Microsoft has just released its annual Work Trend Index report, and as anticipated, its focus is boldly centered on the transformative impact of generative AI in the workplace.
The report reveals that we’re on the brink of a paradigm shift where AI will not only reason but will also solve problems in unprecedented ways. Much like the industrial revolution or the dawn of the Internet, Microsoft suggests that a complete overhaul of work practices may take decades to fully materialise.
The annual Work Trend Index conducts global, industry-spanning surveys as well as observational studies to offer unique insights on the trends reshaping work for every employee and leader across more than data from 31,000 workers across 31 countries, LinkedIn labor market trends, and trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals,as well as leading AI-native startups, academics, economists, scientists, and thought leaders.
The full report is in the link below, but I’ve summarised the key insights around how the report claims generative AI is reshaping work and leadership dynamics.
AI’s Transformative Role
AI continues to advance in its reasoning and problem-solving ability, with the potential to revolutionise work.
Major transitions like the industrial revolution and the Internet took decades and view is that full wide scale AI may follow a similar path.
Immediate Impact of AI on work
Key Finding
Stats
AI Adoption
82% of industry leaders acknowledge AI is changing work
New Work Models
The “Frontier Firm” concept describes organisations using AI-powered intelligence on demand.
New emerging roles
The rise of “agent bosses”—professionals managing AI agents to enhance productivity.
Productivity Challenges
Challenges from the last 5 years continue to plaugue employees and impact productivity with tech overload and AI is seen as a “potential” to reduce this and bring better focus to information workers.
The report reveals that 80% of the global workforce feels overburdened by constant interruptions—an email, meeting, or ping every two minutes. Consequently, about 82% of leaders plan to harness AI and digital labor within the next 12 to 18 months to alleviate these pressures.
82% of leaders plan to harness AI and digital labor within the next 12 to 18 months to alleviate work and resource pressures.
Bridging Business Needs and Human
AI is making intelligence more accessible, shifting focus from headcount to on-demand expertise.
It helps close gaps between business demands and human workload.
Organisations are urged to invest in adoption training and business process reviews to determine the most optimum areas to leverage AI.
Key Finding
% impact
Executives concerned about productivity
53%
Global workforce feeling overburdened
80%
Average interruption rate
Every 2 minutes
Leaders planning to use AI to improve work
82% (within 12–18 months)
Talent, Hiring and Employment Trends
Addressing common concerns about AI replacing jobs, the report delves into LinkedIn data that indicates that top AI labs are hiring at twice the rate of traditional big tech companies. Interestingly, it says that much of this new talent is transitioning from established tech firms, underscoring a dynamic reshuffling of skills and expertise in the workforce.
The report also underscores the necessity for executives to strike the perfect balance between human talent and AI agents. As these digital assistants become ever more integrated into daily tasks, the role of the “agent boss” is emerging leaders who build, delegate, and manage AI agents to magnify their impact and steer their careers in the age of AI.
The report talks of a future where every worker, from the boardroom to the frontline, must adopt a CEO-like mindset for an agent-powered startup, predicting that within five years, 41% of teams will be actively training and 36% managing AI agents.
AI labs are hiring at 2x the rate of big tech firms.
Many AI hires come directly from established tech companies.
Human vs. AI Balance in Workplaces
Leadership Perspective
Employee Persective
67% of leaders understand AI agents.
40% of employees understand AI agents.
79% of leaders believe AI will accelerate careers.
67% of employees believe the same.
AI’s current and future role in Work Automation
AI Usage
Areas Impacted
46% of leaders use AI agents to fully automate workstreams.
Customer service, marketing, product development.
Organisations evaluating human-to-AI balance
AI integration must match societal expectations and business needs. |
But…..it states that AI is shifting the global work landscape, demanding strategic adaptation with..
Percentage
Areas Impacted
83% of leaders
believe AI will enable employees to tackle more complex tasks.
78% of leaders
want to recruit for new AI-related roles.
The report highlights that 67% of leaders are familiar with AI agents compared to only 40% of employees, and 79% believe that AI will accelerate their careers, outstripping the 67% noted for the broader workforce.
What other leaders are saying…
Bill Gates (Founder of Microsoft) said publically that AI might eventually perform “most things,”. We have also seen Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff already rethinking his company’s hiring strategies for 2025. This says that as we navigate this transformative wave, company leaders need to carefully consider when and what digital labour can complement, or in some cases, surpass that of human expertise, especially in roles that demand a personal touch or entail significant responsibility.
There is a necessity for executives to strike balance between human talent and AI agents. As these digital assistants become ever more integrated into daily tasks, the role of the “agent boss” is emerging—leaders who build, delegate, and manage AI agents to magnify their impact and steer their careers in the age of AI
Microsoft Work Trend Index Report
Summary
Microsoft’s Work Trend Index report paints a vivid picture of a future in which they show how AI is starting and has the potential to reshape every facet of our professional lives.
It claims that 83% of leaders believing that AI will empower employees to tackle more complex challenges and 78% actively looking to fill new AI roles, the global work landscape is poised for a dramatic evolution—one that necessitates a delicate balance between harnessing digital innovation and preserving the unique value that human insight brings to the table.
This blog post looks back at the history and evolution of Microsoft Surface dating back to 2007 and the iconic Surface Table to today’s sleek and beautiful Surface Copilot+ PCs.
As Microsoft turned 50 last week, and I watched the “Copilot Show” on both my Surface Pro 11 and (for nostalgic reasons) Surface Pro 1, I thought I should revisit the twists and turns of Microsoft’s transformative and sometimes hero Surface line.
I’ve been a fan of Surface since I got my hands on the own first Surface devices – the Surface RT and Surface Pro 1 (which I bought in combo), but my journey began even before that with the original Surface, which was not a tablet but “a big ass interactive table”
2007: Where it started – The Surface Table
Back in 2007, I was working at RM Education (UK leading supplier of IT to education) and we were the Education UK launch partner for the original Surface Table computer.
Surface Table circa 2007
This early Surface was a huge 30-inch touch-screen display that delivered in the form of a coffee table style device. It showcased Microsoft’s leading edge PixelSense technology, which was used a combination of integrated sensors and no less than seven infrared cameras to track fingertips, objects and swiping motions. It also allowing for the concept of specialised tags (before QR codes were a thing) and objects to interact with images on the screen.
Surface Table Teaser 2007
This technology was totally breath-taking from an innovation perspective and aimed mainly at for businesses and education. It sold in the UK for more than £10,000 and we sold a handful or so of devices to leading tech innovator/showcase schools, colleges and Universities in UK. I also saw these pop up in flagship retail stores and even found one in a bar in Redmond, US.
2012: Surface RT – A conceptual leap forward
Fast forward to 2012 where Microsoft’s Chief Product Evangelist, Panos Panay, introduced the very original Surface tablet device (the Surface RT) to the world.
Surface Generations
This device marked the beginning of a new era for Microsoft with dedicated hardware and software that worked “in tandum” together, very much the approach and appeal that Apple had with the iPhone.
Touch-screen devices and tablets had existed in one form or another since the late 1980s, and Microsoft had been pitching pen input with heavy, bulky PCs which ran a modified version of Windows XP and Office XP in the form of Windows XP Tablet Edition. Again, RM Education were education launch partner for these back in 2004. I have covered this in a previous blog and mine still works!!
