July 2026 | The Astute Update
- Astute Dimension
- Aug 11
- 5 min read
AI Enters the Control Layer of Planning
July brought further advances in AI capabilities and integrations, alongside a growing focus on how AI is governed, approved, audited and reported.
The month’s highlights
Oracle, Microsoft, Workday, OpenAI, the FCA, Anthropic and Jedox announced developments that place AI more directly within enterprise workflows.
Jedox published further detail on Jedox 2026.1, particularly the Reporting Agent, Knowledge Agent, Integrator, Python, Cube Delta Extract and model licensing.
Oracle and Microsoft continued to embed agentic AI within ERP, EPM and enterprise application platforms, with stronger controls over data access, actions and deployment.
The FCA launched the second cohort of its Supercharged Sandbox, providing a structured environment for testing financial-services AI use cases.
Across these developments, enterprise AI is being connected more closely to business systems, security models, workflows, approvals and audit trails. This gives AI controlled access to organisational data, models and business processes.
Finance Systems Incorporate AI
AI is moving into the control layer of enterprise software.
On 14 July, Oracle announced a new AI-native builder experience for Oracle AI Agent Studio for Fusion Applications. Oracle described agentic applications that operate inside Fusion Applications and use Fusion business objects, workflows, approvals, policies and logged actions.
Microsoft’s July Dynamics 365 release plan pointed in a similar direction. It included public preview timing for Copilot Cowork orchestration across Dynamics 365 ERP. The release notes describe AI working through the Dynamics 365 ERP MCP server, with access to ERP data, attachments, deep links and actions.
During the same month, Microsoft and Mistral expanded their partnership. Mistral models were added to Microsoft Foundry and Copilot Studio, with deployment options ranging from cloud environments to fully disconnected infrastructure.
Taken together, these announcements place greater emphasis on practical governance: where AI runs, what it can access or change, who approves its actions and how those actions are recorded.
Jedox Update
Jedox’s July documentation added further detail on the Jedox 2026.1 release. The release includes a Knowledge Agent and Reporting Agent, a new Integrator UI, Cube Delta Extract in early access, Python support for data transformation and improved JSON handling.
The Reporting Agent can work with reports, KPI cards, embedded web spreadsheets and Dynatables. It supports natural-language questions, multi-turn analysis, business-friendly names through attributes and KPI commentary.
Market News
Oracle Cloud EPM documentation added further detail on AI capabilities in July. Oracle lists Reporting Agent as a 26.07 generative AI feature for Planning. Oracle also stated that, from July, environments using Cloud EPM Generative AI features must be updated to the April 2026 release or later by the end of the month. This makes platform currency an operational prerequisite for using these AI features.
Workday Adaptive Planning achieved FedRAMP Moderate authorisation on 23 July. Workday positioned the milestone around US federal workforce planning and budgeting, with availability expected for Workday Government customers in early 2027.
The FCA’s Supercharged Sandbox also moved forward. Cohort 2 launched on 13 July and runs until 31 December 2026. The FCA selected 21 organisations from 199 applications. Use cases include safer agent-led payments, fraud detection, AI governance, access for vulnerable consumers, compliance and business automation. Anthropic is supporting the cohort with access to Claude, Claude Code and Claude Cowork.
OpenAI’s July ChatGPT Business release notes also added several work-focused capabilities. ChatGPT Work was introduced for longer tasks across connected applications and files. ChatGPT for PowerPoint became generally available for Business workspaces. Public publishing through Sites expanded for eligible workspaces, while Voice in Work and Codex became available on desktop.
Closing Note
July’s announcements show both the breadth of AI capability now entering enterprise platforms and the speed at which the market is developing. That pace is unlikely to slow in the near term.
For business leaders, the practical question is no longer whether AI will affect the organisation, but where to begin and what should guide the first investments. Technology choices, platform provisioning, governance and internal upskilling need to support existing business strategy and priorities, rather than becoming a separate AI programme.
