Through platforms like Microsoft Azure, Copilot, Azure OpenAI services and the Microsoft Cloud Partner Programme, we’re supporting law enforcement innovators. These AI-powered tools help them scale solutions that improve investigations, boost efficiency and protect public trust. 

From faster evidence-processing and predictive analytics to innovative solutions that strengthen cybersecurity and improve victim safeguarding, Microsoft and its partners are helping drive modernisation across UK policing.  

Advancing national law enforcement

Our partnership efforts align with key national priorities. These include tackling serious and organised crime, countering terrorism, addressing violence against women and girls, advancing digital transformation, and delivering operational efficiency. Ethical, responsible data use underpins all our work.

Moreover, this transformation is now backed by a clear national strategy. In 2024, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) appointed its first AI Lead to guide responsible adoption across UK forces. All Chief Constables have signed the AI Covenant, a set of principles ensuring AI is used transparently, fairly and with human oversight.  

In addition, the College of Policing has issued guidance on building AI-enabled tools. As a result, forces are starting with low-risk use cases like redaction and call triage before deploying predictive systems.

Partner spotlight: innovators transforming UK policing

Altia and Pimloc are just two examples of UK software development companies using Microsoft technology to tackle policing priorities. Their work ranges from digital evidence management to privacy protection and intelligence-led investigations. 

Digital evidence overload is one of the biggest challenges facing UK police forces. Altia, a Nottingham-based investigations software company, uses AI and Microsoft Azure to automate time-consuming tasks like transcribing interviews, summarising case files and linking entities across datasets. 

Altia’s tools help officers find connections faster, reduce manual data entry and streamline case management. Whether it’s fraud, organised crime or financial investigations, Altia’s AI-powered platform acts as a digital assistant – freeing up officers to focus on solving cases, not paperwork. 

Privacy and compliance are critical in modern policing, especially when sharing video and audio evidence. Pimloc, a London-based software company, addresses this with SecureRedact – a world-leading, AI-powered multimodal redaction platform built on Azure. 

Pimloc’s technology automatically detects and blurs faces/heads; screens; personally identifiable information (PII) in audio and personal identifiers in CCTV; and dashcam, bodycam and drone footage. This enables faster, GDPR-compliant responses to subject access requests and court disclosures, while protecting sensitive data and building public trust. 

Microsoft’s role in UK policing transformation 

The journey is just beginning. We’re seeing AI move from pilots to operational use across UK policing. The NPCC’s Police.AI strategy has an AI Lead overseeing national co-ordination, which is driving this transition. At the same time, forces are investing in infrastructure and training to ensure staff can confidently use these new tools. 

In addition, Microsoft continues to refine its public safety offerings. This includes integrating OpenAI’s latest models into more products, strengthening cloud security and compliance for police data, and nurturing an ecosystem of partners to solve real-world policing challenges. 

In 2025, the Police Digital Service launched the National Police Capabilities Environment (NPCE) – a secure Azure-based cloud platform designed specifically for UK policing. It enables forces to deploy shared applications and AI tools at scale, reducing duplication and accelerating innovation.  

Microsoft Copilot is also making its way into policing workflows. From automating report-writing and summarising case files to flagging compliance risks and surfacing insights from large datasets, Copilot helps officers and staff work faster and smarter.

These tools are now being explored in areas like public contact, investigations, training, HR and finance, cutting through backlogs and improving outcomes without increasing workload.

Ensuring ethical AI, privacy and public trust 

Policing leaders are clear: AI will never replace officers. It’s a tool to support them, not supplant them. Accordingly, the NPCC’s AI Covenant and the College of Policing’s guidance ensure that AI deployments are transparent, fair and subject to human oversight. 

Concerns around privacy and bias are also being tackled head-on. Facial recognition algorithms used by UK police have undergone independent testing, and the Home Office plans to consult on new legislation to govern the use of live facial recognition (LFR).  

Moreover, the Information Commissioner’s Office and the Alan Turing Institute have published joint guidance on explaining decisions made with AI.  

Ready to partner with Microsoft?

If you’re a UK-based policing startup or software vendor, here’s how to get started:

• Join Microsoft for Startups: access Azure credits, technical support and mentorship. 

• Join our ISV Success Programme: for more established vendors, this programme helps you build, scale and sell solutions with Microsoft’s support.

• List on Azure Marketplace: reach UK policing and global public-sector customers by publishing your solution on our commercial marketplace. You can also connect with me to talk about the next steps in partner success with Microsoft.  

Find out more 

Build and sell your solutions with the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme 

About the author

Ruth is a Senior Partner Development Manager at Microsoft. With a focus on driving partner success, Ruth plays a pivotal role in fostering strategic partnerships within the public sector. Her expertise lies in collaborating with software development companies (SDCs) and other businesses with substantial growth potential, particularly those interested in AI and disruptive market strategies. 

The post Transforming policing with AI: scale your impact with Microsoft   appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.

If you’re a software development company (SDC) in this sector, the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme provides the tools and resources you need to drive innovation and growth. It can support you whether you’re developing AI-powered applications for the first time, migrating from another cloud provider or simply looking to expand your reach.

