Located in Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica is over 400 years old, and is one of the most well-known churches in the world revered for its breathtaking Renaissance and Baroque architecture. Famous architects like Michelangelo and Bernini contributed to the design of the church, which took over 100 years to complete.

Today, La Basilica di San Pietro—a collaboration between the Vatican, Iconem, and Microsoft—gives everyone full access to Vatican City’s most iconic church via AI-enabled immersive exhibits and an interactive website.

Making history

Taking photos of every detail of a massive historic cathedral and piecing them all together sounds daunting, especially in less than a month, but with AI, it’s possible. Iconem, a leader in digital preservation based in Paris, uses advanced photogrammetry and AI to create 3D replicas of the world’s most famous historic landmarks and archaeologial sites.

Andrea Louis, software engineer and Technical Project Manager at Iconem, found the La Basilica di San Pietro experience stimulating due to its size and complexity, and the many spiritual, artistic, and historical layers involved. Being inside St. Peter’s Basilica gave her and the Iconem team intimate knowledge of the church, which allowed them to develop new ways to bring visitors inside the space.

It’s like an investigation of the 2,000-year history through one unique monument.

Yves Ubelmann

Founder and CEO of Iconem

To make the 3D version of St. Peter’s Basilica, the Iconem team took over 400,000 high-resolution images using advanced photogrammetry techniques. They spent three weeks scanning the Basilica using various devices including drones, cameras, and lasers, and Azure processed the massive volume of images collected. This data was securely backed up and stored in Azure Cloud, making it accessible to partners. Iconem then created an ultra-precise 3D model, or a digital twin of the Basilica. AI-generated imagery taken from Iconem’s photogrammetry data enhanced visualization of both the interior and exterior of the Basilica, allowing visitors to explore every intricate detail from anywhere in the world.

Bringing it to life with AI

Microsoft provided the AI tech needed to process and analyze Iconem’s vast amount of photogrammetry data used to create the digital twin of St. Peter’s Basilica. Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab contributed advanced tools that refined the digital twin with millimeter-level accuracy, and used AI to help detect and map structural vulnerabilities like cracks and missing mosaic tiles. The Vatican oversaw the collaboration, ensuring the preservation of the Basilica as a cultural, spiritual, and historically significant site for years to come.

An experience of a lifetime

In November 2024, ahead of the the 2025 Holy Year Jubilee, both the public exhibition and digital platforms of St. Peter’s Basilica will be available for everyone to see and experience in the Pétros enì exhibit. The Holy Year Jubilee occurs every 25 years as a year of grace and pilgrimage in the Roman Catholic church. During this time, Catholics are encouraged to take a pilgrimage to Rome where they can participate in ceremonies, religious events, and focus on spiritual renewal. “Pilgrims of Hope” is the theme of the 2025 Holy Year Jubilee.

The Pétros enì exhibit will give the 35 million pilgrims in Rome an immersive, in-person experience of a lifetime, and it will also help more than a billion Catholics unable to make the trip feel like they’re in the moment.

Visit the La Basilica di San Pietro, an AI-enhanced experience

This project ultimately allows us to rediscover what is fully human and connects everyone.

Cardinal Mauro Gambetti

Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica

The post Access for all: La Basilica di San Pietro appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

One of the highlights of my career has always been connecting with customers and partners across industries to learn how they are using technology to drive their businesses forward. In the past 30 years, we’ve seen four major platform shifts, from client server to internet and the web to mobile and cloud to now—the next major platform shift to AI.

As today’s platform shift to AI continues to gain momentum, Microsoft is working to understand just how organizations can drive lasting business value. We recently commissioned a study with IDC, The Business Opportunity of AI, to uncover new insights around business value and help guide organizations on their journey of AI transformation. The study found that for every $1 organizations invest in generative AI, they’re realizing an average of 3.7x return—and uncovered insights about the future potential of AI to reshape business processes and drive change across industries. 

Today, more than 85% of the Fortune 500 are using Microsoft AI solutions to shape their future. In working with organizations large and small, across every industry and geography, we’ve seen that most transformation initiatives are designed to achieve one of four business outcomes:

1. Enriching employee experiences: Using AI to streamline or automate repetitive, mundane tasks can allow your employees to dive into more complex, creative, and ultimately more valuable work.
2. Reinventing customer engagement: AI can create more personalized, tailored customer experiences, delighting your target audiences while lightening the load for employees.
3. Reshaping business processes: Virtually any business process can be reimagined with AI, from marketing to supply chain operations to finance, and AI is even allowing organizations to go beyond process optimization and discover exciting new growth opportunities.
4. Bending the curve on innovation: AI is revolutionizing innovation by speeding up creative processes and product development, reducing the time to market and allowing companies to differentiate in an often crowded field.

In this blog, we’ve collected more than 200 of our favorite real-life examples of how organizations are embracing Microsoft’s proven AI capabilities to drive impact and shape today’s platform shift to AI. We hope you find an example or two that can inspire your own transformation journey.

IDC InfoBrief: sponsored by Microsoft, 2024 Business Opportunity of AI, IDC# US52699124, November 2024 

Enriching employee experiences

Generative AI is truly transforming employee productivity and well-being. Our customers tell us that by automating repetitive, mundane tasks, employees are freed up to dive into more complex and creative work. This shift not only makes the work environment more stimulating but also boosts job satisfaction. It sparks innovation, provides actionable insights for better decision-making, and supports personalized training and development opportunities, all contributing to a better work-life balance. Customers around the world have reported significant improvements in employee productivity with these AI solutions:

1. Access Holdings Plc adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, integrating generative AI into daily tools and, as a result, writing code now takes two hours instead of eight, chatbots launch in 10 days instead of three months, and presentations are prepared in 45 minutes instead of six hours.
2. Adobe is connecting Adobe Experience Cloud workflows and insights with Microsoft 365 Copilot to deliver generative AI-powered capabilities that enable marketers to increase collaboration, efficiency, and creativity.
3. Amadeus empowers its teams to focus their time and skills on value-added tasks with Microsoft 365 Copilot by summarizing email threads, chat, or transcripts, and summing up information from diverse sources.
4. ANZ has invested in Microsoft 365 Copilot, GitHub Copilot, and Copilot in Microsoft Edge to boost productivity and innovation across its workforce. 
5. Asahi Europe & International (AEI) has adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot, saving employees potentially 15% of time previously spent on administrative tasks.
6. AXA developed AXA Secure GPT, a platform powered by Azure OpenAI Service that empowers employees to leverage the power of generative AI while targeting the highest level of data safety and responsible use of the tool.
7. Axon Enterprise developed a new AI tool with Azure OpenAI Service called Draft One, resulting in an 82% decrease in time spent on reports, which freed up officers to engage more with their community.
8. Aztec Group enhanced productivity and client experience by trialing Microsoft 365 Copilot with 300 staff, uncovering “unlimited” use cases and plans for a wider rollout.
9. Bader Sultan & Bros. Co. W.L.L implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance employee productivity and speed up customer response times.
10. Bancolombia is using GitHub Copilot to empower its technical team, achieving a 30% increase in code generation, boosting automated application changes to an average of 18,000 per year, with a rate of 42 productive daily deployments. 
11. BaptistCare Community Services is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to save employees time as they navigate workforce shortage challenges allowing them to focus more on the people they care for.
12. Barnsley Council was recognized as “Double Council of the Year in 2023” for its implementation of Microsoft 365 Copilot, which modernized operations and reduced administrative tasks, leading to improved job satisfaction and increased creativity.
13. BlackRock purchased more than 24,000 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses spanning all employees, functions, and locations, helping improve the Copilot experience, including co-developing new features and functions.
14. British Heart Foundation is testing Microsoft 365 Copilot and in its initial test, users estimate that Microsoft 365 Copilot could save them up to 30 minutes per day.
15. Buckinghamshire Council deployed Microsoft 365 Copilot with staff reporting productivity improvements, quality enhancements, and time savings which are enabling the different teams to do more with less. 
16. Campari Group adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to help employees integrate it into their workflow, resulting in time savings of about two hours a week from the support of routine activities such as email management, meeting preparation, content creation, and skill acquisition.
17. Capita is using GitHub Copilot for productivity improvements as well as improvements in developer satisfaction, recruitment, and retention.
18. CDW used Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve work quality for 88% of users, enabling 77% to complete tasks faster, and increasing productivity for 85% of users.
19. Chi Mei Medical Center is lightening workloads for doctors, nurses, and pharmacists with a generative AI assistant built on Azure OpenAI Service. 
20. E.ON is focused on Germany’s energy transition, leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot to manage the complex grid in real-time, increasing productivity and efficiency for its workforce.
21. Enerijisa Üretim has adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meeting summaries, reformat documents, and compile reports, enabling employees to concentrate on more strategic and fulfilling activities instead of spending six hours in meetings.
22. EPAM is deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot to consolidate information and generate content and documents. 
23. Farm Credit Canada implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot which resulted in time savings on routine tasks for 78% of users, with 30% saving 30 to 60 minutes per week and 35% saving over an hour per week, allowing employees to focus on more value-added tasks.
24. Finastra used Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate tasks, enhance content creation, improve analytics, and personalize customer interactions, with employees citing a 20% to 50% time savings.
25. Four Agency Worldwide increased employee productivity using Microsoft 365 Copilot to generate ideas for creative work and support administrative-heavy processes, data analysis, and report generation, allowing staff to focus on outreach and less time doing paperwork.
26. Goodwill of Orange County developed an AI-powered app using Azure AI capabilities to help more people, including those with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities, work in unfilled e-commerce positions.
27. Honeywell employees are saving 92 minutes per week—that’s 74 hours a year! Disclaimer: Statistics are from an internal Honeywell survey of 5,000 employees where 611 employees responded.
28. Insight employees using Copilot are seeing four hours of productivity gained per week from data summarization and content creation.
29. Joos uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to grow its brand with worldwide collaboration by streamlining meetings, optimizing presentations, and improving communications.
30. Kantar is harnessing the power of Microsoft 365 Copilot by reducing costly, time-consuming IT processes and boosting productivity for employees.
31. KPMG Australia is using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search, and Microsoft 365 Copilot to perform advanced text analysis of dozens of client source documents to identify full or partial compliance, or noncompliance, in a fraction of the time required for manual assessments.
32. LGT is launching Microsoft Copilot LGT to improve efficiency, showing users save an average of an hour a week even in the pilot phase. 
33. Lotte Hotels & Resorts has been creating a new work culture that allows employees to work more efficiently and focus on the nature of the work by adopting Microsoft Power Platform for automation.
34. MAIRE is leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot to automate routine tasks, saving more than 800 working hours per month, freeing up engineers and professionals for strategic activities while supporting MAIRE’s green energy transition by reducing their carbon footprint.
35. McDonald’s China chose Microsoft Azure AI, GitHub Copilot, and Azure AI Search to transform its operations, resulting in a significant increase in AI adoption, consumption, and retention from 2,000 to 30,000 employee transactions monthly.
36. McKnight Foundation adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot for all staff, saving time, increasing productivity, and freeing space to focus on strategic priorities.
37. Morula Health is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to enhance productivity, streamline medical writing tasks, and ensure data security, ultimately improving efficiency and client satisfaction. 
38. Motor Oil Group is achieving remarkable efficiency gains by integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot into its workflows, with staff spending minutes on tasks that used to take weeks. 
39. Nagel-Group uses Azure OpenAI Service to help employees quickly access information which saves time, creates efficiency and transparency, and leads to higher-quality answers overall.
40. National Australia Bank is leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot for daily productivity and data analysis and insights and Microsoft Security Copilot to quickly analyze millions of security event logs and allow engineers to focus on more important areas.
41. NFL Players Association integrated Azure AI Services and Azure App Service into their video review process, reducing review time by up to 73%, significantly increasing efficiency and enhancing player safety through consistent rule enforcement.
42. O2 Czech Republic boosts productivity and streamlines meetings with Microsoft 365 Copilot, revolutionizing how information is shared and making automation a part of daily work.
43. Onepoint developed a secure conversational agent based on Azure OpenAI Service, which delivers productivity gains of between 10% and 15% across all business lines.
44. Orange Group has more than 40 use cases with Azure OpenAI Service and GitHub Copilot across business functions to support employees in their day-to-day tasks, enabling them to concentrate on higher value-added activities.
45. Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve staff report productivity by saving one to two hours a week, or simple formatting tasks down to a matter of seconds, enabling more resources to deliver frontline services.
46. PA Consulting transformed its sales operations with Microsoft 365 Copilot, so its people can invest more time on the activities that have the biggest impact for clients and maximize the strategic value they provide. 
47. Petrobras used Azure OpenAI Service to create ChatPetrobras, which is streamlining workflows, reducing manual tasks, and summarizing reports for its 110,000 employees.
48. Petrochemical Industries Company automates work processes to save time with Microsoft 365 Copilot from weeks to days, hours to seconds.
49. PKSHA Technology is optimizing their time on critical work by increasing efficiency in meeting preparations, data analytics, and ideation with the help of Microsoft 365 Copilot.
50. Providence has collaborated with Nuance and Microsoft to accelerate development and adoption of generative AI-powered applications, helping improve care quality and access, and reduce physician’s administrative workloads. 
51. RTI International adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot to gain productivity wherever possible, allowing staff to focus on their areas of expertise, delivering even better science-backed solutions for clients.
52. Sandvik Coromant is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales to drive efficiency and accuracy, shaving at least one minute off each transaction, allowing sellers and account managers to focus their expertise on responding to customers’ needs with analysis, creativity, and adaptability.
53. Sasfin Bank built a solution on Microsoft Azure that centralized 20,000 documents to analyze contract clauses and provide real-time snapshots, moving guesswork into data-driven decision-making.
54. Scottish Water implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot reducing mundane tasks to a minimum, and thus freeing up time for employees to work on the more meaningful tasks.
55. Shriners Children’s developed an AI platform allowing clinicians to easily and securely navigate patient data in a singular location, enhancing patient care, and improving the efficiency of their healthcare services. 
56. Siemens is leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to improve efficiency, cut downtime, and address labor shortages.
57. Softchoice employees are experiencing firsthand how Microsoft 365 Copilot can transform daily workflows, realizing productivity gains of 97% reduction in time spent summarizing technical meetings and up to 70% less time spent on content creation.
58. Syensqo utilized Azure OpenAI Service to develop a custom AI chatbot in three months, which improved their internal data management, decision-making, and overall efficiency.
59. Teladoc Health uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to revolutionize its telehealth operations, automating routine tasks, boosting efficiency, and increasing productivity.
60. Telstra developed two cutting-edge generative AI tools based on Azure OpenAI Service: 90% of employees are using the One Sentence Summary tool which resulted in 20% less follow-up customer contact and 84% of customer service agents using the Ask Telstra solution.
61. Topsoe achieved 85% AI adoption among office employees in seven months, significantly enhancing productivity and business processes.
62. Torfaen County Borough Council utilized Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline back-office processes, resulting in significant time savings and enhanced productivity for both business and children’s services teams, with further rollouts planned.
63. Trace3 leveraged Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline and enhance processes across the business and with clients, such as reducing the time it takes human resources (HR) recruiting managers to respond to applicants within a couple of days instead of several weeks.
64. Unilever is reinventing their marketing process with Copilot, saving time on briefing tasks, automatically pulling in relevant market data, content and insights to accelerate campaign launches. 
65. Uniper SE implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce time spent on manual and repetitive tasks, and help workers focus on more pressing work, such as developing enhanced solutions to speed up the energy transition.
66. Unum Group built a custom AI application to search 1.3 terabytes of data with 95% accuracy using Azure OpenAI Service. 
67. Virgin Atlantic adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot and GitHub Copilot and is seeing real business benefits, including productivity improvements, enabling new ways of working.
68. Visier built a generative AI assistant that leverages Azure AI and Azure OpenAI Services to deliver workforce analytics and actionable insights for more than 50,000 customers.
69. Virtual Dental Care developed an AI application Smart Scan that leverages Azure to reduce paperwork for mobile dental clinics in schools by 75% and frees dentists to devote more time to patient care.
70. Zakladni Skola As Hlavkova adopted Microsoft 365 Copilot and saw a 60% improvement in handling administrative documents, decreased lesson preparation from hours to few minutes, increased inclusivity, and enhanced communication with students and parents.

