Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Yesterday, we made two really cool announcements for users & enthusiasts of Microsoft Flow, our orchestration & productivity workflow solution:

• The announcement of an official Microsoft Flow Subreddit discussion forum
• The availability of Computer Vision API to Flow, from Microsoft Cognitive Services

FLOW SUBREDDIT
Flow now has its own SubReddit page, supported by the Flow product group… and there’s already a LOT of activity.

We (The Product group) would love for you to come join the official subreddit and community, to better learn to use the tool and ultimately save yourself a shitload of time in your workday by automating repetitive tasks in a no-code/low-code environment!

Wondering what is Microsoft Flow? Here’s our overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWU6xmq3T8M

Come join us in the subreddit today! http://reddit.com/r/MicrosoftFlow

FLOW SUPPORT FOR “COMPUTER VISION API’
They just announced a series of Product Updates for Flow as well, including support for our *Computer Vision API*, part of Microsoft’s Cognitive Services.

The Computer Vision API will enable Flow writers to initiate flows based on what a camera can see & recognize. Mount cameras in building & create Microsoft Flows such as: Whenever Kurt Shintaku appears to be coming into the building, send a Skype for Business notification to Corporate Security, warning them of an intruder.

Join us May 2 for a livestream to learn what’s next from Microsoft.

• DATE/TIME:
  May 2, 2017
  6:00AM PT

  Add to Calendar:
  http://event.microsoft.com/
  MayEvent/ICS/eventcalendar.ics

• EVENT PAGE:
  http://event.microsoft.com/MayEvent

[taken from the FireHose blog]
Azure users: It’s time to upgrade your system to Azure AD Connect.

As announced a year ago, support will end April 13 for Windows Azure Active Directory Sync (DirSync) and Azure Active Directory Sync (Azure AD Sync). About 35,000 customers have made the switch to Azure AD Connect so far – and all users will need to do so in the next few days to avoid service disruptions.

(Azure AD will stop accepting connections from DirSync and Azure AD Sync after December 31, 2017.)

To learn more about the upgrade, visit the Enterprise Mobility and Security Blog.

• BLOG: End of support for DirSync and Azure AD Sync is rapidly approaching. Time to upgrade to AAD Connect!
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/enterprisemobility/2017/04/10/end-of-support-for-dirsync-and-azure-ad-sync-is-rapidly-approaching-time-to-upgrade-to-aad-connect/

[As presented on March 29, 2017]

On May 2018, Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR comes to effect. Now is the time to start planning and the primer above will tell you how.

OVERVIEW
For a summary of Microsoft’s commitment & customer offerings for GDPR compliance, visit:

• BLOG: Get GDPR compliant with the Microsoft Cloud
  https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/02/15/get-gdpr-compliant-with-the-microsoft-cloud/

GDPR TRUST CENTER
For more information, visit Microsoft’s dedicated site for GDPR below where we go over:

• Supporting your journey to compliance with the GDPR
• Where do I start?
• Microsoft’s commitment to the GDPR
• Microsoft enterprise products
  and services and the GDPR
• General FAQ

Read more here:

• SITE: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/Privacy/GDPR

Microsoft Flow Windows Phone App Beta is now available for download!  You are now invited to participate in our Beta program.

This easy-to-use business app helps you create, monitor, and manage automated workflows between your web services, files, and cloud-based data. Create a flow to automatically capture, track, and follow up with new sales leads, or automate notifications telling your team when a work item is updated – create the flows that work for you!

Features

• Create new flows when you need them – from anywhere!
• Trigger flows to run at the tap of a button
• Manage your flows from anywhere
• Monitor flow success
• Review detailed run history reports
• View and filter runs by notification type

Coming soon:

• Team flows: View your team flows straight from your Flow mobile app.
• Button sharing: Share your buttons with others to run.

Read more here:

• BLOG ANNOUNCEMENT:
  https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/windows-phone-app-beta-is-now-available/
• DOWNLOAD:
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/p/microsoft-flow/9nkn0p5l9n84

Hear leading experts and analysts discuss the state of manufacturing today—and a path to the future

Today’s manufacturers are operating in a world of uncertainty

Successful manufacturers are combating market volatility by focusing on productivity gains via new technology. The Internet of Things (IoT) and predictive analytics are likely to determine who wins and who loses in this age of uncertainty.

