Microsoft & Claude AI Specialist

Microsoft BI + Claude AI.
Better Together.

AI doesn't replace your BI — it consumes it, learns from it, and transforms it into something far more powerful. AI8BI integrates the full Microsoft stack — Power BI, Fabric, Copilot, Azure, Purview, Entra, and Microsoft Foundry — with Anthropic's Claude product range: Claude Chat for conversational intelligence, Claude Cowork for agentic desktop automation, and Claude Code for autonomous development. One platform, two ecosystems, maximum impact.

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Microsoft Power BI · Fabric · Copilot · Azure · Purview · Entra · Foundry
+
Anthropic Claude Claude Chat · Claude Cowork · Claude Code
15+ Years in Microsoft BI
200+ Organisations Advised
2 AI Ecosystems, One Strategy

The Shift

BI Reports. AI Decides.

Traditional Business Intelligence tells you what happened. Artificial Intelligence tells you what to do about it — and does it for you. This is the core of business intelligence automation: moving from passive reporting to active, agentic enterprise orchestration.

Traditional BI

  • Static dashboards and scheduled reports
  • Manual data preparation and modelling
  • Analysts query data; business waits for answers
  • Historical focus — what happened last quarter
  • Scales with headcount

AI-Powered BI

  • Intelligent, adaptive dashboards that learn
  • Automated data pipelines with AI-driven quality
  • Natural language queries — anyone asks, AI answers
  • Predictive focus — what will happen next
  • Scales with compute

Why AI8BI

Specialist, Not Generalist

Why choose a Microsoft AI specialist over a general IT consultancy? Because depth beats breadth when you're deploying enterprise AI.

Microsoft + Claude Native

We go deep on two ecosystems that work brilliantly together: Microsoft (Azure, Fabric, Power BI, Copilot, Purview, Entra, Foundry) and Anthropic's Claude (Chat, Cowork, Code). Not one or the other — better together. Governance through Azure and Purview, intelligence from both Copilot and Claude.

SME Focused

Mid-market organisations with real budgets and real problems. Not enterprise bloat, not startup hand-waving — practical AI for businesses that need to compete. AI strategy consulting built for your scale.

Upgrade, Don't Replace

Your existing BI investment isn't wasted — it's the foundation. We show you how AI builds on top of what you already have, not alongside it. Your Power BI dashboards become the training data for custom AI agents.

People First

Technology is the easy part. We train your analysts, empower your teams, and embed the skills so the upgrade sticks after we leave. Our enablement programme ensures lasting AI transformation.

Services

What We Deliver

End-to-end support for your AI transformation — from strategy to implementation to ongoing capability. Each service is designed for the Microsoft ecosystem.

01

AI Strategy & Roadmap

Assess your current BI maturity, identify high-impact AI use cases, and build a phased roadmap aligned with your business goals. Our AI strategy consulting begins with a thorough audit of your data estate, team capabilities, and business objectives to prioritise where enterprise AI will deliver the most value.

Strategy Assessment Roadmap
02

Microsoft Copilot & Claude Deployment

Implement and configure Copilot across your Microsoft 365 and Power BI environments alongside Claude Chat, Cowork, and Code. Custom prompts, governance, and adoption training. We deploy copilot agents and Claude agents with proper security guardrails, custom prompt libraries for your industry, and a structured adoption programme so your teams actually use both platforms effectively.

Copilot Claude M365 Power BI
03

Azure & Fabric Implementation

Build modern data architectures on Azure and Microsoft Fabric. Data lakes, pipelines, real-time analytics, and AI-ready infrastructure. Azure AI services form the backbone: Cognitive APIs for language and vision, Azure ML for custom models, and Microsoft Fabric as the unified analytics platform that connects everything.

Azure Fabric Data Engineering
04

Custom AI Agents — Microsoft & Claude

Design and deploy bespoke AI agents across both ecosystems. Microsoft Foundry Agent Service for enterprise-grade orchestration with governance, and Claude Managed Agents for autonomous multi-step workflows with cross-session memory. These are not chatbots — they are autonomous systems that connect to your data, trigger automated workflows, and deliver actionable intelligence. We select the right platform for each use case.

