Plan and prepare for Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing in 2024 release wave 2
Important
The 2024 release wave 2 plan covers all new functionalities planned to be delivered to market from October 2024 to March 2025. In this article, you'll find the product overview and what's new and planned for Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing.
Overview
Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing brings the best of Microsoft and our partners to jointly accelerate the digital transformation in manufacturing by enabling intelligent factories and helping modernize the shopfloor. As manufacturers often rely on a diverse range of industry-specific solutions from multiple vendors, Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing adds value by streamlining this complex ecosystem. It ensures transparency, efficiency, and interoperability, bridging the gap between Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT). By facilitating improved data visibility and management, it democratizes insights across the entire value chain.
With the 2024 Release Wave 2, we’re excited to release the manufacturing data solutions in Microsoft Fabric and Factory Operations Agent on Azure AI. These accelerate customers’ ability to do decision support and analysis using natural language on the factory data. We’re also releasing new agents in Copilot Studio for Factory Safety and Factory Operations. These tools enable a low-code approach to building intelligent solutions, empowering teams to create customized workflows and enhance operational efficiency with ease.
Investment areas
Factory Operations Agent in Azure AI
The Factory Operations Agent in Azure AI lets users access manufacturing data solutions in Microsoft Fabric using simple natural language queries instead of complex technology queries. The agent uses large language models and OpenAI to understand the user's questions and find the relevant data from the semantic graph. Users can also use the agent's APIs to extend and integrate its capabilities with ISV applications.
Factory Operations Agent in Copilot Studio
The Factory Operations Agent in Copilot Studio streamlines access to and analysis of factory operations data by leveraging conversational AI for a natural-language interface. Users can create and customize solutions in a low-code environment without extensive programming knowledge. Integration with Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams enhances collaboration, enabling factory managers and employees to make informed decisions quickly and improve operational efficiency without switching between platforms. Additionally, an onboarding assistant simplifies the deployment, configuration, and use of Factory Operations Agent offerings from Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing.
Factory Safety Agent in Copilot Studio
Factory Safety Agent in Copilot Studio uses Copilot Studio to configure an agent for factory safety audit processes and make it easy to deploy across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
Manufacturing data solutions in Microsoft Fabric
Manufacturing data solutions in Microsoft Fabric offer semantic data interoperability through an open standards-based manufacturing ontology curated on Microsoft Fabric. The manufacturing data model digitally represents the manufacturing value chain using industry standards, allowing consumers (humans, application developers, or intelligent agents) to intuitively traverse the data. Manufacturing data solutions provide capabilities to model, ingest, and consume data. The data also provides a rich context for Copilot experiences and unlocks the value of generative AI in a fragmented manufacturing data landscape.
To learn more about the full set of capabilities being delivered during this release wave, Check out the release plan.