There is a genuine tension between waiting for the technology to mature and starting early enough to build experience. Waiting may reduce some uncertainty, but it can also delay the organisational learning needed to adopt AI well. Moving too quickly without clear outcomes and controls creates a different set of risks.
A pragmatic approach is to start with a small number of valuable, well-governed use cases, learn from real adoption and expand where the evidence supports it. The objective is not to predict every change in the technology. It is to build the organisational capability to evaluate, govern and adopt new developments as they emerge.
Transformation is already under way as employees and organisations adapt to these tools. In some places it is structured and deliberate; in others it is emerging through local, ad hoc experimentation. The opportunity is to connect that activity to clear business outcomes, appropriate governance and practical capability-building, so adoption becomes intentional rather than accidental.
Thanks for Reading!
We trust this edition kept you informed with the latest developments, from technology updates and platform enhancements to independent analyst recognition and planning insights.
Warm regards,
Astute Dimension
Helping you translate planning into performance.
References
Jedox, “Jedox Major Release 2026”, updated 22 July 2026, https://knowledgebase.jedox.com/release-notes/release-notes-2026-1.htm
Used for the July Jedox 2026.1 product details.
Jedox, “Reporting Agent”, updated 13 July 2026, https://knowledgebase.jedox.com/jedox/ai/jedoxai-reporting.htm
Used for JedoxAI Reporting Agent capabilities, prerequisites, and limits.
Jedox, “Knowledge Base Change Log”, updated 24 July 2026, https://knowledgebase.jedox.com/jedox/kb-changelog.htm
Used to confirm which Jedox items were fresh in July.
Oracle, “Oracle Introduces AI-Native Builder Experience to Create and Run Agentic Applications in Oracle Fusion Applications”, 14 July 2026, https://www.oracle.com/uk/news/announcement/oracle-introduces-ai-native-builder-experience-2026-07-14/
Used for the main story on governed agentic applications.
Oracle, “AI Features for Planning”, July 2026, https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/enterprise-performance-management-common/epmai/ai_features_for_planning.html
Used to confirm Reporting Agent as a 26.07 Planning GenAI feature.
Oracle, “Generative AI Features Require Cloud EPM 26.04 or Later”, July 2026, https://docs.oracle.com/en/cloud/saas/readiness/epm/2026/edm-jul26/26jul-edmcs-wn-f50276.htm
Used for the Cloud EPM platform lifecycle update.
Microsoft, “Microsoft and Mistral expand strategic partnership to give enterprises and regulated industries frontier AI they can control”, 21 July 2026, https://news.microsoft.com/source/2026/07/21/microsoft-and-mistral-expand-strategic-partnership-to-give-enterprises-and-regulated-industries-frontier-ai-they-can-control/
Used for the model choice and controlled deployment theme.
Microsoft Learn, “What’s new and planned for finance and operations cross-app capabilities”, updated 28 July 2026, https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dynamics365/release-plan/2026wave1/enterprise-resource-planning/finance-operations-crossapp-capabilities/planned-features
Used for Dynamics 365 ERP Copilot Cowork and MCP release timing.
Workday, “Workday Adaptive Planning Achieves FedRAMP Moderate Authorization to Support Federal Workforce and Budget Planning”, 23 July 2026, https://newsroom.workday.com/2026-07-23-Workday-Adaptive-Planning-Achieves-FedRAMP-Moderate-Authorization-to-Support-Federal-Workforce-and-Budget-Planning
Used for the secure planning platform market update.
FCA, “Supercharged Sandbox”, updated 22 July 2026, https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/innovation/supercharged-sandbox
Used for regulated AI testing and cohort details.
OpenAI, “ChatGPT Business - Release Notes”, July 2026, https://help.openai.com/en/articles/11391654-chatgpt-business-release-notes
Used for July ChatGPT Work, PowerPoint, Sites, and Voice updates.
