5:15 a.m., my alarm clock rings and, as usual, my cat starts meowing as if the world were about to end… The smell of coffee brewing and toast filling the kitchen. I love this time of day when I’m freshly awake and my brain is still warm, like a car engine warming up before hitting the road. Yes, I’m a morning person who works flexible hours, as you can probably tell😉.
5:45 a.m., I open my workstation and notice that several of the AI agents I coordinate are down. Some encountered a network problem while performing a task, and others lacked a bit of context to properly complete their missions. I also realize that No. 5, my favorite agent, whom I programmed to have a humorous and warm tone, has finished the work he had to do during the night.
The first tasks I have to do this morning are to assign new tasks to my agents who have finished their work and to support the others who have encountered exceptions or complex situations that require human intervention.
This scenario takes place in 2027, and Nexus Innovations is in phase 3 of its transformation into a Frontier Firm.
🗓️ 2025: the year Frontier Firms were born
At the Microsoft AI Tour 2025, the central theme was clear: 2025, The year the Frontier Firm is born.
But what does a Frontier Firm eat in winter?
I want to take some time today to reflect on and discuss this new reality that all companies will face.
The Microsoft Work Trend Index 2025 annual report announces the emergence of a new type of organization: the Frontier Firm. These companies are designed around on-demand intelligence, combining hybrid teams of humans and AI agents to operate with agility, evolve quickly, and generate value more efficiently.
Already in 2024, Nexus Innovations, like a handful of other Quebec companies, had the vision to begin its transformation to adopt an “AI first” approach with the goal of delivering value to our customers more quickly. Since then, we have come a long way, and some of our key processes now promote this new way of doing things.
🔄 Three phases of transformation toward becoming a Frontier Firm
Microsoft identifies three key phases in the transformation of a company to achieve Frontier Firm status:
- AI as a human assistant: every employee has an AI assistant that helps them work better and faster.
- AI as a digital colleague: agents join teams and take on specific tasks under human supervision. Agents are more than just assistants; they have become real coworkers.
- AI as a process operator: agents manage entire workflows, with humans supervising and intervening when necessary.
It is clear that several of my colleagues, including myself, have already been in phase 2 for several months. Some of our internal processes are undergoing transformation and, in my opinion, will reach phase 3 within about a year. I am referring here to complete processes involving several stages of solution development, starting with the sales department, followed by development, and ending with support once these solutions are put into production.
In this report (Work Trend Index 2025), Microsoft mentions that a Frontier Firm will often be in all three phases at the same time during its transformation. I think that overall, Nexus Innovations is currently navigating between phases 1 and 2.
🚀 Characteristics of Frontier Firms
Adopting an AI-first mindset is not easy, but it is necessary. How can you tell if you truly embody the spirit of a Frontier Firm?
Here are some characteristics that Microsoft has identified:
- Widespread deployment of AI.
- Advanced maturity in the use of AI agents.
- Optimism about the future of work.
- Less fear that AI will replace human jobs.
- Creation of new roles: AI specialists, AI trainers, ROI analysts, etc.
Frontier Firms don’t just adopt AI: they rethink their teams. Microsoft identifies the emergence of new professions such as AI specialists, AI trainers, AI performance analysts, AI strategists, etc.
This requires rethinking training and upskilling. The most advanced companies are those that invest in people to take full advantage of the technology.
👀 Becoming a “boss agent”: a new role for everyone
The report introduces a fascinating concept: that of the “agent boss.”
This term refers to the new reality of work: in a few years, many of us will be called upon to create, supervise, and coordinate AI agents.
In other words, human-machine collaboration will no longer be an exception, but an essential skill.
At Nexus Innovations, some employees are already experiencing this on a daily basis: learning to manage AI agents, provide them with context, delegate intelligently… it’s a continuous learning process.
📊 Key data from the Work Trend Index 2025 report
The Work Trend Index 2025 report includes several data points, but some caught my attention in particular. Here they are:
- Nearly half of employees (48%) – and more than half of executives (52%) -say their work feels chaotic and fragmented. Microsoft mentions, among other things, that employees are interrupted every two minutes by meetings, emails, or notifications.
- 53% of executives believe that productivity needs to increase, but 80% of the global workforce – employees and executives alike – say they lack the time or energy to get their work done.
- Discussions outside of office hours have increased by 15% year-on-year.
- Changes in PowerPoint increase by 122% in the last 10 minutes before a meeting… Hey Louis-Philipe Vallée 😉?
- 82% of executives believe that 2025 is a pivotal year for rethinking their AI strategy.
- 81% of executives plan to integrate agents into their processes to a moderate or advanced degree within the next 12 to 18 months.
- 24% of companies have already deployed AI organization-wide.
- Microsoft believes that within 2 to 5 years, all companies will have begun their transformation to become Frontier Firms.
Is AI the key to solving the problems mentioned above? I believe so, in part. By automating tasks, we free up time. These repetitive and sometimes demotivating tasks represent a large part of some people’s work. As for work fragmentation and incessant notifications, I think it’s reasonable to believe that automating as many processes as possible with AI could reduce the number of interactions between colleagues, which would reduce the amount of communication.
Some of the communication can be handled by AI. For example, an agent connected to an inventory database can independently respond to customer emails requesting certain products. The agent can confirm whether the product is in stock and place the order, or if the product is out of stock, suggest an equivalent product to the customer. The human would only have to approve the order once the conversation between the agent and the customer has been completed. This is the kind of scenario that frees up time for humans to focus on more complex and value-added tasks.
📌 Final word
If my article has piqued your curiosity, I strongly recommend reading Microsoft’s full report, especially if you are a business leader.
We have only scratched the surface of the report, and three of the characteristics that define a Frontier Firm have inspired me to write another article:
- Optimism about the future of work.
- Less fear that AI will replace human jobs.
- Creation of new roles: AI specialists, AI trainers, ROI analysts, etc.
We have all felt fear, apprehension, and uncertainty about the arrival of AI, both in our personal and professional lives. Whether we are employees or executives, these feelings and questions affect us all at one time or another.
In another text, I would like to talk to you about what some of my colleagues and I are experiencing at work with regard to the adoption of AI in the process of transforming Nexus Innovations into a Frontier Firm.
It is impossible to predict what AI will be capable of in two to three years, but one thing is certain: in the short to medium term, we will all be part of a Frontier Firm.
Do you think your organization needs to begin the process of transforming itself to adopt AI, but you don’t know where to start?
At Nexus Innovations, our mission is clear: to redefine the new work experience. We believe that AI is not an option, but a must for any organization that wants to remain competitive, innovative, and human. Every day, we explore this frontier between humans and artificial intelligence, not to erase the difference, but to amplify the potential of each.
Because ultimately, becoming a Frontier Firm is not about entering a robotic future: it’s about learning to collaborate with intelligence in all its forms.
Frédéric Janelle – AI Agent Specialist – Systems Administrator
Nexus Innovations
