Welcome to Forward Deployed! We’ve rebranded to reflect our broader focus on technologies and business solutions that go beyond low code.
In our first episode as the Forward Deployed podcast, we’re joined by Julie Sato, Principal Product Manager for SharePoint, to explore the newly released SharePoint Knowledge Agent. Julie walks us through how this AI-powered tool helps users organize content, extract metadata, and improve searchability across SharePoint, all with no code. Whether you're a site manager, content creator, or everyday information worker, this episode shows how Knowledge Agent is transforming how we manage and retrieve content.
To learn more and get started with SharePoint Knowledge Agent, explore the following resources:
Launch blog post: https://aka.ms/KnowledgeAgentLaunch
Intro video: https://aka.ms/KAvideo
Simulation: https://aka.ms/KAdemo
Metadata blog post: https://aka.ms/KAmetadatablog
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Episode 111: Workflows Agent within Microsoft 365 Copilot (w/ Heather Orta-Olmo)
What if your daily Copilot prompts could turn into automated actions? In this episode, Heather Orta-Olmo joins Sean, Wendy, and Jocelyn to introduce the Workflows Agent, a new way to build personal automations inside Microsoft 365 Copilot. From summarizing meetings to creating planner tasks and blocking focus time, Heather shares how this conversational experience empowers users to automate without knowing a single API. We talk prompt tips, collaboration hacks, and yes, how to avoid flooding your inbox with recursive flows. This episode is your guide to getting started, getting better, and getting more done with Workflows Agent.
Want to dive deeper?
https://aka.ms/LCA-CopilotNewAgentsBlog
https://aka.ms/LCA-WorkflowsAgentVideo
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Episode 110: Managed Platforms: The Key to Success (w/ Andrew Gaskins)
What does it take to roll out Copilot Studio at scale? Andrew Gaskins of Lumen joins the podcast to unpack how admins can lead innovation through governance. From zone strategies to CoE reviews, Andrew walks us through the battle-tested blueprint that helped Lumen deploy thousands of agents while keeping costs in check. If you're wondering how to balance freedom and control in your agent strategy, this episode is your playbook.
Andrew’s previous episode: https://thelowcodeapproach.podbean.com/e/the-power-of-building-a-community-w-andrew-gaskins/
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Episode 109: What is SFI (w Ilya Grebnov)
When security becomes the strategy, everything changes. Ilya Grebnov, Deputy CISO for Business Applications, joins the podcast to explain how Microsoft’s Secure Future Initiative (SFI) transformed the way engineers think, build, and ship. He walks through the principles behind “secure by design,” how Microsoft balances usability with protection, and what it takes to earn customer trust in a world of evolving threats. From tightening the smallest controls to rethinking global infrastructure, this conversation shows what it means to lead with security first, and why that mindset is shaping the future of agents, AI, and cyber defense.
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Episode 108: Managed Availability (w/ Shivani Pradhan and Mauktik Gandhi)
Downtime is expensive. Managed Availability makes sure you never have to pay it. In this episode, Shivani Pradhan and Mauktik Gandhi join us to walk through how the Power Platform and Dynamics 365 Foundations team built a system that’s resilient by design. With built-in failovers, isolated “islands,” and one-minute recovery, when the unexpected happens, you stay up and running. All with one push of a button.
As organizations accelerate their adoption of generative AI and intelligent agents to transform how they build and manage solutions, IT professionals and developers are expanding their expertise to design, deploy, and govern AI-powered systems—leveraging Microsoft Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry to integrate collaboration tools, enforce enterprise-grade compliance, and support both low-code and pro-code development. With built-in security frameworks, governance controls, and seamless integration with Microsoft Security, Entra, and Purview, these platforms empower teams to innovate responsibly while maintaining visibility, control, and trust across the AI lifecycle. Learn from Microsoft MVPs, product team members, and industry practitioners how they’ve built secure, collaborative, and compliant AI applications and agents using Microsoft’s trusted AI ecosystem.
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