Frontier Firms: AI-Powered Innovation and Microsoft Marketplace

Big news from Microsoft this week with the launch of the Microsoft Marketplace — a single destination that brings AppSource and Azure Marketplace together. This isn’t just a tidy rebrand. It’s about scale and accessibility: thousands of solutions, millions of customers, and one clearer way to connect innovation with real business needs. For us at Fusion5, this is exciting because it will make our accelerators and AI agents easier to discover — but more importantly, it reinforces why our role matters. Technology on its own doesn’t create transformation. The real value comes when those solutions are designed into a strategy that lifts performance, reduces risk, and moves an organisation closer to being a Frontier Firm. A smarter marketplace opens new doors, but the real work happens when people and partners step through them together. https://lnkd.in/gtPa98_N #Fusion5 #MicrosoftAI #AI

The Microsoft Marketplace just got a big refresh, and it feels like a real game-changer for anyone working with cloud and AI solutions. Here’s what stood out to me: ✅ A whole new AI apps and agents category – with 3000+ solutions that build on Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI Foundry. ✅ Much better discoverability and co-sell opportunities in one place. ✅ New ways for partners to resell solutions (currently in preview). ✅ Integration with distributors so customers can get trusted solutions faster. Why I find this important: it’s not just about more apps—it’s about simplifying the journey for customers and creating more room for partners to innovate and grow. In my current projects, I already see how these changes can speed up adoption for clients, give them access to ready-to-use AI capabilities, and reduce the time it takes to go from idea to impact. Exciting times ahead for partners and customers who want to make AI real in their business. #MicrosoftMarketplace #MSPartner #AI #The Microsoft Marketplace just got a big refresh, and it feels like a real game-changer for anyone working with cloud and AI solutions. Here’s what stood out to me: ✅ A whole new AI apps and agents category – with 3000+ solutions that build on Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI Foundry. ✅ Much better discoverability and co-sell opportunities in one place. ✅ New ways for partners to resell solutions (currently in preview). ✅ Integration with distributors so customers can get trusted solutions faster. Why I find this important: it’s not just about more apps—it’s about simplifying the journey for customers and creating more room for partners to innovate and grow. 👉 In my current projects, I already see how these changes can speed up adoption for clients, give them access to ready-to-use AI capabilities, and reduce the time it takes to go from idea to impact. Exciting times ahead for partners and customers who want to make AI real in their business. #MicrosoftMarketplace #MSPartner Artificial Intelligence Microsoft Copilot

Introducing the New Microsoft Marketplace: Your Gateway to AI-Powered Innovation A new era of transformation is here and it's being led by Frontier Firms: organizations that blend human ambition with AI-powered technology to reshape how work gets done and value is created. Today, Microsoft unveiled the reimagined Microsoft Marketplace, a unified destination to discover, try, buy, and deploy thousands of cloud solutions, AI apps, and agents. Whether you're scaling innovation, enriching employee experiences, or accelerating decision-making, Marketplace is built to meet you where you are and take you further. What’s new? A single platform combining Azure Marketplace and Microsoft AppSource Over 3,000 AI apps and agents now available from Azure AI Foundry to Microsoft 365 Copilot Seamless provisioning via Model Context Protocol (MCP) Deep integration with Microsoft products and partner ecosystems Support for Azure Consumption Commitments to maximize your cloud investments Siemens saw an 8X increase in customer adoption and cut AI app configuration time from 20 minutes to just 1. That’s the kind of impact we’re talking about. Whether you're a customer looking to accelerate your AI journey or a partner ready to scale your solutions, the new Microsoft Marketplace is your launchpad. Learn more and explore the Marketplace → https://lnkd.in/gjDvFcSW #MicrosoftMarketplace #AITransformation #FrontierFirms #AzureAI #Microsoft365Copilot #DigitalInnovation #PartnerEcosystem #CloudSolutions

The new Microsoft Marketplace showcases a dynamic blend of human ambition and AI-powered technology, driving innovation and enhancing employee and customer experiences. I found it interesting that this shift is leading to the emergence of Frontier Firms, which are actively reshaping business processes. What could this mean for the future of work and customer engagement in your industry?

