LLOYD ADAMS In conversation with Microsoft’s COO for enterprise sales THE DYNAMIC REVOLUTION Sameer Verma on a foundation for agentic operations SEEING THE LIGHT Iron Mountain’s Matt Jennings delves into dark data Growing at pace Microsoft’s Shelley Bransten explains how AI is enabling companies to unlock innovation and opportunity faster than ever before ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS FROM MICROSOFT PARTNERS ISSUE 42 AUTUMN 2026
Igniting the enterprise AI era
About ServiceNow ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is putting AI to work for people. We move with the pace of innovation to help customers transform organizations across every industry while upholding a trustworthy, human centered approach to deploying our products and services at scale. Our AI platform for business transformation connects people, processes, data, and devices to increase productivity and maximize business outcomes. For more information, visit: www.servicenow.com. About Microsoft Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) creates platforms and tools powered by AI to deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers. The technology company is committed to making AI available broadly and doing so responsibly, with a mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Start your enterprise AI journey. Schedule a consultation today. https://www.servicenow.com/contact-us-microsoft-cloud.html ServiceNow was named Microsoft’s 2025 ISV Innovation Partner of the Year AI has moved from productivity enhancement to a catalyst for how organizations operate, enabling intelligence to flow effortlessly across tools, systems, and workflows. Frontier firms are already embracing this shift—placing AI at the center of strategy, redesigning processes end to end, and driving measurable impact for employees and customers. This progress depends on connecting intelligence with action. Microsoft delivers the copilots, Work IQ, and experience layer that bring AI into the flow of work. ServiceNow builds on that foundation—turning intelligence into coordinated action across systems, teams, and processes. Together, they’re taking AI from insightful to operational. Innovation accelerates when platforms collaborate. Foundry, Copilot Studio, and Azure’s next-generation infrastructure open the door to multi-agent ecosystems, allowing custom agents, enterprise systems, and domain applications to work side by side. But the real breakthrough is not simply having more agents; it’s having the observability, trust, and governance to manage them responsibly through ServiceNow AI Control Tower. The future belongs to organizations that unify insight and action, design AI around people, and scale with trust and clarity. A future where agents work for people
As a Microsoft AI Frontier Partner, Coretek helps enterprises operationalize AI at scale. We enable secure, responsible AI through Microsoft AI Foundry and Copilot Studio—delivering both generative AI and intelligent agents embedded across the organization. From strategy to production, Coretek transforms data into insight, copilots into coworkers, and AI ambition into measurable business outcomes—accelerating innovation while maintaining enterprise-grade governance, security, and trust. From AI Vision to Real-World Business Value AI With Purpose. Agents With Impact. Results With Velocity. This is how we accelerate the future of intelligent business.
Coretek enables AI with a security- rst mindset—built on Microsoft’s trusted security platform. We protect identities, data, and infrastructure from the start, ensuring governance, compliance, and resilience are embedded into every AI initiative. The result: faster innovation without compromising control, giving organizations the con dence to scale AI securely and responsibly across the enterprise. As a Microsoft Solutions Partner with deep cloud, data, and AI expertise, Coretek is uniquely positioned to guide your organization through every stage of transformation—from hybrid cloud strategy to AI deployment. Every AI Breakthrough Demands a Secure Foundation. Let’s Build What’s Next. Visit coretek.com/ai or contact info@coretek.com to start your transformation. Follow us: Coretek Info@coretek.com Coretek.com z Smarter Operations Stronger Protection Seamless Cloud Execution
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11 WELCOME Andy Clayton-Smith Executive Editor Technology Record Finding the balance For those still in the early stages of AI adoption, there’s an entirely understandable temptation to view new and highly autonomous tools simply as a way to speed the pace of work and drive efficiencies by automating tasks previously left in the hands of workers. Undoubtedly, by embracing generative AI and integrating it with existing operations, there are economies of scale to be had; however, for organisational leads with a more enlightened view of their evolving workplaces, the really powerful wins lie not in the ability to simply pare down headcount, but more in the opportunity to blend human expertise with highly advanced agentic partners, in a way that doesn’t seek to merely overhaul existing operations but to entirely change the business model. In his foreword to Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index Annual Report, published in May of 2026, Dr Karim Lakhani of Harvard Business School posited that “work is no longer organised only around people, processes and applications. Increasingly, it is organised across people, agents and the systems that connect them”. In the cover story of this issue of Technology Record, corporate vice president, frontier industry advisory at Microsoft Frontier Company, Shelley Bransten, takes this proposition one step further, by highlighting recent examples of business leaders moving experimental AI pilots to become fully integrated platforms that can connect workflows, security and governance with ease. Along with commentary on the recently announced $2.5 billion investment in the Microsoft Frontier Company, a strategy that brings together 6,000 industry and engineering experts to work side-by-side with customers, we also have a wide array of insights from representatives of Microsoft partner businesses from Crestron to ClickShare and Shure to S&P Global Energy. As always, there is a wealth of news and opinion in this latest issue. I do hope you enjoy the read.
