
By Srinivasan Sundara Rajan | Article Rating: |
|
January 28, 2015 06:00 PM EST | Reads: |
3,327 |

Windows 10: The Next Chapter
On January 21, 2015, Microsoft unveiled the next major beta of Windows 10, the Consumer Preview, with an event at the company's home in Redmond, Washington. As it is a major release for Microsoft we expected to see several new features toward Microsoft's vision of ‘Mobile First' & ‘Cloud First' and toward a Universal Application Platform across all of desktop, laptop, mobile devices, gaming devices and other Internet Of Things.
Most of the preview predictions indicate the inclusion of Cortana Digital Assistant as part of Windows 10. Cortana is not something totally new to the Microsoft environment. Cortana is part of the Windows Phone 8.1 update and Lumia smartphones already.
Currently Cortana is positioned more as a personal assistant with Artificial Intelligence capabilities and some of the use cases include:
- Will keep track of things that interest you, make helpful suggestions, remind you of meetings and appointments
- Help you stay on top of things, whether that means alerting you about a flight delay, reminding you to pick up something from the store or to leave early for work because of traffic delays.
- Can remind you to congratulate a friend on his promotion when he calls, or to send your mom a birthday card.
Cortana implement the above use cases with a combination of:
Speech Recognition: One of the strengths of Cortana is its ability to understand and respond to voice commands. The Windows Runtime API enables you to integrate your app with Cortana and make use of Cortana's voice commands, speech recognition, and speech synthesis (text-to-speech, or TTS).
Bing Integration: Depending on the questions Cortana also integrates with Bing Search Engine and brings back relevant results.
Now the proposed Windows10 next major beta release is likely to bring Cortana to the mainstream Windows operating system that is part of the desktop, laptop, tablets and other mobile devices. There are some additional use cases more relevant to enterprises that can happen.
End-User Support: End-user support is one of the critical aspects of the Enterprise IT ecosystem. Most times end users can face several issues and need timely assistance to maintain productivity at optimum levels. Typically end-user support services provide an integrated set of tools that help resolve end-user issues. These end-user services provide preventive, self-enablement and assisted support technologies as well as onsite support designed to provide one-on-one assistance to users.
On looking at the abilities of Cortana and it's built-in integration with the Windows 10 operating system, and with Microsoft exposing appropriate APIs for developers as part of Windows Universal Apps, it's quite possible that Cortana could transform end-user support and take it to new levels. Here is how Cortana could transform the End User Support.
Reactive Scenarios
There are times when the user is expecting a support and knows what to ask.
- End user identifies a support need, like "How to fix a paper jam in a printer"
- End user communicates to Cortana either through voice or by typing. Ideally enterprises cannot afford noise pollution in work places and it would be ideal to type what is needed.
- Cortana with its built-in natural language processing capabilities understands what is needed
- Cortana gets integrated with the Back End Services of Enterprise like Knowledge Base, How To Documents etc.. and brings the relevant document and steps to fix a paper jam.
- End User fixes his problem without creating a service desk ticket.
Proactive Scenario
This is more of an interesting and much more valid scenario for enterprises.
- End user uses Windows 10 powered device (be it a desktop, laptop, tablet)
- Cortana understands key information like Windows Event Logs and user's other navigation
- Cortana interacts with Azure Machine Learning to come up with likely issues that the user may face
- Cortana either fixes them automatically or sends information to the user to take preventive action.
This will be something that will highly benefit the enterprise and can really transform the way the end-user support is typically done and can cut the costs on this front. While the details are not available, by exposing the APIs of Cortana as part of the Windows10 Universal Apps and access to the existing Azure Machine Learning Services such applications are quite possible.
For example, every time user plays a particular video on his media player, followed with running a particular application, Windows may throw a critical event in the Event log and subsequently crash the system. If this happens repeatedly, applications utilizing both Cortana and Azure Machine Learning can predict what is going to happen when the user runs the application next time and suggest remedial measures.
Why It Makes Sense for Microsoft and Enterprises
The above possibilities of extending Cortana in Windows10 beyond [personal assistance is quite relevant and will create a lot of value for enterprises due to the following reasons:
- With an overwhelming presence in enterprise desktop, Windows 10 is likely to be present in almost every other enterprise if not in the hands of every consumer
- Microsoft has the biggest knowledge base of end user support issues, which are typically a combination of the .NET environment, IE, Microsoft Office and other Windows-related problems.
- With past experience, the existing knowledge base of Microsoft can effectively be used along with Cortana to provide all the support for end users so their problems can be solved before a ticket is raised
- Azure Machine Learning could play a potential role in proactive problem solving as most of the use cases of a Cognitive Help Desk depends on a combination of natural language processing and machine learning.
