Microsoft Innovation Podcast

• How AI Levels the Playing Field for Small Business

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 🎙FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/706 What happens when a seasoned tech leader steps away from Microsoft, only to return stronger and more AI-savvy than ever? In this episode, Nikkia Carter shares her journey from early programming days to becoming a Microsoft MVP—twice. She dives deep into how AI, especially Microsoft Copilot, is transforming business operations, leveling the playing field for small companies, and reshaping how professionals work. If you're curious about practical AI adoption, ethical considerations, and how to stay ahead in tech, this conversation is packed with insights you won’t want to miss. Plus, Nikkia shares a powerful AI tip from JP O’Donnell of ProActive BDA that’s changing how professionals prepare for meetings.  🔑KEY TAKEAWAYS AI is a tool, not a replacement: Businesses should integrate AI to enhance human work—not eliminate it.  Copilot use cases are expanding: From proposal writing to HR and accounting agents, AI is streamlining workflows.  Privacy matters: Free AI tools may compromise data security—invest in trusted platforms like Microsoft Copilot.  Small businesses benefit most: AI democratizes access to enterprise-level capabilities, much like the cloud did.  MVP advice: Consistent monthly contributions (blogs, user groups, videos) are key to earning and maintaining MVP status. 🧰RESOURCES MENTIONED: 👉 JP O’Donnell of ProActive BDA - He gave the AI tip to Nikkia Carter. 👉 Microsoft Copilot – https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot  👉 ChatGPT – https://chat.openai.com  👉 Perplexity AI – https://www.perplexity.ai 👉 Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7 This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• Why GenAI Fails Without Clean Data

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/705   What if the biggest barrier to AI success isn’t the model—but your data? In this episode, Sedarius Tekara Perrotta, CEO of Shelf, reveals why unstructured data is sabotaging enterprise AI efforts and how to fix it. From SharePoint chaos to hallucinating copilots, Sedarius shares a practical framework for transforming messy data into clean, actionable fuel for generative AI. If you're a business or tech leader navigating AI adoption, this conversation is your roadmap to clarity, control, and competitive edge.  🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS Unstructured data is the silent killer of AI accuracy. Most organizations have millions of files riddled with micro-errors that confuse AI models and lead to hallucinations.  A successful AI strategy starts with a data strategy. Clean, enriched, and refined data is essential before plugging into any AI system.  Use the “Reduce, Enhance, Refine” framework. Focus on a specific use case, eliminate irrelevant data, enrich with metadata, and refine to a trusted set of documents.  Automation is key—but not enough. Human oversight and iterative monitoring are still critical to ensure AI outputs remain accurate and relevant.  AI agents will transform job roles incrementally. Expect gradual automation of tasks, with agents augmenting—not replacing—human expertise. 🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED 👉 Shelf – AI-powered unstructured data management platform: https://www.shelf.io  👉 Microsoft Copilot Studio – Customizable AI interface for enterprise use: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/copilot-studio  👉 Gartner Research – Identified poor data quality as the #1 barrier to scaling GenAI - Read the full Gartner press releaseThis year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• AI Agents Are Changing Software Forever—Are You Ready?

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/704  What happens when enterprise tech projects go off course—and how do you fix them? In this episode, Gary Blunden shares hard-earned insights from years of rescuing failed digital transformations. From diagnosing platform misalignment to exploring the future of AI-driven development, Gary offers a grounded yet forward-looking perspective on what it takes to build resilient, scalable solutions in today’s fast-evolving tech landscape.🔑KEY TAKEAWAYSRecovery projects reveal deep tech-business disconnects: Success hinges on understanding user pain points, not just deploying shiny tools. AI is reshaping software engineering: Tools like GitHub Copilot and agent-based systems are accelerating development—but human oversight remains critical. Low-code is evolving into “vibe code”: Expect a shift from manual UI building to orchestrating intelligent, autonomous agents. Documentation is becoming executable: Emerging tools may soon turn solution design docs into deployable systems. Mentorship and legacy knowledge matter: As AI abstracts complexity, retaining foundational engineering wisdom is more important than ever.🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED👉 Power Platform – Microsoft’s low-code development suite https://powerplatform.microsoft.com  👉 Power Automate – Workflow automation tool https://powerautomate.microsoft.com  👉 GitHub Copilot – AI pair programmer for developers https://github.com/features/copilot  👉 Microsoft MVP YouTube Series - How to Become a Microsoft MVP - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzf0yupPbVkqdRJDPVE4PtTlm6quDhiu7This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• AI That Knows Your Code Better Than You Do

