On‑Device AI with Windows AI Foundry and Foundry Local
From “waiting” to “instant”- without sending data away AI is everywhere, but speed, privacy, and reliability are critical. Users expect instant answers without compromise. On-device AI makes that possible: fast, private and available, even when the network isn’t - empowering apps to deliver seamless experiences. Imagine an intelligent assistant that works in seconds, without sending a text to the cloud. This approach brings speed and data control to the places that need it most; while still letting you tap into cloud power when it makes sense. Windows AI Foundry: A Local Home for Models Windows AI Foundry is a developer toolkit that makes it simple to run AI models directly on Windows devices. It uses ONNX Runtime under the hood and can leverage CPU, GPU (via DirectML), or NPU acceleration, without requiring you to manage those details. The principle is straightforward: Keep the model and the data on the same device. Inference becomes faster, and data stays local by default unless you explicitly choose to use the cloud. Foundry Local Foundry Local is the engine that powers this experience. Think of it as local AI runtime - fast, private, and easy to integrate into an app. Why Adopt On‑Device AI? Faster, more responsive apps: Local inference often reduces perceived latency and improves user experience. Privacy‑first by design: Keep sensitive data on the device; avoid cloud round trips unless the user opts in. Offline capability: An app can provide AI features even without a network connection. Cost control: Reduce cloud compute and data costs for common, high‑volume tasks. This approach is especially useful in regulated industries, field‑work tools, and any app where users expect quick, on‑device responses. Hybrid Pattern for Real Apps On-device AI doesn’t replace the cloud, it complements it. Here’s how: Standalone On‑Device: Quick, private actions like document summarization, local search, and offline assistants. Cloud‑Enhanced (Optional): Large-context models, up-to-date knowledge, or heavy multimodal workloads. Design an app to keep data local by default and surface cloud options transparently with user consent and clear disclosures. Windows AI Foundry supports hybrid workflows: Use Foundry Local for real-time inference. Sync with Azure AI services for model updates, telemetry, and advanced analytics. Implement fallback strategies for resource-intensive scenarios. Application Workflow Code Example using Foundry Local: 1. Only On-Device: Tries Foundry Local first, falls back to ONNX if foundry_runtime.check_foundry_available(): # Use on-device Foundry Local models try: answer = foundry_runtime.run_inference(question, context) return answer, source="Foundry Local (On-Device)" except Exception as e: logger.warning(f"Foundry failed: {e}, trying ONNX...") if onnx_model.is_loaded(): # Fallback to local BERT ONNX model try: answer = bert_model.get_answer(question, context) return answer, source="BERT ONNX (On-Device)" except Exception as e: logger.warning(f"ONNX failed: {e}") return "Error: No local AI available" 2. Hybrid approach: On-device first, cloud as last resort def get_answer(question, context): """ Priority order: 1. Foundry Local (best: advanced + private) 2. ONNX Runtime (good: fast + private) 3. Cloud API (fallback: requires internet, less private) # in case of Hybrid approach, based on real-time scenario """ if foundry_runtime.check_foundry_available(): # Use on-device Foundry Local models try: answer = foundry_runtime.run_inference(question, context) return answer, source="Foundry Local (On-Device)" except Exception as e: logger.warning(f"Foundry failed: {e}, trying ONNX...") if onnx_model.is_loaded(): # Fallback to local BERT ONNX model try: answer = bert_model.get_answer(question, context) return answer, source="BERT ONNX (On-Device)" except Exception as e: logger.warning(f"ONNX failed: {e}, trying cloud...") # Last resort: Cloud API (requires internet) if network_available(): try: import requests response = requests.post( '{BASE_URL_AI_CHAT_COMPLETION}', headers={'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}'}, json={ 'model': '{MODEL_NAME}', 'messages': [{ 'role': 'user', 'content': f'Context: {context}\n\nQuestion: {question}' }] }, timeout=10 ) answer = response.json()['choices'][0]['message']['content'] return answer, source="Cloud API (Online)" except Exception as e: return "Error: No AI runtime available", source="Failed" else: return "Error: No internet and no local AI available", source="Offline" Demo Project Output: Foundry Local answering context-based questions offline : The Foundry Local engine ran the Phi-4-mini model offline and retrieved context-based data. : The Foundry Local engine ran the Phi-4-mini model offline and mentioned that there is no answer. Practical Use Cases Privacy-First Reading Assistant: Summarize documents locally without sending