, privacy, and compliance requirements. To address these concerns, cities should establish transparent frameworks for AI governance and assurance. The goal is to identify risks and goals associated with both externally facing and internally focused use cases and codify courses of action to ensure success.  

Ensuring the residency of data within strict geographic borders is a key requirement for many cities. This calls for a solution that can ensure the required level of control of sensitive data while still providing a hyperscale cloud environment for a huge number of applications. 

Microsoft offers guidance for cities to establish AI governance and enhance trust and privacy in AI innovation. For cities with strict data residency concerns, we also offer Microsoft Cloud for Sovereignty, which offers tailored cloud services to help build cloud-based workloads in compliance with specific security, policy, and regulatory requirements. 

Take the first steps in building an AI-empowered city  

For city leaders who want to advance their AI journeys, our experts and industry advisors can work with you to identify potential use cases for early innovation based on your specific goals, requirements, and environmental conditions.  

To learn more about how Microsoft can empower cities and government organizations with technology to help solve society’s biggest challenges, visit the Microsoft for government website, read our Microsoft for Government e-book, or get in touch with your Microsoft representative or technology partner.     

The post How Microsoft empowers city governments on the road to AI adoption appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

The underwater and littoral environments remain critical to a nation’s economic interests and its ability to exploit marine resources. In addition to the traditional resources, energy production from water and wind are vital resources carried by subsea cables. These cables provide high-speed, low-cost, and reliable connections, with more than 400 cables spanning over 1.3 million kilometers across the world. They are essential for global data transmission, including the financial and digital economies.

In October 2020, NATO Defense Ministers discussed the threat to critical subsea infrastructure posed by increasing state actor capability and aggression.¹ Subsea protection was renewed in 2022 by the United Kingdom Defence Chief, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, and is a current priority by NATO in the Digital Ocean initiative.² Subsea protection is a subject of debate across the globe spanning the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and European seas, which experience highly congested sea-borne infrastructures.³ Furthermore, in 2024, NATO is exploring the “Digital Ocean” as a pioneering initiative for maritime situational awareness.⁴

Protection of the subsea domain relies on allied defense organizations and asset operators developing and deploying innovative solutions and data-driven insights to enhance situational awareness, communication, and decision-making capabilities. However, this is a complex environment, and several technical and operational challenges need to be addressed, such as high latency, low bandwidth, power consumption, security, data quality, multi-domain sensor integration, and processing at the edge.

Transforming Sub-Surface Operations

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Strategies can be implemented to address these challenges by using industry-leading capabilities and integrating them with hyperscale data fabric. This collaborative effort involves working closely with allied defense organizations, coast guard, government entities, and asset operators to determine innovative ways of deploying a secure and intelligent digital backbone to safeguard critical underwater infrastructure.

Meeting the challenge

Fundamentally, meeting the operational information demands requires the ingestion, analysis, distribution, and visualization of data across the subsea domain:

• Data ingestion: Securely and reliably collect, store, and process data from various sources, such as sensors, devices, satellites, and surface links. Additionally, this may require technology and infrastructure that can operate disconnected for extended periods and with an innate ability to conduct safe, secure syncing when connectivity becomes available.
• Data analysis: Applying artificial techniques, such as anomaly detection, classification, and prediction, to data to generate actionable insights and intelligence. This may require those AI and machine learning models to be developed using high-performance computing and packaged for inferencing at the extreme edge, with processes that allow efficient deployment and an effective feedback loop.
• Data distribution: Sharing and exchanging data across different domains, platforms, and stakeholders in a timely and efficient manner while respecting data governance, together with the ability to support interoperability standards (such as Standardization Agreements [STANAGs], CATL, and others) and also meeting the challenge of denied, degraded, intermitted, and latent network requirements while maintaining security policies.
• Data visualization: Presenting and displaying the data and insights in a user-friendly and intuitive way, such as dashboards, holographic displays, geospatial data infrastructure, and charts to support situational awareness and enhance decision-making.

Meeting the challenges is a significant undertaking and requires a flexible, modular, and interoperable solution. That solution must support and adapt to the dynamic and complex underwater environment, while meeting security requirements and the priorities of allied defense organizations and industry partners.

