What is our primary use case?
Microsoft Foundry's main use cases include integration, offering more than ten thousand connectors, MCP servers, APIs, and model graphs, including Fabric IQ. The platform also provides capabilities for retrieval augmented generation (RAG) applications for generative AI. Content retrieval filters and governance are easily accessible features.
In my daily use of Microsoft Foundry, I utilize it for customer support and services integrated with Microsoft 365 to handle tickets. The agents summarize customer history to assist support staff in taking the best actions. Microsoft Foundry agents act in Teams to automatically draft responses for customer queries and route complex cases to human agents. For report generation, scheduling, and approval, I interact with Microsoft Office tools, Copilot, and Teams.
For AI governance and tracking AI models in my daily work, I utilize centralized catalogs, which include many model catalogs such as Anthropic and OpenAI, and manage roles including role-based access control (RAC) and role workplace access. I can effectively manage generative AI model compliance while using filters to avoid bias and malicious content.
What is most valuable?
The best features Microsoft Foundry offers include AI model selection, agent development, governance, and deployment of automation and AI agents. It has model access and optimization features, with more than ten thousand models available from sources such as OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Hugging Face. I can fine-tune and control those models with minimal coding and utilize agent deployment through the Microsoft agent framework, serverless hosting, and one-click deployment.
The main features also include enterprise governance and security with Microsoft Intra agent ID, role-based access, and built-in observability tools such as dashboard tracking and monitoring. Microsoft Foundry's governance and security capabilities include a built-in observability dashboard for tracking, monitoring, and evaluation. Microsoft Intra agent ID facilitates centralized identity and policy enforcement, supported by role-based access control, content filters, network isolation, and safeguards against bias and malicious content. These enterprise governance and security offerings provide substantial value.
What needs improvement?
Suggestions for improving Microsoft Foundry relate to setup complexities. Achieving strong governance setups requires extensive configuration, particularly with role-based access and Azure policies, which can be costly for large-scale deployments. Managing costs for model routing, tuning, and the necessary training for teams adopting AI agent development pose challenges while ensuring compliance with organization regulations.
Initiating with small pilot or automation workflows for scalability would be beneficial. However, complexities such as change management surrounding costs for tweaking and tuning models, along with the complexity of role-based governance setups, need attention for better outcomes.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Microsoft Foundry for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Microsoft Foundry is stable based on my experience utilizing tools across Dynamics, Power Platform, and various connectors, providing reliable automation for customer feedback and accurate insights for Power BI dashboards.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I initially trialed on-premises applications and have since expanded to include cloud applications and external customer AI flows. Microsoft Foundry has adequately catered to my scalability needs and provided a positive experience, optimizing for user increases.
How are customer service and support?
I have not reached out for customer support for Microsoft Foundry, as administration manages tasks related to pricing and support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Microsoft Foundry, I used AI Builder capabilities along with Hugging Face and various AI models for agent development on the Microsoft platform, employing Microsoft Automate solutions prior to leveraging Microsoft Foundry.
How was the initial setup?
Microsoft Foundry is initially deployed on-premises and will transition to a hybrid model. I have implemented an internal organizational chatbot and customer-facing AI agents, first starting from the on-premises setup.
What was our ROI?
I have conducted case studies regarding investment returns from Microsoft Foundry, evaluating pricing structures and AI model utilization. These metrics assist in pre-calculating time, effort savings, and reductions in staff needs, contributing to improved cost management outcomes.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Considering Microsoft Foundry, I evaluated options within the Microsoft ecosystem, including Power Platform, Dynamics 365, and Azure Cloud. My choice was influenced by organizational alignment with Microsoft technologies.
What other advice do I have?
I make extensive use of Azure AI services, particularly Document Intelligence, which aids in reading and categorizing enterprise documents while extracting key information. Additionally, Azure Language and Speech services are utilized for transcribing meeting calls and extracting critical data from recorded interactions, proving to be notably impactful.
The increasing complexity of Microsoft technologies such as Power Apps, Dynamics 365, and Power APIs can lead to a need for distinct training and case studies to guide AI chatbot and agent development. These challenges become apparent when designing enterprise-scale agents or RAG applications for content generation.
I develop AI agents primarily for customer support and approval tasks, utilizing Foundry Agent Service effectively. This has streamlined agent deployment by leveraging knowledge bases and responding to queries efficiently. I look forward to enhancing RAG applications focused on generating responses for customers.
I employ RAG pipelines and various models including Hugging Face, which provide pre-trained transformers, enhancing my experimentation with different AI models. These versatile AI models increase efficiency, with model routing and effective prompt management proving to be beneficial.
Microsoft Foundry has significantly reduced development cycles for AI applications and agents. I started with smaller AI agents for approval flows and progressed to customer feedback and support, utilizing Microsoft 365 and developing dashboards for Power BI. The learning curve involves security setups and multi-agent workflow training, though it has shortened deployment times through Microsoft Foundry and SDK despite initial challenges.
I deploy AI applications on the cloud for customer support and generate queries. My AI applications encompass direct customer interactions through knowledge bases, ensuring that unresolved queries are routed to human assistance. Implementing AI applications on the cloud has facilitated compliance with safety regulations through role-based access and policies.
Change management is positively affected by AI agents in Teams, facilitating smooth change requests and deployment. Data security is enhanced by regulating standards and grounding responses from AI, which helps significantly with governance and security. Change management is evident when needing any modifications and ensuring adaptation for enterprise requirements, contributing to improved collaboration and workload reduction through AI assistance.
Since I started using Microsoft Foundry alongside Dynamics 365 and the Power platform, it has positively impacted my organization by utilizing pre-built connectors and Microsoft Graph grounding to create various Power BI dashboards. It helps generate AI agents as well as RAG applications for generative AI and supports multiple agent workflows, efficiently routing feedback to customer support teams. The AI agent responds to customer queries and resolves issues, which is beneficial through the Microsoft Agent Framework SDK, coupled with the available models for fine-tuning and performance optimization.
I advise those considering Microsoft Foundry to have a basic understanding of the Microsoft ecosystem, which streamlines implementation and feature utilization. Familiarity with tools including Dynamics 365 and Azure Cloud enhances experience with AI models and applications, making the learning curve more intuitive.
I rate Microsoft Foundry seven out of ten overall.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.