Microsoft is seeking to help enterprises scale their AI adoption and unlock the full value of AI with Azure AI Foundry, its new unified AI application platform.
Announced at Microsoft Ignite 2024 in Chicago, the platform aims to help businesses leverage AI and generative AI by connecting their current business applications with the latest AI technology.
In a blog post accompanying the announcement, Microsoft said as businesses undergo an AI-oriented transformation two things have become clear: the tangible results of implementing AI and the innovation potential for the technology.
The post cited recent research by Deloitte that found 70% of organizations have productionized 30% or fewer of their generative AI experiments, concluding there is “a lot of innovation and results ready to be unlocked.”
“Azure AI Foundry helps bridge the gap between cutting-edge AI technologies and practical business applications, empowering organizations to harness the full potential of AI efficiently and effectively,” wrote Jessica Hawk, corporate VP of data, AI, and digital applications product marketing at Microsoft.
Microsoft announced it has set about unifying the AI toolchain in a new Azure AI Foundry SDK, which brings together Azure AI capabilities from popular tools such as GitHub, Visual Studio, and Copilot Studio.
It said it would also be ‘evolving’ Azure AI Studio, its service for using AI to create applications, into an enterprise-grade management console and portal within Azure AI Foundry.
Microsoft also unveiled a new management center experience to provide enhanced observability and collaboration capabilities. This will collate subscription information into a single pane, allowing business leaders to manage resources, access privileges, and quota usage from a centralized location.
A single pane of glass to develop, scale, and manage AI applications
Microsoft is targeting a number of stakeholders with Azure AI Foundry including developers, AI engineers, and IT leaders.
For developers, Azure AI Foundry will be integrated into IDEs such as Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code, and the entire GitHub platform. This will provide a more streamlined workflow for developers to take advantage of the latest AI advancements.
Azure AI Foundry will give developers access to a wide range of models, services, and capabilities to help them build generative AI applications for their organizations and ground them in their own data.
Microsoft added the platform will also enable developers to scale their creations more effectively for the enterprise, transforming proof of concepts into mature production applications that will produce tangible value for the business.
Developers will benefit from a new Azure AI Agent Service, which will help them orchestrate, deploy, and scale AI applications to automate business processes.
Enterprises can correct AI model data within Azure AI Foundry.
The new platform will also help IT leaders measure how these new AI implementations are benefitting their business, Microsoft claimed, helping them drive adoption, align the technologies to organizational goals, and get board members onside for further investment.
RELATED WHITEPAPER
Azure AI Foundry will also bring an update to Microsoft’s Azure Essentials documentation with comprehensive guidance for AI adoption and architecture to help scale AI adoption in your organization.
This will include access to Microsoft’s best practices, product experiences, reference architectures, skilling, and resources, from a single location.
“Azure AI Foundry is designed to empower your entire organization—developers, AI engineers, and IT professionals—to customize, host, run, and manage AI solutions with greater ease and confidence,” Microsoft explained.
“This unified approach simplifies the development and management process, helping all stakeholders focus on driving innovation and achieving strategic goals.”
-
Researchers tested over 100 leading AI models on coding tasks — nearly half produced glaring security flawsNews AI models large and small were found to introduce cross-site scripting errors and seriously struggle with secure Java generation
-
The Scattered Spider ransomware group is infiltrating Slack and Microsoft Teams to target vulnerable employeesNews The group is using new ransomware variants and new social engineering techniques - including sneaking into corporate teleconferences
-
‘LaMDA was ChatGPT before ChatGPT’: Microsoft’s AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman claims Google nearly pipped OpenAI to launch its own chatbot – and it could’ve completely changed the course of the generative AI ‘boom’News In a recent podcast appearance, Mustafa Suleyman revealed Google was nearing the launch of its own ChatGPT equivalent in the months before OpenAI stole the show.
-
Microsoft is doubling down on multilingual large language models – and Europe stands to benefit the mostNews The tech giant wants to ramp up development of LLMs for a range of European languages
-
An executive producer at Xbox Games Studios told laid off staff to use AI for counseling, and it’s the most ludicrous thing I’ve ever seen in my lifeOpinion In the aftermath of Microsoft layoffs, promoting AI career advice feels supremely cold
-
‘Using generative AI as a copilot is the sweet spot’: A look at Nationwide’s AI approachCase study Nationwide Building Society is expanding its use of generative AI in 2025, with the core focus of making the lives of its staff easier
-
“Governance is an irreplaceable role”: Microsoft Security VP on why diversity and sector expertise will keep security workers relevant in the age of agentic AINews Improved AI skills and a greater focus on ensuring agents are secure at point of deployment will be key for staying ahead of attackers
-
Microsoft says workers should believe the hype with AI tools: Researchers found Copilot users saved three hours per week sifting through emails, gained more focus time, and completed collaborative tasks 20% fasterNews Using AI tools paid dividends for some workers, but alternative research shows it could create problems for others down the line.
-
Third time lucky? Microsoft finally begins roll-out of controversial Recall featureNews The Windows Recall feature has been plagued by setbacks and backlash from security professionals
-
Microsoft launches new security AI agents to help overworked cyber professionalsNews Microsoft is expanding its Security Copilot service with new AI agents to help overworked IT teams deal with surging security threats.
