Want to design and build at the pace of AI without sacrificing security or quality? Use App Advisor and AI envisioning sessions to plan and sell a robust AI app or agent using Microsoft Foundry.
Jump right to the step-by-step curated guidance for building a well-architected app in App Advisor
The development of AI apps and agents is moving fast. The data backs it up:
- The AI platform of choice: 90% of Fortune 500 companies use Microsoft AI,
- Development lifecycles speed up: Teams see up to 46% faster development with Azure,
- Companies realize great ROI: AI apps and agents realize an average of 90% ROI.
The opportunity is real, but speed alone isn’t enough.
To turn momentum into a scalable, sellable solution, software companies need a clear path from idea to architecture to Microsoft Marketplace readiness.
How to build an AI app or agent and sell it on Marketplace
Microsoft Foundry provides the platform to build AI apps and agents. App Advisor provides the structure, guiding you through the decisions that matter early. So, you can move fast without creating rework later. When paired with focused build and alignment checklists, App Advisor helps you ship faster and prepare your solution for the Marketplace from day one.
Here’s how App Advisor, paired with material developed from the popular AI Envisioning sessions, helps you build with speed and Marketplace readiness in mind.
App Advisor gives you a clear starting point to build AI apps and agents
App Advisor is tailored specifically to remove ambiguity.
Instead of guessing where to begin, you’re guided through key build decisions, based on five critical pillars:
- Security
- Reliability
- Cost optimization
- Operational excellence
- Performance efficiency
These pillars are more than theory. They help you and your team think through pricing models, identity and access, resiliency, scaling, and operational integration early: before code hardens and changes get expensive.
By anchoring your build in these principles, you create a foundation that supports both rapid development and future Marketplace requirements.
Design well, build fast: Create an Agent MVP in 30 days
After your architecture is defined, the next challenge is execution speed.
The Create an Agent MVP in 30 Days checklist turns Microsoft Foundry best practices into an actionable build plan. It’s organized around the same well-architected pillars, making it easy to move from design to implementation without losing alignment.
This checklist helps you:
- Embed security controls like encryption, RBAC, and managed identity from day one,
- Design for reliability with stateless services, health checks, and graceful fallback,
- Right-size performance and compute so you don’t overbuild the MVP,
- Control costs early with monitoring, budgets, and automation,
- Set up DevOps and CI/CD to support fast iteration.
The result is a working agent that’s intentionally scoped, production-aware, and easier to evolve into a commercial offering.
Built to move fast, ready to be sold at scale
Used together, App Advisor, the 30-day to an MVP checklist, and the AI Envisioning sessions give you a repeatable path:
- Start with architecture clarity,
- Build an MVP quickly and responsibly,
- Stay aligned on Marketplace outcomes.
You’re not just shipping an AI app or agent.
You’re building a solution designed to be deployed, sold, and supported for your target customer. And designing well with solid core principles can help build a solid foundation for your Marketplace success.
Ready to build faster with Microsoft Foundry?
Explore App Advisor for step-by-step guidance to quickly design well-architected apps.
Want to get development templates to start designing in minutes? View the Quick-Start Development Toolkit library for AI apps and agents.
See the difference when you build with the proven framework of Microsoft Foundry and selling well-architected apps and agents in Marketplace.
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