Azure Updates: OpenAI models; Zone redundant by default; Oracle Database@Azure

Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service Product Lead, Steve Sweetman, announced that developers can now access OpenAI’s o1-preview and o1-mini models through Azure OpenAI Service, AI Studio, and GitHub Models. The models are intended to enable complex coding, brainstorming, and mathematical reasoning. New “Spotlighting” features are aimed at helping models distinguish between valid instructions and untrusted inputs.

“With our joint efforts with OpenAI to make the models safer, we continue to expand and improve the Content Safety systems for all models. We’re pleased to announce that Prompt Shields and Protected Materials for Text are now generally available in Azure OpenAI Service. These features help customers maintain the safety and integrity of their generative AI deployments, preventing potential misuse,” Sweetman wrote.

According to Principal Program Manager Anavi Nahar, Azure public IPs are now zone redundant by default. As a result, unless customers specifically select a single zone, Standard Public IPs will automatically be zone redundant. Currently, public IP addresses allow both inbound and outbound connectivity to internet resources from Azure. Customers are able to dedicate an address to a resource until it is deleted—a  so-called static IP. Standard Public IPs are static, giving customers greater control over IP addresses.

VP Brett Tanzer shared details of enhancements to Oracle Database@Azure, a joint offering with Oracle first launched a year ago. The two companies have integrated Microsoft Fabric to support customer data and AI initiatives, integrated Microsoft Sentinel and compliance certifications for security, expanded to 21 primary regions with at least two availability zones each, and added support for Oracle’s Maximum Availability Architecture.