It’s our final Horizon of 2024, and what a year it’s been, with accelerated innovation in the Microsoft space, not least where AI is concerned.
So, when it comes to the Microsoft technosphere, what are you most excited about for the new year?
Here are our top picks on what’s on the horizon for 2025.
Copilot Agents
Copilot Agents were a big story at Ignite and promise to get even bigger in 2025.
Agents are specialized AI assistants that can be customized to perform specific tasks or workflows within an organization, and work by connecting with the organization’s knowledge and data sources.
Not only can you build your own Agents in Copilot Studio, Microsoft has launched a range of pre-built Agents to fulfil multiple business functions that can be used off-the-shelf or configured to suit your organizational needs.
Pre-built Agents can be used within Microsoft 365, Copilot Studio and Dynamics 365 and range from:
- Benefits agent: providing personalized information to employees on benefits offered to them.
- Leave Management agent: streamlines the leave request and time-off process for employees.
- Supplier Communications agent: autonomously manages collaboration with suppliers to confirm order delivery, while helping to prevent potential delays.
- Facilitator agent: like an additional colleague, it takes real-time notes during Teams meetings, allowing everyone to co-author and collaborate seamlessly.
Some of these Agents are still in preview but the list is growing and is set to expand even more this coming year, increasing productivity and efficiency.
Azure AI Foundry for Enterprise AI Development
Another big announcement from Ignite that’s set to simplify AI development in 2025 is Azure AI Foundry.
Azure AI Foundry combines the Azure AI Foundry portal (formerly Azure AI Studio) and the Azure AI Foundry SDK to provide a unified platform, including pre-built templates, allowing developers to focus on innovation rather than set up. The SDK also integrates with tools like GitHub and Visual Studio.
Other plus points for developers include a centralized dashboard for managing AI projects, resources and deployments, plus access to the latest AI models for continuous learning.
Integration of Microsoft Fabric with SQL Database
A development that’s set to unlock the power of data for businesses is on its way with the integration of Microsoft Fabric with SQL Database, offering a unified platform for data management and analytics.
The benefits to users are many, including:
Unified Data Platform: Transforming Microsoft Fabric from an analytics platform to a comprehensive data platform, integrating SQL databases to streamline data management and analytics.
Optimized for AI: Designed to optimize SQL databases for AI applications, making it easier to build and deploy AI models directly within the SQL environment.
Simplified Deployment: SQL databases in Fabric can be deployed quickly and easily, with minimal configuration required, increasing accessibility for both large enterprises and small businesses.
Enhanced Performance: Leverages Microsoft Fabric’s robust infrastructure, improving performance for AI and data analytics tasks.
Near-real Time Data Replication: Data is replicated in near-real time to OneLake, enabling seamless analytics and AI processing.
Microsoft Fabric with SQL Database is now in public preview, with general availability expected in the second half of the year.
Set for retirement
But it’s not all about new innovations. Whilst there’s lots to look forward to in 2025, it’s worth noting that we’ll be waving goodbye to some products and services too.
Here are just a few of them:
Windows 10:
Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions will reach the end of support on October 14, 2025, with users encouraged to upgrade to Windows 11 to continue receiving updates and support.
Office 2016 and Office 2019:
Support for these versions of Office will end on October 14, 2025, including applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
Exchange Server 2016 and 2019:
These on-premises email solutions will no longer receive updates after October 14, 2025, with organizations advised to transition to Microsoft 365 or Exchange Online.
Skype for Business Server 2015 and 2019:
These versions of Skype for Business Server will no longer be supported from October 14, 2025. Microsoft recommends migrating to Microsoft Teams for collaboration and communication needs.
Azure Services:
Several Azure services will be retired by September 30, 2025, including Azure Database for MariaDB, Azure Basic Load Balancer, Azure HPC Cache, Azure Remote Rendering, Azure Service Map, Azure SQL Edge, Azure Unmanaged Disks, and Azure vFXT.
Viva Topics and Goals:
Viva Topics is due to be retired on February 22, 2025, with Viva Goals continuing until December 31, 2025. No new features will be developed for Viva Goals, but it will be maintained until retirement.
***
Thank you for reading the last Horizon of 2024. If you want to take advantage of any of the Microsoft advancements coming your way, or if you’re affected by any products or services retirements and could use our support, just reach out to our team.
In the meantime, we’d like to wish you a happy new year and we’ll look forward to sharing more innovations from the Microsoft technosphere in 2025.