- The proposed APIs for Bing, Azure, Cortana and Windows 10 Universal Apps can all work together so that developer community can come up these innovative applications.
Enterprises look to this new version more from an entertainment angle and as something that will reduce the day-to-day issues - in that context Cortana could redefine enterprise end-user support.
Cloud, Big Data, and the 'Internet of Things'
Are you ready to put your data in the cloud?
What is the future of security in the cloud?
Does Docker quickly advance the development of an IoT application?
What are the implications of Moore's Law on Hadoop deployments?
Cloud Expo / @ThingsExpo 2015 New York
(June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center, Manhattan)
Cloud Expo / @ThingsExpo 2015 Silicon Valley
(November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center)
@ThingsExpo Silicon Valley 2014 Exhibit Floor was packed for three days!
Get all these questions and hundreds more like them answered at the 2015 Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, and November 3-5, 2015, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.
Our upcoming June 9-11, 2015, event in New York City will present a total of 10 simultaneous tracks (the largest conference content in the world) by an all-star faculty, over three days, plus the popular two-day "Cloud Computing Bootcamp" presented by Janakiram MSV, an analyst with the Gigaom Research analyst network where he covers the Cloud Services landscape.
Cloud and Big Data topics and tracks include: Enterprise Cloud Adoption, APM & Cloud Computing | Hot Topics, Cloud APIs & Business, Cloud Security | Mobility, and Big Data | Analytics.
@ThingsExpo content also tripled from a single track last year to three simultaneous (all sold-out) IoT tracks: Consumer IoT, Enterprise IoT, and IoT Developer | WebRTC Convergence.
Our DevOps Summit content also doubled from a single track last June to two simultaneous tracks in November: "Dev" Developer Focus and "Ops" Operations Focus.
Please check back for daily updates as we are working with our distinguished faculty members to finalize new session abstracts. If you have any questions please contact us at events (at) sys-con.com. Last but not least we will announce our keynotes to be delivered by world-class speakers on the hottest topics!
Cloud Expo / @ThingsExpo Silicon Valley 2014 Exhibit Floor Day 3
The largest 'Internet of Things' event in the world has announced "sponsorship opportunities" and "call for papers."
The 1st International Internet of @ThingsExpo was launched this June at the Javits Center in New York City with over 6,000 delegates in attendance. The 2nd International Internet of @ThingsExpo took place November 4-6, 2014, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California, with an estimated 6,000 plus delegates attending over three days.
Cloud Expo / @ThingsExpo New York 2014 registration desk at the Javits
Sponsorship and Exhibit Opportunities Are Now Available
Sponsors and exhibitors of Internet of @ThingsExpo will benefit from unmatched branding, profile building and lead generation opportunities through:
- Featured on-site presentation and ongoing on-demand webcast exposure to a captive audience of industry decision-makers.
- Showcase exhibition during our new extended dedicated expo hours
- Breakout Session Priority scheduling for sponsors that have been guaranteed a 35-minute technical session
- Online advertising in SYS-CON's i-Technology publications
- Capitalize on our comprehensive marketing efforts leading up to the show with print mailings, e-newsletters and extensive online media coverage.
- Unprecedented PR Coverage: Editorial coverage on IoT.sys-con.com, Tweets to our 75,000 plus followers, press releases sent on major wire services to over 500 combined analysts and press members who attended Internet of @ThingsExpo - making it the best-covered "Internet of Things" conference in the world
For more information on sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities contact Carmen Gonzalez by email at events (at) sys-con.com, or by phone 201 802-3021. Book both events for additional savings!