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13 PUBLISHING PARTNERS AVEVA creates industrial software that inspires people to shape the future, by delivering solutions across the asset and operations life cycles. www.aveva.com Coretek is a Microsoft AI Cloud Provider, renowned for solving complex business challenges through AI-driven innovation, high performance consulting, security and managed services. www.coretek.com LSEG is a global financial markets infrastructure and data provider, and plays a vital social and economic role in the world’s financial system. www.lseg.com Velosio is a Microsoft partner helping organisations transform through AI powered, industryspecific solutions across Dynamics 365, Azure and the Microsoft cloud. www.velosio.com Bosch Connected Industry delivers Manufacturing Co-Intelligence, intelligent collaboration between humans, machines and Agentic AI that increases operational performance from the shopfloor to the value chain. www.manufacturing-cointelligence.com Intermedia delivers intelligent cloud communications through an AI-powered unified platform – voice, video, chat, contact centre and more – trusted by more than 150,000 businesses and 7,500 partners worldwide. www.intermedia.com By unifying legacy systems, departmental tools, cloud applications and AI agents, ServiceNow connects intelligence to execution across every corner of business. www.servicenow.com/contactus-microsoft-cloud.html Zensai is the human success company. Agentic AI coaches employees and managers through learning, performance and engagement, natively inside Microsoft 365. www.zensai.com Conga lines up commercial operations, from pricing, quoting and contracting to rebates and documents, so that teams stay in sync, buyers keep moving, and businesses grow. www.conga.com Iron Mountain helps organisations protect, connect and activate their information and physical assets, turning data into intelligence and elevating the power of their work worldwide. www.ironmountain.com Your total Microsoft partner. From CSP optimisation to Copilot and Agent365 adoption, SHI delivers licensing expertise, cloud transformation, security, and adoption services to over 9,000 customers. www.SHI.com ZS is a management consulting and technology firm that partners with companies to improve life and how we live it. www.zs.com 602X100
14 22 Marketwatch The latest news from Microsoft and its partners, including a preview of Microsoft Ignite 2026, taking place in San Francisco, USA, from 17-20 November 38 Executive Interview Microsoft’s Lloyd Adams discusses customer obsession, the evolving partner model, and who will gain the real advantage in the agentic AI era 58 T he Cleveland Guardians have rolled out TTx’s Maven Cloud, powered by Intermedia, to create smarter and more connected fan experiences 60 S ecurity confidence is running ahead of visibility but the priority must be to test the evidence, identify the gaps and act on them, says Arrow’s Oliver Harvey 62 Everpure’s Dan Kogan discusses the partnership with Microsoft to optimise hybrid cloud management in Azure to enable fast, costefficient digital transformation CONTENTS 44 Cover story Growing at pace Microsoft’s Shelley Bransten discusses how organisations are using AI to drive value for the business, its employees and customers 65 Saimon Michelson of CTERA explains how the company can bridge the gap between traditional file storage and Azure 66 Derek Harrar of Algoworks shares his thoughts on the financial return of investing in and adopting AI 68 Organisations need the right data to address both per-seat and token-based spend, says Ant Attfield of SHI 70 Michael Swiencki of Coretek discusses the company’s internal processes to ensure its customers can adopt new approaches backed by real-world experience 72 Synergy Technical’s Janna Matherly explains why rethinking how work gets done is becoming a business imperative 74 Iron Mountain’s Matt Jennings explores the data foundations needed for enterprise AI
ISSUE 42 AUTUMN 2026 Please recycle your printed copy of Technology Record 15 38 76 N eelabh Saxena and Satish Jha of ZS highlight the importance of modernising data for agentic readiness 78 N ina Carøe of Zensai outlines why adoption numbers alone can’t demonstrate the full impact of AI 80 S erviceNow’s Chad Scheller discusses what it takes to make AI agents work in the enterprise 84 Velosio’s Hersch Patel shares how the company combines AI with a commitment to business success – and creates ‘raving fans’ among its clients 86 Barco’s Jan van Houtte and Logitech’s Rishi Kumar explain how their partnership with Microsoft is delivering flexible, dependable meeting room experiences 88 B itTitan’s Aaron Wadsworth says organisations must get the foundations right before AI can support modern workers Non-human identities already outnumber human ones in most enterprises Chad Scheller, ServiceNow Head of editorial Rebecca Gibson Editorial team Kasturi Datta, Jacqui Griffiths, Richard Humphreys, Laura Hyde, Lindsay James, Alex Smith Executive editor Andy Clayton-Smith Partner managers James Luscombe, Ricky Popat, Daniel Thurlow, Thomas Wills, Paul Zmija Production manager Stuart Fairbrother Design Bruce Graham, Libby Sidebotham Website development Chris Jackson Circulation Sophia Brinkley Business management Rachael Heggs, Richard Pepperman Publisher Toby Ingleton Photography courtesy of contributors, www.istockphoto.com, www.stock.adobe.com, www.unsplash.com Cover illustration courtesy of Nuthawut Somsuk/iStock.com Subscriptions www.technologyrecord.com/subscribe Published by Tudor Rose 6 Friar Lane, Leicester LE1 5RA Tel: +44 116 222 9900 www.tudor-rose.co.uk ISSN 2754-3277 (Print) and 2754-3285 (Online). Printed in Great Britain by Micropress. © 2026 Tudor Rose Holdings Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be stored or transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means, including whether by photocopying, scanning, downloading onto computer or otherwise without prior written permission from Tudor Rose Holdings Ltd. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher reserves the right to accept or reject advertising material and editorial contributions. The publisher assumes no liability for the return or safety of unsolicited art, photography or manuscripts. Follow Technology Record:
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17 CONTENTS 112 98 In Focus: Dynamics 365 104 The dynamic revolution Microsoft Dynamics 365 is evolving from a unified ERP and CRM suite into a foundation for agentic operations; we speak with Microsoft’s Sameer Verma 109 It takes more than an easy-to-build user interface to support field operations, says James Koursaris of Praxedo 110 As Dynamics GP support winds down, Avalara’s Frank Hanzlik argues the migration to a modern Dynamics platform is a chance to rebuild compliance, not just rehost it 112 M arty Priest shares how congruentX uses Microsoft technologies and an outcome-based model to ensure success 113 C lickLearn’s Jake Wildgoose believes in-app, contextual guidance offers the fastest, most reliable way to close knowledge gaps 115 V elosio’s Keith Goedde explores why data modernisation is key to AI adoption Coretek’s AI Factory exists because one-off AI projects do not scale Tyler Hopperton, Coretek 90 B ud Walker of Melissa believes agentic AI success in the customer experience depends on the right data 91 J ason Gladu of Convertr explores why data provenance matters more than model capability for agentic AI 92 C oretek’s AI Factory and always-on security operations centre create a foundation for scalable, trusted implementations, says Tyler Hopperton 96 CTERA’s Dylan Locsin shares how automatically archiving cold data to Microsoft Azure Blob can save organisations up to 70 per cent 97 V ic Bhagat of Q-SYS explains why AI is pushing businesses to reassess their approach to meeting room technology 98 E spai Barça has partnered with Crestron to reimagine FC Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou 100 O penText’s Majd Madina discusses navigating Microsoft’s FY27 incentive changes and maximising CSP earnings 102 A ndrew Roberts highlights the capabilities of Zensai’s new Adoption Hub learning platform
18 CONTENTS 138 130 144 Industrials & Manufacturing 130 From visibility to autonomous function Microsoft’s Alfonso Rodriguez highlights how AI, connected data and partner expertise are helping manufacturers achieve autonomy 138 Bosch’s Norbert Jung and Microsoft’s Rupert Stuetzle address the benefits of an ecosystem approach to AI across manufacturing operations 142 Thomas von Tschammer of Neural Concept explores how physics-aware AI and Microsoft Azure are helping manufacturer’s increase efficiency during product design 144 R HI Magnesita and Conga are transforming its configure, price and quote strategy to support future growth 118 Financial Services 118 Agentic to the core Microsoft’s Tyler Pichach and Emmanuel Baviere discuss how agentic AI is enabling corporate and retail banks to rethink how they work 127 Moody’s Rob Fauber shares why organisations need to back up decisions with transparency, accountability and governance to thrive in an AI-driven society 128 N ej D’Jelal of LSEG explains how financial services are evolving beyond AI experimentation towards trusted and auditable agentic workflows 128
19 150 146 158 Featured Partners A selection of Microsoft partners operating across all business sectors 164 The Last Word Amidst circulating conversations about the risks of rapidly developing agentic AI, Microsoft’s vision for responsible use and leadership remains clear We’re now using AI to do far more than just answer questions Doug Priest, Microsoft Public Sector 150 Turning data into action AI is helping cities turn fragmented data into actionable intelligence and rethink operations, says Microsoft’s Doug Priest Media & Communications 146 The data difference Microsoft’s Simon Crownshaw explains how AI and connected platforms are helping media organisations curate personalised experiences, gain new revenue and a competitive advantage Retail & Consumer Goods 154 From process automation to enterprise-wide intelligence Microsoft’s Shish Shridhar explains how AI is reshaping retail as businesses move beyond pilots towards continuous intelligence and execution 154
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22 MARKETWATCH India sets pace for frontier transformation Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index finds that almost one in three of India’s AI users are redesigning how work gets done with AI agents Almost one in three Indian AI users (32 per cent) now qualify as frontier professionals – people who are actively redesigning how work gets done with AI agents – according to the Microsoft 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report. This is double the global average of 16 per cent recorded by the report. Seventy-eight per cent of India’s survey respondents also said that AI is enabling work that was not possible a year ago, compared with 58 per cent globally. “A year ago, India said it would build human-agent teams at scale, the data now says we are doing it,” said Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India & South Asia. “India is amongst the markets with the highest share of frontier professionals in this study. One in three Indian professionals using AI is working with agents on multi-step, real work. Globally it’s one in six. That’s not a gap, that’s a lead.” The report is based on research conducted with 20,000 AI users across ten markets and trillions of anonymised Microsoft 365 productivity signals. It found that as agents absorb more of the execution, people gain more room to direct the work, make the calls and own the outcomes. Quality control of AI output and critical thinking are highlighted as two of the most important human judgement skills for individuals to prioritise as the foothold of AI in the workforce continues to grow. “The human brain remains the most complex, incredible object in the known universe, and it has existed far longer than the machines and technology that defined the industrial age,” said Aneesh Raman, chief economic opportunity officer at Microsoft. “We’re going back to some of the fundamentals that make us, us.” The report highlights that organisational readiness – encompassing leadership alignment, governance maturity, AI performance evaluation and team training – accounts for twice the impact that individual mindset and behaviour has on the outcomes of AI adoption. India’s leadership alignment on AI stands at 44 per cent, compared to a global average of 26 per cent. From left: Nirajita Banerjee of LinkedIn India, Balakrishna D.R. of Infosys and Puneet Chandok discuss the launch of Microsoft’s 2026 Work Trend Index Annual Report Photo: Microsoft
23 Text (first 2 lines bold) Text. Large header... voluptate velit esse dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur India’s business managers are openly using AI to set a clear precedent on the direction of AI and rewarding reinvention without adding pressure for immediate results. “Leaders actually need to use AI,” said Dr. Laura Hamill, director of research and AI@Work thought leadership at Microsoft. “They need to play with it. They need to try to build new things with it. Because if you don’t do that, you don’t get it, you don’t understand what we’re talking about.” India’s largest IT services and consulting firms, including Infosys, TCS, Wipro and LTM, have collectively signed up for more than 400,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot seats in under six months. Since embedding Copilot into reporting, meeting management, documentation and analysis, TCS has reported a 20 to 25 per cent increase in productivity and a 25 to 30 per cent reduction in work-cycle time. Monthly active usage of Microsoft 365 Copilot at Wipro has surpassed 95 per cent, with associates generating 7.5 million prompts a month and averaging 23 actions per week which is the equivalent of 250,000 full-time days. The firm’s appraisal agent has also cut performance-reviewing down by approximately 70 per cent through evidence-based goal tracking. “Building a Frontier Enterprise requires more than technology,” said Balakrishna D.R., executive vice president and global services head of AI and industry verticals at Infosys. “Organisations that are realising sustainable value from AI are those that combine leadership alignment, workforce readiness, governance, and intelligence embedded across the business.” Since announcing its major charter to scale Microsoft 365 Copilot to 100,000 of its employees in December 2025, Infosys has integrated AI into workflows across delivery, engineering and corporate functions. “At Infosys, our experience shows that enterprise-wide AI adoption can help accelerate innovation, strengthen decision-making and drive measurable business outcomes. The opportunity now is to move beyond experimentation and scale AI responsibly across the enterprise,” said Balakrishna. Photo: Microsoft “ A year ago, India said it would build human-agent teams at scale, the data now says we are doing it” Puneet Chandok, Microsoft
24 Shure IntelliMix Bar Pro now available globally Akumina has launched a new way to bring an enterprise AI experience directly into the flow of work. Organisations can now add a personalised, standalone employee AI Hub inside Microsoft Teams, without needing to create a new intranet project. As Microsoft Copilot capabilities, AI agents and knowledge sources multiply, Akumina gives employees one trusted place to ask questions and complete tasks. It interprets employee intent and connects them to the most trusted, approved knowledge, agent, system or tool. “Built for the Microsoft ecosystem, Akumina extends existing investments, drives adoption, and gives every employee a simpler way to benefit from enterprise AI,” said Ed Rogers, president and chief product officer at Akumina. Akumina introduces new AI Hub for Microsoft Teams MARKETWATCH Now available to customers worldwide, the Shure IntelliMix Bar Pro combines audio and video in a single device designed to enhance meetings in medium to large spaces. Certified for Microsoft Teams Rooms, the bar is built on the Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform and features four 4K cameras with IntelliMix View AI video framing capabilities, as well as onboard IntelliMix audio processing to ensure unmatched audio and video quality. By delivering clearer speech and consistent video framing, the IntelliMix Bar Pro helps Microsoft Teams, Copilot and Facilitator generate more accurate and useful AI-powered experiences. This helps organisations use AI tools more effectively to capture insights, improve collaboration, strengthen followthrough and make more informed business decisions.