text to the cloud. Healthcare Apps: Analyze medical data on-device for compliance. Financial Tools: Risk scoring without exposing sensitive financial data. IoT & Edge Devices: Real-time anomaly detection without network dependency. Conclusion On-device AI isn’t just a trend - it’s a shift toward smarter, faster, and more secure applications. With Windows AI Foundry and Foundry Local, developers can deliver experiences that respect user specific data, reduce latency, and work even when connectivity fails. By combining local inference with optional cloud enhancements, you get the best of both worlds: instant performance and scalable intelligence. Whether you’re creating document summarizers, offline assistants, or compliance-ready solutions, this approach ensures your apps stay responsive, reliable, and user-centric. References Get started with Foundry Local - Foundry Local | Microsoft Learn What is Windows AI Foundry? | Microsoft Learn https://devblogs.microsoft.com/foundry/unlock-instant-on-device-ai-with-foundry-local/New Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional Certification
Do you use generative AI tools, like Researcher and Analyst in Microsoft 365 Copilot, to enhance your daily work, boost productivity, guide decisions, and drive business outcomes—without writing code or developing AI applications? Are you comfortable with AI fundamentals, prompt creation, and applying AI to real-world tasks? Do you produce professional content, summarize meetings, and collaborate across teams using Microsoft 365 apps? If this is your skill set, we have a new Microsoft Certification for you. The Microsoft Certified: AI Business Professional Certification validates your expertise in these skills. To earn this Certification, you need to pass Exam AB-730: AI Business Professional, currently in beta. This new Certification shows employers that you’re an AI-ready professional who can drive better outcomes in any business role, that you’re fluent in using AI in your day-to-day projects, including how to be more productive and creative as you work across Microsoft 365 apps, and that you understand how to use Copilot and agents to analyze data and automate tasks. Is this the right Certification for you? This Certification is designed for business professionals who want to apply AI tools to real business challenges. Whether you're in marketing, operations, project management, human resources, customer service, or another field, this Certification proves that you can unlock new levels of productivity and insight. As a candidate for the Certification, you should have a basic understanding of Microsoft 365 and should be comfortable navigating core apps, such as Outlook, Word, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel. You also need to be familiar with common business processes, including creating presentations, generating images, and managing documents. If you use generative AI tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, to draft emails, summarize documents, create presentations, or generate creative content, like images and text, this Certification could be a great fit for you. Ready to prove your skills? Take advantage of the discounted beta exam offer. The first 300 people who take Exam AB-730 (beta), on or before December 11, 2025, can get 80% off market price. To receive the discount, when you register for the exam and are prompted for payment, use code AB730Smore25. This is not a private access code. The seats are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. As noted, you must take the exam on or before December 11, 2025. Please note that this beta exam is not available in Turkey, Pakistan, India, or China. Get ready to take Exam AB-730 (beta): Review the Exam AB-730 (beta) exam page for details. The Exam AB-730 study guide explores key topics covered in the exam. Want even more in-depth, instructor-led training? Connect with Microsoft Training Services Partners in your area for in-person offerings. Need other preparation ideas? Check out Just How Does One Prepare for Beta Exams? Did you know that you can take any Microsoft Certification exam online? Taking your exam from home or the office can be more convenient and less stressful than traveling to a test center—especially when you know what to expect. To find out more, read Online proctored exams: What to expect and how to prepare. The rescore process starts on the day an exam goes live, and final scores for beta exams are released approximately 10 days after that. For details on the timing of beta exam rescoring and results, check out Creating high-quality exams: The path from beta to live. Ready to get started? Remember, the number of spots is limited to the first 300 candidates taking Exam AB-730 (beta) on or before December 11, 2025. Stay tuned for general availability of this Certification in February 2026. Learn more about Microsoft Credentials. Related announcements We recently migrated our subject matter expert (SME) database to LinkedIn. To be notified of beta exam availability or opportunities to help with the development of exam, assessment, or learning content, sign up today for the Microsoft Worldwide Learning SME Group for Credentials.Unlocking Your First AI Solution on Azure: Practical Paths for Developers of All Backgrounds