Agents Foundry Claude Agents Automation
05

Training & Enablement

Upskill your analysts and business users. Workshops, hands-on labs, and ongoing coaching to build internal AI capability. We embed the skills so your people own the platform confidently — covering Power BI advanced analytics, Copilot best practices, and AI agent management.

Training Workshops Enablement

Technology Ecosystem

Better Together: Microsoft + Claude

Deep expertise across two powerful AI ecosystems — integrated with governance, security, and enterprise-grade deployment.

Microsoft

Microsoft Ecosystem

Power BI

Interactive dashboards, paginated reports, embedded analytics, and AI-infused visuals. The foundation of business intelligence automation.

Microsoft Fabric

Unified analytics platform — data engineering, data science, warehousing, and real-time intelligence in one environment with OneLake.

Microsoft Copilot

AI assistant embedded across M365, Power BI, and Dynamics 365. Copilot agents automate workflows in Teams, SharePoint, Excel, and Outlook.

Azure AI Services

Cloud infrastructure, Cognitive APIs for language and vision, Azure Machine Learning, and scalable compute for enterprise AI workloads.

Microsoft Foundry

Enterprise AI platform for building, governing, and scaling AI apps and agents. 11,000+ models, agent service, and unified governance — including Claude models natively available.

Purview & Entra

Enterprise data governance and identity management. Purview for data cataloguing, classification, and compliance. Entra for access control and zero-trust security across your AI stack.

Anthropic Claude

Claude Ecosystem

Claude Chat

Conversational AI with 1M token context window. Advanced reasoning, document analysis, and natural language intelligence. Runs via claude.ai, API, or through Microsoft Foundry.

Claude Cowork

Agentic desktop assistant for knowledge workers. Reads, edits, and creates files locally. Multi-step task automation, scheduled workflows, and enterprise plugins — no code required.

Claude Code

Terminal-native autonomous coding agent. Reads entire codebases, makes multi-file edits, runs tests, and integrates with git. The highest-performing AI coding agent available.

Claude API & Models

Opus 4.6 (1M tokens), Sonnet 4.6, and Haiku models. Enterprise-grade with SOC 2, HIPAA eligibility, and no training on customer data. Available directly or via Microsoft Foundry.

Managed Agents

Deploy autonomous Claude agents with cross-session memory, multi-agent orchestration, MCP connectors, and webhook integrations. Enterprise governance built in.

Open Source AI

Python, LangChain, open models — when the best tool isn't a Microsoft or Claude product, we use it. Flexibility without vendor lock-in.

Our Approach

Five Phases to AI-Ready BI

A proven methodology that takes your organisation from traditional reporting to AI-powered intelligence — without the chaos.

1

Discover

Audit your current BI stack, data estate, and team capabilities. Identify quick wins and long-term opportunities for AI transformation.

2

Architect

Design the target state — Azure AI services, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, and AI layers. Build the roadmap with clear milestones.

3

Build

Implement the infrastructure, migrate data, configure AI services, deploy custom AI agents, and launch the first production workloads.

4

Enable

Train your teams, transfer knowledge, and embed the skills so your people own the platform confidently — including Copilot agents and automated workflows.

5

Optimise

Monitor, tune, and iterate. AI improves with use — we ensure your systems do too. Ongoing refinement of agentic enterprise orchestration.

Ongoing Retainer: After delivery, we offer flexible advisory retainers — on-call expertise for new use cases, platform changes, and continuous improvement of your AI-powered business intelligence.

How AI8BI Helps

Real-World Use Cases

Specific ways mid-market organisations use our services to automate workflows and gain competitive advantage.

Automated Financial Reporting

A mid-market manufacturer replaced 3 days of monthly report preparation with custom AI agents that pull data from ERP systems, generate Power BI dashboards, and distribute insights to stakeholders automatically. Business intelligence automation reduced reporting latency from 5 days to real-time.