The original Surface device – the Surface RT came from “almost” nowhere. Though an innovative device for its time, it was really more of a proof of concept aimed at kickstarting a much-needed innovation push into end user laptops which were mainly (at the time), clunky and plastic clam shell laptops.
Surface RT never really succeeded as a mainstream device, due to its limited app support, mainly due to the reliance on the (at the time almost odd choice of) Arm processor. Despite Microsoft doing a good job of porting its own office apps, many others didn’t follow suite meaning the device suffered from a huge app shortage (sound familiar???).
Original Surface RT
Despite its initial shortcomings, Surface RT did introduce some significant hardware innovations like the integrated kickstand and type cover keyboard, which are still standout features on Surface Pro devices today. It also lit a light on what devices running ARM based chip-sets were and would be capable of.
Surface RT was, a great looking device for it’s time. It was impressively slim and light, came with full-size USB port and a microSD card slot. The device (bear in mind this was 2012), can with 2GB of memory, a 1.3GHz quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor, integrated graphics and 64GB SSD storage which was little low even then.
The point of this was concept and a line in the sand that portable computing was about to get a reboot it….. and it did, kickstarting fresh innovation not only within Microsoft but across the wider manufacturers too.
2013: Surface Pro: The Game Changer
Then, around six months later in 2013, Microsoft launched the Surface Pro. This time it is not a prototype and far less of a Proof of Concept, shipping with a full-featured intel x86-based architecture. The Real Surface Pro was born.
The move to Intel hardware and Microsoft’s new Windows 8 Operating System (which was really designed for touch devices) was essential for the Surface on-going development. Surface Pro brought laptop-level functionality in a tablet form factor and the addition of the kick stand and Type Cover Keyboard made switching from Tablet to Laptop mode a breeze.
The original keyboard wasn’t great to be honest and took some time to adjust too as the keys we not physical keys and had no travel. The track pad was also really small. The Kickstand was super reliable and presented the device is a good angle to work on but was not adjustable and feels very simple in contract to the slickness of Surface Pro from around V4 onwards.
2014: Surface Pro Improvements
We saw Surface Pro 2 and Surface Pro 3 ship in 2014 as Microsoft continued to improve on the device, slowly taking user feedback and making subtle changes to demonstrate to Microsoft’s partners what was possible in detachable-tablet designs while attracting die-hard Windows fans.
This of course led to other OEMs closely watching the changes and innovation Microsoft were attempting with both Windows OS and Surface and the coming together of these technologies.
Surface Pro 4 (image (c))
It wasn’t really until Surface Pro 4 that commercial customers would take Surface seriously… It was here that Microsoft truly became an innovator and front liner in the Windows device’s market. Surface Pro 4 with Windows, innovated the development of Windows.
Windows Hello for Business – Windows 10/11
We saw Microsoft really prefect ink and pen and drove new security innovations too bringing the concept of (now a security stable) of Windows Hello for Business to Windows and the wider OEM space.
2015: Big and Mighty – Surface Book
Microsoft continued to innovate in this space with new and cutting edge devices. In 2015, Microsoft unveiled the Surface Book. This still a 2-in-1 but in new design that was much closer to the way a conventional laptop looked. The difference though was it had a fully detachable tablet screen.
Surface Book 2 with detachable screen
This design further bridged the gap between dedicated tablets and laptop devices. The Surface Book featured a flexible docking connection that let the screen completely separate from the base (which housed the keyboard) and function as a dedicated Surface tablet.
Surface Book 2 in Laptop Mode
There was a battery in both the base (keyboard unit) and screen, meaning you could detach and re-attach whilst the device was powered on and running applications. There was a dedicated “undock” key on the keyboard which ensured Windows was “ready” for the dock disconnect to work without interupring your session too.
Surface Book Undocking Process
It was super slick and another fleet of engineering marvel from Microsoft.
You could use the Tablet portion in standalone mode, which worked really well with the Surface Pen (massively perfected from the original Pro 1) and could even re-attatch the screen in either forward or backward-facing orientation (folding it over on itself). It was really popular device with Microsoft employees and partners in particular.
Microsoft continued to update Surface Book, with Surface Book 2 in 2017 and Surface Book 3 in 2020, both saw improvements to the docking mechanism and upraded performance including decicated GPUs which were housed in the keyboard portion of the Surface Book.
2016: Surface Hub: Echoes of the Original Surface Table
Microsoft launched the Original Surface Hub device in 2016. These came in 55″ and 84″ version and were large-format display screens that functioning like a high-tech whiteboard for conference rooms.
Surface Hub 55″ on Stand. These were also available in a huge 84 and ran Windows 10 “Team Edition”
This product continued the legacy of the original Surface table, packed with multitouch digitizer and a customised of version of Windows 10 designed for Surface Hub. The 84″ version was very heavy and retailed for around £24,000. It needed specialist partners to sell and install them and run (essentially) Windows 10 Store apps and Edge. The device had 10-point multi touch and supported cross tenant sign-in, supported MFA and gained support from third party apps such as AutoCAD and several leading education and training apps designed especially for Surface Hub.
2016 – Surface Studio – a thing of beauty is born
This remains the one device I have never owned and really wish I had. The Surface Studio, released in 2016, was an all-in-one PC with a gorgeous pull-forward display, appealing to creative professionals. It was a thing of beauty, and was very Apple Mac style.
The Surface Studio really was a groundbreaking all-in-one PC designed for creative professionals and also for organisations that really wanted a showcase device on their reception desks! Surface Studio features a unique Zero Gravity Hinge that allowed the 28-inch PixelSense display to be tilted to a flat position, similar to a drafting table. If you watched the Sayta Nadella keynote on Microsoft 50th Birthday, you would have noticed the gorgeous Surface Studio Sayta was working on.
Surface Studio was (well still is) gorgeous – with a high-resolution display of 4500 x 3000 pixels and supported both DCI-P3 and sRGB color spaces. It was super powerful too – equipped with powerful Intel Skylake processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics meaning it could run professional-grade software like Adobe Premiere Pro and Autodesk with ease.
Microsoft released the Surface Studio 2 and later the Surface Studio 2S (sadly the last one). Its elegant design, versatile input options, and transformative experience made it a standout product in the Surface lineup and one that really does show the innovation and inventiveness that defined the Surface brand.
2017 – Surface Laptop is Born
The Surface Laptop was released in 2017 and echoed several of the Surface tablet’s design elements but without the detachable tablet capability. This appealed to Surface fans who needed a more traditional clam-shell style laptop and allowed Surface to compete in the fierce and competitive traditonal laptop space, accepting the fact that not everyone was a fan (I am) of the 2-in-1 form factor and didn’t see the need for pen and ink. That said, Surface Laptop has supported pen until the most recent verion (Laptop 7). The device still sports the 10-point mult-touch screen, something I find hard to believe is not standard on every laptop build….buy hey ho!
Surface Laptop 7
Microsoft say that the Surface Laptop is Microsoft’s most popular device. We have seen multiple updates year after year with Surface Laptop 7 (both Intel and Snapdragon Elite variants) being in the latest Copilot+PC devices (read more later).
