{"id":21288,"date":"2025-12-04T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=21288"},"modified":"2026-04-16T14:34:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T21:34:18","slug":"becoming-a-frontier-firm-our-it-playbook-for-the-ai-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/becoming-a-frontier-firm-our-it-playbook-for-the-ai-era\/","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a Frontier Firm: Our IT playbook for the AI era"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Microsoft Digital, the company\u2019s IT team, is rapidly transforming into a Frontier IT Firm\u2014an organization fundamentally restructured for the AI era, where AI-agents are digital colleagues rather than peripheral tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Brian-Fielder_lime.png\" alt=\"A photo of Fielder.\" class=\"wp-image-23259\" style=\"width:150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Brian-Fielder_lime.png 500w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Brian-Fielder_lime-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Brian-Fielder_lime-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAgents are the most significant technological change we\u2019ve seen since the shift to the cloud, and arguably since the advent of the Internet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<cite>Brian Fielder, vice president, Microsoft Digital<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This emerging model emphasizes hybrid human-agent teams, dynamic organizational structures, and a culture of continuous innovation. Employees evolve into \u201cagent bosses,\u201d orchestrating outcomes by delegating tasks to autonomous agents that plan, reason, and adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group aside-for-guide has-white-200-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-content-justification-right is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-3f1abf08 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"border-radius:10px;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12)\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-298f84b7 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"132\" height=\"132\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/10\/Engage-with-our-experts_blogs.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20636\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-body-lg-font-size wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Engage with our experts!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\">Customers or Microsoft account team representatives from Fortune 500 companies are welcome to <a href=\"mailto:msitstaff@microsoft.com\">request a virtual engagement<\/a> on this topic with experts from our Microsoft Digital team.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IT teams are essential to enabling this transformation, from shaping and governing the data that informs AI, to deploying and managing the systems that power agentic workflows, to driving the culture and learning programs that are essential to unlocking a frontier mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAgents are the most significant technological change we\u2019ve seen since the shift to the cloud, and arguably since the advent of the Internet,\u201d says Brian Fielder, vice president of Microsoft Digital. \u201cThey represent a generational opportunity to rethink our entire portfolio of IT services. But that innovation requires a careful and thoughtful strategy to maximize impact and minimize time to value.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This guide is our blueprint for other IT organizations to follow, so you can ensure your own team is on the pathway to becoming a Frontier Firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Read and prepare<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/worklab\/work-trend-index\/2025-the-year-the-frontier-firm-is-born\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why 2025 will go down as the year the Frontier Firm was born.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-white-200-background-color has-background has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-48e64321 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12)\">\n<p class=\"has-body-lg-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\"><strong>Enterprise IT maturity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-8)\">Explore our series that walks through how to become a Frontier Firm IT organization in the era of agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/becoming-a-frontier-firm-our-it-playbook-for-the-ai-era\/\">Becoming a Frontier Firm: Our IT playbook for the AI era<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/enterprise-ai-maturity-in-five-steps-our-guide-for-it-leaders\/\">Enterprise AI maturity in five steps: Our guide for IT leaders<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/the-agentic-future-how-were-becoming-an-ai-first-frontier-firm-at-microsoft\/\">The agentic future: How we\u2019re becoming an AI-first Frontier Firm at Microsoft<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/ai-at-scale-how-were-transforming-our-enterprise-it-operations-at-microsoft\/\">AI at scale: How we\u2019re transforming our enterprise IT operations at Microsoft<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Transforming business and IT with AI agents<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The integration of agents in the enterprise presents transformative opportunities for every organization, but becoming a Frontier Firm requires a clear understanding of the journey ahead. IT leaders must recognize three patterns that mark the evolution toward frontier status. Each pattern reflects increasing organizational, technical, and cultural maturity, unlocking greater value from agents:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Human with assistant: <\/strong>In this foundational pattern, employees leverage intelligent AI assistants\u2014such as Microsoft 365 Copilot\u2014to enhance their productivity and effectiveness. This is the starting point where individuals develop an \u201cAI habit,\u201d reimagining legacy workflows and discovering new efficiencies with the support of AI.