Originally reported by msdynamicsworld.com. Original coverage date: September 2019.
As September 2019 got underway, Microsoft announced a wave of Azure updates spanning AI services, developer tooling, compliance blueprints, infrastructure, and partner ecosystem news. Here is a structured breakdown of the most significant changes.
Azure Form Recognizer: Handwritten Text and Mixed-Mode Support
Principal program manager Neta Halby outlined new capabilities added to Azure Form Recognizer. Previously, the service could extract tables, plain text, and key-value pairs from structured documents such as W-2 tax forms. The update added two significant capabilities:
- Handwritten text recognition — extending extraction beyond printed characters to include handwritten content.
- Mixed-mode processing — enabling a single application to handle documents that contain both printed and handwritten text, targeting sectors such as healthcare, finance, insurance, and manufacturing.
The stated value proposition includes reducing manual data entry, extending digitization workflows back to older handwritten records, and consolidating handling of multiple document types into a single pipeline. Consulting firm Avanade was cited as an early adopter, using the feature to automate capture of handwritten contact information collected on paper at trade shows.
Azure Logic Apps: Features Added in July and August 2019
Over the summer sprint cycle, the Logic Apps team shipped a number of developer-facing updates:
- Support for internal access endpoints to restrict Logic App triggers to internal network traffic.
- Inline code support for embedding JavaScript snippets directly within workflows.
- Fixed IP addresses for connector deployment endpoints, simplifying firewall allowlisting.
- Use of Azure on-premises data gateways across subscriptions.
- Visibility into canceled webhook actions in the portal.
- Portal themes for improved developer experience.
Azure DevOps: Sprint 157 Highlights and Deprecation Notices
During Sprint 157, the Azure DevOps team shipped rollup columns for backlogs, enabling teams to track progress across work item hierarchies. Smaller improvements were also delivered for Repos, Boards, and Artifacts.
Deprecation notices issued around this time included:
- Kubernetes 1.10.x clusters: Users were asked to upgrade to one of the four supported versions by October 25, 2019. Following the release of Kubernetes 1.14 in August 2019, version 1.10.x was scheduled to be removed from the Azure CLI and Azure portal.
- Media Encoder Standard and Premium Workflow: Both encoder capabilities were set to be retired on November 30, 2019.
- JavaScript SDK v1.x for Cosmos DB: Scheduled for deprecation on August 30, 2020.
Azure Blueprint Compliance Samples: NIST SP 800-53 R4
Microsoft expanded its library of Azure Blueprint compliance samples. The most recent addition at the time was NIST SP 800-53 R4, which maps Azure Policy controls directly to NIST control identifiers. This blueprint is primarily targeted at US government customers and agencies with regulatory compliance requirements under the NIST framework.
Infrastructure and Database Updates
Several infrastructure updates were made available around this period:
- M-series VMs became available in the France Central region.
- Cross-region read replicas for Azure Database for MySQL went live.
- Monthly payment options for Azure Reservations were introduced, lowering the upfront commitment barrier.
- Azure SQL Database instance pool entered preview, allowing pre-planning of vCore compute resources across multiple instances.
- An integration between DevTest Labs and Azure Bastion was introduced, enabling SSL-based VM connections directly from the Azure portal.
SQL Server Data Tools in Visual Studio 2019 Preview
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT) became available as part of the Visual Studio 2019 preview release. The integration supports stable change management and deployment workflows when building solutions that target Azure SQL Data Warehouse.
Azure Stack: Government Secret Cloud Integration and Edge AI
Azure Stack gained integration with the Government Secret cloud, enabling hybrid cloud scenarios for highly regulated government workloads. Billing options include Pay-As-You-Go and marketplace billing models.
Additional Stack updates included:
- General availability of diagnostic log collection, allowing operators to share logs directly with Microsoft Customer Support Services.
- Work in progress on solution patterns for AI inferencing on video streams at the network edge, aimed at developers building intelligent edge applications.
Vision AI Developer Kit: General Availability
Principal PM Anne Yang covered the Microsoft and Qualcomm partnership around the Vision AI Developer Kit, which was announced the previous year and reached general availability around this time. The kit combines:
- A purpose-built camera module
- Azure IoT Edge runtime
- Azure Machine Learning integration
- Qualcomm’s Vision Intelligence 300 Platform
The kit is designed to accelerate deployment of computer vision models to intelligent edge devices, with Microsoft claiming vision models can be deployed in minutes. Development options include Visual Studio Code and no-code pathways through Azure Machine Learning, Cognitive Services, and Custom Vision.
Azure Site Recovery: Simplified Failover Mapping
Rajani Janaki Ram, program manager for R&D Compute, discussed improvements to Azure Site Recovery. Enhanced integrations aim to reduce the number of manual steps required during disaster recovery planning, making it easier to map resources between a source region and a target region. The update also improves handling of:
- Public IP addresses
- Network Security Groups (NSGs)
- Internal load balancers
These networking resources can now be more readily incorporated into site recovery plans rather than requiring post-failover manual reconfiguration.
Partner and Ecosystem News
Several partner announcements accompanied the product updates:
- MongoDB Atlas on Azure Marketplace: MongoDB expanded its partnership with Microsoft through the Partner Reported ACR co-sell program. MongoDB Atlas, already integrated with Power BI, Databricks, and Sitecore, became available through Azure Marketplace with billing integrated into Azure invoicing.
- Logicalis acquires Orange Networks in Germany: British IT firm Logicalis acquired Orange Networks, a Microsoft partner operating in Munich, Hamburg, Offenbach, and Düsseldorf. The acquisition grants Logicalis Germany Microsoft Gold Partner status.
- SES extends Azure ExpressRoute via satellite: Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES announced it would extend Azure ExpressRoute connectivity through its fleet of 50 geostationary satellites, delivering the service to maritime and offshore oil platform environments.
- Infosys and JG Summit Holdings in the Philippines: Infosys announced a collaboration with JG Summit Holdings to build a platform based on Azure and SAP S/4HANA.
This article is based on reporting originally published by msdynamicsworld.com in September 2019. Some features and timelines described here reflect the state of Azure services as of that date and may have changed significantly since.