Therefore, we aim to support the construction of a common reference architecture for a test and development environment based on the principles of a digital software factory. This will enable the implementation and underpin the sustainment of a machine learning ecosystem for an interoperable, underwater infrastructure in support for continuous innovation at speed and at scale.

A proposed solution

At the core, there are four principles of design to help ensure security and intelligence in an underwater environment. They include:

1. Hyperscale compute at scale in the cloud and at the edge to enable secure information operations that extends cloud services to the edge, providing a trusted collaboration environment for a wide range of infrastructure partners. The provision of a hyperscale environment also meets the ongoing needs for security, scalability, and reliability.
2. Secure data exchange to support a Zero Trust, multi-domain network of asset operations and sensors, while maintaining security and data controls. A secure data exchange capability also meets the operational requirements for trusted data and information sharing across a complex ecosystem of agencies and public and private infrastructures within a multi-dimensional legal framework that cross the boundaries of territorial waters.
3. Ubiquitous connectivity through terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, leveraging current infrastructures at scale and meeting the asymmetric growth in data volume and near real-time data insights. Furthermore, we envision the (future) application of private 5G and satellite backhaul connecting sensors at subsurface, surface, and above surface that enhance risk management and reduce mitigation at sea.
4. Assurance and risk management services for the maritime and energy sectors combining the requirement for public and private partnerships in current and future energy infrastructure.

Applying these design principles provides a comprehensive solution for a secure undersea digital backbone. It will:

• Enable enhanced situational awareness for all parties across the operating landscape.
• Facilitate data sharing and exchange across domains, platforms, and stakeholders.
• Ensure security and reliability across the infrastructure and environment.
• Optimize the performance and operations through the provision of undersea digital services for the maritime, energy, and defense sectors.  

Ultimately, delivering enhanced human-machine teaming in military and non-military operations provides the backbone for computational decision-assist capabilities that are data-driven, trusted, and transparent.

Enhance maritime operations with Microsoft solutions

The domain of critical underwater infrastructure is a strategic and challenging environment that requires cloud-enabled innovative and interoperable capabilities to enhance data and network management for undersea operations.

Microsoft for Defense and Intelligence believes this approach will provide a comprehensive and flexible solution that delivers significant benefits for situational awareness, communication, collaboration, security, reliability, performance, as well as efficiency of undersea operations and the critical infrastructure situated in the maritime environment.

For more insights, read the “Transforming Sub-Surface Operations with Data-Driven Decision Support” whitepaper.

Empowering militaries. Improving operations. Protecting national security.

¹NATO seeks ways of protecting undersea cables from Russian attacks, Euractiv.

²Chief of Defence Staff: Russia cutting underwater cables could be ‘an act of war, Froces.net.

³Australia must do more to secure the cables that connect the Indo-Pacific, ASPI Strategist.

⁴NATO Digital Ocean Industry Symposium, NATO.

The post Microsoft and partners: Securing the digital subsea environment through innovation appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Today, we are witnessing an extraordinary evolution, where AI is revolutionizing every aspect of content creation, distribution, viewer engagement, and monetization. The show serves as a powerful stage to witness firsthand the profound impact of AI on the industry. At Microsoft, we are bringing these elements to life across our platform and ecosystem. Attendees will see that we have moved beyond hype and are deploying this technology at scale powered by data and the Microsoft Cloud.  

This is an era defined by tech intensity, characterized by personalized content delivery, on-demand streaming services, data-driven advertising, and a shift towards immersive and interactive experiences. We are committed to empowering our customers to navigate these changes successfully. Whether you’re a content creator, broadcaster, ad agency, or streaming platform, adapting to the expectations of a global, tech-savvy audience is imperative. This shift presents both challenges and opportunities, and at Microsoft, we stand ready with our partners in this dynamic landscape. 

Our industry-specific solutions are designed to enhance production efficiency and cost-effectiveness, while our advanced analytics unlock valuable insights. We are redefining the video editing process to drive audience engagement and amplify personalization. 

