Artificial Intelligence (AI) Archives - Francesco Molfese // Blog

In an era marked by relentless technological evolution, artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a revolutionary force in the cloud computing landscape. At the heart of this transformation is Microsoft, which has recently unveiled Microsoft Copilot for Azure. This innovative solution marks the beginning of a new era in the design, management, and optimization of Azure infrastructure and services. This article provides an overview of Microsoft Copilot for Azure, a true ally for businesses, designed to fully exploit the potential of the cloud through advanced features and AI-guided intuitiveness.

Premise: Copilot’s experience in Microsoft’s Cloud

Microsoft Copilot is a cutting-edge solution in the field of AI-based assistants. It stands out for the use of sophisticated language model algorithms (LLMs) and its perfect integration with Microsoft’s Cloud. This revolutionary tool aims to enhance productivity by facilitating access to critical data and ensuring high standards in security and privacy. Its core is an intuitive conversational interface that simplifies interaction with data and automation, making application creation simpler and more intuitive.

Copilot adapts to different needs: from basic usage that requires minimal effort and customization, to highly customized solutions that require substantial investment in development and data integration.

Figure 1 – Copilot’s Experience in Microsoft’s Cloud

The main ways to take advantage of Microsoft Copilot are:

Adopting Copilot: Microsoft offers various Copilot assistants to increase productivity and creativity. Integrated into various Microsoft products and platforms, Copilot transforms the digital workspace into a more interactive and efficient environment. Among these, Copilot for Azure stands out, which will be examined in detail in this article.
Extending Copilot: Developers have the opportunity to incorporate external data, simplifying user operations and reducing the need to change contexts. This not only improves productivity but also fosters greater collaboration. Through Copilot, it’s easy to integrate these data into common Microsoft products used daily. For example, both companies and ISVs have the ability to develop plugins to insert their own APIs and business data directly into Copilot. By adding these plugins, connectors, or extensions for messages, users can maximize the use of AI capabilities offered by Copilot.
Building your own Copilot: Beyond adoption and extension, it’s possible to create a customized Copilot for a unique conversational experience, using Azure OpenAI, Cognitive Search, Microsoft Copilot Studio, and other Microsoft Cloud technologies. A customized Copilot can integrate business data, access external data in real-time via APIs, and integrate into business applications.

Microsoft Copilot for Azure: the assistant revolutionizing the design, management, and optimization of Azure infrastructure and services via AI

Microsoft Copilot for Azure is an innovative AI-based tool designed to maximize the potential of Azure. Using LLMs (Large Language Models), Azure’s control plane, and detailed analysis of the Azure environment, Copilot makes work more effective and productive.

This assistant helps users navigate Azure’s numerous offerings, which include hundreds of services and thousands of resource types. It combines data and insights to increase productivity, minimize costs, and provide specific insights. Its ability to interpret natural language greatly simplifies managing Azure, responding to questions and providing personalized information about the user’s Azure environment.

Available directly through the Azure portal, Microsoft Copilot for Azure facilitates user interaction, responding to questions, generating queries, and performing tasks. Moreover, Copilot for Azure provides personalized, high-quality recommendations, respecting the organization’s policies and privacy.

The following paragraphs report the main features for which Microsoft Copilot for Azure can be used.

Performing tasks with improved efficiency

Copilot for Azure is designed to manage a wide range of basic operations that constitute the daily routine in managing Azure environments. These operations, essential for the maintenance and efficiency of architectures in Azure, can often be repetitive and time-consuming. However, with Copilot, it’s possible to manage these basic operations, saving valuable time and reducing the likelihood of human errors.

Interpreting and assessing the Azure environment:

Obtain information about resources through Azure Resource Graph queries.
Understand events and the health status of services.
Analyze, estimate, and optimize costs.

Working smarter with Azure services:

Deploy virtual machines effectively.
Build infrastructures and deploy workloads.
Obtain information about Azure Monitor metrics and logs.
Work more productively using Azure Stack HCI.
Secure and protect storage accounts.

Writing and optimizing code:

Generate Azure CLI scripts.
Discover performance recommendations.
Create API Management policies.
Generate YAML files for Kubernetes.
Resolve app issues more quickly with App Service.

Obtaining specific and detailed information and advice

Within the Azure portal, Copilot emerges as a useful tool for delving into a wide range of Azure concepts, services, or offerings. Its ability to provide answers is based on constantly updated documentation, ensuring users get up-to-date advice and valuable help in solving problems. This not only improves efficiency but also ensures that decisions are based on the most recent and relevant information.