Reinventing customer engagement

We’ve seen great examples of how generative AI can automate content creation, ensuring there’s fresh and engaging materials ready to go. It personalizes customer experiences by crunching the numbers and boosting conversion rates. It makes operations smoother, helping teams launch campaigns faster. Plus, it drives innovation, crafting experiences that delight customers while lightening the load for staff. Embracing generative AI is key for organizations wanting to reinvent customer engagements, stay ahead of the game, and drive both innovation and efficiency.

71. Absa has adopted Microsoft Copilot to streamline various business processes, saving several hours on administrative tasks each day.
72. Adobe leverages Azure to streamline the customer experience, harnessing the power of the connected cloud services and creating a synergy that drives AI transformation across industries.
73. Acentra Health developed Medscribe, a web application that uses Azure OpenAI Service to generate draft letters in a secure, HIPAA-compliant enclave that responds to customer appeals for healthcare services within 24 hours, reducing the time spent on each appeal letter by 50%.
74. Alaska Airlines is using Azure, Microsoft Defender, and GitHub to ensure its passengers have a seamless journey from ticket purchase to baggage pickup and started leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to unlock more business value for its customer care and contact centers.
75. Ally Financial is using Azure OpenAI Service to reduce manual tasks for its customer service associates, freeing up time for them to engage with customers. 
76. BMW Group optimizes the customer experience connecting 13 million active users to their vehicles with the MyBMW app on Azure, which supports 450 million daily requests and 3.2 terabyte (TB) data processing.
77. Boyner has tripled its e-commerce performance using Azure, seeing a rise in customer satisfaction, engagement, conversion rate, and revenue.
78. Bradesco Bank integrated Azure to its virtual assistant, BIA, resulting in reduced response time from days to hours, improving operational efficiency and client satisfaction.
79. Capgemini Mexico integrated GitHub Copilot to support scalable AI implementations which has led to improved customer experiences and increased efficiency.
80. Capitec Bank uses Azure OpenAI Service and Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling their AI-powered chatbot to assist customer service consultants in accessing product information more efficiently, saving significant time for employees each week.
81. Cdiscount is leveraging GitHub Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service to enhance developer efficiency, optimize product sheet categorization, and improve customer satisfaction.
82. Cemex used Azure OpenAI Service to launch Technical Xpert, an AI tool used by sales agents to provide instant access to comprehensive product and customer solution information, significantly reducing search time by 80%. 
83. Chanel elevated their client experience and improved employee efficiency by leveraging Microsoft Fabric and Azure OpenAI Service for real-time translations and quality monitoring.
84. City of Burlington created two AI-powered solutions: MyFiles system using Microsoft Power Platform for building permits, and CoBy, an around-the-clock customer support assistant using Microsoft Copilot Studio.
85. City of Madrid created an AI virtual assistant with Azure OpenAI Service offering tourists accurate, real-time information and personalized responses in more than 95 languages.
86. Cognizant is making performance management more effective and meaningful with Azure Machine Learning to help clients across industries envision, build, and run innovative digital enterprises.
87. Coles Group has leveraged Azure to enhance its digital presence and improve customer engagement, rolling out new applications to its stores six times faster without disrupting workloads.
88. Commercial Bank of Dubai used Azure to upgrade its application infrastructure, improving transaction security and speed so individual customers can now open an account and start banking in about two minutes.
89. Dubai Electricity and Water Authority has significantly improved productivity and customer satisfaction by integrating multiple Microsoft AI solutions, reducing task completion time from days to hours and achieving a 98% customer happiness rate.
90. Elcome uses Microsoft 365 Copilot to improve the customer experience, reducing response times from 24 hours to eight hours.
91. elunic developed shopfloor.GPT based on Azure OpenAI Service, leading to increased productivity for customers, saving 15 minutes per request.
92. Estée Lauder Companies is leveraging Azure OpenAI Service to create closer consumer connections and increase speed to market with local relevancy.
93. First National Bank (FNB) is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales to help bankers create professional, thoughtful emails in 13 native South African languages to enhance customer interactions, streamline communications, and reinforce its commitment to innovation and customer service. 
94. Flora Food Group migrated to Microsoft Fabric to offer more detailed and timely insights to its customers, enhancing service delivery and customer satisfaction.
95. Groupama deployed a virtual assistant using Azure OpenAI Service that delivers reliable, verified and verifiable information, and boasts an 80% success rate.
96. International University of Applied Sciences (IU) adopted Azure OpenAI Service to revolutionize learning with a personalized study assistant that can interact with each student just like a human would.
97. Investec is using Microsoft 365 Copilot for Sales to enhance the bank’s client relationships, estimating saving approximately 200 hours annually ultimately boosting sales productivity and delivering personalized, seamless customer experience. 
98. Linum is using Azure to train their text-to-video models faster and more efficiently without losing performance or wasting resources.
99. Lumen Technologies is redefining customer success and sales processes through the strategic use of Microsoft 365 Copilot, enhancing productivity, sales, and customer service in the global communications sector.
100. McKinsey & Company is creating an agent to reduce client onboarding process by reducing lead time by 90% and administrative work by 30%.
101. Meesho leveraged Azure OpenAI Service and GitHub Copilot to enhance customer service and software development, resulting in a 25% increase in customer satisfaction scores and 40% more traffic on customer service queries.
102. Milpark Education integrated Microsoft Copilot and Copilot Studio and in just four months, improved efficiency and accuracy of student support, decreasing the average resolution time by 50% and escalations by more than 30%.
103. NC Fusion chose a comprehensive Microsoft solution to make marketing engagement activities easier and accurately target the best audience segments.
104. Medgate, a telehealth subsidiary of Otto Group, developed a medical Copilot powered by Azure OpenAI Service that summarizes consultations, supports triage, and provides real-time translations. 
105. Pacific Gas & Electric built a chatbot using Microsoft Copilot Studio that saves $1.1 million annually on helpdesk support. 
106. Pockyt is using GitHub Copilot and anticipates a 500% increase in productivity in the medium to long term as they continue adapting AI and fine-tuning their software development life cycle.
107. South Australia Department for Education launched an AI-powered educational chatbot to help safeguard students from harmful content while introducing responsible AI to the classrooms.
108. Sync Labs is using Azure to create AI-powered solutions that have led to a remarkable 30x increase in revenue and a 100x expansion of their customer base.
109. Syndigo is using Azure to accelerate digital commerce for its customers by more than 40% and expand its customer base.
110. Telkomsel created a virtual assistant with Azure OpenAI Service, resulting in a leap in customer self-service interactions from 19% to 45%, and call volume dropped from 8,000 calls to 1,000 calls a day.
111. Torrens University chose to use Azure OpenAI to uplift its online learning experience, saving 20,000 hours and $2.4 million in time and resources.
112. Trusting Social integrated Azure services to launch AI-driven agents that are changing how banks function and transforming their customer’s banking experience.
113. University of California, Berkeley used Azure OpenAI Service to deploy a custom AI chatbot that supports student learning and help students with complex coursework.
114. University of Sydney created a self-serve AI platform powered by Azure OpenAI Service, to enable faculty to build custom chatbots for enhancing student onboarding, feedback, career simulation, and more.
115. Van Lanschot Kempen is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce the time needed for daily tasks, freeing up time to invest in that crucial personal connection.
116. Virgin Money built an award-winning virtual assistant using Copilot Studio to help build customers’ confidence in their digital products and services.
117. VOCALLS automates over 50 million interactions per year, resulting in a 78% reduction in average handling time aside from a 120% increase in answered calls.
118. Vodafone Group is leveraging Microsoft’s AI solutions, including Azure AI Studio, OpenAI Service, Copilot, and AI Search, to achieve a 70% resolution rate for customer inquiries through digital channels and reduce call times by at least one minute.
119. Walmart is using Azure OpenAI Service to deliver a helpful and intuitive browsing experience for customers designed to serve up a curated list of the personalized items a shopper is looking for.
120. Weights & Biases created a platform which runs on Azure that allows developers to keep records, log successes and failures, and automate manual tasks.
121. World2Meet is providing better customer service and operations with a new virtual assistant powered by Azure.
122. Xavier College is modernizing its student information systems on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure to unlock powerful insights, fostering innovation and data-driven decision making.
123. Zavarovalnica Triglav implemented Dynamics 365 and Azure OpenAI Service to streamline its operations with automated responses and smart rerouting of customer enquiries.

Reshaping business processes

Transforming operations is another way generative AI is encouraging innovation and improving efficiency across various business functions. In marketing, it can create personalized content to truly engage different audiences. For supply chain management, it can predict market trends so companies can optimize their inventory levels. Human resources departments can speed up the hiring process, while financial services can use it for fraud detection and risk assessments. With generative AI, companies are not just refining their current processes, they’re also discovering exciting new growth opportunities.