As AI catalyzes one of the most profound transformations in the industry’s history, I am personally thrilled to invite you to join us in redefining the future of creativity, content, and experiences. 

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Join Microsoft at 2024 NAB Show to see how we are reimaging media

Microsoft empowers media organizations to achieve more through a trusted and secure platform supported by a comprehensive partner ecosystem. Join us at our booth (W2657) to see how data and AI are reimagining the media landscape.

Empower content creators and distributors

• Break down language barriers and opening content to a global audience with Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Services. 
• Streamline production process using Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Power Platform, and Adobe, enhanced by Azure AI Vision Studio and Azure AI Video Indexer.  

Elevate the viewer experience

• Experience your AI assistant at work with Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, where AI helps automate and personalize the content creation process, offering a new way to work. 
• Captivate your audience with Microsoft Azure PlayFab tools for engaging content that automatically adapts to viewer preferences and behavior.   

Reimagine monetization strategies

• Maximize revenue with insights that help reach a broader audience, as demonstrated by YOBI with the power of Azure Databricks.   
• Optimize ad revenue by expanding reach of advertisers through precision targeting and personalization with Copilot in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights and Microsoft Fabric.

Come see the future of interactive TV

Come visit the Capitalize Zone (W2149) to experience Beat the BUZZR®️. Beat the BUZZR®️ takes the future of interactive TV to the next level by showcasing its dynamic interactivity using content from Fremantle’s BUZZR®️ television network, a treasure trove of pop culture and game show classics, such as Family Feud, To Tell The Truth, and Supermarket Sweep. Leveraging the collaborative strengths of Microsoft, NVIDIA, and an extensive partner ecosystem.   

Beat the BUZZR®️ not only invigorates these classic programs with interactive elements like quizzes, trivia, and personalized insights but also opens the door to innovative monetization strategies for content owners. This platform serves as a testament to how the intelligent use of data and AI can revolutionize both audience engagement and revenue generation. Dive deep into your favorite episodes and see how Beat the BUZZR®️ is crafting new possibilities for content monetization, making every interaction an opportunity to captivate and capitalize.  

At the heart of this transformation is a coalition of esteemed partners:

• Prime Focus Technologies breathes new life into archival content, employing their CLEAR AI to deepen and enrich metadata, unlocking a treasure trove of interactive potential.  
• MediaKind revolutionizes the broadcasting experience, making dynamic ad placements and seamless content delivery a reality, ensuring each moment resonates with crystal clarity.  
• Alice & Smith stretches the bounds of fan interaction with XR Server, making the leap from passive observation to active, immersive participation.  
• Microsoft Advertising redefines the advertising landscape, integrating interactive, real-time content that speaks directly to viewers’ interests and passions.  
• SymphonyAI’s Revedia delivers a masterclass in analytics, turning raw data into a goldmine of insights, enhancing content strategy, and fine-tuning monetization models.  
• UIC Digital elevates the user experience, melding intuitive design with captivating aesthetics while integrating all systems and components seamlessly to ensure the user journey is as engaging as the content itself.

Each partner demonstration in the NAB Capitalize Zone is a portal to understanding how these contributions not only support the Beat the BUZZR®️ experience but also contribute to new revenue models and engagement strategies in the media landscape.

Hear from Microsoft and industry expertise in the sessions

In addition to catching us at our booth, you can hear from Microsoft in a variety of ways. Below are the different sessions you’ll be able to find Microsoft at.

Keynote session

AI in Media and Entertainment—Hear from Paige Johnson, Microsoft’s Vice President of Media Industry, and other industry leaders in a conversation around the applications of AI in Hollywood and the benefits and pitfalls of its growing use in productions and development.   

