Coursera is collaborating with Microsoft to bring opportunities for skilling in Azure to its 80 million learners. The partnership will see Coursera offer three Microsoft Azure Specialization courses on its platform.
Launching immediately is Azure Fundamentals which gives learners a foundational understanding of Azure cloud services. It also gives basic knowledge to build cloud solutions and helps prepare for the AZ-900 exam certification. This will be followed with Azure AI Fundamentals and Azure Data Fundamentals courses in May.
The AI Fundamentals will teach learners about artificial intelligence (AI) topics, like machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and conversational AI. While Data Fundamentals will dive deep into the roles and tasks involved in using Azure to store, process, manage and analyze data.
Leaners who complete and pass all courses in a specialization will receive a voucher for 50% off the certification exams. Microsoft is offering scholarships to 600 eligible Women in Cloud members to all three Specializations and their respective certifications.
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Registration for Microsoft Build 2021 is opened and it will be a completely free digital-only event. It will be in the form of a 48 hour long virtual interactive experience available across all the time zones. Microsoft’s developer-focused event will start from 3 PM GMT, 6 PM EAT, 5 PM SAT, May 25th to 27th 2021.
Like last year, Microsoft notes registration for Build is free but to get access to the full interactive content you’ll need to register. However, sessions covered on the hero video such as the keynotes will not require you to be registered. Event attendees will be able to customize 48 hours of continuous content to get their digital event experience. The event will have both live segments such as the keynotes, live technical sessions and Q&A. As well as already recorded content sessions.
Whether you are a student or an experienced app developer, you will gain action-ready skills specific to what you do through immersive experiences, engaging with community, and one-on-one guidance from Microsoft engineers.
To enjoy a total conference experience Microsoft advises you to register as most sessions will require you to sign in. Registration will give you the ability to schedule your viewing events or sessions. And to access the connection zone, one-to-one consultations with an expert, and other community and networking sessions.
Featured speakers for Build include Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, Amanda Silver, CVP Products, Developer tools, Donovan Brown, and Scott Guthrie EVP, Cloud and AI Group. Others speakers are Scott Hanselman, Kayla Cinnamon, Rajesh Jha, Kevin Scott, Anna Hoffman, Dona Sarkar, Christina Warren and more.
Build 2021 will also host the finals of the 2021 Microsoft Imagine Cup World Championship. Where Team REWEBA from Kenya alongside three other teams across the globe will present and showcase their solutions for a chance to win the competition.
What to expect?
Keynotes: Headlines and announcements delivered by executives
Technical/Breakout Sessions: More in-depth coverage of keynote content
Ask the Experts: Sessions with experts in cloud, desktop, mobile, and web development for guidance specific to your project or interests.
Humans of IT: Discover the intersection between humanity and tech through inspirational stories about humans who use tech for good.
Table Topics: Gather the community for live discussion on camera, and in chat! Get inspired by community experts, learn best practices, and discover helpful resources with other attendees.
Local Connections: Opportunity to engage with attendees on a local level. Dedicated time for local leadership to deliver an experience to help attendees find developers and experts with similar interests within their region.
Student Activities: Content covers key topics to help you get started across a variety of Microsoft technologies, job roles, and interests.
Learn Live: Guided online with a subject matter expert to walk and talk through Microsoft Learn modules.
Partner Sessions: Connect with Microsoft Partners in either an Ask the Expert or Table Topics session
Product Roundtables: Two-way discussions between product teams and customers
Cloud Skills Challenge: Complete preset collections of online learning modules for a chance to win prizes.
One-on-One Consultations: One-on-One Consultations will provide Microsoft Build attendees a unique opportunity to connect with a Microsoft professional to discuss specific questions and solutions. Sessions are 45 minutes long and provide the only one-on-one setting at the conference.
Like previous Microsoft Build events stay tuned and we will bring you the keynote livestream and announcements from the event.
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Azure, A-z-u-r-e, Az-ure, what is the pronunciation? People have pronounced this word in various forms and manners to my hearing, I included. But is there a right way to pronounce the name of Microsoft’s cloud computing platform?
We have heard Microsoft executives and employees pronounce this word during conferences and meetings and sometimes it varies as well depending on who and where. You’ll think that because this is a company product, the adoption of its name globally will be one and the same.
I remember at least two such meetings in Lagos and Nairobi where Azure was pronounced differently to what I knew and how I pronounced it. Technically I believe my way of pronunciation is right, just as they do lol. I also remember having arguments about what it should be with friends.
So is there a right way? I’m sorry to disappoint you yes there is. But according to Microsoft, it is exactly how you pronounce it. Phew! That’s a relief, right?
The Microsoft Azure team posted a video to mark 11 years of the service. It shows several people from across the globe pronouncing the name of the service differently. But some going with the way Microsoft executives such as Scott Guthrie and Satya Nadella pronounce it.
A Microsoft employee in the video says “The reason why we picked Azure is because then anyone can pronounce it anyway they want“.
However you say it, Microsoft Azure is proud to be your partner in the cloud. Celebrate 11 years of inventing with purpose and tell us how you say Azure. #HowISayAzurepic.twitter.com/VoVlBoSoYp
Azure is an English word that means “bright blue in color like a cloudless sky”. Symbolism to the adapted color and design of the Microsoft cloud service. Which seems to be all it adapted, not really taking the pronunciation of the original Azure word.