124. Accelleron used Microsoft Power Platform to support numerous business applications and simplify processes for service agents and employees, resulting in the onboard of new agents in 30 minutes, compared to two days for other solutions.
125. Accenture developed an AI-powered financial advisor that leverages RISE with SAP on Azure to enhance their infrastructure and integrate financial data.
126. Atomicwork leverages Azure OpenAI to bring together three power capabilities: a conversational assistant, a modern service management system, and a workflow automation platform.
127. Blink Ops fully embraced generative AI to build the world’s first Security Automation Copilot with more than 8,000 automated workflows to help any Security/IT task through prompts.
128. Chalhoub Group is using Microsoft Fabric to modernize its data analytics and streamline its data sources into one platform, increasing agility, enhancing analytics, and accelerating processes.
129. Cineplex is developing innovative automation solutions for finance, guest services, and other departments, saving the company more than 30,000 hours a year in manual processing time.
130. ClearBank moved its services to Azure to gain scalability and efficiency, pushing out 183% more monthly system releases, gaining both scalability and efficiency.
131. Danske Statsbaner increases productivity up to 30% with help from Microsoft AI solutions.
132. Eastman implemented Microsoft Security Copilot realizing the benefits of accelerated upskilling, step-by-step guidance for response, and faster threat remediation.
133. Fast Shop migrated to Azure creating a self-service culture of access to data, eliminating delays, reducing costs, and increasing leadership satisfaction with data while providing more agility in reporting.
134. Florida Crystals adopted a value-added solution across Microsoft products including Microsoft 365 Copilot to reduce telecom expenses and automate industrial process controls.
135. GHD is reinventing the request for proposal (RFP) process in construction and engineering with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
136. GovDash is a software as a service (SaaS) platform that leverages AI to streamline the entire business development lifecycle for government contracting companies using Azure OpenAI Service.
137. Grupo Bimbo is deploying Microsoft’s industrial AI technologies to modernize its manufacturing processes, optimizing production and reducing downtime, driving significant cost savings, and empowering global innovation.
138. Insight Canada implemented Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline business operations, realizing a 93% productivity gains in functions including sales, finance, and human resources.
139. Intesa Sanpaolo Group enhanced its cybersecurity with AI-enabled Microsoft Sentinel and Microsoft Security Copilot, resulting in faster threat detection, increased productivity, and reduced storage costs.
140. Kaya deployed a custom implementation of Dynamics 365 and Power BI to modernize its supply chain, leading to enhanced visibility, improved planning, and streamlined inter-department operations.
141. Lionbridge Technologies, LLC is using Azure and Azure OpenAI Service to accelerate its delivery times and improve quality, reducing project turnaround times by up to 30%.
142. LTIMindtree integrated Microsoft Security Copilot, offering automated incident response, integrated threat intelligence, and advanced threat analysis.
143. Mania de Churrasco used Azure, Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft 365 to achieve high efficiency, security, and scalability in its operations, in addition to improving its data intelligence, which indirectly participated in a 20% increase in sales year on year.
144. National Bank of Greece built an Azure-powered Document AI solution to transform its document processing, improving the bank’s accuracy to 90%. 
145. Nest Bank has revolutionized its operations by integrating Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure OpenAI Service, resulting in doubled sales and increased daily transactions from 60,000 to 80,000 showcasing the transformative impact of generative AI in the financial sector.
146. Network Rail modernized their data analytics solution with Azure, helping engineers understand data 50% faster than before and improve efficiency, passenger experiences, and safety—all while saving costs.
147. Nsure developed an AI-powered agent that uses Copilot Studio and Power Automate to reduce manual processing time by 60% while also reducing associated costs by 50%.
148. Oncoclínicas implemented Azure to transform its entire data ecosystem with a web portal and mobile application that performs all image processing and storage.
149. Pacífico Seguros has adopted Microsoft Security Copilot to optimize its security operations and anticipate and neutralize threats more efficiently and effectively.
150. Parexel adopted Azure Databricks and Power BI, achieving an 85% reduction in data engineering tooling costs, a 30% increase in staff efficiency, and a 70% reduction in time to market for data product delivery.
151. Paysafe used Microsoft 365 Copilot to streamline meetings, information management, and document creation, addressing language barriers, eliminating time-consuming tasks, and boosting creativity along the way.
152. Planted is integrating Azure OpenAI Service to manage everyday tasks more efficiently and facilitate the search for information for innovative process development.
153. Presidio realized dramatic productivity gains saving 1,200 hours per month on average for the employees using Microsoft 365 Copilot and created 70 new business opportunities.
154. Qatar Charity used Copilot Studio to increase its call center efficiency, reducing average handle time by 30%, increased customer satisfaction by 25%, and achieved a 40% reduction in IT maintenance costs.
155. Saphyre uses Azure and AI to provide an intelligent cloud-based solution that automates and streamlines financial trading workflows around client and counterparty life cycle management, reducing manual efforts by 75%. 
156. Swiss International Air Lines migrated and modernized with Azure, achieving up to 30% cost savings, a remarkable boost in platform stability along with enhanced security visibility.
157. ZEISS Group uses Microsoft Fabric to create a secure and trusted data supply chain that can be shared effortlessly across a range of business units.
158. ZF Group builds manufacturing efficiency with more than 25,000 apps and 37,000 unique active users on Microsoft Power Platform.

Bending the curve on innovation

Generative AI is revolutionizing innovation by speeding up creative processes and product development. It’s helping companies come up with new ideas, design prototypes, and iterate quickly, cutting down the time it takes to get to market. In the automotive industry, it’s designing more efficient vehicles, while in pharmaceuticals, it’s crafting new drug molecules, slashing years off research and development (R&D) times. In education, it transforms how students learn and achieve their goals. Here are more examples of how companies are embracing generative AI to shape the future of innovation.

159. Air India has incorporated Microsoft 365 Copilot into multiple departments, unlocking a new realm of operational insights that not only provides critical data on flight punctuality and operational hurdles, but also empowers proactive, collaborative decision making.
160. Agnostic Intelligence deployed Azure OpenAI Service to eliminate time-consuming tasks, saving users up to 80% of their time, and enabling IT managers to focus on innovation and quality assurance.
161. Albert Heijn is using Azure OpenAI Service for everything from customer personalization to demand forecast and food waste projects, making it easier for its customers to change their lifestyle.
162. Amgen is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to boost productivity and has the potential to speed up drug development and support advancements in their business processes.
163. APEC leverages Azure and deep neural network algorithms to develop an app that enables healthcare providers to capture retinal images, increasing the accuracy to identify Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP) to 90%.
164. ASOS is using Azure AI Studio to help customers discover new looks with genuine shopping insights, personalized conversations, naturalism, and even humor to enliven the shopping journey.
165. Auburn University is incorporating Microsoft Copilot to promote AI literacy, accessibility, and collaboration, with the aim to expand educational and economic opportunities for its entire academic community with AI-centric tools.
166. B3 launched an AI assistant using Azure OpenAI Service that aids 10,000 users a day to answer Brazilians’ questions about how to start investing.
167. Basecamp Research aims to build the world’s largest database of national biodiversity and apply AI and machine learning to advance bioscience.
168. Bayer is using Microsoft Copilot to contribute to feeding a growing global population and helping people lead healthier, disease-free lives.
169. Brembo leveraged Azure OpenAI Service to develop ALCHEMIX, a solution to generate innovative compounds for its brake pads, drastically reducing the development time of new compounds from days to mere minutes.
170. Canary Speech can now train new vocal models in as little as two months and handle millions of transactions per month with Azure. 
171. CapitaLand simplified internal processes increasing efficiency to more than 10,000 man-days saved per year and deployed Azure OpenAI Service to build the first AI hospitality chatbot for its lodging business.
172. Cassidy is using Azure OpenAI Service to enhance efficiency across various industries, supporting more than 10,000 companies.
173. Coca-Cola is implementing Azure OpenAI Service to develop innovative generative AI use cases across various business functions, including testing how Microsoft 365 Copilot could help improve workplace productivity.
174. Denso is developing “human-like” robots using Azure OpenAI Service as the brain to help robots and humans work together through dialogue.
175. eFishery is using Azure OpenAI for farmers to get the data and insights on fish and shrimp farming, including more precise feeding and water quality monitoring.
176. EY developed an application that automatically matches and clears incoming payments in SAP, resulting in an increase from 30% to 80% in automatically cleared payments and 95% matched payments, with estimated annual time savings of 230,000 hours globally.
177. FIDO is using Azure OpenAI Service to develop an AI tool that uses sound to pinpoint leaky pipes, saving precious drinking water. 
178. Georgia Tech is using Azure OpenAI Service to enhance the electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, achieving rapid data classification and predictive modeling, highlighting the reliability of networked chargers over non-networked ones.
179. GigXR developed a solution to create the intelligence for specific AI patients using Azure OpenAI Service and other Azure services.
180. GoTo Group is significantly enhancing productivity and code quality across its engineering teams by adopting GitHub Copilot, saving over seven hours per week and achieved a 30% code acceptance rate.
181. GovTech used Azure OpenAI Service to create LaunchPad, sparking more than 400 ideas and 20 prototypes, laying the foundation for the government to harness the power of generative AI.
182. H&R Block is using Azure AI Studio and Azure OpenAI Service to build a new solution that provides real-time, reliable tax filing assistance.
183. Haut.AI provides skin care companies and retailers with customizable, AI-based skin diagnostic tools developed with the help of Microsoft AI.
184. Helfie is building a solution that caters to healthcare providers who can arm their patients with an application to more quickly and accurately access the care they need.
185. Hitachi will implement Azure Open AI Service, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and GitHub Copilot to create innovative solutions for the energy, mobility, and other industries.
186. Icertis is providing AI-based tools that will recognize contract language and then build algorithms to automatically choose the right approach based on the content of the contract.
187. ITOCHU is using Azure OpenAI Service and Azure AI Studio to evolve its data analytics dashboard into a service that provides immediate recommendations by automatically creating evidence-based product proposals.
188. IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) is using the power of Azure OpenAI Service to develop Syntea, an AI avatar integrated into Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot, making learning more personalized, autonomous, and flexible.
189. Khan Academy has partnered with Microsoft to bring time-saving and lesson-enhancing AI tools to millions of educators.
190. Lufthansa Group developed an animated 3D avatar called Digital Hangar to help guide passengers from initial travel inspiration to flight booking through an exchange with an avatar in natural language.
191. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is using Azure OpenAI Service to help accelerate digital innovation in power plants.
192. Molslinjen has created an AI analytics toolbox that has reduced fuel emissions, improved customer satisfaction, and brought in millions of additional revenue.
193. Novo Nordisk recently published initial results with predictive AI models for advanced risk detection in cardiovascular diseases, including an algorithm that can predict patients’ cardiovascular risk better than the best clinical standards. 
194. Paige.AI​ is using AI and Azure to accelerate cancer diagnoses with data from millions of images.
195. Pets at Home created an agent to help its retail fraud detection team investigate suspicious transactions.  
196. Plan Heal is using Microsoft AI to create solutions that enable patients to monitor and report health metrics so care providers can better serve them.
197. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is testing a new battery material that was found in a matter of weeks, not years, as part of a collaboration with Microsoft.
198. Rijksmuseum is harnessing the power of Copilot to make art accessible at scale by joining forces with Microsoft to improve and expand the art experience for blind and low-vision community members.
199. Royal National Institute of Blind People is using Azure AI Services to develop an AI-based solution that quickly and accurately converts letters to braille, audio, and large print formats.
200. Schneider Electric provides productivity-enhancing and energy efficiency solutions and is using a whole suite of AI tools to hasten its own innovation and that of its customers.
201. SPAR ICS created an award-winning, AI-enabled demand forecasting system achieving 90% inventory prediction accuracy.
202. Suzuki Motor Corporation is adopting Azure OpenAI Service for data security, driving company-wide use with five multipurpose apps.
203. Tecnológico de Monterrey created a generative AI-powered ecosystem built on Azure OpenAI Service with the goal to personalize education based on the students’ needs, improve the learning process, boost teachers’ creativity and save time on tedious tasks.
204. TomTom is using Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Cosmos DB, and Azure Kubernetes Service to revolutionize the driver experience.
205. Unilever is partnering with Microsoft to identify new digital capabilities to drive product innovation forward, from unlocking the secrets of our skin’s microbiome to reducing the carbon footprint of a multibillion-dollar business.
206. Unity used Azure OpenAI Service to build Muse Chat, an AI assistant that can guide creators through common questions and help troubleshoot issues to make game development easier.
207. University of South Florida is using Microsoft 365 Copilot to alleviate the burden of repetitive, time-consuming tasks so faculty and staff can spend this time creatively solving problems, conducting critical research, establishing stronger relationships with peers and students, and using their expertise to forge new, innovative paths. 
208. Visma has developed new code with GitHub Copilot, Azure DevOps, and Microsoft Visual Studio, as much as 50% faster, contributing to increased customer retention, faster time to market, and increased revenue.
209. Wallenius Wilhelmsen is implementing Microsoft 365 Copilot and using Microsoft Viva to drive sustainable adoption, streamlining processes, empowering better decision making, and cultivating a culture of innovation and inclusion.
210. Wipro is committed to delivering value to customers faster and improving the outcomes across the business by investing $1 billion in AI and training 200,000 employees on generative AI principles with Microsoft Copilot.