2018 – Arrival of the Surface Go family
OK – so these were called the Surface Go and Surface Laptop Go range.
The original Surface Go was launched in early 2018 and brought the same sleek design and style of the Surface Pro but in a mini version and offering standout value. By scaling back the processor to Intel’s Pentium Y range and swapping the solid-state drive for cheaper eMMC flash memory, Microsoft trimmed the Surface Go’s price to around £449 making it far more affordable than the regular Surface Pro. There were a few high spec options for another hundred pounds or so!
Surface Go weighs in at just 1.15 pounds (without keyboard) and featured a 10.1″ 10-point multi-touch pixel sense display screen. At just 9.65″ x 6.90″ x 0.33″ (245 mm x 175 mm x 8.30 mm) Surface Go was small and light enough to fit in a handbag, use on a train or plane tray table and even stick in your coat pocket.
The lowest spec (cheapest device) – with the Intel® Pentium® Gold Processor 4415Y was in most cases a little under-powered, however it served a good purpose and bridged a gap providing a capable device with the same gorgeous look at feel, combining size and usability with style in a super compact form factor. The device supported Windows Hello(r) for Business, Secure Book and TPM 2.0, and the same slick 10-point multi touch screen and pen support and came with its own (optional) mini type cover keyboard.
Surface Go 4 vs Surface Pro 11
Surface Go 2 got an upgrade the following year with the Surface Go 2 which introduced full better Processors (With the Intel 4425Y or 8th Gen Intel® Core m3 Processor).
We got Surface Go 3 and Go 4 (released in 2024), all of which also shipped with an LTE/4G version for great connectivity and on-the-go support.
The Surface Go range remains one of my favourite Surface devices when travelling on when on holiday (I just wish they had an ARM version to get more battery and performace):-)
Surface Laptop Go – a mini–Surface Laptop was launched in 2020. These weighed in at 2.45 lbs, were powered by 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5 processor – 1035G1 making them really practical and supported up to 256GB SSD and 4 or 8GB RAM. These shipped with Windows Hello(r) with fingerprint reader and again TPM chip. They had a large trackpad, high quality keyboard, came in lots of colours and had a 12.4-inch 10-point multi- touch screen but no pen support.
Surface Laptop Go 3 – a great compact all rounder
Surface Laptop Go 2 and Laptop Go 3 (shown above) followed in each subsequent years with Laptop Go 3 being the current version. Surface Laptop Go weigh in 1.13 kg and claims up to 15 hours of battery (though I tend to get 7 to 8 of real usage)
These appeal to home users, students and info workers that favour portability and lightweight devices and tend to Dock to a screen when in the office.
2019 – Surface Pro X – Windows on Arm is back
In 2019, Surface Pro X was revealed. This was a super thin (thinnest Surface yet), modern (and in black) Surface Pro device, with up-rated keyboard, newly designed pen (Surface Slim Pen) and featured USB-C ports which for the first time supported both monitor connectivity and charging, along with the now standard Surface Connector port which still exists today in 2025 Surface devices.
Surface Pro X, brought back the Arm processor and an dmuch upgraded Windows on Arm (WoA) architecture which meant Surface Pro X could run both native Arm compiled applications as well as apps that were only available on x86 platforms using x86 emultion mode. Despite critisism, this actually ran really well most of the time and continued to improve as Microsoft enhanced the WoA architecture over the next few years.
The Surface Pro X, powered by Windows on ARM, represented a significant leap in mobile computing by blending the versatility of a tablet with the power of a full PC experience. Unlike traditional x86-based devices, ARM architecture offers remarkable efficiency, enabling longer battery life, instant-on responsiveness, and LTE/4G connectivity. This as important for anyone in a role that needed always-on seamless mobility and provided a far more secure way of connecting than coffee shop hot-spots and clunky VPNs.
Windows on Arm Growing App Eco system
The integration of ARM into Windows allows for optimised performance on custom silicon, reducing power consumption while maintaining productivity. This was different to the Surface RT days, as app developers were already making and optimising software for ARM, meaning the app-gap was less of an issue. As this gap in compatibility narrowed (and continues to), it makes the shift even more transformative and benefits more recognisable.
With its ultra-thin design, edge-to-edge display, and AI-enhanced performance, the Surface Pro X challenges the conventional notion of PC architecture and signals a future where portability and performance are no longer trade-offs but complementary strengths.
2019/2020: Surface Hub goes Slim with Surface Hub 2
The Surface Hub 2 was officially released in 2019. It introduced several key improvements over the original Surface Hub, which debuted in 2016. The Surface Hub 2 featured a much sleeker design (looked like a giant Surface Pro) was much, lighter weight, and a more versatile 50-inch display with 4K resolution, compared to the original’s larger and heavier models. It also supported multi-user login, allowing multiple people to collaborate seamlessly. A bigger 85″ inch version was also made available.
This device was designed to be modular, with removable processors for easier upgrades. These advancements made the Surface Hub 2 a more dynamic and adaptable tool for modern collaborative environments.
Additionally, the Surface Hub 2 was supposed to introduce (through a software update) the ability to rotate the screen between landscape and portrait modes, enhancing flexibility for different use cases – this unfortunately never came to Surface Hub 2, but did to Surface Hub 3 and to this existing version through a modular hardware upgrade transforming to the Surface Hub 3.
The Surface Hub 3 now has the option of running full Windows 11 or being configured as a Teams Room, running the full Teams Room OS.
2021: Surface Laptop Studio: Versatile & Powerful
In 2021, Microsoft introduced the Surface Laptop Studio, blending the convertible laptop concept of Surface Pro with a remixed version of the pull-forward display found on the gorgeous Surface Studio Desktop devices.
These were power horses, with the latest desktop class processors from intel (13th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-13800H built on the Intel® Evo™ platform) and They were also the first Surface devices to feature their 14.4” PixelSense™ Flow Display with 2400 x 1600 resolution and up to 120Hz refresh rate and featured NVIDIAFootnote® RTX™ 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU with 8GB GDDR6 vRAM
The Surface Laptop Studio (model 2 shown)
This product essentially split the difference between the Surface Studio and Surface Book. The unique display orientation was ideal for drawing and writing notes on-screen with something other than the usual laptop or tablet modes. However, it introduced some awkward issues in using basic laptop features, like the keyboard and trackpad, which required switching back and forth between drawing and laptop modes which we a little cumbersome in use.
Microsoft also shipped a V2 of the Surface Laptop Studio but discontinued it in 2024 as part of their simplification and rationalisation of the portfolio.
2024: The New Age of Surface: Copilot+ PCs
In 2024, The AI Powered PC was born.
Microsoft introduced the latest evolution of the Surface lineup with Qualcomm, followed by Intel powered devices which, along with Windows 11 24 H2 brought new AI-enhanced features and apps which continue to evolve.
Part of the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 range, these Copilot+ PCs showcase the latest AI capabilities and innovations, marking another significant shift for Microsoft as other OEM also are following with their own Copilot+ PCs.
Surface Pro 11 Copilot+PC with Flex Keyboard
Copilot + PCs have minimum specification of requiring a dedicated NPU capable of delivering more than 40 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS), 256 GB SSD storage and at least 16GB RAM (and Windows 11 24 H2).
