Microsoft Build 2026 brought together developers at a pivotal moment. AI is reshaping how applications are built, scaled, secured, and operated, and developers are moving from creating simple assistants to long-running agentic systems that can execute real workflows.
For Microsoft partners, the opportunity is clear. Customers are asking for more than experimentation. They want to move from pilots to production and to govern agentic systems, connect AI to trusted business context, and scale securely across their organization.
Now more than ever, partners play a critical role in turning platform innovation into customer impact. You modernize the cloud and data foundation. You build and secure applications. You connect solutions to business outcomes. You make customer transformation real.
At Build, Microsoft anchored the developer opportunity around three connected themes: intelligence grounded in your organization’s context, a full stack that gives developers choice with enterprise control, and new frontiers where agentic systems expand what builders can create. For partners, these themes translate directly into growth opportunities across AI advisory, app modernization, data, security, infrastructure, Microsoft Marketplace, and managed services.
Build business-ready agents on the Microsoft agent platform
As customers move from pilots to production, context has replaced model capability as a primary barrier to adoption: how agents understand the business, access trusted knowledge, apply the right controls, and coordinate action across workflows. Microsoft Build 2026 introduced new capabilities that give developers and partners more ways to build agentic systems on a governed, enterprise-ready AI platform.
Microsoft IQ is the enterprise intelligence layer of the Microsoft stack, giving Copilot and agents a shared, continuously updated understanding of how an organization works. Microsoft IQ brings together signals already present across a customer’s Microsoft estate: how people work in Microsoft 365 through Work IQ, how the business is modeled in Microsoft Fabric through Fabric IQ, and how knowledge is distributed across data, applications, and the web through Foundry IQ. Web IQ adds real-time grounding from the web, giving agents access to both enterprise knowledge and world knowledge.
For partners, Microsoft IQ addresses a key barrier in agent development: lack of business context. By giving agents a shared understanding of people, data, processes, organizational knowledge, and real-time business signals, you can deliver more scalable and reusable agents grounded in real business operations. This creates services opportunities around agent strategy, process design, data readiness, semantic model readiness, governance, implementation, and ongoing optimization.
Work IQ brings workplace intelligence to agents by building a semantic understanding across email, calendar, meetings, chats, files, people, collaboration patterns, and line-of-business systems. The Work IQ APIs will be generally available on June 16, 2026, giving developers a production-ready way for agents to interact with Microsoft 365 data and apps. The APIs include four domains: Chat, Context, Tools, and Workspaces.
Work IQ also gives partners a practical way to build agents that are both useful and governable. Agent operations stay within the Microsoft 365 tenant trust boundary, and actions are auditable and discoverable. The APIs use consumption-based pricing denominated in Copilot credits, creating partner conversations around cost management, governance design, agent adoption planning, and workload prioritization.
Foundry IQ extends this context layer by grounding agents in enterprise knowledge from documents, emails, meetings, operational data, and the live web. Foundry IQ knowledge bases are generally available with service-level agreement (SLA) coverage, stable APIs, compliance certifications, and a Foundry IQ Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for MCP-compatible hosts.
For partners, Foundry IQ creates a repeatable way to build retrieval and grounding into agent solutions without rebuilding knowledge infrastructure for every customer scenario. You can package services around enterprise knowledge mapping, source integration, retrieval design, security configuration, and agent evaluation.
Microsoft Scout also showed how this intelligence layer can come together in a new class of proactive agents. Scout is Microsoft’s enterprise-grade, always-on autopilot personal agent, built on open-source OpenClaw, with identity, policy, and security controls built in. It works on a user’s behalf with persistent context and memory across Microsoft 365.
For partners, Scout creates a readiness conversation around identity, Intune, governance, adoption, and secure deployment, while reinforcing the Microsoft unified approach to proactive agents and in-flow action across Microsoft 365. Scout is a cloud-based agent currently in private preview with a limited set of customers. A GitHub Copilot license is a prerequisite, with consumption metered through GitHub tokens, along with admin opt-in and Intune enablement.
