www.managedITmag.co.uk 33 SOFTWARE progress. In addition, 38% of partners say customers are unfamiliar with RTLS capabilities, highlighting the need for more education. Physical and digital identity convergence is accelerating: Unified identity solutions are moving mainstream, with 75% of organisations either deploying (29%) or actively evaluating (46%) unified identity solutions. While single credentials spanning buildings, networks and applications deliver efficiency and stronger security, budget constraints (51%), complexity (37%) and expertise gaps (34%) remain persistent barriers. RFID is now infrastructure, not innovation: RFID adoption is growing steadily, with 54% of respondents actively using it for asset tracking, inventory management and loss prevention. Once viewed as a niche technology, RFID is increasingly treated as core infrastructure for asset visibility, inventory control and operational intelligence. Security leaders cite faster tracking (62%) and improved visibility (41%) as key benefits. Investment patterns are shifting decisively towards integrated platforms: The era of point solutions is ending. Organisations are prioritising integrated identity and security platforms over standalone point solutions to improve visibility, efficiency and resilience across increasingly complex environments. Integration complexity remains the primary barrier for identity systems (52%) and physical-digital convergence (37%). Ethics and privacy concerns at an all-time high In addition to these technology trends, the report highlights alltime high levels of concern around ethics and privacy, with as many as 67% of end users expressing high or moderate concern about the ethical and privacy implications of biometrics. Alongside location tracking and converged identity platforms, organisations are navigating the tension between stronger protection and individual rights. www.hidglobal.com Managed IT service provider Intercity is heralding Microsoft’s E7 Frontier Suite as the biggest shift yet towards the ‘agentic AI’ era, with the caveat that not all businesses will be ready for it. In addition to Microsoft 365 E5, Copilot, Microsoft Entra for identity and access governance and Defender, Intune and Purview for security and compliance, E7 includes Agent 365 which, as the control plane for AI agents, extends visibility and identity, access and security controls to every agent running across an organisation’s environment. David Keeling, Managing Director of Managed IT Services at Intercity, says that the E7 Frontier Suite has real benefits for organisations that are investing heavily in AI and need centralised AI governance; that want to consolidate a growing stack of Microsoft add-ons; or that are deploying/plan to deploy AI agents to take actions, manage workflows and support operational processes. Timing is everything However, he warns that now may not be the right time for businesses less advanced in their AI journey to adopt the suite, despite the temptation to do so. “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…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.” He adds that to get the most out any investment it is essential for management teams to gain an understanding of exactly what agentic AI is. “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,” he said. With offices in Birmingham, Bedford, Bolton and Nuneaton, Intercity has significant experience in helping businesses, public sector organisations and charities to evaluate their AI readiness, ensure safety is at the heart of all they do and make sure they have the right licensing in place to maximise efficiency and the return on their investment. www.intercity.technology Intercity welcomes Microsoft E7 launch for new era of ‘agentic AI’ Look before you leap David Keeling
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