2019 has begun, and every techie knows that it’s going to be a year full of technological transformation, updations, and new launches. There are so many technologies to talk about; however, we would focus on Microsoft and technologies related to it in this article.
When last surveyed there were 1.2 billion users of Microsoft Office users and 31.4 million users of Office 365. Not only this, 80% of the Fortune 500 companies are on Microsoft cloud, and more than 300,000 developers are using the Bot service offered by Microsoft Azure. The stats are a clear indication of how vastly Microsoft development services have spread. Microsoft’s ASP.net has also witnessed increased in adoption by developers for boosting their web development services.
Microsoft is now a four-decade-old multinational technology company. They have amazed us with their technologically sound products and updates each year. And as 2019 is here, let’s discuss what can be the next best announcements that we can hear from Microsoft or other technological platforms. Here are five of my predictions:
Be Ready For A Surprise At Build or Ignite
From experience, I can predict that there are high probabilities of Microsoft announcing something massive at either of its Ignite or Build conference in 2019. You must be wondering that this is an uneducated prediction, then let me brief you on the announcements made in past years by Microsoft: In 2017, the company announced that they have been working on a quantum computer. In 2016, they revealed the Surface Studio and the surface dial. Moreover, since there was no special announcement in either of the Build or Ignite conferences in 2018, I am firm with my prediction that in 2019 Microsoft is going to wow the attendees of the conferences.
Accessibility: Good To Go
There are high possibilities that Microsoft would take fresh initiatives towards its accessibility feature. Many techies have recently noticed and shared that when they use Microsoft Word, then the document they are working on receives something referred to as accessibility rating. When you access any document file you may get an option saying “Accessibility: Good To Go”. Moreover, people are talking about the automatic closed-captioning feature being added to PowerPoint.
With advancing competition, there’s no doubt Microsoft is taking the accessibility feature seriously for their products. Therefore, it’s a prediction that they may soon render improved or new accessibility capabilities to Office and Windows.
Bye Bye Cortana
Bye, Bye Cortana here doesn’t mean a shutdown of Microsoft’s virtual assistant but its separation from the search function in Windows 10. Many users have reported how they dislike Cortana being fully integrated with the search function. Therefore, I think in 2019, Microsoft is going to do something about this. Maybe they can move Cortana into the action centre and then provide quick access to a chat-based Cortana UI (this is just a prediction).
Moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is tapping each product of big firms. Microsoft may also begin their operation on the Windows-based AI assistant in 2019. It can be a great idea to bring smart AI features and improvements to their products.
More Graphs More Insights
Currently, Microsoft graph is one of the essential features that is offered by Office 365. It provides new methods and approaches to explore staff and documents across any organisation. We all know that the Delve app is being discontinued; therefore we can expect to see more and more Microsoft’s Graphs with improved API on your Office apps. Moreover, there are high chances of witnessing cross-graph and cross-platform operations providing new services for LinkedIn, Microsoft’s graph, and Dynamics 365.
Evolution Of Alexa
Here’s an ‘out-of-Microsoft’ prediction for 2019.
Alexa has asserted its dominance almost in every field. The virtual assistant by amazon.com has displayed immense potential by finding unique places for itself. In the past year, Alexa has been integrated into cars, home security products and not to forget, it’s also accessible through Window 10’s Cortana interface too.
With the prevalence of Alexa, Amazon must give a shot of expanding the Alexa API and transforming it into something such as an Internet of Things (IoT) framework. Although this virtual assistant has gained the popularity required to get bolted to various digital and smart products, there are high chances Amazon would imagine Alexa as a digital platform which can connect any number of devices.
Conclusion
Microsoft Development is framing the future of our world. With more user-friendly approaches and transformation in their products, there are high chances Microsoft development services would thrive in unimaginable ways this year.
I, Kuldeep Kundal, the CMO of Cyber Infrastructure (P) Limited, and developers.DEV is the trademark of the CIS. I have been publishing technology content for the last ten years. Being inquisitive towards technology and management strategies has impressed upon me the mantra of success is to gain knowledge to share it.
