More than a month on from Microsoft Build, the value of the event is no longer just in the announcements themselves, but in what those announcements signal for the direction of enterprise AI. For organisations exploring how to use AI more effectively, the lasting message is clear: the models are getting smarter, but the real opportunity lies in the context, tools and business knowledge that surround them.
Alex and Fabio talk about the ideas from Microsoft Build in San Francisco that have continued to resonate and how those insights could help clients think differently about AI adoption.
The rise of Microsoft IQ
One of the biggest themes from the event was the continued development of Microsoft IQ: a set of intelligence layers designed to give AI agents richer, more reliable context. Microsoft describes Fabric IQ as part of Microsoft IQ, working alongside Work IQ, Foundry IQ and Web IQ to provide a more complete view of an organisation.
For Fabio, this was one of the most exciting announcements. Web IQ, for example, is designed to give agents access to authoritative information from the web, while Work IQ focuses on the way people work across Microsoft 365. Fabric IQ, meanwhile, helps agents understand business data in the language of the organisation.
Why context matters more than ever
Over the past year, many users have noticed Microsoft Copilot becoming more capable. Tasks that once felt disconnected, such as checking an email, summarising a meeting transcript and drafting a follow-up message, are becoming more seamless.
That improvement is not only because the models themselves are advancing. As Fabio explained, the tools around the model are improving too. The “brain” is getting smarter, but the “hands” are also becoming more capable. This is what allows AI to move from answering isolated questions to completing joined-up business tasks.
Fabric IQ: translating data into business language
Fabric IQ was another key focus. Microsoft says Fabric IQ provides context on the state of a business by grounding intelligence in analytical, real-time and operational data, then elevating that data into the language of the business.
For organisations, this matters because business data often sits across different systems. Sales data might be in one database, customer relationship information in another and operational insight somewhere else again. Microsoft Fabric already provides a unified place for data engineering and data science. Fabric IQ adds another layer by helping teams describe that data semantically, so agents can understand it in human terms.
In practice, that means defining concepts such as employee, product, customer, SKU, cost and margin in a way that reflects how the business actually talks about them. Once that shared language is in place, AI agents can interpret data more accurately and communicate with users in terms they recognise.
Faster time to value
The practical benefit for clients is faster time to value. That value will look different for every organisation, but the direction is the same: helping people move from point A to point B more quickly, with AI removing friction from the process.
A year ago, many AI use cases relied on carefully saved prompt libraries. Users needed to know which prompt to use, where to paste meeting transcripts and how to structure instructions to get the right output. The shift now is towards skills and grounded agents that already understand the task, the business context and the knowledge required to complete it.
Instead of building a long, highly specific prompt, a user may simply ask for a presentation that covers the right themes. The agent can draw on the relevant knowledge, business terminology and process understanding to deliver something useful more quickly.
Project Rayfin and the future of lightweight business apps
Alongside the IQ announcements, Fabio highlighted Project Rayfin as another development to watch. For clients working with data workspaces, lakehouses and warehouses, there is often a need for a simple interface to capture, manage or present data back to the business.
Project Rayfin points towards a future where Fabric teams can create lightweight web applications directly within Microsoft Fabric. Rather than moving between different teams or systems to build a small application, the work could happen in one place, reducing effort and helping organisations respond faster to practical business needs.
What businesses should take away
The key message from Microsoft Build is that enterprise AI is moving beyond standalone prompts and isolated outputs. The next stage is about grounded, contextual intelligence that understands people, processes, data and business language.
For clients, this creates an opportunity to think strategically about their data foundations, business processes and AI adoption. The organisations that prepare their data, define their business language and identify the right use cases will be best placed to benefit as these tools continue to mature.