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The technological paradigm shift driven by AI solutions is redefining what current and future success looks like for every industry and market across the world. For a region like Latin America, this opens new paths to not only propel its economies but to positively impact each community. Crucially, it also presents powerful tools to address pressing challenges like skills development and sustainability, while being able to promote inclusive growth. The pivotal role cloud and AI solutions can play on Latin America’s development is substantial.

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Companies and organizations across the region are already showing eagerness to leverage this technology and realize the potential it entails. Countries like Colombia are home to innovative AI projects. While Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, has the potential to propel its gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 4.2% through 2030 by strongly adopting AI, according to a study commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by the consultancy FrontierView in 2020.¹ Furthermore, the Brazilian market already represents the sixth largest GitHub developer community contributing to generative AI projects globally, demonstrating its appetite for innovation.²

These two markets are setting regional cloud and AI adoption examples on the global stage. Recently, Microsoft’s AI Tour visited both countries to highlight some of the most inspiring and impactful projects and initiatives driven by local organizations, companies, and communities in collaboration with Microsoft.

Project Guacamaya tackles deforestation in Colombia with AI

According to the Andean Amazon Monitoring Project, the Amazon rainforest lost about 3 million hectares to deforestation from 2022 to 2023.³ To address this worrying threat to one of the most diverse and complex ecosystem on the planet, various institutions, including Universidad de Los Andes, Instituto Alexander von Humboldt, Instituto Sinchi, IDEAM, and Microsoft AI for Good Lab, collaborated to create Project Guacamaya, a publicly available AI-powered tool to detect deforestation and biodiversity shifts.

This unique collaboration has brought the public and private sectors, educational institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) together to create a powerful solution using satellite imagery, camera traps, and bioacoustics to track forest coverage and deforestation patterns, allowing conservationists to better understand its impact and improve prevention and mitigation efforts.

Powering world class sustainable and secure cloud and AI infrastructure

Microsoft continues to evaluate and diligently work to address sustainability and resource needs associated with infrastructure growth. An agreement signed with the Amazon Reforestation Fund operated by Brazilian-based startup Mombak will provide a total of up to 1.5 million tons of carbon removal by 2032 from native biodiversity reforestation projects across the Amazon. This project provided the foundation for the World Bank to issue a USD225 million Amazon Reforestation-Linked Outcome Bond.

Another agreement was signed with Brazilian company re.green that aims to deliver approximately 3 million tons of carbon removal credits over a 15-year period, supporting the restoration of over 16,000 hectares of forest across Brazil, including the states of Maranhão and Bahia. Such programs join initiatives such as Microsoft’s 15-year renewable energy contract signed with AES Brasil for a wind generation project through the Cajuína Wind Complex, located in Rio Grande do Norte, and the agreement with BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group (TIG) to provide Microsoft with up to 8 million nature-based carbon removal credits through 2043 to be delivered from TIG’s USD1 billion reforestation and restoration strategy in Latin America, which includes the Cerrado biome in Brazil.¹

Colombia’s financial and insurance sectors lead the way in AI adoption

As one of the oldest banks in Colombia with a history that goes back to 1875, Bancolombia brings together tradition and fierce innovation by becoming the global leader in GitHub Copilot adoption. Empowering a technical team of 4,000 people, including 3,400 software and infrastructure engineers, the bank has achieved a 30% increase in code generation, boosting automated application changes to an average of 18,000 per year, with a rate of 42 productive daily deployments. This is the most recent development in Bancolombia’s continuous digital transformation journey to serve its 15 million customers in the region.

For its part, insurance company SURA is employing AI solutions for genomic sequencing processing and clinical and genetic data analysis as part of the work carried out by its Omics Sciences Center. The Center, which aims to transform the treatment of genetic diseases affecting millions of people in the region, led the National Association of Colombian Business Persons (ANDI) to recognize SURA as the most innovative insurer in the country.⁴ The AI-powered platform has had a significant impact on improving diagnostics, personalized treatment, and scientific research by generating more than 11,500 reports related to hereditary cancer panels and exomes.

ConectAI empowers Brazilians to reap the benefits of AI

In collaboration with 26 organizations in Brazil, including non-profits, educational institutions and governments, Microsoft launched ConectAI (formerly Conecta+), a program designed to provide AI skills training to 5 million people in the country. This ambitious initiative includes collaborations with the National Service for Industrial Training in São Paulo (SENAI), the Ministry of Labor and Employment through the “School of Workers 4.0” program, the non-profit Nova Escola providing training for educators, UNICEF to bring AI skills to people between 18 and 25 years old, and the National School for Public Administration (ENAP) to foster technological innovation in the public sector, among others.

The program represents the next stage in Microsoft’s continued push to enable greater innovation and increased competitiveness for the Brazilian market. Since 2021, Microsoft has fostered digital literacy in the country by engaging with 12.7 million people through the Mais Brasil program, a commitment exemplified by the recently announced investment of BRL14.7 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure over three years, the largest single investment in the company’s 35 year history in the country. 

The stage is set for Latin America’s new phase of development through AI

The amount of talent, creativity, and ambition in Latin America has made the region a hub for innovation in recent years, one now further empowered by recent developments in AI. The projects seen during Microsoft’s AI Tour editions in Colombia and Brazil are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential and competitiveness AI and cloud technologies are unlocking across crucial industries and sectors in each country. I am convinced the coming years will bring exciting new paths for success as these tools continue to deliver unprecedented solutions to both business and social challenges when combined with the exceptional ingenuity of Latin American markets.

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¹Microsoft announces 14.7 billion Reais investment over three years in Cloud and AI infrastructure and provide AI training at scale to upskill 5 million people in Brazil, Microsoft News Center Brasil.

²Octoverse: The state of open source and rise of AI in 2023, The GitHub Blog.

³Proyecto Guacamaya usa modelos IA contra la deforestación, Microsoft Source.

⁴Seguros SURA, a subsidiary of Suramericana, is the most innovative insurer in Colombia according to the most recent ANDI ranking.

The post Colombia and Brazil embrace the potential of cloud and AI solutions to drive growth and tackle social challenges appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

As various industries and different markets continue to adopt AI, its impact at the local level is also increasingly evident. Recently, the Microsoft AI Tour event in Mexico City highlighted the variety of ways in which AI is enabling Mexico to become a premier innovation hub.

Last year, Microsoft unveiled our vision for AI transformation, and we are already witnessing how AI is revolutionizing businesses and delivering tangible outcomes. As we continue to embrace AI transformation, our mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more is clear and attainable.

Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella announced that Microsoft Corporation is reaffirming its commitment to Mexico with a new investment of $1.3 billion over the next three years. This investment aims to enhance AI infrastructure and promote digital and AI skills through initiatives like the Artificial Intelligence National Skills program, which seeks to democratize access to AI skills and reach 5 million people. The investment will also focus on improving connectivity and encouraging AI adoption by small- and medium-sized businesses to accelerate their digital transformation and business operations within the country.

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Mexico is poised to become a regional leader in leveraging AI solutions as key drivers of business innovation across sectors. The potential seen in the country is further showcased by the recent availability of a new datacenter region built in Querétaro. Through the joint work of Microsoft, its partners, and cloud-using customers, it’s expected to create more than 300,000 jobs over the next four years.¹Microsoft, celebrating its 38-year presence in Mexico, recognizes AI’s role as a catalyst for social and economic growth. The company is expanding its AI infrastructure in Mexico, involving a significant investment to increase local computing capacity and encourage innovation.

Cemex leverages AI to enhance operations, productivity, and customer experiences

As a global leader in building materials, Cemex continues to focus on developing innovative and sustainable construction solutions. Partnering with Microsoft, Cemex initiated a journey to leverage AI capabilities that enhance productivity and reinvent customer experiences.

Cemex joined the Microsoft 365 Copilot Early Access Program, which integrated generative AI into their operations, allowing employees from different areas and roles to increase their productivity and efficiency. Additionally, Cemex’s developers have further immersed themselves into AI by utilizing GitHub Copilot to extend the possibilities the technology brings to different business areas through specific applications. This vision is reflected in Cemex Go, the company’s End- to End commercial platform which consolidates commercial processes and order tracking to enable more agile and intelligent order and purchase management. Customers can navigate the company’s solutions catalog in a more intuitive manner through an optimized user experience. 

Cemex also introduced Technical Xpert, a generative AI-powered tool built internally using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, as one of a series of knowledge assistants to revolutionize its sales process. Technical Xpert provides sales agents with instant access to comprehensive product and customer solution information, significantly reducing search time by 80%.  

Grupo Bimbo embraces AI with “Copilot for All” strategy

Recognizing the potential of AI to enhance productivity and operational efficiency, Grupo Bimbo—the world’s largest baking company (in Spanish)—has partnered with Microsoft to integrate advanced AI solutions into its operations.

Grupo Bimbo’s initial AI strategy, branded “Copilot for All,” empowers 3,500 corporate associates across various departments, including human resources (HR), sales, and procurement, to leverage AI. By utilizing Microsoft 365 Copilot, they improved efficiency in tasks such as content creation and process management. Leveraging Microsoft Copilot Studio, they created two unique Copilots to address specific business areas. The Internal Control & Risk Management Copilot consolidates nearly 200 internal policies. This tool promotes compliance with Grupo Bimbo’s policies which apply to all Bimbo collaborators across the 34 countries where the company operates.

They also developed the Procurement Copilot, which extracts data from various sources to provide answers without users having to perform the analysis themselves. This further consolidates operations by automating data extraction and policy management.

Simultaneously, Grupo Bimbo is deploying Microsoft’s industrial AI technologies to modernize its manufacturing processes. This includes implementing AI assistants at key facilities in the US and Mexico to optimize production and reduce downtime. The collaboration aims to enhance asset reliability and worker safety while establishing a unified, data-driven framework across factories.

The integration of Microsoft’s cutting-edge AI services is expected to drive significant cost savings, improve operational efficiency, and empower global innovation.

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Capgemini accelerates Mexico’s AI transformation

Capgemini Mexico is part of the global Capgemini Group, a worldwide leader in consulting and digital transformation that employs more than 340,000 professionals. In Mexico, the company has responded to rising IT service demands by integrating advanced technologies like cloud computing, data analytics, AI, and digital engineering.

At Capgemini Mexico, developers have embraced and integrated GitHub Copilot throughout the software development lifecycle to significantly accelerate the development process—from planning and coding, to testing and development. By taking this approach, they ensure high-quality, customizable software solutions. The use of generative AI addresses some of the major challenges in software engineering by speeding up development phases, enhancing product quality, and reducing time to market.

Capgemini Mexico has been impressed with GitHub Copilot’s ability to support scalable AI implementations, which has led to improved customer experiences and increased efficiency. Their north star is to have all software engineers leverage Generative AI, which offers new opportunities for Capgemini’s partner ecosystem, and drives growth and innovation in the software engineering field. You can read more on their use of generative AI for software engineering.

APEC uses AI to advance Retinopathy of Prematurity diagnostics

Retinopathy of Prematurity (RoP) is a serious eye condition and the leading cause of blindness in newborns in Mexico. Microsoft Mexico, in collaboration with Business Data Evolution and the Asociación Para Evitar la Ceguera (Association to Prevent Blindness-APEC), a leading institution in ophthalmology in Mexico dedicated to the prevention and treatment of visual diseases, are tackling this medical condition through a groundbreaking AI-powered diagnostic tool.

Leveraging Microsoft Azure cloud and deep neural network algorithms based on machine learning, APEC developed an app that enables healthcare providers to capture retinal images or videos of a baby’s eye using a smartphone camera. Azure AI uses the collected images to train the algorithm to recognize common patterns among affected eyes and identify signs of RoP. The app has significantly increased the accuracy of identifying the condition to 90%—well beyond the human capability of 60%.

