This week at the annual Microsoft Build conference, we are discussing how, more than ever, organizations are relying on developers to create breakthrough experiences. With big data, cloud and AI converging, innovation & disruption is accelerating to a pace never seen before. Data is the key strategic asset at the heart of this convergence. When combined with the limitless computing power of the cloud and new capabilities like Machine Learning and AI, it enables developers to build the next generation of intelligent applications. As a developer, you are looking for faster, easier ways to embrace these converging technologies and transform your app experiences.

Democratization of Artificial intelligence, Microsoft's promise to take the AI and Machine learning from the ivory towers and make it accessible for all, is starting to take shape quite effectively. Let's face it; resource constraints around AI/ML is a real problem. Most companies with real-world AI use cases just don't have enough runway to build their own artificial intelligence offerings, and Microsoft cognitive services provide a sophisticated yet easy to use abstraction which fills this gap. Microsoft has also announced AI as an MVP category (http://aka.ms/AIMVP) Being a Microsoft MVP for Data Platforms, I have had the front row seat to see how Cognitive Services, a collection of powerful APIs and toolkits unfold to fulfill the promise of AI democratization.

Microsoft just wrapped up its Build developer conference, and the theme unifying all the news is clear: Windows and Cortana everywhere. Whether it's linking Windows to all your other devices or letting developers code for various platforms from their PCs, Microsoft made a bigger effort to get its hooks in all aspects of our tech lives. CEO Satya Nadella kicked off the first keynote by outlining the company's vision for the future of computing, which will incorporate devices from laptops and smartphones to cars, forklifts, thermostats and robots. Although the first day served up more news for developers than consumers, it offered a taste of what Microsoft services could be coming soon. For instance, the just-released Cortana Skills Kit public preview will let creators build more functions for the voice assistant that span your personal and professional life.

Microsoft is all set to kickstart Build 2017, its annual developer's conference, with CEO Satya Nadella spearheading important announcements for the developer community. The conference taking place in between May and 12, will set the tone for what Microsoft aims to achieve with its core products. As usual, the conference will not focus much on hardware products. Microsoft had recently launched its Surface Laptop along with Windows 10S operating system which aims to deliver better performance with low-end hardware. It had also showcased the Cortana voice assistant powered Invoke speaker by Harman Kardon.

Microsoft's push into being the connective glue between all your devices is encompassed in Graph. That is what the company is calling a handful of features it says will "connect dots between people, conversations, projects and content." Announced during the second day of Build 2017, the aim is to make all things Microsoft work seamlessly, whether you're on an iPhone, an Android device or a Windows PC. (And without mentioning Continuum.) It goes beyond that, tapping into Microsoft's cloud storage services in a bid to make you more efficient switching across different hardware, and keeping track of (almost) everything you do on your PC. Timeline is possibly the most intriguing feature, offering a (literal) timeline of what you were working on / doing on your PC months or even years ago.

Tech company developer conferences always feature a wacky demo or three. But at Build 2017 in Seattle Wednesday, Microsoft went for the waterworks at the conclusion of CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address: it showcased a prototype watch that eliminated the arm shaking that often plagues those suffering from the neurological disease Parkinson's. After a speech that both heralded and warned about coming leaps in technological power, Nadella screened a video that told the story of two British Microsoft researchers, Haiyan Zhang and Nicolas Villa, who decided to launch an independent project to create a tremor-eliminating device for a BBC documentary, The Big Life Fix. The Emma Watch, a prototype that was shown at Microsoft Build 2017, can still the trembling arms of those suffering from Parkinson's. Working with graphic designer and Parkinson's sufferer Emma Lawton, 32, the researchers developed a watch -- which they named Emma -- that, according to Microsoft, "vibrates in a distinctive pattern to disrupt the feedback loop between brain and hand."

HP and Intel are both working on connected-home devices that run on Microsoft's Cortana platform. Microsoft announced the devices as part of its Build 2017 conference this morning, but didn't provide details about form, function or release window. The gadgets from HP and Intel follow this week's announcement of Invoke (GIF below), the first-ever third-party Cortana device. The connected speaker comes from Harman Kardon and it can "favorite music, manage calendars and activities, set reminders, check traffic, deliver the latest news and much more." The Invoke and other Cortana-run devices will encroach on a hot IoT market currently dominated by Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant.

Microsoft has made big changes to how it operate under Nadella. SAN FRANCISCO -- Microsoft Build 2017 kicks off Wednesday morning in Seattle, a homecoming for the tech giant after years of holding its annual developers conference here in San Francisco. Some 5,500 developers have heeded the Redmond, Wash., company's call, helping Build sell out in a day. As Facebook, Apple and Google do with their big developer confabs, Microsoft will use the event to evangelize about its strategy while urging software pros to spend time developing much-needed apps for Microsoft's ecosystem. Chat-bots were the big story out of Build 2016 -- CEO Satya Nadella pronounced the artificial-intelligence helpers "the new apps" -- but famously fizzled out of the gate when, days before the conference, hackers turned Microsoft's Tay bot into an epithet-spewing racist.

Microsoft's Build conference is not only about giving developers the tools they need to write apps or create Windows-friendly hardware but also Microsoft's chance to outline its vision of the future. What software and devices will matter in the months (or even years) ahead? And this time around, there's no shortage of new developments to discuss: Windows updates, the Cortana AI assistant, HoloLens, partner hardware and even a chance at new Surface gear. It's not necessarily clear what's likely to show up, but don't worry: That's what we're here to sort out. We've rounded up some of the most promising leaks, rumors and logical predictions to give you a sense of what to expect when Build 2017 kicks off May 10th.