Experts Live Switzerland 2026

Bern Central Station, Wednesday morning, shortly before 8.00 am: Amid streams of commuters and the aroma of coffee, people carrying lanyards and laptop bags make their way toward Welle 7. On 4th November 2026, hundreds of Microsoft experts had the same destination: Experts Live Switzerland.

Many organizations have launched AI projects. However, they are struggling to integrate AI into their daily routines and use it profitably. That was precisely what much of the discussion in Bern centered on: How do you get AI pilot projects and agents up and running productively, and who retains control over them?

One Day, three Tracks.

Experts Live is a community event focused on Microsoft technologies. The program covered everything from Azure and cloud to AI and Copilot, as well as security, modern workplace and infrastructure. The day kicked off with the opening note, «Community Power in the Age of AI», followed by the keynote «Kinda chic to get pwned by your own agent» by Sarah Young. The programme also featured breakout sessions, three «Ask the Experts» rounds and the sponsor expo. A striking number of sessions focused on AI agents: governance for Copilot agents, Agent 365 with Copilot Studio, non-human identities and Entra Agent ID. This reflects what we're seeing with our customers. Agents are no longer science fiction. They're already running in the tenant. The question is: who is keeping them under control? For us, three topics are closely connected: AI, security and workplace.

Why war Epic Fusion a Platinum Sponsor of Experts Live Switzerland?

Having our logo on the wall is not reason enough for us. Even if we like to joke about it. Much of what we implement in projects involving Microsoft 365, Azure, Intune and Copilot has already been figured out by others and shared with the community. We want to support that. There is also a very practical benefit: five minutes of conversation can often achieve more than two weeks of email exchanges. In our own session, «Enough Pilots. Put your Agents to Work.», Jannik Reinhard explored how to move beyond the pilot phase and put agents into real-world production.

AI: It is rarely about the Model.

When a Copilot project stalls, the language model is rarely the problem. Usually, something around it is missing:

Permissions: Copilot shows what employees are already allowed to see. What nobody could find before, an assistant can uncover in seconds. This oversharing brings legacy issues to light and creates an opportunity to finally clean things up.
Data quality: If three versions of a policy are stored in three different folders, even the best assistant will return one of them.
Adoption: Concrete use cases for each role are more effective than generic AI training.

With agents, there is an additional question: who is responsible? We treat them like new employees with access to company systems. They get an owner, minimum permissions and regular access reviews.

Security: The foundation.

Three topics came up in almost every conversation:

Identity: Phishing-resistant authentication and well-maintained Conditional Access policies often provide better protection than adding yet another product. AI agents introduce additional identities: non-human ones that still need permissions.
Data: Sensitivity Labels and Data Loss Prevention in Purview define what an assistant is allowed to read and share.
Response: Running through a real-world incident in a tabletop exercise helps identify gaps before they turn into painful lessons.

For Swiss companies, there is also the revised Swiss Data Protection Act, which has been in force since 1st September 2023. Anyone using AI services should know where personal data is stored and who has access to it.

Modern Workplace: The underestimated Game Changer.

A device that is ready to go from day one. An update that doesn't interrupt the workday. Teams without channel chaos. That is how employees notice whether technology makes their lives easier or gets in the way. Intune and Autopilot reduce workload and improve security. The tricky part is usually the transition. Pilot groups, clear communication and a plan for exceptions help make it work.

Community: More than Technology.

Some of the best tips come from colleagues who have already made the same mistakes. At Experts Live, the community went beyond technical knowledge sharing.

Women in Tech had its own dedicated space, while the session «Gender Inequality in Tech» explored who gets to shape technology and whose perspectives are missing. Sessions on neurodiversity and storytelling also made one thing clear: technology only makes an impact when people are part of the journey.

Five Questions to ask in the coming Weeks.

Do we know what our AI assistant can access? A permissions audit before rollout is cheaper than cleaning things up afterwards.
Who owns our agents? Every agent needs a clearly responsible person.
Which three use cases per department really matter?
Have we rehearsed how to respond to an incident?
What are we deliberately choosing not to keep? Knowing what to phase out is part of modernisation.

What stays with us after the Event.

A conference day comes to an end. The work does not. What stays with us is a connection worth remembering, an idea worth trying, or a question that makes us approach the next project differently. A big thank you to the organizers, all the speakers and everyone who joined us for the ride.