Managed IT service provider welcomes Microsoft E7 launch as firms look to embrace ‘agentic AI’
One of the UK’s leading managed IT service providers believes the latest Microsoft product introduction marks the biggest shift yet toward the ‘agentic AI’ era.
Intercity, which has offices in Birmingham, Bedford, Bolton and Nuneaton, is urging companies to understand what the E7 Frontier Suite will bring to their business before they follow the media fanfare and invest in technology they may not be ready for
The new solution brings together Microsoft’s 365 E5 productivity and security, Copilot, Entra Suite (advanced identity), Agent 365 and Defender, Intune and Purview for security and compliance.
It combines multiple Microsoft tools into one package and is designed for organisations that want to operate in the 'agentic AI' era rather than simply experiment with AI.
“The first question business leaders need to understand is, ‘what is agentic AI?” said David Keeling, managing director of managed IT services at Intercity.
“Most people today are familiar with AI tools like Copilot, ChatGPT or Claude. You ask a question, and they give you an answer. That, in a nutshell, is assistive AI.
“Agentic AI goes one step further. Instead of waiting for prompts, an AI agent can take actions, move through multi‑step tasks and operate across your systems on your behalf. Microsoft has already said that agents are becoming ‘deeply embedded’ in organisations.
“E7 signals a major shift in the way Microsoft expects organisations to move from using AI as a helper towards using AI agents that can take actions, manage workflows and support operational processes.”
Many organisations have proven AI can add value. The most meaningful addition in E7 is Agent 365 which acts as the control plane for AI agents, extending identity, access and security controls to nonhuman workers.
It will give organisations visibility of every agent running across the environment, identity and access governance through Microsoft Entra and deliver integrated security and compliance signals through Defender and Purview.
Without proper governance, however, AI becomes harder to control as adoption accelerates.
David added: “E7 is designed for enterprises and frontier firms investing heavily in AI and organisations planning to use AI agents, not just prompts.
“It will also have a significant impact on firms that need centralised AI governance and companies seeking to consolidate a growing stack of Microsoft add-ons.
“However, timing is so important. It may not be the right moment for many management teams, who will follow the trend and invest in it when they’re not going to get the most out of it. Some examples include if you are still early in your AI journey, if you’re introducing Copilot in stages and if your governance is still maturing and there are no plans to run autonomous agents in the near term.”
Intercity has experience in helping companies, public sector organisations and charities to evaluate their AI readiness, ensuring safety is at the heart of everything they do.
The firm’s experts work with management teams to ensure they have the right licensing in place, which helps maximise investments and efficiencies.
David concluded: “E7 will dominate the news cycle, but the smartest move is not to react. It is to assess and seek specialist advice from IT providers who fully understand all the solutions."
