Boston: Generating Real Business Value with AI

Artificial Intelligence has rapidly evolved from experimental promise to a core driver of digital transformation. With the emergence of multi-modal models like GPT-4o, real-time copilots, AI-native platforms like Microsoft Fabric, and autonomous agents shaping enterprise ecosystems, leaders across all domains must understand how to harness AI's disruptive potential.

In this keynote, Markus Egger—technologist, business strategist, Microsoft Regional Director, and Founder of the CODE Group—will explore how organizations can successfully integrate modern AI into real-world applications. From traditional client software to cloud-native architectures and emerging AI-driven systems, Markus will offer strategic and technical insights backed by hands-on experience.

You’ll gain clarity on what’s real and what’s still aspirational in AI, learn how to avoid common pitfalls, and discover patterns that deliver measurable business value. You’ll leave with a practical understanding of where AI delivers the most value, how to navigate limitations, and how to avoid the most common causes of project failure. Whether you’re working with large language models (LLMs), generative AI, or machine learning systems in general, this session offers insights in how to drive real impact.

From strategic leadership to technical execution, this keynote is for anyone ready to move beyond the AI buzz and build the future—whether with Microsoft tools or a broader ecosystem of technologies.

This session, led by Mike Yeager, CEO of CODE Consulting, offers insights for senior leaders and developers on succeeding with AI initiatives. We'll examine common pitfalls in AI projects, including unclear objectives and poor data quality, while focusing on strategies to achieve real-world business value. Participants will learn techniques for defining AI projects, aligning them with business goals, and evaluating ROI.

Using concrete examples from actual projects, we'll distinguish AI reality from hype and explore both opportunities and challenges. Attendees will gain actionable methods for steering AI initiatives towards success, emphasizing high-impact projects and effective metrics for progress. Whether you're starting your AI journey or optimizing existing projects, this session provides tools to drive meaningful business improvements through strategic AI implementation.

As the initial fascination with AI transitions into a demand for genuine, sustainable business value, this panel discussion promises a deep dive into the practical aspects of implementing AI in the enterprise environment.

Guided by Laurabeth Baker (Director of Enterprise Sales), a panel of seasoned experts and industry luminaries from the CODE Group — including its founder and CSA, Markus Egger, Mike Yeager (CEO of CODE Consulting), Yair Alan Griver (CEO of CODE Staffing, formerly of Microsoft) as well as Philipp Bauer (Senior Software and AI Architect) and Tim Locke (Director of Business Development and former Senior Data Architect) — will explore the nuances of integrating AI into business systems to drive real-world outcomes.

This interactive session will address the critical questions surrounding AI deployment: How can we build systems that deliver not just technological advancements but true business value? What are the proven strategies, and what pitfalls should companies avoid? Panelists will share insights from their extensive experience in developing and managing AI solutions across various domains, providing attendees with a comprehensive understanding of what works, what doesn’t, and how to pivot away from the AI hype towards creating impactful, efficient AI-driven applications.

Participants are encouraged to engage with the panel, pose questions, and discuss scenarios ahead of time, ensuring a rich, participant-focused dialogue. Join us to gain actionable insights and strategies from top AI leaders that you can immediately apply to your enterprise AI initiatives.

Ready to move from AI ideas to real implementation? In this session, Senior Software and AI Architect Philipp Bauer will guide you through the first steps of integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) from Azure OpenAI into your own applications.

Building on a simple, real-world scenario introduced in the keynote, Philipp will walk through several practical approaches—whether you're deploying models via Azure OpenAI and Azure AI Foundry, integrating them through GitHub-hosted solutions, or even experimenting with locally hosted models for full control and customization.

This session offers a high-level roadmap tailored for decision makers, with enough technical depth to inform developers as well. You'll leave with a clear understanding of the available options, how to choose the right approach for your needs, and how to set your team up for success in your first AI project.

While the examples focus on Microsoft technologies, the concepts are broadly applicable across the evolving AI landscape.

In the previous panel session today, we focused on the business process of how a company might integrate AI. Now we'll answer your more deeply technical questions.

This is sort of a “software developer to software developer” Q&A session. Some answers will certainly begin with “it depends” and that's fine. We welcome anyone from the previous part of the day to stay. The technical answers we offer may influence how you talk about AI with your IT team.