This is the current generation of Surface devices…
What’s Next for Surface?
There are lots of rumours, but what we know is we are now in the era of the AI / Copilot+ PC. These next generation of devices are the only devices you will be buying in a few years time. If you are buying a new device today to last you for the next 3-5 years, make it a Copilot+PC.
From a form factor perspective, expect Surface Pro and Surface Laptop to continue to be mainstream from Microsoft. With regards the Laptop Go and Surface Go, I expect these to continue. You will see and hear lots of rumours this time of year new devices expected to be announced around May / June as usual.
Will we see the Surface Studio return, will we see Snapdragon chipsets in the Laptop Go or Surface Go family or will we see a new type of device emerge? One thing is sure – Surface contines to innovate the market. They may not be the number one OEM in terms of market share, but they innovate and set the stage for the best experience of Windows.
Microsoft are the only Windows device manufacturer that own the design, code stack and security layers from Chip to Cloud.
Surface has evolved from furniture to the tip of the spear of modern hybrid computing.
Which Surface device holds the most nostalgic value for you?
What innovations would you love to see in the next generation of Surface?
Windows 365 Link is aimed (currently) for commercial / business customers and provides a simple, fast, secure and fast way to connect directly to the Windows 365 cloud service provide access to a dedicated (or shared in the case of front line workers) Windows Cloud, a full persistent Windows desktop in the Cloud. The configuration of these desktop experiences is managed via Intune and the specification of each users Cloud PC is configurable subject to the license allocation for the user.
Windows 365 Link
The Windows 365 service itself as a service is not new however, with it being available through the browser and via the Windows App which is available on Windows, Mac, Android and Apple iOS.
The combination of dedicated device and Windows 365 Cloud Service should make for a simple and more easily manageable experience for IT departments than managing physical fleets of desktops and Laptops while also significantly reducing the needs of hands on support.
Is Windows 365 Link just a Thin Client?
No. But there is a definately similarity!
Many organisations have used Thin Client devices (such as igel thin clients) that run a virtual Windows desktop (shared or dedicated) from a local or data centre deployed server farm. They can also be used to access Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) services such as Citrix, VMware and Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop.
Windows 365 Link is, essentially a modern version of the thin client, but designed especially to run full Cloud PCs from Microsoft’s Windows 365 infrastructure over the Internet. There is not support for VDI infratrautre and won’t even run desktops hosted on Azure Virtual Desktop. It just runs Windows 365 as the name suggests!
The device is small, weights just, and is vesa mountable as you’d expect. It’s also capable of driving multiple displays at 4K resolution.
Thin Client vs Windows 365 Link
Being a purpose built device (it’s not just a generic thin client device) it is built with Microsoft’s commitment to Security. It’s built by the same team that build Surface. It leverages Chip to Cloud security with features including Secure Boot and TPM and also includes Microsoft’s Pluton processor.
The device is designed to boot in seconds, which sounds like a better experience than the thin clients of the past and performance of Windows 365 experience and the office apps (including Teams) has been rigorously tested and performance tuned with the Windows and Microsoft 365 development team.
Windows 365 Link on Dual Screens at 4K
Windows 365 Link has been in a private preview program by over 100 organisation, Microsoft MVPs and internal employees to help refine and perfect the out of box experience, configuration and performance since November
Secure by Design
Windows 365 Link is a dedicated Cloud PC devices that has no local data, doesn’t allow boot to anything other than Windows 365, has no local admin users, and supports the strongest security including passwordless authentication using Microsoft Entra ID and passkeys. This significantly reduced the attack surface.
It also has security locks and vesa mounts for secure and concealed mounting.
Windows 365 Link promotes sustainable computing
Windows 365 Link is built using more than 63% recycled components and materials, has 100% paper-based packaging, is an ENERGY STAR-certified device, and is designed to be long-lasting and repairable. They are super low power too and because Microsoft Cloud is committed to being carbon negative by 2030, the cloud compute they consume is also green and sustainable.
Availability
Windows 365 Link is available now (from April 3rd) in the US, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany, Japan, and New Zealand.
I’ll be doing a hands on review next week when mine arrives!!
Surface Pro has always been about versatility and is the ultimate 2-in-1 device for business and consumers who want the flexibility and agility of a tablet and laptop in one.
Surface Pro can start as laptop, but when you detach the keyboard, you have a tablet, re-attach it and voilà – it is now a laptop again.
Over the years, the once flimsy feel keyboard of the first generation keyboards has got better and better to the point where it now competes in sense of feel, key travel and general use with even a laptop keyboard.
What if you could take this flexibility a step further?
IntroducingThe Surface Flex Keyboard?
Surface Flex Keyboard was released in 2024. It is a like a traditional Surface type cover but continues to work when you detach it. This enables a new style of working since you can use the Surface Flex Keyboard in detached mode thanks to the “auto-pairing” Bluetooth connectivity. This makes it great for flexibility, posture and helps you (if you want or need to) change your desk set-up.
Surface Pro Flex Keyboard
With Surface Flex Keyboard, pairing is instant and seamless. Simply connecting the keyboard pairs it instantly and when you detach the keyboard, you can keep working “with” the keyboard not attached.
Surface Pro Flex Keyboard
This means, whether you are taking notes in OneNote, mind-mapping in WhiteBoard or just repositioning your workspace/desk to be more ergonomic. This also works really well when you are working on a train or plane (or sofa) and need to reposition your device.
The best bit – you don’t need to buy the very latest Surface to use it. I’ve just got my hands on one this week whilst at MVP Summit in Seattle and am now using it with my two-year old Surface Pro 9.
Surface Flex Keyboard actually work with all Surfaces going back to the original Pro X which was released in 2019!
Seamless Connectivity, Premium Feeland Different usecases
The Flex Keyboard’s transition between physical and Bluetooth connections is seamless, making it feel like magic. As you’d expect, this is a premium accessory, and it shows. The keyboard really good travel, feels premium and even has the satisfying tactile bump and fast keyboard rebound, similar to that of a Surface Laptop or MacBook Air.
The base of the device is enforced with carbon fiber layers, reducing the bounciness / bendyness that users often criticised in the earlier days of Surface Pro. Oh – you also get a really great haptic touch-pad too which is smooth and precise, and can be adjusted and configured in the Windows Settings.
The keyboard comes in different colours and is wrapped in the usual beautiful soft Alcantara fabric
Compatibility and Value
Surface Flex Keyboard actually work with all Surfaces going back to the original Pro X which was released in 2019, making it a versatile option for new Surface Pro users or those that either need or want a new keyboard for their existing device.
The Surface Flex Keyboard costs from $249 currently in the US and I found them for around £225 in the UK at time of writing.
There seem to be good deal around at the moment but it’s a great keyboard and definitely recommend it for anyone who wants the latest and greatest.
Conclusion
Surface Flex Keyboard is an impressive addition to the Surface Pro “accessories” lineup and I totally love it. Yes they are pricey (but the non flex keyboard is too), but its seamless connectivity (with no manual pairing required), premium feel, and backward compatibility with older devices make it a compelling choice for Surface users new and existing.
Microsoft has introduced two new mini apps for Microsoft 365 users: the People app and the File Search app. These tools are designed to improve productivity and simplify common everyday tasks for business users.
