The Frontier Firm…Turning AI into BC Results for SMEs

If 2023–24 was the year UK firms “tried AI,” then 2025 is the year leaders make it operational. That’s the unmistakable message from Microsoft AI Tour London; stop dabbling, and start building systems of action, such as AI agents, copilots and data flows that change how work actually gets done.

Microsoft calls these firms “frontier” organisations, as they are the ones pushing past experiments into durable productivity and growth.

The UK actually couldn’t be better placed to make that leap. We are a nation of SMEs, with 5.7 million businesses at the start of 2025, and over 99% of the total economy, so whatever accelerates small and mid-size companies matters for national productivity.

Microsoft has doubled-down on the UK with a multi-billion AI and cloud investment (including a new supercomputing footprint), in a strong signal that the tools, compute and skills pipeline are here.

This blog is a practical summary of the Tour’s core points, and a plan for how Dynavics helps UK SMEs use Dynamics 365 Business Central to move businesses like yours from AI curiosity to frontier performance.

The Microsoft AI Tour Takeaways

1) Become “frontier,” not just “AI-enabled”
Microsoft’s Tour frames frontier firms as those shifting from systems of record to systems of action. Think operating models where work is orchestrated by copilots/agents sitting inside your daily tools (Microsoft 365, Dynamics, Teams). It’s not about one chatbots, it’s about end-to-end task flows that plan, execute and learn to help your business.

2) Agentic AI and Copilots everywhere
From Copilot for Microsoft 365 to Dynamics 365 and Azure’s agentic pattern, the stack is standardising on assistants that can reason across content, data and line-of-business systems. Microsoft’s learning path now explicitly trains builders to create agentic solutions via Azure AI Foundry.

3) The “Frontier” program and enablement
Microsoft’s Frontier resources and programs show how to activate the newest agent capabilities inside Microsoft 365 and Copilot, moving customers from pilot to scaled usage.

4) Real-world proof beats hype
One of the UK’s most visible deployments this year: Barclays rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot to 100,000 employees, integrating it as a single AI agent that sits across their estate. The pattern (agent + data + workflows) is exactly what SMEs can adopt and deploy with a partner like Dynavics.

5) Skills, governance and ROI are key
The Tour content keeps returning to enablement and governance: model access, data boundaries, prompt standards, measurement and change management.

Why “Frontier” Matters to SMEs

• 5.7 million UK businesses; the vast majority are SMEs.
• Output per hour in Q2 2025 is only ~1.5% above pre-pandemic levels, so it is progress, but still sluggish. Frontier practices exist because productivity needs a step change, not a tweak.
• UK AI adoption is rising but uneven: surveys show 31–39% of SMEs are already using AI and another 15–31% are planning to, meaning roughly half are still on the fence. That’s a competitive opening for movers.
• SMEs that deploy AI inside core processes (not just in side projects) will out-deliver peers on cost-to-serve, speed and customer experience, which will set business apart.

How Dynavics Turns Tour Themes into Success

Dynavics helps UK SMEs make Microsoft’s frontier playbook real in Dynamics 365 Business Central, and across the front-of-house via LS Retail and our portfolio of add-ons (Tasklet WMS, Jet Reports/Analytics, Continia, TrueCommerce, Yavrio, Shopify/Sana). Here’s how:

1) Put a Copilot where the work happens

• In Microsoft 365 (Teams/Outlook/Word): triage emails, summarise threads, draft replies, prep meeting briefs from CRM and Finance.
• In Business Central: surface credit risk, late POs, anomalies, and propose journal entries or re-order actions.
• In LS Retail: prompt store teams on clienteling opportunities, attach-rate coaching, and event-day priorities.

2) Make data agent-ready

• One version of the truth on orders, inventory, pricing and finance inside Business Central.
• Event and retail signals (POS, e-commerce, click & collect) unified in LS Retail to Business Central.
• Automated AP/AR and bank matching (Continia, Yavrio) produce clean, timely ledgers.
• Warehouse mobility (Tasklet WMS) drives accurate stock in real time.

3) Instrument the business for decisions (not just dashboards)

• Jet Reports/Analytics for financials you close fast and trust.
• Power BI for store/DC scorecards, product ladders, event profitability, and C&C cycle time.
• Automations (Power Automate) create tasks, tickets or approvals from conditions and not just alerts.                                  

4) Build an upgrade-safe future

• Extensions (our own and AppSource) keep Business Central upgradeable, avoiding bespoke code debt. That lowers cost of change, which is critical when you iterate AI workflows.

Top 10 Features & Benefits from the Tour Themes

These are broadly the top 10 features and benefits, and of course, how Dynavics turns this into success for you:

1) Agentic workflows across Microsoft 365 and Business Central
Create task-level automations where Copilot drafts POs, summarises exceptions, or builds a collections email package with live statements, then routes approvals in Teams. For faster cycle times.

