Detailed Description

The OpenLink AI Layer (OPAL) for Azure Cloud is a powerful middleware foundation that enables the development and deployment of AI Assistants and Agents loosely coupled with Large Language Models (LLMs). It supports open standards like MCP (Model Context Protocol) and A2A (Agent‑to‑Agent), allowing you to encapsulate and reuse existing OpenAPI‑compliant web services, stored procedures, and other operations—streamlining both agent construction and integration into agentic workflows.

Built on Virtuoso's data virtualization and a loosely coupled architecture, OPAL harmonizes structured and unstructured data—databases, knowledge graphs, filesystems, APIs—into a cohesive AI‑data unified data. Its use of declarative agent definitions in natural language (using Markdown) or machine-oriented JSON simplifies design, testing, deployment.

By natively integrating MCP, OPAL exposes data and services as context-aware tools. With native A2A support, it enables composable agentic workflows that encapsulate OpenAPI services, stored procedures, or other MCP-exposed operations, which manifest as agent skills and capabilities.

Security and governance are integral. OPAL integrates natively with Azure Active Directory and supports fine‑grained attribute‑based access control (ABAC), ensuring AI Agents operate with secure, compliant access to data, information, and knowledge.

Key benefits of OPAL for Azure Cloud include:

• Robust Middleware Foundation: A clean separation layer that enables AI Agents to be built once and deployed anywhere, using LLMs as interchangeable components.
• Standards‑Based Agent Composition: MCP and A2A support enables reuse of OpenAPI services, stored procedures, and custom operations across agent workflows.
• Declarative Agent Lifecycle: One Markdown/JSON artifact spans design, prototyping, testing, and production—dramatically cutting development overhead.
• Unified Data Access: Seamlessly query diverse Azure data sources via SQL, SPARQL, GraphQL, ODBC, JDBC, or HTTP APIs.
• Secure and Governed: Native Azure AD integration and Virtuoso ABAC ensure agents and data interactions respect enterprise policies.

Ideal for enterprise use cases like AI‑powered customer support, intelligent data discovery for institutional knowledge bases or graphs, compliance workflows, and multi‑agent orchestration, OPAL provides a unified layer derived from your data that drives context‑aware AI capabilities. Whether building smart assistants or orchestrating agentic workflows, the OpenLink AI Layer for Azure provides the middleware, open standards support, and security to scale intelligently.

Who is this for?

• Individual Developers & AI Enthusiasts: Use natural language to develop and deploy context‑aware agents using simple, declarative descriptions.
• Small Teams, Startups, and large Enterprises: Build secure, intelligent workflows quickly in a loosely coupled fashion.
• Chief Data & AI Officers: Leverage OPAL to build governed, reusable agent ecosystems across your data landscape.
• Data & AI Engineers: Quickly wrap LLMs around existing web services and stored procedures using MCP and A2A protocols.
• Solution Architects & Developers: Orchestrate multi‑agent workflows declaratively.
• Business Leaders & Analysts: Access and act on data using intelligent agents that are constrained by attribute‑based access controls enforcing context and governance.

What problem does it address?

• Agent Reusability: Enables agents to wrap and reuse existing services and procedures via MCP and A2A, reducing duplication by leveraging loose‑coupling principles.
• Integration Complexity: Declarative agent definitions simplify development by collapsing design, testing, and deployment into one artifact.
• Workflow Orchestration: A2A enables scalable, standards‑based agent collaboration across tasks.
• Security & Governance: Azure AD and ABAC ensure agentic workflows comply with enterprise policies.

Discover how OPAL empowers organizations to build, deploy, and orchestrate secure, context‑aware AI Agent ecosystems. Visit https://opal.openlinksw.com to learn more.