Image (c) Microsoft
The People App: Connecting Teams with Ease
The People app makes it easy to access colleague profiles and organisational charts without interrupting workflow. Whether you’re looking for a team member by name, job title, or department, the app delivers results instantly. It also integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams, allowing you to send messages and view detailed profile cards with contact information and project involvement.
You can of course pin the People app to your taskbar, making collaboration just a click away.
The File Search App: Finding Files Faster
Managing files is a more simple with the File Search app. Its homepage displays recently opened files, while its robust search function allows you to locate documents by name, content, or file type. A preview feature lets you confirm you’ve found the correct file without opening it—saving both time and effort.
Like the People app, the File Search app can also be pinned to the taskbar, positioning it as an essential tool for busy professionals.
Who Can Use These Apps
Currently these new apps are available to Windows 11 users with Microsoft 365 desktop apps, these mini apps are expected to enhance efficiency for a wide range of business users. Oh.. And you must be running the beta (or Office Insider Builds) but these will roll out over coming months to everyone.
Enterprise Connect 2025 brought the usual buzz from everyone in the Collab and Contact Center Space. From AI and integrations in Contact Center to subtle hybrid work updates for meetings and chat, these announcements from the Collab giants continues to set to redefine how we collaborate in 2025…
Here’s everything you need to know from what Cisco and Microsoft announced.
Microsoft Teams – Key Takeaways:
New Live chat widget rolling in out this spring for small businesses. This allows website visitors to chat with sales or customer support team in Microsoft Teams. There’s also a Live chat widget which will provides a dashboard for managing conversations, notifications for incoming chat requests, and an option to view previous customer interactions.
Teams Chat will be getting a new @nearby feature that allows people to easily connect with other colleagues who are physically close by to them. This helps encourage face to face chats when people may not realise that colleagues are in the same or adjacent office.
Teams meeting recap is now supported for webinars, and the limit for town halls has been increased to 50,000 attendees.
Teams channels: Loop comes to Teams Channels by allowing users to add a Loop workspace tab to standard channels.
On a security front, Teams has now introduced the automatic blocking of malicious files, detection of sensitive information during screen sharing. This used a combination of Defender and DLP.
Teams Phone is getting new features like SMS messaging in US and Canada, as well as barge/whisper/monitor/takeover for team leads in groups and when using Call Queues.
In Teams Rooms the new recommender feature will suggests suitable meeting rooms to facilitate easier in-person collaboration. The facilitator agent will also be coming to Teams Rooms (in preview now) to take notes for you in meeting which can co edited by attendees.
The big annoucement on the Microsoft Teams front was of course the annoucement of Teams Phone extensibility for Dynamics 365 Contact Center and for certified ISV solutions such as Luware which are coming soon public preview.
Cisco Webex – Key Takeaways
Cisco who are firmly on the AI drive, unveiled their vision for agentic AI collaboration, alongside new AI-powered features for their Webex platform. They said general availability of their Webex AI Agent was due before Easter!
Agents upgrade: with new features coming for Cisco AI Assistant for Webex Contact Center, including suggested responses and real-time transcription for agents.
Teams Rooms: Cisco announced that AirPlay support on Cisco Devices in Microsoft Teams Rooms mode would also be coming soon.
Line of Business Agent integration: The new Cisco AI Agents allow agents in Webex Contact Center to integrate with other enterprise apps like Sales force, Dynamics and ServiceNow to improve workflows and customer support with APIs and connectors. This will allow for workflows automation.
At the end of Feb 2025, Microsoft gave Apple Mac users with a brand-new native Copilot (consumer) app experience and now after a feeble Web app version, Windows 11 is finally getting a proper one too.
This latest update brings a fully native Copilot app to Windows, delivering a faster, smoother, and visually enriched interface that aligns perfectly with the Windows 11 design language. Yay.
It also has a keyboard shortcut that lets you hold the Alt + Spacebar keys for two seconds to start chatting to Copilot via voice.
From Web View to Native App
For those who followed the initial rollout, you’ll remember that the original Copilot for Windows was simply a web view of the Microsoft Copilot website. While functional, it left much to be desired in terms of responsiveness and overall polish.
Copilot App – Webapp to Native App
The new Copilot update transforms that experience completely. By leveraging the native app UI framework, Microsoft has infused the app with features that make the experience feel inherently Windows 11 that is also complete with a sidebar for managing chats, elegant mica blur effects, and native context menus and buttons.
This adherence to the native design not only improves aesthetics but also boosts performance and responsiveness.
What’s New in the Copilot for Windows App?
Enhanced User Interface
Native Design Language: The interface now mirrors the sleek, modern aesthetics of Windows 11.
Smooth Interactions: Launching the app is noticeably quicker, and interactions feel seamless thanks to the native integration.
Intelligent Chat Management
Sidebar for Conversations: All your previous chats are saved and easily accessible in a dedicated sidebar.
Instant New Chat: Starting a new conversation is as simple as hitting the new chat button.
Retained and Expanded Functionality
Text and Voice Chat: Continue to interact with Microsoft’s AI assistant using text, or opt for the Copilot Voice for a more dynamic experience.
Customisable Settings: Options include settings to enable or disable launching the app on Windows boot, as well as toggling the alt+spacebar shortcut for quick access.
In short, there’s no real feature changes here – just a native Windows App, ensuring that the native experience makes no compromises on capability and features along with performance and usability improvements of a native app.
First thoughts on the new version
I have to confess—I wasn’t thrilled with the old web view version of Copilot for Windows. It felt like an afterthought compared to its Mac counterpart. This new native experience, however, is a major improvement. The app now inspires confidence in handling everyday AI tasks and is genuinely enjoyable to use.
Getting the new Copilot App
For Windows Insiders excited to explore this update, the latest version (1.25023.107.0) or higher is now available via the Microsoft Store and should update automatically. The app is rolling out in preview across all Insider channels, inviting users to experience this transformative upgrade first-hand.
As a Microsoft product inside another Microsoft product, the evolution from a mere web view app (which should never have been done in my opinion) to a fully fledged native app that looks and feels like a Windows app not only elevates user interaction but also shows that Microsoft is actually serious about integrating AI seamlessly into everyday computing tasks.
The new Copilot for Windows app also has a keyboard shortcut that lets you hold the Alt + Spacebar keys for two seconds to start chatting to Copilot via your voice.
Microsoft want your feedback
Microsoft would like feedback too, which you can do by filing feedback in the Feedback Hub (WIN + F) under Apps > Copilot or directly within the Copilot app by clicking on your profile icon and choosing “Give feedback”.
This feedback shapes the future. Whether we can expect more iterative updates, possibly with additional features and enhancements will only happen based on the Microsoft collects feedback from Insiders.
Conclusion
The leap to a native interface is more than just a cosmetic upgrade—it represents a thoughtful stride toward a more integrated and responsive Windows experience. I’m excited to see how this native Copilot app will further inspire productivity and innovation as it evolves.
What are your thoughts on this updated native app?
Microsoft has announced a groundbreaking development in the field of quantum computing with the unveiling of a new chip called Majorana 1. This chip is poised to revolutionize the way we approach complex problems by enabling the creation of quantum computers capable of solving “meaningful, industrial-scale problems in years, not decades.” as part of the final phase of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program
What is Quantum Computing?