Over the past several months, I’ve spent hundreds of hours working directly with teams—from small startups to mid-market innovators—who share the same aspiration: “We want to use AI, but where do we start?” This question comes up everywhere. It crosses industries, geographies, skill levels, and team sizes. And as developers, we often feel the pressure to “solve AI” end-to-end—model selection, prompt engineering, security, deployment pipelines, integration…. The list is long, and the learning curve can feel even longer. But here’s what we’ve learned through our work in the SMB space and what we recently shared at Microsoft Ignite (Session OD1210). The first mile of AI doesn’t have to be complex. You don’t need an army of engineers, and you don’t need to start from scratch. You just need the right path. In our Ignite on-demand session with UnifyCloud, we demonstrated two fast, developer-friendly ways to get your first AI workload running on Azure—both grounded in real-world patterns we see every day. Path 1: Build Quickly with Microsoft Foundry Templates Microsoft Foundry gives developers pre-built, customizable templates that dramatically reduce setup time. In the session, I walked through how to deploy a fully functioning AI chatbot using: Azure AI Foundry GitHub (via the Azure Samples “Get Started with AI Chat” repo) Azure Cloudshell for deployment And zero specialized infra prep With five lines of code and a few clicks, you can spin up a secure internal chatbot tailored for your business. Want responses scoped to your internal content? Want control over the model, costs, or safety filters? Want to plug in your own data sources like SharePoint, Blob Storage, or uploaded docs? You can do all of that—easily and on your terms. This “build fast” path is ideal for: Developers who want control and extensibility Teams validating AI use cases Scenarios where data governance matters Lightweight experimentation without heavy architecture upfront And most importantly, you can scale it later. Path 2: Buy a Production-Ready Solution from a Trusted Partner Not every team wants to build. Not every team has the time, the resources, or the desire to compose their own AI stack. That’s why we showcased the “buy” path with UnifyCloud’s AI Factory, a Marketplace-listed solution that lets customers deploy mature AI capabilities directly into their Azure environment, complete with optional support, management, and best practices. In the demo, UnifyCloud’s founder Vivek Bhatnagar walked through: How to navigate Microsoft Marketplace How to evaluate solution listings How to review pricing plans and support tiers How to deploy a partner-built AI app with just a few clicks How customers can accelerate their time to value without implementation overhead This path is perfect when you want: A production-ready AI solution A supported, maintained experience Minimal engineering lift Faster time to outcome Why Azure? Why Now? During the session, we also outlined three reasons developers are choosing Azure for their first AI workloads: 1. Secure, governed, safe by design Azure mitigates risk with always-on guardrails and built-in commitments to security, privacy, and policy-based control. 2. Built for production with a complete AI platform From models to agents to tools and data integrations, Azure provides an enterprise-grade environment developers can trust. 3. Developer-first innovation with agentic DevOps Azure puts developers at the center, integrating AI across the software development lifecycle to help teams build faster and smarter. The Session: Build or Buy—Two Paths, One Goal Whether you build using Azure AI Foundry or buy through Marketplace, the goal is the same: Help teams get to their first AI solution quickly, confidently, and securely. You don’t need a massive budget. You don’t need deep ML experience. You don’t need a full-time AI team. What you need is a path that matches your skills, your constraints, and your timeline. Watch the Full Ignite Session You can watch the full session on-demand now also on YouTube: OD1201 — “Unlock Your First AI Solution on Azure” It includes: The full build and buy demos Partner perspectives Deployment walkthroughs And guidance you can take back to your teams today If you want to explore the same build path we showed at Ignite: ➡️ Azure Samples – Get Started with AI Chat https://github.com/Azure-Samples/get-started-with-ai-chat Deploy it, customize it, attach your data sources, and extend it. It’s a great starting point. If you’re curious