2) Unified retail & commerce (LS Retail + BC)
Run POS, promotions, loyalty, ticketing/events and e-commerce on one stack, for real-time stock and pricing, consistent experiences, cleaner finance. (Dynavics is an LS Retail Diamond Partner, so we deliver this end-to-end with credibility).

3) Inventory accuracy you can trust (Tasklet WMS + BC)
Mobile receiving, guided picking, cycle counting during live ops. Benefit: fewer out-of-stocks, faster fulfilment, truer margins.

4) Finance automation that pays back quickly (Continia + Yavrio)
Invoice capture/approvals, statement matching, bank reconciliation and cash-position visibility, so that month-end closes faster; AP/AR effort drops; working capital improves.

5) Omni-channel done right (Shopify/Sana + LS Retail + BC)
Price and stock stay in sync; click & collect is native; returns reconcile without drama.

6) Decision packs your board will read (Jet + Power BI)
Standardise KPIs, GMROI, attach rate, sell-through ladders, labour-to-revenue, C&C cycle time, event halo.

7) Secure, governed rollout (Microsoft cloud + Dynavics governance)
Azure identity, role-based access, data boundaries for copilots and agents, with trust and compliance built in, so adoption isn’t blocked by risk.

8) Extension-first architecture (upgrade-safe)
Add capability via AppSource or per-tenant apps; remove safely; iterate and ship value in sprints, not in monoliths.

9) Retail & experiential readiness
Timed events, ticket redemption at POS, pop-up locations, mobile POS, and clienteling prompts, then automatic settlement in finance for superb customer experience.

10) A partner who owns the outcomes
We design the process, build the data plumbing, train teams and prove ROI, then we optimise it. This gives you less internal lift, faster time-to-value and no surprises.

What This Looks Like in Practice

We take the learnings, and the Dynavics magic, to create a winning formula that helps business in multiple markets, for example:

1)  A Multi-site Experiential Retailer

• Today’s pain: stockouts on hero SKUs; manual transfers; late promo changes; end-of-month chaos.
• Frontier build: LS Retail + BC unifies POS, stock and finance; Tasklet cleans inventory; Copilot drafts promo run-books and store briefs; Jet/BI produce Monday scorecards for managers.
• Expected wins: stock accuracy >98% on top SKUs; fewer markdowns; attach-rate lift from clienteling; month-end days reduced.

2) A Growing Distributor

• Pain: siloed web orders, paper picks, EDI rework; cash collection lag.
• Build: Shopify/Sana + LS Retail + BC (one brochure and price truth); Tasklet WMS; TrueCommerce EDI; Continia + Yavrio for finance; Copilot for collections.
• Wins: pick errors fall; OTIF improves; DSO drops; finance hours saved; leadership see margin by channel daily.

3) A Busy Visitor Attraction

• Pain: queues, disjointed ticketing vs retail/F&B, poor event ROI visibility.
• Build: LS Retail covers ticketing redemption, retail and F&B on one POS; capacity and timed entry flow into BC; Jet/BI show spend per visitor, event halo and staffing.
• Wins: shorter queues; higher spend/visitor; clean gift-aid and settlement; proof for sponsors.

Why Move Now: The UK Frontier

Well, as Microsoft are saying, there is no time like the present:

• Compute & investment are landing in the UK. Microsoft’s expanded UK AI infrastructure lowers latency and strengthens resilience for local firms building AI into daily work.
• SME adoption is still split. With roughly half of SMEs still evaluating AI, those who operationalise it in 2025–26 will bank a competitive gap that compounds.
• Productivity pressure is real. Output per hour has edged up, but the frontier prize is larger, moving entire processes to agent-assisted flows.

Objections We Hear and Honest Answers

“We don’t have the data quality for AI.”
That’s why we start with one process, clean the data paths there, prove ROI, then repeat. The win funds the next sprint.

“Will Copilot/agents be secure?”
Yes, if you set role-based access and data boundaries properly. Microsoft’s guidance and the Frontier enablement resources exist precisely for this. We implement governance as a feature, not a paperwork afterthought.

“Isn’t this for banks and big tech?”
Barclays’ 100k rollout shows the pattern at scale, but SMEs benefit even faster because you have fewer systems and shorter decision lines. We right-size the footprint for your team.

The Results You Should Expect

• Cycle time down (AP, collections, replenishment, C&C).
• Stock accuracy up, fewer expedites and markdowns.
• Month-end faster; cash clarity improves.
• Managers coached by data, not hunting for it.
• Staff time shifts from admin to service and sales.

Measured monthly, these stack into a frontier advantage and a business that learns faster than the competition.

Microsoft’s AI Tour is a call to turn AI into standard operating procedures, and UK SMEs have everything they need to do it: the tools, the training, the partner ecosystem, and a domestic investment wave. Dynavics exists to translate that into Business Central results, one flow at a time, with LS Retail at the front of house and finance/ops automation at the core.

If you’re ready to move from pilot to frontier, let’s pick your first process and work that through.  Reach-out to us today for some no-nonsense advice. Get in-touch today with our expert team, say hello here.