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The Microsoft stack, in motion.

A monthly watchlist of the Microsoft releases and roadmap changes most relevant to the platforms we work with. Every topic links directly to a primary Microsoft source.

/ 11 topics / 11 technologies / View archive

Developer Platform

Developer tools become more agentic.

Visual Studio, GitHub Copilot and Microsoft Foundry are moving agent-assisted development from chat toward repeatable, tool-aware workflows.

01Visual Studio · GitHub Copilot

Visual Studio’s new Copilot Agent moves onto the GitHub Copilot SDK

Visual Studio’s July update introduces a new Agent preview in Copilot Chat built on the GitHub Copilot SDK. The goal is a more consistent agent experience across Visual Studio, VS Code, the GitHub app and the Copilot CLI, with less back-and-forth while handling everyday development tasks.

Why it mattersDevelopment teams standardizing on Copilot should review how work can move between IDE, CLI and GitHub surfaces while keeping review and developer control inside the normal engineering workflow.

Read the source →devblogs.microsoft.com
02Visual Studio · .NET · Azure

Built-in .NET and Azure Agent Skills arrive in Visual Studio

Visual Studio 18.8 adds built-in Agent Skills authored by Microsoft’s .NET and Azure teams. Initial skills cover scenarios such as ASP.NET Core API work, .NET performance analysis, Azure preparation, validation and deployment, Kusto analysis, and Microsoft Foundry.

Why it mattersReusable expert-authored skills can make agent-assisted development more predictable by giving Copilot task-specific guidance instead of relying only on general prompting.

Read the source →devblogs.microsoft.com
03.NET · GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot gets an interactive upgrade canvas for .NET modernization

GitHub Copilot upgrade now provides an interactive canvas for .NET modernization. It brings assessment, upgrade planning, implementation tasks, execution progress, code changes and build failures into one view while the upgrade agent carries out the modernization workflow.

Why it mattersOrganizations with older .NET estates can make modernization work easier to review and govern by keeping assessment, planning and execution visible as one connected process.

Read the source →devblogs.microsoft.com
04Microsoft Foundry · Azure

Microsoft Foundry expands production-agent capabilities

Microsoft continues to expand Foundry as the Azure platform for building, deploying and operating AI applications and agents, bringing model, agent, evaluation and operational capabilities together for enterprise development.

Why it mattersTeams moving beyond AI prototypes should evaluate Foundry as a common platform for agent lifecycle management, observability and governed production deployment.

Read the source →azure.microsoft.com

Power Platform & Dataverse

Dataverse becomes agent-ready infrastructure.

The 2026 release wave continues to position Dataverse and Power Platform as governed foundations for agents, modern apps and enterprise automation.

05Dataverse · Power Platform

Dataverse is being positioned as an enterprise agentic data platform

Microsoft’s 2026 release wave 1 positions Dataverse as an enterprise-ready agentic and low-code data platform. Planned investments include Work IQ integration, agent programmability through APIs and MCP servers, a Dataverse Python SDK, adaptive learning, agent identities and improved storage management.

Why it mattersDataverse architects should start treating agent identity, business context, auditability and reusable skills as platform concerns alongside the traditional table, security and integration design.

Read the source →learn.microsoft.com
06Dataverse · MCP

Dataverse MCP tools gain clearer discovery, search and business-skill management

The Dataverse MCP server has been reworked to separate data retrieval from metadata discovery. The updated tool surface adds unstructured data search, a dedicated metadata search, a unified describe tool, and MCP operations to create, update and delete reusable business skills.

Why it mattersClearer MCP tool boundaries can improve agent routing and reliability, but existing implementations should review renamed and deprecated tools before adopting the updated surface.

Read the source →learn.microsoft.com
07Power Platform

Power Platform 2026 wave 1 continues its shift toward agents, modern apps and stronger governance

Power Platform 2026 release wave 1 spans Power Apps, Power Pages, Power Automate, Dataverse and administration. Major themes include modern app experiences, AI-assisted automation, Dataverse agent programmability, stronger agent security controls and improved visibility into usage and Copilot consumption.

Why it mattersPlatform owners should review the wave as a coordinated roadmap because app modernization, agents, governance and cost controls are increasingly connected rather than isolated features.

Read the source →learn.microsoft.com
08Power Apps · Microsoft 365 Copilot

Power Apps adds more enterprise-scale app and Copilot capabilities

Power Apps wave 1 continues the move toward modern model-driven and canvas experiences, including modern theming, stronger search and offline scenarios, generative pages, Microsoft 365 Copilot integration and additional app-building capabilities planned through September 2026.

Why it mattersMakers and administrators should assess which features are automatic versus opt-in so user experience changes, Copilot capabilities and governance can be introduced deliberately.

Read the source →learn.microsoft.com

Dynamics 365 & Business Apps

Business applications embed more autonomous work.

Dynamics 365 and Business Central continue to add agent-led capabilities across selling, service, project delivery and financial operations.

09Dynamics 365

Dynamics 365 2026 wave 1 keeps agentic customer engagement at the center

Dynamics 365 2026 release wave 1 introduces updates across Sales, Customer Service, Contact Center, Field Service, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Project Operations and other applications. AI-assisted selling, agentic service, intelligent scheduling and connected project operations remain prominent themes.

Why it mattersOrganizations should review the release wave across business and technical teams so new agent capabilities are assessed together with process ownership, security and operational readiness.

Read the source →learn.microsoft.com
10Dynamics 365 Business Central · Copilot

Business Central’s Expense Agent moves expense capture further into agent-led processing

Business Central update 28.3 expands agent-led finance scenarios. The Expense Agent can associate expenses with projects and project tasks in preview, while the update also includes improvements to Sales Order Agent and a simplified Payables Agent trial experience.

Why it mattersFinance and project teams can evaluate where agent-assisted capture reduces manual entry while still preserving the approvals, coding controls and audit trail required for financial processes.

Read the source →learn.microsoft.com

Collaboration & Content

Copilot reaches deeper into SharePoint content.

SharePoint continues to become an active Copilot workspace for creating, understanding and automating content through natural language.

11SharePoint · Microsoft 365 Copilot

Copilot in SharePoint expands natural-language content creation and automation

Microsoft’s July 2026 SharePoint Copilot update continues to expand AI-assisted content experiences, with natural-language capabilities aimed at helping users create, work with and automate content directly within SharePoint.

Why it mattersAs more AI experiences operate directly on SharePoint content, information architecture, permissions, metadata and content quality become even more important to reliable Copilot outcomes.

Read the source →techcommunity.microsoft.com

Briefing archive

Previous briefings.

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Microsoft platform updates across developer tools, governed agents, analytics, ERP and low-code. 10 topics · 9 technologies

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