Join this virtual event to hear from leading experts and analysts about technologies manufacturers need to adopt to stay competitive:

• Industry analyst, Ray Wang will outline the macroeconomics trends affecting the industry and lay a path forward
• Experts from Hitachi will discuss the promise of IoT and the cloud for discovering new opportunities and achieving operational efficiencies
• Microsoft’s IoT lead will share upcoming trends to watch

Check the complete agenda below for a list of all sessions and descriptions, and save your spot for this event by registering below.

Agenda

• 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM PT / 12:00 PM – 12:30 PM ET
  Opening Keynote: The Digital Age and its Impact on Manufacturing
  Speaker: Ray Wang, Principal Analyst and Founder, Constellation Research
  Learn how the digital age is impacting the manufacturing industry; what challenges and opportunities the new digital world offers manufacturers; why it’s necessary for manufacturers to stay ahead of the competition, and how innovation helps this objective.
• 9:30 AM – 9:45 AM PT / 12:30 PM – 12:45 PM ET
  Changing the Game: How IoT and Predictive Analytics Help Manufacturers Drive New Business Models and Uncover New Opportunities
  Speaker: David Bishop, Senior VP, Hitachi Solutions
  Learn what IoT and predictive analytics are, and why this technology is important for manufacturers to learn and understand, along with a discussion of its advantages (business efficiency, streamlined processes, etc.).
• 9:45 AM PT – 10:00 AM PT / 12:30 PM – 12:45 PM ET
  Leveraging the Power of the Cloud for Operational Efficiency
  Speaker: Martin Boggess, Industry VP, Hitachi Solutions
  Learn how Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides the business management base for the manufacturer of the future, and how it supports IoT and predictive analytics solutions.
• 10:00 AM – 10:15 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET – 1:15 PM ET
  IoT and Hitachi Predictive Service in Action
  Speaker: David Bishop, Senior VP, Hitachi Solutions
  Culminate the day by learning how Microsoft Dynamics 365 and the Hitachi IoT Predictive Service Hub work together to deliver an innovative, end-to-end manufacturing solution.
• 10:15 AM – 10:30 AM PT / 1:15 PM – 1:30 PM ET
  Closing Keynote
  Speaker: Rahul Garg, Microsoft Corporation
  Learn about forward-looking trends in manufacturing.

DATE/TIME:

• Tuesday May 2, 2017 | 9:00 AM – 10:30 AM PT

REGISTRATION:

• https://info.microsoft.com/en-us-wbnr-TheManufactureroftheFutureHowIoTandPredictiveAnalyticsTransformOperationsfortheDigitalAge-register.html?wt.mc_id=AID611554_QSG_SCL_149803

Microsoft has signed an agreement to acquire Deis – a company that has been at the center of the container transformation. Deis gives developers the means to vastly improve application agility, efficiency and reliability through their Kubernetes container management technologies.

Read the Microsoft blog announcement here:

• Microsoft to acquire Deis to help companies innovate with containers
  https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2017/04/10/microsoft-acquire-deis-help-companies-innovate-containers/#sm.0078gn2v17nveit109i1egf59z732

Read the Deis blog announcement here:

• Deis to Join Microsoft
  https://deis.com/blog/2017/deis-to-join-microsoft/

Microsoft Corporate VP Julia White will be speaking at the Women’s Luncheon & giving the closing keynote at the Red Hat Summit!

Julia White
Corporate Vice President, Azure and Security Marketing, Microsoft

Julia White has been working on commercial software and cloud services long before it was cool. Now focused on the Microsoft Cloud with special attention on Azure, enterprise security, and IT management, White makes sure the cloud is a place all organizations can trust to run their business.

For more information & registration visit the link below:

• REGISTRATION:
  https://www.redhat.com/en/summit/2017/speakers

The Microsoft Tech Community Office365 Groups ‘Ask Microsoft Anything’ AMA is this week!

The AMA will take place on Thursday, April 13, 2017 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. PT in the Office 365 Groups AMA space. Add the event to your calendar and view in your timezone here. 

An AMA is a live online event similar to a “YamJam” on Yammer or an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit. This AMA gives you the opportunity to connect with members of the product engineering team who will be on hand to answer your questions and listen to feedback.

We hope to see you there!

• DATE/TIME:
  Thursday, April 13, 2017
  9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. PT
  (ADD TO CALENDAR: https://aka.ms/groupsama/invite)
• EVENT LINK:
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Groups-AMA/bd-p/Office365GroupsAMA

(Original post: http://aka.ms/groupsama)