Three Tiers, One Platform: Building Agents Together with the Build-Along Series
The Agentic Opportunity Every partner has agent ambition, but a single workshop format cannot serve every builder. Business makers want a fast win without writing code. Citizen developers want to orchestrate real processes across enterprise systems. Pro developers want a code-first surface with evaluations, tracing, and managed identity. Run the wrong session for the wrong audience, and engagement collapses - too abstract for one group, too constrained for another. The Agent Build-Along Series solves that by meeting builders exactly where they are, across three tiers of the Microsoft platform stack. Behind the series sits a self-serve GitHub repository - a curated library of build-along sessions with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, scoped to specific industry scenarios and business functions. Partners pick the scenario that fits the room, clone the assets, and run the session. No bespoke content build, no facilitator guesswork. A Self-Serve Repository for Build-Along Sessions Diagram illustrating three tiers of agent building The repo at Agent Build-Along Github is a self-serve catalog of ready-to-run workshops. Every session is curated for a specific industry and business function, with easy-to-follow instructions a facilitator can pick up and deliver. Pick the combination that matches the room and run the session - the content, scenario, and assets are already there. Sessions are organised across three axes so partners can find the right fit fast: Industry - Financial Services, Healthcare, Retail, Manufacturing, Public Sector, Energy, Professional Services Business function - Sales, Marketing, Finance, HR, Operations, IT, Customer Service Workload - Agent Builder, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry Each session in the repo includes a real-world scenario, step-by-step build instructions, sample data, prompts and configuration, and a facilitator narrative. Clone, brief the room, build the agent - that is the loop. Three Tiers - Meet Builders Where They Are The pyramid is intentional. Builders start where their skills are today and move up as confidence grows. The tier defines platform, audience, duration, and approach - content stays consistent. Tier Platform Audience Duration Approach 1 - Foundation Microsoft 365 Copilot Agent Builder Business makers, end users, departmental teams 60 min No-code 2 - Extend Copilot Studio Citizen developers, power users, ops teams 90 min Low-code 3 - Pro-Code Azure AI Foundry Pro developers, architects, AI engineers 180+ min Code-first Tier 1 - M365 Copilot Agent Builder Author your first agent - no code required. Microsoft 365 Copilot Agent Builder virtual workshop overview, What your customers will build A custom agent scoped to a real workplace scenario Grounded with knowledge sources (SharePoint sites, files, web URLs) Configured with custom instructions and conversation starters Tested in the preview pane and shared with a team Session flow Define → Ground → Refine → Test & Share Prerequisites Microsoft 365 Copilot licence (or Copilot Chat free) Modern browser (Edge / Chrome) A workplace scenario in mind, or use our template Outcome Attendees leave with a working agent they can use immediately, plus a repeatable pattern for future use cases. This is the right entry point for departmental teams who want to operationalise Copilot without engineering involvement. Tier 2 - Copilot Studio Orchestrate multi-step agents across enterprise systems. Microsoft Copilot Studio virtual workshop overview What your customers will build A copilot with generative answers and authored topics Custom actions that call APIs and Power Platform connectors Knowledge sources spanning SharePoint, Dataverse, public web, and enterprise data Channel deployment to Microsoft Teams and a public web embed Session flow Design → Connect → Author → Publish Prerequisites M365 Copilot license with access to Copilot Studio Familiarity with Power Platform helpful, not required A multi-step workflow or process in mind Outcome Attendees leave with a published copilot running in Teams or on the web, plus a pattern for connecting copilots to enterprise systems. This is where citizen developers and ops teams turn manual processes into orchestrated, agent-driven workflows. Tier 3 - Azure AI Foundry Ship a code-first agent with evaluations and observability. What your customers will build A code-first agent with custom tools and function calling Grounding via Azure AI Search and the customer's own data Model selection from the Foundry catalog, with optional fine-tuning Evaluations, tracing, and managed-identity deployment Session flow Provision → Build → Evaluate → Deploy Prerequisites Azure subscription with Azure AI Foundry access VS Code, plus Python or .NET familiarity Sample data or a use case ready to ground on Outcome Attendees leave with a deployed agent - code, evaluations, and tracing in place - plus reusable SDK templates. This is the right tier for architects and AI engineers shipping agents into production with the governance bar enterprise customers expect. How the Repository Works The repo removes the heaviest lift in running these workshops: content creation. Every session is curated against the same three axes - industry, business function, tier - and shipped with step-by-step instructions a facilitator can follow with minimum prep. Industry/Business Function × Tier → Ready-to-run Build-Along Each session in the repo ships with: A real-world scenario grounded in the chosen industry and business function Step-by-step build instructions tuned to the selected tier Sample data the agent can ground against Prompts, conversation starters, and configuration snippets Facilitator narrative so anyone can run the session Need an enterprise agent that can handle integrate with CRM data? There is a curated Copilot Studio session with a deal-desk scenario and sample CRM data. Need a pro-code health care agent? Choose the Foundry session with a patient-flow scenario and a grounded dataset. Same repo, different curated paths - at the right depth for the room. What Attendees Walk Away With Agent-Builder - A working agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot, ready to share with colleagues. Copilot Studio - A published copilot running in Teams or on the web, connected to enterprise systems. Foundry - A deployed Foundry agent with evaluations, tracing, and SDK templates for the next build. In all cases attendees leave with assets - not slides - and the confidence to build the next one without facilitation. Next Steps - Host a Build-Along Pick your tier - Start where your skills are today. Move up the pyramid as confidence grows. Drive Registration – Socialise your Build-Along session to maximise attendance. Show up and build. Bring a real scenario. Customers leave with a working agent to share. Where to Next Browse the self-serve repository of Build-Along sessions - curated by industry and business function, with step-by-step instructions ready to run: Agent Build Along.Microsoft Power Platform Developers Blueprint Survey Opportunity
Greetings! Microsoft is updating the certification for Microsoft Power Platform Developers, and we need your input through our exam blueprinting survey. The blueprint determines how many questions each skill in the exam will be assigned. Please complete the online survey by May 27, 2026. Please also feel free to forward the survey to any colleagues you consider subject matter experts for this certification. If you have any questions, feel free to contact John Sowles at josowles@microsoft.com or Don Tanedo at dtanedo@microsoft.com. Microsoft Power Platform Developers blueprint survey link: https://www.starttest.com/starttest2/startsurvey?programid=187&guid=5E2B3AA4-0C24-43A1-99A2-F5BF6F5955E1New eligible workloads for the Solutions Partner designation for Business Applications
The pathway to attaining and renewing the Solutions Partner designation for Business Applications has been widened thanks to the addition of two new eligible workloads: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Contact Center and Copilot Studio. Contact Center has been added across both performance and customer success metrics, while Copilot Studio has been added to performance. A Business Applications designation demonstrates your capabilities delivering solutions on Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, so if you don't already hold this designation, we encourage you to pursue it now. Partners approaching their renewal window can start preparing for renewal today. Visit the Business Applications dashboard in Partner Center to view how this addition has affected your progress toward attaining or renewing the designation. Go to the Business Applications dashboard to learn more.Microsoft 365 & Power Platform Community call
💡 Microsoft 365 & Power Platform Development bi-weekly community call focuses on different use cases and features within the Microsoft 365 and Power Platform - across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, SharePoint, Power Apps and more. Demos in this call are presented by the community members. 👏 Looking to catch up on the latest news and updates, including cool community demos, this call is for you! 📅 On 30th of April we'll have following agenda: Latest on SharePoint Framework (SPFx) Latest on Copilot prompt of the week PnPjs CLI for Microsoft 365 Dev Proxy Reusable Controls for SPFx SPFx Toolkit VS Code extension PnP Search Solution Demos this time Adam Wójcik (Hitachi Energy) – SPFx Toolkit Showcase - Manage your SharePoint Online tenant and SPFx projects using SPFx Toolkit Language Model Tools Valentin Mazhar (MazAura) – Better Govern Agents with the Copilot Studio Monitor Reshmee Auckloo (Avanade) – Connect Power Automate to Agents Toolkit 📅 Download recurrent invite from https://aka.ms/community/m365-powerplat-dev-call-invite 📞 & 📺 Join the Microsoft Teams meeting live at https://aka.ms/community/m365-powerplat-dev-call-join 💡 Building something cool for Microsoft 365 or Power Platform (Copilot, SharePoint, Power Apps, etc)? We are always looking for presenters - Volunteer for a community call demo at https://aka.ms/community/request/demo 👋 See you in the call! 📖 Resources: Previous community call recordings and demos from the Microsoft Community Learning YouTube channel at https://aka.ms/community/youtube Microsoft 365 & Power Platform samples from Microsoft and community - https://aka.ms/community/samples Microsoft 365 & Power Platform community details - https://aka.ms/community/home 🧡 Sharing is caring!Microsoft 365 & Power Platform product updates call
💡Microsoft 365 & Power Platform product updates call concentrates on the different use cases and features within the Microsoft 365 and in Power Platform. Call includes topics like Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Teams, Power Platform, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Viva, Microsoft Search, Microsoft Lists, SharePoint, Power Automate, Power Apps and more. 👏 Weekly Tuesday call is for all community members to see Microsoft PMs, engineering and Cloud Advocates showcasing the art of possible with Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. 📅 On the 28th of April we'll have following agenda: News and updates from Microsoft Together mode group photo Ayça Baş – Vision Analysis and Policy Search in Custom Engine Agents Sébastien Levert – Use coding agents to build your Copilot Chat declarative agent April Dunnam – Transforming your Power Apps to Copilot Agents 📞 & 📺 Join the Microsoft Teams meeting live at https://aka.ms/community/ms-speakers-call-join 🗓️ Download recurrent invite for this weekly call from https://aka.ms/community/ms-speakers-call-invite 👋 See you in the call! 💡 Building something cool for Microsoft 365 or Power Platform (Copilot, SharePoint, Power Apps, etc)? We are always looking for presenters - Volunteer for a community call demo at https://aka.ms/community/request/demo 📖 Resources: Previous community call recordings and demos from the Microsoft Community Learning YouTube channel at https://aka.ms/community/youtube Microsoft 365 & Power Platform samples from Microsoft and community - https://aka.ms/community/samples Microsoft 365 & Power Platform community details - https://aka.ms/community/home 🧡 Sharing is caring!
