Partner Case Study | University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago) is one of the nation’s most prestigious research institutions, serving more than 35,000 students, faculty, and staff. As interest in generative AI surged across campus, the university faced a challenge familiar to many: third-party tools were being used without institutional oversight, creating security, privacy, and governance risks. To address this, the university partnered with Royal Cyber—recognized for secure, enterprise-grade AI platforms for higher education. Working closely with Microsoft and UChicago’s IT Services team, Royal Cyber helped design and deploy PhoenixAI—a secure, scalable generative AI assistant powered entirely by Azure. Advancing progress without slowing momentum Faculty and students wanted access to generative AI. But without a centralized solution, the university risked both fragmented adoption and shadow IT usage. Unapproved tools lacked basic data protection and compliance controls, which put institutional data at risk. Royal Cyber worked with the university to co-develop a framework that met security and governance standards while preserving flexibility for academic exploration. The goal: deliver an institutionally managed AI solution built on trusted Azure infrastructure, deployable before the semester’s start, customizable by department or course, and capable of serving tens of thousands of users without adding operational overhead. PhoenixAI was built entirely on Azure using a modular, container-based architecture designed for performance, observability, and scalability. The system architecture was deployed fully within UChicago’s Azure tenant, ensuring that the university retained ownership of its data, infrastructure, and access policies. PhoenixAI integrates a wide array of Azure technologies to deliver secure, scalable performance, including: Azure OpenAI Service: Powers the generative assistant with GPT-4.1, GPT-5, and GPT-o3 models.Azure AI Foundry: Supports modular agent orchestration and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) using Azure Agents API.Azure Cosmos DB: Stores chat history, logs, and structured and unstructured user session data.Azure App Service and Azure Container Apps: Provide scalable, secure deployment of frontend and backend services.Azure Functions App: Automates event processing and tracks token usage in real time.Azure API Management: Creates secure access gateways for researchers, faculty, and custom agents.Azure Monitor and Log Analytics: Deliver real-time diagnostics, usage metrics, and system insights.Microsoft identity platform: Integrates with UChicago’s single sign-on (SSO) and role-based access controls to ensure secure authentication and fine-grained permissions. Additional Azure tools, including Azure Key Vault and Azure Application Gateway, manage certificate security, traffic routing, and endpoint access. Continue reading here Explore all case studies or submit your own Subscribe to case studies tag to follow all new case study posts. Don't forget to follow this blog to receive email notifications of new stories!Don’t miss Building Agents with Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft Foundry Agent Service!
Our dynamic four-part webinar series, Agentic AI + Copilot Partner Skilling Accelerator, empowers you to harness the Microsoft AI ecosystem to unlock new revenue streams and enhance customer success. Across the four sessions, Microsoft partners can expect to learn how to apply AI tools in no-code, low-code, and pro-code scenarios to build intelligent chat and workflow solutions, extend and customize capabilities, and create advanced, custom AI functionality. Don't miss the final session in the series, Building Agents with Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft Foundry Agent Service, where you'll learn how to design and deploy intelligent agents with Microsoft Foundry and Microsoft Foundry Agent Service, including multi-agent architectures and key protocols such as A2A and MCP. The live virtual event is scheduled for December 15, 2025. Register today to reserve your spot! Be sure to follow this Partner news blog for all partner related announcements by clicking follow above!Partner Case Study | Tiger Analytics
In every industry, preventing equipment downtime and maintaining operational continuity is a top priority. Preventive maintenance—making rounds, doing routine maintenance, and logging data—has long been a manual, tedious process, but with recent advances in AI, predicting and preventing failures and downtime is becoming more manageable than ever before. Tiger Analytics is a solutions integrator and Microsoft partner that implements AI-powered solutions. The organization has all three Solutions Partner designations for Azure, as well as three specializations: AI Platform on Microsoft Azure (formerly AI and Machine Learning on Microsoft Azure), Build AI Apps on Microsoft Azure, and Analytics on Microsoft Azure. They believe in using AI to transform operations for customers across industries. Their commitment to using AI to develop smart solutions empowered them to help a medical device company develop a predictive maintenance solution for their radiation therapy devices. Continue reading here Explore all case studies or submit your own Subscribe to case studies tag to follow all new case study posts. Don't forget to follow this blog to receive email notifications of new stories!Don’t miss out: Copilot Studio advanced customization webinar on December 8
Our dynamic four-part webinar series, Agentic AI + Copilot Partner Skilling Accelerator, empowers you to harness the Microsoft AI ecosystem to unlock new revenue streams and enhance customer success. Across the four sessions, Microsoft partners can expect to learn how to apply AI tools across no-code, low-code, and pro-code scenarios to build intelligent chat and workflow solutions, extend and customize capabilities, and create advanced, custom AI functionality. Don't miss out on the third session in the series, where you'll dive into advanced customization with Copilot Studio to create sophisticated agents. The live virtual event is scheduled for December 8, 2025. Sign up to sharpen your AI skills. Register today to reserve your spot.Partner Blog | Building an AI app and agent factory with Microsoft Foundry
AI is shaping how we live and work. Its potential feels limitless, constrained only by what we can imagine. According to the Microsoft Work Trend Index, 82% of leaders say they’re confident that they’ll use digital labor to expand workforce capacity in the next 12–18 months. AI is emerging as a clear differentiator, fueling creativity, accelerating productivity, and unlocking breakthrough innovation. For organizations delivering AI-powered solutions and services, this is your moment to lead. The demand is shifting from pilot projects to AI transformations at scale, and Microsoft partners who can deliver AI apps and agents at scale will define the future of this dynamic market. According to a survey by IDC, partners with mature Microsoft AI practices outperform others in overall gross margin, 36% vs. 30%. Continue reading hereSecure migration starts with trusted cloud and AI expertise
Modernizing legacy IT environments and moving securely to the cloud are top priorities for customers today. With the cloud migration market projected to reach $1.03 trillion 1 by 2030, representing an approximate 28% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), 2 organizations everywhere seek to strengthen their digital foundations—and they expect migrations to be secure, efficient, and tied to business outcomes. This is where partners make the difference. Your expertise speeds transformation and empowers customers to realize the full value of Microsoft Azure. Why modernizing legacy IT environments is essential Modernization is critical across industries. As software and hardware reach end of support, the risk of disruption rises. Unsupported systems create security gaps and operational challenges because they no longer receive essential updates. Meanwhile, regulatory pressure is mounting. Regulations like the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) and mandates in financial services and data management demand secure, up-to-date infrastructure to stay compliant and avoid costly penalties. Modernization isn’t just about reducing risk; it’s about seizing the moment of innovation. Modern platforms support AI, automation, and advanced data capabilities. Customers can move faster, operate more efficiently, and respond rapidly to new opportunities by updating legacy systems. Your expertise positions them competitively at the frontier of AI and intelligent operations. Continue reading hereDon't miss session two, Adopting Copilot Chat and Agent Builder. Sign up now!
