In the opening keynote on Day 2 of the Biz Apps Partner Executive Summit, Microsoft’s Cecilia Flombaum, Agent Ecosystem Development Lead, Business Applications, and Swamy Narayana, VP Customer Experience Programs, Dynamics 365, Microsoft, outlined how AI innovation is fundamentally transforming the way partners operate, impacting everything from sales strategies to customer outcomes. The message was clear: to thrive in this “golden era,” partners must become AI-first businesses, leveraging Dynamics 365 and Copilot Studio to lead the way.
“What customers really want,” Flombaum explained, “is automation in their business processes that saves them time and increases productivity in customer service agents.” This notion is fueling unprecedented market growth. Agentic AI is projected to grow from $5.1 billion to $47.1 billion by 2030. Further, by 2030, Gartner is projecting that over 33% of business applications will include agentic AI capabilities, and more than 15% of daily work decisions will be made autonomously.
This shift presents a major opportunity for Microsoft partners. Flombaum explained that AI advisory services among partners have grown 63%, with revenue from agent-driven solution development increasing 3X. “We’re entering the era of digital labor,” she said, where agents, prebuilt or custom, are working alongside humans to speed up decision-making and operations.
As such, Microsoft is combining Modern Work and Business Applications into a unified vision its referring to as AI business solutions. “Why do these silos exist?” Flombaum asked. “Let’s zero in on the work that needs to get done. Develop agents that help, connect in the backend… that’s bringing us together.”
She detailed FY26 Sales priorities that reflect the notion of AI business solutions, with Microsoft encouraging partners to:
- Accelerate AI adoption through Copilots and Agents
- Drive momentum across the AI workforce and AI-enhanced processes
- Deliver excellence in usage and consumption
The solution playbook for FY26 remains largely in line with FY25, but the upcoming fiscal year introduces new additions. D365 Sales with Copilot Studio is moving into the Corporate segment, and AI-powered offerings are spanning across Service, Field Service, CCaaS, Finance, and Supply Chain in both enterprise and SMB segments.
Following Flombaum’s discussion Narayana, reinforced this vision, stating, “leave no customer behind. No matter the size, we have to help everyone.” His team is focused on embedding agentic design into every implementation via tools like the Implementation Copilot and Autonomous GLR, ensuring scalable success for partners and clients alike.
Flombaum urged partners to lead by example: “Be your own customer zero. Adopt agents, ours and yours. Build your own custom or industry-specific agents.”
Overall, simplicity, flexibility, and consistency will drive success. For Microsoft partners, now is the time to lean into AI. The question is no longer an “if,” but a “when”.
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