Azure updates

Public preview: Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise now offers a 1GB E1 SKU

Target availability: Q2 2024

Azure Cache for Redis Enterprise will offer yet another smaller 1GB SKU for your vector search and semantic caching needs levering the powerful capabilities of RediSearch module.

• Azure Cache for Redis
• Microsoft Build
• Features

Experimentation capabilities for Azure App Configuration now in public preview

Enables online experimentation for web, mobile, and Generative AI apps

• App Configuration
• Security
• Microsoft Build
• Features

Preview: Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based Virtual Machines

Target availability: Q2 2024

Azure Cobalt 100 Arm-based VMs are now available in preview. Please use the sign-up form at https://aka.ms/Cobalt100-VM-Preview-Signup to request access.

• Regions & Datacenters
• Open Source
• Services
• Microsoft Build
• Pricing & Offerings

Azure Machine Learning - Public Preview for Build 2024

Three features now available in preview enable you to enjoy simplified management of the customer-managed key (CMK) encrypted workspace, take advantage of our content filtering system alongside models that you can access through Models as a Service, and bring in indexes from Cosmos DB for MongoDB vCore and Pinecone for use in RAG workflows. 

• Azure Machine Learning
• Azure AI Studio
• Features

Public Preview: Migrate virtual machine backups using standard backup policy to enhanced backup policy

Azure Backup now supports migrating virtual backups using standard backup policy to enhanced backup policy.

• Azure Backup
• Features

Upcoming changes to Databricks materialized views and streaming tables in Databricks SQL

Azure Databricks materialized views and streaming tables Billing change

• Pricing & Offerings

Public preview: Sensitive data protection for Azure Front Door Web Application Firewall

Protect the sensitive data getting stored in your Web Application Firewall (WAF) using log scrubbing on Azure’s global Web Application Firewall running on Azure Front Door.

• Web Application Firewall
• Azure Front Door
• Security
• Features

Introducing GPT-4o: OpenAI’s new flagship multimodal model now in preview on Azure

Target availability: Q2 2024

Microsoft is thrilled to announce the launch of GPT-4o, OpenAI’s new flagship model, now available on Azure AI in preview. This groundbreaking multimodal model integrates text, vision, and audio capabilities, setting a new standard for generative and conversational AI experiences. GPT-4o is available now in Azure OpenAI Service, in preview, with support for text and image. Azure OpenAI Service customers can explore GPT-4o’s extensive capabilities through a preview playground in Azure OpenAI Studio starting today in two regions in the US. This initial release focuses on text and vision inputs to provide a glimpse into the model's potential, paving the way for further capabilities like audio.

• Azure OpenAI Service
• Azure AI services
• Services
• Features

Public Preview: Azure Site Recovery support for Azure Trusted Launch VMs (Windows OS)

Azure Site Recovery support for Windows Trusted launch VMs

• Azure Site Recovery
• Management
• Features
• Compliance

Public preview: Azure Application Gateway v2 Basic SKU

Designed for customers, especially developers or small enterprises who are looking for a cost-effective Application Load Balancer solution and don’t require high scalability and the advanced features.

• Application Gateway
• Security
• Services

Public preview: Initialization taints in AKS

You can now use node initialization taints in AKS e.g. in scenarios where you may need extra time to setup your nodes.

• Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS)
• Features

Public Preview: NFS Azure Files volume mount support in Azure Container Apps

You can now mount NFS file shares in Azure Container Apps.

• Azure Container Apps
• Features

Public Preview: SQL Server on Azure VM storage configuration deployment experience with support for Premium SSD v2

Target availability: Q2 2024

Customers can now choose Premium SSD v2 for the Ebdsv5 and Ebsv5 virtual machine series with the additional ability to opt-in for NVMe support.

• SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines
• Features

Public preview: Standby pools for Virtual Machine Scale Sets with flexible orchestration

Standby Pools for Virtual Machine Scale Sets with Flexible Orchestration provides the ability to reduce scale out latency and increase scale out performance.

• Virtual Machine Scale Sets
• Virtual Machines
• Features

Public Preview: Azure Storage Actions is now available in 14 more regions

Azure Storage Actions is a fully managed platform that helps you automate data management operations for object storage and data lakes. The preview is now available in 14 more regions.

• Azure Storage Actions
• Azure Blob Storage
• Azure Database for MariaDB
• Regions & Datacenters
• Features

Azure Virtual Network Manager user-defined route (UDR) management now in public preview

UDR management in Azure Virtual Network Manager is now in public preview, enabling users to describe their desired routing behavior via configuration, simplifying the management of routing behaviors at scale.

• Azure Virtual Network Manager
• Services
• Features

Public preview: Azure Monitor pipeline (at edge)

We are announcing public preview Azure Monitor pipeline (for edge). With this, we are now extending our Azure Monitor pipeline capabilities from the cloud to the edge, enabling seamless and high-scale data ingestion with centralized configuration management.

• Features

Public Preview: Azure Dedicated Host - Redeploy

Target availability: Q2 2024

Introducing redeploying capability for Azure dedicated hosts

• Azure Dedicated Host
• Features