AI AGENT RACE FINLAND 2026 käynnistyy!
Kilpailun ohjeet ja arviointi Kilpailuun osallistuminen tapahtuu nominoimalla asiakascase ohjeistetulla tavalla sähköpostitse jollekin postauksen alla mainituista yhteyshenkilöistä. Nominoinnin tulee perustua todelliseen asiakastarpeeseen, jossa tekoälyagentti on käytössä tuotannossa tai selkeästi siirtymässä tuotantoon. Ratkaisun tulee ratkaista tunnistettu liiketoiminta‑ tai käyttäjäongelma ja tuottaa asiakkaalle mitattavaa tai muuten selkeästi kuvattavaa arvoa. Nominoinnin tulisi sisältää: Kumppani ja yhteyshenkilöt Asiakas ja toimiala Lyhyt kuvaus Lähtötilanne ja liiketoiminnan haaste AI-agentin rooli ja toiminnallisuus Hyödynnetyt teknologiat Liiketoimintahyödyt (esim. Aikasäästöt, laadun parantaminen, tehokkuus ja asiakaskokemuksen paraneminen) Arviointiperusteet: Vaikuttavuus asiakkaalle Agentin käyttöönotto ja käyttöaste Ratkaisun selkeys Toistettavuus ja skaalautuvuus Tarinan selkeys ja opittavuus Aikataulu Kumppanihaaste lanseerataan 5.2.2026, jonka jälkeen nominointien keruu on avoinna 5.2.–20.4.2026. Tänä aikana kumppanit voivat toimittaa asiakascaseihin pohjautuvat nominointinsa ohjeiden mukaisesti. Nominointijakson päätyttyä Microsoftin nimeämä raati arvioi kaikki ehdotukset. Julkaisemme viisi finalistia, joista voittaja valitaan ja julkistetaan 28.4. AI tour -tapahtuman lavalla. AI Agent Race 2026 on kutsu kumppaneille siirtyä agenttimoodiin – rakentaa, ottaa käyttöön ja osoittaa, miten tekoälyagentit tuottavat todellista ja kestävää arvoa asiakkaille. Yhteyshenkilöt: Tom Louhija, t-tom.louhija@microsoft.com Jonna Kaarlenkaski, jonna.kaarlenkaski@microsoft.com Luukas Westerholm, luukas.westerholm@microsoft.com
Unleashing New Business Opportunities for Microsoft Partners with PostgreSQL & MySQL on Azure
The latest innovations announced at Microsoft Ignite 2025 for PostgreSQL and MySQL running on Azure are more than just technical upgrades—they’re a launchpad for new business growth, deeper customer engagement, and accelerated digital transformation. Here’s how these advancements can help you deliver greater value and unlock new opportunities for your clients. 1. Introducing Azure HorizonDB: Built for Performance and AI Workloads We’re excited to unveil Azure HorizonDB in private preview—a new, fully managed PostgreSQL service engineered for business and developers alike. HorizonDB is designed for ultra-low latency, high read scale, and built-in AI capabilities, offering seamless scaling up to 192 virtual cores and 128 TB of storage. Deep integration with developer tools, including GitHub Copilot, delivers performance, resilience, and simplicity at any scale. With HorizonDB, teams can: Build AI apps at scale using advanced DiskANN vector indexing, pre-provisioned AI models, semantic search, and unified support for both relational and graph data. Accelerate app development with built-in extensions, including the PostgreSQL extension for Visual Studio Code integrated with GitHub Copilot. Copilot in VS Code is context-aware for PostgreSQL and enables one-click performance debugging. Unlock data insights through deep integrations with Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Foundry. Expect reliability with enterprise-ready features from day one, including Entra ID integration, Private Link networking, and Azure Defender for Cloud. Business Opportunity: Position your practice as an early adopter and expert in next-generation database solutions. Position your practice as an early adopter and expert in next-generation database solutions by introducing customers to Azure HorizonDB. Use this conversation to offer migration, modernization, and AI-powered application development services leveraging Azure Database for PostgreSQL with future migrations to HorizonDB. Help clients build resilient, high-performance, and intelligent data platforms—driving new revenue streams and deeper customer engagement. 2. Modernize Data Infrastructure with Limitless Scale and Performance Azure’s new Elastic Clusters in Azure Database for PostgreSQL enable organizations to scale their databases horizontally across multiple nodes, supporting virtually unlimited throughput and storage. This means you can help clients build and grow multi-tenant SaaS applications and large-scale analytics solutions without the complexity of manual sharding or the limitations of legacy infrastructure. Azure’s managed service automates shard management, tenant isolation, and cross-node query coordination, freeing up your teams to focus on innovation instead of administration. Business Opportunity: Position your practice as the go-to partner for scalable, future-proof data platforms. Offer migration services, architecture consulting, and managed solutions that leverage Azure’s unique scale-out capabilities. 