Azure Kubernetes Service Automatic: Fast and frictionless Kubernetes for all

By Dustin Ward

Today, I’m excited to announce the general availability of Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) Automatic, delivering Kubernetes that’s already configured, optimized, and ready to run—right out of the box. AKS Automatic accelerates app delivery with automation, simplifies Kubernetes operations through intelligent defaults, and enables secure, compliant workloads optimized for AI and cloud-native use cases. AKS Automatic will set the…

FabCon Vienna: Build data-rich agents on an enterprise-ready foundation

By Dustin Ward

Welcome everyone to the second annual European Microsoft Fabric Community Conference this week in the vibrant city of Vienna, Austria! With more than 130 sessions and 10 full-day workshops, this year’s sold-out European event is bigger than ever and there’s no shortage of incredible learning experiences. More than 4,200 attendees will get to test their driving skills…

Accelerating AI and databases with Azure Container Storage, now 7 times faster and open source

By Dustin Ward

More companies than ever before are choosing to run stateful workloads—such as relational databases, AI inferencing, and messaging queues—on Kubernetes. For developers building on Kubernetes, storage performance has never been more important. Today, we’re announcing the next major release of Azure Container Storage – v2.0.0. Compared to prior versions, it delivers up to 7 times higher…

Ask Ralph: Where style meets AI—a new era of conversational commerce

By Dustin Ward

Over the past few years, AI has seamlessly woven itself into the fabric of our daily routines, transforming the ways we access information and organize our lives. From intelligent search engines to virtual assistants that help us plan trips, AI is behind the effortless convenience we now expect. It’s also transforming the way we shop.…

Azure mandatory multifactor authentication: Phase 2 starting in October 2025

By Dustin Ward

As cyberattacks become increasingly frequent, sophisticated, and damaging, safeguarding your digital assets has never been more critical, and at Microsoft, your security is our top priority. Microsoft research shows that multifactor authentication (MFA) can block more than 99.2% of account compromise attacks, making it one of the most effective security measures available. As announced in August…