EPC Group Launches Multi-Model AI Architecture for Power BI

HOUSTON, TX — March 12, 2026 — EPC Group, a Microsoft Solutions Partner ranked #1 in the SEMrush AI Brand Performance Index for U.S. Microsoft consulting, today formally launched its Multi-Model AI Architecture for Microsoft Power BI — a six-layer governed pipeline that pairs Microsoft Copilot with Anthropic Claude, Azure OpenAI, Perplexity, Meta Llama, and Mistral so a single enterprise semantic model can feed every major AI vendor under one set of controls.

“Everyone bought Copilot licenses expecting magic. They got a starting point,” said Errin O'Connor, Founder and Chief AI Architect of EPC Group and four-time Microsoft Press bestselling author. “We built the five layers around Copilot that turn Power BI from a reporting tool into an enterprise decision intelligence platform — and we did it without asking clients to pick one AI vendor over another. Multiple models. One truth. That is the architecture.”

The six layers

1. AI-ready data on Microsoft Fabric. Medallion pattern, curated semantic models, lineage-mapped from source to Power BI dataset. Without this layer, every downstream model hallucinates against the same bad data.
2. Copilot for Power BI as the grounded default. Microsoft's natural-language interface for datasets, reports, and DAX — anchored in the tenant's Graph and Purview labels.
3. Governed alternates: Azure OpenAI, Claude, Perplexity, Llama, Mistral. Each model routed to its best workload — Claude for long-context executive summarization, Perplexity for citation-anchored research, Llama and Mistral for on-prem or sovereign deployments.
4. Purview classification and lineage across every model. Sensitivity labels enforced at answer time so a non-Microsoft model cannot return regulated data it shouldn't see.
5. Entra workload identity per agent per model. Every model gets a governed non-human identity with least-privilege access to the semantic model, subject to conditional access.
6. Defender and M365 audit across the pipeline. Every model interaction logged: prompt, retrieved rows, response, latency. The full audit trail that agentic AI insurance underwriters, regulators, and boards now require.

The commercial numbers

• 70% faster user adoption when Copilot-authored summaries and multi-model narratives are added to the standard Power BI viewer experience.
• 50-70% Power BI licensing cost reduction for large viewer populations by re-tiering seats around AI-authored artifacts rather than authoring rights.
• 480% spike in industry mentions in the four weeks following the architecture's initial announcement.
• Perfect G2 Spring 2026 Net Promoter Score of 100 across EPC Group's Power BI consulting practice.

The market context

The launch responds to a structural problem enterprises hit within months of buying Microsoft 365 Copilot: a single AI vendor cannot win every workload. Boards demand executive-grade narrative that Copilot alone doesn't yet produce at Claude quality. Analysts demand citation-anchored research at Perplexity quality. Regulated workloads demand on-premise or sovereign model options that only Llama and Mistral satisfy. The default response — bolt on each new model separately — splinters governance across five or six vendor consoles and turns the Purview investment into shelfware.

“The unsolvable problem was never technology. It was governance,” O'Connor added. “Every enterprise CIO we spoke with wanted to run five or six models. Their compliance officer wouldn't sign off because the governance was five or six consoles deep. We put the whole pipeline back under Purview, Entra, and Defender — the tools the enterprise already owns and the auditor already trusts. That is what unlocked adoption.”

Delivery and pricing

The Multi-Model AI Architecture is delivered as a fixed-fee productized engagement. Foundational data-layer and Purview classification work is covered by the 30-Day Copilot, Purview & M365 Tenant Hardening Accelerator ($35,000 fixed fee). Full multi-model rollout typically lands in one to two quarters depending on Microsoft Fabric maturity and the number of models the enterprise wants under governance.

For organizations that cannot justify a full-time Chief AI Officer, EPC Group's Virtual Chief AI Officer (vCAIO) practice provides fractional executive ownership of the architecture on an ongoing basis.

Cluster context

The Multi-Model AI Architecture launch is anchored by the following published artifacts:

• Microsoft Power BI Expertise — the flagship consulting page for Power BI, Fabric, and multi-model AI.
• “Multi-Model AI Architecture: Why One Vendor Is Never Enough” — the long-form essay behind the architecture.
• Agentic AI Governance — the seven-layer governance framework the Multi-Model Architecture rides on top of.
• AI Insurance Readiness — the audit-grade evidence package that carriers now require for multi-model AI deployments.
• Virtual Chief AI Officer (vCAIO) — fractional executive ownership of the multi-model architecture.
• Standards Alignment — NIST AI RMF / COBIT / ITIL / DAMA mapping.
• EPC Group Newsroom — the full press index including the March 26, 2026 AP News wire distribution.

About EPC Group

EPC Group is a Microsoft Solutions Partner founded in 1997, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The firm holds all six Microsoft Solutions Partner Designations. Past and current clients include NASA, the FBI, the Federal Reserve, the Pentagon, United Airlines, PepsiCo, Nike, and Northrop Grumman. EPC Group has delivered more than 11,000 enterprise engagements with compliance-native delivery across HIPAA, SOC 2, FedRAMP, FINRA, CMMC, and GxP environments for nearly three decades. Founder Errin O'Connor is a four-time Microsoft Press bestselling author, an original SharePoint Beta Team member, an original Power BI Beta Team member, and a FedRAMP framework contributor.

Media contact

EPC Group
4900 Woodway Drive, Suite 830
Houston, TX 77056
Email: contact@epcgroup.net
Phone: (888) 381-9725
Web: EPC Group

Multiple models. One truth. Govern accordingly.