Copilot for Sales Teams

A professional services firm deployed Microsoft Copilot across their sales team. Custom copilot agents now draft proposals, summarise client meetings in Teams, and surface relevant case studies from SharePoint — cutting proposal turnaround by 60%.

Predictive Inventory Management

A retail chain built predictive models on Azure AI to forecast demand across 200+ locations. Microsoft Fabric unified their data sources, and automated workflows trigger purchase orders when stock predictions hit thresholds. Overstock reduced by 30%.

Client Results

What Our Clients Say

"AI8BI didn't just implement Azure — they showed us how our existing Power BI investment could become the foundation for AI. Six months later, our analysts are working with copilot agents, not against spreadsheets."

— Client Name

Head of Data, [Company]

"The custom AI agents they built for our finance team eliminated three days of manual reporting every month. The ROI was clear within the first quarter."

— Client Name

CFO, [Company]

"We spoke to five consultancies. AI8BI was the only one that understood both the technical architecture and the business case. Their Microsoft Fabric expertise is unmatched."

— Client Name

IT Director, [Company]

About

Your AI8BI Consultant

With over 15 years as a Microsoft Business Intelligence consultant — spanning Power BI, Azure, SQL Server, and now Fabric — I've helped hundreds of organisations make sense of their data. AI8BI is the next chapter: applying Microsoft AI and Claude AI to transform how businesses use information.

The tools have changed. The potential has multiplied. But the core challenge remains the same: turning data into decisions that move your business forward. That's what AI strategy consulting is really about — not the technology, but the outcomes it enables.

I work across two complementary ecosystems — Microsoft and Anthropic's Claude — because the best AI strategy uses the right tool for each job. Copilot for M365-native productivity. Claude for deep reasoning, agentic automation, and autonomous development. Microsoft Foundry for unified governance across both. When you hire AI8BI, you get a specialist who knows Azure AI services, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Copilot, and Claude inside out — not a generalist learning on your dime.

15+ Years in Microsoft BI
200+ Organisations Served
50+ Power BI Deployments
100% Microsoft Stack

From the Blog

Claude vs Copilot for Microsoft 365

In-depth guides comparing AI platforms across every M365 application. Practical analysis for business users evaluating their AI strategy.

Claude

Connect Dataverse MCP to Claude Desktop: A Complete Guide

Step-by-step guide to configuring Dataverse Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Claude Desktop and Claude Code. Access D365, CRM, and business data through AI.

3 min read Claude

AI Solutions Architect vs Forward Deployed Engineer: Which Does Your Business Need?

Forward Deployed Engineers embed with clients to deploy Claude. AI Solutions Architects integrate Claude Cowork and Microsoft Foundry across your M365 stack. Here's the difference.

3 min read Claude

Claude for Small Business: 15 Agentic Workflows That Replace an Entire Team

Anthropic's Claude for Small Business launched May 13 with 109 connectors, 15 ready-to-run workflows, and an approval-first model. Here's what it means for SMEs.

3 min read Featured

Claude vs Copilot for Microsoft 365: The Complete Comparison

A comprehensive comparison of Claude and Microsoft Copilot for M365 integration. Features, pricing, strengths, weaknesses, and recommendations for every business scenario.

4 min read
View All Blog Posts

Frequently Asked Questions

Common Questions About AI8BI

Straight answers about our Microsoft AI consultancy, services, and approach.

AI8BI is a Microsoft AI consultancy that helps mid-market SMEs upgrade from traditional Business Intelligence to AI-powered intelligence. We specialise in Azure AI services, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI consulting, Copilot deployment, and custom AI agent development. The name stands for "AI eats BI" — the concept that artificial intelligence consumes and elevates traditional business intelligence, turning passive dashboards into active decision-making systems.

