Pragmatiq’s Perspective on Microsoft Ignite 2024

Each year, Microsoft Ignite takes place and causes a ripple of excitement across the Microsoft community. This annual event spotlights exciting updates and announcements across the eco-system, and it was no surprise that Microsoft Copilot and the AI stack featured heavily this year, as it did in 2023.

This is evident by the investment into the Microsoft Copilot offering and the scale at which this is growing and being rolled out – something we are particularly excited about at Pragmatiq.

Across the 3-day conference, Microsoft led over 800 sessions, revealed around 80 new products and welcomed more than 200,000 attendees both remotely and at the  in-person events in Chicago.

Our team has been digesting all of the updates and wanted to highlight some of the announcements we are particularly excited about here at Pragmatiq…

1. Autonomous Agents in Dynamics 365

First up, Microsoft announced ten new autonomous agents for Dynamics 365, which will start to become available in public preview later in 2024 and continue into early 2025.

In simple terms, Copilot Agents are like smart helpers that work on their own to make your job easier. They can handle repetitive tasks for you, like sending emails, updating records, or scheduling meetings, without you having to do it manually. Over time, they will also learn from past actions and use AI to understand what needs to be done, enabling them to operate on their own and add real value to your day-to-day process.

This initial rollout of agents is designed to help sales, service, finance and supply chances, with more being created in the coming year.

2. Plan Designer

The Plan Designer is an AI-powered workspace in the Power Platform that helps you create solutions quicker and easier. By using artificial intelligence, you can design and build apps, automations and other solutions. Simply describe what you need in natural language and the Plan Designer will turn those ideas into working apps and processes.

3. Copilot Control System

A new Copilot Control System was announced to help IT professionals manage and oversee Microsoft Copilot and its agents securely. This system will enable IT teams to better control how Copilot is used within an organisation, ensure that all AI-driven processes are secure and compliant, and also help to monitor how Copilot is performing.

4. Generate custom AI Agents directly from Power Apps

App creators can easily create AI agents directly into Power Apps using the logic and actions already built into your Power Apps, and leveraging Copilot Studio. This speeds up the setup process as it will suggest actions based on your app’s configuration. These agents can handle tasks such as checking compliance or rejecting requests, continuously improving them over time by adding new capabilities.

5. Copilot Studio enhancements

Several enhancements were announced around Copilot Studio, a tool that we are particularly excited about at Pragmatiq.

• New autonomous agent capabilities: Now in public preview, autonomous agents enable creators to build agents that operate independently without needing prompts. These agents can be created from scratch or configured from prebuilt options in Copilot Studio.
• Agent Library: This provides templates for popular agent scenarios like leave management, sales order, and deal acceleration giving makers a head start with their agents.
• Azure AI Integration: Makers can now use custom Azure AI Search indexes and call over 1,800 prebuilt or custom-built Azure AI models directly from Copilot Studio. This integration enhances the functionality and flexibility of the agents.
• Multi-Modal Capabilities: Agents can now interact beyond text, including voice interactions and image analysis. This allows users to speak to agents or upload images for analysis and responses

6. Pay-as-you-go license in Azure

Starting in December 2024, Azure will offer a pay-as-you-go license option. This means you can use Azure services and only pay for what you use, without needing to commit to a long-term contract or upfront payment.

This is beneficial to users of Copilot Studio as you only pay for the Azure resources you use while building and deploying your custom AI agents in Copilot Studio. Additionally, this model makes it easier for smaller business to access the powerful Azure services and get started with Copilot Studio, without a significant upfront investment.

Ready to explore these features for yourself?

If you are looking for a Microsoft Solutions Partner to help you benefit from some of these exciting announcements, then look no further. Get in touch today by emailing info@pragmatiq.co.uk or calling  01908 038110.