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Partner Spotlight: Driving efficiency for medical researchers with Copilot agents

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justinroyal
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Nov 12, 2024

In our Partner Spotlight series, we tell the unique stories of partners innovating on the commercial marketplace. These partners have inspiring stories to tell on leveraging AI in app development, building across the Microsoft cloud, publishing transactable solutions on the marketplace, and maximizing marketplace selling opportunities. In this article, I sat down with Witivio's Nicolas Humann to learn more about their story and partner journey.

About Nicolas: Nicolas Humann leads Witivio, an AI-driven company dedicated to enhancing employee experiences through Microsoft Teams solutions, such as GPT Pro, TeamsPro, and Copilot Factory. Under his leadership, Witivio has grown internationally, delivering products that simplify collaboration and support hybrid workplaces.

With nearly two decades of experience in AI, cloud solutions, and software development, Nicolas Humann is committed to driving workplace transformation through accessible, high-impact technology.

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[JR]: Tell us about your organization. What inspired the founding? What products/services do you offer?

[NH]: At Witivio, we specialize in AI-driven solutions for Microsoft Teams, focused on enhancing employee experiences and streamlining workplace tasks. Our offerings include GPT Pro, a no-code AI Agent builder; Teams Pro, a suite of applications like Calendar Pro and KeePass Pro; and Copilot Factory, which supports clients in creating custom conversational AI solutions. An example of this is Copilot for Researcher, developed in collaboration with Institut Curie.

Since our founding, we’ve benefited from support through the Microsoft for Startups program, which has helped fuel our growth and innovation through resources and guidance.

We've been recognized as Microsoft's Startup of the Year (France, 2020), and our innovations with AI Copilot plugins have received endorsements from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during the AI Tour in Paris.

Every day, our solutions support over 590,000 employees in Microsoft Teams, and we’re continually expanding with Copilot extensions to make Teams even more insightful and powerful for developers and users alike.

We’ve also been among the first partners to publish declarative agents in the Microsoft commercial marketplace, positioning Witivio as an industry leader in adapting to Microsoft’s newest technologies.

[JR]: Can you tell us a bit about the application(s) you have available on the marketplace? How does it work?

[NH]: GPT ProAn advanced AI assistant fully integrated into Microsoft Teams. GPT Pro enhances team productivity by facilitating intelligent, context-aware interactions and automating tasks within the enterprise environment.

Pro for Teams: A suite of applications designed to customize Microsoft Teams and boost collaboration and productivity. It includes various tools like Calendar Pro, KeePass Pro, and others to enhance the Teams experience.

  • KeePass Pro: A secure password management tool within Microsoft Teams. KeePass Pro allows users to store, share, and generate passwords safely in their SharePoint, ensuring team-wide security and accessibility.
  • Booking Room Pro: An application that helps organize and manage office and seating occupancy. It streamlines the process of booking rooms and workspaces, enhancing office resource management. Booking Room Pro was one of the first Copilot Agents available on the Microsoft Marketplace.
  • Calendar Pro: A shared calendar solution within Microsoft Teams. It allows teams to manage projects, PTO, HR actions, and campaigns collaboratively, ensuring everyone stays informed and organized.

Today, these solutions support over 590,000 employees daily, streamlining workflows, automating tasks, and enhancing collaboration in Microsoft Teams.

[JR]: What Microsoft cloud products did you use in your app development? What value is this enabling with your customers? 

[NH]: In developing our solutions, we leverage a cross-cloud approach by integrating Azure and Microsoft Teams. Azure provides a robust, scalable foundation for our AI-driven solutions, enabling us to deploy powerful machine learning models, manage data securely, and maintain high availability. Using Azure's capabilities, we can incorporate advanced features like natural language processing and real-time data analytics, ensuring that our solutions meet the unique needs of diverse organizations.

Microsoft Teams serves as the collaborative hub where our solutions, such as GPT Pro and Calendar Pro, seamlessly integrate. This integration enables our customers to access tools directly within their workflow, facilitating improved communication, task automation, and collaboration. For example, by using Teams as the interface, employees can engage with AI Agent, manage schedules, and share information effortlessly — all in one place.

This cross-cloud architecture — combining Azure’s AI capabilities with the accessibility of Teams — empowers our customers to enhance productivity, streamline workflows, and foster a connected hybrid workplace.

[JR]: How has Microsoft supported you along your journey? 

[NH]: Microsoft has been an invaluable partner throughout our journey, providing us with the tools, support, and connections needed to scale our solutions and reach new customers. Through Microsoft for Startups, we gained access to essential resources that have fueled our growth. A dedicated Partner Development Manager supports us directly, guiding our actions and helping us align with Microsoft’s ecosystem. This personalized support has enabled us to refine our solutions, access new market opportunities, and leverage Microsoft’s best practices for app development.

In addition, our close collaboration with the Microsoft 365 Customer and Partner Ecosystem (CAPE) Team has strengthened our integration with Microsoft 365 and Teams. The CAPE Team has been instrumental in helping us optimize our solutions for Teams, ensuring a seamless experience for our users and enabling us to reach the right audiences.

