Microsoft is introducing the Azure AI Foundry at Ignite 2024. This new application platform must be a bridge between technological innovation and practical business applications.
At its Ignite conference, Microsoft is introducing the Azure AI Foundry. This is a new platform that is intended to be central to the development and introduction of AI solutions in companies. Microsoft wants to encourage developers and IT professionals to adopt AI tools smoothly and hopes that the new AI Foundry can bridge the gap between the latest technological developments and their implementation.
The Azure AI Foundry includes Copilot Studio, Visual Studio, GitHub, and the Azure AI Foundry SDK. These work together to create a catalog of different models, combined with Azure AI services such as the Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Search. Microsoft also integrates observability and governance tools.
Model change
The approach offers some concrete possibilities. For developers, Microsoft prioritizes AI applications over models. According to Microsoft, anyone building an AI application today cannot easily customize which model powers that application after the fact. Given the pace of innovation, this slows the introduction of current solutions.
That changes with the AI Foundry. The approach is evolving Model first where an application is created starting from the model Agent first where these roles are reversed.
Measuring is knowledge
For CIOs, the objections to successful AI implementation vary. You want to measure to know: Do optimizations really work? And what is the ROI? Microsoft provides you with tools in the Azure AI Foundry with which you can measure the impact of the tools. In this way, Redmond hopes to more easily convince CIOs to open their wallets more to AI projects.
The Azure AI Foundry also includes the new Azure AI Agent Service. This helps IT professionals deploy and manage agents. Agents are intelligent automations connected to solutions and data. The AI Agent Service is intended to help ensure that agents are deployed safely and in compliance with guidelines.
High costs
Azure and AI are immensely important for Microsoft. Thanks to its partnership with OpenAI, the company has taken a leadership role in AI solutions, and it’s paying off. Q4 2024 numbers showed AI and Azure driving growth. On the other hand, expenses are also increasing sharply in order to continue to cover the need for AI.