Microsoft Ignite: Takeaways that will affect your 2025 strategy

The Kainos Microsoft Alliance team was well-represented at Microsoft Ignite 2024 - the first global partner/customer event since 2019. It showcased Microsoft’s latest updates and creations, and (unsurprisingly) AI dominated.

Here are the nuggets of insight that should factor into your 2025 planning for ongoing transformation projects.

1. Microsoft has the best end to end platform

The Microsoft Cloud ecosystem is extensive and spans all the services that modern Enterprises need to run their Business.  This starts right from identity, productivity, collaboration and security to next generation AI systems built on Fabric and Azure OpenAI.  These innovations continue to move IT  away from simple business operations to be force enablers offering value to the business.

2. It's getting easier to deploy (and get value from) GenAI

Streamlining was a big theme.

Microsoft has recognised how fragmented the GenAI landscape has become – and how difficult many organisations have found it to deploy and manage GenAI projects.

Here are key developments that are addressing these blockers:

Unified platform for complex AI apps

Azure OpenAI Studio relaunched as Azure AI Foundry has enhanced functionality. It’s a unified platform for:

• Customising, hosting, running and managing AI-driven applications
• Integrating enterprise-ready Azure services with AI capabilities
• Leveraging Azure OpenAI and other models (via APIs)
• Content Safety and Evaluations are included as a first parties highlighting the importance of Responsible AI.

How it helps: You have a dedicated portal for managing, developing and testing AI applications

“Every app will be an AI app”

That was a prediction at Ignite. And we believe that will ultimately be true, with apps becoming smarter through the infusion of AI.

Microsoft’s AI Design Win program combines data, app and AI platforms to make it easier to deliver those AI infusions. We’re currently using it with customers in the financial services and public sectors, and we’re seeing benefits from both efficiency and functionality perspectives.

How it helps: AI applications will be hyper personalised and offer users with curated journeys to improve application experience

AI Agents will democratise GenAI-powered productivity gains

Microsoft has been advocating M365 Copilot for a while. And although there were impressive success stories at Ignite, many enterprises have struggled to derive business value from investments.

New AI Agents are part of the solution as we move towards what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella called “an agentic future”. These out-of-the-box tools are linked to Copilot. They take on unique roles, handling mundane tasks and automating multi-step business processes.

AI Agents will progressively move forward from a personal assistant to becoming a key member of the team. Agents will increasingly become persona based and role driven.

You can create your own or use Microsoft’s ready-made agents, which include:

• Project Manager Agent: Automates everything from plan creation to executing tasks, including assigning tasks, tracking progress, sending reminders and reporting on status
• Employee Self-Service Agent: Answers common workplace policy-related questions and executes key HR and IT-related tasks
• Facilitator Agent: Takes notes in Teams meetings, shares summaries and prompts follow-up action

How it helps: People don’t have to think about how to use Copilot or drastically change how they work. The AI Agent automatically picks up and executes routine tasks, like an efficient PA helping to increase user productivity.

3. Low code continues to change the game

You have a tight, immovable deadline and an ambitious project to execute. How do you solve that conundrum?

A year of development in weeks

Low-code solutions are part of the answer:

• Microsoft Power Platform is integrated into the M365 and Entra ecosystem providing assurances around security and governance removing barriers to adoption. The platform provides you pre-built templates, drag-and-drop functionality and reusable components. These features create a repository that significantly speeds up traditional software development and deployment. Developers can quickly build, configure and test applications by leveraging pre-built connectors, data integrations and automation capabilities. 
• Copilot Studio – development becomes even faster when you add AI to the mix – with these newly announced capabilities for low-code AI. CoPilot will be the key portal to develop and manage internal AI agents. 

How it helps: When you’re under pressure to deliver – for strategic or regulatory reasons – low code helps you get to market quickly while meeting diverse user needs.

Modernising justice: Low code in action

We helped HM Courts and Tribunals Service develop a new case management system in just 12 weeks using low code.