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Human-led agents: <\/strong>The second pattern introduces autonomous agents as \u201cdigital workers\u201d who perform specific tasks under human direction. Here, agents join teams and execute actions independently, allowing employees to delegate routine work and focus on higher-value activities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Human-led, agent operated: <\/strong>In the final pattern, the synergy between humans and agents is fully realized. Human-led, agent operated teams set strategic direction, while agents autonomously run entire business processes and workflows. Agents periodically report their progress to support scalable and resilient operations, while human oversight is maintained through evaluation and audits to verify accuracy and quality of outcomes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Becoming a Frontier Firm<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-grid wp-container-core-group-is-layout-73811dce wp-block-group-is-layout-grid\" style=\"margin-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-white-color has-blue-1300-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-1386f92a5f39d704a82dd2dd76ab1c0f wp-container-content-a56e390f has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-48e64321 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Pattern 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\">Human with assistant<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"254\" height=\"120\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Human-with-assistant.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20922\" style=\"width:120px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Every employee has an AI assistant that helps them work better and faster<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-white-color has-blue-1300-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-d5c7690517cae877248488ee22620e9a wp-container-content-a56e390f has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-48e64321 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Pattern 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\">Human-agent teams<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"266\" height=\"130\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Human-agent-teams.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20926\" style=\"width:120px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Agents join teams as &#8220;digital colleagues,&#8221; taking on specific tasks at human direction<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-white-color has-blue-1300-background-color has-text-color has-background has-link-color wp-elements-b41140031b61ccb15505aa703c044f41 wp-container-content-a56e390f has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-48e64321 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12);padding-left:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-12)\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Pattern 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\">Human-led, agent-operated<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"286\" height=\"140\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/11\/Human-led-agent-operated.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20927\" style=\"width:120px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">Humans set direction and agents execute business processes and workflows, checking in as needed<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>AI maturity starts at simple AI assistance, then progresses to more complex patterns between humans and agents.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As organizations experience these patterns, agents evolve from basic information retrieval to sophisticated, autonomous systems capable of executing complex, end-to-end workflows. These mature agents drive transformation through self-directed operations, continuous adaptation, and improvement powered by data and feedback. Multiagent systems further enable scalable, personalized services, automate intricate tasks, and optimize resource allocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Microsoft categorizes agents into three tiers, reflecting the different uses we\u2019ve observed across the enterprise:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Personal Agents<\/strong>: Designed for individual users, these agents automate personal tasks like meeting summaries, email drafting, and task reminders. They operate within a single user\u2019s scope and permissions. Personal agents can be enabled at scale with no friction due to low risk.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Team (Business) Agents<\/strong> Designed for departmental or team workflows that are built in Copilot Studio or with Copilot Studio Lite. They handle tasks like tracking project status, routing expense approvals, and answering FAQs within a shared team context. Teams can share these low-risk agents, each limited to the data the team requires, while operating in secure, policy-governed environments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Enterprise Agents<\/strong>: Operating at an organizational level, these agents integrate with authoritative systems to deliver large-scale services such as compliance checks, enterprise search, and policy enforcement. They are centrally governed, leverage enterprise data platforms and differ from personal and team agents due to their scale, complexity and impact.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Within Microsoft Digital, our strategic investments across all three classifications have already generated meaningful business benefits. The following sections detail how these investments are accelerating our path to becoming a Frontier IT organization\u2014and how they can propel your organization too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Discover<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/the-future-of-work-is-here-transforming-our-employee-experience-with-ai\/\">The future of work is here: Transforming our employee experience with AI.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The evolving role of enterprise IT<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our journey to becoming a Frontier Firm started with AI agents, which are the next major step in our evolution of IT. Agents provide us with a foundation that we\u2019re using to reimagine our IT services with potential to lower our costs, improve our outcomes, and accelerate our innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IT plays an essential role for businesses that aspire to become Frontier Firms. In Microsoft Digital, we\u2019ve identified eight core services that IT teams must provide to enable organizations to become Frontier Firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Driving strategic business objectives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To succeed in this transition to the frontier, we\u2019ve found that enterprise IT must become a highly valued consultative partner to our internal business leaders by helping them to understand where agents can drive strategic goals and then jointly developing those solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For example, if a strategic goal is to expand into a new market without a large support staff, our IT team might propose deploying multilingual customer service agents to handle inquiries in that market. This kind of proactive solutioning demonstrates how our team is thinking