Simpler, more powerful and built for the Enterprise. Google Cloud has just stepped up the game significantly and launched a new front door for AI in the workplace: Gemini Enterprise. Behind the simple interface it unifies six core components: World-Class Models 🧠 Instant access to Google’s most advanced, multimodal Gemini models to tackle your toughest, most complex challenges. No-Code Empowerment 🛠️ Forget siloed AI teams. Everyone (think Oprah Winfrey;-) —from Finance to Marketing— gets the power to build and orchestrate their own custom agents with intuitive, no-code tools. Ready-to-Go Taskforce 👩🎓 Value on day one with a suite of Google-made agents like Deep Research and NotebookLM, plus the ability to plug in custom and third-party solutions. Grounded in Reality 🤔 Your agents aren't guessing. They securely connect to all your company data—Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Salesforce, SAP, and BigQuery—for relevant, accurate context. Deploy with Confidence 🏰 Centralized governance, security, and auditing help you visualize and manage all agents to meet your organization's security and compliance requirements. Rich & Open Partner Ecosystem 🏎️ Automate cross-platform workflows using built-in connectors to partner apps and a thriving marketplace for innovative agent solutions. Less friction, more results. 🚀 full announcement 👇 #gemini #googlecloud #ai #workplace

Important news for all Microsoft SMB Partners! Microsoft announced significant enhancements to Marketplace, check out the blog for more details: https://lnkd.in/gy8xitzJ Why this matters for CSP Partners and any partner delivering AI solutions for SMB customers? A few reasons: - Agent Store - Multiparty private offers - CSP private offers - CSP integration - AI apps and Agents for every use case Partners like Arrow, Pax8, Ingram Micro, TD Synnex and Crayon are integrating Microsoft Marketplace into their marketplaces. Check out the blog for more details!

From the reimagined #MSMarketplace to new AI skilling, Microsoft partners have a lot to tap into this month! ✅ Unified Marketplace with new AI apps and agents category ✅ New FY26 specializations ✅ Savings from $15,000 to over $500,000 on bundled packages ✅ Technical and API changes Get the full roundup: https://msft.it/6043sFKbX

Wow! Google’s Gemini Enterprise has launched with an impressive suite of models, tools, and AI agents designed for businesses of all sizes. During the announcement, Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, mentioned that Google itself is already leveraging many of these tools — and that approximately 50% of Google’s code is now generated by AI. He described Gemini Enterprise as the new front door for AI in the workplace. One demo in particular really caught my attention during the virtual launch event I attended today. It featured a party supply company preparing for a Halloween campaign. The AI agent ingested a Word document outlining the campaign plans, then automatically translated that information into code and deployed it. The marketing campaign agent conducted both internal and external market research, identified the latest trends, and discovered that the company’s “Galactic Ranger” product line would likely face a supply shortage if featured prominently. Incredible — I did this type of analysis manually when working on an AT&T Black Friday promo during one of my consulting projects! This would have been such a great time saver. The agent then assisted in placing an order to meet projected demand and even drafted an email to inform store managers of the pending orders. Meanwhile, a social media agent created brand-compliant campaign images, including one animated piece set to intergalactic disco music. To top it off, Google Vids was used to turn the campaign kickoff presentation into a completely different format — an engaging video, complete with an AI-generated script and voiceover. There’s no doubt that tools like Gemini Enterprise will dramatically reshape many roles by introducing new levels of efficiency. I foresee reduced demand for some traditional designer, engineering, and marketing roles, but also the emergence of entirely new ones. This has always been the tradeoff with technological progress — from the days of pen and paper to typewriters, desktops, laptops, and now, AI-driven workplaces. The key is adaptability. Workers today will need to continually evolve and refresh their skills, just as I have done throughout my career. #AI #GoogleCloud #GeminiEnterprise #FutureOfWork #WorkplaceAI #ArtificialIntelligence #TechnologyLeadership https://lnkd.in/ewRM84Ky

Exciting news for partners as Microsoft Marketplace goes live, marking a significant milestone in AI-driven growth opportunities. Partners now have the platform to exhibit their solutions directly within key products like Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI Foundry, enhancing the in-product experience for organizations. This consolidated marketplace not only simplifies the sales process but also grants partners access to a vast customer base worldwide, featuring over 3,000 AI applications and agents. The impact on our partners and customers is evident. Marketplace serves as a catalyst in enabling organizations to swiftly translate concepts into reality on a global scale, expediting the journey towards becoming a Frontier Firm.

Learn how iPaaS for SaaS integration turns a tangled web of apps into a strategic digital nervous system — cutting redundant spend, automating workflows, and unlocking real AI value. Accept business‑led IT and govern it: iPaaS gives teams a fast, secure way to integrate new tools, create a single source of truth, and drive faster, data‑driven decisions. Read the full insight: https://hubs.ly/Q03NmSRz0 #iPaaS #SaaSIntegration #AI #DigitalTransformation