@ThingsExpo 2015 New York (June 9-11 in New York City)
@ThingsExpo 2015 Silicon Valley (November 3-5 in Santa Clara, CA)
@ThingsExpo New York 2014 Power Panel on SYS-CON.tv
World's Top 2nd Wave Cloud and IoT Players: 2014 Sponsors and Exhibitors
In 2014 roughly 12,000 (audited) delegates registered and participated in the world's largest 2nd wave Cloud and 'Internet of Things' event. Conference delegates met with over 150 of the world's leading Cloud and 'Internet of Things' technology pioneers that were among the sponsors and exhibitors, including:
Acision (Exhibitor), ActiveState (Silver), AgilePoint (Exhibitor), Ambernet (Exhibitor), Amplidata (Exhibitor), Apacer Memory America (Exhibitor), Appcore (Exhibitor), AppDynamics (Exhibitor), AppZero (Exhibitor), Aria Systems (Bronze), Automic (Gold), Avere Systems (Exhibitor), Axis Communications (Exhibitor), Basic6 (Exhibitor), Bitium (Exhibitor), BlueBox (Bronze), Brother Office (Bronze), BSQUARE (Bronze), BUMI (Exhibitor), CA Technologies (Platinum), Calm.io (Bronze), CiRBA (Bronze), Cisco (Gold), Cloudant (Exhibitor), Cloudian (Bronze), CodeFutures (Bronze), Connect2.me (Exhibitor), Connected Data (Exhibitor), CrashPlan/Code42 (Exhibitor), Creative Business Solutions (Exhibitor), Cynny Italia (Exhibitor), Dasher Technologies (Exhibitor), DEAC Data Centers (Silver), Dell (Silver), Distrix (Exhibitor), Dyn (Bronze), e-SignLive by Silanis (Exhibitor), Edgecast Networks (Platinum), ElasticBox (Exhibitor), Endstream/Open Data Centers (Exhibitor),
ESRI (Bronze), Evident.io (Exhibitor), FireHost (Bronze), Gigamon (Silver), GoodData (Bronze), Gridstore (Exhibitor), Harbinger Group (Exhibitor), HP (DevOps Track Sponsor), IAPP (Exhibitor), IBM (Platinum), IDenticard (Exhibitor), Imperva (Exhibitor), IndependenceIT (Exhibitor), Infor (Platinum), InMage (Exhibitor), Innodisk (Exhibitor), ITinvolve (Silver), iwNetworks (Exhibitor), Ixia (Exhibitor), iXsystems (Exhibitor), Jelastic (Exhibitor), MangoApps (Exhibitor), Matrix.org (Silver), MetraTech (Bronze), Microsoft (Diamond), NaviSite (Silver), Net Access Corporation (Exhibitor), NuoDB (Bronze), NY Times (Exhibitor), Objectivity (Exhibitor), OpenCrowd (Exhibitor), Oracle (Platinum Plus), OutSystems (Bronze), Parasoft (Exhibitor), Peak10 (Exhibitor), Peer 1 Hosting (Exhibitor), Pluralsight (Exhibitor), PubNub (Exhibitor), QTS Data Centers (Bronze), Quantum (Exhibitor), Qubell (Platinum), r-evolutionapp (Exhibitor), RackWare (Exhibitor), Red Hat (Bronze), RingStor (e-Bulletin Sponsor), SAP (Gold), ScaleMP (Exhibitor), Seagate (Exhibitor), SendGrid (Exhibitor), Serena Software (Exhibitor), SherWeb (Exhibitor),
SimpleECM (Exhibitor), Smartvue (Exhibitor), SOA Software (Bronze), SOASTA CloudTest (Exhibitor), SoftLayer (Gold), SoftwareAG (Exhibitor), Solgenia (Exhibitor), SPAN Systems (Exhibitor), StackIQ (Exhibitor), Stateless Networks (Exhibitor), Stratogent (Exhibitor), Telecity (Exhibitor), Telehouse (Exhibitor), Telestax (Exhibitor), Transparent Cloud Computing Consortium (Exhibitor), Ulunsoft (Exhibitor), Utimaco (Exhibitor), VASCO Data Security (Bronze), Veeam (Exhibitor), Verizon (Platinum), VictorOps (Exhibitor), Virtustream (Power Panel Sponsor), Vormetric (Bronze), Will Jaya (Exhibitor), Windstream (Silver), WSM - Website Movers International (Exhibitor), Zentera (Exhibitor), Zerto (Exhibitor)
Secure Your VIP Pass to Attend @ThingsExpo New York 2015
@ThingsExpo announced a limited time FREE "Expo Plus" registration option. The onsite registration price of $600 will be set to 'free' for delegates who register before the end of this month.
To take advantage of this opportunity, attendees can use the special "coupon code" on the registration page and secure their "@ThingsExpo Plus" registration to attend all keynotes and general sessions, as well as a limited number of technical sessions each day of the show, in addition to full access to the expo floor and the @ThingsExpo hackathons throughout the week.
The registration page is located at the @ThingsExpo site here.
@ThingsExpo New York 2015 'Call for Papers' Now Open
The 3rd International Internet of @ThingsExpo, to be held June 9-11, 2015, at the Javits Center in New York City, New York, announces that its 'Call for Papers' is now open. The event will feature a world class, all-star faculty with the hottest IoT topics covered in three distinct tracks.
Track 1 - Consumer IoT and Wearables: Smart Appliances, Wearables, Smart Cars, Smartphones 2.0, Smart Travel, Personal Fitness, Health Care, Personalized Marketing, Customized Shopping, Personal Finance, The Digital Divide, Mobile Cash & Markets, Games & the IoT, The Future of Education, Virtual Reality
Track 2 - Enterprise IoT: The Business Case for IoT, Smart Grids, Smart Cities, Smart Transportation, The Smart Home, M2M, Authentication/Security, Wiring the IoT, The Internet of Everything, Digital Transformation of Enterprise IT, Agriculture, Transportation, Manufacturing, Local & State Government, Federal Government
Track 3 - IoT Developer | WebRTC Convergence: WebRTC, Eclipse Foundation, Cloud Foundry, Docker & Linux Containers, Node-Red, Open Source Hardware, Leveraging SOA, Multi-Cloud IoT, Evolving Standards, WebSockets, Security & Privacy Protocols, GPS & Proximity Services, Bluetooth/RFID/etc., XMPP, Nest Labs
@ThingsExpo billboard is viewed by more than 1.3 million motorists per week on Highway 101, in the heart of Silicon Valley
Help plant your flag in the fast-expanding business opportunity that is the Internet of Things: Submit your speaking proposal today here!