In this blog, we’ll explore how maximising your Microsoft partnership as a healthcare SDC enables you to build, scale and sell AI-powered healthcare solutions that make a real impact.

Build AI solutions with Microsoft for Startups

Microsoft for Startups helps early-stage healthcare companies overcome barriers in launching and scaling AI-powered applications. Founders can access:

• Azure cloud credits to build AI-powered, HIPAA-compliant applications with security and scalability.
• 24/7 Azure Standard Support, ensuring AI-powered healthcare applications run smoothly and efficiently.
• GitHub Enterprise for secure, collaborative development of AI health-tech solutions.
• Azure OpenAI Service, enabling SDCs to integrate advanced AI models into healthcare applications.
• LinkedIn business tools to better connect with healthcare professionals and institutions.
• Microsoft 365 Business Standard for productivity and seamless communication with healthcare clients and stakeholders.
• Mentorship and technical advisory hours with AI and industry experts.

These benefits allow healthcare SDCs to focus on building transformative AI solutions that will help patients and care providers without worrying about infrastructure limitations.

Figure 1. Four key business stages supported by the Microsoft for Startups programme.

Develop, extend and sell AI-powered solutions through ISV Success

For established SDCs aiming to scale their AI-powered healthcare applications, ISV Success (now in public preview) provides resources to enhance software capabilities, improve cloud efficiency and reach new markets. Benefits include:

• Developer sandbox with Microsoft Cloud credits for building secure and compliant AI-powered healthcare applications.
• Best-in-class AI development tools, including Azure Machine Learning, GitHub Copilot and Visual Studio.
• Technical advisory hours and AI architecture reviews to ensure robust and scalable solutions.
• Consultations on publishing AI-powered healthcare apps in the Microsoft commercial marketplace.
• Opportunities to qualify for additional cloud credits and up to 50 hours of business and technical AI consultations.

As an ISV Success member, you’ll also gain access to Marketplace Rewards, which provides go-to-market benefits that help increase your visibility and reach, and accelerate growth.

Figure 2. The ISV Success Programme can support you as you build, publish and grow.

Go to market with the Microsoft commercial marketplace

Reaching healthcare organisations, hospitals and clinics can be challenging. The Microsoft commercial marketplace simplifies this process by offering a trusted, scalable platform to showcase your AI-powered solutions. Healthcare software development companies can:

• List, trial, consult or transact their AI-powered applications through Microsoft AppSource and Azure Marketplace.
• Sell directly to healthcare providers, payers and life sciences organisations.
• Benefit from Microsoft’s co-sell programmes, increasing visibility and adoption.
• Enable customers with Azure consumption commitments to apply their existing credits towards buying AI-powered solutions.

Healthcare SDCs using Marketplace Rewards see five times more sales than those without it, making it a powerful tool for expanding your market reach.

Maximise value with a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment agreement

A Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment (MACC) agreement offers additional benefits that can significantly enhance the value proposition for healthcare SDCs. By entering into a MACC agreement, partners can:

• Optimise cloud spend: Commit to a specific level of Azure consumption for cost savings and more predictable cloud expenses.
• Access additional resources: Gain access to exclusive resources and support to help maximise the value of your Azure investment.
• Enhanced co-sell opportunities: Leverage Microsoft’s extensive sales network to co-sell your AI-powered healthcare solutions, increasing market visibility and adoption.
• Flexible payment options: Benefit from flexible payment terms that align with your business needs and growth trajectory.
• Priority support: Receive priority support to ensure your AI-powered applications run smoothly and efficiently.

By leveraging a MACC agreement, you can unlock even greater potential for innovation, scalability and market reach, helping make a significant impact in the healthcare industry.

Pangaea Data: innovating AI-powered apps with Azure

As a Microsoft partner, Pangaea Data leveraged the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme to drive innovation and growth. Its AI-powered healthcare applications foster collaboration and improve patient outcomes while saving the NHS £1 billion.

Read the customer story: Pangaea Data built novel AI with Azure

Pangaea Data’s success illustrates the transformative power of partnering with Microsoft. It shows how SDCs can leverage our robust cloud platform and resources to drive innovation and achieve remarkable business outcomes.

Join the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme

Start accelerating success today by joining the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme. In the meantime, check out two key Microsoft SDC resources below – an e-book explaining how developers can create intelligent, personalised apps that elevate user experiences; and a webinar outlining new resources and financial incentives in our ISV Success Programme.

Get the e-book: Transform ISV Applications with Intelligent AI Personalisation

Watch the webinar: What is New in ISV Success – AI Benefits and More

Find out more

Join the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme

Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme

Microsoft commercial marketplace

About the author

Ruth Bickerton is a Senior Partner Development Manager at Microsoft. With a focus on driving partner success, Ruth plays a pivotal role in fostering strategic partnerships within the healthcare sector. Her expertise lies in collaborating with software development companies (SDCs) and other businesses with substantial growth potential, particularly those interested in AI and disruptive market strategies.

The post Software development companies in healthcare: grow your business with Microsoft AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs - United Kingdom.