25 MARKETWATCH Crestron’s Collab Compute platform has achieved Microsoft certification for Teams Rooms, validating the solution’s compatibility, performance and reliability for enterprise deployment. Collab Compute is a purpose-built hardware platform powered by an Intel Core Ultra processor with an integrated neural processing unit that offloads AI tasks from central and graphics processing units, enabling platform-native AI features without overtaxing the system. The solution combines powerful compute, extensive professional audiovisual connectivity and a streamlined, integrated design to make modern collaboration easier to manage and scale. Other solutions from the Crestron workplace portfolio have also recently received certification, most notably the 1 Beyond i12D camera and Crestron scheduling panels. Conga embeds unified commerce platform in Dynamics 365 and Teams Conga has introduced a series of new connectors to embed its Conga platform directly into the tools organisations already use. Designed around the principle that precision pricing and rapid quoting are central to closing deals faster, the integrations allow sales and procurement teams to configure, price, quote (CPQ) and get deals approved without leaving their primary system. For Microsoft Dynamics 365 users, this includes the ability to create governed contracts directly from a Conga Smart CPQ quote in Dynamics, removing the hand-off friction between quoting and contract execution entirely. Conga’s Approvals Connector for Microsoft Teams brings both CPQ and customer lifecycle management approval workflows directly into Teams, surfacing quoting approvals, contract alerts and obligation reminders where stakeholders are already working. Barco expands ClickShare Hub bundle portfolio for Microsoft Teams Rooms Global technology company Barco is expanding its portfolio of certified-forMicrosoft Teams Rooms bundles built around ClickShare Hub, its modular wireless conferencing system for seamless hybrid meetings. The portfolio includes solutions for a range of meeting spaces, from small rooms with the ClickShare Hub Core and Logitech MeetUp2 or Sennheiser TeamConnect Bar S, to medium rooms with ClickShare Hub Pro and Sennheiser TeamConnect Bar M. For small to medium-sized spaces, ClickShare Hub Pro is also available with Huddly C1. Each bundle combines native Microsoft Teams Rooms experiences, wireless 4K content sharing, enterprise-grade security and simple, engaging collaboration for every participant. Crestron solutions gain Teams Rooms certification
26 MARKETWATCH Software-as-a-service company BitTitan has enhanced its MigrationWiz solution to help organisations accelerate Microsoft 365 migration projects. For organisations consolidating Microsoft 365 tenants, integrating environments or modernising their cloud infrastructure, document migrations can involve hundreds of gigabytes of data. At that scale, migration speed and throughput can significantly impact project timelines. Advances in MigrationWiz scheduling, indexing and platform scale help keep data moving across Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and other document workloads. This enables IT teams and service providers to move workloads faster and more seamlessly. BitTitan accelerates largescale document migrations with MigrationWiz Melissa brings full data quality stack to Azure Data Factory via SSIS Convertr launches governance tool for contact data compliance Data quality and software development organisation Melissa has made its complete SQL server integration services (SSIS) product stack available on Microsoft Azure Data Factory (ADF). Both web service and on-premises components can now run natively in the cloud through ADF’s SSIS Integration Runtime, allowing organisations to apply enterprise-grade data quality directly within their Azure ETL pipelines. Users can continue designing packages in Visual Studio with minimal or no changes, then deploy them to ADF for scalable, Azure-hosted execution. This gives teams immediate access to Melissa’s core capabilities, including address, email and phone verification and standardisation, identity verification and enrichment, advanced matching and deduplication for a single customer view, change-of-address processing, and data profiling – without rewriting existing workflows or maintaining on-premises SSIS servers. Software-as-a-service platform Convertr has launched Convertr Govern, a tool designed to help ensure leads and contact records meet compliance requirements before they enter customer relationship management software and other systems of record. The tool will help users meet the new European Union AI Act transparency requirements, including the obligation to inform individuals when they are interacting with certain AI systems and disclose certain AI-generated content. “Regulators, clients and auditors increasingly expect organisations to show how data was collected, which rules applied and what happened as it moved from source to activation,” said Emma Bowkett, Convertr’s founder and CEO. “Convertr Govern lets customers set policy once, apply it across every source, supplier and campaign, control exceptions and produce the evidence behind every decision on demand.” Photo: AdobeStock/AD
27 CTERA, a provider of intelligent data management, now supports Microsoft Copilot. This enables organisations to securely extend Microsoft 365 Copilot and Teams Copilot to governed enterprise file data managed by CTERA across edge locations, data centres and cloud environments. The integration connects Copilot to enterprise file data through the open Model Context Protocol and CTERA Content Services into the CTERA secure Global File System, enabling users to retrieve accurate, sourcecited answers based on files they are authorised to access. Data remains in place and existing permissions are preserved, removing the need for migrations or custom retrievals. Organisations can also use CTERA Classify to enrich data with semantic understanding and metadata, ensuring every AI response respects existing access controls. “Our customers have told us they’re enabling Copilot across their general workforce, and we built this integration to support that rollout directly – with data, security and governance CIOs and employees can trust,” said Aron Brand, chief technology officer at CTERA. ServiceNow and Microsoft extend AI governance to healthcare and government CTERA extends Microsoft 365 Copilot to the enterprise file estate Photo: AdobeStock/chokniti ServiceNow is expanding its partnership with Microsoft to bring governed AI to two highly regulated industries: healthcare and government. In government, the companies are linking Azure Resource Graph with ServiceNow’s configuration management database to give agencies a single, cross-agency view of assets and dependencies, helping teams spot risks earlier and keep critical services running. In healthcare, Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is being integrated with ServiceNow Integrated Risk Management to support alignment with the industry’s regulations. Meanwhile, Microsoft Fabric is used to give care teams a unified, interoperable view of patient data.
28 AI consulting firm congruentX has opened its new headquarters in Austin, Texas, USA. The headquarters, named cX Austin Labs, will serve as the firm’s AInative delivery centre. “We chose Austin after a detailed review of talent density, and Austin came out ahead on both ends of the barbell: deep experienced applications and AI talent, and the strongest early career pipeline in the country,” said Marty Priest, CEO of congruentX. “What gets built there are client solutions, agents and repeatable IP, run against the cX Control Tower so the team can see live where a customer is achieving outcomes and where one is lagging, then act on it quickly.” In addition, the firm has launched a new talent development programme, cX Ascent. The expert-led programme is designed to mentor the next generation of congruentX delivery team members, AI engineers and sellers. Engineering and technology company Bosch is scaling its industrial AI portfolio, Manufacturing Co-Intelligence. The portfolio combines semantic data management, domain-specific agentic AI systems and Bosch’s modular shopfloor solutions into a coordinated and collaborative system. Bosch is working with an ecosystem of partners – including Microsoft, Databricks, Capgemini, Deloitte and Bain & Company – to scale Manufacturing Co-Intelligence and deliver measurable results. Customers have already reported productivity gains of 5-15 per cent, cost reductions of 10-30 per cent in specific areas, and operational issues being resolved up to 50 per cent faster. congruentX opens new AI delivery centre in Austin Bosch delivers intelligent AI collaboration at scale MARKETWATCH
29 OpenText Cybersecurity has launched Server Backup – Public Cloud to enable managed service providers (MSPs) to run cybersecurity and server backup operations within one unified platform. The service integrates directly with the OpenText console, giving MSPs a cost-efficient way to add server backup without introducing new hardware, extra logins or duplicate onboarding workflows. It provides immutable, incremental backups and supports a bring your own cloud model to reduce storage spend. By consolidating cybersecurity and server backup into one platform, organisations can accelerate incident response and reduce the hidden costs associated with multi-vendor setups – including client onboarding, invoicing, compliance management and staff training. Velosio scales up Microsoft alignment with acquisitions Business transformation specialist Velosio has made two strategic acquisitions: Microsoft Dynamics consultancy Acuitas, and the commercial, non-governmental assets of Microsoft cloud solutions expert Kopis. “These acquisitions are about investing in what our customers and Microsoft are asking for – greater scale, deeper capabilities and a partner that can manage their entire Microsoft ecosystem,” said Robbie Morrison, CEO of Velosio. “Kopis strengthens our Azure and business applications platform expertise, while the Acuitas acquisition allows us the opportunity to extend our full portfolio and AI capabilities to a loyal, long-standing community of Dynamics customers. Both moves make us a stronger, more complete partner.” ZS earns Microsoft Digital and App Innovation Solution Area recognition Consulting and technology firm ZS has received Microsoft’s Digital and App Innovation Solution Area designation, in recognition of its expertise in building, modernising and managing applications on Microsoft Azure. This includes AI applications and agents. “This recognition reflects a real shift for organisations ready to move AI out of pilots and into production by building Azure-native applications and agents that can be governed, scaled and reused across the enterprise,” said Mahmood Majeed, a managing principal and leader of ZS’s global digital and technology services area. “As more teams adopt agent-based ways of working, it strengthens the ability to build these capabilities on Azure with enterprise controls. It supports turning data and AI investments into production systems that improve day-to-day decision-making and reduce operational risk at scale.” Read more about ZS and its long-running partnership with Microsoft on page 76. New OpenText platform unifies security and server backup for MSPs Photo: AdobeStock/Flamingo Images Photo: AdobeStock/VideoFlow Photo: AdobeStock/Flamingo Images
30 Utimaco is integrating its Enterprise Secure Key Manager (ESKM), a highly secure external key management system with Microsoft Sentinel. Microsoft Sentinel’s AI-ready platform combines security information and event management capabilities, a unified data lake, graph-powered visibility and intelligent reasoning tools. Utimaco’s ESKM extends this platform by protecting and orchestrating all cryptographic keys across its distributed environments. Security and compliance teams gain central visibility, anomaly detection and proactive threat hunting, all from a single pane of glass. By feeding key management interoperability protocol server logs into Microsoft Sentinel, ESKM enables security teams to see every key-related event. This also removes operational complexity by connecting sovereign key management with a platform analysts are already using. “Data sovereignty in the cloud depends on your ability to use, store, manage, and monitor cryptographic keys independently of the platforms that hold your data,” said Stefan Auerbach, CEO of Utimaco. “When keys are strictly separated from the cloud environment and centrally managed through a system you own, you retain authority over access and compliance control.” Arrow Electronics has earned Frontier Distributor designation in the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Program. The company supports channel partners through ArrowSphere, its digital distribution platform, alongside regional technical, commercial and enablement teams across EMEA and North America. “Microsoft’s Frontier Distributor designation reflects the investments we continue to make in cloud, AI and technical enablement across our channel ecosystem,” said Sophie Daval (pictured), director of hyperscalers, global ArrowSphere at Arrow’s enterprise computing solutions business. “Following our recognition as Microsoft’s 2025 Distribution Partner of the Year, this designation further reinforces our ability to help channel partners simplify cloud adoption, support AI deployments and build scalable services around Microsoft technologies.” Utimaco brings sovereign key control to Microsoft Sentinel Arrow Electronics becomes a Microsoft Frontier Distributor MARKETWATCH Photo: IStock/.shock