Download @ThingsExpo Newsletter Today ▸ Here
Chris Matthieu Named @ThingsExpo Tech Chair
Internet of @ThingsExpo named Chris Matthieu tech chair of Internet of @ThingsExpo 2014 Silicon Valley.
Chris Matthieu has two decades of telecom and web experience. He launched his Teleku cloud communications-as-a-service platform at eComm in 2010, which was acquired by Voxeo. Next he built an open source Node.JS PaaS called Nodester, which was acquired by AppFog. His latest startups include Twelephone. Leveraging HTML5 and WebRTC, Twelephone's BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) is to become the next generation telecom company running in the Web browser. Chris is currently co-founder and CTO of Octoblu.
Website: http://www.ThingsExpo.com
Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/ThingsExpo
CEO Power Panel in Silicon Valley Examined Agility, Cloud, Big Data, and the 'Internet of Things'
Things are being built upon cloud foundations to transform organizations. This CEO Power Panel at 15th Cloud Expo, moderated by Roger Strukhoff, Cloud Expo and @ThingsExpo conference chair, addressed the big issues involving these technologies and, more important, the results they will achieve. Rodney Rogers, chairman and CEO of Virtustream; Brendan O'Brien, co-founder of Aria Systems, Bart Copeland, president and CEO of ActiveState Software; Jim Cowie, chief scientist at Dyn; Dave Wagstaff, VP and chief architect at BSQUARE Corporation; Seth Proctor, CTO of NuoDB, Inc.; and Andris Gailitis, CIO of DEAC, discussed how important public, private, and hybrid cloud are to the enterprise. How does one define Big Data? And how is the IoT tying all this together?
About SYS-CON Media & Events
SYS-CON Media (www.sys-con.com) has since 1994 been connecting technology companies and customers through a comprehensive content stream - featuring over forty focused subject areas, from Cloud Computing to Web Security - interwoven with market-leading full-scale conferences produced by SYS-CON Events. The company's internationally recognized brands include among others Cloud Expo® (CloudComputingExpo.com / @CloudExpo), Big Data Expo(BigDataExpo.net / @BigDataExpo), DevOps Summit (DevOpsSummit.sys-con.com / @DevOpsSummit), Internet of @ThingsExpo (ThingsExpo.com / @ThingsExpo) and Cloud Computing Bootcamp (CloudComputingBootcamp.com).
Cloud Expo®, Big Data Expo® and @ThingsExpo® are registered trademarks of Cloud Expo, Inc., a SYS-CON Events company.
Published January 28, 2015 Reads 3,327
Copyright © 2015 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
Syndicated stories and blog feeds, all rights reserved by the author.
More Stories By Srinivasan Sundara Rajan
Srinivasan is passionate about ownership and driving things on his own, with his breadth and depth on Enterprise Technology he could run any aspect of IT Industry and make it a success.
He is a seasoned Enterprise IT Expert, mainly in the areas of Solution, Integration and Architecture, across Structured, Unstructured data sources, especially in manufacturing domain.
He currently works as Technology Head For GAVS Technologies.
![]() Apr. 16, 2016 04:30 PM EDT Reads: 1,513 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 04:15 PM EDT Reads: 2,172 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 04:00 PM EDT Reads: 2,209 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 02:45 PM EDT Reads: 1,867 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 778 |
By Liz McMillan ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 02:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,082 |
By Pat Romanski ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,065 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 02:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,274 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 01:00 PM EDT Reads: 1,905 |
By Liz McMillan ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 916 |
By Yeshim Deniz ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 12:15 PM EDT Reads: 1,189 |
By Pat Romanski ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 12:00 PM EDT Reads: 376 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 11:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,941 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 11:15 AM EDT Reads: 2,517 |
By Pat Romanski ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 10:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,059 |
By Yeshim Deniz ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 10:15 AM EDT Reads: 1,092 |
By Pat Romanski ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 10:15 AM EDT Reads: 912 |
By Liz McMillan ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 10:00 AM EDT Reads: 1,953 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 09:45 AM EDT Reads: 1,240 |
By Elizabeth White ![]() Apr. 16, 2016 09:30 AM EDT Reads: 1,364 |