In-Person Events are Back: Highlights from Microsoft Ignite 2024

When tickets to Microsoft Ignite 2024 sold out in just four days, I had a feeling that we were in for something special. The event marked a milestone for Microsoft, the first time that they had rolled their annual customer, partner, and executive events into one, set to take place over four packed days in Chicago.

From the moment the Nasuni contingent set foot in the venue, the buzz was palpable. I am not exaggerating when I say that I couldn’t walk down the hallway between talks without bumping into someone I knew! We saw people face-to-face that we’ve been having video calls with for years but had never met in-person. There was just so much incredible energy all around.

As the name suggests, Ignite has always been about sparking conversations, ideas, and interest in new releases. The 2024 event was attended by over 10,000 people. With massive crowds in full swing, one thing was ignited more than in previous years: connection. Here’s how the theme emerged as the week unfolded.

Connecting with the customer AI experience

Microsoft wasn’t keeping quiet about the fact that AI would be at the very top of their Ignite agenda. It’s been front and center of every press release, social media post, and announcement for the past year. Thus, it was no surprise that the event only confirmed that customers are experiencing the value of AI more holistically than ever.

AI is directly influencing the kind of products that are being built and how services are evolving. Copilot for GitHub is constantly improving, which is directly impacting how new technology is being developed. AI is even being used to support partnerships with Microsoft, refining how its offerings are being presented and sold to customers. It’s clear that we’re living at a moment when AI is informing and connecting every aspect of business.

Microsoft’s “Storage Connectors” was officially announced

On the Thursday of the conference, Microsoft officially announced the upcoming release of Storage Connectors. This product capability will give customers the ability to run Azure-based AI services even against datasets that live outside of Azure. The announcement of this product shows that Microsoft recognizes the challenges their customers are facing in getting true value out of their data across massive migrations.

For Nasuni customers, Storage Connectors opens up the opportunity to use Microsoft’s AI services on data stored in the hybrid cloud, without compromising on data privacy or performance. And, happily for our customers, Nasuni has been helping businesses migrate petabytes of data securely and efficiently for over a decade.

It’s clear that Storage Connectors will be transformative in the data space. We expect sign ups to be high when its public preview launches in May.

Connecting the data dots at Nasuni’s speaking sessions

Thanks to Microsoft’s excellent planning, Nasuni’s two talks took place in Ignite’s anchor auditoriums, opposite the main entrances.

First up was our Senior Vice President of Business Development, Michael Sotnick, who delivered an engaging session on data strategy practice to the partner community. Always one to turn tradition on its head, Michael opened his presentation with the ‘Last Slide,’ cutting right to the chase and sharing his conclusions with the audience. The main takeaway? Behind every winning AI strategy is a winning data strategy.

Nick Burling, Senior Vice President of Product, then took to the customer stage with his provocative talk: I’ve spoken to your file data. It’s not fit for AI. He ran through a demo of the Nasuni integration with M365 Copilot, highlighting the importance of clean and well-curated data to unlocking maximum value from AI integrations.

As well as packing out the theaters, we also got some amazing feedback on the talks and events we hosted, with attendees telling us that they were unique, valuable, and memorable — all music to our ears!

Celebrating new connections at the Nasuni booth

The Nasuni booth at Ignite was on fire! Throughout the event, we talked to over 500 people. (Excuse me while I go pop another Halls.) Many of them stopped by to continue conversations from our speaking sessions, telling us that they were engaged with our content and keen to learn more. We raised champagne toasts to partners, customers, and new friends. We even braved the snowy Chicago streets to strengthen those connections over dinner at Michael Jordan’s steakhouse on Wednesday evening. It was both rewarding and exciting to feel people embracing Nasuni’s ethos, approach, and product offerings.

A Nasuni-branded escalator literally connected the floors

Nasuni’s presence at Microsoft Ignite 2024 was impossible to ignore. And I’m not even talking about the mixers we hosted, the insightful talks we delivered, or the atmosphere at the booth. I mean it much more literally: every single one of the 10,000 attendees had to pass an escalator covered in deep green Nasuni branding to pick up their badges upon arrival. Having our name, logo, and tagline splashed all over the main escalator caught attention, started conversations, and got us some compliments. One long-time customer even told us how cool it was to see us getting such prominent exposure and recognition.

See you at Microsoft Ignite 2025!

Microsoft Ignite 2024 felt both endless and like it was over in a flash. The experience was intense and exhausting, but also energizing and exhilarating. As the event wrapped up and the Nasuni team said goodbye to connections new and old, everyone was saying the same thing: We should do this more often!

And we will. Ignite felt like a turning of the tide. I think we’re only going to see events like this getting bigger and better as more and more people benefit from in-person connection and innovation. I, for one, am already looking forward to the next one!