Scaling Microsoft Copilot with Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 expertise

Freedom Holding Corporation ran a successful Microsoft Copilot pilot that demonstrated clear productivity and quality benefits for a small group of employees. The positive pilot created demand across a broader block of departments, but inconsistent understanding of Copilot experiences (Copilot for M365, Copilot Chat, Copilot agents) and fragmented usage patterns risked inconsistent results and potential compliance gaps.

Awara IT partnered with Freedom Holding to industrialize Copilot adoption: defining use cases, establishing governance and data boundaries, deploying Copilot Studio configurations and agent patterns, and running a targeted change-management and training program. The result was measurable uplift in AI literacy, prompt quality, and secure usage across Microsoft 365 apps — all delivered with controls aligned to Freedom Holding’s financial-services compliance requirements in Kazakhstan.

Client / Industry / Country

Freedom Holding Corporation is a Kazakhstan-based financial services group focused on brokerage and investment banking across the Middle East region. The company operates enterprise-grade trading, advisory and back-office functions supporting institutional and high-net-worth clients.

Business challenge

After a controlled Copilot pilot, Freedom Holding faced two practical problems: scale and clarity. Demand to expand Copilot across multiple departments outstripped the organization’s ability to explain which Copilot experience to use for each task. Employees were unclear about differences between Copilot for Microsoft 365, Copilot Chat, Copilot-based agents and purpose-built Copilot solutions. That led to fragmented usage patterns and inconsistent results across departments.

At the same time, the organization required strict handling of sensitive financial and customer data. Without a governance model and clear operational guidance, expanding Copilot risked inconsistent data boundaries and increased workload for IT and Compliance teams. The task required both technical configuration and a structured change-management approach to ensure safe, repeatable value from Copilot across the business.

Why Dynamics 365 was selected

Freedom Holding selected a Microsoft-centric approach because its core collaboration and identity platforms were already built on Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory. Leveraging Copilot within the existing Microsoft stack reduced integration complexity and allowed the team to apply enterprise-grade security, conditional access and data-loss-prevention policies that are compatible with Dynamics 365 environments.

Awara IT recommended aligning the Copilot rollout with Dynamics 365 governance and data models where applicable — not because Copilot replaces ERP/CRM, but because Dynamics 365 metadata and customer records often inform the prompts and data access patterns Copilot-based agents use. This alignment preserved auditability, ensured consistent role-based access, and created a clear path for future Copilot integrations with Dynamics 365 business processes.

Modules implemented

• Copilot Studio configuration and agent templates
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams) enablement
• Copilot Chat deployment and usage controls
• Governance, DLP, and conditional-access policies
• Change management and role-based training program
• Security & compliance playbooks for sensitive financial data

Integrations

• Azure Active Directory (identity and conditional access)
• Microsoft 365 apps: Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams
• Internal document repositories and secure file shares
• SIEM and monitoring (log aggregation for Copilot activity)
• Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and compliance tooling
• HR/training LMS for rollout tracking

Localization & compliance

Deployment and governance were designed to meet Kazakhstan’s financial-sector requirements and Freedom Holding’s internal data-protection rules. Awara IT worked with client Compliance to ensure Copilot configurations respected personal data handling rules, data residency preferences, and audit requirements. Access to sensitive customer or trading data was restricted by role, and prompts that could expose regulated information required additional approvals and logging.

All training materials and governance documentation were localized where necessary, and security controls were tested against the client’s existing compliance assessments to ensure alignment with regulator expectations and internal audit processes.

Business value

The program delivered repeatable, auditable Copilot usage across multiple departments, converting positive pilot results into reliable business capability. Employees developed concrete prompting skills and a clearer mental model of when to use Copilot for M365, Copilot Chat, or specialist agents — improving output quality and reducing rework for document- and report-heavy workflows.

From a risk perspective, the governance, conditional access and DLP configurations reduced compliance exposure and removed ambiguity for IT and Compliance teams. Operationally, the client regained control over Copilot usage patterns, lowered support burden, and established a scalable framework for future integrations with Dynamics 365 business processes and other Microsoft services.