This mobile app also means greater access to advanced diagnostics in rural areas where ophthalmologists are scarce. It also provides a platform for training future specialists to help reduce blindness rates and enhance the overall efficiency and reach of medical care in Mexico. The goal is to offer a free service accessible globally, which can positively impact you. You can watch a video on the solution here: APEC in Mexico creates algorithms based on Microsoft Azure AI to prevent blindness in newborns.

Tecnológico de Monterrey’s empowers educators and students with AI-powered resources

Founded in 1943, Tecnológico de Monterrey is a leading private institution in Latin America with more than 60 campuses and a student body of 90,000.

The institution launched TECbot, a virtual assistant which provides all day support for its educational offerings. Recognizing the need for more advanced capabilities, they then created TECgpt, a marketplace for AI-powered tools that enables educators and students to access tailored resources, from library assistance to physics tutoring. By integrating the solution with Skills Studio, it can also generate educational content and problem-solving examples. The implementation was developed utilizing Microsoft’s Azure platform and generative AI technologies.

TECgpt continues to expand Tecnológico de Monterrey’s IT capabilities. They’ve enhanced operational efficiency to enrich the teaching-learning process, and improved feedback quality with an eye on the next generation of scholars. You can learn more about this case here: Discover TECgpt.

AI for everyone in Mexico

AI is enabling companies and individuals to transform their activities by reshaping processes and opening new paths towards development. From students to health professionals, and across diverse industries, it has been inspiring to see the creativity and ingenuity that Mexico’s organizations showcase in harnessing AI and cloud solutions to tackle real-world challenges and open new opportunities. These initiatives are only a few examples of Microsoft’s commitment to empower Mexican organizations through the latest technological solutions. I am eager to see how they will continue to leverage the limitless potential of AI and enable their own success.

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• Continue your AI learning journey
• Read An Introduction to Generative AI and Safety

¹Microsoft launches its first hyper-scale cloud datacenter region in Mexico – News Center Latinoamérica.

The post How Mexico is pioneering AI innovation for a global future appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

As part of our AI Luminaries series, we will showcase organizations embracing AI to achieve impactful results, as told by global executives helping to lead the transformation. A common theme across the market leaders showcased below—Avanade and Lumen Technologies—is a pioneering spirit of innovation and a dedication to disrupt traditional ways of doing business. The efforts are clearly paying off in inspiring ways.

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Avanade: Elevating client services with Copilot

Avanade is a world leader on Microsoft combining global scale with local expertise in AI, cloud, data analytics, cybersecurity, and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Avanade took an early lead in AI adoption, which has provided both a competitive advantage and a platform to shape a bold new vision for the future of enterprise operations and client services. 

Avanade was an early adopter of Copilot for Microsoft 365, which has made a big impact, according to Ron White, Global Chief Information Officer at Avanade. Employees have experienced a 50 to 70% increase in personal productivity on specific tasks—reducing the time to complete tasks that once took hours or days to only minutes. And by deploying Microsoft Copilot for Sales, sellers have increased the number of client contacts integrated into their Dynamics 365 system.  

An unexpected benefit of Copilot is the impact on neurodiverse employees. People who struggle to maintain focus during lengthy meetings can leverage Copilot to catch up on crucial information they may have missed, which has empowered greater confidence and participation.

This is a testament to our belief that AI isn’t just about productivity; it’s about enabling higher-quality outcomes for everyone—outcomes that we can only begin to imagine.

Ron White, Global Chief Information Officer, Avanade

To ensure a smooth rollout, Avanade cultivated a learning culture that empowers teams to experiment with the AI toolsets, which amplifies productivity and knowledge exchange. An extensive training program has sparked enthusiasm, particularly around prompt engineering.

This initiative aimed not only to enhance employees’ roles and client interactions but also to shift our company culture towards viewing AI as an opportunity rather than a threat to job security.

Ron White, Global Chief Information Officer, Avanade

The deployed AI toolset is just the start. A new team dedicated to AI research and innovation—Disrupt Avanade—is identifying and capitalizing on emergent opportunities to transform the business with AI. When it comes to AI, White explains that you can’t move fast enough. “My vision is for AI to be a fundamental element in this transformation, bringing together our advisory services, experiences, and technology expertise to deliver outcomes that are uniquely Avanade.” 

Lumen Technologies: Embracing AI for human-powered disruption 

Lumen is a leading global technology company that ignites business growth and efficiency with a range of solutions—including networking, cloud, collaboration, and security tools.  

Committed to pioneering services that provide higher value to customers, Lumen has set out to transform its own operations with AI. By deploying Copilot for Microsoft 365 across the organization, Lumen is empowering employees to be “architects of disruption;” equipping them to unlock new customer solutions that evolve the company from a traditional telecommunications company to a more comprehensive global technology company.  

In an article on the Lumen blog, Ryan Asdourian, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Lumen, highlighted how AI aligns with Lumen’s identity as industry disruptors, empowering employees with tools to catalyze change and drive the company forward. 

Copilot for Microsoft 365 empowers Lumen employees to optimize their time and access critical information swiftly, which has helped to revolutionize internal operations, and the quality of service provided to customers, according to Asdourian.

Once people experience the benefits of receiving meeting recaps and action items in such an efficient way, it becomes indispensable. For those like me who are often booked in back-to-back meetings, it’s possible to gather what I missed and who I need to follow up with from the meetings I was unable to attend.

Ryan Asdourian, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Lumen

These productivity efficiencies are amplified across teams. “I see the same delight in our sales teams, marketing teams, and engineering teams who are discovering new levels of productivity and satisfaction as they shave time off mundane tasks and spend more of their day engaged in the creative and dynamic aspects of the job—the things they are there for.”

AI is also transforming how Lumen developers build customer solutions. They’ve adopted GitHub Copilot to create new scenarios for customers, enhancing connectivity and service delivery. “By changing the way our developers spend their time and bring applications to life, GitHub Copilot is helping us advance our ability to innovate and disrupt the industry,” says Asdourian. “GitHub Copilot is supporting our developers’ ability to code at a speed that accelerates customer support—now we are seeing dividends paid in the lives of the customers that we serve.”

By transforming into an AI-powered business, Lumen employees can focus time and energy on critical business goals—revolutionizing high bandwidth, low latency connectivity, enabling real-time interactions, and unlocking previously unimaginable experiences. This secure, real-time connectivity is a game-changer, positioning Lumen to lead in the generative AI landscape. “The gap is rapidly widening between those who are prioritizing AI adoption and leadership, and those who aren’t,” says Asdourian.

Embracing AI today means setting the pace for tomorrow, and establishing benchmarks for what comes next in your organization, in your industry, and beyond.

Ryan Asdourian, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Lumen

Also, take a closer look at how Lumen is redefining productivity and employee engagement with Copilot for Microsoft 365 and accelerating developer productivity with GitHub Copilot, Azure DevOps, and Visual Studio.  

Take the next step in your AI journey 

Avanade and Lumen demonstrate the trailblazing mindset that businesses need today to compete, innovate, and grow. We celebrate their pioneering spirit and early achievements with Copilot and AI and will keep you updated on their journey. 

As our customer spotlight series continues, we’ll bring you more creative and impactful ways businesses are leveraging AI to transform the way people work, drive business growth, and deliver customer value.

We encourage you to explore Microsoft AI solutions, dive into the AI Strategy Roadmap, and skill up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential. 

The post AI Luminaries: Spotlighting visionary organizations reshaping business with AI appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

AI’s transformative power is now evident globally. Deemed a technology of the future not long ago, AI-powered business transformation is unfolding across all sectors. It’s clear that mastering AI is crucial for maintaining a competitive edge, and Japan has risen to this challenge. Bolstered by robust infrastructure, advanced technological capabilities, and significant government support for AI initiatives, Japan ranks second on the Asia-Pacific AI Readiness Index.¹

To support this progress, Microsoft plans to invest $2.9 billion over the next two years to expand hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Japan. This marks the largest investment Microsoft has made in Japan since it opened its first international office there 46 years ago.

The investment also emphasizes AI digital skilling, which Microsoft aims to provide to more than 3 million people in Japan within three years, targeting full-time and part-time workers, developers, students, and especially women. In partnership with Japan’s government, we will open the first Microsoft Research Asia Lab in Tokyo. Here, we’ll focus on embodied AI, societal AI wellbeing, and scientific discovery aimed at strengthening cybersecurity defenses in response to Japan’s updated National Security Strategy.

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Microsoft’s expanded initiatives and partnerships with educational, governmental, and private organizations in Japan are poised to enhance AI capabilities across various sectors and amplify the societal benefits and economic growth that are already part of Japan’s culture of innovation. I’m excited to showcase some of the very organizations that are contributing to AI leadership, not only in Japan or Asia, but globally.

Dentsu unlocks employee creativity with Microsoft Copilot support

Dentsu, a global leader in creative media with a 120-year history and 72,000 employees, has effectively integrated Microsoft Copilot into its operations to tackle the increasing demand for high-quality content across multiple channels. As part of this integration, Copilot has been deployed to automate routine tasks such as email management and meeting recaps, and to enhance creative processes through faster ideation and content visualization. This strategic deployment also includes Microsoft Teams Premium, which offers features like intelligent recap and real-time translations, optimizing communication across dentsu’s global teams.

The adoption of these AI tools has significantly benefited dentsu employees by reducing the time spent on administrative tasks, thereby allowing more time for creative and strategic work. For instance, the automation provided by Copilot has saved employees approximately up to 60 minutes per day, translating into substantial productivity gains across the company. These efficiency improvements have also led to superior creative outputs, enabling dentsu to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-paced media industry.

“We started using Copilot with the hypothesis that it would elevate our people’s potential and bring additional value to our clients. I am delighted our high expectations proved to be accurate based on survey data and insights as we work to broaden access to this and other generative AI technologies,” said Brian Klochkoff, Executive Vice President, Innovation & Emerging Technologies at dentsu.

Moreover, the integration of AI has facilitated a cultural shift within dentsu, fostering an environment where technology enhances creativity rather than replacing it. The company continues to explore new AI capabilities through initiatives like Microsoft Copilot Studio, aiming to expand the use of AI across various functions to further streamline operations and enhance creative capabilities.

Recruit Co., Ltd. uses conversational AI to address nuanced customer requests

Recruit Co., Ltd., a prominent human resources technology company, has implemented a conversational AI user interface for Jalan.net, one of Japan’s leading travel booking platforms, powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. Initiated in May 2023, this innovative application aims to quickly gather user feedback and adapt to customer needs not typically met by conventional search functions.

As a result, user interactions on Jalan.net have been significantly enhanced through more dynamic exchanges that accommodate nuanced and implicit customer preferences related to travel themes, purposes, and modes, which were previously difficult to discern. Attracting tens of thousands of users monthly, the implementation has been widely accepted, with negative reactions constituting less than 1% of user responses.

The successful implementation of Jalan.net has prompted wider integration of Azure OpenAI Service within Recruit itself, creating more than 30 internal environments for projects like interactive resume building and internal information sourcing tools. Moving forward, the company plans to automate approval processes for AI usage and integrate internal data into AI models to enhance personalized experiences, maintaining a focus on security and compliance.

TXP Medical enhances emergency response with AI-powered mobile service

TXP Medical has released an AI-based smartphone application for paramedics, NSER mobile. With nearly 22,000 users per month, NSER mobile streamlines traditional, labor-intensive operations such as manual data entry, paperwork, and direct telephone communications, which are error-prone and time-consuming. The service incorporates AI-powered voice command input, allowing emergency personnel to input patient data hands-free using voice recognition algorithms that accurately interpret medical terminology, even in noisy environments, while AI-powered image analysis processes images of medical documents. Employing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and advanced image processing allows NSER mobile to quickly extract essential data, speeding up the conversion of visual information into digital formats and reducing the need for phone confirmations with hospitals.

The impact of the NSER mobile service is notable, particularly in Kamakura, Japan, where it reduced average telephone communication time with hospitals from 3 minutes and 30 seconds to 2 minutes and 44 seconds, doubling the target time achievement ratio.

Overall, TXP Medical’s NSER mobile service not only boosts the operational efficiency of emergency medical teams but also improves patient care quality. It showcases AI’s potential to transform emergency medical services by optimizing critical processes and easing the workload on healthcare providers.

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DENSO enhances robot’s understanding with generative AI

DENSO Corporation, a leading automotive parts manufacturer in Japan, is leveraging Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to develop advanced autonomous robots capable of human-like interaction. Designed to understand and execute tasks based on verbal instructions, DENSO faced numerous challenges, including the robots’ ability to adapt to unforeseen circumstances as well as managing the complexity of programming, ensuring operational accuracy, and integrating advanced AI technologies into practical robotic applications. These challenges were compounded by the need to create user-friendly interactions that allowed non-technical users to easily operate and instruct the robots based on simple verbal commands.