about the Marketplace path: ➡️ Search for “UnifyCloud AI Factory” on Microsoft Marketplace You’ll see support offerings, solution details, and deployment instructions. Closing Thought The gap between wanting to adopt AI and actually running AI in production is shrinking fast. Azure makes it possible for teams, especially those without deep AI experience, to take meaningful steps today. No perfect architecture required. No million-dollar budget. No wait for a future-state roadmap. Just two practical paths: Build quickly. Buy confidently. Start now. If you have questions, ideas, or want to share what you’re building, feel free to reach out here in the Developer Community. I’d love to hear what you’re creating. — Joshua Huang Microsoft AzureAzure Skilling at Microsoft Ignite 2025
The energy at Microsoft Ignite was unmistakable. Developers, architects, and technical decision-makers converged in San Francisco to explore the latest innovations in cloud technology, AI applications, and data platforms. Beyond the keynotes and product announcements was something even more valuable: an integrated skilling ecosystem designed to transform how you build with Azure. This year Azure Skilling at Microsoft Ignite 2025 brought together distinct learning experiences, over 150+ hands-on labs, and multiple pathways to industry-recognized credentials—all designed to help you master skills that matter most in today's AI-driven cloud landscape. Just Launched at Ignite Microsoft Ignite 2025 offered an exceptional array of learning opportunities, each designed to meet developers anywhere on the skilling journey. Whether you joined us in-person or on-demand in the virtual experience, multiple touchpoints are available to deepen your Azure expertise. Ignite 2025 is in the books, but you can still engage with the latest Microsoft skilling opportunities, including: The Azure Skills Challenge provides a gamified learning experience that lets you compete while completing task-based achievements across Azure's most critical technologies. These challenges aren't just about badges and bragging rights—they're carefully designed to help you advance technical skills and prepare for Microsoft role-based certifications. The competitive element adds urgency and motivation, turning learning into an engaging race against the clock and your peers. For those seeking structured guidance, Plans on Learn offer curated sets of content designed to help you achieve specific learning outcomes. These carefully assembled learning journeys include built-in milestones, progress tracking, and optional email reminders to keep you on track. Each plan represents 12-15 hours of focused learning, taking you from concept to capability in areas like AI application development, data platform modernization, or infrastructure optimization. The Microsoft Reactor Azure Skilling Series, running December 3-11, brings skilling to life through engaging video content, mixing regular programming with special Ignite-specific episodes. This series will deliver technical readiness and programming guidance in a livestream presentation that's more digestible than traditional documentation. Whether you're catching episodes live with interactive Q&A or watching on-demand later, you’ll get world-class instruction that makes complex topics approachable. Beyond Ignite: Your Continuous Learning Journey Here's the critical insight that separates Ignite attendees who transform their careers from those who simply collect swag: the real learning begins after the event ends. Microsoft Ignite is your launchpad, not your destination. Every module you start, every lab you complete, and every challenge you tackle connects to a comprehensive learning ecosystem on Microsoft Learn that's available 24/7, 365 days a year. Think of Ignite as your intensive immersion experience—the moment when you gain context, build momentum, and identify the skills that will have the biggest impact on your work. What you do in the weeks and months following determines whether that momentum compounds into career-defining expertise or dissipates into business as usual. For those targeting career advancement through formal credentials, Microsoft Certifications, Applied Skills and AI Skills Navigator, provide globally recognized validation of your expertise. Applied Skills focus on scenario-based competencies, demonstrating that you can build and deploy solutions, not simply answer theoretical questions. Certifications cover role-based scenarios for developers, data engineers, AI engineers, and solution architects. The assessment experiences include performance-based testing in dedicated Azure tenants where you complete real configuration and development tasks. And finally, the NEW AI Skills Navigator is an agentic learning space, bringing together AI-powered skilling experiences and credentials in a single, unified experience with Microsoft, LinkedIn