beyond just keeping systems running\u2014we\u2019re contributing to growth and innovation. In effect, our role shifts from technology enablement towards business strategy execution via technology architecting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Envision, empower, govern, transform<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/inside-microsoft-being-customer-zero-in-an-ai-powered-world\/\">Inside Microsoft: Being Customer Zero in an AI-powered world<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Enabling agentic capabilities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To accelerate the adoption and impact of agents, we must take a proactive role in building the foundational platforms, tools, and infrastructure that empower our larger organization. This means developing systems specifically designed for agent memory and orchestrating seamless integration between agents and core enterprise systems. IT teams like ours should also curate and expose certified data sources, ensuring agents have reliable information to draw upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The IT function must evolve from managing technology to offering AI capabilities as a strategic service. For instance, for us establishing an \u201cagent development sandbox\u201d is enabling our business groups to safely prototype and test agents using secure access to scoped corporate data\u2014empowering innovation while maintaining necessary oversight and governance. We also need to define and shepherd processes so agents can safely \u201cgraduate\u201d from personal or team-based tenants to becoming available enterprise-wide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By leading this charge, we ensure that our business units see us as a trusted partner rather than a gatekeeper. Without this support, organizations may try to implement agents independently, resulting in unmanaged \u201cshadow IT\u201d and increased organizational risk. Providing intuitive AI platforms, clear guidance, support structures and effective training encourages collaboration and positions us as the enabler of safe, scalable agentic transformation. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Find out how<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/ai-powered-agents-in-action-how-were-embracing-this-new-agentic-moment-at-microsoft\/\">AI-powered agents in action: How we\u2019re embracing this new \u2018agentic\u2019 moment at Microsoft<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Managing AI-enabled enterprise architecture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rise of agents is transforming enterprise architecture into a more dynamic, adaptive, and intelligent system. Traditional systems were largely deterministic, with predictable inputs and outputs. In contrast, agentic systems introduce probabilistic behaviors, autonomous decision-making, and continuous learning, which require new architectural thinking and governance models. Our IT architects must evolve their design principles to address this shift:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Ensuring reliability in AI-driven systems: <\/strong>AI components, including agents, operate with varying degrees of confidence and uncertainty. We in IT must implement mechanisms such as confidence thresholds, fallback logic, and human-in-the-loop controls to ensure that agentic decisions are reliable and aligned with business goals.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Auditing and accountability of agents: <\/strong>Agents must be discoverable, observable and auditable. Our organization must design systems that log agent decisions, track their reasoning paths, and enable post-hoc analysis. This supports compliance, risk management, and continuous improvement of agent behavior.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Integrating agents into service-oriented architectures: <\/strong>Agents should be treated as first-class citizens within the enterprise architecture. This means defining clear APIs, service contracts, and interaction patterns that allow agents to interoperate with existing services, data platforms, and business processes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Determine your agent creation enablement strategy: <\/strong>It was important to clarify which employees are empowered to build, and how and when they engage with us in IT throughout the process. Start by allowing employees to create agents in self-serve environments for personal productivity. As agents mature, establish clear checkpoints for them to engage with you, such as review and publishing for compliance, security, and governance before agents are scaled to broader use. This staged approach ensures your employees can assist and find value quickly, while you provide oversight and support to maximize impact and maintain organizational standards.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Agent governance platform: <\/strong>As organizations deploy multiple agents across domains\u2014customer service, finance, operations, legal, HR, etc.\u2014we are finding there is a growing need for centralized agent governance. This layer is not just a technical construct; it is a strategic capability that we must design, implement, and operate. Its responsibilities include managing how agents interact with each other and with human users, policy definition and enforcement, monitoring and observability of agent activity, agent lifecycle management, security and access controls, and agent interoperability and integration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By owning this layer, we in IT have become the steward of our agentic governance, ensuring that autonomous systems remain aligned with enterprise objectives. This also positions us as a strategic enabler of innovation, allowing business units to deploy agents confidently within a controlled and scalable framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Unlock Agentic AI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/deploying-microsoft-agent-365-how-were-extending-our-infrastructure-to-manage-agents-at-microsoft\/\">Deploying Microsoft Agent 365: How we\u2019re extending our infrastructure to manage agents at Microsoft<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Driving data and integration strategy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For agents to operate effectively, they require reliable access to accurate, comprehensive data and seamless connectivity across enterprise systems. This places us at the heart of enabling agent-driven workflows. We proactively identify and catalog data sources, we break down data silos, ensure data hygiene, and build \u201cAI Ready\u201d data access layers, like APIs and data lakes, enabling agents and AI-powered solutions via data that is easily discoverable and well managed. By leading these efforts, we are strengthening our strategic role, with