Azure Updates: Responsible AI; Combining models; TLS 1.2

As 2025 got underway, Microsoft hinted at the directions Azure will take in the year ahead through its first announcements of the new year plus announcements in the final days of 2024. 

Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s Chief Product Officer for Responsible AI highlighted a white paper commissioned with IDC about the business case for responsible AI. Generative AI usage surged from 55 percent in 2023 to 75 percent in 2024. An astonishing 91 percent of organizations are currently using AI technology according to a recent IDC survey. The IDC survey found that over 30 percent of respondents thought that lack of governance and risk management solutions is the biggest barrier to adopting AI. Over 75 percent of respondents with responsible AI setups reported improvements in customer experience, data privacy, and brand reputation. Bird recommended that organizations establish AI principles, adopt AI governance, prioritize privacy and security, plus invest in AI training. 

Senior Director Olivia Shone discussed boosting performance by combining AI models. Currently, there are over 1800 AI models available in the Microsoft model catalog. Other models and services are available through the Azure OpenAI Service and AI Foundry, all of which help to build optimal AI solutions. 

VP Omar Khan shared interesting examples from around the world of how Azure customers are harnessing the power of connection. In Spain, infrastructure provider Ferrovial is using Azure to maintain highways and airports, while the LALIGA football league is capturing data points with Azure Machine Learning and Databricks AI to process data for broadcasters. According to Khan, in South Africa, Azure is being used by Peace Parks Foundation for image analysis to prevent poaching. 

Elsewhere in Chile, renewable energy company, Colbun is reportedly using Azure AI to optimize its plant maintenance and create predictive models.