I’m thrilled to be covering the Microsoft Keynote: Fuel AI Innovation with Azure Databases on Day 1 of the PASS Data Community Summit. Data is the driving force behind innovation, powering the development of transformative AI applications. In this keynote, join Shireesh and the Microsoft engineering team as they delve into harnessing the power of data across the Azure databases portfolio to drive groundbreaking advancements. Embark on a journey with vector search, multi-agent apps, and more, and discover how to unlock new patterns like retrieval augmented generation (RAG). Explore the latest database innovations in SQL Server, Azure SQL, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, and Azure Database for MySQL that enhance operational efficiency, deliver personalized user experiences, and revolutionize our interaction with technology.
Be sure to check back for live blogging updates throughout the keynote to stay informed on all the latest developments!
Live Updates:
Over 1700 attendees from 46 countries are in attendance this week.
5 topic tracks
200+ sessions and speakers.
45% first timers
Steve Jones did a great welcome and initial overview of the conference, stats, and talking about the pressures of work and how we deal with those pressures. Continuous learning about what people go through and how it interacts with data.
53% say upskilling is their biggest challenge.
A huge welcome to the scholars. Multiple scholarship programs with a round of applause from the audience.
November 17th, 2025 will be the next date for the PASS Data Summit here at the same location.
Shireesh Thota takes the stage next……
Fuel AI innovation with Azure Databases – a data compass that you can trust.
Shireesh honoring the tradition of PASS Data Summit back from early 2000 through each decade.
135+ user groups and 126,000 members of Azure Groups worldwide.
SSMS 21 and Copilot in SSMS is here!!!!!!
Bring cloud manageability to SQL Server anywhere….manage, govern, and protect your SQL Server from Azure.
Preview – Migration Assessment from SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc.
General Available – bi-directional disaster recovery with link feature in Azure SQL managed Instance.
In Preview is the next gen general purpose on Azure SQL managed Instance. 32 TB of storage, 500 dbs, lower storage latency, improved storage performance, and customizable I/O performance.
Build modern, AI-ready applications on cloud-scale databases – Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for Postgres.
Preview – Native vector type and functions in Azure SQL Database
Coming soon – Vector Index with DiskANN
Announcing – Azure SQL Database Hyperscale enhancements – Storage up to 128 TB
Generally Available – Serverless auto-pause delay to 15 minutes.
Preview – Vector indexing and search in Azure Cosmos dB for NoSQL
Generally Available – flat and quantized flat vector indeed in Azure Cosmos dB for NoSQL,
Preview – DiskANN indexing in Azure Database for PostgreSQL
General Available – PostgreSQL Azure AI Extension
Preview – PostgreSQL In-Database embedding generation
Preiview – Mirroring in Fabric for Azure SQL Database and Azure Cosmos DB