S2E3 | Wait, my agent needs a database? — The Shift Podcast by Microsoft Azure

As teams build AI agents, many discover a surprising requirement along the way: Yes—your agent still needs a database.

In this episode of The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition, members of the Microsoft Azure Database team discuss why databases remain a core part of agentic application architectures. The conversation explores how AI apps and agents place different demands on databases compared to traditional applications.

The discussion covers:

· Why agents often rely on existing enterprise databases.

· How relational and open‑source databases fit into AI workflows.

· What changes when databases support search, context, and retrieval.

· How Azure databases are evolving to support AI‑driven applications.

Rather than positioning databases as something new, the episode reflects on what’s changing—and what isn’t—when agents are added to the mix.

This conversation helps ground expectations around AI agents by connecting them back to familiar infrastructure decisions teams are already making.

Meet the Team:

· Nikisha Reyes-Grange, Senior Director Product Marketing https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikisha/

· James Codella, Principal Product Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescodella/

· Jared Meade, Senior Program Manager https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-meade/

· Debbi Lyons, Director Product Marketing https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbilyons/

The Shift Podcast: Agentic Edition is a place for experts to share their insights and opinions. As students of the future of technology, Microsoft values inputs from a diverse set of voices. That said, the opinions and findings of our guests are their own and they may not necessarily reflect Microsoft's own research or positions.

This episode of The Shift was recorded in January 2026. All information about products and offers is relevant to the time of recording.

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