data architecture and governance becoming foundational to AI success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Additionally, we must oversee the integration of agents with legacy systems to ensure they can securely initiate transactions within core systems. Ultimately, we in IT move from simply maintaining operations to actively designing and supporting intelligent, future-ready workflows that position the enterprise for ongoing innovation and event driven and real time systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Plan and adapt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/transforming-our-data-culture-with-ai-ready-data\/\">Transforming our data culture with AI-ready data<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Stewardship of governance and ethical AI<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Robust governance is foundational to successful agent adoption. We in IT must partner closely with risk and compliance teams to lead the implementation of a comprehensive AI governance framework. We find that agreeing and aligning to the right levels of governance are the key to enabling AI successfully. To get there, you need the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">Senior leaders who are responsible for driving enterprise agentic prioritization and initiatives across disciplines and organizations to realize business value.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">A cross-discipline team to provide technical and strategic guidance serving to help accelerate, learn and land delivery of AI initiatives to drive adoption, impact and build an \u201cAI forward\u201d culture in IT.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">Human stewards augmented by AI who enable AI transformation through enterprise grade data strategy, governance, and architecture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">Agentic collaboration and productivity through strong data hygiene standards to help you make sure only the right data is available to agentic systems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">Adherence to global compliance regimes and privacy frameworks, as well as responsible and ethical applications of AI, like our <a href=\"https:\/\/aka.ms\/rai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Microsoft Responsible AI<\/a> principles.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By setting clear standards for transparency, fairness, and security, we are driving innovation and ensuring alignment with our company\u2019s values and regulatory responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our stewardship extends across the entire lifecycle of agents, including versioning their models, updating their knowledge bases, and retiring or replacing agents as needed. It also includes mirroring software version controls for intelligent, learning systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While this increases the complexity of what we manage, it expands our strategic value. With a holistic approach, we can break down silos and build a unified, effective ecosystem of agents that work collaboratively across the enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Guide operational change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/riding-the-wave-of-agents-washing-over-microsoft-with-good-governance\/\">Riding the wave of agents washing over Microsoft with good governance<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">6. Training and education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Our role is evolving to provide high quality and authoritative education and training content for the larger company. By providing a centralized repository of training on agent development, we are maintaining our relevance with our business partners. We are providing a visible way to gather input, suggestions, and maintain insight to the use cases that our employees and business partners require\u2014this is enabling us to provide feedback on current solutions and to identify data and APIs required for us to deliver desired results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As agents become integral to enterprise workflows, we must take a proactive role in cataloguing and delivering high-quality, authoritative training and educational resources to our business partners. Establishing a centralized hub for agent development training not only strengthens our partnership with our business stakeholders but it also ensures that the technical solutions we build are informed and validated by our colleague\u2019s real-world needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IT teams should implement visible mechanisms\u2014like feedback channels and suggestion platforms\u2014to collect input, track emerging use cases, and maintain ongoing insight into evolving business requirements. This continuous dialogue enables us to refine current solutions and identify the critical data sources and APIs necessary to support future agent-driven initiatives, fostering a culture of innovation and responsiveness across our organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Learn more<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/enabling-meaningful-ai-adoption-at-microsoft-with-a-microsoft-365-copilot-expo\/\">Enabling meaningful AI adoption at Microsoft with a Microsoft 365 Copilot Expo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Change management and adoption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Agents mark a transformational shift in human-computer interaction. This profound change requires us in IT to play a central role in supporting our employees as they adapt and rethink their daily work with agents. Effective change management is therefore a critical responsibility for us\u2014it\u2019s enabling us to move beyond technology deployment to actively guiding our employees, business units, and leaders through this transition to agent-driven workflows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We must develop and execute comprehensive strategies that include clear communication plans, targeted training and enablement, and robust feedback mechanisms to identify challenges and accelerate adoption. By embedding change management into our core mandate, we ensure that agent-driven innovation is not only implemented but also embraced across the organization\u2014driving tangible business value, resilience, and positioning us as a strategic partner in enterprise transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>How to accelerate value<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/driving-the-future-of-work-how-were-approaching-microsoft-365-copilot-change-management-at-microsoft\/\">Driving the future of work: How we\u2019re approaching Microsoft 365 Copilot change management at Microsoft<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. Measuring agent impact and outcomes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Measuring the success of the journey to becoming an AI frontier firm requires that we take a comprehensive approach to evaluating business outcomes for the company. Enterprises that aspire to become Frontier Firms must establish a unified dashboard and a recurring cadence to review key performance indicators (KPIs) that capture the full spectrum of adoption, impact, maturity, and responsibility. These metrics are providing us with clear and actionable insights across several critical domains. Examples include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Usage and adoption:<\/strong> We\u2019re tracking the percentage of our employees leveraging AI-agents and the number of AI use cases deployed in production.