31 IT solutions provider SHI has become a founding member of the Tokenomics Foundation, a vendor-neutral body focused on establishing open industry standards, benchmarks and best practices for AI economics. Operating in close partnership with the FinOps Foundation – which includes Microsoft and SHI among its premier members – the group aims to help organisations move from experimental AI adoption to sustainable AI operations. “Joining the Tokenomics Foundation strengthens our ability to help customers turn AI adoption into measurable business outcomes while contributing to the evolution of this rapidly emerging discipline,” said Shane Cronin, head of FinOps and IT asset management services at SHI. Iron Mountain earns Microsoft’s Certified Software designation for Financial Services Information management company Iron Mountain has achieved the Microsoft Solutions Partner with Certified Software designation for Financial Services for its InSight DXP platform. This certification validates InSight DXP as a secure and resilient environment for financial institutions, engineered for operational excellence and hyperscale performance. The designation confirms that the platform is meeting rigorous technical standards and helping organisations transition physical records into an AI-ready digital ecosystem, while complying with global regulations such as SEC, GDPR and Basel III. “This highly exclusive certification shifts our relationship with Microsoft from a ‘general vendor’ to a top-tier strategic partner,” said Matt Jennings, senior vice president of digital business sales and partnerships at Iron Mountain. “It confirms that InSight DXP is more than just a platform – it is the gold standard for institutions requiring uncompromising reliability.” Zensai debuts Human Success Agent on Microsoft Agent 365 HR technology provider Zensai has launched its Human Success Agent on Microsoft Agent 365. Available in the Microsoft Agent Store, the agent gives leaders a live overview of their organisation’s progress against learning, performance and engagement goals, as well as a view of any individual department and where the biggest gains in productivity are available. The agent runs inside the customer’s own Microsoft 365 tenant, with access handled through Microsoft Entra. SHI to help shape AI value creation Photo: AdobeStock/gorodenkoff
32 MARKETWATCH Neural Concept and Nvidia have deepened their partnership with the latest release of the NC Platform, which fully integrates Nvidia’s AI stack – PhysicsNeMo, Omniverse and NemoClaw – to enable autonomous, end-to-end engineering workflows. A key success point is the codeveloped autonomous eMotor design demo, which showcases the platform’s ability to drive design-to-validation workflows with minimal manual intervention. This integration positions Neural Concept as the engineering intelligence layer for Nvidia’s AI infrastructure, driving adoption across automotive, aerospace and industrial sectors. Neural Concept and Nvidia partner on engineering AI platform Yubico expands passkey capabilities with new firmware YubiKey 5.8 Synergy Technical transitions into AI-native organisation Cybersecurity company Yubico is launching YubiKey 5.8, a firmware providing enterprise organisations with identity wallets, AI-driven approvals and document signing capabilities. YubiKey 5.8 delivers a secure, hardwarebacked foundation for verifying digital actions, giving security leaders visibility of actions carried out by both humans and autonomous AI agents. It also enables developers to integrate secure digital signatures using familiar tools by supporting new security standards such as CTAP 2.3 and WebAuthn signing extensions. “YubiKey 5.8 represents one of the most significant architectural updates to the modern authentication ecosystem by expanding phishing resistance into the workflows themselves,” said Albert Biketi, chief product and technology officer at Yubico. Synergy Technical is redesigning work around AI and evolving how it delivers technology consulting, managed services and business transformation solutions. Building on 15 years of expertise across Microsoft technologies, cloud, cybersecurity, modern work and data, Synergy is embedding AI across its operations, delivery methodologies and client engagement model. It is also investing in AI skills, governance, security, data readiness and outcome-based services. “Becoming AI-native allows us to deliver value faster, scale expertise more effectively and help our clients move from experimentation to meaningful business outcomes,” said Rohana Meade, CEO of Synergy Technical. Photo: AdobeStock/Alberto
33 Multinational confectionery manufacturer Mars is working with Everpure, Accenture and Microsoft to bring on-premises storage capabilities to its Microsoft Azure cloud workloads. The project builds on a strong relationship with Everpure, which has seen Mars implementing solutions including FlashArray, FlashBlade and the Pure1 management plane to build a futureready, hybrid-cloud infrastructure for always-on operations. Now the Everpure Advanced Services team is helping Mars to complete its transition to hybrid cloud. It will integrate Everpure Cloud to seamlessly run VMware workloads and extend its IT infrastructure into the cloud with improved flexibility and cost efficiency. Mars will also expand its use of cloud-native applications through Microsoft Azure. IDEMIA Public Security has integrated its Identity Verification technology with Microsoft Entra to enable organisations to confirm the identity of new hires via their mobile driving licence. New employees can present their mobile licence in their smartphone wallet before joining the organisation. IDEMIA’s solution verifies the credential directly with the issuer’s cryptography, confirming its authenticity. Once verified, the organisation’s administrators can reverify employees’ identities before they access critical systems. This reduces the risk of identity fraud, which is rising with the growth of remote hiring. “By enabling the leverage of mobile driving licences directly in Microsoft Entra, we are creating a new layer of protection against impersonation and social engineering,” said Virginie Flam, senior vice president of smart biometrics at IDEMIA Public Security. “The combination of issuer-backed trust, cryptographic verification and a seamless user experience helps enterprises secure their workforce, critical systems and business operations.” Mars enhances hybrid cloud strategy with Everpure Microsoft Entra strengthens Identity Verification with IDEMIA Public Security