The tech stuff… Bear with me….
Quantum computing leverages the principles of particle physics to create a new type of computer that can solve problems far beyond the capabilities of traditional computers that we are familiar with. These quantum machines hold the promise of performing calculations that would take today’s systems millions of years, potentially unlocking discoveries in fields such as medicine, chemistry, and more.
But… as I just said to my son… It’s not about making Minecraft run faster!
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 Chip
Microsoft’s new chip, Majorana 1, is built using a “topological conductor,” a revolutionary new material that creates a new state of matter known as a “topological state.” This state is neither a gas, liquid, nor solid and has only recently been realized in practice. In short (and i don’t really understand the science here) this chip relies on Majorana particles, which were previously considered theoretical, to achieve its quantum capabilities.
Built with a breakthrough class of materials called a topoconductor, Microsoft’s Majorana 1 marks a transformative leap toward practical quantum computing.
This means that while the typical computer and even super computers we know today struggle with certain types of problems, quantum computers have the potential to solve them rapidly.
Microsoft say that their Majorana 1 chip will accelerate the development of quantum computers, bringing us closer to solving real-world problems more quickly than previously anticipated in real human capacity thinking and beyond.
This research and development is hugely expensive, though oy appears that their pursuit of quantum computing appears to be paying off, since if successful as it promises could be as revolutionary as the invention of semiconductors was for classical computing.
The Majorana 1 chip currently features eight topological qubits. While this is fewer than some competitors, Microsoft claims it has a pathway to scaling this up to a million qubits, potentially creating immense computing power.
Personal computing to Quantum Computing… What’s the difference?
Let’s take a look to compare the differences..
Personal computing
Definition: Refers to individual use of computers/laptops for daily tasks such as work and home
Capabilities: Limited processing power and storage capacity. Typically used for tasks like browsing the internet, word processing, Excel, presentations, gaming, and personal software applications.
Data centre computing
Definition: Centralised computing resources used by businesses and organisations.
Capabilities: High processing power, large storage capacity, and redundant systems for reliability. Often used for managing, storing, and processing large amounts of data.
Practical Uses:
Hosting Websites: Running web servers and handling online traffic.
Enterprise Applications: Supporting business applications like CRM, ERP, and databases.
PrivateCloud Services: Providing infrastructure, platform, and software as a service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) etc
Super Computers
Definition: Extremely powerful computers designed for complex calculations and simulations.
Capabilities: Thousands of processors working in parallel, capable of performing trillions of calculations per second. Used for scientific research and advanced simulations.
Practical Uses:
Climate Modeling: Simulating and predicting weather patterns and climate change.
Scientific Research: Conducting simulations for physics, chemistry, and biology experiments.
Cryptography: Breaking complex codes and improving security algorithms.
Quantum Computing
Definition: Uses principles of quantum mechanics to perform calculations far beyond the capabilities of classical computers.
Capabilities: Leverages quantum bits (qubits) to perform multiple calculations simultaneously, offering exponentially faster processing speeds for certain tasks.
Practical Uses:
Medical Research: Discovering new drug compounds and optimising treatment plans.
Artificial Intelligence: Enhancing AI capabilities for more accurate predictions and complex data analysis.
Logistics Optimisation: Solving complex optimisation problems for supply chain and logistics.
Real-World Implications
The announcement of the Majorana 1 chip is (or will be) a leap frog development that signals rapid advancements in quantum computing. those less technical, it means that the future of technology holds even more promise, with potential solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems within reach.
Even Elon Musk responded to Sayta Nadella’s post. Quoting the his post and commenting “More and more breakthroughs with quantum computing …”
Conclusion
Microsoft’s Majorana 1 chip clearly represents a quantum leap in technology, bringing us closer to harnessing the full potential of quantum computing. As we move forward, the advancements in this field will undoubtedly shape the future in ways we can only begin to imagine.
The next few years will be critical as this technology gets closer and closer to reality and Usability.
As Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) came to a close last week, Microsoft shared stats ahead of new Teams from Microsoft. According to Frost and Sullivan, 46% of organisations are invested in office and meeting room modernisation projects, fueling huge growth in new spaces, meeting technology investment and refresh to creating inclusive tech-enabled spaces to improve employee experience. As space continues to shift from banks of desks and cubicles, collaborative and hybrid huddle and meeting rooms play a crucial role in this transformation, enabling better collaboration and productivity for hybrid work.
46% of ITDMs are kicking off office modernisation projects and creating tech-enabled spaces to improve employee experience. | Frost and Sullivan
Microsoft Teams Rooms continues to be at the forefront of this evolution, bringing intelligence and innovation to meeting spaces from a host of leading meeting room equipment manufacturers such as Cisco and Yealink.
On the back of this – Microsoft unveiled Teams Rooms Express Install. This is designed to make the setting up of Teams Rooms for smaller and “focus” meeting rooms much faster and simpler.
Express Install for Teams Rooms
The newly introduced Express Install for Microsoft Teams Rooms is an installation option the offers a streamlined, quick, and easier deployment and configuration process that delivers a full Teams Rooms experience in focus/huddle and small to medium sized meeting rooms. Key benefits include:
Quick Installation: In a smaller space (which make up most deployments) like a focus room or small meeting room for up to day 6-8 people, installation can now be completed by one person in as little as one hour, with minimal labor and “no need for specialists” according to Microsoft.
No Custom Room Modifications: The hardware for these rooms can now be installed without lengthy and complex room modifications, reducing costs and installation time.
Full Teams Rooms Experience: Users still get the same great meeting experience they are used to with any other Teams Room, with the same Teams Rooms application and certified hardware.
Lower Total Cost of Ownership: This rapid deployment approach and reduced complexity lowers the total cost of ownership of Teams Rooms even further is making it easier to for businesses to scale up meeting rooms and provide exemplary hybrid meeting experiences.
Benefits for IT
This Express Install option is designed to reduce the effort and complexity process for IT admins and Teams Room deployment teams. , A/V techs, and other professionals responsible for deploying meeting rooms. Benefits include:
Reduced Professional Service effort: Installation can be done faster without the need for multiple specialists or complex modifications.
Flexibility: certified devices certified for Teams are already in the device ecosystem, allowing for flexible deployment options.
Compact and Efficient: Hardware such as tabletop stands, wall mounts and new video bars with integrated mics and multiple camera are ideal for faster and efficient installation.
The evolving role of your Teams Room partner
As well as reducing cost for deployment thereby improving the ROI and upfront cost, also means you can leverage other key value add services from your partner or customer install teams.
Hardware Procurement: be sure to work with your partner to validate the hardware bundles and accessories that support this new express Install.
Support and Managed services: Microsoft partners support Teams Rooms post-deployment by offering ongoing proactive monitoring and management, user training, feature annoucements and remote or onsite support.
Adoption Services and Training: one of the often neglected services is that of training for employees to ensure they get the best from Teams and Teams Room features such as intelligent recap and Copilot as well as new features that are always rolling out.
Solution Showcases and Roadmap: Use your partners to showcase and demo these new solutions.
