Agentic Business Processes with Microsoft Foundry, Agent Framework & Copilot Cowork

Embark on a five-day pro-code masterclass in Agentic AI engineering with Microsoft Foundry, the Microsoft Agent Framework, and Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork. Built for Software Architects and Senior Engineers with the AI-103 foundation, it skips the hello-agent tutorial and goes straight to the architecture, identity, orchestration, and integration patterns that ship.

You start by reframing Microsoft Foundry as an architect sees it: the new resource model, the Azure OpenAI upgrade path, and Model Router across Balanced, Cost, and Quality bands. You wire the Foundry SDK 2.0 through Microsoft.Extensions.AI pipelines, replace threads and runs with the Responses API trio of agent, conversation, and response, and treat Agent Identity as a first-class concern with Entra service principals, Blueprints, and On-Behalf-Of flows. MCP becomes production infrastructure via the Azure Functions extension and Foundry Toolbox, with OpenTelemetry GenAI conventions powering trace-level evaluation, Prompt Optimizer, and Task Adherence.

From there you move into the Foundry Agent Service, navigating the three agent kinds and the new state model. Foundry IQ opens up: query planner, ACL sync with Microsoft Purview, and the distinction between Foundry IQ, Fabric IQ, and Work IQ. You then go deep on the Microsoft Agent Framework — three layers that separate concerns deliberately — with AgentSession persistence, Agent Skills, Second Brain patterns, and full orchestration including Magentic and Durable Agents on Azure Durable Functions.

Finally, you ship the work into Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork. You map the integration topologies, wrap Foundry agents as MCP servers, wire identity end to end via Entra SSO and On-Behalf-Of, assemble Cowork plugins with agentConnectors and SKILL.md coordinator skills, and distribute through Admin Center with Microsoft Purview audit.