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35 Community Summit North America will bring together thousands of community members, including Microsoft business applications users and partners, at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, USA, (pictured) when it takes place on 11-15 October 2026. The conference will have over 600 expert-led sessions focused on topics including cybersecurity, automation, business intelligence and technical development. The agenda will also explore how Microsoft’s platform ecosystem can support organisational growth. The platforms covered by the sessions will include Azure, Dynamics 365, Copilot Studio, Fabric, Power Platform and Microsoft AI. Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) will also host Tech Medic Desks in the Education Area to provide attendees with technical support and in-depth troubleshooting. Other event experiences will include a pre-conference bootcamp offering hands-on training on how to build, configure and deploy agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio and Summit Academy workshops for Dynamics professionals. Community Summit has over 300 sponsor partners including Avalara, ClickLearn, Lasernet and Fortis. Find out more and register for Community Summit at: www.summitna.com Community Summit North America MARKETWATCH: EVENT PREVIEW Photo: Gaylord Hotels TechEx Europe 20-21 October 2026 Amsterdam, Netherlands www.techexevent.com Power Platform Community Conference 27-29 October 2026 Las Vegas, USA www.powerplatformconf.com ADIPEC 2-5 November 2026 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates www.adipec.com Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress 3-5 November 2026 Barcelona, Spain www.barcelonacybersecuritycongress.com Smart City World Expo 3-5 November 2026 Barcelona, Spain www.smartcityexpo.com Smart Retail Tech Expo 11-12 November 2026 London, UK www.retailscl.com/our-shows/ smart-retail-tech-expo DATES FOR YOUR DIARY 11-15 OCTOBER 2026 | NASHVILLE, USA
36 Microsoft Ignite 2026 will bring together business leaders, security professionals, IT experts, developers and other partners from the global Microsoft community when it takes place at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, USA, from 17-20 November. Attendees will be able to grow their AI expertise and learn how they can use Microsoft’s technologies to achieve measurable business outcomes. They will hear from key Microsoft executives such as Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO, Judson Althoff, CEO of commercial business, and Nicole Dezen, chief partner officer and corporate vice president of global partner solutions. The opening keynote will cover what lies ahead for AI, cloud, security and data platforms across the Microsoft ecosystem. Over the following days, attendees will be able to participate in hands-on labs and innovation sessions covering the Agent 365 control plane, hybrid cloud strategies, Copilot’s agent factory, building and deployment of AI-powered applications and more. On-site certification training will enable attendees to gain recognised industry credentials. Meanwhile, the Ignite Hub will enable them to connect with Microsoft experts and partners and explore solutions. Find out more and register for Microsoft Ignite 2026: ignite.microsoft.com Microsoft Ignite 2026 17-20 NOVEMBER 2026 | SAN FRANCISCO, USA The Everpure platform provides a resilient hybrid-cloud foundation for planned Microsoft Azure migrations. Everpure customer Red Lobster, America’s largest seafood restaurant company, faced a costly risk: relying on ageing, fragmented legacy systems to support over 545 locations and a $1 billion annual seafood supply chain. The company’s chief information officer calculated a multi-day outage at roughly $13 million in lost inventory alone. Red Lobster consolidated its data management on the Everpure platform – and has since maintained 100 per cent uptime and eliminated interruptions to business operations. Red Lobster has now streamlined its digital ordering and takeaway services, integrating seamlessly with third-party delivery partners through cloud-based solutions. Everpure We spotlight the solutions provided by four partners worth checking out at the event Four to see at Ignite A Microsoft reseller delivering licensing, managed services, architecture and professional services wanted to scale its cloud business without adding operational complexity. Working with Arrow, the company migrated its entire Microsoft customer base in a single weekend. ArrowSphere Cloud then became the operational backbone of its Microsoft practice, replacing manual billing and reconciliation with automated workflows, real-time licence and cost data, Microsoft Azure insights and customer self-service. The impact goes beyond efficiency. With less administration, fewer errors and faster access to information, the reseller’s technical teams can spend more time on strategic customer work and developing new Microsoft opportunities. Arrow Photo: Unsplash/rafael-oliveira MARKETWATCH: EVENT PREVIEW
37 As organisations upgrade their meeting spaces for modern AIpowered environments, they need collaboration technology that is easy to deploy, manage and scale. Through its partnership with Microsoft and its IntelliMix Collaboration Portfolio, Shure makes it easy for organisations to bring high-quality collaboration to more meeting spaces. From IntelliMix Bar Pro to the pre-configured IntelliMix Room Kits, Shure’s solutions simplify room deployment, support efficient IT management and enable organisations to deliver clear audio and video for every meeting. By making it easier to standardise and scale collaboration technology across the workplace, Shure enables organisations to support AI-powered experiences that unlock actionable insights in Microsoft Teams Rooms with tools like Copilot and Facilitator. Shure Photo: Microsoft Zensai’s Human Success Agent is a partner AI agent built on Microsoft Agent 365, Microsoft’s control plane for AI agents. Generally available since May 2026, it turns workforce data into real-time insight for leaders: how the organisation is tracking against its learning, performance and engagement goals, the ability to drill into any department, and suggestions on what would improve the picture. It runs inside the customer’s own Microsoft 365 tenant, governed through Microsoft Entra. At launch, Microsoft’s corporate vice president Srini Raghavan said partners like Zensai are extending Microsoft 365 Copilot with agent-based experiences that help customers unlock more actionable insights across learning, engagement and performance. Zensai
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