So feel free to pronounce it however you feel like or desire as you were never wrong in the first place. And don’t let anyone like me tell you you are doing so wrong, lol.
Blue Prism announces a new offering of intelligent automation software on Microsoft’s AppSource and Azure Marketplaces. Enhancing access for both Blue Prism and Microsoft customers.
The partnership underwrites Blue Prism’s position as an intelligent automation and robotic process automation (RPA) leader in the cloud.
Blue Prism customers already have access to a scalable, enterprise-ready platform. That combines robotic automation and smart workflows with technologies like machine learning, advanced analytics, natural language processing, process mining, and cognitive capabilities.
This offering allows Blue Prism robots greater access to Microsoft Azure Apps too. With access to over 175 accelerators for Microsoft products within Blue Prism’s Digital Exchange.
The new Bring Your Own License (BYOL) offering for Azure Marketplace and AppSource is pre-loaded with select Azure Cognitive Services. This includes Azure Text Analytics, Azure Form Recognizer and Azure Computer Vision. All of which customers can license directly through Microsoft.
This combines with Blue Prism Digital Exchange where users can access more than 175 accelerators for Microsoft products to further enhance their enterprise automation.
“This combination of Blue Prism and Azure Cognitive Services gives our customers a greater choice with AI-enabled, self-service experience that is provisioned via Microsoft Azure,” says Chief Partner Strategy Officer at Blue Prism, Linda Dotts. “Advanced intelligent automation in the cloud provides multiple advantages for our customers. Most notably the ability to instantly scale to meet enterprise demands.”
Blue Prism accelerators now exist for Microsoft Power Platform, Microsoft’s Power Automate gallery, Microsoft’s Healthcare Cloud; with Form Recognizer, Text Analytics and Azure Computer Vision.
It also adds to the company’s growing portfolio of cloud offerings, which include its Blue Prism Cloud SaaS platform. Expanding a cloud strategythat not only centres on making intelligent automation more accessible. But that also aligns with customer desires for interoperability, expanded automation solutions, consumable and extensible artificial intelligence, and a seamless intelligent automation journey.
“Customers can embrace the transformative potential of intelligent automation and drive impactful change within their organisations. This is now fully supported by Microsoft,” says CEO and Executive Chairman of Blue Prism, Jason Kingdon.
“We are offering customers more flexible cloud deployment options. Delivering on Blue Prism’s vision of giving customers end-to-end automation solutions that cover the broadest range of IT environments, including on-premises, hybrid, public cloud, and SaaS.
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You go to a shop, purchase an item and want to pay with M-PESA. You look around to find the notice with the till number and take turns looking up and down to enter the number on your phone. More often going over the number one more time or twice if you got it wrong initially. We’ve all been there, especially when you are in a haste.
How will you like a situation where you can just launch the Safaricom, KCB, Equity, I&M or your bank or Sacco’s app and using your camera it gets you that information? You only enter the amount you are paying, your pin number, et voilà you are set to go.
Unfortunately, Safaricom doesn’t have that feature in their app yet. The app, however, allows customers who prefer to use the voucher card to scan the 16 digits and it will automatically pick the digits.
That might change soon with this genius innovation from Jama Mohamed. A Business Information and Technology student graduate of Strathmore University.
Jama created an android detection library that uses Microsoft Azure Computer Vision service Read API to detect M-PESA business account numbers from images.
With this, it will be easier, faster and more accurate than typing an M-PESA paybill and till number. It is also able to know the exact category the image falls under, so no mix match there.
The software engineer’s open source project opens the door for financial service organizations in Kenya using the M-PESA API to add this plug and play android library to their app. Making it easier for customers using their app to use this functionality for payments.
Computer vision innovation
Jama shares the idea for the project came after having to confirm about five times for something he was purchasing.
I was purchasing something from the web that had M-PESA paybill as a payment option. The account number was a long randomly generated string that I basically had to confirm like five times.
And that’s where the idea came from, just to take some form of picture and use machine learning to extract information that was important.
The idea was to get these details a little faster than just typing them all the time since some businesses don’t have QR codes.
Hopefully, Kenyan financial organizations will add Jama Mohamed’s library to their app. Or work with him to create a unique one. So that next time you open your Standard Chartered, KCB, Equity, Ecobank, etc. or Safaricom app to pay for a purchase you just use your camera.
Jama welcomes contributions from other developers to improve the library. Check out the library on GitHub.
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BeMyApp and Microsoft present an online hackathon centered around remote work. Dubbed the Remote Resilience Online Hackathon. The competition let’s you showcase your remote work idea using Microsoft technology.
The competition invites startups, individuals and teams with ideas around and not limited to Remote Collaboration & Productivity, Remote Secure Access Management, Remote Rapid Business Process & Customer Relationship Management and Remote Distributed Team Programming to apply.
Registration and submission of ideas starts from 14th May to 23rd June. On the 29th of June 2020, five winners will then be announced. There is no limit in the number of ideas you can submit. But you can only have one registration per innovation, project or idea.
Additionally, Microsoft will also host a webinar on May 28th. To announce resources and give insights on technologies that can help you build your prototypes.
The hackathon event is organized by BeMyApp and sponsored by Microsoft.
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