Yet more new features coming to Microsoft Teams Rooms
Users will soon benefit from further new enhancements and capabilities introduced for Teams Rooms, which improve the overall meeting experience. Key features include:
Multiple Camera View: Remote meeting participants will soon be able to switch between up to four different camera feeds, ensuring they have the best angle at any time.
Cloud IntelliFrame: This video framing capability enhances the visibility of people in the room for online meeting attendees. This is now available on Teams Rooms on both Android and Teams Mobile devices.
Miracast Support: coming soon, users (and guests) will now be able to wirelessly project and share content from their PCs to the Teams Rooms (including Surface Hub and Meeting boards) using the Miracast standard in addition to cable connect and Teams Cast (via Teams app), making it easier to collaborate and share information.
Microsoft Edge support is also coming “soon” to Surface Hub 3 and other Windows-based touch board form factors in Teams Rooms. This addition will allow users to seamlessly access websites and line-of-business web applications on touch boards anytime whether during a meeting or outside of one.
Start or Stop Recording: users will now be able to start or stop recording in room from the room console in Teams Rooms on Windows without needing a companion device. This feature unlocks powerful productivity tools like meeting transcripts, intelligent recap, and the ability to query a meeting with Copilot.
Conclusion
With the introduction of Express Install for Teams Rooms, new capabilities for touch boards running Windows, and continuous enhancements that improve remote experiences, Microsoft reaffirms its commitment to delivering top-tier technology solutions for modern workplaces.
These innovations make it easier and faster to scale up meeting rooms, enhance collaboration, and provide a better overall experience for businesses,and employees freeing up resources and spend to focus on user adoption training and support, improving user experience and reducing TCO.
OpenAI’s most advanced AI model “o1” which is known for its problem solving and deeper thinking has been available behind a $20 per month ChatGPT premium subscription. ChatGPT premium gives limited acess for $20 a month and unlimited access for $200 a month.
Copilot let’s you use it for free.
Microsoft has a tight partnership with OpenAI and is also on a mission to put their AI (Copilot) across every Microsoft Service it offers with huge capability and features even on theor “free” tiers.
Copilot Consumer Pro users have had access to Think Deeper (which uses the o1 model) for the past 12 months, but Microsoft have now made this feature free to everyone including those using the free version of Copilot.
To access it, you need to simply head ovee to Copilot on the web, (or via the mobile app) and ensure you are signed in with a Microsoft account (MSA). You then get completed free access to the Think Deeper search (which uses the o1 model).
How to get Microsoft Copilot
To get Copilot, head to the web (you actually find Copilot in the Edge browser) and go to https://copilot.microsoft.com or head over to you phones app store and search for Copilot and install it.
You need to be signed in with your Microsoft account to use these features.
Using o1 features aka Think Deeper
Once in Copilot, use the AI chat as you would before (or like you did in ChatGPT) and you will see a “think deeper” button inside the text input box.
Using Copilot’s Think Deeper (ChatGPT model o1)
Selecting it activates the o1 reasoning model. As it processed your prompt, you also get a spinning symbol since searches and responses using o1 are more thorough that with GPT 4 and typpically take around 30 secs.
Using Copilot’s Think Deeper.
This is Microsoft’s way of letting you know that you’re in for around a 20-30 seconds wait. If you don’t need deep search so for normal use), toggle this back off to go back to the super fast GPT-4o version…
So what can o1 do then?
The deep thinker feature of Microsoft Copilot is much better for more complex tasks and research due to the o1 model ability for in depth reasoning.
As such it is simply better for solving complex issues like math, logic or science, for analysing or creating long or richer documents and reports or for code creation and debug. The best way to test this is to run two Copilot Windows side by side and test out the same prompt with and without Think Deeper enabled.
Content created with o1 is also more “accurate” with far less AI hallucinations (aka, making things up).
Why do many GPTs Hallucinate? In general, GPT models learn by mimicking patterns in their training data (huge amounts of data). The o1 model uses a different technique called reinforcement learning, whereby it's language model works things out (though it's training) by rewarding the right answers and penalising wrong ones. This takes longer through the iterative and testing process. Once done the model moves through queries in a step-by-step fashion much like human problem solving.
o1 limitations?
It is worth noting that o1 isn’t quite on the same level as ChatGPT in some areas. It is less effective with factual knowledge and is currently less able to search the Internet and cannot process files and images.
What about DeepSeek?
The big story this week has of course been DeepSeek, a controversial Chinese AI firm that has announced and launched their own GPT-4 and o1 rivals that have been supposedly built at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI, Google and other US models, shaking share prices, disrupting the market and rasing many questions.
What is more is more is that DeepSeek models are claimed to be more advanced and faster than GPT-4o and smarter that o1.
The advent of DeepSeek has sent shockwaves through the tech industry. Global stock markets have reeled, sparking a cascade of investigations and looming threats of bans.
Yet, the bot hasn’t been without its champions. Interestly, Microsoft – OpenAI’s top financial invester and partner – has already embraced the DeepSeek R1 reasoning model, and has integrating it into Azure AI Foundry and also GitHub.
These platforms, beloved by developers for fostering advanced AI projects, now stand as the new playground for DeepSeek’s innovative potential.
DeepSeek logo
Open AI Strikes Back
In the wake of its free mobile app’s viral triumph, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman swiftly revealed plans to accelerate the rollout of new releases to keep ahead of its new Chinese competitor.
OpenAI are not standing still either though. Et the end of December 2024, month, they began trialing twin AI models, o3 and o3 mini. Remarkably, the former has surpassed o1 in coding, mathematics, and scientific capabilities, marking a significant advancement in their AI prowess.
There is no doubt this is an area that doesn’t stand still. By the time I click publish this post will likely already be out of date!
DeepSeek has certainly ignited an even greater sense of urgency within the already dynamic AI sector which moves and evolves on an almost daily basis.
Copilot and Microsoft 365 continues to evolve and add features. The latest feature introduces a seamless method to transform email threads into productive meeting agendas with a single click.
This new feature is designed to streamline the process, ensuring that your meetings are well-organized and productive.
Making Email Conversations more effective
With Microsoft 365 Copilot’s new functionality, Microsoft are making scheduling of meetings from an email (that needs a meeting) super easy.
Copilot can now reason over all related emails within the thread and creates a thorough meeting agenda with a summary of the conversation within the email chain. This captures the main topics and any early decisions, making sure everyone is up to speed and ready to jump in.
Here’s how to use it:
Open an email thread on a topic for which you would like to schedule a meeting from.
Click “Schedule with Copilot” button found in the top menu bar of the email.
Click the “Insert” button to populate the agenda in your invite. You can then edit and tweak the agenda as needed to ensure it suits your needs.
Once done, you’ve used Copilot to create a Meeting and agenda based on the threads and topics in the email chain without having to plough though it yourself. This can help you ensure relevant topics and themes are brought into the agenda.
Why would you want Copilot to do this for you?
We all had email chains that need to be a meeting at somepoint. Copilot takes most of the effort out of this and ensures that you get a meeting agenda that covers the key themes from a email chain. Copilot also attaches a copy of the original email to the meeting invite and helps ensure that the right people are invites. So all you need to do is choose the time for the meeting. This can be a real timesaver for everyone.
