Enterprises face a significant challenge as each new AI agent starts without memory of business operations, data locations, or rules, leading to data silos. At Microsoft Build 2026, Microsoft introduced solutions to tackle this: Microsoft IQ and Rayfin. Microsoft IQ unifies four critical context sources—Work IQ (daily organizational workflows), Foundry IQ (institutional knowledge and rules), Fabric IQ (live operational business data), and Web IQ (real-time external world data)—providing AI agents a comprehensive understanding of the enterprise environment. Meanwhile, Rayfin is an open-source SDK and CLI that deploys agent-built applications directly into Microsoft Fabric, ensuring all application data integrates into the same governed platform, avoiding silo creation. This approach creates a virtuous cycle where agents draw from a shared data ontology and contribute back to it, enhancing organizational knowledge continuously. While other platforms like Snowflake, Pinecone, and Redis also develop context-rich AI layers, Microsoft’s integrated and governed system aims to simplify execution and build trust in enterprise AI deployment, moving beyond just model availability toward scalable, compliant AI at the core of business operations.
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