42 EXECUTIVE INTERVIEW In the age of the autonomous enterprise, we need to move fast and MCP servers will help break down the silos between applications and data. Customers and partners will no longer have to piece together a maze of bespoke connectors or manually discover every API, hard-code prompts with these actions to pass the right context, map ever-shifting schemas or thread role-based security into each call. Weeks of work is almost seamlessly accelerated by this standardised approach to deliver immediate impact for our customers and partners. This is something we are very excited about. Let’s talk about customer momentum. What are the tangible benefits that you and your colleagues have witnessed when talking with Microsoft customers about the early adoption of AI tools? How far is its impact reaching across the daily operation of an organisation? KM: AI is transforming business at a pace we’ve never seen before, unlocking possibilities that would have felt out of reach not long ago. We can personalise learning for every student, anticipate climate threats to support food security and help doctors detect illness earlier to improve patient outcomes. These examples are already in motion and delivering results. What’s especially powerful is how organisations are starting to move beyond pilots. AI is becoming part of how they operate, serve customers and make decisions. This is where real transformation begins, when AI is tied to strategy and focused on solving specific industry challenges. The frontier firms are setting the pace. These companies acted early and are now applying AI across every area of the business. According to the 2025 Work Trend Index, they’re seeing faster innovation cycles, stronger employee engagement and greater resilience. Many are developing their own AI solutions, upskilling teams and expanding adoption across numerous departments. And this shift is visible across every sector. In healthcare, for example, nearly 80 per cent of workers say they don’t have enough time or energy to do their jobs effectively. At the same time, 79 per cent of healthcare leaders plan to use digital labour to expand capacity in the year ahead. These numbers highlight a broader trend. AI is helping bridge the gap between growing demands and limited human capacity. Shelley Bransten: It’s incredible to see what our customers are doing with AI technology. And we’ve really seen a big shift from ‘proof of concept’ to ‘proof of value’ when we look at how they’re deploying AI and the impact it’s having. One of my favourite examples is Venchi, the Italian chocolate and gelato maker. As Venchi expanded into more than 70 countries, it partnered with Microsoft to modernise its supply chain with AI and enhance in-store experiences using agents. The results have been substantial with over 1,500 hours saved annually through automated fulfilment, optimised inventory levels, and having grown its loyalty programme by 800,000 customers, all while maintaining a customer satisfaction score of 4.9 out of 5. Another favourite is our work with Pets at Home, the UK’s largest pet care company. Pets at Home created an AI agent to support its retail fraud detection team in investigating suspicious transactions. With this low-code agent extending and seamlessly integrating into existing systems, the company’s fraud department can act more quickly. What used to take 30 minutes is now handled by the AI agent within seconds, plus the company is identifying fraud 10 times faster and is processing 20 times more cases a day. Meanwhile, in manufacturing, Rolls-Royce is using AI to boost machine usage by 30 per cent and prevent around 400 unplanned maintenance events every year. That translates into major savings and greater productivity The trio work together to empower organisations across all industries with Microsoft cloud and AI technologies
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