For more information about these announcements, explore the following resources:
Modernize cloud and data platforms for the AI era
AI is only as strong as the foundation it runs on. Customers need modern databases, governed data, secure infrastructure, and developer experiences that can carry agentic systems into production.
Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Databases extend the Microsoft IQ story into the data and application foundation. Microsoft has described the new constraint for agentic applications as consistent, shared data context across the business. Without it, every new agent starts from zero, relearning how the business works, where data lives, and what rules apply. Fabric provides a unified data and AI platform that empowers customers to move from isolated AI experiments to production-ready agent systems that build on shared organizational context.
Rayfin, a new open-source software development kit (SDK) and command line interface, gives developers and coding agents a path from prompt to production back end. Developers can define data models, back-end logic, authentication, and access policies directly in code, then deploy to Microsoft Fabric. Application data lands in Microsoft OneLake, where it becomes available to the broader Fabric stack, including analytics, operational and real-time data, and AI engines.
Azure HorizonDB, now in public preview, gives partners another entry point for AI-ready application modernization. It is a fully managed, PostgreSQL-compatible database designed for AI-powered applications, with vector search, integrated AI model management, and connectivity to Microsoft Foundry and Fabric. For partners, HorizonDB creates opportunities around PostgreSQL modernization, AI application architecture, database migration planning, performance optimization, and intelligent app development.
For customers with critical Oracle workloads, Oracle AI Database@Azure enables AI applications to connect trusted enterprise data where it already lives. By combining Oracle AI Database@Azure with Oracle MCP, Microsoft Fabric, Azure OpenAI, and GitHub Copilot, customers can connect Oracle and non-Oracle data, applications, workflows, and AI experiences on Azure.
For partners, this opens modernization and integration opportunities with customers that rely on Oracle workloads for critical business processes. You can build services around data integration, AI application design, governance, migration planning, and cross-platform architecture on Azure.
Build also introduced updates that strengthen the infrastructure layer for cloud-native and AI workloads. Azure Linux 4.0, now in public preview, and Azure Container Linux, now generally available, give customers Microsoft-maintained Linux options purpose-built for Azure environments. Azure Linux 4.0 provides an open-source Linux foundation optimized for Azure infrastructure, while Azure Container Linux provides a hardened container host for cloud-native workloads.
For partners, these announcements create a practical path from pilot to production. You can lead data estate assessments, innovate with PostgreSQL and Linux workloads, unify data in OneLake, build semantic models, design governed app back ends, and create reference architectures for AI-ready applications. You can also lead Oracle integration, migration planning, Kubernetes modernization, platform engineering, and managed services conversations around secure, cost-efficient Azure infrastructure.
For small and medium-sized business (SMB) customers, packaged motions can make AI adoption more approachable by connecting modernization work directly to business outcomes.
For more information about these announcements, explore the following resources:
Secure AI from development to deployment
As customers move into the agentic era, security becomes a core partner opportunity. Organizations need to know what agents are running, what data they can access, how they behave, and how risks are identified before they become production issues.
Agent 365 SDK is now generally available and empowers developers to build secure, enterprise-ready agents for any AI platform. It brings observability, access controls, and compliance enforcement into the development workflow. Agent 365 also extends Microsoft Entra, Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Purview, and Microsoft Intune through a single control plane to observe, govern, and secure agents, including local agents.
Microsoft Foundry is adding more ways to evaluate and govern agents before they move into production. Microsoft also introduced an open trust stack for AI agents, anchored by open-source projects such as ASSERT for policy-driven safety evaluation and the Agent Control Specification to standardize where and how controls are applied in the agent loop.
Microsoft has also introduced a new licensing prerequisite for new Agent 365 purchases. Effective June 1, 2026, new Agent 365 purchases require customers to have the foundational security, identity, compliance, and management capabilities needed to use core Agent 365 functionality.
