rickliev shares how Microsoft leverages AI, Azure, and developer-focused tools like GitHub Copilot at TM Forum Innovate Americas 2025 to drive telco innovation, modernize IT architectures, and accelerate open API development.

Reimagining Telco with Microsoft: AI, TM Forum ODA, and Developer Innovation

The telecom industry is in the midst of a rapid digital transformation, powered by AI, cloud-native platforms, and open digital architectures. At TM Forum Innovate Americas 2025, Microsoft is highlighting how it enables Communication Service Providers (CSPs) to modernize, innovate, and deliver superior customer experiences through a combination of advanced technologies and strong developer tooling.

Key Themes

Connected Intelligence: Seamless integration of AI, teams, and technologies to solve real challenges across telco enterprises.
AI-First Mindset: Embedding AI into core operations—from network optimization to personalized customer service—using scalable shared data platforms.
Developer Productivity: Developer acceleration using intelligent tools like GitHub Copilot to streamline TM Forum Open API implementation and support agile IT modernization.

Microsoft Thought Leadership Sessions

Microsoft is sharing concrete strategies and real-world implementations during various expert-led sessions at the event:

Connected Intelligence: Multiplying AI Value Across the Enterprise: Joint session with T-Mobile and Microsoft, focusing on AI collaboration across fragmented systems.
From Hype to Impact: Operationalizing AI in Telco with TM Forum’s ODA and Open APIs: Outlining how CSPs can adopt AI-ready, modular architectures leveraging TM Forum’s Open Digital Architecture (ODA), Open APIs, and Azure.

Azure AI Foundry and Connected Intelligence

Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry stands at the center of its connected intelligence vision, serving as a shared AI platform capable of:

Integrating modular AI agents via Agent Frameworks and Agent Catalogs
Processing massive data sets from networks and customer devices (700+ TB daily)
Ensuring robust enterprise orchestration and data governance
Supporting AI/ML models responsive to real-time, customer-level data

A major innovation is the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling AI-to-AI collaboration not just through data exchange but shared context. MCP allows intelligent discovery and real-time chaining of APIs by AI agents, driving agentic AI that can automate telco operations without significant custom code.

Operationalizing AI and Open Digital Architectures

With the TM Forum ODA and Open APIs, Microsoft and its partners modernize traditional OSS/BSS systems using the ODA Canvas—a modular, cloud-native ecosystem orchestrated by Azure and AI services. This:

Facilitates plug-and-play integration of new telco services
Reduces integration overhead by over 30%
Boosts developer productivity by more than 40% using GitHub Copilot

Real-world Example: Telstra implemented Azure AI Foundry-based solutions like “One Sentence Summary” and “Ask Telstra” within their customer operations, improving time savings and effectiveness for employees by 90%, and reducing follow-ups by 20%.

Accelerating TM Forum Open API Development with GitHub Copilot

With over 100 standardized RESTful interfaces, TM Forum Open APIs are vital for interoperability in telco. GitHub Copilot, Microsoft’s AI code assistant, makes developing these APIs more efficient by:

Autocompleting boilerplate code for TMF endpoints
Suggesting API handlers/data models that align to TMF standards
Generating test plans, documentation, and code compliance enhancements
Providing contextual code support with features like Agent Mode (automating API flows/tests) and Copilot Chat (guiding best practices within IDEs)

Productivity Impact: CSPs like Proximus report:

20–30% faster code writing
25–35% faster refactoring
80–90% better documentation
40–50% improved code compliance

Other telcos (Vodafone, NOS, Orange, TELUS, Lumen Technologies) are also experiencing significant gains.

Best Practices for API Development with Copilot

Use Copilot for repetitive, standards-driven coding tasks
Validate generated code regularly against TMF specifications
Involve Copilot Chat for assistance with error handling and optimization

Microsoft’s Broader Telco Strategy

By prioritizing connected, contextual, and reusable AI, and applying robust governance and ethical frameworks, Microsoft enables telcos to:

Orchestrate real-time workflows
Turn fragmented data into actionable insights
Modernize IT stacks for agility and customer-centricity

Conclusion

Microsoft’s presence at TM Forum Innovate Americas 2025 underlines its commitment to AI-first innovation, open collaboration, and empowering developers. Through solutions like Azure AI Foundry, GitHub Copilot, and agentic architectures, Microsoft helps telcos accelerate transformation, standardize operations, and consistently deliver remarkable customer experiences.

Author: rickliev

For more on configuring GitHub Copilot for TMF Open API projects, visit the latest tech community blog.

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