Advanced generative AI powered by Azure OpenAI Service addressed these challenges by enhancing the robots’ ability to understand and process complex verbal instructions for greater adaptability and functionality. The service improved operational accuracy through features that allowed for precise action selection based on input text, simplifying the programming process and making the technology accessible to non-technical users. Additionally, Azure’s cloud-based infrastructure facilitated scalability and flexibility in deployment, and streamlined the development processes, reducing complexity and boosting efficiency across various applications.

In addition, GitHub Copilot significantly enhanced DENSO’s development process by quickly generating and testing new robotic functions, thus reducing costs and accelerating capability expansion. This tool streamlined code generation and debugging, improving productivity and easing the learning curve for new developers.

Takeshi Narisako, Executive Officer of Cloud Service Development Department at DENSO, views the project as “a good start to research and development to create social value through the use of generative AI.” Looking forward, the company will invest in ongoing collaboration with various organizations, including Microsoft, to harness technological and operational strengths, furthering the development of AI-powered robotics and enriching society through human-robot interactions.

Mitsubishi Corporation leverages Azure OpenAI Service for customer GPT

Mitsubishi Corporation, one of Japan’s leading trade, investment, and management companies, is using generative AI to streamline text operations and support better investment and management decisions. Having explored AI from various vendors since 2015, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the company’s IT Services Department opted for Azure OpenAI Service to further the development of its custom generative AI application, MC-GPT, emphasizing security and comprehensive features.

“First of all, Azure itself is largest global service with the ability to handle a variety of languages including Japanese and English and operates securely at a high speed,” explained Hidenori Kurashima, team leader of the Process Transformation Promotion Team of Mitsubishi Corporation’s IT Services Department. “In fact, in the area of generative AI, Microsoft is ahead of the competition. On the other hand, peripheral tools such as Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Analytics are also available, making it easy to integrate with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel that we use in our daily work.”

Within two months of adoption, the company had created and evaluated two prototype applications internally. In collaboration with partner Knowledge Communication Co., Ltd., Mitsubishi established a robust environment for deploying Azure OpenAI Service extensively, integrating it with additional Azure services like Azure Cosmos DB and Azure Synapse Analytics for superior data handling and user interface development.

The prototypes generated interest from 12 different departments, prompting the company to create a customized AI engine using its internal data to address both overlapping needs and department-specific requirements. Looking forward, Mitsubishi plans to harness Microsoft’s extensive AI offerings, including Copilot for Microsoft 365, to further streamline business processes, boost operational efficiency, and enhance decision-making in investments and management.

AI for everyone in Japan

These stories illustrate the substantial progress Japanese companies are making in integrating AI across sectors and highlight Japan’s collective commitment to reinforcing its position as a global leader in innovation.

Microsoft’s extensive investment and strategic initiatives underscore the robust foundation being laid for cutting-edge technological advancements and AI integration, focusing on enhancements in digital skilling, cybersecurity, and AI-powered automation that supports economic growth and fosters an environment where technology enhances human creativity and operational efficiency.

We hope these narratives have not only informed but also inspired you to explore how AI can revolutionize your own fields of interest or business. As we conclude our series, we encourage you to take the next steps in your AI journey, leveraging the insights and innovations shared to ignite transformative projects in your own organization.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft’s AI solutions, diving into our insightful white paper on the five pillars of AI success, and getting skilled up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

Footnote

¹New Salesforce Report Reveals How Asia Pacific AI Readiness Will Impact Deployment of Generative AI, Salesforce.

The post Showcasing AI-powered business transformation in Japan appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

1. Amplify human ingenuity with a copilot for everyone: Offering built-in and extensible AI capabilities in Microsoft Copilot to help people be more productive, creative, and efficient.
2. Deliver transformational experiences with build-your-own intelligent apps: Making it easy for customers and partners to build their own copilot solutions using the same stack and AI services Microsoft used to build its own copilots.
3. Safeguard business and data with a trusted AI platform: Microsoft has demonstrated leadership and delivered powerful tooling to help build safety and responsibility into AI solutions from the start—this includes guidance and best practices around responsible AI as well as secure AI principles that empower organizations with an end-to-end cyber risk approach that reinforces human control.

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Part of enabling customers to adopt AI and deploy copilots includes empowering partners. Microsoft helps partners benefit from its unified data estate platform to create personalized, role-specific AI that can empower customers with meaningful and relevant experiences. Copilots can enhance development capabilities and allow partners to share the value of their domain experience with customers, reinforcing their commitment to innovation and excellence. Partners can extend and customize existing copilots from Microsoft or modify how copilots assist with core business functions, such as human resources, sales, or customer service interactions.

Building with partners

Partners play a crucial role in extending Microsoft’s offerings to customers with their domain expertise. When tailored to specific roles, copilots can personalize generative AI experiences, offering access to relevant business flows and data, when and where users need it.

The partners featured here have created copilots and AI platforms that support a wide range of industries and lines of business:

• TomTom has created its Digital Cockpit to turn cars into conversational companions.
• Modern Requirements has created an AI work item and requirements management assistant for healthcare, finance, automotive, aerospace, government, and defense industries.
• Dynatrace has developed Davis® AI which empowers countless use cases, supporting Microsoft Azure customers in areas like observability and security.
• Intellect Design has developed generative AI-powered copilot which allows a relationship manager to generate valuable insights from ISO 20022 payments repository data thereby helping corporations manage their funds better.
• Datamatics has created a partner onboarding copilot to help streamline and reduce the time spent on the onboarding process for vendors, partners, and more.
• MiHCM has developed an AI-powered human resources (HR) copilot called MiHCM SmartAssist.

TomTom

The TomTom Digital Cockpit is an open, modular in-vehicle infotainment platform. Their new AI-powered voice assistant enables users to engage in natural conversation with their cars and tackle complex driving requests. The voice assistant can handle follow-up questions and maintain contextual understanding, which means users can engage in multi-turn conversations and get relevant responses.

Key features include:

• AI-powered voice interaction: The digital cockpit enables natural voice communication with the vehicle, allowing drivers to control navigation, infotainment systems, and vehicle settings through voice commands.
• Integration with Microsoft Azure: TomTom utilizes Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, Azure Cosmos DB, and Azure Kubernetes Service to provide a robust and scalable infrastructure, supporting advanced data handling and AI capabilities that enhance responsiveness and personalization.
• Customizable user interface: Automotive manufacturers can customize the digital cockpit to match their brand’s aesthetics and functionalities, making it adaptable to different vehicle models and consumer preferences.
• Cost efficiency: The system offers a cost-effective solution that reduces development expenses by up to 80%, providing a sustainable and economically viable option for car manufacturers.

Modern Requirements

Copilot4DevOps Plus is an AI-powered work item and requirements management assistant, which can be utilized by multiple industries such as healthcare and medical devices, finance, automotive, services and technology, aerospace, government, and defense. This tool, seamlessly integrated with Azure DevOps, optimizes requirement workflows with an easy-to-use interface and improves the requirements management process by enabling several key functions:

• Efficiency and productivity: It allows teams to focus on meaningful work by automating repetitive tasks and improving collaboration. In addition to powerful AI elicitation, analysis, conversion, and summarization, it gives teams cutting-edge features like pseudocode generation, dynamic prompts, and test script creation.
• Enhanced quality and security: Copilot4DevOps improves the quality of requirements by analyzing and refining them according to best practices in technical writing. It also incorporates Microsoft and OpenAI’s latest security features to help ensure data security.
• User control and customization: Users have the final say over the AI-generated content, with options to pick, edit, and refine outputs as per their specific needs.

Copilot4DevOps Plus is available as an add-on with Modern Requirements4DevOps or as a standalone in the Azure and Visual Studio Marketplaces.

Dynatrace

The Dynatrace platform delivers AI-enhanced cloud observability, security, and overall operational efficiency for global enterprises across all industries. With Davis® AI copilot, Dynatrace combined its predictive and causal capabilities and generative AI, built with Azure OpenAI, to bring Dynatrace Davis® hypermodal AI to market. This boosts the technical capabilities of IT teams by simplifying complex processes, enabling businesses to focus more on innovation and less on operational management.

Key features include:

• Davis® AI Engine: This core component leverages predictive, causal, and generative AI to provide deep insights and actionable recommendations. It automates tasks like anomaly detection, root cause analysis, and workflow automation, significantly reducing the manual effort required in managing complex IT environments.
• Predictive operations: The platform predicts potential issues before they impact operations using AI to forecast and automate responses, thereby ensuring reliability and proactive management of IT systems.
• Intelligent observability: Dynatrace uses AI to analyze real-time data across applications, services, and infrastructure. This helps in pinpointing issues quickly and accurately, which is crucial for maintaining optimal operational performance.
• Automation and integration: The platform’s automation capabilities extend to auto-discovery, auto-instrumentation, and auto-baselining, ensuring comprehensive coverage and real-time, dynamic responses to changes within the IT landscape.
• Azure native software as a service (SaaS): Azure Native Dynatrace Service seamlessly provides deep cloud observability, advanced AI for IT operations (AIOps), and continuous runtime application security capabilities native to all Azure customers empowered with Azure OpenAI generative capabilities.

Intellect Design

The iGTB Copilot helps banking professionals generate insights and provide cross-sell assistance in commercial and corporate banking. It leverages generative AI to streamline operations and client interactions, allowing relationship managers to spend less time on manual data analysis and more on strategic client engagement. Here are the key functionalities:

• Comprehensive payment analysis: It enables users to perform detailed analyses of historical payment data, helping to identify trends and patterns without the need for any programming skills. It also helps in identifying delayed payments.
• Visual data summarization: The iGTB Copilot can automatically transform complex data into easily understandable visual graphics and provide insights and suggested actions.
• The iGTB Copilot, composed on the Purple fabric of eMACH.ai, is powered by Azure OpenAI, GPT-4 Turbo model, and other Azure infrastructure services.

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Datamatics

Datamatics Copilot for Partner Onboarding is integrated with Microsoft Teams and leverages Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft Teams bot framework, and Azure OpenAI technologies. The application is designed to streamline the onboarding of vendors, business partners, freight forwarders, and employees across different geographies, making what is traditionally a complex and tedious process much more efficient.

Key functionalities include:

• Natural language querying: Users can query the status of onboarding processes and receive updates using conversational language.
• Automation and integration: The Copilot automates the creation of partner records and integrates seamlessly with other business systems for efficient data management.
• Real-time updates and communication: Enables prompt communication with partners about their onboarding status, including rejections, directly from Teams.
• Document management: Maintains and enforces compliance by specifying required documents for each country, ensuring partners submit the correct documents.

MiHCM

MiHCM SmartAssist is an AI-powered HR copilot designed to streamline HR processes. This tool is part of the MiHCM platform and offers a range of functionalities and customizations that simplify various HR tasks.

Key features include:

• Document generation: SmartAssist, built on top of Azure with services, including Azure OpenAI, Azure AI Search, Azure App Service, and Azure SQL Database, and leveraging Microsoft’s Copilot framework, can quickly generate employee letters with just a few keystrokes. It ensures that these documents are personalized by dynamically incorporating employee data.
• Job description creation: It automatically generates job descriptions that reflect the company’s unique voice and tone, including key performance indicators (KPIs), qualifications, and experience requirements.
• Customization capabilities: Users can easily adjust the content generated by SmartAssist, ensuring the output meets their specific needs.
• Data analysis and reporting: SmartAssist leverages employee data to analyze and calculate statistics, generate reports, and provide information at high speeds, enabling business leaders to make informed decisions quickly. This tool can answer high-level questions, going beyond mere facts and figures to provide valuable insight quickly. Information that would take days to gather can now be analyzed and provided in seconds.

Next steps to adopt AI and deploy copilots

• Check out our digital session at Microsoft Build 2024, that discusses enabling independent software vendors (ISVs) to transform industries in the age of copilots.
• Assess the drivers of AI success so you can realize meaningful business impact with AI.
• Learn how to power your AI transformation with Microsoft.
• Learn more about creating generative AI experiences with Microsoft Cloud across many Microsoft solutions.
• Envision boosted creativity and work productivity with Copilot for Microsoft 365 and learn how to extend it.
• Start using GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Copilot for Sales, now generally available.
• Learn how to build safety and responsibility into your AI journey from the start.
• Learn more about the featured ISVs: TomTom, Modern Requirements, Dynatrace, Intellect Design, Datamatics, and MiHCM.

The post Building AI solutions with partners: Empowering transformation with copilots appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.