Microsoft sessions

• Unscripted Evolution: How AI is Reshaping Reality TV and Documentaries—Hear from Andy Beach, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer of Media and Entertainment, and other industry leaders on the exciting AI technology that will help creators unleash new forms of unscripted content, even for reality TV and documentaries.   
• Leveraging Azure AI for Media Production and Content Monetization Workflows—Hear from Andy Beach, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer of Media and Entertainment, and Amit Tank of MediaKind as they discuss how Generative AI can streamline media production, reduce costs, and accelerate content delivery to market at scale.  
• Retro Reimagined: Monetizing the Future of Interactive TV—Hear from Andy Beach, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer of Media and Entertainment, and other industry leaders as they dive into the transformative journey of classic content into the interactive digital age. They’ll explore the Beat the BUZZR®️ showcase and discuss how the partnership came to be.  
• AI-Empowered Monetization: New Content Strategies for Media Companies—Hear from Andy Beach, Microsoft’s Chief Technology Officer of Media and Entertainment, as he joins NVIDIA to discuss new revenue opportunities and strategies for in the content economy, including predictive analytics and personalized recommendations to automated content curation, generation, and targeted advertising.  
• Content Credentials – New Requirements for Media Provenance Labels for Gen AI Content—Hear from Andrew Jenks, Microsoft’s Director of Media Provenance and Executive Director of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), and other industry leaders as they give an update on the C2PA’s standards for maintaining media provenance labeling with the emergence of generative AI.  
• Panels on New Challenges and Opportunities in Media—Hear from Andrew Jenks, Microsoft’s Director of Media Provenance and Executive Director of the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), and other industry leaders as they discuss how broadcasters, service providers, and networking technology companies are creating and deploying advanced Core Networks to maximize the opportunities of NextGen (ATSC3) Broadcasting.  

Microsoft’s commitment to the media and entertainment industry

Microsoft enables media organizations to achieve more through a trusted and secure platform built to empower content creators and distributors, enhance the viewer experience, and reimagine monetization strategies. More information can be found on Microsoft media and entertainment industry solutions. 

The post Microsoft at the 2024 NAB Show: Reimagining media with data and AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

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The new AI opportunities for public finance  

Public finance organizations are generally well positioned to take advantage of AI’s ability to redefine their services, operations, and impacts on government. Those who have adopted the Microsoft Cloud and Microsoft productivity applications are benefiting from the fact that, over the past decade, and especially the last 18 months, Microsoft has been integrating AI capabilities throughout our offerings.  

Copilots—AI-driven software assistants—are delivering immediate opportunities for ingenuity among ground-level and operational employees, as seen in Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, the new Microsoft Copilot for Finance, and Microsoft Bing. For business and IT leaders, copilots across Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365, Security, and GitHub make it simple to unlock powerful new capabilities with embedded, low-code features. And in cases where advanced solutions are called for, Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service enables the development of customized solutions such as virtual assistants, chatbots, automated systems, and intelligent applications.  

Thanks to the broad range of these capabilities, public finance agencies can move quickly to redefine their role and leverage new opportunities. To make this vision a reality, we focus on AI innovation with three specific objectives in mind.  

1. Simplify taxpayer experience and revenue collection 

One great opportunity with AI is to make it easier for people and businesses to pay the right amounts of taxes and fees, in ways that are embedded into their lives. AI powered solutions for taxation, customs, and license and permit processes can be simple and sensible while providing the security and compliance benefits of the cloud. AI helps with managing data and fostering faster ways of information sharing across agencies—a challenge that by one estimate costs European Union governments more than 50 billion euros a year.¹ 

In this regard, AI can help in many ways, including: 

• Modernizing taxpayer services—New engagement models can proactively build data intelligence to improve revenue collection, while reducing the cost of compliance, increasing agility, and improving productivity. Taxpayers can enjoy seamless experiences fostering a greater sense of trust in agencies. This proved to be the case with Estonia’s Information System Authority, which created an AI assistant that grants people with access to secure information about vital government services in a matter of seconds as opposed to days. 
• Boosting employee productivity—Employees tend to be more effective with tools that minimize drudgery and help them focus on delivering results and finding solutions. User-friendly, interoperable, and automated processes foster better productivity, and AI enables new ways to help employees find the right information at the right time. A key factor in realizing this potential is upskilling the workforce, which is why the Bank of Canada implemented an ongoing training initiative based on Microsoft Learn that provides individualized learning pathways with online on-demand and instructor-led content.  

