38 COVER STORY Cloud for Sustainability, for example, uses AI to help organisations across several industries understand their carbon footprint and how they can make intelligent decisions to reduce their emissions.” AI-driven generative models are also accelerating innovation. “By leveraging AI, organisations can more quickly develop and test new ideas and solutions,” says Thomas. “Siemens is collaborating with us to develop the Siemens Industrial Copilot, an AI-powered assistant that allows users to rapidly generate, optimise and debug complex automation code, and significantly shorten simulation times.” The jointly developed solution aims to improve human-machine collaboration in manufacturing. Finally, generative AI is driving better customer experiences. “AI is helping personalise interactions and providing faster, more accurate responses to customer enquiries,” says Thomas. “Earlier this year, we introduced a copilot for personalised shopping that retailers can use to help their customers quickly find the right product through conversational Q&A.” Microsoft’s collaboration with car manufacturer Audi is a prime example of using generative AI to enhance customer service. The company has integrated ChatGPT with Azure OpenAI Service to improve its in-car control capabilities in current and future models. From July 2024, drivers of nearly two million Audi models that have been produced since 2021 and equipped with the third-generation modular infotainment system will be able to interact with their car using natural language for a safer and more intelligent driving experience. Partnering for progress Microsoft is enhancing its solutions to empower organisations by refining its solutions with partners to meet the unique business demands, enhance productivity and create seamless customer experiences in every industry. “This is a rapidly evolving space, and you can see ongoing advancements in AI-powered applications, enhanced customisation options, and a focus on small language models that further refine the results delivered by generative AI systems,” says Thomas. “As we work with our customers and gain deeper insight into their specific needs, we are continuously refining our solutions and introducing new capabilities they can leverage in a low-code/no-code way, without requiring extensive development or expertise. “Recently, we launched industry prompts in Copilot Lab and industry templates in Microsoft Copilot Studio. These platforms are designed to meet the unique demands of various businesses, enhancing productivity and fostering creativity by providing not only tools but also a seamless experience that aligns with our customers’ operational workflows. Additionally, we are integrating multi-modal content, real-time intelligence and data analytics to drive even greater value for our customers.” According to Thomas, Microsoft relies on its partner ecosystem to help bring industry expertise for customers. “Partners play a crucial role in extending offerings from Microsoft to customers with their domain expertise,” he says. “We have collaborated with our partners to equip them with the right technologies, including Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and a full suite of development tools they can use to build and extend their applications. For every industry, we engage leading partners and rely on them to cover the last mile for our customers. They are the experts in their domain and bring the innovation needed for our customers.” For example, Microsoft is working with the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) to help financial services customers discover and analyse data quickly with Microsoft Fabric. “We are also developing an app with LSEG called Meeting Prep for Financial Services that uses large language models and generative AI to make meeting preparation summaries by combining insights from LSEG’s financial data with news, documents, emails, chats and other relevant content from Microsoft Graph in Microsoft 365,” says Thomas. Additionally, Microsoft is collaborating with Teladoc Health and Epic to improve patient care across the healthcare industry. “Teladoc Health is offering a care management solution by leveraging the Azure data platform and building a copilot on Teams with Azure OpenAI Service,” Photo: iStock/vichie81
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=