Microsoft Foundry: The Unified Enterprise AI Agent Platform That Scales Easily 

At Microsoft Ignite 2025, Microsoft made one thing clear: enterprise AI cannot operate in silos. Fragmented tools, disconnected models, and inconsistent governance limit AI’s real business value. Microsoft Foundry addresses this challenge by delivering a unified, enterprise-ready AI agent platform that brings models, agents, data, security, and governance together in a single environment. Evolving from Azure AI Studio to Azure AI Foundry, Microsoft Foundry represents a shift toward an agent-first architecture designed to scale securely across organisations. 

This article explains what Microsoft Foundry is, how it works, and why it matters for enterprises building AI at scale.

What are AI Agents and What Can They Do?

What is Microsoft Foundry? 

Microsoft Foundry is the evolved Microsoft Foundry AI platform built to create, deploy, and manage AI agents at enterprise scale. It unifies models, datasets, agents, orchestration, evaluation, and governance into a single Azure-based control plane. 

Formerly known as Microsoft Azure AI Foundry, the platform has been expanded and restructured to eliminate infrastructure friction while maximising developer productivity and enterprise control. 

At its core, Microsoft Foundry provides: 

• A consistent project structure 

• A single management and governance experience 

• Enterprise-grade security and monitoring 

• A streamlined portal for agentic AI applications 

This unified approach removes the need to juggle multiple Azure services or custom AI stacks. 

From Azure AI Foundry to Microsoft Foundry: What Changed? 

The transition from Azure AI Foundry to Microsoft Foundry reflects Microsoft’s broader move toward agentic AI. 

Previously, AI development required stitching together: 

• Model hosting 

• Data access 

• Security controls 

• Monitoring tools 

With ai foundry Microsoft has consolidated these capabilities into one Azure resource provider, making Foundry Microsoft’s central platform for enterprise AI agents. 

Microsoft Foundry Architecture Overview 

Microsoft Foundry is built around a central control plane that governs identity, security, policy enforcement, and observability. 

Key architectural elements include: 

• Microsoft Entra ID for agent identities and RBAC 

• Built-in monitoring, evaluations, and networking 

• Support for both cloud-native and on-device AI via Foundry Local 

• Seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and third-party systems 

This architecture enables AI agents to operate autonomously while remaining compliant, observable, and secure. 

What are the Main Components of Microsoft Foundry?  

Enterprise-Grade Benefits of Microsoft Foundry 

Security and Governance by Design 

Each AI agent in Microsoft Foundry receives its own Microsoft Entra identity, enabling: 

• Zero Trust enforcement 

• RBAC and policy control 

• Continuous monitoring via Defender and Purview 

• Protection against prompt injection and jailbreak attacks 

This ensures enterprise AI governance without adding operational complexity. 

Multi-Cloud Model Flexibility 

Microsoft Foundry provides access to over 11,000 frontier models, including: 

• OpenAI GPT models 

• Anthropic Claude 

• Meta Llama 

The Model Router automatically selects the best model based on cost, performance, and safety. 

Centralised Agent Control with Agent 365 

Agent 365 acts as an “Azure AD for AI agents,” enabling organisations to: 

• Register and manage agents centrally 

• Audit actions for compliance 

• Scale AI safely across teams and environments 

Cost Optimisation at Scale 

With built-in cost visibility, Microsoft Foundry helps reduce AI spend by: 

• Selecting cost-efficient models for testing 

• Locking in enterprise pricing for production 

• Tracking usage and enforcing budgets centrally 

Collaborative Multi-Agent Workflows 

Microsoft Foundry enables orchestration of multiple specialised agents that: 

• Collaborate across workflows 

• Use shared memory and tools 

• Recover gracefully from failures 

This makes Foundry ideal for complex enterprise use cases. 

Foundry Local for Edge and Offline AI 

Foundry Local enables AI agents to run on-device for: 

• Privacy-sensitive workloads 

• Low-latency environments 

• Limited connectivity scenarios 

This expands enterprise AI beyond the cloud. 

How Microsoft Foundry Helps Scale AI Across the Enterprise 

Microsoft Foundry scales AI by: 

• Standardising agent development 

• Centralising governance and observability 

• Supporting hybrid and edge deployments 

• Integrating seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and enterprise systems 

This allows organisations to grow from prototypes to production AI without re-architecting. 

Kloudify at the Forefront of AI Innovation with Microsoft Foundry 

Microsoft Foundry delivers a complete enterprise AI foundation—but success depends on how it’s implemented. 

Kloudify is a Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365 specialist helping Australian organisations: 

• Architect enterprise AI platforms with Microsoft Foundry 

• Implement secure AI governance and compliance 

• Integrate AI with Microsoft 365 and business systems 

• Optimise cost, performance, and scalability 

Our cybersecurity expertise secures your AI infrastructure while unlocking innovation. Shall we get started with a free consult first? 

Microsoft Foundry: Key Questions Answered

What is Microsoft Foundry and what is it used for? 

Microsoft Foundry is a unified enterprise AI agent platform used to build, deploy, govern, and scale AI agents securely across cloud and edge environments. 

How is Microsoft Foundry different from Azure AI Foundry? 

Azure AI Foundry was a precursor focused on AI development. Microsoft Foundry expands this into a full enterprise AI platform with governance, agent orchestration, and scaling built in. 

What is Microsoft Azure AI Foundry? 

Microsoft Azure AI Foundry was an earlier platform for building AI solutions in Azure. It has now evolved into Microsoft Foundry. 

What are the main components of Microsoft Foundry? 

Key components include Models, Agent Service, Foundry IQ, Foundry Tools, Control Plane, Foundry Local, and Agent 365. 

How does Microsoft Foundry support enterprise AI governance and security? 

It uses Microsoft Entra ID for agent identities, RBAC, Defender and Purview integration, monitoring, and policy enforcement. 

What is Foundry Local and when should it be used? 

Foundry Local allows AI agents to run on-device for offline, low-latency, or privacy-sensitive use cases. 

How does Microsoft Foundry help scale AI agents across the enterprise? 

It standardises agent development, centralises control, supports multi-agent orchestration, and integrates governance across all environments.