Microsoft Build Shows The Future of Events and Collaboration

On Tuesday, May 19, 2020, Microsoft kicked off Build, its annual developer conference. The live event held in Seattle for the past few years was this year turned into a fully digital gathering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Build follows the sun with 48 hours filled with sessions streaming live across different time zones.

Towards the end of day one, Head of Comms, Frank Shaw, shared some numbers about the event: 202,219 people registered, of those 87,000 created a profile and scheduled 1 million sessions. The live Twitter feed recorded over 200,000 views. Pretty impressive numbers for an event that was reengineered from the ground up to fit a fully digital consumption model. For seasoned attendees, part of the event had a familiar feel: Satya Nadella’s keynote, the technical keynotes with Scott Hanselman, Scott Guthrie and Kevin Gallo, the Imagination Cup and a long list of sessions. There was plenty of news about Azure, Power Apps, Project Cortex, Microsoft 365, Project Reunion and Fluid Framework. What struck me the most, though, was how much learning opportunity there was for developers. Of course, this is not new, but it was much more apparent this year as labs, panels, focus groups and Microsoft Learn sessions were intertwined in the schedule in such a way that it made it much more obvious to see plenty of opportunities for attendees to bring it back to their needs and their business.

While many in the analyst and press world were lamenting not attending in person, I have to admit there were a few things that the digital format really facilitated.

First, a diversity of speakers. If you follow me enough, you know I tend to pay attention to how diverse the main stage of every conference is and, I must say, I was quite impressed with Build Day One. There was a great mix of speakers across gender, age, race, geographies and because of the format, it felt everybody shared the main stage because everything you watch was your main stage.

Second, a variety of topics. Side by side technical sessions and product announcements, there was the opportunity to hear about students’ mentorship into science and tech jobs, diversity and inclusion (I could have spent much longer on this), ethics and fairness in AI and more. The fact that you can do back to back sessions gives you the flexibility to fit more on your schedule and so does the shorter format that most sessions took on – a brilliant move from Microsoft.

This is the first digital even from Microsoft and won’t be the last as all events moved to digital until July 2021. In a pre-Build analyst session, Julia White said it is unlikely we will return to events the way they were before #COVID-19 both because it will take a while for people to be comfortable but also because they will learn the strengths of going digital.

From an announcement perspective there was one bit of news most Windows and Office users will be particularly interested in:

Fluid Framework

Last year at Ignite, Microsoft announced the public preview of Microsoft Fluid Framework aimed at making collaboration more seamless by making workflows go more fluidly across apps. This week we had a glimpse at the first integration of the Fluid Framework into Microsoft 365 with Outlook and Office.com.

Instead of creating documents, Fluid creates canvases where multiple people can collaborate in real-time and bringing together different elements like text, pictures, charts, tables. Each component is instantaneous and editable, making for a flexible and fast-paced experience, according to Microsoft. The simulation video sure seems impressive and Microsoft 365 enterprise and education subscribers will get access to a beta in the coming weeks.

The underlying concept is not dissimilar from Google Docs, but the implementation is quite different as each Fluid component is pulled together into one canvas, not a multitude of tabs. This could potentially be easier for current Office users to adopt and might cement users more into Microsoft 365. Right now, Office suffers from a lack of loyalty as users turn to Google when they need to collaborate. In a recent study we, at Creative Strategies, conducted in the US across 1000 users, we found that among Microsoft Office 365 users, 28% use Google Docs, 23% use Gmail and 18% use Google Sheets. Interestingly, Gsuite does not have a monopoly on its users’ time either, creating an opportunity for Fluid to convert users fully to Microsoft 365. Among our Gsuite users, 47% dabble into Word, 39% into Excel and 32% into Outlook.

The staggered approach Microsoft is taking with Fluid will allow users to experiment without imposing too much change too quickly. After the initial rollout to Outlook and Office.com, we will see Fluid incorporated into Microsoft Teams later this year and into the desktop versions of Outlook next year. Microsoft has also opened up the Fluid Framework to developers by making it opensource. This means that aside from Microsoft’s first-party Office apps, we will see other apps being able to create components to be added to the canvases. This might prove quite interesting for large enterprises that have proprietary apps. It will certainly be interesting to see how the likes of SalesForce, SAP and IBM will look at taking advantage of the Framework. It could be an opportunity or a threat depending on how breaking down an app into components might end up disenfranchising the app itself, making less clear where the value is coming from beyond Microsoft 365.

With Fluid and Edge, Microsoft is certainly moving more into a cloud and browser first experience for Microsoft 365. This, of course, means that the competition with G Suite and Chrome will heat up, which in turn means users will see more innovation, never a bad thing.

 

Lastly, whether you were attending those sessions that talked about the ability to schedule appointments, broadcast events, add automated workflows or a chatbot, there was one product that was center stage across Build: Microsoft Teams. If the growth Microsoft Teams has had over the past two months weren’t enough, these two days were a pretty strong testament to the robustness and capabilities of the product but also how much Microsoft has riding on it. It was clear to me Microsoft Teams is as central to the success of Build as it is to the success of Microsoft 365.