Our experience publishing to the Microsoft commercial marketplace has also been highly positive, giving us a platform to showcase our apps to a global audience and simplify distribution. Through these collaborative efforts, Microsoft has supported us at every stage, helping us build scalable, impactful solutions for our customers.

With Microsoft’s support, including guidance from the CAPE Team and Microsoft for Startups, we’ve expanded our reach to support over 590,000 employees daily in Microsoft Teams, providing solutions that transform the way they work.

[JR]: How does your org align its business to enabling positive impact for your customers and communities? 

[NH]: At Witivio, we are committed to creating positive impacts for our customers and communities by developing AI-driven solutions that enhance productivity and streamline operations. Our collaboration with Institut Curie, a leading French cancer research center, exemplifies this commitment. Together with Microsoft, we developed "Copilot for Researcher," a Copilot Agent to help them to focus on research instead of administrative tasks. 

Additionally, we offer a 20% discount on our products to educational institutions and non-profit organizations, recognizing their unique financial needs. This initiative aims to make our solutions more accessible, enabling these organizations to benefit from advanced technologies that can improve their operations and services.

[JR]: Have you collaborated with other partners in the Microsoft ecosystem? How has this collaboration been beneficial?

[NH]: Yes, we actively collaborate with other partners within the Microsoft ecosystem, including Cloud Solution Providers (CSPs). Partnering with CSPs has allowed us to broaden our reach and offer more comprehensive solutions to our clients. Through these collaborations, we can better integrate our AI-driven applications within existing Microsoft environments, ensuring a seamless experience for end-users.

Working alongside CSPs also allows us to share insights, stay updated on the latest Microsoft innovations, and continuously improve our solutions. This collaborative approach has been mutually beneficial, enabling us to meet a wider range of customer needs, provide additional support, and strengthen our presence within the Microsoft ecosystem.

[JR]: How are you leveraging or planning to leverage AI in app development?

[NH]: At Witivio, we are actively integrating AI into our app development process to deliver intelligent, responsive solutions that enhance productivity and support specialized workflows. We leverage Azure OpenAI Services to access advanced language models like GPT-4o, enabling us to build solutions with sophisticated natural language processing and data analysis capabilities. For instance, in projects like Copilot for Researcher, these models are key to providing advanced reasoning and streamlining workflows for researchers.

Azure AI Studio plays a crucial role in our development, offering a collaborative environment for testing and deploying AI models. This platform allows us to rapidly iterate and adapt models to meet specific client needs, enhancing our ability to create personalized, high-quality solutions with responsible AI practices.

In addition, GitHub Copilot has become a valuable tool for our developers, speeding up the coding process by suggesting code snippets and helping with routine programming tasks. This AI-powered coding assistant allows our team to focus more on complex problem-solving and innovation, reducing time spent on repetitive coding. GitHub Copilot also assists in maintaining high code quality and consistency across projects, supporting faster prototyping and implementation of new ideas.

Together, these AI tools enable us to create applications that are both technically robust and highly relevant to the unique needs of our customers, helping us deliver solutions that make a meaningful impact.

[JR]: What business outcomes have you experienced as a result of using AI?

[NH]: At Witivio, AI has been a core part of our business since 2017, when we first began developing chatbots and exploring machine learning capabilities. This foundation allowed us to refine our expertise and stay ahead of industry trends. Over the years, advancements like Azure OpenAI Services, AI Studio, and GitHub Copilot have enabled us to expand beyond traditional chatbot solutions, creating increasingly sophisticated, responsive, and specialized solutions for our clients.

With these new AI capabilities, we've seen:

  • Increased efficiency: GitHub Copilot has sped up development timelines and enhanced productivity by automating routine code suggestions, freeing developers to focus on more complex problem-solving.
  • Enhanced product quality: Azure OpenAI Services allow us to deliver more accurate, contextually relevant solutions, driving greater client satisfaction and stronger customer relationships.
  • New opportunities for specialized solutions: With Copilot for Researcher, we’ve been able to apply our AI experience in new sectors, such as life sciences, allowing us to enter niche markets with a unique, AI-driven offering that resonates with specialized needs.

Our long-standing experience with AI has not only delivered measurable business outcomes but has also solidified Witivio’s position as an industry leader in AI-driven solutions.

[JR]: Can you tell us more about Witivio’s recent Copilot agent development? 

[NH]: Copilot for Researcher is a specialized application of Microsoft's broader Copilot technology tailored to the needs of life sciences researchers. Developed by Witivio in partnership with Microsoft, it leverages Copilot's core capabilities in natural language processing, search, and summarization to streamline time-consuming research tasks. The initial release of Copilot for Researcher is scheduled for December 2024.

In the same way that Microsoft Copilot assists users across different fields by integrating with data sources and automating routine tasks, Copilot for Researcher draws on vast scientific databases—like PubMed and The Human Protein Atlas—and organizes that information into easily navigable, interactive research cards. By automating data collection, citation management, and summarization, it gives researchers more time for direct scientific exploration, accelerating productivity and innovation in crucial areas like cancer research at institutions such as Institut Curie.

This relationship with Copilot ensures that Copilot for Researcher benefits from Microsoft’s robust AI technology, adapted specifically to serve life sciences, providing researchers with relevant, up-to-date scientific insights on demand.

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Updated Nov 12, 2024
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