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/703 What happens when AI becomes your most insightful team member? In this episode, the team dives into a real-world case where a custom-built AI copilot transformed 7,000+ DevOps work items into a 120-page strategic report—without a single meeting. From surfacing hidden productivity patterns to reshaping how teams collaborate, this conversation explores how AI is no longer just a tool—it’s a force multiplier. Whether you're an AI optimist, skeptic, or somewhere in between, this episode will challenge how you think about intelligence, creativity, and the future of work. 🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS AI as a Knowledge Synthesizer: Learn how a custom copilot built on DevOps data enabled full project, code, and tech reviews—without needing every stakeholder on a call. The 80/20 Insight: Discover how AI surfaced that 20% of a team was doing 80% of the work, revealing critical knowledge silos and opportunities for upskilling. From Fear to Fluency: Understand the psychology behind AI resistance—fear, change aversion, and the myth of being “too special to be replaced.” AI for Accessibility: Hear how AI empowers professionals with dyslexia and other challenges to communicate more clearly and confidently. The New Baseline: Why using AI isn’t cheating—it’s the new standard for productivity, clarity, and competitive edge. 🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED 👉 Microsoft 365 Copilot – AI assistant integrated into Microsoft tools https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot 👉 Azure DevOps – Project management and code repository platform https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/products/devops 👉 Microsoft Fabric – Unified data analytics platform https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-fabric 👉 Gallup AI Adoption Report – Referenced for workplace AI usage trends https://www.gallup.com This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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• Why Small Language Models Are the Future of AI

  Get featured on the show by leaving us a Voice Mail: https://bit.ly/MIPVM 🎙️ FULL SHOW NOTES https://www.microsoftinnovationpodcast.com/702 What if the future of AI isn’t bigger—but smaller, smarter, and more specialized? In this episode, Microsoft’s Ilya Venger pulls back the curtain on the rise of small language models (SLMs), the evolution of intelligent agents, and why clean, governed data is the real fuel behind AI success. From industry-specific copilots to the power of Microsoft Fabric, this conversation is packed with practical insights for business and tech leaders navigating the AI revolution.  🔑 KEY TAKEAWAYS SLMs vs. LLMs: Small language models are leaner, more efficient, and better suited for domain-specific tasks—offering lower hallucination rates and higher cost-performance ratios. Data Quality Matters: AI is only as good as the data it’s trained on. Microsoft Fabric and Purview help unify, clean, and govern enterprise data for more reliable AI outcomes.  Industry Agents Are Coming: Microsoft is enabling partners to build industry-specific agents—like healthcare assistants or retail copilots—using modular skills and tools. Copilot Studio’s Role: This low-code platform empowers teams to build, test, and deploy AI agents across Teams, Slack, and custom environments. The Future of AI Interfaces: Expect dynamic, on-the-fly UI generation tailored to user intent—blending visual and conversational interfaces for seamless interaction. 🧰 RESOURCES MENTIONED 👉Microsoft Fabric – Unified data platform for analytics and governance https://www.microsoft.com/fabric\ 👉 Microsoft Purview – Data governance and cataloguing solution https://www.microsoft.com/purview 👉Azure Marketplace – Access to industry-specific AI skills like financial document analysis https://azuremarketplace.microsoft.com 👉 Copilot Studio – Low-code platform for building and deploying AI agents https://aka.ms/CopilotStudio This year we're adding a new show to our line up - The AI Advantage. We'll discuss the skills you need to thrive in an AI-enabled world. Accelerate your Microsoft career with the 90 Day Mentoring Challenge We’ve helped 1,300+ people across 70+ countries establish successful careers in the Microsoft Power Platform and Dynamics 365 ecosystem.Benefit from expert guidance, a supportive community, and a clear career roadmap. A lot can change in 90 days, get started today!Support the showIf you want to get in touch with me, you can message me here on Linkedin.Thanks for listening 🚀 - Mark Smith

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