AI8BI works across two complementary ecosystems: Microsoft — Azure AI Services, Microsoft Fabric, Power BI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Foundry, Purview for data governance, Entra for identity and access, Azure Data Factory, and SQL Server. Anthropic Claude — Claude Chat for conversational AI with 1M token context, Claude Cowork for agentic desktop automation, Claude Code for autonomous development, and Claude Managed Agents for enterprise workflows. Both ecosystems are available through Microsoft Foundry, giving you unified governance across Azure, Purview, and Entra. We also integrate open-source AI tools like Python and LangChain when they complement the stack. The goal is better together — not one or the other.

Our methodology has five phases: Discover — audit your current BI stack, data estate, and team capabilities; identify quick wins. Architect — design the target state with Azure, Fabric, Power BI, and AI layers; build the roadmap. Build — implement infrastructure, migrate data, configure AI services, deploy custom AI agents. Enable — train teams, transfer knowledge, embed skills. Optimise — monitor, tune, and iterate for continuous improvement. We also offer ongoing advisory retainers after the initial engagement.

AI8BI works with mid-market small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that have existing investments in the Microsoft ecosystem. These are organisations with real budgets and real data challenges — typically 50 to 5,000 employees — that need to compete using enterprise AI but don't have the in-house expertise to deploy it. We're not suited for micro-businesses without data infrastructure, and we're not an enterprise-scale systems integrator.

Traditional BI tells you what happened through static dashboards and scheduled reports — it's retrospective and manual. AI-powered BI tells you what to do about it and can act on it automatically through agentic enterprise orchestration — it's predictive and autonomous. AI8BI helps organisations make this transition by building on existing BI investments. Your Power BI dashboards, data warehouses, and reporting infrastructure become the foundation that AI learns from, not something you throw away.

Yes. AI8BI provides end-to-end deployment for both platforms. For Microsoft Copilot: implementation and configuration across M365 and Power BI, custom prompt engineering, governance framework setup, and structured adoption training. For Claude: deployment of Claude Chat for conversational AI, Claude Cowork for agentic desktop automation across your team, and Claude Code for your development teams. We also configure Microsoft Foundry to give you unified governance — running Claude models alongside Copilot under your Azure, Purview, and Entra policies. One governance layer, two powerful AI platforms.

No — and that's the whole point. Microsoft and Claude are better together. Microsoft Foundry now natively hosts Claude models (Opus, Sonnet, Haiku) alongside Azure OpenAI, so you can run both under one governance umbrella with Azure, Purview, and Entra. Copilot excels at M365-native tasks — drafting emails in Outlook, analysing data in Excel, summarising meetings in Teams. Claude excels at deep reasoning, long-document analysis, agentic desktop workflows (Cowork), and autonomous coding (Code). Most organisations will run both: Copilot for Microsoft-native productivity, Claude for complex knowledge work and development. AI8BI helps you architect the right split and govern it centrally.

Custom AI agents are autonomous systems built specifically for your business workflows. Unlike chatbots, they connect directly to your data sources, trigger automated workflows based on business rules, answer natural language questions about your data, and deliver actionable intelligence without human intervention. AI8BI designs and deploys agents across both ecosystems: Microsoft Foundry Agent Service for enterprise-grade orchestration with full governance, and Claude Managed Agents for autonomous multi-step workflows with cross-session memory. We select the right platform for each use case — they're the core of business intelligence automation.

Engagement length depends on scope. An AI strategy and roadmap assessment typically takes 2–4 weeks. A Copilot deployment with governance and training takes 4–8 weeks. A full Azure and Fabric implementation with custom AI agents can take 3–6 months. We also offer ongoing advisory retainers for continuous improvement. Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute discovery call to scope the work and set expectations.

Get Started

Book a Discovery Call

30 minutes. No obligation. We'll discuss where you are with BI today, where AI could take you — including Power BI, Power Platform, Microsoft Fabric, Azure Foundry AI, M365 business apps like Excel, and how Claude AI tools like Claude Cowork and Claude Code can automate your team's workflows — and what the first steps look like for your AI transformation.