AI agents are becoming part of everyday work. Teams are experimenting, finding useful applications and building tools to make day-to-day tasks easier. The enthusiasm is there.
But as adoption accelerates, so do the questions for security teams. How many AI agents are already in use? What can they access? And who’s responsible for making sure they’re operating securely?
Answering those questions takes more than a one-off security exercise. Businesses need a clear plan for where AI can add value, the right controls to manage it and specialist expertise to support them as adoption grows. The aim is to make progress without introducing unnecessary risk.
In this episode of Microsoft Mentors, CWSI CEO and co-founder Ronan Murphy joins host Oli Ridley to discuss what this looks like in practice. Drawing on CWSI’s experience as a Microsoft-first security and compliance partner, he explores how businesses can identify valuable AI opportunities, establish effective governance and build the security foundations needed to support adoption at scale.
What you’ll take away from the conversation
1
How to identify where AI agents can add value to your business.
2
Where AI can make a difference in day-to-day security operations, helping teams reduce repetitive work, prioritise threats and focus their expertise where it’s needed most.
3
Where Microsoft Security Copilot fits, and how it can help teams make sense of security signals, investigate threats and move from insight to action.
4
The shift from AI assistants to AI agents, and how agents can take on defined security tasks while people stay in control.
5
How these capabilities work across Microsoft Security, including Defender, Entra, Purview and Intune.
6
How to get started sensibly, focusing on the areas where AI can add value without adding unnecessary complexity.
Meet the speakers
Ronan Murphy
CEO and Co-founder, CWSI
Ronan brings over 30 years of experience in the technology sector, across leadership and advisory roles. Before founding CWSI, he co-founded Cellular World, which grew to become Ireland’s largest mobile reseller before being acquired by O2.
He co-founded CWSI in 2010 and has guided the business through steady organic growth and targeted acquisitions. His focus is on building a security-led, customer-first organisation, where growth is matched with strong governance and clear, measurable outcomes for clients.
Ronan sets the overall direction for the group and spends time sharing practical perspectives on technology, innovation and business through industry forums and media commentary. He values progress that holds up under scrutiny and relationships that last.
Oli Ridley
Co-Founder & Managing Director of Microsoft Talent Partnerships, Cloud Decisions
Oli Ridley is Co-Founder and Managing Director of Cloud Decisions, helping Microsoft Partners build the teams and capability they need to grow.
After years of conversations with Partner leaders in boardrooms, team meetings and over coffee, Oli wanted to bring their stories to the wider community.
That’s when Microsoft Mentors was born: a podcast and community built around real conversations with the leaders behind Microsoft Partner businesses, exploring their journeys, the decisions shaping their growth, and how they’re building, scaling and delivering in Microsoft’s Frontier era.
