So, Microsoft’s Build 2020 Conference was held a few weeks ago. And at Teleios, we normally try to check it out because you get a good sense of where they’re going with some of the technologies and platforms we use to build solutions.

This year’s effort didn’t fail to deliver, even though the format had to be drastically change because of the strict rules of social distancing most of the planet was under due to COVID-19.

On a run a few days ago, I heard Jeff Sandquist, CVP dev-rel at MSFT talking about what it took to put on the event, likening it to a production by a movie studio. It was a great interview on a podcast called Screaming in the Cloud, in which Sandquist shared his top 5 Build Announcements (starts at 41:40):

1. Microsoft Teams: See it as more than a communication channel; it’s a development platform.
   “Single largest development opportunity for developers across the planet”
2. Developer Productivity: A number of changes and new resources have been announced to make it easier, faster and more productive when developing solutions.
3. Power Apps: Continuing commitment to enabling citizen developers to build no-code solutions that frees up system and other software developers to focus on other concerns while the organization gets things done. There was a lot to see about Power Apps and Power Platform and build.
4. “Making the best damn developer box” - Scott Hanselman’s keynote highlighted many new improvements to windows itself and the development experience there that underscore Microsoft’s goals around improving the tools that support the development process. From the new Windows Terminal, to making 2020 (finally), the year of Linux on the Desktop.
5. Microsoft Learn. Learning how to get into Azure and other Microsoft development technologies can be a challenge, to put it lightly. But Microsoft has recognized this and deliberately made learning about it’s products a strategic asset. From easy on-ramps via videos on the new Microsoft learn site, to very low barrier-to-entry access to the cloud through Azure, Learn its where it’s at. More seasoned developers will be happy to hear too, that documentation is seen as a key part of the developer journey and this is reflected in the way they approach it.

It was helpful to hear Sandquist talk about Microsoft’s Founding Moment. That they started as a Developer First company and they’re staying true to their roots.