{"id":24720,"date":"2026-07-23T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/?p=24720"},"modified":"2026-07-22T15:14:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T22:14:38","slug":"streamlining-business-operations-at-microsoft-with-an-ai-toolkit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/insidetrack\/blog\/streamlining-business-operations-at-microsoft-with-an-ai-toolkit\/","title":{"rendered":"Streamlining business operations at Microsoft with an AI toolkit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At Microsoft, we manage one of the world\u2019s largest global corporate operations. Our operations teams process hundreds of billions in revenue and millions of transactions while adapting to fast-changing business demands. Much of that work flows through Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operations, where vendors support workflows such as order and agreement processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As these processes grew in scale and complexity, it became clear that improving something highly manual and already operating at massive scale would require a fundamentally different approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith BPO, we\u2019re dealing with high-volume, high-touch processes that are core to how the business runs,\u201d says Jonathan d’Orgee, an AI transformation lead for Microsoft Business Operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For many organizations, the idea of overhauling a core business process can feel like a daunting step. At Microsoft we act as our own first customer, which gives us a way to test, refine, and de-risk that transformation in our own operations before bringing those proven patterns to customers. We call this approach Customer Zero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, that meant rethinking how high-volume operations could run better with AI directly embedded into day-to-day tasks, including building solutions using tools like Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Azure AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe looked at manual steps, broken workflows, and disconnected systems as opportunities for AI transformation.\u201d<\/p>\nJonathan d’Orgee, AI transformation lead, Microsoft Business Operations<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Learn more<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out more stories about our Customer Zero journey with our products and services here at Microsoft.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Identifying manual inefficiencies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

On top of the complexity of handling so many transactions across the globe, Business Operations sometimes experienced periodic surges that could exacerbate inefficiencies. During these surges, the team would see a high volume of complex, time-critical transactions\u2014 especially at the end of the month or the quarter\u2014and manual processes were too slow to keep up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we reviewed these inefficiencies, we looked for the most impactful use cases\u2014places where we could integrate AI into workflows. To do this, we asked two important questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n