Microsoft Ignite 2025 pulled no punches: Work IQ, Fabric IQ, Agent 365, the Frontier Program, and dozens of new Copilot capabilities all signal a major shift in how organizations will operate in 2026 and beyond.
But while the announcements were big, the question on most leaders’ minds is even bigger:
“What does all this mean in practical terms for organizations already deep in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem?”
Lots to unpack, so we sat down with our co-founder, CEO and Microsoft MVP Pat McGown for clarity and next steps.
Kelvin Helmholtz (KH): Ignite really pushed the idea of organizations becoming “human-led, agent-operated.” What does that shift mean for Cloudwell’s customers?
Pat McGown (PM): It ties directly to Microsoft’s Frontier Program, kind of their way of framing the organizations that want to operate at the pace of innovation.
For many of our customers, this shift really begins with education and experimentation. Most teams have heard of agents, but they’re not yet sure how to use them, so the practical steps involve learning how agents work, identifying and supporting internal champions, and experimenting with small, safe use cases.
It’s very similar to early Copilot adoption: start small, build confidence, and let real usage guide where to go next.
KH: Microsoft also introduced the new IQ stack, including Work IQ and Fabric IQ. Which parts of this architecture do you think will have the biggest impact?
PM: So, Work IQ was one of the big announcements at Ignite. The part that really stood out to me is the memory component, this blend of your data, conversational memory, and inference that keeps making Copilot smarter over time. Microsoft’s basically signalling that Copilot isn’t static. It’s learning, it’s evolving, and it’s going to keep getting better across every workload.
KH: Many leaders still aren’t sure where to start with AI agents. Based on what you saw at Ignite, what’s the most realistic first step?
PM: I’d say start by identifying opportunities, not technology.
Look for the repetitive, rules-driven processes that already slow people down. Those are the best early candidates. Then prototype, test, get feedback, improve, repeat.
This is exactly how our senior developer Owen Harvey approached the HR Agent internally here at Cloudwell. Our advice is to find a real problem. Build something simple. Let usage shape the next version.
KH: Ignite highlighted new Copilot capabilities in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and even Windows. Which of these will deliver the fastest ROI?
PM: It really depends on the department. For teams working heavily with contracts or legal documents, the Copilot enhancements in Word will likely deliver the quickest wins.
Finance and operations groups will absolutely feel the biggest lift in Excel, where AI can streamline data work that usually eats entire afternoons. And for delivery teams or executives who live in PowerPoint, the new presentation capabilities will save hours of prep time.
The real story, though, is that the entire productivity stack is getting smarter at once, so the fastest ROI will come from matching these improvements to the workflows your teams already use every day.
KH: As someone deeply involved in the Microsoft ecosystem, how do you evaluate Ignite announcements differently from the hype cycle?
PM: Ignite announcements typically include a mix of features that are available today and others that Microsoft expects to roll out over the next six to nine months. From our side, that means looking at both what customers can adopt immediately and what we should start preparing them for.
Because Cloudwell often gets early access through our MVP and partner programs, we can test early, learn fast, and understand what’s truly ready for enterprise rollout versus what still needs to mature. That helps us design realistic roadmaps for our customers, not hype-driven ones.
KH: Governance remains a major concern. What governance questions are customers asking most, and what guardrails do you recommend they put in place now?
PM: The biggest governance question we hear is always the same: “Is my data secure, and who might be able to see something they shouldn’t once AI is in the mix?” And honestly, there are two really practical places to start, yet most organizations don’t even realize they’re right in front of them.
The first is reviewing your Copilot recommendations in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Find the Copilot Control Center and Microsoft will actually flag configuration gaps you should fix before rolling out AI more broadly.
The second, and honestly the hidden gem, is the Prepare for Copilot with SharePoint Advanced Management assessment in the SharePoint Admin Center. It surfaces things like broken permissions, missing site owners, site activity issues, and oversharing, all the stuff that becomes higher risk once AI agents and Copilot start pulling from your content.
Working through these two areas gives organizations a clear, actionable starting point for safe and responsible AI adoption.
KH: With so many new agent-ready features coming in 2026, how should customers think about modernization? Migration first? Governance first? Data first?
PM: Governance first. Always. There’s a saying I love, ‘good AI requires good IA’, AKA good information architecture.
If you migrate without fixing your structure, all you’re really doing is forklift-moving old problems into a new space. Modernization is the moment to clean up your information architecture, tighten permissions, and standardize how content is organized across the environment. Once that foundation is in place, then you bring your data into an environment that’s actually designed for AI.
KH: You mentioned customers starting to ask more about agents. What does that look like today?
PM: We’re definitely seeing it start to show up in SharePoint modernization projects. After we build a customer’s core intranet, home sites, departmental sites, information architecture, that’s when the agent conversation begins.
We’re now designing benefits agents, policy agents, project workspace agents. But only once the foundation is ready.
KH: What questions or trends from Ignite resonated most with customers?
PM: A lot of the questions we heard at Ignite centered around the major announcements. Things like “What exactly is Work IQ?”, or “How will Agent 365 actually help with governance?”.
Customers also wanted to understand what it really means to be a Frontier firm, and how Fabric IQ might evolve alongside ontologies and agents. Those themes came up again and again, especially anything tied to governance and AI readiness.
KH: For IT leaders trying to balance innovation with risk, what’s your advice for building sustainable AI momentum in 2026?
PM: Start small. Don’t try to solve your biggest problem first. Look for quick wins that create visible value. Those wins build cultural momentum, and momentum drives adoption. When people feel the improvement, they buy into the change.
If there’s one thing to take from Ignite 2025, it’s that the next stage of Microsoft 365 is smarter, more connected, and far more dependent on strong foundations than ever before.
Whether you’re preparing for Copilot, navigating the new IQ stack, modernizing your SharePoint environment, or simply trying to understand where AI fits into your roadmap, we’ve got you.
Cloudwell helps organizations cut through the noise and focus on what matters: secure foundations, practical wins, and technology that genuinely makes work better.
So, if you’re planning your 2026 AI roadmap and want a partner who can blend innovation with responsible execution, we’d love to talk.