Azure updates for partners: December 2025

During the Microsoft Ignite 2025 event, we delved into what it means for businesses to enter the realm of Frontier transformation. This transformation centres around integrating AI throughout various facets of the organisation, enhancing decision-making, boosting speed, and generating new value. Leading organisations in AI consider it a core element, revamping their processes and incorporating cutting-edge technologies from the outset to enhance efficiency.

For partners, embracing the Frontier shift presents a valuable opportunity to guide customers into this innovative phase. By creating AI-driven solutions, linking data for insightful analysis, and utilising Microsoft Azure’s cloud-enhanced platforms, partners can deliver greater value more swiftly and expand their reach confidently through the Microsoft ecosystem.

Microsoft Ignite brought a wealth of announcements, and I’ve compiled the key Azure updates that are crucial for partners. These features can enhance your ability to offer intelligent solutions, improve operational efficiency, and set your products or services apart in the marketplace. You can also learn how partners are converting momentum into tangible actions, view highlights, and access practical advice from my session at Microsoft Ignite.

Azure Copilot: Currently in private preview

Azure Copilot is introducing specialised agents within the Azure portal, PowerShell, and CLI. Utilising Azure Resource Manager (ARM)-based scenarios and advanced AI models from Microsoft and its partners, Azure Copilot simplifies tasks such as migration, assessment, and modernisation through data-driven insights, guided workflows, and enhanced governance across customer environments. For partners, this offers a cohesive method to implement intelligent automation for cloud workloads, expedite modernisation initiatives, reduce operational overhead, and fortify governance through integrated workflows across Azure and GitHub Copilot.

If you’re interested in further details, explore these available resources:

Foundry Control Plane: Currently in public preview

The Microsoft Foundry Control Plane enhances Agent 365 by providing unified visibility, security, and control over AI agents functioning within the Microsoft Cloud. It centralises policy management, lifecycle governance, and observability, presenting a consistent approach to managing agent behaviour and performance. With its robust governance and security features, Control Plane supports safe, scalable, and efficient management of AI-powered solutions for various customer environments.

For additional insights, check out these resources:

Foundry IQ: Now in public preview

Foundry IQ delivers a centralised endpoint for agent knowledge, automating source routing and retrieval processes using Azure AI Search. This allows agents to interact with enterprise content securely while ensuring contextual relevance through a unified knowledge base across multiple data sources. For partners, this simplifies the development of retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) solutions, linking agents to specific customer knowledge sources, thus enabling organisations to extract greater value from their data.

Discover more in our blog: Foundry IQ: Unlocking ubiquitous knowledge for agents.

Fabric IQ: Currently in public preview

Microsoft Fabric IQ provides a real-time, coherent view of enterprise data and AI agents, categorising information based on business concepts and utilising OneLake for real-time analytics across hybrid and multicloud landscapes. For partners, Fabric IQ lays the groundwork for developing intelligent, context-aware solutions that align with business processes, enhance analytics performance, and bolster governance to improve reliability and efficiency across client implementations.

For further information, take a look at these additional resources:

Microsoft Agent Factory: Now available

Microsoft Agent Factory is a new initiative aimed at businesses wanting to accelerate their transition from experimentation to execution. Central to this programme is the Microsoft Agent Pre-Purchase Plan (P3), which simplifies procurement and reduces complexity. With P3, partners can provide their customers access to 32 Microsoft services via a single, flexible pool of funds, eliminating the hassle of multiple contracts or platform choices. This metered approach not only lowers upfront licensing and provisioning but also promotes greater predictability for organisations investing in AI innovation. Eligible organisations will also benefit from hands-on assistance from leading AI Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs) and gain access to tailored, role-specific training that enhances AI proficiency across teams, unlocking new avenues for growth and innovation as they warmly embrace the future of AI.

Read more in our blog: Accelerate innovation with Microsoft Agent Factory.

Microsoft Foundry: Anthropic Claude models are now available

Microsoft Foundry has recently included Anthropic Claude models that facilitate advanced reasoning for research, coding, and agentic workflows, all within the structured governance and observability framework of Microsoft. For partners, this expands options regarding model capabilities to create multistep agents tailored for specific tasks while ensuring consistent governance and deployment across Azure, Foundry, and Microsoft 365 Copilot environments.

Find out more in our blog: Introducing Anthropic’s Claude models in Microsoft Foundry: Bringing Frontier intelligence to Azure.

Resale enabled offers: Now available through Microsoft Marketplace

Resale enabled offers are now available across nearly all Marketplace-supported regions, allowing software companies to collaborate with channel partners to manage listings and broaden their reach. For partners, this opens up new channel-driven sales opportunities by facilitating easier promotion and management of listings for publishers, thus connecting with a wider customer base without complicating operations.

For more insights, explore these resources:

Azure HorizonDB for PostgreSQL: Currently in private preview

Azure HorizonDB is a new PostgreSQL cloud database designed for mission-critical applications and contemporary AI workloads. It features auto-scaling storage, rapid compute scaling, advanced vector indexing, and seamless integration with the Microsoft AI and analytics ecosystem. For partners, HorizonDB is essential for developing intelligent, resilient applications, modernising legacy systems, and establishing high-performance data platforms prioritising security, scalability, and future AI workloads.

Check out these additional resources for more information:

Microsoft Agent 365: The control plane for AI agents

Agent 365 broadens the Microsoft user management framework to AI agents, enabling organisations to oversee agents throughout Microsoft 365, Azure, and Foundry. Accessible in the Microsoft 365 admin centre through the Frontier program, it integrates capabilities from Microsoft 365 Defender, Entra, Purview, and Microsoft 365 for comprehensive security, productivity, and management. For partners, this creates a unified method for deploying, securing, and overseeing AI agent fleets across customer environments, ensuring streamlined governance and operational clarity.

Get more insights from our blog: Microsoft Agent 365: The control plane for AI agents.

Looking ahead

Microsoft Ignite is more than just about product announcements; it’s an occasion to celebrate what we can achieve collectively as partners. Continue your journey by exploring the Cloud & AI Platforms partner sessions at Microsoft Ignite and read the Azure at Microsoft Ignite 2025: All the intelligent cloud news explained for more product updates.

Stay engaged with us through various channels. Follow Microsoft Partner on LinkedIn, participate in conversations on our Partner News Community, and visit the Microsoft partner site to maintain your momentum.

For the latest updates on new announcements, be sure to check out the “What’s new in Azure for Partners” newsletter on the Microsoft Community Hub and follow the tag “Azure News” to stay informed.