Microsoft Reimagines Software Development with New Agentic DevOps Model

At Microsoft Build 2025, the software giant unveiled its most ambitious leap in development workflows — agentic DevOps. Powered by GitHub Copilot’s upgraded capabilities, this new model introduces a proactive, intelligent approach to the software lifecycle. From debugging to deployment, intelligent agents now collaborate with developers to speed up production, manage complexity, and tame technical debt.

For Microsoft, this evolution reflects a return to its founding vision — a “software factory.” But this time, the factory is intelligent, fast, and centered around developers using agents as teammates, not just tools.

Copilot Evolves from Assistant to Teammate

GitHub Copilot already supports 15 million developers. Its autocomplete and suggestion features have transformed how developers code. But Microsoft’s new coding agent takes this further, shifting Copilot from pair programmer to full-fledged collaborator.

Developers can now assign it code reviews, bug fixes, test writing, and even implementing full specs. This new agent also works alongside other agents for more complex tasks, offering peer-level collaboration. Branch protections and audit logs ensure that no changes are pushed without developer review.

Agentic workflows don’t just help write code — they tackle every part of the development journey, including maintenance and modernization.

Agent Mode Delivers Cross-File Intelligence

With Agent Mode, Copilot becomes a command center. Developers can prompt it once to perform multiple coding tasks across a codebase. It can edit files, write tests, fix bugs, suggest terminal commands, and more—all from a single prompt. Agent Mode is now available in Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, JetBrains, Eclipse, and Xcode. This wide support signals Microsoft’s intent to embed agentic coding across all major environments.

App Modernization with Agentic Support

Shipping is no longer the end. Legacy code still clogs many systems, especially in Java and .NET ecosystems. GitHub Copilot’s new app modernization capabilities help streamline this burden. The agent now performs automated code assessments, dependency updates, and remediation with full developer oversight. Mainframe modernization is also on the horizon. By removing the pain of cleaning up old code, developers can focus on future-ready systems instead.

Introducing the Azure SRE Agent

Microsoft also launched the Azure Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) Agent, which operates around the clock. It monitors Azure Kubernetes, App Services, serverless systems, and databases, responding to issues in real time. It guides root cause analysis or even handles it autonomously. Every remediation creates a GitHub issue for follow-up. This ensures faster recovery and fewer sleepless nights for developers.

Agentic DevOps Is the Future of Engineering

The traditional software cycle — slow, sequential, and reactive — is fading. In its place, agentic DevOps promises a model where agents speed up delivery, secure systems, and manage operations. It’s not just automation; it’s collaboration with digital teammates.

Microsoft keeps developers in control. You review what the agents suggest. You approve what ships. But you no longer have to handle every repetitive task alone.

GitHub Models: AI Development Made Easier

To support AI app creation, Microsoft also announced GitHub Models. Developers can now use models from OpenAI, Meta, Mistal, Cohere, and others directly in GitHub. These models integrate seamlessly into workflows via a unified API. Developers can compare performance and cost, experiment freely, and even use them in GitHub Actions to automate tasks like summarizing open issues.

With built-in enterprise guardrails, GitHub Models are secure, compliant, and adaptable. They extend the agentic experience from software engineering to AI development.

Copilot in VS Code Goes Open Source

In a surprise move, Microsoft announced that GitHub Copilot’s AI-powered features in Visual Studio Code are now open source. This aligns with Microsoft’s push for transparency and developer-driven innovation. It also makes Copilot more accessible, enabling community contributions and trust.

A New Era with Agents at the Center

Microsoft’s vision for the future of software creation is agentic. Developers are no longer bogged down by routine maintenance or overwhelmed by scale. Intelligent agents now support them at every turn — from writing code to keeping systems alive in production.

This is not just a new tool; it’s a shift in how software gets made. By placing agents alongside developers, Microsoft aims to return joy, flow, and creativity to the coding experience. Agentic DevOps is not about replacing people — it’s about empowering them to build what’s next.