Microsoft Ignite 2019: Day 5 (Final Day!)

November 8, 2019

That's a wrap! Microsoft Ignite 2019 is now complete, and it was such a great experience for me to learn more about Microsoft products and network with other attendees. I'll be posting a full wrap-up later with my final thoughts on the conference overall, but for now, here's the update on my final day at Microsoft Ignite.

Windows ♥ Linux

The first session I attended today was about the version 2.0 release of Windows Subsystem for Linux, presented by Microsoft WSL Program Manager Craig Loewen and Software Engineer Sven Groot. Although I am not a Linux expert, I was very interested to see the latest updates on what Microsoft is doing to bring Linux into the Windows world. The three most interesting updates to me were the improved Linux virtual machine performance (resulting in faster startup times and more efficient memory usage), compatibility with Docker images, and the fact that the Linux kernel running WSL was completely designed in-house by Microsoft and receives updates through Windows Update. Microsoft definitely seems very committed to Linux which the presenters demonstrated through this fun slide.

Final Activities

For the final few hours of Ignite, I spent some time working through the Azure Hands-On Labs and learning a bit more about the admin portal and how to do some basic configurations. After lunch, I decided to watch the final session on my list (about Azure Files and Sync with Senior Program Manager Fabian Uhse) via the live feed in The Hangout which was the seating area where you could pick up a wireless headset and view any of the live-streamed sessions on the giant LED display. While I was waiting for my session to start, I flipped through a few of the sessions and got to hear a bit about Microsoft Project as well. It was kind of neat to have several sessions right at your finger tips without needing to walk to another room.

The End

I've now been to four IT conferences in my career, and Ignite 2019 was definitely the most informative of them all. I gained so much valuable knowledge about Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 & Azure, and Windows Server which will help me in continuing to modernize our environment at work. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to come to Ignite and hope to have the opportunity to attend again!