From Frontier Models to Frontier Firms

Ed Canney

November 14, 2025

4 min read

Turn a frontier model into business outcomes by connecting it to Enterprise Knowledge Intelligence (EKI) and AI agents that execute real workflows.

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What is a Frontier Model?

A Frontier Model (GPT‑5, Gemini, Claude, Llama, etc.) is a large foundation model trained to understand language, reason, generate content and coordinate actions. It is powerful yet generalist: it doesn’t know your business until connected to your context.

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How it’s contextualized with your organization‍

Structured Data
Core banking, CRM, ERP and internal apps exposed via governed, secure APIs.

Unstructured Knowledge
Docs, email, wikis and minutes served to the model via classic RAG or through a centralized, secure EKI layer.

Operational Context
Business rules, workflows, permissions and audit: how work is executed.

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Key: you don’t jam all data inside the model. You connect it to sources and query with control and traceability.

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Where does Enterprise Knowledge Intelligence (EKI) fit?

Platforms like Glean and Microsoft Copilot Graph form the knowledge intelligence layer: they index your content, enforce permissions, update in real time, and deliver relevant context to models and people.

Real-time indexing
Connectors for Drive, SharePoint, Slack, email and more.

Permissions & compliance
Strict RBAC/ABAC adherence and data policies.

Advanced semantics
Knowledge graphs + embeddings for more precise answers.

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Difference between EKI and classic RAG

Aspect	Classic RAG	Enterprise Knowledge Intelligence
Scope	Limited document corpus.	Entire enterprise: email, Drive/SharePoint, Slack, CRM, tickets, etc.
Update	Manual or batch.	Real time (APIs, webhooks, continuous sync).
Security	Basic.	Native RBAC/ABAC; centralized compliance and audit.
Semantics	Embeddings.	Taxonomies, graphs and conceptual relations + embeddings.
Use	Context for the model.	Context for models and humans (enterprise search).
Operations	Index per team/project.	Unified platform with governance, metrics and SSO.

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Integrated architecture (from model to action)

[Customer / Employee]
    |
    ▼
[Specialized AI agent]       ← orchestrates tasks and tools
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    ▼
[Frontier Model]             ← reasons, plans, generates
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    ▼
[Enterprise Knowledge Layer] ← Glean / Copilot Graph
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[Enterprise Systems]         ← Core, CRM/ERP, Docs, Tickets

The model reasons; the EKI layer contextualizes; internal systems provide live data; agents execute workflows with traceability.

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How it looks in practice

The customer submits a request in natural language.
A specialized AI agent interprets intent and delegates subtasks.
The Frontier Model queries the EKI first (Glean or Copilot Graph) for policies, docs and context. The EKI accesses internal vector indices.
For live data, the agent calls secure core/CRM APIs.
Final response with full traceability and record update.

Outcome: accurate, secure and consistent responses; humans focus on exceptions.

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Conclusion

Frontier Firms are built by connecting Frontier Models to the company’s living knowledge and empowering agents to execute processes securely—bridging AI potential and business outcomes.

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Ready to build what matters?

Lets talk

Let’s transform‍your business