If you missed our very first LinkedIn Live, don’t worry – we’ve pulled out all the key points in this handy blog. Here are the practical takeaways from our four experts as they looked back at Microsoft Ignite 2025 and what it all means for the future of data and AI for your organisation!
The panel included:
- Andy Crossley, Oakland’s Chief Technology Officer (and our man on the ground at Microsoft Ignite 2025)
- Rajan Chavda, Oakland’s Microsoft Fabric expert
- Chris Hill, Oakland’s Purview and Microsoft Partnership Lead
- MLG (Mike), Oakland’s Principal AI Engineer
In typical Oakland style, nothing in here is theory or hype. It’s a grounded reflection on what Microsoft announced, what actually matters for organisations, and how these changes affect real data teams today.
Prefer to watch the full session? No problem – view the recording below!
What it Felt Like to Be at Microsoft Ignite 2025
Andy opened the session by sharing his experience of being on the ground in San Francisco. The scale was huge and the pace frenetic. Instead of a single moment where Microsoft revealed something dramatic, it became clear that innovation now moves so fast that Ignite is more of a checkpoint than a product launch.
What Andy heard most people talking about was the concept of the Frontier Firm. It’s Microsoft’s attempt to describe the kind of organisation that thrives in an AI driven world. Whether people loved the term or not (which is the subject of some debate), it dominated the conversations across the conference. The idea is not that you become a futuristic organisation overnight. Instead, every organisation will move at its own pace, building its own version of what Microsoft describes.
Understanding the Frontier Firm
What Microsoft Means
Microsoft’s model proposes three stages:
- Humans supported by AI and Copilots
- Humans and agents working together
- Humans overseeing many agents that run key operations
The focus is not on shiny robots or science fiction. It’s on how work gets done and how AI can start taking on meaningful chunks of operational activity so people can focus on higher value work.
What this Means in Practice
The Governance Challenge
Chris highlighted that Microsoft is predicting more than one billion three hundred million agents by 2028. That scale raises the same problems we have always had in data. If you do not control access, permissions, and visibility, you quickly end up with an uncontrollable mess.
The Everyday Work Challenge
Rajan looked at the practical side. For him, the most important question is how AI reduces repetitive or low value tasks. The point is not to create agents for the sake of it. It is to support the real day to day work that teams do.
The Technical Reality
MLG spoke from his experience building agentic systems. Agents are powerful, but they can also be unpredictable. What stood out for him at Ignite was the improved tooling across Microsoft Foundry and the new Agent 365 ecosystem. These offer developers better ways to build, test and monitor agents so they can behave consistently inside real organisations.
The Cultural Reality
Andy added that organisations need confidence and clarity. Most people understand simple Copilot features. Most can imagine advanced automation. The challenge is everything in between. Organisations need a roadmap that is ambitious but also realistic.
Adoption Barriers and Opportunities
A question during the live event asked about the biggest challenges to adoption.
The group agreed that organisations need all three of the following:
- Technical Readiness
You must have a clean, well governed and discoverable data estate.
- Cultural Readiness
People must understand when and how to use agents and what good looks like.
- Governance Readiness
You cannot deploy agents at scale without policies, controls and monitoring.
As Andy said, you would not hire a thousand people without onboarding and training. The same applies to AI agents.
MS Ignite Announcements by Product
The team reviewed the major changes across Fabric, Foundry, Purview and Microsoft AI services.
Microsoft Fabric: The Intelligence Layer Takes Shape
Rajan took the audience through the biggest changes in Fabric.
Fabric IQ
Fabric IQ introduces a new layer of intelligence across the platform. Ontology maps let you define the real business relationships behind your data. This makes insights richer and gives agents more meaningful context to work with.
Operations Agents
For Rajan, Operations Agents are the standout feature. They allow organisations to close the loop between insight and action. Instead of dashboards hoping someone does something, Fabric can now monitor data, suggest actions, and trigger workflows. This is surfaced directly in tools like Teams.
Interoperability with Databricks and Others
One of the most encouraging themes was Microsoft’s shift toward open integration. Fabric will work more closely with Databricks, Snowflake, and SAP. OneLake-backed compute for Databricks is planned for future releases. Andy noticed how often interoperability came up at Ignite. Microsoft now accepts that real organisations run mixed estates.
Purview and Agent 365: Governance Grows Up
Chris explained why Purview had a smaller public presence at Ignite. The reason is that governance is being repositioned within the new Agent 365 framework.
Agent 365 Brings Five Key Capabilities
1. A registry of every agent in your organisation
2. Central access control using Entra ID
3. Visibility into what agents do
4. An understanding of how agents interact across departments
5. Security anchored in Purview
This directly addresses the problem of agent sprawl. As Chris put it plainly, AI governance is not optional. It is essential.
Microsoft Foundry: A Mature Space for AI Developers
MLG walked through how Foundry has evolved into a unified space for building, evaluating and managing agentic systems.
Foundry IQ
This gives developers the ability to benchmark agents, measure accuracy and check factual grounding. Without testing, there is no trust. Foundry IQ is Microsoft’s answer.
Agent Lifecycle Management
Foundry now supports versioning, AB testing and controlled retirement. If one agent outperforms another, you can replace it safely and consistently. This is vital if organisations want agents to work at scale.
What Does All this Mean for Organisations?
From the discussion, four clear messages emerged:
- Strategy First
Technology should support your business strategy. Without clarity on what you are trying to achieve, AI becomes a distraction.
- Readiness Matters
Adoption will not work if your data estate, governance or culture is not prepared. Just because the capabilities exist does not mean you are ready to use them.
- Trust Must Be Earned
People will only trust agent driven actions if results are reliable, transparent and grounded in fact.
- Governance will Decide Success
Agent 365 and Purview will be central to safe adoption. Governance gives you the confidence to scale without losing control.
Final Thoughts from the Oakland Team
Ignite 2025 didn’t feel like a tech expo where one big announcement stole the show. Instead, it marked a point where Microsoft began stitching together years of change into a more coherent story.
The frontier firm is not a single destination. It is a direction of travel. Organisations will move at different speeds and in different ways. What matters is strong data foundations, clear governance and a realistic roadmap.
Oakland’s focus remains the same. We help organisations build the maturity they need to use AI responsibly and effectively. With the right support, AI and agents can streamline operations, free teams from repetitive tasks and unlock new value in the business.
FAQs about Microsoft Ignite
What is Microsoft Ignite?
Microsoft Ignite (MS Ignite) is the annual event where Microsoft showcases the trends, innovations, and future vision for their productivity, cloud, and security technologies. The event takes place over several days and is packed with keynotes from 2,000+ speakers, 800+ interactive sessions, networking opportunities, and more. It’s attended by over 20,000 people in-person, with a further 200,000 joining digitally.
Who should attend MS Ignite?
Developers, IT and data engineers, cloud architects, business leaders (including startup founders) will all find the event informative and inspiring. In the words of Microsoft themselves: ‘Microsoft Ignite 2025 isn’t “just another conference.” It’s a unique gathering that brings together technology leaders, tech professionals, developers, founders, and Microsoft partners for four days of immersive learning and groundbreaking announcements.’
When is Microsoft Ignite 2026?
The next event will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco between 17th and 20th November 2026.