Published by

Carolina Milanesi

Carolina is a Principal Analyst at Creative Strategies, Inc, a market intelligence and strategy consulting firm based in Silicon Valley and recognized as one of the premier sources of quantitative and qualitative research and insights in tech. At Creative Strategies, Carolina focuses on consumer tech across the board. From hardware to services, she analyzes today to help predict and shape tomorrow. In her prior role as Chief of Research at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, she drove thought leadership research by marrying her deep understanding of global market dynamics with the wealth of data coming from ComTech’s longitudinal studies on smartphones and tablets. Prior to her ComTech role, Carolina spent 14 years at Gartner, most recently as their Consumer Devices Research VP and Agenda Manager. In this role, she led the forecast and market share teams on smartphones, tablets, and PCs. She spent most of her time advising clients from VC firms, to technology providers, to traditional enterprise clients. Carolina is often quoted as an industry expert and commentator in publications such as The Financial Times, Bloomberg, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. She regularly appears on BBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox, NBC News and other networks. Her Twitter account was recently listed in the “101 accounts to follow to make Twitter more interesting” by Wired Italy.

144 thoughts on “Microsoft Build Shows The Future of Events and Collaboration”

  1. I love your post, and without exception, I diligently apply each of its recommendations every time there’s a new one. Not only that, but I excitedly repost it on all my social media platforms, and my dedicated followers always show their support by giving it a thumbs up. Continue the amazing work and informative posts coming! By the way, I came across an article from https://bit.ly/3HeGV8C on how to earn income through the internet after being job laid off, and I would like to share my own experience how I have managed to overcome my money problems in 2 weeks with this 3 pronged effective strategy and guidance that didn’t cost me single cent!

  2. Hey would you mind letting me know which hosting company you’re working with? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different web browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot faster then most. Can you suggest a good internet hosting provider at a honest price? Kudos, I appreciate it!

  3. Excellent items from you, man. I have consider your stuff previous to and you’re simply extremely wonderful. I actually like what you have acquired right here, certainly like what you’re saying and the way in which you are saying it. You’re making it entertaining and you still take care of to stay it sensible. I can not wait to learn far more from you. This is actually a tremendous site.

  4. Its like you read my mind! You appear to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with some pics to drive the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is wonderful blog. An excellent read. I’ll certainly be back.

  5. I keep listening to the reports lecture about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the most excellent site to get one. Could you tell me please, where could i acquire some?

  6. Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my neighbor were just preparing to do some research about this. We got a grab a book from our area library but I think I learned more clear from this post. I’m very glad to see such magnificent information being shared freely out there.

  7. What i do not realize is in fact how you’re not really a lot more neatly-liked than you may be right now. You’re very intelligent. You realize thus considerably on the subject of this matter, made me individually believe it from so many various angles. Its like men and women aren’t interested unless it’s one thing to accomplish with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs great. All the time handle it up!

  8. I have recently started a web site, the info you provide on this web site has helped me tremendously. Thank you for all of your time & work. “‘Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world.” by George Washington.

  9. I’m still learning from you, as I’m trying to reach my goals. I certainly liked reading everything that is written on your site.Keep the posts coming. I enjoyed it!

  10. Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your weblog and in accession capital to assert that I get in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing to your augment and even I achievement you access consistently quickly.

  11. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

  12. Attractive section of content. I just stumbled upon your web site and in accession capital to assert that I acquire in fact enjoyed account your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feeds and even I achievement you access consistently fast.

  13. obviously like your web-site but you have to check the spelling on several of your posts. Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very bothersome to inform the truth then again I will definitely come again again.

  14. Greetings! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a group of volunteers and starting a new project in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. You have done a wonderful job!

  15. Good V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your web site. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related info ended up being truly simple to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Quite unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or anything, website theme . a tones way for your client to communicate. Excellent task..

  16. It’s a pity you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this superb blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to brand new updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group. Talk soon!

  17. Howdy! This is kind of off topic but I need some help from an established blog. Is it hard to set up your own blog? I’m not very techincal but I can figure things out pretty fast. I’m thinking about making my own but I’m not sure where to start. Do you have any points or suggestions? Many thanks

  18. Great work! This is the type of information that should be shared around the net. Shame on Google for not positioning this post higher! Come on over and visit my web site . Thanks =)

  19. I discovered your blog site on google and test a number of of your early posts. Proceed to maintain up the excellent operate. I just extra up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. In search of forward to reading more from you afterward!…

  20. I discovered your blog site on google and check a few of your early posts. Continue to keep up the very good operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Seeking forward to reading more from you later on!…

  21. Wow, awesome blog layout! How lengthy have you ever been blogging for? you make running a blog glance easy. The entire look of your web site is wonderful, let alone the content material!

  22. Sweet blog! I found it while surfing around on Yahoo News. Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News? I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there! Thanks

  23. Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog? My blog is in the exact same niche as yours and my visitors would definitely benefit from some of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Cheers!

