Compare: Your cloud's retrieval, or knowledge any agent can read

ContextNest vs Microsoft IQ

Their products are infrastructure for engineers to assemble on their cloud. ContextNest is the finished, governed brain your whole business uses, with engineers right in it through the CLI, MCP and open source.

What it is

Microsoft IQ (Foundry IQ, Fabric IQ, Work IQ)

Microsoft IQ gives Microsoft agents permission-aware context from Microsoft 365, Fabric and Azure. ContextNest gives every agent, on any model, the approved version of what your company knows.

ContextNest is approved knowledge that any agent, on any cloud, can read.

Sources

Choose Microsoft IQ when your agents are Microsoft's and your data lives in Microsoft 365, Fabric and Azure.

Where Microsoft IQ wins

Built for Microsoft shops
A fit for organizations standardized on Microsoft 365, Fabric and Azure.
Inherited permissions
Permissions come from Purview and the tenant.
Ontology over Fabric data
Fabric IQ models a structured ontology over OneLake data.

Where Microsoft IQ strains

Each one shows up when the same knowledge has to serve many people, many agents and more than one model.

Over-sharing carries through
Retrieval follows file permissions, so an over-shared folder is over-shared to every agent that queries as that user.
Drafts are indexed too
As of October 2026, Microsoft's public documentation does not describe marking a document as approved for agents or retiring the old version.
Built for Microsoft's agents
Other tools connect one app at a time.

Why teams pick us

Why teams pick ContextNest over Microsoft IQ

Why we built ContextNest →

Runs anywhere. Same nest.: Start with plain files on a laptop with the open-source CLI, self-host the server in Docker, or let us host it. Push the same nest from one to the next, with no migration.
No infrastructure to stand up: No graph database, no vector cluster, no data platform, no ontology pipeline. It starts as plain files, and hosted is free to start.
A product people open every day: A Notion-style wiki editor, approvals, version history and compare, a read log, and Hootie chat built into the nest. PromptOwl agents run on top.
Agents that keep it whole: Capture, curator and retriever agents ship in the ContextNest plugin for Claude Code: they keep what's worth keeping, make a correction land everywhere, and answer with citations.
Governed and enterprise-ready: Turn on review and a named owner approves before AI may use it, every version is kept, and every read is recorded. OIDC single sign-on with Entra ID, Okta or Google Workspace comes with Enterprise.
Open where it counts: The CLI, engine and MCP server are open source (AGPL-3.0), with an open spec and free starter vaults. It all runs on a laptop.

Side by side

ContextNest and Microsoft IQ, on the questions that decide it.

The question	Microsoft IQ	ContextNest
Who it's built forWho is the product made for?	Engineering teams assembling infrastructure on Microsoft 365, Fabric and Azure.	The whole business: leaders, teams, engineers and their agents.
What it governsWhich kind of knowledge does it govern for agents?	PartlyFabric IQ ontology over OneLake data. Foundry IQ permission-aware knowledge bases over Blob, SharePoint, OneLake and web. Work IQ over Microsoft 365.	YesDocuments, policies, decisions and playbooks: the knowledge agents act on.
Native to what you already runIs it already part of the cloud, tenant or platform you've standardized on?	YesAlready in many Microsoft 365 tenants, with Purview permissions and data loss prevention.	NoA new vendor in your stack. It connects to your platforms over MCP and APIs.
Tables, metrics and data relationshipsDoes it model structured data for agents to query?	YesFabric IQ models an ontology over OneLake data.	NoDocuments and decisions, not table or metric modeling. Use it next to your data platform.
Multi-hop relationship reasoningCan agents follow relationships across many entities?	PartlyRelationships modelled in the Fabric IQ ontology.	PartlyGraph-aware selectors follow links between documents (ctx query --hops). Not a graph database.
Search across your other appsDoes it search across the apps your company already uses?	YesWork IQ grounds Copilot across Microsoft 365.	PartlyFull-text and selector search inside the nest, not across your other apps.
A person approves firstDoes a named owner approve knowledge before AI may use it?	PartlyPurview and source permissions control access. No owner approval before content becomes eligible.	YesPer-document steward approval. Governed nests serve only approved versions. Turned on per nest.
VersionedCan you rebuild what any version said, and keep old versions out of answers?	PartlySource systems keep version history. The knowledge layer does not serve approved versions.	YesEvery change is versioned and hash-chained. Rebuild any version (ctx reconstruct).
Record of readsIs there a record of who read what?	PartlyPurview audit across Microsoft 365. Per-agent read records depend on the source.	YesEvery read is recorded: which person or API key, which document, and when.
What you provision firstWhat has to be set up before it works?	A Microsoft 365 tenant, Fabric and OneLake for Fabric IQ, and Azure AI Foundry for Foundry IQ.	Nothing to stand up: plain files on a laptop, one Docker container on your servers, or hosted, free to start.
Time to first governed answerHow long until an agent answers from approved knowledge?	PartlyAfter Fabric, Foundry knowledge bases and permissions are set up in your tenant.	YesMinutes: create a nest, add documents, approve them, connect an agent.
Ready-to-use UI for non-engineersCan people outside engineering read, edit, approve and ask, without a build?	PartlyCopilot chat for people. No approval workflow for knowledge.	YesA Notion-style wiki editor, approvals, version history and compare, a read log, and Hootie chat built into the nest.
Runs local, self-hosted or hostedCan the same knowledge run on a laptop, on your servers and in the cloud?	NoMicrosoft cloud only.	YesThe same nest runs as local files (CLI), self-hosted (Docker) or hosted. Push from one to the next with no migration.
SSOSingle sign-on with your identity provider?	YesEntra ID.	PartlyEvery plan includes Google sign-in. OIDC single sign-on with Entra ID, Okta or Google Workspace comes with Enterprise.
Open source coreIs the core open source, and can you run it without a cloud bill?	NoProprietary.	YesThe CLI, engine and MCP server are open source (AGPL-3.0), with an open spec (Apache 2.0). It runs on a laptop.
Server and UI licenseWhat license covers the server and interface your team uses?	Proprietary, licensed with Microsoft 365, Fabric and Azure.	The Community server, wiki and read log are commercial: free for up to 10 users, with a free license key.
Ships with agents that maintain the knowledgeDo agents help keep the knowledge consistent as it changes?	NoNo agents that maintain the knowledge are described.	YesCapture, curator and retriever agents ship in the ContextNest plugin for Claude Code, plus Hootie in the nest.
Works across models and toolsCan agents on any model, and outside this platform, read it?	PartlyBuilt for Copilot, Foundry and Fabric agents.	YesClaude, Cursor and any MCP client.
Proven at very large scaleIs it proven in very large enterprise deployments?	YesMicrosoft cloud scale.	PartlyA newer product with a smaller production footprint than these platforms.
Available todayCan you buy and use it today?	YesFabric IQ GA at Build 2026. Other components vary in status.	YesShipping today.

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See the cost comparison: what each stack costs to run →

Last reviewed October 2026. Based on each vendor's public website and documentation, and prices show the month we checked them. Products change quickly, so check the vendor's current documentation before you decide. See something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.Product names and logos are trademarks of their owners; used for identification only; no endorsement or affiliation implied.

Use both

How they work together

Let Microsoft agents use Microsoft IQ for tenant data, and connect ContextNest over MCP for the approved policies and decisions every agent, Microsoft or not, should treat as true.