Introduction
ARVO Studio needs a connection to an AI provider before it can carry out any analysis, design or generation work. There are two supported options: Azure AI Foundry and Anthropic. This article explains what the two have in common, how to decide between them, and what you will need to have in place before you start.
Once you have chosen, follow the step by step guide for that provider, then return to ARVO Studio Setup to enter the values it gives you. You do not need to be a developer to complete either route, but you will need somebody who can sign in to your organisation’s Azure subscription or create an account with Anthropic.
Similarities
Whichever provider you choose, the same principles below apply:
- The account is yours. You create it, you hold the keys, and you can withdraw ARVO Studio’s access at any time.
- The provider bills you directly for what ARVO Studio uses and nothing is invoiced through Bluefort.
- Throughput, rate limits, quotas and regional availability are set by the provider, not by Bluefort.
- Only one connection is active at a certain point in time. You can use either Azure AI Foundry or Anthropic but not both together.
When Azure AI Foundry is the better fit
Azure AI Foundry is usually the right choice if your organisation already uses Azure. The AI cost of operation would land on an Azure subscription you already use, and your existing Azure administrators can manage it alongside everything else. If your organisation has a policy about which regions data may be processed in, Azure AI Foundry lets you choose the region explicitly.
The trade off is that there are more processes involved. You create a resource, deploy a model, and check that you have enough capacity assigned to it, however it usually takes longer than the alternative and it usually needs somebody with permission to create resources in Azure.
When Anthropic is the better fit
Connecting directly to Anthropic is the simpler and faster route. You create an account, add a payment method, generate an API key and you are ready. There is no cloud resource to provision and no capacity to assign, so it suits smaller organisations, or anyone who wants a first project running quickly without waiting on an Azure administrator.
The trade off is that it sits outside your Azure subscription and is billed separately by Anthropic, by card rather than through your Azure agreement, and it is one more account for somebody to own and keep secure.
What you will need either way
- Somebody who can create and pay for the account or resource. This is usually an IT administrator or whoever manages your cloud budget.
- A safe place to store the secret. Both routes produce a key that behaves like a password and is shown only once.
- Agreement internally on who owns the AI cost, because the usage appears on your own bill rather than on your ARVO Studio invoice.
- Around thirty minutes for Azure AI Foundry, or around ten minutes for Anthropic, once the person with the right access is available.
Can you change your mind later?
Yes. The choice is not permanent and it does not affect your ARVO Studio licence. You can set up the other provider, enter its values in Setup and switch the active connection across. Existing projects, artifacts and records are unaffected. What you should not do is leave both connections enabled at once, because only one is allowed to be active.