  24. I?¦ve been exploring for a little bit for any high quality articles or blog posts in this sort of space . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this web site. Reading this info So i am glad to express that I’ve an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I found out exactly what I needed. I most undoubtedly will make sure to don?¦t fail to remember this site and provides it a look on a continuing basis.

  25. One of the standout features of the digital format was the increased diversity in speakers. Diversity across gender, age, race, and geographical regions was a prominent aspect of Build Day One, and this is a positive trend that is becoming increasingly vital in the tech industry. It’s encouraging to see such representation on the main stage of a major tech conference, as it reflects the industry’s growing recognition of the importance of diverse perspectives and voices.

    kitten toys

  26. naturally like your website but you need to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I in finding it very troublesome to tell the reality nevertheless I will surely come back again.

  27. Great blog! Do you have any recommendations for aspiring writers? I’m planning to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything. Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices out there that I’m completely confused .. Any ideas? Kudos!

  28. I haven’t checked in here for some time since I thought it was getting boring, but the last several posts are good quality so I guess I will add you back to my daily bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂

  29. Wonderful work! That is the type of information that are supposed to be shared across the web. Shame on Google for no longer positioning this put up higher! Come on over and visit my site . Thank you =)

  30. An fascinating discussion is price comment. I believe that you need to write more on this subject, it may not be a taboo subject however usually people are not enough to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers

  31. Greetings from Ohio! I’m bored at work so I decided to browse your site on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the info you present here and can’t wait to take a look when I get home. I’m surprised at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, good blog!

  32. Hey there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!

  33. Thanks a bunch for sharing this with all of us you actually know what you are talking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my web site =). We could have a link exchange arrangement between us!

  34. It’s perfect time to make some plans for the future and it’s time to be happy. I have read this post and if I could I wish to suggest you some interesting things or suggestions. Maybe you can write next articles referring to this article. I desire to read more things about it!

  35. What i don’t understood is actually how you are not actually much more well-liked than you might be now. You are so intelligent. You realize therefore significantly relating to this subject, produced me personally consider it from a lot of varied angles. Its like men and women aren’t fascinated unless it’s one thing to do with Lady gaga! Your own stuffs great. Always maintain it up!

  36. I used to be very pleased to seek out this internet-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful learn!! I definitely having fun with every little little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to take a look at new stuff you blog post.

  37. Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this site. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s tough to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and appearance. I must say that you’ve done a great job with this. Also, the blog loads extremely quick for me on Firefox. Outstanding Blog!

  38. I am no longer positive where you’re getting your info, but great topic. I needs to spend a while studying much more or understanding more. Thanks for excellent info I used to be on the lookout for this info for my mission.

  39. There are some interesting points in time on this article but I don’t know if I see all of them center to heart. There is some validity but I’ll take hold opinion till I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we would like more! Added to FeedBurner as effectively

  40. I found your blog web site on google and test a number of of your early posts. Continue to keep up the very good operate. I just additional up your RSS feed to my MSN News Reader. Looking for forward to studying extra from you in a while!…

  41. The heart of your writing while sounding reasonable originally, did not really settle well with me personally after some time. Someplace throughout the sentences you actually were able to make me a believer unfortunately just for a very short while. I nevertheless have a problem with your jumps in logic and one would do well to help fill in all those gaps. In the event that you actually can accomplish that, I could undoubtedly be fascinated.

  42. I like what you guys are up too. Such smart work and reporting! Carry on the excellent works guys I have incorporated you guys to my blogroll. I think it’ll improve the value of my web site 🙂

  43. It’s in point of fact a nice and useful piece of information. I am happy that you shared this useful information with us. Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.

  44. An fascinating discussion is worth comment. I think that it is best to write more on this matter, it might not be a taboo topic but usually people are not sufficient to speak on such topics. To the next. Cheers

  45. Sight Care is a natural supplement designed to improve eyesight and reduce dark blindness. With its potent blend of ingredients. SightCare supports overall eye health, enhances vision, and protects against oxidative stress.

  46. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The text in your post seem to be running off the screen in Opera. I’m not sure if this is a format issue or something to do with internet browser compatibility but I thought I’d post to let you know. The style and design look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon. Cheers

  47. Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting videos to your site when you could be giving us something enlightening to read?

  48. GlucoTrust 75% off for sale. GlucoTrust is a dietary supplement that has been designed to support healthy blood sugar levels and promote weight loss in a natural way.

  49. Achieve real weight loss success with ProvaSlim provides real Weight loss powder, weight gain health benefits, toxin elimination, and helps users better digestion.

  50. SonoVive™ is a 100% natural hearing supplement by Sam Olsen made with powerful ingredients that help heal tinnitus problems and restore your hearing.

  51. This is the right blog for anyone who wants to find out about this topic. You realize so much its almost hard to argue with you (not that I actually would want…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic thats been written about for years. Great stuff, just great!

  52. certainly like your website but you have to take a look at the spelling on quite a few of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very bothersome to inform the truth however I’ll surely come back again.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *