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17 Professional Technical Report Templates (+Format Samples)

Preparing a technical report may seem straightforward. A researcher has completed their work on a particular subject and needs to summarize the work for others to review and comment on. The writer might be looking for affirmation of their work. They may be looking for support for their conclusions. They may also need additional funding and support to take their research to the next level. If the research has concluded, they may want to find a company to develop a product and introduce the concept to the marketplace.

Technical reports fulfill many objectives, and it becomes important to understand who the audience is, what your objectives are, and what you hope to gain by writing the technical report. This post will address some of these questions and help readers prepare better technical reports that satisfy whatever objectives you may have.

What is a Technical Report?

In short, a technical report is a document prepared by a researcher or a group of researchers describing the research , the test process , and the results of those tests. Based on the results, the researcher will prepare conclusions and suggest the next step in the process to continue the research or to take the data from the lab to the prototype stage. The report is submitted to the sponsor for review and comment.

Technical reports vary in levels of detail and the amount of information they contain. For example, they may cover the procedures, design criteria, history of the project/research, illustrations and images, and the test result data. The report will also include conclusions and recommendations for further research or prototyping.

What Is a Technical Report Template?

Using a technical report template brings consistency to your reports. Your customers/clients/stakeholders will appreciate the details in your report and the sections or layout of your report . Using a template also saves time for the writer. The titles and sections, and index are already in place. The template will also include your companies name, address, and general contact information on each page. The numbering system is also included.

While some of these items may seem trivial, imagine many report writers working in isolation. The reports will all be different without a common format and appear unprofessional to readers who view reports from the same company.

The technical report template should contain the following general outline:

• Introduction
• Executive Summary
• Details of the Experiment
• Analysis of the Result and Discussion
• Body of the Report
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
• Acknowledgments

We will cover each of these sections later in this document. In addition, each page should be numbered, dated, and include the title of the report either at the top or bottom of the page in the margins.

Technical Report Templates & Examples

How Can a Technical Report Example Help You?

Technical reports can help technical writers in a variety of ways, which leads to impressing clients and sponsors of your work.

If your report is sloppy, difficult to read and follow, readers may conclude that the research was sloppy and disorganized. A professional appearance matters, especially with sponsors in addition to top-notch research delivering spectacular results.

Adhering to the following attributes can help you gain support for your report’s conclusions and recommendations.

• Common format and style – for reports prepared by your company ensures that there is a consistent look and feel to the report that is professional and well written, without spelling and grammatical mistakes.
• Requires organization and presentation – readers expect to see a brief introduction and then the executive summary. Many will not go beyond this point. They want the summary upfront with the key conclusions. The rest of the document should support everything in summary.
• Adds structure to the document – every document follows a common structure. Readers and clients know what to expect and what comes next. It is well organized.
• Focus on messaging for executives and users – the executive summary is no longer than one page and focused on decision-makers, while the remainder of the report supports the summary, the conclusions, and the recommendations needed by the users of the data.
• Acknowledge associates and contributors – gains credibility and support for the project and future projects you may work on.
• Include references which your work depends on – support your work and add further credibility to the results.

Essential Elements of a Technical Report Template

The following are the essential elements of every technical report template:

• Title page – or cover page includes the title of your report, the date, the name of the institution, and project name or number if applicable.
• Introduction – describe the main purpose of the document, broad objectives or aims of the project/document, and how this report fits into the overall project if the report is a mid-project report or part of a larger activity.
• Executive Summary – is an important part of the technical report. Many busy executives will only read this section . It should conclude the major results, conclusions, and recommendations for the document or project. The summary should be no longer than one page in length.
• Details of the Experiment – or perhaps the technical details concerning a new technology design proposal. Every detail should be covered concerning the equipment needed for the experiment. If it is a design proposal, all of the components needed to prototype the technology, including any that must be developed, should be described and itemized.
• Analysis of the Result and Discussion – experiments yield a variety of results, some expected and some unexpected. The results should be explained where possible. If the work did not involve an experiment, this section could be excluded .
• Body of the Report – is the section that many people will be interested in and spend the most time on. Add appropriate subheadings describing the work activity, the technical components, the experimental process, the results, and any anomalies that may have appeared. Provide as many details as needed to adequately describe all elements of the experiment or the technical proposal. Break it down into subheadings that make it easier for the reader to understand and comprehend.
• Conclusions – the body of the report should flow into the conclusion section of the report. Your points should be supported by direct results obtained during the experiment. If the experiment did not cover a specific area, then no conclusion can be summarized. This may be an opportunity to propose an additional experimental activity to verify areas that were not explored in your initial work.
• Recommendations – include the next steps that need to be taken to further the experiments, to move to the prototyping stage, or to forgo further work because the experiments did not support the outcome you anticipated.
• References – list all references to materials, texts, scientific papers used in your research. If you quoted text from another writer, it should be listed to avoid being accused of plagiarism . You acknowledge that the content came from a source other than your own.
• Acknowledgments – include everyone that assisted in preparing the report, from the lab assistants to the folks that proofread your reports. This is your opportunity to recognize the efforts of those people who assisted in this activity.
• Appendices – may include additional data that help establish the conclusions and recommendations in your report.

How to Write a Technical Report?

Preparing to write a technical report can be a little daunting unless you have collected all of the data you need and have kept excellent notes about the processes and steps used during the experimental and design phase of your project. These notes will come in very handy when you are preparing the body of the report.

Keep an ongoing list of references and people you worked with during the work activity. These folks should also receive an honorable mention in the acknowledgment section of the report.

The first step before writing a technical report is to collect all of the data that may be useful during the preparation of the draft report. Follow the template outline and add subheadings as needed to improve the flow of the document and make reading easier.

Under the main headings and subtitles, create a point-form list of the topics you want to cover in each. Once this step is completed, you should have a basic outline of what you want to cover in the report. You may even jot down the points you want to make in the executive summary, the conclusions, and the recommendations section of the report. All of your data and narrative in the body of the report should support the conclusions and recommendations.

You cannot conclude and make recommendations if the data and the narrative do not support them.

The next step is to begin writing the draft. Expand each of the points you added earlier into proper grammatical sentences, drawing on the base data from your experiments and design steps. Always take the reader into account, focus on preparing a professional document that brings the reader to the same conclusions and recommendations you have reached.

Add drawings, graphs, and tables as needed to support your work. These may come under intense scrutiny. Ensure they are accurate and display the data in the best possible fashion. Graphs should be clearly labeled, indicating what is illustrated, the variables, and the form of the chart – pie, bar graphs, etc.

Add diagrams that are easy to understand and support the narrative in your document. The diagram should follow the text explaining the concepts illustrated in the diagram.

Add tables as needed to summarize your data and precede them with the appropriate narrative referencing the table information.

All tables, diagrams, and graphs should be numbered for easy reference in the narrative and also in the index of your report.

Tips for Writing Your Technical Report

The writer of a technical report must always consider the readers of the report and how they can make it easy for them to read, understand, and assimilate the information. Anything you can do in this regard makes your report more successful and increases the opportunities to achieve the goals and objectives you have for the report, e.g., additional funding, further development, prototyping, etc.

The following tips should be considered when preparing a technical report:

• Use one font for the report and use either bold or underlining to emphasize points you want to draw the reader to. Try not to overuse, since it loses its effectiveness if too many items are highlighted in bold or underlined
• Use headings and subheadings to break up the report and make it easier to read. Long paragraphs are difficult to absorb, and readers often lose the train of thought. Using headings can help maintain the reader’s thought process and keep them focused on the subject.
• Avoid plagiarism; write everything in your own words if you must use someone else’s concepts and ideas, including on-page citations or in the reference section of the report. Failure to mention citations significantly reduces your credibility and the results published in your technical document.
• If you pull information from the internet, cross-check it and confirm authenticity. Not everything found on the internet is accurate and supported by scientific studies.
• Always proofread your document for both grammatical and spelling mistakes.
• During your proofreading activity, there may be points you want to re-write or points that need to be added to the document
• The general rule of thumb for an executive summary section is to keep it to one page in length. Some documents suggest no more than 300 words.
• Note that the executive summary is written for a different audience. It should be concise and clearly state the major goals, conclusions, and recommendations of your report. Many executives will not take the time to read the entire report.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing your Technical Report

Aside from checking for spelling and grammatical mistakes, there are several other areas that writers should be careful of when they are preparing technical reports.

• Avoid Using Common Phrases and Clichés – overuse of common phrases tends to annoy readers and reduce the originality of your report. Focus on simple, straightforward sentences to keep your report easy to comprehend and understand.
• Find the Correct Balance of Data – providing too much data can overwhelm and confuse readers. Stick to the data that is pertinent to the subject and supports your conclusions and recommendations.
• Avoid Using Non-Technical Material and Content – especially if it is not related and appears as filler for your report. Stick to the main content and results of your work.
• Avoid Computer Program Listings – keep these listings out of the main report. An option is to include the listing in an appendix or make a reference to the programs used in your work.
• Avoid Long Complex Math Equations – these may be difficult to understand. Place these equations in an appendix and refer to the appendix in your main report.
• Discussing the Challenge of Creating the Report – aside from appearing unprofessional, it is not relevant to the report. Stick to the facts and data that support your report. Knowledgeable people will understand the difficulty and challenge of preparing the report based on the report itself.

Several frequently asked questions by writers of technical reports follow:

What is the main purpose of a technical report?

The main purpose of a technical report is to summarize and convey the details about a technical project, the conclusions, and recommendations for a technical project. The next steps (More research, prototyping, product development, etc.) should be summarized and reported to the sponsor of the project.

How do you write an introduction to a technical report?

Summarize the main objectives of the report to help the reader understand the purpose of the document and what they should expect from the report. Discuss the flow of the report and draw attention to any special elements that you do not want the reader to miss.

What is the basic structure of the technical report?

The basic structure of a technical report contains the following elements(Add subtitles as appropriate for the content of your document):

What are the types of technical reports?

Technical reports are used in many different venues to achieve various objectives. While reporting on scientific experiments are common, the following are also considered technical reports:

• Technical Instruction Manuals
• Technical Proposals
• Experiment or Research Reports
• Posters and Visual Communication
• Technical Descriptions
• Product Recalls
• White Paper Discussion Papers
• Technical End User Instructions

Technical writing is quickly becoming a valuable skill that can have a huge impact on the success or failure of technical projects. A well-written document aimed at a specific audience will be tailored to that audience with the appropriate amount of documentation to enable understanding and agreement with the recommendations and conclusions. There are many different types of technical reports; however, all should have an introduction and an executive summary for those readers short on time or who need a summary and are unwilling to dive into the details of the project. Use a technical report template to ensure consistency and a common style across your company. Use subtitles to break up the data to make it easier to read. Avoid long, complex paragraphs. Deliver a professional document with an introduction and executive summary. Check and double-check for spelling and grammatical errors. Leave out extraneous information that does not contribute to the message conveyed in your report. Use appendices to include large amounts of data, mathematical formulas, and other information that is important to the project but does not need to be in the main report. Focus your content on the main client or stakeholder. These are the people who will make decisions about further work, next steps, etc., based on the content in your report.

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WTO / Business / Reports / 26 Best Technical Report Examples, Format, and Templates

26 Best Technical Report Examples, Format, and Templates

A technical report is a document created by a researcher that discusses the project’s outcomes and is delivered to the project’s sponsor.

It is defined as a written document that gives accurate and evidence-based information. The three essential research features (procedure, progress, and outcomes) are all included in it. Therefore, such complex information requires a report that is both understandable and efficient. Unless it is published in a peer-reviewed journal, it is not peer-reviewed.

Technical Report Examples

Characteristics of a Technical Report

A technical report should be clear, comprehensive, and concise, with concepts clearly stated and facts presented logically. Such writing is characterized by a subject matter that requires accurate and straightforward information presentation. This allows the reader to recognize the exact message that the writer is trying to express.

Below are a few important characteristics we have briefly described:

• They can include data, design criteria, techniques, literature reviews , study history, extensive tables, illustrations, and explanations of failed attempts.
• They may be published before the relevant journal literature and may contain additional or different information than the following journal article.
• Since the sponsor already understands that it may have restricted access, there may be less background information.
• Technical reports are classified and export-controlled.
• As part of the identifying information, there may be complex abbreviations and codes.

Common Areas Where It is Used

Technical reports are used in many fields. However, the main areas are:

• Engineering
• Agriculture
• Physical science
• Biomedical science

Since these professions contain complex information, it should be written so that it is easy to understand. Technical reports also record research and development done by:

• Government agencies ( NASA , the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy 
• Non-profit and non-governmental groups that conduct research
• Commercial companies
• Institutions of Higher Learning

Importance of Writing a Technical Report

Writing a practical report takes time and effort, and writing about such subjects makes it even more challenging. People write to suggest projects, assist others in understanding the research, analyze and solve difficulties, and describe methods and objects, among other things.

Below are some of the other important aspects of writing one:

Efficient communication

Companies use them to communicate important information to senior officials. This information is then used to make vital decisions that will have a long-term effect on the company. Proposals, regulations, manuals, procedures, requests, progress reports, and emails are examples of technical reports.

The reader should be able to understand its specific meaning. Writing that is unclear is costly. In addition, the report is often the most critical communication link between staff. If this link is poor, the entire project may be affected.

Evidence of your work

The software supports the majority of the work. Graduation projects, on the other hand, are not. As a result, if you’re a student, this report is the only proof of your research. It highlights the methods you used to conduct your study and recognizes your efforts to improve evaluation.

When writing, all information should be included, as well as its history and a thorough explanation of any process or method of carrying out a specific task. It also contains findings, conclusions, and suggestions.

Organizes the data

It is a brief, accurate document that is organized and prepared consistently. It is the one area where all of a project’s content is written concisely and interpretably. It increases the simplicity with which readers can find the information they’re looking for. Include headings and lists in the report to make it more accessible. It is ideal to have a table of contents , a list of images, a glossary, and an index.

Tools for evaluation of your work

Teachers and supervisors assess your research proposal primarily based on your writing. You will receive a decent score if your report is accurate, clear, and understandable. Research and technical reports work well together. When they both work together, the best outcomes are achieved.

Before you begin writing, consider who the intended audience is. Analyzing the target audience allows you to organize the report, whether lecturers, industry professionals, or even buyers seeking to finance the project.

It offers you an idea of the reader’s current knowledge capacity and how much material to include in the report. Many people dedicate less time and effort to the report than they did to the study, which is not beneficial.

How do I write a technical report?

A well-written report with simplified content is easier to read and increases the reader’s trust in what the report is saying. It’s easy to spot a solid report. It has a clear and informative title and a logical format for the reader, with headings indicating the information in each section. The diagrams are well-designed and labeled.

Below are the components of a successful report:

There are two approaches to follow when writing a technical report. The one you choose is dependent on what will suit you. The two ways are:

• Top-down approach: Structure the full report from start to finish, from title to sub-titles to conclusion, and add the details in the appropriate sections. The top-down approach creates a structured flow for your mental process, which helps with time management.
• Evolutionary delivery: This method is suitable for someone who likes to go with the flow. As the project develops, the author writes and makes decisions. Evolutionary delivery broadens thinking capabilities. When a new idea or inspiration comes, you can even add or alter certain areas.

It should have a clearly defined format that is easy to follow and explains the goal of the technical report. Below is a list of pages to include in it:

• Cover page: The cover page is the project’s face. As a result, it should have details such as the title, the author’s name, and the organization’s name together with its symbol. It should be a straightforward but engaging layout.
• Title page: The title page is where the word count has been provided. The word length and the primary text word count are frequently required. The reader is also informed about the project’s status on the title page. This page also includes the name of the mentor or supervisor.
• Abstract: The abstract provides a clear and brief description of the project.  It is written so that a person who solely reads the abstract can learn everything about the project.
• Preface: The preface is the page on which you state that all sources have been appropriately credited and that no section of your research has been copied. Your findings are the result of your experiments and study.
• Dedication: When an author wishes to dedicate their study to a loved one, this is an additional page to do so. It’s a single sentence right in the middle of a fresh page.
• Acknowledgment: In the acknowledgment section, you thank the persons, organizations, and parties who assisted you in the process or inspired you to start it.
• Table of contents: The table of contents is where page numbers are listed next to all section and subsection titles. Make a page for describing any symbols you have used. If the technical report has graphs and tables, they also require a new page. The symbols and illustrations are to be listed on a new page.
• Introduction: The introduction states the report’s goals and suggests how the report’s subject should be handled. The introduction takes you straight to the report.
• Body: The sections of the body are numbered and headed. These sections organize and divide the several primary themes in a reasonable order.
• Conclusion: The conclusion’s goal is to wrap up everything that is discussed in the project. Mention the findings of each chapter, the goals that were met, and the degree to which the goals were met. Discuss the consequences of the findings as well as the importance of the research.
• References: The reference section contains published sources of information cited in or quoted in the book.
• Bibliography: In a bibliography, other sources of information, such as websites that are not mentioned in the text but are helpful for background or additional reading, are stated.

Presentation

There are a few guidelines that are recommended when writing a technical report. We have pointed out those guidelines in this part below:

• It should be printed on A4 paper, single-sided. 
• The report’s margins should be consistent throughout.
• The title, summary, and contents pages should not be numbered.
• All additional pages should be numbered sequentially, beginning with 1.
• Binders can be used for more extended reports (e.g., a year-three project report).
• At least 2.54 cm must be left on all four margins.
• Print, microform, and digital editions are available.
• Older table rows have been scanned and are available on the internal network in full text.
• Newer table rows should be digital from the start.

Planning the report

There are three main steps on how to plan a report . The first step is collecting the relevant information; the second step is the planning phase; and the third step is structuring the report. In this section, we have explained these three steps comprehensively for you:

• For a journal article: author(s), article title, name of the journal (italic or underlined), year of publication, volume number (bold), issue number (if provided (in brackets)), page numbers
• For book: author(s), title of the book (italic or underlined), edition (if appropriate), publisher, year of publication
• Creative stage of planning: In random order, outline subjects and ideas from your research. After that, organize them into groups. Please keep track of any issues that don’t belong to any groups if they’re relevant later. Finally, arrange the groups in a logical order that covers the subject of the report.
• Structuring the report: Make a simple report layout with headings and subheadings based on the logical sequence of collected ideas.

Writing the first draft

Instead of starting with the introduction, start with the main text. Stick to the outline. Allow your thoughts to flow freely; don’t worry about style, spelling, or word processing at this point. If you have trouble writing, return to the outline plan and write more specific preparation notes.

Make sketchy diagrams or graph illustrations. Maintain a numbered list of references as they appear in your writing, and enclose any referenced text in quotation marks. After that, write the introduction and then the conclusion. At this point, do not write the summary.

Revising the draft

This is where the report will begin to take shape as a formal document. The accuracy and precision of delivering the required information to the relevant audience are the basis of a successful technical report.

Diagrams, tables, graphs, and mathematics

Information is best conveyed via diagrams, tables, images, or numbers. Illustrations also make a report attractive, and they are what will keep the reader engaged. Below are tips on how to use these illustrations:

• Keep things as simple as possible. Diagrams should be drawn specifically for the report. Place small diagrams after the text reference. Plan where to put massive diagrams.
•  Small diagrams can be included anywhere in the text, including within a phrase.
• Table numbers and captions can separate more extensive tables from the text. Place them as close to the text references as possible. Complicated tables should be included in an appendix.
• Only apply mathematics to explain things when it is the most effective way to do so. Extended mathematical arguments should be placed in an appendix if they are vital.

The report layout

A report’s look is just as valuable as its content. A report that is visually appealing and well-organized has a good chance of getting reviewed. For the main text, choose a basic 12-point font like Times New Roman. When appropriate, use different font sizes—bold, italic, and underline—but not excessively. Too many changes in typestyle may seem confusing.

To divide the content and guide the reader, use headings and subheadings. They should follow the systematic process established during the planning stage but with enough sub-headings to split the information into manageable parts.

Originality and plagiarism

If you use someone else’s findings, acknowledge them in the references. Any copied phrases, sentences, or paragraphs must be surrounded by quotation marks and referenced with a number. Do not use quotation marks for material that is not copied, but it must still be cited.

Using the reference numbering system, identify each source of information inside the report. Without a source, information is considered to be either general knowledge or plagiarized.

Finalizing the report

The report should be nearly complete, with an introduction, main text in parts, conclusions, correctly formatted references and bibliography, and any appendices. In addition, provide page numbers, contents, and title pages, as well as a summary.

The summary

The subject should be indicated in a summary, which should include the significant results and conclusions. It should be clear and precise. Many people may view a report summary, but only a few people will read the entire report, as is often the case in a professional organization.

Word processing and desktop publishing

When creating and manipulating a report, word processing software is used. After you’ve typed your content, the software gives you the option for copying, erasing, and formatting it. Desktop publishing is a method of creating page layouts for publications that will be printed or published online. Word processing has its advantages and disadvantages.

The advantages are listed as below:

• Word processing and desktop publishing applications allow for unlimited document revisions. Words, word order, style, and layout are all part of this.
• They enable the construction of a large document in pieces that can be saved and assembled later.
• They can be used to make a document look more professional and appealing.
• They make the process of proofreading and revising a piece of cake.

Disadvantages

The disadvantages are that:

• word processing and desktop publishing software can waste time by slowing down writing and distracting the writer with text and graphics editing techniques.
• Cutting and pasting too much leads to endless repetition and poor writing.
• If the first draft is word-processed, the writer could be tricked into believing that it does not require proofreading or rewriting.

Proofreading

Proofreading is a crucial part of writing that involves checking every written area, from the text to the structure. Make it a habit to proofread any written work you submit at least once and ideally several times. Furthermore, as the author of a lengthy written text, you will not be able to proofread yourself effectively; you are too familiar with what you have written and will miss all the errors. Therefore, it would be best if you let someone else proofread the report as well. It can be a friend, family member, or colleague.

Points to Remember

Below are significant points to remember when writing a technical report:

• Do not worry about document style and formatting until the final revision.
• Do not attempt to create graphics until the actual content is complete.
• Decide on the report’s message. You should be clear about why you’re writing and what information you want to include in the report.
• Define the target audience so that your content is more relevant to them. If people in your field read the report, it can be more “technical” in terminology and detail. Reduce the amount of terminology for non-expert readers in other cases.
• Make a rough layout. It should be reasonably structured, so write a rough draft and stick to it to ensure that your report is clear and well-formatted.

Today, technical reports are the primary sources of scientific and technological information. Many organizations, most of which lack commercial publishers’ sophisticated editing and printing resources, prepare them for internal or wider distribution. Sponsors of research programs frequently do so. When more information is created for academic work, it may be produced with multiple examples that include in-depth experimental results, extra results, or simulation software design. They are generally written to answer a specific research question. They can be used as an accountability report for the organization that funded the research. They give people access to information before it is made public elsewhere. Its main objective is to propose a solution to a problem to encourage action. They serve as a legal record of your work and decisions, as well as a record of your developing expertise.

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Title: sora: a review on background, technology, limitations, and opportunities of large vision models.

Abstract: Sora is a text-to-video generative AI model, released by OpenAI in February 2024. The model is trained to generate videos of realistic or imaginative scenes from text instructions and show potential in simulating the physical world. Based on public technical reports and reverse engineering, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the model's background, related technologies, applications, remaining challenges, and future directions of text-to-video AI models. We first trace Sora's development and investigate the underlying technologies used to build this "world simulator". Then, we describe in detail the applications and potential impact of Sora in multiple industries ranging from film-making and education to marketing. We discuss the main challenges and limitations that need to be addressed to widely deploy Sora, such as ensuring safe and unbiased video generation. Lastly, we discuss the future development of Sora and video generation models in general, and how advancements in the field could enable new ways of human-AI interaction, boosting productivity and creativity of video generation.

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The art and science behind Microsoft threat hunting: Part 3

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Earlier in Part 1 1 and Part 2 2 of this blog series, Microsoft Incident Response outlined the strategies, methodologies, and approaches that are used while performing a cyberthreat hunt in both pre- and post-compromised environments. This chapter outlines how Microsoft Incident Response, in collaboration with partner security teams, leverages three distinct types of threat intelligence in the threat hunting cycle, and how customers can utilize these artifacts themselves to improve their own incident response preparedness. 

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Threat intelligence is often oversimplified to represent a feed of indicators of compromise (IOCs). The intersection between multiple types of threat intelligence, however, enables organizations and their threat hunters to have a holistic understanding of the cyberattackers and techniques that can and will target them. With this comprehensive cheat sheet of knowledge, threat hunters can not only increase efficiency when responding to a compromise, but proactively hunt their systems for anomalies and fine-tune protection and detection mechanisms. 

Figure 1. Three types of threat intelligenc e.

Figure 1 introduces three types of threat intelligence that will be outlined in this blog— strategic , operational , and tactical . It provides a visualization of organizational effort versus the value gained when utilizing threat intelligence in more than one way. Typically, security teams integrate IOC cyberthreat feeds at a tactical level, but incorporating threat intelligence operationally requires daily investment, especially when alert queues seem endless. Strategic threat intelligence may seem familiar to most organizations but can be challenging to apply effectively, as this requires concentrated effort at multiple levels to understand the organization’s position within the overall threat landscape. How can threat hunters leverage these types of threat intelligence effectively for the benefit of their organization? 

Strategic threat intelligence: Informed hunting driven by the overarching cyberthreat landscape 

Security teams should be industry aware—being cognizant of the types of digital threats and current trends affecting industry verticals allows any team to be better prepared for potential compromise. Strategic threat intelligence is fundamentally based on understanding threat actor motives, which gives organizations an understanding of which threat actors they should be most conscious of in relation to the industry vertical or their most valuable resources. For example, government entities are traditionally targeted by nation-state advanced persistent threats (APTs) to perform cyber espionage, whereas organizations in the healthcare industry are commonly targeted by cybercriminal actor groups for ransomware operations and financial extortion due to the sensitivity of the data they possess. Understanding where the organization fits into this strategic picture determines the investment where its resources (people and time) may be constrained. Furthermore, it’s a key step toward developing an effective threat-informed defense strategy prioritizing the cyberattacks that target the organization.  

Operational threat intelligence: Informed hunting to proactively understand the environment and its data 

Having broad visibility into an organization’s attack surface is imperative when applying threat intelligence at an operational level. The crucial components spanning the perimeter of the on-premises network and extended entities such as cloud, software-as-a-service, and overall supply chain should be well understood: 

• Where are the tier 0 systems in the organization? 
• What intermediary lateral movement pathways exist to tier 0 systems? 
• What security controls across the environment are (or aren’t) in place? 
• What telemetry is produced by all systems in the environment?  

Security teams should proactively analyze the data that comes from these entities to develop a baseline of normal operations. Along with this baseline, threat hunters should comprehend and exercise organizational processes. In the event of an identified anomaly, how is that behavior deconflicted? What teams within the organization need to be consulted? What is the process for ensuring false positives can be reported and circulated efficiently and effectively? Considering the secondary questions and tertiary actions of response steps greatly benefits threat hunting timeliness, staving off confusion during a rapidly evolving incident.

Tactical threat intelligence: Informed hunting to reactively respond to a live cyberthreat 

Tactical threat intelligence is often an organization’s main integration to enhance a threat hunt, particularly in response to an active cyberattack scenario. Known-bad entities and atomic indicators such as IP addresses, domains, and file hashes are used to identify anomalies aligning to attacker techniques against targeted systems quickly. Additionally, if the cyberattack is already attributed to a threat actor, or the attack aligns to a particular motive, security teams can use these patterns of behavior to prioritize their hunting scope to their known tactics, techniques, and procedures. Novel indicators or associated research from the analysis should be shared with other vetted threat hunters within the organization and are a particularly valuable contribution to the wider threat intelligence community to further enrich detections for all organizations.  

Putting it together: Threat intelligence and iterative threat hunting 

Armed with this breakdown, threat hunters can now turn their attention to using varied threat intelligence to execute threat hunts and track down threat actors. The threat hunting iterative workflow shown in Figure 2 is something security teams will likely be familiar with; but are threat intelligence artifacts effectively being applied to create a holistic threat-informed defense strategy? 

Figure 2. Feeding threat intelligence artifacts into an iterative threat hunting workflow .

When preparing a hunt, threat hunters should seek to apply strategic threat intelligence to prioritize the cyberthreats that target the organization. This directly leads into the hypothesis phase. Threat hunters include the gathered strategic artifacts in a hunt hypothesis based on the trends or threat actors impacting other organizations in the same vertical. This casts a wide net to identify anomalies and behaviors common to the industry. They are not limiting the hunt based on any one IOC, rather using the collective intelligence learned from similar intrusions to detect or prevent the attack scenario. For every investigation, whether it be proactive or reactive, Microsoft Incident Response threat hunters consider other incidents impacting victim organizations in the same industry as a guiding force to efficiently identify focus areas of analysis, leveraging research from Microsoft Threat Intelligence that outlines any applicable threat actor attribution. 

Daily workflows should be enhanced with operational threat intelligence artifacts to determine an environmental baseline. Proactive hunt hypotheses should seek to test the understanding and actively seek to identify gaps in various aspects of the baseline, identifying any behavioral anomalies straying from “normal operations” and developing high-fidelity, real-world detections based on the true attempts at intrusion to their environments. Existing detections should be continuously reviewed and refined, hunting threads should include interrogation of both successful and failed access attempts, and data integrity should be verified. Security teams should question if: 

• Centralized data is both complete and accurate—identifying if there are any gaps in the data and why. 
• The schema is consistent between all data sources (for example, timestamp accuracy). 
• The correct fields are flowing through from their distributed systems’ sources.  

When security teams embody being the experts of their environment, they become more adept at identifying when a proactive threat hunt shifts into reactive response to active threat. This is invaluable when improving the speed of returning to normal operations and engaging additional support such as Microsoft Incident Response, who can enhance the hunt with threat intelligence from previous global incidents, working with the customer to deconflict abnormalities quickly for swift takeback and eviction of threat actors. 

When incident response teams like Microsoft Incident Response are engaged during a reactive incident, the objective of threat hunting is to conduct analysis of live, historical, and contextual data on targeted and compromised systems and provide a detailed story of not only the attack chain, but the threat actor(s) conducting that attack. Enriching a threat hunt with tactical threat intelligence artifacts in the form of IOCs concentrates investigation scope and allows for rapid identification of threat actor activity. As the hunt progresses, relational entities to that indicator are uncovered, such as the identities involved in activity execution and lateral movement paths to different systems. Attention shifts from atomic indicators such as IP addresses and malicious domains, to artifacts left directly on compromised systems, such as commands that were run or persistent backdoors that were installed. This builds an end-to-end timeline of malicious activity and related indicators for organizations to stay informed, implement target security controls, and prevent the same, or similar, incidents in the future.  

What is Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence (Defender TI)?

Adhering to the collaborative cycle of threat intelligence, Microsoft Incident Response contributes front-line research to enhance and further develop detections for customers worldwide. Entities are aligned with industry frameworks such as the Diamond Model , to build threat actor profiles detailing the relationship between adversaries’ infrastructure, capabilities and victims. Microsoft Threat Intelligence is available in Microsoft Defender XDR for the community and fellow security teams to consume, validate, and refine into proactive detections for the organization. 

How Microsoft Incident Response can support proactive threat protection

Microsoft Incident Response has cultivated and relies upon implementing the cycle between incident response and threat intelligence to protect our customers, leveraging insights from 78 trillion signals per day. Organizations can proactively position themselves to be well-informed by the threats targeting their organization by implementing threat intelligence in a holistic way, before an incident begins.  

Embracing a collaborative culture amongst the threat intelligence community to not only consume entities, but to further contribute, refine, and enhance existing research, results in improved detections, controls, and automation, allowing all security professionals to get behind the same goal—track down and protect themselves from threat actors and their malicious intent.  

You can read more blogs from Microsoft Incident Response . For more security research from the Microsoft Threat Intelligence community, check out the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Blog .

Learn more about Microsoft Incident Response .

To get notified about new Microsoft Threat Intelligence publications and to join discussions on social media, follow us on X ( @MsftSecIntel ).

To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our  website.  Bookmark the  Security blog  to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn ( Microsoft Security ) and X ( @MSFTSecurity ) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.

1 The art and science behind Microsoft threat hunting: Part 1 , Microsoft Incident Response Team. September 9, 2022.

2 The art and science behind Microsoft threat hunting: Part 2 , Microsoft Incident Response Team. September 21, 2022.

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Microsoft can take the lead in small modular reactors for powering ai.

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This Spring I attended a private conference on the energy transition that was hosted by a major bank. There I learned more about small modular reactors (SMRs). This is a promising new nuclear technology for delivering carbon-free, baseload power to meet the world’s increasing energy needs.

Abstract purple energy sphere from particles and waves of magical glowing on a dark background.

SMRs are proving to be of crucial interest to the tech community which is focused on developing AI capabilities. AI is an insatiable energy beast. According to a Goldman Sachs report, a ChatGPT query takes about 10 times as much electricity to process as a Google search. Today data centers account for 1-2% of the world’s energy needs, a figure expected to grow to 3-4% over the next decade. The major players here are Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and NVIDIA. All of them, with the exception of NVIDIA, have a commitment to be net zero on Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 2030, or 2040 in the case of Amazon.

· Alphabet (Google): “At Google, our goal is to achieve net-zero emissions across all of our operations and value chain by 2030.”

· Amazon : ”Amazon has an incredibly ambitious goal to achieve net‑zero carbon across our operations by 2040.”

Apple : “Apple commits to be 100 percent carbon neutral for its supply chain and products by 2030.”

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· Meta (Google): “We commit to reaching net zero emissions across our value chain in 2030.”

· Microsoft : “Microsoft made ambitious commitments in 2020 to become carbon negative, water positive, zero waste, and to protect ecosystems – all by 2030.”

· NVIDIA : “By the end of FY25, and annually thereafter, we expect to achieve and maintain 100% renewable electricity for offices and data centers under our operational control.”

Electricity transmission towers with orange glowing wires the starry night sky. Energy ... [+] infrastructure concept.

Growing demand for electricity will make achieving these goals even more challenging. Renewable energy has an important role to play but alone it is not enough and has its own challenges. Nuclear generated electricity is the vital solution to decarbonization while meeting the fast-growing global electricity demand given the following three advantages over renewables:

1. Baseload Nature. It is worth emphasizing the importance of nuclear for providing carbon-free baseload power. The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) notes that “Nuclear power is the most reliable energy source and it’s not even close.” Here are the numbers for percent of capacity utilization: nuclear (92%), natural gas (55%), coal (54%), hydropower (37%), wind (37%), and solar (27%). This is especially critical for the operations of hyperscale data centers that require reliable baseload power with no intermittent issues. Other baseload energy sources (natural gas and coal) are not carbon-free, making nuclear the only carbon-free baseload energy source.

2. Smaller Footprint . Nuclear is very attractive compared to renewable energy. According to the Nuclear Energy Institute “Nuclear also complements renewables because it generates more power with less land—31 times less than solar facilities and 173 times less than wind farms.”

3. Plant Life. The plant life of a nuclear facility is much larger, 40-60 years compared to about 20 years for wind farms and 30 for solar ones.

Microsoft has set the most ambitious targets in this group and is even more ambitious than a net-zero by 2030 goal. It has committed “to remove from the atmosphere an equivalent amount of all the carbon dioxide our company has emitted either directly or by our electricity consumption since we were founded in 1975.”

Microsoft has also committed to be a leader in supporting SMR technology deployment as they see the importance for dealing with climate change and meeting Microsoft’s net-zero targets via SMRs. Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, announced that “the company is looking for a Principal Program Manager, Nuclear Technology, who will be responsible for maturing and implementing a global Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and microreactor energy strategy.” Subsequently, as a clear sign of commitment, they have hired former Tennessee Valley Authority senior nuclear energy veterans Dr. Erin Henderson (Director of Nuclear Development Acceleration) and Todd Noe (Director of Nuclear & Energy Innovations) to execute their SMR strategy on an accelerated basis.

Businessman touching the brain working of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation, Predictive ... [+] analytics, Customer service AI-powered chatbot, analyze customer data, business and technology

A December 12, 2023 Wall Street Journal Article “ Microsoft Targets Nuclear to Power AI Operations ” notes that “ Microsoft MSFT 0.78%increase; green up pointing triangle is betting nuclear power can help sate its massive electricity needs as it ventures further into artificial intelligence and supercomputing.” In a June 26, 2024 interview with WSJ PRO Sustainable Business Chief Sustainability Officer Melanie Nakagawa stated that:

“We are looking at both small modular reactors and fusion and forming partnerships and signing power-purchase agreements with the leading players in this marketplace, so that when that power is online, we can bring it to power our data centers. They all have different time dates when they expect to be in the marketplace. We’re just simply saying when you come online, this is a clean carbon-free source of power that we would like to use.”

One hurdle facing Microsoft is perceptions about nuclear power. Today there is a legacy of suspicion about nuclear power, heightened by well-known disasters such as the March 11, 2011, Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan and the April 26, 1986, Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. In addition to these legacy safety issues, cost and schedule overruns with nuclear power plants such as the Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia (final cost of $35 billion vs. planned cost of $14 billion) raise questions about the commerciality of nuclear plants. However, public perception is changing rapidly. A 2024 survey by Pew Research Center found that 56% of Americans favor more nuclear power plants to generate electricity (compared to 78% for solar and 72% for wind). I suspect the number for nuclear would be higher if citizens better understood the difference between traditional, large-scale nuclear power plants and SMRs. SMRs’ following advantages address the challenges associated with conventional nuclear plants:

1. Smaller: As defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), for a reactor to be considered an SMR it must have a capacity less than 300 MWs. By comparison, the average capacity of a conventional reactor is 1,000 MWs (1 GW). The reactor core of an SMR is around 1/20 th the size of large reactor cores.

2. Smaller Emergency Planning Zone: Conventional nuclear plants require an emergency planning zone (EPZ) with at least a 10-mile radius. Certain advanced SMR technologies are safe enough for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) to exempt them from this ruling, restricting the EPZ to the fence line of the power plant which requires only around 40 acres. This unique feature allows SMR power plants to be co-located next to a datacenter or an industrial zone.

3. Modular: SMRs are designed and manufactured using module factory fabrication in a controlled environment, pursuing economies of series production, standardization, and short construction times. Modularity also allows SMR power plants to achieve scalability, thereby facilitating gradual expansion to meet evolving energy requirements.

4. Cheaper: A big problem with traditional nuclear plants is their escalating cost (a sixfold increase from the 1960s to the 1980s resulting in over $10 billion per plant) and frequent cost overruns. A 1 GW SMR plant can be built at almost 50% of the cost of a conventional nuclear plant due to simpler design with less components. It also reduces the risk of cost overruns by shifting most of the costs to a controlled factory “off-site” environment. Conventional reactors need to be built on- site which often leads to cost overruns.

5. Faster to Build: It takes around 10 years to build a conventional nuclear power plant—if there are no schedule overruns. In contrast, a 1GW SMR plant can be constructed in 3-4 years.

6. Safer: Advanced SMR technologies create a steam supply system in which the reactor core, steam generators, pressurizer, and containment are all contained in a single vessel. This eliminates reactor coolant pumps, large bore piping, and other systems and components found in conventional pressurized water reactors, thereby making SMRs much safer.

Based on these facts, I think public perception is a relatively minor hurdle to overcome. The much bigger one is whether the right SMR technology is available. Nathalie Volt of C3 Solutions provides a good overview of the technologies and markets for five of the leading SMR companies: NuScale Power, TerraPower, Westinghouse Electric Company, BWXT Technologies, and Kairos Power.

Bucharest, Romania - June 04, 2022: View of Microsoft Romania headquarters in City Gate Towers ... [+] situated in Free Press Square, in Bucharest, Romania.

Here is a brief description of what I could learn about each one based on information in the public domain.

NuScale started R&D in 2002. In 2008, it launched its application process to receive approval for its SMR product from the USNRC. This was granted in 2020, and today is the only one to have received certification approval. No other SMR technology has submitted to the NRC for a full review. This means that NuScale’s technology is commercially ready to be deployed for an AI application. Additionally, NuScale formed a joint venture company with its exclusive global strategic partner ENTRA1 Energy , an American independent energy production and development company, for commercializing the NuScale SMR technology. Through this strategy, NuScale deploys its approved SMR technology globally via ENTRA1 Energy Plants™,while ENTRA1 Energy develops, finances, and owns energy production plants providing a one-stop-shop approach.

TerraPower , based in Bellevue, is a private company which was started by Bill Gates. (However, recently, Microsoft has stated that it has no commercial relationship with the company.) Their proposed Natrium reactor is a 345 MW reactor using High Assay Low Enriched Uranium (HALEU) fuel. On August 16, 2023 the company announced the purchase of land in Kemmerer, Wyoming where the Natrium™ Reactor Demonstration Project will be built near a retiring coal plant as a joint project with the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Reactor Demonstration Project. The company stated that “It is the only advanced, non-light water, reactor in the Western Hemisphere being built today to meet the challenges of the clean energy transition.”

Westinghouse Electric Company

Westinghouse Electric Company emerged from bankruptcy after being purchased by Brookfield Business Partners, a Canadian private equity fund. On November 7, 2023, it was sold to a consortium comprised of Brookfield Asset Management and alongside its publicly listed affiliate Brookfield Renewable Partners and its institutional partners, and Cameco. Brookfield owns 51% and Cameo owns 49%. The company’s product solutions include energy systems (such as its eVinci™ and AstroVinci™ microreactors—yet to complete design and obtain USNRC certification/approval), nuclear fuel (e.g., ts high energy fuel program and fuel fabrication and operations), support for operating plants (e.g., engineered solutions, staffing solutions, instrumentation and controls systems, and outage services), and environmental services (e.g., planning and licensing, spent fuel services, cranes and fuel handling, and decontamination).

BWXT Technologies

BWXT Technologies is traded on the New York Stock Exchange and has been manufacturing naval nuclear components and reactors since the 1950s. It designed and fabricated components for the USS Nautilus, the world’s first nuclear-powered submarine. The BWXT Advanced Nuclear Reactor (BANR) project is developing a modular, factory-fabricated system that is small and light enough to be transported via rail, ship, or truck and that can deliver 50 MW of thermal nuclear reactor power. On June 9, 2022 it announced a contract with the Strategic Capabilities Office of the U.S. Department of Defense to build the first advanced transportable nuclear “that can provide a resilient power source to the DoD for a variety of operational needs that have historically relied on fossil fuel deliveries and extensive supply lines.”

Kairos Power

Kairos Power is a privately-funded company which grew out of a broad research effort at some U.S. universities and national laboratories. The name comes from an ancient Greek word that relates the importance of timeliness and a call to action. The company has a goal of having a U.S. demonstration plant by 2030. On June 12, 2024, the company received a construction permit from the USNRC to build the Hermes demonstration reactor. This is one of several projects being supported through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program. Construction began on July 30, 2024 and is projected to be operational in Oak Ridge, Tennessee by 2027.

cloud or data center, 3d rendering

I haven’t found anything in the public domain to indicate that Microsoft is talking to one or more of these companies, or other ones not listed here, such as Oklo , Terrestrial Energy , and X-Energy to build a SMR-powered data center. I hope they are. Being the first big tech company to contract for a SMR to energize data centers for AI applications would kickstart a renaissance in the market for dealing with the challenge of climate change and American energy security. Microsoft is doing this for the carbon removal market and can do the same for the SMR one dedicated to AI applications.

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Microsoft to stop telling investors about peformance of server products

Shuffles financial metrics so copilot pro revenue ends up in a happier place.

Microsoft has changed the way it reports its financial results.

The software giant on Wednesday published a regulatory filing in which it revealed the creation of a segment named "Microsoft 365 Commercial products and cloud services" which will recognize revenue from Office 365 Commercial, the Enterprise Mobility and Security (EMS) range, and Windows Commercial Cloud.

Microsoft's "Productivity and Business Processes" segment therefore emerges with four sub-categories: M365 Commercial, M365 Consumer, Dynamics, and LinkedIn.

The new segments look like this:

Microsoft's reporting segments for 2025 – Click to enlarge

One reason for the change is that all Copilot Pro revenue was previously attributed to M356 Consumer – obviously that won't do at a time markets are nervous about whether hyperscalers hyper-spending on AI infrastructure will pay off.

Moving EMS and some PowerBI revenue into M365 Commercial will also mean Redmond's reporting of Azure revenue will more closely align to consumption growth.

• Microsoft rolls out one Teams app to rule them all
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Some of the changes in this re-org were done to reflect Microsoft's current branding properly. However, this sort of change is commonly implemented to group sources of revenue so they produce nicer numbers.

That's not entirely the case here. Forecast quarterly revenue for Microsoft's Intelligent Cloud segment will drop from a projected $28.6–$28.9 billion to between $23.8 and $24.1 billion, while projected More Personal Computing revenue goes from $14.9–$15.3 billion to $12.25–$12.65 billion.

Microsoft has also changed the metrics it will offer investors to help them measure growth, as follows:

As you can see from the table above, Microsoft will no longer use growth of server products as a metric for investors. If you needed any further evidence Redmond is now all about the cloud, there it is.

Those changes necessitated a change in forecasts to reflect the new monikers, as follows:

Microsoft's new metrics for 2025 – Click to enlarge

Investors may not care about unpicking the above, as Microsoft’s top-line metrics – annual revenue of $245.1 billion and net income of $88 billion, up 16 and 22 percent respectively – are already eloquent statements of its performance. In its Q4 and FY 2024 results the software behemoth also offered guidance of growth at between 10 and 29 percent across its various segments. ®

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