For new Agent 365 purchases beginning June 1, 2026:
- Enterprise customers must have Microsoft 365 E5.
- Frontline worker users must have Microsoft Defender and Microsoft Purview at the F5 level.
- SMB customers must have Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
Customers without these prerequisite licenses may not have access to certain Agent 365 capabilities. This update does not change Microsoft 365 E7 customer engagements, as Microsoft 365 E7 includes Microsoft 365 E5, Agent 365, Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Entra Suite.
For partners, this creates a clear readiness conversation. Review licensing requirements early in Agent 365 engagements, identify customers who may need prerequisite licenses, and position the right Microsoft security and productivity foundation based on customer needs.
Microsoft is already working with select partners in early preview programs to help customers operationalize secure, enterprise-ready agentic AI.
For more information about these announcements:
Codename MDASH: Shift from reactive detection to proactive risk discovery
Security teams also gain new capabilities through the Microsoft Defender and GitHub Code Security (part of the GitHub Advanced Security portfolio) native integration. Codename MDASH is a multi-model agentic scanning harness that orchestrates a pipeline of more than 100 specialized AI agents to discover, validate, and prove exploitability across codebases.
The Microsoft Defender and GitHub Code Security native integration brings runtime context into development and security workflows so that teams can prioritize and address risks early, minimizing the impact to human resources.
A select group of security partners is engaged with Microsoft through our limited preview to shape codename MDASH and accelerate agentic AI vulnerability discovery. This partner engagement reflects our shared focus on moving from reactive detection to proactive identification of exploitable risk. Security should not be a final review step. It should be part of every AI, app modernization, and data engagement from the start.
For more information about these announcements, read the Security blog.
Expand what you can build with Microsoft Foundry and MAI models
At Build, Microsoft introduced new MAI models that give developers and partners more choice across reasoning, coding, image, transcription, and voice scenarios.
MAI-Thinking-1 is Microsoft AI’s first reasoning model. MAI-Image-2.5 supports text-to-image and image-to-image workloads. MAI Transcribe 1.5, MAI-Voice-2, and MAI-Code-1 expand options for speech, voice, and coding experiences across Microsoft Foundry and developer workflows. Fireworks AI is also generally available on Foundry, giving developers a single platform experience with enterprise governance and Azure data residency.
For partners, these models create more flexibility to design differentiated customer solutions. You can build multimodal agents, industry workflows, custom developer experiences, and AI-native applications using a governed platform that can meet enterprise expectations.
Turn platform innovation into partner growth
Build was not just a developer moment. It was a partner growth moment.
The announcements create immediate opportunities to package and deliver repeatable offers across the Microsoft ecosystem. You can build agent strategy and implementation services across Microsoft IQ, Foundry, Copilot Studio, and GitHub Copilot. You can deliver data and app modernization with Azure HorizonDB, Microsoft Fabric, OneLake, Rayfin, and Azure databases. You can lead secure AI transformation with Agent 365, Defender, Purview, Entra, Intune, and GitHub Advanced Security.
Microsoft Marketplace continues to evolve as a growth engine for partners, with new capabilities that make it easier for customers to find, buy, and deploy partner solutions. These updates reflect clear opportunities for partners: grow through product-led discovery and expand how you monetize through more flexible selling paths.
At Build, we introduced intelligent discovery in Marketplace, now in preview. Instead of relying only on keyword search, customers can use natural language to describe what they need, and Marketplace will present them with relevant solutions and surface side-by-side comparisons. This marks an important shift in how software gets found and bought, empowering customers to surface the right solutions faster while creating new pathways for partners to increase discoverability matched to customer intent.
For partners, this makes Marketplace listing quality even more important. Clear, outcome-oriented descriptions aligned to customer scenarios can improve how solutions show up in the new storefront experience. Partners are encouraged to review and optimize listings so intelligent discovery can better connect their offers to customer needs.