AI is reshaping our world as the fastest adopted technology in history—a global phenomenon with profound local implications. As we witnessed during the Microsoft AI Tour event in São Paulo, Brazil is quickly emerging as a world-class AI innovation hub, a testament to the country’s collective ambition and optimism in the power of AI to deliver economic results, foster inclusive development, and ultimately benefit markets, organizations, communities, and individuals. In fact, “By massively adopting AI, Brazil can experience productivity gains that will add a few percentage points to its GDP in the near future,” said Tânia Cosentino, General Manager of Microsoft Brazil.

AI technology harbors significant potential for our customers and partners, echoing the transformative impact envisioned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates when he first sought to place a personal computer in every home worldwide. I am proud and excited to continue this vision of driving digital transformation across the globe alongside Microsoft. At the same time, it is crucial to embrace of this innovation through responsible usage.

As Brazil takes the lead during its G20 presidency in 2024, it faces a significant opportunity to spearhead discussions on establishing global AI governance guidelines. This will help maximize AI’s benefits while addressing matters related to privacy, security, and employment, thus supporting equitable and inclusive growth. The report, AI in Brazil: Exploring Opportunities, examines this junction and illustrates Microsoft’s dedication to making AI technology beneficial and sustainable, considering economic, social, and environmental factors. Together with our customers and partners, we are not merely observers but active participants in a technological revolution that fosters global unity, economic mobility, and local transformation.

The creativity and ingenuity of Brazilian organizations in leveraging cutting-edge AI technology for tangible, real-world impact are incredibly inspiring. As showcased by the companies and public entities featured here, AI presents unlimited opportunities across all sectors. These are inspiring examples of how we can reimagine what we can achieve with AI.

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Petrobras enhances productivity and decision-making with ChatPetrobras AI tool

Petrobras, a leading company in the global energy sector, has formed a partnership with Microsoft to create ChatPetrobras, an internal tool powered by AI. Utilizing the GPT model and AI technologies from Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, ChatPetrobras aims to facilitate faster decision-making, provide valuable business insights, and improve internal workflow efficiency for more than 100,000 Petrobras workers, while ensuring compliance with strict information security standards, data protection laws, and Brazilian government regulations.

Azure OpenAI Service powers ChatPetrobras with capabilities in natural language understanding and generation, translation, and code generation. This tool is set to benefit a wide range of business and administrative tasks, including Exploration and Production (E&P), Reservoirs and Wells, Commercialization, Information and Communication Technology, Engineering, Legal, and Human Resources. Its versatility demonstrates the potential of generative AI to revolutionize both technical and corporate segments of the company. In addition, ChatPetrobras incorporates advanced security and protection layers native to Azure OpenAI Service, ensuring all data remains under the company’s internal domain.

In keeping with the company’s commitment to pursuing innovative solutions to industry challenges, “ChatPetrobras represents our latest effort to harness artificial intelligence to enhance the productivity, quality, and efficiency of our processes,” said Carlos Augusto Barreto, Executive Manager of Information and Communications Technology at Petrobras.

ChatPetrobras is not just a standalone tool but part of a broader strategy to incorporate AI usage within the company, empowering every employee to leverage data science capabilities. Petrobras envisions a future where all employees can easily access advanced tools and technical skills, driving value creation through AI.

SEDUC-SP aims to enhance efficacy of education with AI copilot

The Government of the State of São Paulo has partnered with Microsoft to integrate AI Copilot into daily classroom activities, in a move that aims to benefit teachers and over 3 million students across São Paulo by streamlining tasks such as assignment corrections, test scoring, and providing student guidance.

The integration of Azure OpenAI Service is designed to serve as a comprehensive record center, offering a range of functionalities from analyzing student texts to suggesting potential grades for assignments. For instance, a student can write a text on a computer, and upon completion, the app provides suggestions for improvement and identifies errors. This immediate feedback mechanism is followed by personalized guidance from the teacher, ensuring a holistic learning experience. According to Secretary of Education of São Paulo, Renato Feder, this approach not only streamlines the educational process but also enriches learning outcomes.

The partnership between the Government of São Paulo and Microsoft, through the deployment of Generative AI, marks a significant step forward in leveraging technology to support education. By automating routine tasks and providing immediate, actionable feedback, this initiative promises to enhance the efficiency of teaching and the quality of learning for millions of students in Brazil.

Comgás: Fueling efficiencies with AI-driven data management

Comgás, the largest natural gas distributor in Brazil, is leveraging AI to enhance data utilization, aiming to improve decision-making and customer service. In partnership with Microsoft, the company embarked on a significant digital transformation journey that sought to not only migrate to the cloud but to also create a sophisticated data environment that could leverage AI for better customer understanding and service.

“We realized the possibility of extracting data more efficiently with the use of AI,” said Thiago Rolemberg, Head of Data and AI at Comgás, “and, thus, better understand our customers for more assertive decision-making.”

AI algorithms, alongside standardized data presentation facilitated by Power BI, have streamlined data extraction processes from a duration of 8 to 15 days to real-time in certain areas. As a result, greater operational efficiency enabled Comgás to better understand and meet customer needs, resulting in a more personalized and efficient service.

Since the implementation, Comgás has processed over 55 TB of information, with the platform encompassing 60% of the company’s representative data. A third of the company’s employees have already utilized the environment, with expectations to increase to 55% by the end of the year. This strategic use of AI has not only facilitated a more dynamic use of data but also positioned Comgás at the forefront of the industry in terms of innovation and customer satisfaction.

Atento streamlines customer communications with customer service copilot

One of the world’s leading Customer Relationship Management and Business Process Outsourcing providers, Atento, has unveiled a new AI-driven solution designed to improve customer service and enhance the company’s service agent productivity. Developed with Azure OpenAI Service, the tool automates the distribution of processes and ensures swift, appropriate responses during negotiations. It oversees system formalization steps and update statuses, integrating smoothly with the communication channels preferred by customers. “The new solution enhances the consumer-brand experience and aligns with the demand for increasingly efficient and personalized service. During a pilot program, we observed a more than 20% increase in customer satisfaction within the first few weeks,” stated Eduardo Aguirre, Chief Information Officer of Atento.

In addition, Power Automate facilitated the integration of legacy systems, reducing manual labor and improving response times. This integration led to a 30% boost in team productivity and nearly a 20% decrease in operational errors.

A key focus during the solution’s development was ensuring data security, privacy, and compliance. Leveraging Azure OpenAI Service, Atento was able to anonymize information and maintain data within its own environment, adhering to strict confidentiality standards.

“The project’s success began with a detailed analysis of the customer and employee relationship cycle,” Aguirre added, highlighting the vital role of Atento’s team of experienced consultants in this endeavor.

Brasilprev unlocks new business with a GPT tool for consultants

Brasilprev’s deployment of its AI tool, Brasilprev GPT, marks a transformative leap in using data to empower over 20,000 consultants and relationship managers. This not only facilitates new business but also enables the delivery of more personalized services to end customers. The private pension firm’s collaboration with Microsoft builds upon data-focused digital transformation, leveraging Azure OpenAI Service and ChatGPT within their data hub to streamline interactions and make platform data more accessible and user-friendly.

This integration, a first in Brazil, features the creation of an API that not only stores queries for further analysis but also enhances the user experience by tailoring responses to user profiles, utilizing Azure’s API Management and Azure Cosmos DB. This integration illustrates how the powerful collaboration between human expertise and technological innovation can boost the company’s performance, contributing to a remarkable 28% conversion rate and surpassing $9.86 billion in business.

“Users have embraced the opportunity to explore, understand, and apply generative AI to access information and boost their productivity. This engagement has a profoundly positive effect on the end customer, who enjoys a more personalized and comprehensive response to their needs,” notes Bruno Venceslau, Superintendent of Data and Digital Business at Brasilprev, “that’s what AI has made possible.”

This innovation has not only driven exceptional business outcomes but also reinforced Brasilprev’s commitment to data governance and the strategic application of AI, setting a new standard for the integration of technology in enhancing business and technical operations.

B3 democratizes access to capital market through AI-powered financial education

B3, the Brazilian stock exchange, has launched the first AI tool dedicated to supporting the public in conscious investment. The free tool, developed by B3 in partnership with Microsoft, is part of B3’s purpose to democratize access to the capital market through financial education.

“The financial market is constantly evolving, and so is the way we communicate with investors. Our mission is to simplify the world of investments and show that B3 is for everyone. The financial education chat joins other initiatives as an open and uninhibited dialogue channel. We want individuals to clear their doubts in a light and interactive way, demystifying the idea that investing is complicated,” explains Felipe Paiva, director of Customer Relations at B3.

Based on information from a database curated by experts from the Brazilian stock exchange, the platform’s questions and responses have undergone significant testing. The tool is constantly evolving as the database continues to expand, resulting in more refined answers for investors.

In addition to verifying information, another advantage of this search format is that it minimizes ‘shyness’ when asking questions, which can often inhibit novice investors from asking basic questions. “The answers generated by the chat can serve as a starting point to better understand the concepts of the financial market and encourage investors to deepen their knowledge in other channels”, reinforces Paiva.

“Artificial intelligence can be a great ally in the search for quality information, analyzing huge volumes of data quickly and objectively. This simple and summarized answer format serves as a gateway for those interested in the world of investments, adapting in a light and interactive way to the needs of the user,” says Rodrigo Nardoni, Vice President of Technology at B3.

AI for everyone in Brazil

Brazil has shifted into high gear in terms of AI innovation, propelling not only Latin America but also having an impact on international markets. Microsoft is committed to empowering key Brazilian organizations like Petrobras, SECUC-SP, Comgás, Atento, Brasilprev, and B3, supporting their ongoing digital transformation journeys and unlocking potential across various sectors. This level of engagement is positioning Brazil as a potential leader on AI innovation, capable of setting benchmarks for the region and beyond by influencing global AI strategies and practices.

We work at the forefront of AI evolution, ensuring our advancements align with the needs of customers, partners, and society. Our commitment is to harness AI’s potential to empower every individual, including upskilling employees, guiding students, and supporting vulnerable communities. This approach ensures that technology serves as a catalyst for equitable and inclusive progress worldwide.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft AI solutions, diving into The AI Strategy Roadmap, and skilling up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

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AI is currently at the forefront of global technological advancement, permeating various sectors from insurance to energy, driving efficiency, innovation, and transformative changes in society. With ongoing developments in machine learning and natural language processing, AI continues to reshape industries, offering a glimpse into a future where technology and human ingenuity intersect in exciting new ways. The expanding footprint of AI promises both unprecedented opportunities and considerations for responsible implementation.  

For me personally, one of the most exciting aspects is seeing the revolution of industries set into motion as sector-specific use cases begin to emerge. The number of Azure AI customers continues to grow with more than 65% of the Fortune 500 companies now using Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service, which underscores the critical role of partnerships and industry innovation to scale AI solutions to full potential across sectors.

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This willingness of industry leaders to be pioneers of AI was on bold display during the Microsoft AI Tour stop in Paris, part of the global event series designed to help decision makers and developers discover new opportunities with AI and advance their knowledge. Organizations such as Schneider Electric, The Groupama Group, Amadeus, Onepoint, AXA, and TotalEnergies are not just adopting AI; they’re redefining its potential. These groundbreaking use cases are shedding light on a future where AI is not just a tool, but a catalyst for a richer, more efficient, and more sustainable world.

Groupama’s virtual assistant optimizes policyholder service management

The Groupama Group, a premier mutual insurance group in France, has introduced a cutting-edge virtual assistant within its Employee Savings unit, harnessing the power of Azure OpenAI Service, Azure AI Search, and the Microsoft Bot Framework, to streamline customer managers’ interactions with policyholders. First ideated during an AI hackathon, the assistant has been embraced by the unit’s entire staff and boasts an impressive 80% success rate in providing accurate, dependable, and verifiable information.

“Our managers save a considerable amount of time and are able to carry out their work in much better conditions,” shared François-Xavier Enderlé, Head of Digital Transformation, “and this clearly enhances the quality of the relationship we maintain with our customers.”

Groupama has also stood up an interdepartmental AI-centered think tank, AI Factory, which is currently exploring more than 25 AI use cases aimed at revolutionizing claims processing, enhancing customer service through tools like a new FAQ chatbot, and streamlining the underwriting process for efficiency. Further, Groupama aims to democratize AI technology through training on AI prompting, empowering employees to innovate and improve operational efficiency and customer engagement.

Amadeus enhances employee efficiency with Copilot for Microsoft 365

Amadeus, a global technology provider for the travel industry, has deployed Copilot for Microsoft 365 to streamline work and free employees to focus on value-added tasks. Seamlessly integrated into Microsoft Teams, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, Amadeus’ Copilot solution has significantly improved operational efficiency.