3. Accelerate Innovation with AI-Ready Databases Azure is leading the way in AI integration for open-source databases. With the PostgreSQL extension for Visual Studio Code and native Microsoft Foundry support, developers can build smarter apps and AI agents leveraging advanced AI capabilities directly in the database. Features like natural language querying, vector search, and seamless Copilot integration mean your clients can unlock new insights and automate processes faster than ever. Business Opportunity: Expand your offerings to include AI-powered analytics, intelligent agent development, and custom Copilot solutions. Help organizations harness their data for real-time decision-making and enhanced customer experiences. 4. Simplify and Accelerate Migrations from Legacy Systems The new AI-assisted Oracle to PostgreSQL migration tool dramatically reduces the effort and risk of moving off expensive, proprietary databases. Integrated into the PostgreSQL extension for VS Code, it automates schema and code conversion, provides inline AI explanations, and ensures secure, context-aware migrations. Business Opportunity: Lead migration projects that deliver rapid ROI. Offer assessment, planning, and execution services to help clients escape legacy costs and embrace open-source flexibility on Azure. 5. Enable Seamless Analytics and Real-Time Insights With support for Parquet in the Azure storage extension for PostgreSQL and Fabric zero-ETL mirroring for Azure Database for MySQL and Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure is bridging operational databases and analytics platforms. Business Opportunity: Build solutions that unify data estates, streamline analytics workflows, and deliver actionable intelligence. Position your team as experts in data integration and real-time analytics. 6. Drive Industry-Specific Transformation Ignite 2025 showcases real-world success stories from industries like healthcare (Apollo Hospitals), automotive (GM), and finance (Nasdaq), demonstrating how Azure’s open-source databases power resilient, scalable, and AI-driven solutions. Business Opportunity: Use these case studies to inspire clients in regulated or complex sectors. Offer tailored solutions that meet strict compliance, security, and performance requirements. Why Partners Win with Azure’s Latest Innovations Faster time-to-value: Help clients adopt the latest tech with minimal downtime and risk. Expanded service portfolio: From migration to AI, analytics to managed services, the new capabilities open doors to new revenue streams. Trusted platform: Azure’s enterprise-grade security, compliance, and high availability mean you can deliver solutions with confidence. Ready to help your customers achieve more? Dive deeper into the Ignite 2025 announcements and start building the next generation of intelligent, scalable, and AI-powered solutions on Microsoft Azure. Learn more here: https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/homePartner Blog | Azure updates for partners: December 2025
At Microsoft Ignite 2025, we explored what it means for organizations to move into the era of Frontier transformation. This shift is focused on embedding AI across every part of the business to improve decision-making, increase speed, and create new value. Organizations leading in AI make it foundational. They rethink processes and integrate new technologies from the start to improve efficiency. For partners, this move toward Frontier represents a significant opportunity to lead customers into this new era. By building AI-powered solutions, connecting data for intelligent insights, and deploying Microsoft Azure’s cloud-ready platforms, partners can deliver value faster and scale confidently through the Microsoft ecosystem. Microsoft Ignite came with a significant number of announcements, so I’ve gathered the Azure updates that matter most for partners. These are the capabilities that can strengthen your ability to deliver intelligent solutions, drive operational efficiency, and differentiate your product or service in the market. You can also explore how partners are turning momentum into action, access highlights, and grab practical guidance from my Microsoft Ignite session. Continue reading hereDon’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!Americas & EMEA Fabric Engineering Connection