2. Drive informed budgeting for economic development 

Trillions of dollars are distributed by governments around the world to households, businesses, local authorities, and others for stimulus, recovery, and resilience plans.² This puts an enormous responsibility on budget and treasury agencies, which have the complex task of allocating public resources in ways that measurably impact economic development. These agencies require innovative, secure tools that enable them to allocate the right support to the right beneficiary at the right time. Done well, these solutions also enhance collaboration between government and the private sector, which ultimately fosters financial inclusion. 

To meet these challenges, AI can help by: 

• Modernizing budget planning and execution—Employees in budgeting agencies often deal with legacy systems that are insufficient for accurate forecasting and planning. AI can help with new tools that improve these processes, as well as automate budget distribution, deliver reports, and improve forecast precision. Low-code, AI-enhanced tools can accelerate the creation of powerful solutions. In Japan, for example, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry slashed development timeframes from one year to as little as one month by adopting Microsoft Power Platform.  
• Boosting employee productivity—Treasury agencies have significant management responsibilities, and high demands to operate with accountability and transparency. Cloud and AI can empower teams to better manage liquidity, optimize debt management, and manage reserves and investments, while also being efficient and secure. Productivity at the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs improved dramatically with a new cloud solution to provide a customer portal, streamline business processes, and add real-time reporting. By automating claim entry, they processed more than 40% of their annual 250,000 payments in the first three months.  

3. Mitigate fraud and corruption in public finance 

Fraud and corruption are major problems that incur trillions of dollars in losses worldwide every year.³ AI can help public finance agencies reverse the trend by helping to spot activities that may signal fraud, evasion, or abuse of public funds. To do this, agencies need solutions that give them fast, accurate, and comprehensive analytics, with a 360-degree view of taxpayer profiles to make informed decisions. 

Examples of how AI can help mitigate fraud and corruption include: 

• Improving compliance and protecting against fraud and corruption—Public finance agencies need solutions to combat illegal activities while also safeguarding taxpayers, employees, and all their data. AI enables solutions that analyze data from traditionally siloed, disconnected sources to detect anomalies and derive insights in previously impossible ways, while inherently protecting to ensure security and regulatory compliance. SymphonyAI, an enterprise software company that employs AI to solve financial crime, recently launched a copilot for investigators that automatically collects, collates, and summarizes financial and third-party information. Early experience shows that it can improve investigator productivity by more than 60%.  
• Enabling modern risk management—Risk is often inherent for public finance agencies, so teams need effective, modern approaches to risk management. These solutions should deliver monitoring and reporting across organizations and agencies, ensuring that everyone has complete, appropriate access to information. A good example is an Electronic Invoice Anomaly Detector built jointly by Microsoft and the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), which strengthens electronic invoicing and reduces fraud and evasion for tax administrators in its member and associate member countries worldwide. 

The essential role of responsible AI 

The promise of AI would be impossible without trust. That is why Microsoft has long been a leader in ensuring the development of responsible AI, with principles designed to put people first. We believe AI exists to enhance human capabilities, not replace them, and we are committed to empowering responsible AI practices that benefit the world at large.  

The Microsoft Responsible AI Standard defines product development requirements for Microsoft technologies, guided by the principles of fairness, inclusivity, reliability and safety, transparency, privacy and security, and accountability. We believe this holistic approach can help public finance agencies deliver actionable results for their communities, with a minimum of risk and unintended consequences.  

Empowering public finance agencies with data and AI

It is an exciting time to be in public finance. Connected systems driven by data and AI set the stage for governments to unlock new possibilities such as tax compliance by design, intelligent connected trade windows, digital currency, outcomes-based budgeting, and cyber and financial crime detection and prevention convergence.

To learn more about how Microsoft is helping public finance agencies to reignite economies and improve accountability with AI, visit Microsoft for Public Finance.

¹ Politico, “Billions of euros lost to poor tax data, EU watchdog says,” Bjarke Smith-Meyer, January 2021.

² OECD, Global Outlook on Financing for Sustainable Development 2021, November 2020.

³ United Nations, “Global Cost of Corruption at Least 5 Per Cent of World Gross Domestic Product, Secretary-General Tells Security Council, Citing World Economic Forum Data,” September 2018.

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