Our dynamic four-part webinar series, Agentic AI + Copilot Partner Skilling Accelerator, empowers you to harness the Microsoft AI ecosystem to unlock new revenue streams and enhance customer success. Across each of the four sessions, experts will deliver practical guidance, best practices, and proven strategies for applying AI tools across no-code, low-code, and pro-code scenarios. Tune in to the second session, Adopting Copilot Chat and Agent Builder, to learn how Copilot and agents can help your business design, position, and sell AI solutions that drive customer success and revenue growth. This live virtual event is scheduled for December 1, 2025. Register today to reserve your spot.Build and connect Microsoft Foundry agents to MongoDB Atlas with new native integrations
MongoDB Atlas is a leading document database that’s rapidly gaining traction among Azure customers due to various deep integrations available across Microsoft platforms. In Aug 2025, we announced the General Availability (GA) of native integration for MongoDB Atlas — a milestone that marked a new era for developers and enterprises building AI-powered applications on Azure. Alongside this, we introduced Semantic Kernel connectors and other integrations to further enhance the developer experience. At last year’s Ignite, we announced the Microsoft Foundry integration with MongoDB Atlas to enable developers to reference vector stores. At Microsoft Ignite 2025, we are announcing the availability of MongoDB Atlas as one of the supported tools in Microsoft Foundry Tool Catalog (preview), allowing agents to connect to live enterprise data and operational systems. With the support of MongoDB MCP Server in the agent building experience, developers can now build agents that leverage MongoDB for both vector search and database operations. This unlocks new possibilities for intelligent automation and contextual decision-making, empowering organizations to create agents that are not only smarter but also deeply integrated with their operational data. Build Agents in Microsoft Foundry and add MongoDB as a Tool The goal is for enterprises to build and deploy agents quickly that can connect to their MongoDB Atlas collections. Discover MongoDB MCP Server in the Microsoft Foundry Tool Catalog Start by browsing the Microsoft Foundry Tool Catalog (preview), which features a growing list of enterprise-ready tools. Search for MongoDB MCP Server to find the landing page. Deploy the MCP Server The local MCP Server can be deployed to Azure Container Apps by following the documentation. Once hosted, copy the remote endpoint for the MCP Server. Add the tool to your agent In Microsoft Foundry, click on create a new agent, provide agent instructions and then click on ‘Tools’ Provide the remote endpoint in the custom tool option to connect to MongoDB Atlas. That’s it! Your Agent is now ready to query your databases. Access more Microsoft Foundry features Agents built in Microsoft Foundry can access a wide range of monitoring and governance capabilities. Organizations can automatically enforce security, compliance, and operational best practices. Every agent-to-tool interaction is authenticated, authorized, and monitored at scale, with unified telemetry and logging available through Azure Monitor and Microsoft Foundry analytics. This gives IT teams full visibility and control, while developers can confidently build and deploy agents knowing that enterprise standards are enforced by default. What Can Agents Do with MongoDB Atlas? Contextual Retrieval: Agents can ground their reasoning in fresh, operational data from MongoDB Atlas, supporting vector search and RAG workflows. Autonomous Database Operations: Agents can go beyond simple queries to perform end-to-end data exploration and management including creation of projects, clusters and database users while adhering to enterprise-grade compliance and security standards. Conclusion The MongoDB MCP Server integration for Microsoft Foundry is a major milestone in enterprise AI enablement. By bridging powerful document and vector data capabilities with secure, governed agent workflows, organizations can unlock new levels of automation, intelligence, and operational agility. Try the integration today Learn more about MongoDB Atlas on Azure. Try out the free cluster today! Get started with MongoDB MCP Server Link to MongoDB BlogPartner Blog | Partners leading the AI transformation: Microsoft Ignite 2025 recap
This week at Microsoft Ignite, we are defining what it means to be a Frontier Firm—organizations that embed AI across every layer of their business. A Frontier Firm is a next-generation organization built for the AI era. These companies blend human judgment with AI agents to scale faster, make smarter decisions, and deliver more value. The foundation for success for Microsoft partners begins with becoming Customer Zero. These partners go beyond selling AI. They internalize and operationalize it and bring meaningful credibility to every customer engagement. This approach builds real-world experience, insights, and transforms the partner’s go-to-market with capability and expertise that differentiates them with customers. By leading as Frontier Firms, these Customer Zero partners enrich employee experiences, reinvent customer engagement, reshape business processes, and bend the curve on innovation with AI, Copilots, and agents across their own organizations. Continue reading here
