Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm, has launched a research study examining service providers supporting enterprise use of the Microsoft cloud platform and applications suite as the software company continues its push into AI.
The study results will be published in a series of comprehensive ISG Provider Lens™ reports, called Microsoft AI and Cloud Ecosystem, scheduled for release in April 2025. The geographically focused reports will cover providers of services for the Microsoft 365 productivity platform and the Azure cloud services platform, as well as Copilot AI-powered applications provided through enterprise platforms including Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
Enterprise buyers will be able to use information from the report to evaluate their current vendor relationships, potential new engagements and available offerings, while ISG advisors use the information to recommend providers to the firm’s buy-side clients.
Microsoft has spent billions of dollars developing the infrastructure to support its AI ambitions, including its investment in OpenAI. The company has created the Azure AI cloud-based AI platform and is integrating AI into its entire product and services portfolio, including its generative AI Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365. AI-related products are now on track to contribute about $10 billion to the company’s annual revenue, Microsoft said in its most recent quarterly investor call.
“Microsoft intends to be a major force in the AI ecosystem, as its investments and product rollouts over the last year indicate,” said Aman Munglani, ISG senior director and principal analyst. “This will create tremendous new opportunities for providers, ISVs, system integrators and developers to support enterprise adoption of the AI-driven Microsoft Azure operating system.”
ISG has distributed surveys to 185 Microsoft service providers. Working in collaboration with ISG’s global advisors, the research team will produce seven quadrants representing the Microsoft platform services the typical enterprise is buying based on ISG’s experience working with its clients. The seven quadrants are:
- Managed Services for Azure evaluating providers of managed services to maximize enterprise cloud workload performance, reduce costs and ensure compliance and security. Services include provisioning, real-time and predictive analytics, and monitoring and operational management of clients’ public cloud and multicloud environments, complementing Azure’s built-in capabilities, including IaaS and PaaS.
- Microsoft 365 Services assessing providers that help customers adopt, integrate and operate the Microsoft 365 SaaS-based productivity suite. These services help customers use Microsoft 365 to enable seamless teamwork from any location and adapt the suite to different user roles.
- Power Platform Services examining providers of services for implementing Microsoft Power Platform for organizations building applications to obtain insights into business operations and optimize business processes. Services include educating customers on best practices for implementing low-code applications and solutions.
- AI Services for the Microsoft Clouds studying providers of services for implementing generative AI for Azure and Microsoft 365. Given the emerging nature of generative AI, providers will be assessed mainly on strategic vision, investments and development work for Microsoft- and OpenAI-related services and solutions.
- Dynamics 365 Services evaluating service providers that help enterprises select, integrate, customize and operate Microsoft’s principal ERP and CRM platform. Providers and system integrators in this quadrant should help organizations analyze processes that have not been digitally mapped and implement these processes using Dynamics 365 solutions.
- FinOps Services examining providers that help their enterprise clients gain insight into cloud costs and usage, promoting financial accountability with a variable spending model. Providers should help clients improve their financial performance, control costs, efficiently manage resources and respond more effectively to business needs.
- Data Fabric on Azure assessing the capability of Microsoft service providers to implement unified data architectures on the Azure platform, for managing, integrating and analyzing data from multiple sources and environments. Unified data integration and access enables clients to implement data modeling, visualization and analytics using a variety of data categories, including structured, semi-structured and unstructured.
Geographically focused reports from the study will cover the global Microsoft AI and cloud services market and examine products and services available in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico and Switzerland. ISG lead analysts Axel Oppermann (Germany, Switzerland), Michael Barnes (Australia, Global), Christiane Tarricone (Brazil) and Elia San Miguel (Mexico) will serve as lead authors of the reports.
A list of identified providers and vendors and further details on the study are available in this digital brochure. Companies not listed as Microsoft AI and cloud ecosystem providers wishing to be included in the study may contact ISG.
All 2025 ISG Provider Lens™ evaluations feature expanded customer experience (CX) data that measures actual enterprise experience with specific provider services and solutions, based on ISG’s continuous CX research. Enterprise customers wishing to share their experience about a specific provider or vendor are encouraged to register here to receive a personalized survey URL. Participants will receive a copy of this report in return for their feedback.
About ISG Provider Lens™ Research
The ISG Provider Lens™ Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG’s global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG’s enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe, as well as in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the U.K., France, Benelux, Germany, Switzerland, the Nordics, Australia and Singapore/Malaysia, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.
About ISG
ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including AI, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,600 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries—a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry’s most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
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