Marketplace is also expanding selling motions. We recently announced the expansion of multiparty private offers to new geographies, allowing more partners to collaborate on customized Marketplace deals across borders.
Multiparty private offers empower software companies and channel partners to create personalized offers and sell directly to Microsoft customers through Marketplace, with Microsoft handling billing and payout. For eligible Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment purchases, the sale can count toward the customer’s commitment, helping simplify procurement and strengthen the customer value proposition.
Multiparty private offers are now available across 30 European countries, with Australia, Japan, and South Africa following in July. In FY27, new custom contract length and midterm change capabilities will also make Marketplace selling more flexible, giving partners more ways to align offers to customer buying needs and commercial timelines.
Together, these updates make Microsoft Marketplace a more scalable path for software development companies and channel partners to reach buyers, participate in larger opportunities, and grow through the Microsoft ecosystem.
For more information about these announcements, explore the following resources:
Follow a streamlined path for startups to enterprise growth
Microsoft for Startups shared updates designed to make it simpler and more transparent for startups to join, build on Azure, and grow into enterprise businesses. Startups can now apply directly and start building immediately with Startup credits, with benefits that scale as they demonstrate verified progress and sustained Azure usage.
Qualified startups can access up to $150,000 USD in Startup credits over time, and those backed by Microsoft for Startups Investor Network partners continue to have an enhanced experience that can include a dedicated point of contact, expanded go-to-market opportunities, and the ability to unlock additional credits beyond the standard program offering.
For partners, this connects early AI development to enterprise expectations earlier in the journey. Enterprise customers still look for secure infrastructure, responsible AI practices, and strong governance, and many startups need practical guidance to meet those requirements while navigating long procurement cycles. The updates also reinforce enterprise growth pathways through Marketplace and co-sell support, aimed at reducing procurement friction and reaching customers faster through the Microsoft ecosystem.
This is a clear moment to engage startups with repeatable offers that accelerate readiness and revenue, including Azure architecture and cost governance, security and compliance baselines, and Marketplace readiness for transactable offers. If you already support startups, consider packaging a lightweight “build to enterprise” motion that takes founders from early traction to procurement-ready deployment, then aligns Marketplace and co-sell steps once the solution is ready for enterprise buyers.
Learn more about how Microsoft for Startups is creating a clearer path from AI development to enterprise growth.
Look ahead to new frontiers
Build also gave us a look at what comes next. Microsoft Discovery is generally available, giving researchers an enterprise-grade agentic AI platform for the full science workflow. Microsoft also shared progress on the Majorana 2 quantum computing chip, including reliability improvements and a long-term path to scale.
These updates show how quickly the frontier is moving. They also reinforce the practical partner takeaway: innovation creates growth when it is connected to real customer needs, trusted platforms, and repeatable delivery motions.
Next actions
The partner takeaway is practical. Innovation creates growth when it is connected to real customer needs, trusted platforms, and repeatable delivery motions.
Use Build as a catalyst. Review the announcements, identify the customer conversations you can lead now, and apply this platform innovation to drive measurable value for customers and growth for your business.
To turn Build announcements into growth, start with a focused readiness plan:
- Review the Build content and on-demand sessions on GitHub to identify the announcements most relevant to your practice.
- Map the announcements to your current offers, including AI advisory, cloud modernization, database migration, security, Marketplace, and managed services.
- Update your technical and sales readiness plans so teams can explain the customer value, implementation path, and partner services opportunity.
- Refresh your Microsoft Marketplace listings with outcome-led descriptions that align to customer scenarios and improve discoverability.
- Assess where partner benefits packages can support your readiness plans, including internal skilling, product access, Azure credits, support, and go-to-market resources.
- Join us for MCAPS Start for Partners in July to continue building your FY27 strategy and turn Microsoft Build innovation into partner growth.
For additional details on Build 2026 announcements, be sure to read the official Microsoft blog.