Azure DevOps & Cloud-Native Updates – May 2025

By Lionel Gurret.

Introduction

Welcome to our Monthly Azure DevOps and Cloud Tech Updates Series!

Welcome to my monthly blog series where we bring you a concise roundup of significant Azure updates pertinent to DevOps, keeping you in the loop with the latest advancements.

Let’s check what’s new!

Updates

AI + machine learning

• Retirement: Language Understanding (LUIS) retirement extended to October 31, 2025
• [Launched] Generally Available: Cross-cloud data governance with Unity Catalog on Azure Databricks
• [Launched] Generally Available: New fine-tuning capabilities in Azure AI Foundry
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure AI Foundry Agent Service
• [In preview] Public Preview: Foundry Local for on-device AI
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Databricks Azure AI Foundry Connector

Analytics

• Retirement: Microsoft Fabric Runtime 1.2
• Retirement: Azure Synapse Runtime for Apache Spark 3.4

Compute

• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Quota Groups
• [Launched] Generally Available: App Service Hybrid Connection Manager
• [Launched] Generally Available: Every AKS version is now long term support (LTS) compatible
• [Launched] Generally Available: Smart VM defaults in AKS
• [Launched] Generally Available: Track AKS supported Kubernetes version regional updates in AKS release tracker
• [In preview] Public Preview: Recommended services in Azure Portal
• [Launched] Generally Available: New Availability Zone Features for Azure App Service
• [Launched] Generally Available: Core Kubernetes extensions for AKS
• [Launched] Generally Available: Custom certificate authority support in AKS
• [Launched] Generally Available: HTTP proxy can now be enabled on an existing AKS cluster
• [Launched] Generally Available: Automated deployments in AKS now supports Azure DevOps (ADO), AKS-ready templates and service connectors
• [Launched] Generally Available: Entity Tags (eTags) for Concurrency Control in AKS
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Functions integration with Azure AI Foundry Agent Service
• [In preview] Public Preview: .NET Aspire support on Azure App Service
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure App Service – New Premium v4 Offering
• [In preview] Public Preview: Network Optimized Azure Virtual Machines – Dnsv6, Dndsv6, Dnlsv6, Dnldsv6, Ensv6 and Endsv6
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Functions MCP extension now supports additional capabilities
• [Launched] Generally Available: New regions for Azure Functions Flex consumption
• [Launched] Generally Available: Aspire Dashboard in Azure Container Apps
• [Launched] Generally Available: Durable functions v3 in Azure Functions
• [In preview] Public Preview: SDK type bindings in Azure Functions for Azure Blob Storage, Azure Service Bus, Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Event Hubs
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Functions support for HTTP streams in Python
• [Launched] Generally Available: SDK type bindings for Azure Blob Storage with Azure Functions in Python
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Functions Flex Consumption now supports availability zones and 512 MB instances
• [Launched] Generally Available: App Service Webjobs on Linux
• Retirement: Azure Static Web Apps – Dedicated Pricing Plan

Containers

• [Launched] Generally Available: Connected registry in Azure Container Registry (ACR)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager now supports DNS-based public load balancing
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager now supports placement drift detection and takeover
• [In preview] Public Preview: Automated deployments support in Azure Kubernetes Fleet Manager
• [Launched] Generally Available: Planned maintenance in Azure Container Apps
• [Launched] Generally Available: Private endpoint support in Azure Container Apps for workload profiles environments
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Arc enabled Azure Container Apps
• [Launched] Generally Available: Dedicated GPU in Azure Container Apps
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Container Apps serverless GPUs now support Azure AI Foundry models
• [In preview] Public Preview: Enhanced Azure Functions experience in Azure Container Apps
• [In preview] Public Preview: Durable task scheduler support in Azure Container Apps
• [In preview] Public Preview: Premium Ingress in Azure Container Apps
• [Launched] Generally Available: OpenTelemetry agent in Azure Container Apps
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure App Configuration now offers a Developer pricing plan
• [In preview] Public Preview: Continuous patching in Azure Container Registry

Databases

• [In preview] Public Preview: Microsoft DocumentDB Docker Image
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore) trigger and bindings for Azure Functions
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Cosmos DB JavaScript SDK 4.0
• [Launched] Generally Available: Versionless customer managed keys in Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server
• [Launched] Generally Available: Change streams for Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure SQL updates for mid-May 2025
• [Launched] Generally Available: Improved free Azure SQL Managed Instance offer
• [In preview] Public Preview: Filtered Vector Search with DiskANN
• [In preview] Public Preview: Throughput buckets in Azure Cosmos DB
• [In preview] Public Preview: JSON Index
• [In preview] Public Preview: MSSQL Extension Integrates GitHub Copilot in VS Code
• [In preview] Public Preview: Per Partition Automatic Failover for Azure Cosmos DB
• [In preview] Public Preview: Document indexing with Azure Logic Apps and Azure Cosmos DB
• [Launched] Generally Available: Filtered vector search in Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore)
• [In preview] Public Preview: At-scale Insights dashboard for Azure Cosmos DB
• [In preview] Public Preview: Aggregated diagnostics Logs for Azure Cosmos DB
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure SQL updates for mid-May 2025
• [Launched] Generally Available: Vector search in DocumentDB
• [Launched] Generally Available: DiskANN in vCore-based Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB
• [In preview] Public Preview: Visual Studio Code extension for DocumentDB
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Cosmos DB global secondary index
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Cosmos DB fleets
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Cosmos DB integration in Azure AI Agent Service
• [Launched] Generally Available: Phrase search in Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL
• [In preview] Public Preview: Multiple-language full-text search in Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL
• [In preview] Public Preview: Fuzzy text search in Azure Cosmos DB for NoSQL
• [Launched] Generally Available: Microsoft Entra ID for Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB (vCore)
• [Launched] Generally Available: Migrate from Azure Cosmos DB Mongo DB RU-based to vCore-based via Azure portal
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Semantic Operators
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Database for PostgreSQL Azure AI extension managed identity support
• [In preview] Public Preview: PostgreSQL extension for Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot
• [Launched] Generally Available: Apache AGE extension for Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• [In preview] Public Preview: Confidential computing for Azure Database for PostgreSQL flexible server
• [Launched] Generally Available: DiskANN on Azure Database for PostgreSQL
• [Launched] Generally Available: Data API in vCore-based Azure Cosmos DB for MongoDB
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Database Migration Service in China North 3

DevOps

• [Launched] Generally Available: Send a Custom Event from the Azure Monitor OpenTelemetry Distro
• [In preview] Public Preview: VM Network Troubleshooter
• [In preview] Public Preview: Managed Prometheus visualizations in Azure Monitor for Arc-enabled Kubernetes clusters
• [Launched] Generally Available: Managed Prometheus visualizations and enhanced monitoring experience in Azure Monitor for AKS
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Monitor introduces Prometheus community recommended alerts for Azure Arc-enabled Kubernetes
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Monitor Prometheus community recommended alerts for AKS
• [Launched] Generally Available: Log Analytics cross-regional Workspace Replication
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Monitor Log Analytics UI query limit increased to 100K records
• [In preview] Public Preview: Granular RBAC in Azure Monitor Log Analytics
• [In preview] Public Preview: Smarter Troubleshooting in Azure Monitor with AI-powered Investigation
• [In preview] Private Preview: Customizable Email Subjects for Log Search Alerts V2
• [In preview] Public Preview: Simple Log Alerts in Azure Monitor
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Monitor dashboards with Grafana

Developer tools

• [Launched] Generally Available: Natural Language App Code Generation
• [In preview] Public Preview: AI-powered actionable insights in Azure Load Testing
• [In preview] Public Preview: Empower AI development with new features in Microsoft Dev Box
• [Launched] Generally Available: UAE North regional availability with Microsoft Dev Box

Features

• [In preview] Public Preview: Microsoft Planetary Computer Pro
• [In preview] Public Preview: GitHub Copilot app modernization capabilities for Java and .NET
• [In preview] Public Preview: SQL Server 2025 enterprise AI-ready database from ground to cloud
• [In preview] Public Preview: Copilot in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21
• [Launched] Generally Available: SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) 21
• [In preview] Public Preview: Introducing Azure SRE Agent
• [Launched] Generally Available: Carbon optimization in Azure
• [In preview] Public Preview: MongoDB Atlas—an Azure Native Integration
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Virtual Network Manager high-scale private endpoints in connected groups

Hybrid + multicloud

• Retirement: MICROSOFT AZURE OPERATED BY 21VIANET – Action required to migrate to Azure China North 3 region by July 1, 2026 due to China North 1 and China East 1 region retirement
• [In preview] Public Preview: Registry-agnostic agentless runtime container vulnerability assessment (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Onboarding of individual AKS clusters in Microsoft Defender for Cloud
• [In preview] Public Preview: AKS security dashboard (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Vulnerability assessment and malware detection for AKS nodes (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Gating vulnerable deployments in AKS (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Agentless runtime vulnerability assessment for AKS-owned images (Microsoft Defender for Cloud)

Integration

• [Launched] Generally Available: Inbound Private Endpoint Support for Azure API Management Standard v2
• [In preview] Public Preview: New Free Tier in Azure API Center
• [In preview] Public Preview: Applications in Azure API Management
• [In preview] Public Preview: Premium v2 Tier for Azure API Management
• [Launched] Generally Available: Workspace Gateway Autoscaling in Azure API Management
• [In preview] Public Preview: Model Context Protocol support in Azure API Management and Azure API Center
• [Launched] Generally Available: Import from Azure AI Foundry to Azure API Management’s AI Gateway
• [Launched] Generally Available: Session Aware Load Balancing in Azure API Management
• [Launched] Generally Available: LLM Logging in AI Gateway Capabilities in Azure API Management
• [Launched] Generally Available: Workspace Gateway Metrics in Azure API Management
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Logic Apps Rules Engine
• [In preview] Public Preview: Build Agentic Business Processes with the Agent Loop in Azure Logic Apps
• [In preview] Public Preview: Native Integration of Azure Logic Apps with Azure AI Search for RAG Workflows
• [In preview] Public Preview: Streamlined Document Ingestion into Azure Cosmos DB with Azure Logic Apps
• [In preview] Public Preview: New Monitoring and Alerting Capabilities in Azure Integration Environment
• [In preview] Public Preview: Automated Testing Framework for Azure Logic Apps (Standard)
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure API Center May Updates

Management and governance

• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Backup for Elastic SAN
• [In preview] Private Preview: Application Awareness
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Traffic Manager SLA raised to 100%
• [Launched] Generally Available: GitHub Copilot for Azure
• [Launched] Generally Available: GRS and CRR support for Azure VMs using Premium SSD v2 in Azure Backup availability in more regions
• [Launched] Generally Available: Vaulted Backups by Azure Backup for Azure Database for PostgreSQL – Flexible Server in all regions
• [Launched] Generally Available: Enhanced Cost Management Exports
• [In preview] Generally Available: Enhancements to Purchase-Related Details in Cost Management for MCA Customers

Microsoft Build

• [Launched] Generally Available: Support for AWS Bedrock API in AI Gateway Capabilities in Azure API Management

Networking

• [Launched] Generally Available: Destination Network Address Translation (DNAT) on Azure Firewall Private IP address
• [In preview] Public Preview: Using Server-sent events with Application Gateway
• [Launched] Generally Available: Container Apps and Functions as Private Link enabled origins for Front Door Premium
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Front Door now supports origin authentication via Managed Identities
• [Launched] Generally Available: Private subnet

Regions & Datacenters

• [In preview] Public Preview: Perth – Azure Extended Zones

Retirements

• Retirement: Bing Search APIs on August 11, 2025

Storage

• [In preview] Public Preview: Live Resize for Premium SSD v2 and Ultra NVMe Disks
• [Launched] Generally Available: Customer-managed keys for Azure NetApp Files volume encryption with Azure Key Vault Managed HSM
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure Migrate expands support for migrations with Ultra SSD
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Migrate enhances support with Premium SSD v2 Disks
• [In preview] Public Preview: Encryption in Transit for Azure Files NFS Shares
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Premium SSD v2 and Ultra Disk are now available in Indonesia Central
• [Launched] Generally Available: Availability Set support for Premium SSD v2 Disk Storage
• [In preview] Public Preview: Azure NetApp Files cross-zone-region replication (CZRR)
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure NetApp Files cross-zone and cross-region replication across subscriptions
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure File Sync in Italy North
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Premium SSD v2 Disk Storage is now available in Japan West
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure NetApp Files support for Active Directory connection per NetApp account
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Premium SSD v2 now available in more regions
• [Launched] Generally Available: Azure Storage Actions – Serverless storage data management

Missing Updates

• Missing Update Placeholder

Sources

https://azure.microsoft.com/
Microsoft Dev Blog
Azure Website