Tech Talks presents: Building Secure, Intelligent Power Pages sites with Agents
Join us on Thursday, April 23rd at 8am PT as Nagesh Bhatt, Senior Product Manager, Power Pages and Bipul Deora, Principal Product Manager, Power Platform present 'Building Secure, Intelligent Power Pages sites with Agents'. We hope to see you there! Call to Action: Click on the link to save the calendar invite: https://aka.ms/TechTalksInvite View past recordings (sign in required): https://aka.ms/TechTalksRecording
New Idea
Hi Team, I have been an extensive user of Microsoft Teams and the broader Microsoft ecosystem for a significant period, and I genuinely appreciate the continuous innovation that enhances modern collaboration. From my experience in IT, especially while working with cross-functional stakeholders, I find the meeting recording and automated summary features extremely valuable. However, I would like to propose an enhancement based on real-world challenges. In meetings where both technical and non-technical stakeholders are present, discussions often become highly technical, making it difficult for business participants to fully understand. This can lead to reduced engagement and misalignment. Suggested Enhancement: It would be highly beneficial if Microsoft Teams could generate two types of meeting summaries: Technical Summary: Detailed and suitable for engineering teams Business Summary: Simplified and easy to understand for non-technical stakeholders Example: Technical: We are integrating multiple third-party APIs. Simplified: Think of it like an airport control tower. Different airlines operate independently, but the control tower coordinates everything to ensure smooth operations. Our system is improving that coordination to make things faster and more reliable. Technical: We optimized the rendering pipeline. Simplified: We improved the application speed, reducing wait time from several seconds to almost instant. Why this matters: Improves understanding across teams Enhances decision-making Reduces communication gaps Makes collaboration more effective I believe this feature would significantly enhance Microsoft Teams and create a more inclusive experience for all stakeholders. Thank you.Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals Blueprint Survey Opportunity
Greetings! Microsoft is updating a credential for Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals, and we need your input through our exam blueprinting survey. The blueprint determines how many questions each skill in the exam will be assigned. Please complete the online survey by April 23, 2026. Please also feel free to forward the survey to any colleagues you consider subject matter experts for this certification. You may send this to people external to Microsoft as well. If you have any questions, feel free to contact John Sowles at josowles@microsoft.com or Don Tanedo at dtanedo@microsoft.com. Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentals blueprint survey link: https://microsoftlearning.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0HhsR39KQNuU2PQMicrosoft 365 & Power Platform Community call
💡 Microsoft 365 & Power Platform Development bi-weekly community call focuses on different use cases and features within the Microsoft 365 and Power Platform - across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, SharePoint, Power Apps and more. 👏 Looking to catch up on the latest news and updates, including cool community demos, this call is for you! 📅 On 23rd of April we'll have following agenda: Copilot prompt of the week CommunityDays.org update Microsoft 365 Maturity model Latest on PnP Framework and Core SDK extension Latest on PnP PowerShell Latest on script samples Latest Copilot pro dev samples Latest on Power Platform samples Picture time with the Together Mode! Carl Cookson (LinkeD365) – An Intro to the Power Platform ToolBox Ritu Hooda (First Bank & Trust) – AI‑Powered Azure DevOps Work Items with Power Automate Franck Cornu (PWC Canada) – Build a multi-agent system using Microsoft Foundry Agent Service, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft 365 Agents SDK, and MCP server 📅 Download recurrent invite from https://aka.ms/community/m365-powerplat-dev-call-invite 📞 & 📺 Join the Microsoft Teams meeting live at https://aka.ms/community/m365-powerplat-dev-call-join 👋 See you in the call! 💡 Building something cool for Microsoft 365 or Power Platform (Copilot, SharePoint, Power Apps, etc)? We are always looking for presenters - Volunteer for a community call demo at https://aka.ms/community/request/demo 📖 Resources: Previous community call recordings and demos from the Microsoft Community Learning YouTube channel at https://aka.ms/community/youtube Microsoft 365 & Power Platform samples from Microsoft and community - https://aka.ms/community/samples Microsoft 365 & Power Platform community details - https://aka.ms/community/home 🧡 Sharing is caring!