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Efficiency gains<\/strong>: We\u2019re monitoring hours saved, automation rates, and cost reductions achieved through AI-driven processes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Business performance:<\/strong> We\u2019re evaluating improvements in operational metrics, output quality, and the speed of decision-making cycles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Employee and customer satisfaction: <\/strong>We\u2019re assessing our employees\u2019 survey results regarding AI adoption and we\u2019re monitoring customer satisfaction scores.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>AI maturity and coverage:<\/strong> We\u2019re gauging the maturity level of our AI capabilities and the extent of AI projects that our employees have implemented across all departments.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Responsible AI and governance: <\/strong>We\u2019re tracking the percentage of models audited, monitoring bias and fairness metrics, and aiming for zero compliance incidents.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Cross-functional engagement:<\/strong> We\u2019re measuring our executive sponsorship of our AI initiatives and counting the number of joint projects spanning multiple business units.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/12\/Monika-Gupta.png\" alt=\"A photo of Gupta\" class=\"wp-image-21350\" style=\"width:150px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/12\/Monika-Gupta.png 500w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/12\/Monika-Gupta-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/12\/Monika-Gupta-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA thoughtful, structured approach is key to accelerating your journey to the frontier. Making the time at the start of the journey to ensure you have the right processes and frameworks in place as well as an empowered leadership team to make quick decisions will ensure your IT organization is poised to accelerate your company\u2019s frontier journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<cite>Monika Gupta, partner group engineering manager, Microsoft Digital<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By defining clear outcomes and tracking progress against targeted metrics, we\u2019re objectively demonstrating where agents are creating business value and identifying areas where we can improve. This approach is reinforcing that agent adoption is a strategic priority, ensuring that our victories are recognized and that we\u2019re proactively addressing our risks, which is driving responsible innovation and lasting impact throughout our enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex has-2-columns\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-center is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:65px\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"95\" height=\"96\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Learn-how-p-g.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19668\" style=\"width:48px\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><strong>Define and measure<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4);margin-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-4)\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/measuring-the-impact-of-microsoft-365-copilot-and-ai-at-microsoft\/\">Measuring the impact of Microsoft 365 Copilot and AI at Microsoft<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enabling the agentic revolution at Microsoft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the era of agents, we and IT organizations like yours have an opportunity to be a strategic cornerstone for companies aspiring to become Frontier Firms. By managing the foundational infrastructure, data, and governance frameworks that support agents, the IT function is pivotal in enabling agent-driven digital transformation. The evolution of IT\u2014from a traditional service provider to an orchestrator of AI capabilities, a champion of responsible technology practices, and a true partner in business innovation\u2014will determine whether we and organizations like yours can fully realize the benefits of agents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cA thoughtful, structured approach is key to accelerating your journey to the frontier,\u201d says Monika Gupta, a partner group engineering manager in Microsoft Digital. \u201cMaking the time at the start of the journey to ensure you have the right processes and frameworks in place as well as an empowered leadership team to make quick decisions will ensure your IT organization is poised to accelerate your company\u2019s frontier journey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">IT teams that proactively embrace this shift will enhance their strategic value, guiding their organizations through the complexities of intelligent automation and positioning them for competitive advantage. Conversely, passive IT risk being sidelined, which can lead to fragmented user experiences and increased security vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The charge for CIOs is clear: Take the lead in adopting agents and redefine IT\u2019s role at the core of your business strategy. This is a generational opportunity for IT to move beyond routine operations to instead become a driver of lasting innovation and impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c0392459 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7db9d80f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Key-takeaways-badge.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19493\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:75px;height:75px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Key-takeaways-badge.png 190w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Key-takeaways-badge-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-body-xl-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24)\">Key takeaways<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some tips to power enable your company to become a Frontier Firm:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Your IT team will play an essential role in facilitating the transition to becoming a Frontier Firm.