Agents in a Day Workshop | January 28th
Thank you for joining our Agents in a Day workshop. This hands-on session explored how organisations can design, build and govern intelligent AI agents using Microsoft Copilot Studio. Below is a summary of the key themes, practical learnings and expert insights shared throughout the day to help you continue your agentic AI journey with confidence.
Key takeaways
Predictable, trustworthy agents start with well-defined roles, boundaries, instructions, and error-handling, regardless of how simple or advanced the agent is.
Clear agent design is the foundation of reliable AI
Predictable, trustworthy agents start with well-defined roles, boundaries, instructions, and error-handling, regardless of how simple or advanced the agent is.
Autonomous agents require clear boundaries and controls
The workshop reinforced that autonomous agents only deliver value when the right triggers, tools, knowledge, and guardrails are in place and that many use cases benefit from staying conversational.
AI agents must be designed with governance from day one
Security, privacy, and compliance were shown to be enablers of scale, not blockers, particularly in enterprise and regulated environments.
Microsoft Copilot Studio enables practical, production-ready agents
Copilot Studio can be used to move from prototype to real-world agents enhanced with tools, knowledge, and automation.
Agents in a Day: workshop presentation
Get access to the complete presentation from the Agents in a Day workshop held on January 28th, and revisit the key insights anytime.
Connect with our speakers
Hitachi Solutions
David Reid is a Pre-Sales Solution Architect with 35+ years’ experience in enterprise software, now leading AI-led innovation at Hitachi Solutions after nearly two decades at Microsoft. He helps organisations drive measurable outcomes using Microsoft AI, Dynamics 365, Power Platform and Copilot Studio.
Hitachi Solutions
Dana Hasan is an AI Architect at Hitachi Solutions Europe, specialising in Azure, Power Platform and Copilot. She designs enterprise-scale AI solutions and is known for turning complex challenges into practical, high-impact outcomes.
Hitachi Solutions
Kyle Smith is a Senior Functional Consultant specialising in AI agents built with Microsoft Copilot Studio and Power Platform. He is a Microsoft Certified Agentic AI Business Solutions Architect, he brings a practical, delivery-led approach to building agents ready for real-world use.
Hitachi Solutions
Amy Matrai is a Senior Project Manager specialising in public sector technology innovation, with strong experience as a Scrum Master and Agile coach. She has worked extensively in government and recently in the water sector, helping organisations address complex delivery and data challenges to enable insights-driven policy and enforcement.
Environment Agency
Sam Bartlett is Data and AI Lead for the Environment Agency’s Regulatory Services Programme, driving innovation across the data landscape and embedding safe, scalable AI. He leads the AI Launchpad, including initiatives like the Regulatory Guidance Assistant and RSP Intelligence Hub, enabling smarter, data-driven decision-making.
Defra
Phil Wiltshire is a Lead Solution Architect with 25 years’ experience in large-scale digital transformation across multiple sectors. He currently leads architecture assurance across the regulatory services programme, shaping secure, scalable solutions and responsible AI adoption.
Microsoft
William Corfield is a Senior Go-To-Market leader at Microsoft, helping organisations unlock business value from AI, agents, applications and automation. He partners with senior leaders to scale intelligent processes, accelerate transformation and deliver tangible commercial impact.
Hitachi Solutions
Matt Holmes is a Business Development Director at Hitachi Solutions Europe with over 25 years’ experience in software and deep expertise in the Microsoft ecosystem. He helps organisations drive long-term digital transformation through a consultative approach.
Continue your AI learning journey
Build on the ideas and insights from the Agents in a Day workshop through a bespoke session, tailored to your organisation’s goals, challenges, and level of AI maturity.
Our expert-led workshops help your teams go deeper – from identifying high-value AI agent use cases to shaping a clear, practical roadmap you can move forward with.
Our customer success stories
Manufacturing
WEINIG Group
By partnering with Hitachi Solutions, WEINIG Group, a leading manufacturer in the wood processing industry, overcame production inefficiencies to successfully implement AI-powered solutions integrated with Microsoft Azure. This transformation enabled them to enhance manufacturing…
Manufacturing
Hitachi Construction Machinery America
AI and Automation in invoice processing helped Hitachi Construction Machinery America automate 65% of invoices with 99.9% accuracy, reducing manual work and errors.
Central Government
Environment Agency
Hitachi Solutions has a pivotal role as the strategic delivery partner for the programme, leveraging extensive experience in customer projects to expedite value. The revamped approach adopts a portal-centric strategy built upon Microsoft Azure…
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