🚀 Excited to announce the upcoming Fabric Engineering Connection call for Microsoft partners! Join us on Wednesday, December 10, from 8–9 am PT (Americas & EMEA) and Thursday, December 11, from 1–2 am UTC (APAC) for an insightful session featuring Erin Stellato and Mark Brown. This week’s focus: 🎯 GitHub Copilot in SSMS with Fabric SQL 🎯 User-Data Function Integration with Cosmos DB in Fabric Don’t miss the opportunity to learn directly from the experts and discover the latest innovations in Microsoft Fabric. To participate, make sure you’re a member of the Fabric Partner Community Teams Channel. Join here: https://lnkd.in/g_PRdfjt Let’s connect, learn, and shape the future of data together! 💡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.Don'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.See new Microsoft 365 Copilot insights in Partner Center
Now you can view deeper Copilot data insights that provide a more complete picture of opportunities with customers—all within Partner Center. The latest reporting updates make it easier to explore SMB customer targeting scenarios, analyze whitespace, track agent usage, and uncover where AI-driven growth is gaining traction. Navigate to your enhanced data on Copilot opportunity targeting and agent performance via the Growth Opportunities link or through the Insights workspace in Partner Center. These new views can help you: Discover where customers are adopting Copilot solutions. Spot emerging opportunities across your portfolio. Strengthen sales and service motions with actionable data. Visit our latest blog to learn more, and explore what’s new in our comprehensive documentation in the Copilot section of Growth Opportunities. Get startedHow AI-first companies are shaping the next era with Microsoft AI | 5 startups to watch
tartups are turning emerging AI technologies into real-world solutions—and scaling faster than ever. At Microsoft, we’re helping founders harness cloud and AI to tackle global challenges and unlock new opportunities. Imagine a world where every organization, from early-stage startups to global enterprises, harnesses AI to unlock new business models and empower human ambition. That future isn’t years away; it’s here now. This transformation is fueled by platforms that combine scale, security, and advanced AI capabilities. Microsoft Cloud and AI platform is powering a new generation of AI-first companies that are redefining industries and setting new standards for responsible innovation. From seed-stage disruptors to scaling unicorns, these companies are driving many of the most meaningful advances in AI today, compressing innovation cycles from years to months. Explore Microsoft Ignite 2025 The technologies driving the AI revolution Breakthroughs in algorithms, the rise of large language models, and integration with technologies like the Internet of Things and blockchain are redefining what’s possible. Multimodal AI—the integration of text, images, and data—is creating richer, more intuitive experiences by bringing together text, images, and data. These advances are converging to unlock new levels of autonomy and creativity—empowering people and organizations to achieve more than ever before. At the forefront is agentic AI—systems that can reason, plan, and act with human guidance—a capability poised to shape the next era of intelligent organizations. IDC predicts that the number of companies adopting agentic AI will triple in just two years. These breakthroughs aren’t just theoretical; they’re shaping real-world solutions. As multimodal AI, agentic systems, and advanced models converge, Microsoft provides the scale, security, and trust businesses need to innovate boldly. Our platform combines powerful infrastructure, cutting-edge models, and tools like Microsoft Copilot and agents to turn ideas into impact. Startups leading the way With these advances accelerating, startups are seizing the moment—building solutions that redefine industries and inspire what’s next. The five companies featured below exemplify this next wave of innovation—delivering smarter automation, seamless integration, and transformative experiences across industries. These companies aren’t just success stories—they’re blueprints for what’s possible when vision meets technology. Continue reading hereOpenAI’s open‑source model: gpt‑oss on Azure AI Foundry and Windows AI Foundry
Open-weight models give customer decision makers control and flexibility - no black boxes, fewer trade-offs, and more options across deployment, compliance, and cost. With OpenAI’s gpt-oss open-weight models on Azure AI Foundry, you can: Fine-tune and distill the models using your own data and deploy with confidence. Mix open and proprietary models to match task-specific needs. Spin up inference endpoints using gpt oss in the cloud with just a few CLI commands. And Foundry Local makes gpt‑oss-20b usable on a high-performance Windows PC – enabling use-cases in offline settings, buildings in a secure network, or running at the edge. Check out more here!