<\/strong> At a minimum, your IT leaders and practitioners must prepare your data estate for agentic workloads, partner to identify and enable prioritized business scenarios, and then actively participate in enterprise transformation through skilling, change management and measurement activities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Your enterprise IT architecture must evolve to embrace dynamic and adaptive agent-based systems.<\/strong> Moving from traditional deterministic systems to agentic systems that introduce probabilistic behaviors, autonomous decision-making, and continuous learning require new architectural thinking, audit capabilities, and governance models.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><strong>Your journey to becoming a Frontier Firm starts with mindset and ambition.<\/strong> Even the most visionary companies will require time to transform their IT operations to enable this transition. If you start your journey with a well-defined plan based on the eight principles defined in this article, you\u2019ll accelerate your journey toward becoming an AI-powered Frontier Firm.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c0392459 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7db9d80f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Try-it-out-badge.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19492\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:75px;height:75px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Try-it-out-badge.png 190w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Try-it-out-badge-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-body-xl-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24)\">Try it out<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list is-style-list-no-bullets\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">Start building enterprise agents with a <a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/en-us\/thesource-developer\/Event\/38\/sign-up-for-copilot-studio-trial?OCID=InsideTrack_Product_10807\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">free trial of Copilot Studio<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\">Build and deploy your next agent and discover the latest AI models in the <a href=\"https:\/\/ai.azure.com\/?OCID=InsideTrack_Product_10807\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Azure AI Foundry<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c0392459 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7db9d80f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Related-links-badge.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19491\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:75px;height:75px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Related-links-badge.png 190w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Related-links-badge-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-body-xl-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24)\">Related links<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-20)\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/how-were-tackling-microsoft-365-copilot-governance-internally-at-microsoft\/\">Learn how Microsoft governs its M365 tenant to maximize the value of AI and agents.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/measuring-the-impact-of-microsoft-365-copilot-and-ai-at-microsoft\/\">Discover how Microsoft Digital evaluates and measures the impact of our AI investments.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/driving-the-future-of-work-how-were-approaching-microsoft-365-copilot-change-management-at-microsoft\/\">Looking to maximize usage? Learn how Microsoft Digital is maximizing the value of AI through principled change management.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/the-future-of-work-is-here-transforming-our-employee-experience-with-ai\/\">Microsoft is transforming its employee experience with Agents and AI. Learn how.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/defining-the-future-how-were-building-an-ai-powered-continuous-improvement-culture-at-microsoft\/\">Continuous improvement helps Microsoft to identify agentic opportunities, and can help your company too.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/deploying-microsoft-agent-365-how-were-extending-our-infrastructure-to-manage-agents-at-microsoft\/\">Need insight into your Agentic estate? Agent 365 has you covered!<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-c0392459 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-7db9d80f wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\" style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"190\" height=\"190\" src=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Wed-like-to-hear-from-you-badge.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19490\" style=\"object-fit:cover;width:75px;height:75px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Wed-like-to-hear-from-you-badge.png 190w, https:\/\/cm-edgetun.pages.dev\/insidetrack\/blog\/uploads\/prod\/2025\/07\/Wed-like-to-hear-from-you-badge-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-body-xl-font-size wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24);margin-bottom:0;padding-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-24)\">We&#8217;d like to hear from you!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"margin-top:var(--wp--preset--spacing--spacing-20)\" class=\"wp-block-list is-style-list-no-bullets\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-list-item\"><a href=\"mailto:msitstaff@microsoft.com\">Want more information? Email us and include a link to this story and we\u2019ll get back to you.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microsoft Digital, the company\u2019s IT team, is rapidly transforming into a Frontier IT Firm\u2014an organization fundamentally restructured for the AI era, where AI-agents are digital colleagues rather than peripheral tools. \u201cAgents are the most significant technological change we\u2019ve seen since the shift to the cloud, and arguably since the advent of the Internet.&#8221; Brian Fielder, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":130,"featured_media":21290,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_hide_featured_on_single":false,"_show_featured_caption_on_single":true,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,1],"tags":[199,597,850,852,827],"coauthors":[644,884],"class_list":["post-21288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-uncategorized","tag-ai","tag-employee-experience","tag-end-user-services-and-support","tag-it-and-business-operations","tag-microsoft-365-copilot","m-blog-post"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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