Overview: A new era for enterprise planning
Board, a leading Enterprise Planning Platform, has announced a strategic collaboration with Microsoft to integrate Agentic AI at the core of its planning suite. Built on Microsoft Foundry, the collaboration aims to infuse domain-specific, enterprise-ready AI agents into Board’s core planning capabilities. The move signals a broader industry trend toward embedding intelligent assistants directly into planning workflows to accelerate decisions, reduce manual work, and improve governance across finance, operations, and strategy.
What is Agentic AI and why it matters
Agentic AI refers to intelligent agents that can autonomously carry out actions, reason through problems, and collaborate with users within a defined governance framework. In the context of enterprise planning, Agentic AI helps teams navigate complex scenarios, run scenario analyses, and generate action-oriented recommendations. By operating inside Board’s planning environment, these agents can access live data, models, and business rules to produce outcomes aligned with corporate objectives.
Powered by Microsoft Foundry
The integration leverages Microsoft Foundry’s AI capabilities to provide a robust, secure foundation for Board Agents. Foundry’s ecosystem offers scalable compute, data governance, and enterprise-grade security, ensuring that AI-powered planning remains compliant with industry standards. This collaboration enables Board customers to deploy intelligent agents that are tuned for their specific domains—finance, supply chain, human resources, and beyond—without sacrificing control or transparency.
Domain-specific AI agents
Board Agents are designed to be domain-aware, delivering targeted insights and actions. In finance, for example, agents can model cash flow impacts, forecast variance, and propose mitigation strategies. In operations and supply chain, agents can optimize demand planning, inventory levels, and supplier risk. The goal is to turn data into actionable steps while maintaining an auditable trail of decisions for governance and compliance.
How the integration benefits enterprises
– Accelerated planning cycles: AI agents automate routine analyses and generate scenario-based recommendations, helping teams move from insight to action faster.
– Improved decision quality: With access to live data, updated models, and governance rules, Board Agents can produce consistent, auditable recommendations that align with strategic objectives.
– Stronger governance and compliance: The enterprise-ready AI framework emphasizes transparency, control, and traceability, so stakeholders can review how recommendations were formed and why particular actions were suggested.
Real-world use cases across functions
Finance teams can leverage Agentic AI for budgeting, variance analysis, and hedging decisions, while planning and strategy groups can explore multi-scenario forecasts and long-range planning. Supply chain professionals gain through automated sensitivity analyses, demand sensing, and capacity planning. HR leaders may use agents for headcount planning aligned with business outcomes, all while maintaining policy constraints and privacy requirements.
Security, governance, and data integrity
In enterprise settings, data integrity and governance are non-negotiable. The Board Foundry-based agents operate within established security policies, with clear accountability and explainability for each decision path. Enterprises retain control over data access, model updates, and the ability to audit AI-driven recommendations—crucial factors for regulated industries and those with rigorous reporting requirements.
What comes next
Board’s collaboration with Microsoft Foundry marks an important step in the ongoing evolution of enterprise planning. As organizations pursue faster decision cycles and smarter planning, Agentic AI is positioned to become an integral part of the planning toolkit. Early adopters can expect a more proactive planning experience, where AI agents continually monitor business signals and surface actionable insights tailored to their strategic priorities.
Conclusion
The integration of Agentic AI into Board’s core planning capabilities, built on Microsoft Foundry, signals a future where intelligent agents are standard teammates in enterprise planning. By enabling domain-specific AI, automated scenario analysis, and governed automation, this collaboration helps enterprises plan with greater speed, accuracy, and confidence.
