DeepSeek R1 is now available on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub

By Dustin Ward

DeepSeek R1 is now available in the model catalog on Azure AI Foundry and GitHub, joining a diverse portfolio of over 1,800 models, including frontier, open-source, industry-specific, and task-based AI models. As part of Azure AI Foundry, DeepSeek R1 is accessible on a trusted, scalable, and enterprise-ready platform, enabling businesses to seamlessly integrate advanced AI…

Introducing Leading the Shift, a new Microsoft Azure podcast

By Dustin Ward

The AI platform shift brings immense opportunity, but the road to success isn’t always easy or clear. That’s why we’ve asked customers, partners, Microsoft experts, and other leaders to share their journeys and insights in our new podcast, Leading the Shift. In each episode, we’ll explore how our guests are using data, AI, and cloud…

Navigating the 2024 holiday season: Insights into Azure’s DDoS defense

By Dustin Ward

The 2024 holiday season revealed a complex and evolving threat landscape for Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. This year’s trends included advanced tactics such as an increase in DDoS-for-hire operations, the assembly of massive DDoS botnets by script kiddies, politically motivated attack campaigns, and the bypass of CDN (Content Delivery Network) protections among other evolving threats.…

Microsoft and OpenAI evolve partnership to drive the next phase of AI

By Dustin Ward

We are thrilled to continue our strategic partnership with OpenAI and to partner on Stargate. Today’s announcement is complementary to what our two companies have been working on together since 2019. The key elements of our partnership remain in place for the duration of our contract through 2030, with our access to OpenAI’s IP, our…

Coldplay evolves the fan experience with Microsoft AI

By Dustin Ward

Great music builds memories that span generations My first concert with my son was a Coldplay show in Vancouver a couple of years ago. I was completely captivated by the show, the music, the immersive experience, and the focus on sustainability—but mostly by watching my youngest experience a concert for the first time. It was…

Announcing Global Acceleration Program for RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure 

By Dustin Ward

SAP and Microsoft are excited to announce a joint program, the RISE with SAP on Microsoft Azure Global Acceleration Program, aimed at accelerating and complementing the adoption of RISE with SAP. This program provides prescriptive guidance, proven recommendations and security principles to enable organizations’ transition seamlessly to the cloud while unlocking the full potential of…