Learning and GitHub – all in one spot Why This Matters: The Competitive Context The cloud skills race is intensifying. While our competitors offer robust training and content, Microsoft's differentiation comes not from having more content—though our 1.4 million module completions last fiscal year and 35,000+ certifications awarded speak to scale—but from integration of services to orchestrate workflows. Only Microsoft offers a truly unified ecosystem where GitHub Copilot accelerates your development, Azure AI services power your applications, and Azure platform services deploy and scale your solutions—all backed by integrated skilling content that teaches you to maximize this connected experience. When you continue your learning journey after Ignite, you're not just accumulating technical knowledge. You're developing fluency in an integrated development environment that no competitor can replicate. You're learning to leverage AI-powered development tools, cloud-native architectures, and enterprise-grade security in ways that compound each other's value. This unified expertise is what transforms individual developers into force-multipliers for their organizations. Start Now, Build Momentum, Never Stop Microsoft Ignite 2025 offered the chance to compress months of learning into days of intensive, hands-on experience, but you can still take part through the on-demand videos, the Global Ignite Skills Challenge, visiting the GitHub repos for the /Ignite25 labs, the Reactor Azure Skilling Series, and the curated Plans on Learn provide multiple entry points regardless of your current skill level or preferred learning style. But remember: the developers who extract the most value from Ignite are those who treat the event as the beginning, not the culmination, of their learning journey. They join hackathons, contribute to GitHub repositories, and engage with the Azure community on Discord and technical forums. The question isn't whether you'll learn something valuable from Microsoft Ignite 2025-that's guaranteed. The question is whether you'll convert that learning into sustained momentum that compounds over months and years into career-defining expertise. The ecosystem is here. The content is ready. Your skilling journey doesn't end when Ignite does—it accelerates.
📣 Getting Started with AI and MS Copilot — Português
Olá, 👋 Espero que estejam bem! 📢 Quer explorar IA e Microsoft Copilot de forma prática para o aprendizado? Participe da sessão “Introdução à IA com o uso do MS Copilot”, pensada especialmente para docentes que estão começando a usar o Copilot. Vamos aprender os fundamentos da IA generativa, como criar boas instruções e aplicar essas ferramentas na sala de aula. 📌 Sessão com exemplos práticos, materiais para utilizar e um espaço ideal para praticar e tirar dúvidas. No horário indicado, favor realizar acesso ao link: Teams meeting.AI and human potential: Advancing skills, innovation, and outcomes
When empowered employees put AI skills into action, true transformation begins. Across industries and around the world, organizations are teaming up with Microsoft to help their employees learn the skills they need to put AI into practice. Building AI skills today sets up employees and organizations to thrive in the opportunities of tomorrow. At visionary organizations, like Albertsons Companies, Casey’s, Levi Strauss, and Newell Brands, teams are moving beyond theory and weaving AI into everyday work, transforming routine tasks into opportunities for innovation and business growth. This isn’t just about technology—it’s about people reimagining how they make an impact—and, in the process, they’re building resilience, driving growth, and creating success. AI Skills Navigator: Guidance for your AI-powered growth To help more people tap into this potential, we recently announced AI Skills Navigator an agentic learning space, bringing together AI-powered skilling experiences and credentials that help individuals build career skills and organizations worldwide accelerate their business. Forward-thinking companies Icertis, LexisNexis Risk Solutions, MTN, and Vodafone previewed AI Skills Navigator and shared their excitement about the experience. They see this learning space as a way to strengthen their learning cultures, prepare their workforces for the future, and deliver meaningful results—from better customer experiences to innovation that scales. Empowering teams to lead with confidence We believe skilling should always start with people, especially in a fast-changing AI landscape. We’re inspired by what teams can achieve when they feel supported, and we’re proud to work with organizations of all sizes as they help their employees grow and lead with confidence. The examples that follow highlight how enterprises across industries and regions are building future-ready teams with Microsoft skilling—and seeing real impact. The Adecco Group, a leading talent solutions and advisory firm that serves more than 100,000 companies every year, is committed to upskilling its workforce and preparing employees for the future of work. Partnering with Microsoft, The Adecco Group provides skill-building that supports 300 million candidate interactions annually and fosters a learning culture that scales AI expertise across the company. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), the state-owned energy company of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, operates across the entire oil and gas value chain. ADNOC and Microsoft have committed to co-develop and deploy agents that enhance efficiency, enable autonomous operations, and reduce emissions. This collaboration includes advanced AI tools and workforce training from Microsoft, in addition to the creation of a joint innovation ecosystem to drive transformative energy solutions. Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, is helping its associates be more effective with AI. According to Anuj Dhanda, Executive Vice President (EVP), Chief Technology & Transformation Officer, "At Albertsons Companies, we’re better together, whether in our stores or behind the scenes, and we embrace groundbreaking innovation that empowers each of our team members to earn customers for life. Our partnership with Microsoft is one of many transformative AI initiatives we’re implementing to unlock the potential of AI, helping our associates to be more effective, simplify their work, and build a more capable workforce to serve our 37 million customers each week." The Belgian Ministry of Defense is working with Microsoft to strengthen its capabilities through the practical application of generative AI, supporting a future-ready workforce. With AI coaching, the ministry equips its personnel with the skills to enhance digital resilience and operational effectiveness. Bupa APAC, a global leader in health insurance, health services, and aged care, keeps skilling central to its strategy evolution. The company cites AI as a critical part of its transformation but points out that technology alone isn't enough. It’s focused on its teams—building the right skills to make AI effective across the organization. Casey’s, a Fortune 500 convenience store chain and one of the largest pizza retailers in the United States, is embracing AI throughout the company. As Sanjeev Satturu, Senior Vice President (SVP) and Chief Information Officer (CIO), explains, “At Casey's, we are dedicated to fostering digital dexterity by equipping our teams with innovative AI tools. Through our strategic partnership with Microsoft, we are providing employees with the knowledge and resources to seamlessly integrate AI into their daily work, empowering them to extend their capabilities, boost productivity, and drive our evolution. By embracing AI in everyday actions, we amplify our collective potential and accelerate meaningful progress across the organization.” Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CommBank), one of Australia’s largest banks, is guided by its goal to build a brighter future for all. With Microsoft skilling offerings, the bank is enabling its teams to engage with AI, use the latest tools, and embrace new ways of working, as employees find out how AI can drive real impact. With a structured skilling approach and real-world experimentation, CommBank employees are learning to confidently apply AI to their day-to-day tasks, stay ahead, innovate, and help shape the future of banking. Danone, a world leader in specialized nutrition, is exploring new frontiers in AI transformation. Juergen Esser, Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in charge of Finance, Technology and Data, observes, “Our collaboration with Microsoft will accelerate our AI transformation, providing us with the tools, technology, and expertise to explore new frontiers in data analysis, operational efficiency, and consumer engagement. Working together is not just about technology; it’s about fostering a culture of continuous learning, innovation, and performance across our organisation." EPAM, a global leader in digital engineering and AI-powered software engineering services, is differentiating itself by focusing on Microsoft Applied Skills, moving beyond academic knowledge to real client impact. This approach demonstrates proficiency, strengthens outcomes, and provides a clear competitive advantage. With Applied Skills, EPAM fast-tracks AI readiness and project outcomes. Icertis, a leader in AI-powered contract intelligence, previewed AI Skills Navigator. Shwetambari Salgar, Learning & Organisational Development, is enthusiastic, emphasizing, “AI Skills Navigator provides an opportunity to upskill Icertis teams for the future through a unified learning platform. As a long-time Microsoft partner, we have a shared drive for innovation and continuous learning.” Koç Holding is a Fortune Global 500 company and Turkey’s largest multinational conglomerate, operating across energy, automotive, finance, consumer goods, and retail sectors. The company is taking advantage of Microsoft Applied Skills, empowering more than 6,000 employees to build future-ready skills in cloud, AI, and automation—underscoring the company’s belief that digital transformation begins with people. Koç Holding employees demonstrate their technical expertise through real-world tasks with Applied Skills, which focus on targeted, scenario-based learning and validation. These staff members are turning their new skills into impact, solving business challenges and driving agility. Lenovo, a global technology powerhouse focused on delivering smarter technology for all, is expanding its collaboration with Microsoft to upskill an additional 4,200 employees this year, following the successful training of more than 3,000 to date. What began as a small pilot has evolved into one of Lenovo’s largest learning communities, reinforcing the company’s position as a leading force in the AI revolution. Levi Strauss & Co., global apparel company, is building the foundation to apply AI across its operations. As Karen Scholl, Vice President, Office of the Chief Digital & Technology Officer, explains, “We’re empowering our people to tap into the power of AI to unlock new possibilities, reimagine how we work, and accelerate our evolution into a best-in-class, direct-to-consumer retailer. Our partnership with Microsoft isn’t just about technology, but it’s about building the right foundation to embed AI across everything we do. From product design to store operations, we’re building and equipping every team member with the tools to drive innovation and growth, ensuring Levi’s continues to thrive for another 170 years. By leveraging Microsoft’s technological expertise, we’re redefining what’s possible for the future of retail.” LexisNexis Risk Solutions provides data analytics and technology to help organizations assess risk, ensure compliance, and prevent fraud. Sarah Fabius, Technology Optimization Program Manager, notes that the company is dedicated to equipping its workforce “with cutting-edge AI skills that fuel innovation in risk and data analytics technology. Through our partnership with Microsoft and the integration of AI Skills Navigator, we’re ensuring our teams have the tools and expertise to lead in a rapidly evolving industry.” MTN is Africa’s largest mobile network operator. Paul Norman, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, shares his perspective on AI Skills Navigator, noting, “At MTN, we believe in developing an AI-fluent organisation that empowers every employee to adopt and utilise AI responsibly and ethically. Microsoft AI Skills Navigator provides an exciting new learning innovation that can help demystify AI through its learner-centric and human-first approach to grow and develop an agile, resilient, and AI-inspired workforce of the future!" National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s largest financial institutions, is advancing its strategic commitment to AI, with more than 100 initiatives underway and thousands of employees already applying generative AI to deliver real business value. The bank emphasizes responsible AI, inclusive innovation, and strong leadership. Through a joint effort with Microsoft, 600 women have received AI training, reinforcing NAB’s vision of a diverse, future-ready workforce equipped to lead in the age of AI. Newell Brands, a leading consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands, is empowering its employees with Microsoft technology and skilling. As Chris Peterson, President and CEO, points out, “At Newell Brands, we see AI as a catalyst for creativity, productivity, and transformation. Through the Microsoft AI experience training series and access to Microsoft 365 Copilot, we’re empowering our employees with technology that helps them work smarter, boost productivity, and turn ideas into action faster. This is about more than adopting new technology—it’s about fueling innovation, driving efficiency, and creating lasting value across our business.” NTT DATA is a global IT services and consulting company that provides digital, cloud, and business solutions to help organizations innovate and transform. The company is building its workforce skills in generative AI in close collaboration with Microsoft and other leading partners. The company intends to train 200,000 of its employees by fiscal year 2027 and, as of October 2025, had already trained 70,000 of them. This initiative empowers staff members to apply generative AI independently, driving innovation in daily tasks and creating new value across the organization. OP Pohjola, Finland’s largest provider of financial services, is fueling transformation in the financial sector by embedding continuous learning into its culture. In a joint effort with Microsoft, the company is ensuring that every employee has the opportunity to build AI skills and can apply them responsibly every day. This commitment and world-class learning strengthens customer service, fosters innovation, and helps to shape the future of banking. Ricoh, a global technology company that provides digital services, printing solutions, and workplace innovation, believes that real transformation starts with people. The company is advancing AI adoption across its teams in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on skill-building so team members can use new tools with confidence. Ricoh and Microsoft worked together to deliver AI Learning Week, which gave employees the opportunity to explore ways to apply AI meaningfully and responsibly and to reimagine how they work, enhancing human potential. Vodafone, a global telecommunications company, looks to the exciting possibilities of AI Skills Navigator. As Steve Garley, Senior Manager Technical and Digital Skills, explains, “AI Skills Navigator learner-first design aligns well with an AI-first approach and Vodafone’s ambition for readiness in the AI era. We see potential in Microsoft’s [skilling experience] to transform traditional training models and deliver role-based, just-in-time upskilling that drives real business outcomes.” From retail to telecom and more, these organizations prove that empowered teams can spark innovation and lasting growth. Their experiences highlight a truth worth remembering—transformation starts with people. When employees feel confident in their skills, they create success that extends well beyond daily tasks. If you’re ready to empower your workforce with the full potential of AI skilling, get your teams started with AI Skills Navigator.🎙️Public Preview: Azure Logic Apps Connectors as MCP Tools in Microsoft Foundry
At Ignite 2025, Foundry tools were introduced in Microsoft Foundry – a unified catalog of tools, connectors and MCP servers. We are excited to share more about Azure Logic Apps connectors now available as tools in Microsoft Foundry. This unlocks a seamless way for developers to give their agents secure, governed access to the systems they rely on—without writing boilerplate authentication code or managing API plumbing. With this feature, agents can now use any Logic Apps connector—including SAP, ServiceNow, Dynamics, Salesforce, SQL, GitHub, and hundreds more—as a first-class MCP tool inside Foundry. This builds on our recent Public Preview of Logic Apps MCP Servers, which enable both connectors and workflows to be exposed as MCP tools. How it works Step 1 — Select a Logic Apps connector as a tool In the Agent Tools catalog, you’ll now find Logic Apps connectors available alongside existing MCP tools. You can search by name or filter to show only Logic Apps connectors (marked with the Custom tag). After selecting a connector, you’ll move on to choosing a Logic App resource. Step 2 — Create or select a Standard Logic App Logic Apps connectors require a Standard Logic Apps resource as their host. If you don’t already have one, a new Logic App will be created automatically. If you do, you’ll see a dropdown allowing you to pick an existing Logic App. Step 3 — Configure the connector as an MCP server This is where Logic Apps provides its power and flexibility. You effectively generate an MCP server using your connector: Choose which operations you want to expose Optionally configure parameter behavior Specify whether parameters are provided by the model or the user Review or edit the autogenerated tool description based on the connector’s OpenAPI definition Parameters that require user input are clearly indicated in the UI. Step 4 — Register the MCP server as a tool in Foundry This flow begins in the Azure portal and completes in the Foundry portal. After registration completes, your tool appears in the Agent tool list—ready to be added to any agent. In the Connected Resources view, you’ll also see the Logic Apps resource that backs your MCP tool. In just a few steps, agents can now use Logic Apps connectors natively, unlocking secure enterprise connectivity without custom code. Foundry continues to support custom MCP servers, including those created from Logic Apps workflows themselves. If you want to expose a workflow as an MCP tool, you can do so with the same mechanism. (See our detailed document on converting workflows to MCP tools.) Roadmap Unified Experience Today, the flow spans the Azure portal and the Foundry portal. A fully Foundry-native experience is coming in an upcoming release. OAuth-based First-Party Connectors Some first-party connectors using OAuth are not yet supported. These will be enabled in the near future. Next Steps Watch this short demo video to see the feature in action. Get started with the documentation to try it yourself.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 here