“One of the challenges for large-scale, global organizations is the collaboration and the data management,” explains Marco Ruiz González, Product Manager and Solution Architect who supervised the deployment. “We are generating a large amount of data from different countries, and it’s very useful to have quick access to all this data.”

Early results are promising: pilot users reported substantial time savings in communication drafting, enhanced efficiency in email and meeting management, and improved information gathering and content translation capabilities.

With a 90% adoption rate among the initial 300 pilot users, half of whom engage with Copilot weekly, Amadeus plans to extend Copilot to 3,000 employees over the next six months, prioritizing adoption training tailored to diverse user profiles.

Schneider Electric leads the charge in sustainable energy management with AI

Schneider Electric is tackling the complex issue of optimizing energy use and performance with its EcoStruxure platform. By combining Azure OpenAI Service and Internet of Things (IoT), EcoStruxures merges Schneider Electric’s industry knowledge with Microsoft AI technology, enabling sustainable energy solutions and efficient energy management on a global scale. This includes dynamic control of energy performance, decision-making on the use of renewable energy sources, and overall energy optimization.

“People are using sustainable energy solutions to both produce and consume energy, and they can optimize how to produce or store that energy on the grid as it makes sense,” says Yoann Bersihand, Vice President of AI Technology at Schneider Electric. “Without AI, there is no way that we could address a problem as complex as this.”

The platform is designed with a layered architecture, planning future enhancements to integrate AI directly into hardware for efficient and sustainable energy management, especially beneficial for customers with limitations on using cloud services.

Schneider Electric has expanded its partnership with Microsoft, integrating Azure OpenAI Service into its operations to enhance efficiency and innovation across various processes. The integration enables the creation of solutions such as the Resource Advisor Copilot, leveraging large language model technology for data analysis and decision support, and Jo-Chat GPT, an internal tool enhancing employee productivity through generative AI. Further innovations include a programmable logic controller (PLC) code generation assistant that helps engineers quickly create high-quality, tested, and validated code, the Finance Advisor and Knowledge Bot, aimed at improving financial decision-making and customer service, respectively, as well as plans to incorporate GitHub Copilot to boost offer creation and Microsoft Copilot for Sales to support frontline staff. These advancements signify Schneider Electric’s commitment to leveraging generative AI for operational excellence and innovation.

“We didn’t want AI just to be an extra layer on top of the data teams. We decided to really go all-in on AI and not simply create proofs of concepts,” explained Yoann Bersihand, Schneider Electric’s Vice President of AI Technology, capturing Schneider Electric’s commitment to fully integrating AI into its operations to lead innovation in the energy sector.

Onepoint unlocks productivity company-wide with generative AI

An early adopter of AI, technology and consulting firm, Onepoint, is infusing AI at every level of the company with Microsoft’s turnkey generative AI solutions: Azure OpenAI Service, GitHub Copilot, and Copilot for Microsoft 365.

Neo, Onepoint’s secure conversational agent built on Azure OpenAI Service, leverages a library of prompts and business-oriented solutions to quickly generate reports and analyses, increasing productivity for 3,300 employees across the company. Onepoint has also piloted GitHub Copilot, resulting in higher-quality code, better documentation, and productivity gains around 40% on code production.

“The pilot showed us that if developers were properly acculturated to the product, it was really possible to make a quantum leap in productivity,” asserts François Binder, Partner Data & AI for Onepoint.

Addressing the challenge of acculturating employees to AI technology and practices, Onepoint has instituted an “AI Office” to ensure both technical and non-technical staff understand and adopt AI effectively. By providing structured training, fostering an AI community, and overseeing the deployment of AI solutions, the unit seeks to bridge knowledge gaps and biases related to AI among both technical and non-technical employees.

“We’re doing everything we can to fully embark our team in the generative AI adventure and give each of our consultants the means to become augmented consultants,” insists Binder.

What’s more, Onepoint is strategically integrating generative AI solutions into its offerings, along with personalized training to ensure customers are well-versed in AI’s capabilities and best practices, extending the benefits of AI to their customers as well.

AXA’s secure generative AI platform boost productivity of global employees

AXA, a global leader in insurance and asset management, is embracing the digital future through generative AI with the launch of AXA Secure GPT. Developed in collaboration with Microsoft and powered by Azure OpenAI Service, this AXA Secure GPT is designed to equip AXA’s 140,000 employees with cutting-edge AI tools in a secure and efficient manner.

Addressing the challenge of safely integrating public AI advancements within the corporate environment, AXA Secure GPT ensures the utmost privacy and control over data by employing robust filtering and classification, alongside secure cloud tenancy to keep all data and interactions within a controlled environment. Stringent authentication protocols and comprehensive security controls monitor and protect against potential threats. By leveraging Microsoft’s content filtering and adding an extra layer of security, AXA Secure GPT exceeds the current standards for data privacy and security, ensuring a reliable and secure tool for its employees.

With the goal to scale from 1,000 current users to all 140,000 global employees by mid-2024, AXA provides comprehensive AI support and training which includes leveraging Microsoft consulting services for optimal technological use and architecture design, alongside a dedicated change management program in each country to ensure smooth integration.

“As an employer, it is our responsibility to provide our employees with the best tools to enhance their comfort and enable them to focus on high-value activities,” said Vincent De Ponthaud, Head of Software & AI Engineering at AXA. Tailored training sessions and a specially curated prompt library, aimed at enhancing productivity across various departments, empower AXA employees to focus on high-value activities.

TotalEnergies supports operational transformation with AI and low-code solutions

Multi-energy company, TotalEnergies, has implemented Copilot for Microsoft 365 to support operational transformation. In the initial testing phase involving 300 employees, the company observed enhanced operational efficiency and improved user experience. Concurrently, TotalEnergies is empowering its workforce with Microsoft Power Platform, enabling them to develop low-code/no-code solutions integrated with other company applications and databases, thereby streamlining the resolution of various day-to-day challenges.

“In line with our pioneering spirit, TotalEnergies is committed to digital transformation and supports its employees so that they can make the most of it,” said Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies. “The new technologies of generative artificial intelligence and of ‘low code no code’ will provide them with the simplification and autonomy they need to put their skills and creativity even further at the service of our company’s transition strategy.” In pursuit of this objective, TotalEnergies employees will receive training dedicated to the understanding and utilization of the new AI tools effectively.

AI for everyone

The Microsoft AI Tour provided a compelling opportunity to witness firsthand the pinnacle of regional innovation and to glimpse the far-reaching global impact poised to shape our future. Reflecting on the transformative journey of AI within France alone, it becomes evident that we’re venturing into an unprecedented era of technological advancement. The success stories of companies like Schneider Electric, Groupama, Amadeus, Onepoint, and TotalEnergies illustrate how the synergy between AI and human ingenuity propels progress and transformation across diverse sectors, transformation that will doubtlessly reach beyond borders to the benefit of organizations across the globe.

It’s also important to recognize that our exploration with AI is in its infancy and the horizon for transformative impact is limitless. It’s critical that business leaders scaffold AI innovation within an architecture of responsible AI, which include the development of ethical guidelines that address transparency, equity, accountability, and privacy; building diverse teams; investing in employee education around responsible AI use; and collaboration with industry bodies and policymakers to establish regulatory frameworks that can guide responsible deployment. When innovation and responsibility are aligned, we draw closer to ensuring that the potential for transformational impact of AI will be harnessed for the benefit of society as a whole.

Take the next step in your AI journey by exploring Microsoft AI solutions, diving into The AI Strategy Roadmap, and getting skilled up with Microsoft Learn’s AI learning hub to ensure you’re ready to leverage Microsoft AI to its fullest potential.

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But finding and connecting with the right partners can be challenging, and in a new frontier like AI, it can be especially daunting—so many AI startups have entered the market in recent years that it’s hard to keep count. By many estimates, there are now more than 10,000. How is an enterprise supposed to find its match in such a crowded and confusing space?

In the multi-layered landscape of AI, large tech firms bridge the gap between startups and enterprises. Microsoft provides the infrastructure and generative AI models that require major investment. Startups specialize in domain-specific, industry-focused applications and tooling. When we work together, it’s a winning combination that results in the kind of enterprise-ready AI that enterprises need.

As a Partner at Microsoft for Startups, I lead a global team in the Pegasus Program. I always say it’s the best job in the world because we get to help startups make the most of not just the Microsoft stack and models, but also our knowledge, experience, and relationships. The program’s Customer Community is where we “match make” for enterprises and startups to foster exciting new partnerships and co-innovations.

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The following are key areas where I see Microsoft really adding value to bridge the gap between enterprises and startups for delivery of enterprise-ready AI.

AI startups move fast—Microsoft helps them move even faster

Startups are nimble by nature, and AI is taking it to a whole new level. With the emergence of AI, we have seen an explosion in new use cases and tooling needs—from data hygiene platforms to vector databases. For example, Synthesized, a startup that specializes in approximating datasets with synthetic data, says AI helps their small teams create synthetic data for testing and training faster and better so they can “punch above their weight,” delivering like a much larger team. Enterprises can adopt AI quicker because their highly accurate synthetic data is used to build AI use cases without privacy concerns.

Plus, Microsoft helps all startups in the Pegasus Program to develop and test their solutions quickly by giving them access to AI models and a high-performance GPU cluster in the Microsoft Cloud. Having access to this kind of infrastructure and foundational support gives startups the extra muscle to move even faster from ideation to production. And, when a startup has an app or service on Microsoft Azure that is in production and ready to go to market, it can be vetted for inclusion to drive more leads and speed their sales cycle.  

Specialization is differentiation—Microsoft helps startups focus and refine

Startups differentiate by specializing in doing one thing and doing it better than anybody else—and they need to resist the temptation to go broad to meet the needs of every potential customer. Microsoft helps startups focus on their core competencies by providing them with domain-specific guidance, mentorship, and co-innovation opportunities.

Pangaea Data’s novel AI driven product, for example, discovers more untreated (undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, at risk, uncontrolled, and miscoded) patients based on their records and clinical guidelines, thereby mimicking a clinician’s manual process. Microsoft helped Pangaea Data connect and build trust users with their solution, which has helped the United Kingdom’s National Health Service and two global pharmaceutical companies discover 6 times more undiagnosed and miscoded cachectic cancer patients.

Holistic AI created a governance platform for complete management of AI systems, including discovery and inventory, risk mapping, risk mitigation, monitoring, and compliance readiness. Their diverse team brings together global expertise across various domains, including data science, machine learning, law, and policy. Through the Pegasus Program, they are continually working with enterprises to explore new use cases that will enable them to grow while staying focused on their core competencies in governance, risk management, and compliance.

Enterprise solutions require enterprise readiness—Microsoft knows how to get there

Enterprises have complex technology environments that can’t just be “ripped and replaced” to make way for AI, so startups need to offer solutions that integrate seamlessly. We were our own “customer zero” when we created Microsoft Copilot for our own business applications, and startups in our Pegasus Program are now learning from our experience.

Weights & Biases, an AI developer platform, not only aims to create solutions that seamlessly integrate for their enterprise customers but also take the same approach to integrating AI themselves. They observed that “most customers look at AI as something that improves what they’re already doing, augmenting their core offerings rather than creating end-to-end machine learning products. This is how we approach our use of AI as well. With technologies as transformative as AI, the instinct is to think big. Plenty of companies have. But rather than approach AI as a way to change our entire business, we look first at investments that can help our team be more productive.”

And of course, trust is something that can be difficult for startups to establish on their own. Microsoft stakes its reputation on trust, so customers know that the startups in our Pegasus Program are companies they can trust as well. Global manufacturer Mars shared that Microsoft was a “gateway to the startup ecosystem where every collaboration becomes a map to success.”

Find startups with the right enterprise-ready AI for your business

The winning combination of AI startups and major tech firms can create a virtuous cycle of co-innovation and co-creation, where both parties learn from each other, complement each other, and enhance each other. Together, they can deliver enterprise-ready AI solutions that are faster, smarter, and more trustworthy.

If you think your enterprise could benefit from working with us and the AI startups we support, join the Pegasus Customer Community today. You’ll receive access to exclusive programs and resources, including pre-vetted, enterprise-ready AI startup solutions, and Microsoft will help you find your match. Visit Microsoft AI for news, announcements, customer stories, and more.

Tom Davis is a Partner at Microsoft for Startups where he focuses on bringing business value to strategic startups in vertical industry segments and emerging AI use cases. You can read more blogs by Tom on the Microsoft for Startups blog.  

The post How Microsoft helps startups deliver enterprise-ready AI appeared first on The Microsoft Cloud Blog.