Navigating the portal with greater ease

Navigating the Azure portal, often perceived as complex due to the vastness of services offered, is made simple and intuitive with Copilot’s assistance. Instead of manually searching among the numerous services, users can simply ask Copilot to guide them. Copilot not only responds by opening the requested service but also offers suggestions on service names and provides detailed explanations, making the navigation process smoother.

Simplified management of portal settings

Another notable aspect is Copilot’s ability to simplify the management of Azure portal settings. Users can now confirm or change settings directly through Copilot, without the need to access the control panel. For example, it’s possible to select and customize Azure themes directly through Copilot, making interaction with the portal not only more efficient but also more personalized.

Limitations as of December 2023

As of December 2023, Microsoft Copilot for Azure is in preview and has the following limitations:

Each user has a limit of ten questions per conversation and a maximum of five conversations per day.
Responses that include lists are limited to the first five items.
For some requests and queries, using the name of a resource may not be sufficient; it may be necessary to provide the Azure resource ID.
Available only in English.

Conclusions

Microsoft Copilot for Azure represents a revolutionary turn in cloud computing, leveraging artificial intelligence to significantly transform the management and optimization of Azure architectures. This tool elevates productivity and security, simplifying daily operations, providing detailed analysis, and assisting users in managing the Azure environment. Although we are still at the dawn of this technology, Copilot for Azure represents a significant advancement. This tool not only provides an intuitive and efficient user experience but also lays the groundwork for a future where artificial intelligence and cloud computing will be increasingly interconnected and synergistic.

In the digital age, cloud computing has become an essential component for many companies, offering flexibility, scalability and agility. However, with the ever more widespread adoption of the cloud, the management of associated costs has become an increasingly complex challenge and companies are looking for innovative solutions to optimize their expenses in the cloud. In this context, Microsoft introduced “Copilot” in Cost Management, a new feature based on artificial intelligence, designed to help businesses navigate this complex landscape. This article shows the main features of this integration, that promises to revolutionize the way businesses manage and optimize their spending on cloud resources.

A clear view of costs with Microsoft Cost Management

Microsoft Cost Management, available directly from the Azure portal, offers a detailed view of operating costs, allowing businesses to better understand how their funds are being spent. This tool provides detailed information about your expenses, highlighting any anomalies and spending patterns. Furthermore, allows you to set budgets, share costs among different teams and identify opportunities for optimization.

AI at the service of cost management

With the introduction of AI in Microsoft Cost Management, users can now ask questions in natural language to quickly get the information they need. For example,, to understand a recent invoice, it is possible to request a detailed breakdown of expenses. The AI will provide an overview of the different spending categories and their impact on the total.

As well as providing an overview of costs, the AI offers suggestions on how to analyze expenses further. Users can compare monthly bills, examine specific expenses or investigate any anomalies. The AI also provides detailed information on any changes in costs and suggests corrective actions.

The AI integrated into Microsoft Cost Management interprets user intentions and retrieves the necessary data from various sources. This information is then presented to an advanced language model which generates a response. It is important to note that the retrieved data is not used to train the model, but only to provide the context needed to generate a relevant response.

Future perspectives

The capabilities of AI in Microsoft Cost Management are constantly evolving. In the future, users will be able to take advantage of simulations and modeling “what-if” to make informed decisions. For example,, will be able to explore how storage costs will vary as the business grows or evaluate the impact of moving resources from one region to another.

Figure 1 – Example of simulation and modeling “what-if”

Benefits

The introduction of AI in Microsoft Cost Management allows to obtain the following benefits:

Greater visibility and cost control: with greater visibility and understanding of cloud resource costs, organizations can make more informed decisions and better manage their budgets.
Operational efficiency: using AI to analyze and interpret data reduces the time and effort needed to gain valuable insights. Furthermore, users can ask specific questions in natural language and receive detailed answers, customized to their needs.

Figure 2 – Examples of questions

Optimization: with AI-driven tips and recommendations, organizations can identify and implement optimization opportunities to further reduce costs.

Conclusion

The integration of Copilot into Microsoft Cost Management represents a significant step forward in cloud cost management. With the help of artificial intelligence, businesses now have a powerful tool to optimize their spending and ensure they operate at peak efficiency. With the constant evolution of artificial intelligence, further and interesting innovations are expected in the field of cloud cost management and beyond.