Conclusion
By transforming email threads into organised meeting agendas, Microsofft 365 Copilot in (new) Outlook can help ensures that everyone stays informed and meetings run smoothly.
I personally love this new feature which really helps to ensure all themes and concerns are raised as an agenda in the meeting.
Why not give it ago in your next meeting scheduling task.
Microsoft announced last week (15th Jan) that Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is coming to every Microsoft 365 Commercial Customer regardless of whether or not they have paid Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses and what’s more we now get access to use agents with company data grounding support. Along with it comes a new pay-as-you-go tier that allows employees to access everything from chatbots to agents without the need for a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
While Microsoft is still confident that the full Microsoft 365 Copilot remains “our best in class personal AI assistant for work“, the new pay-as-you-go tier means organisations can start using the technology at a much lower entry point and look to address key business cases rather than going full in on Microsoft 365 Copilot. .
“Copilot Chat enables your entire workforce — from customer service representatives to marketing leads to frontline technicians — to start using Copilot and agents today”. Jared Spataro | Chief Marketing Officer | AI at Work | Microsoft.
What is Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat?
Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is Microsoft’s AI-powered chat feature designed to empower every person in every organisation to leverage Generative AI to make their “work lives easier and more efficient”.
For the employee, Microsoft Copilot Chat is a “personal assistant” they can chat with to get get answers, understand things better and get things done faster. Copilot Chat is It’s part of the broader Microsoft 365 Copilot suite but focuses specifically on enhancing communication and collaboration through chat.
How is Copilot Chat Different from Microsoft 365 Copilot?
The main differences between Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and Microsoft 365 Copilot is three-fold.
Chat within Microsoft 365 Copilot provides work-grounded chat which means that Copilot can reason over data within your Microsoft 365 organisation such as files, SharePoint sites, your OneDrive, people (within Entra ID), your meetings, chat and email etc. Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat cannot access this data unless you “paste” into a chat window.
Copilot within the Office 365 Apps such as Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word etc is only available with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a paid add-on, where as Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat is included for free within your core Microsoft 365 licensing.
Microsoft Copilot Chat – Beyond Web Grounded Chat!
I’m personally not a fan of the name Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat because I do think it confuses people. The point I want to bring out here and why this was worthy of a post, is that previously, Copilot Chat (as it was called) only had access to data on the web and did note have the ability to leverage any of the new AI features such as Agents.
This has now changed. As the table above shows, with Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, organisation will be able to create agents that do have access to data stored or connected to your Microsoft 365 tenant and also (and this is big) the ability for organisations to build and use autonomous agents (agents that can operate independently of a user).
The use of these new AI capabilities are paid for using a PAYG model. This means non Microsoft 365 Copilot users will have access to AI agents (for example in SharePoint) even if they themselves do not have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
What does Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat Provide?
Key Features of Microsoft 365 Copilot
Copilot Chat
Free, secure AI chat powered by GPT-4 and GPT-4o.
Ability to use Copilot Agents for automating tasks directly in the chat.
Support for file uploads in chat for summarising documents, analysing data, and suggesting improvements.
Support for Copilot Pages
Collaborate in real-time with AI and team members.
Integrate content from Copilot, files, and the web.
Create AI-generated images for campaigns and social media.
Agents
Ability to create and use agents using natural language to automate repetitive tasks.
PAYG / metered pricing for agents with IT control over deployment and management rather than requiring all users to have a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Copilot Control System
Enterprise data protection (EDP) for privacy and security.
Enables IT to better govern access, usage, and lifecycle of Copilot and agents.
Allows for measurement and reporting capabilities just like other Copilot Services.
Use Case Examples
A couple of use case scenarios are;
A customer service rep can ask a customer relationship management (CRM) agent for account details before a customer meeting.
A service or field service agent can access step-by-step instructions or real-time product information from information stored in SharePoint or Dynamics 365.
A sales person can get help with positioning a product based on information on solution propositions or marketing collateral.
How much does it cost?
Understanding the charges is not super straight forward to map. For comparison though, a Microsoft 365 Copilot license costs around $30 per user per month, so use this as a basis for comparison.
In another blog post, Richard Riley, General Manager of Power Platform at Microsoft said that “usage of agents is measured in ‘messages’ and the total cost is based on the sum of messages used by your organization.“
So what does that mean? Well, Microsoft now offers two ways for organisations to access the pay-as-you-go version of Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat:
Track each “message” sent to the AI whereby each message costs $0.01, billed monthly.
Pre-buying a pack of messages. This works a bit like a mobile data plan. As an example, you can buy 25,000 messages for $200 a month
The actual cost vary based on the type of response you need with responses that need generative AI costing more than responses that don’t.
Web-based answer: Free / no-cost
Classic answer: 1 message
Generative answer: 2 messages
Answers pulling data from company’s own systems (e.g., SharePoint): 30 messages
This paid capability is of course optional and organisations can decide whether to turn it ‘on’ or ‘off’ in Copilot Studio.”
Riley introduced the concept of “autonomous actions,” describing them as “generatively orchestrated triggers, topics, data connectors, and workflows, visible in the activity map displayed in generative orchestration mode“.
These are also available as pay-as-you-go, with a cost of 25 messages each time they act.
Here’s some costed use examples…
An agent answering customer questions online could use 500 classic answers and 2,000 generative ones, costing $45 for those 4,500 messages.
Another agent answering HR questions internally using Microsoft Graph data might use 200 generative and 200 tenant Graph messages, costing 6,400 messages or $64 for the day.
This approach allows businesses to fine-tune their AI usage to meet their specific needs, addressing concerns about the high costs of deploying these tools across enterprises. It also helps cost modeling certain scenarios much easier and provides an alternative to just giving every person a $30 per month Copilot License.
Using Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat
Assuming IT have enabled this in your environment, you can try this by navigating to https://m365copilot.com or by downloading the Microsoft 365 Copilot App from your preferred app store.
In a move that perhaps comes as no surprise, Microsoft has revealed a small $3 price increase per use (the first in 12 years) but is including Microsoft 365 Copilot (previously a $20 add on) to these subscriptions, which enables users to leverage Copilot in Office apps without needing a separate Copilot Pro subscription. But there is catch… See later.
I’ve not seen UK pricing as yet, but starting soon, consumers will soon see a new price of $9.99 per month for Microsoft 365 Personal and $12.99 per month for Microsoft 365 Home.
It’s not actually about Copilot through…
Oddly, Microsoft says the price increase is not actually about Copilot inclusion buy it more about aligning the prices with new features that have been added over the years such Microsoft Designer and Clipchamp, both of which have extensive AI capabilities.
Or is it…
Microsoft are offering anyone who’d rather stick to the old plan the option to buy what they new call their “classic sub tier which won’t include Copilot, but just a limited time. This, I believe will be offered as a downgrade option but will only be available for a limited time.
So… If the classic tier doesn’t include Copilot… Is the price hike about Copilot or not.. What do you think?
So what is included for Copilot in Personal and Home subscriptions?
With the introduction of Copilot, Microsoft 365 apps are getting a significant upgrade. Here’s a breakdown of the new features you will get
Word
Here we get Draft and Chat capability in Word. In draft mode you can create/ generate text from within the Copilot pane directly in Word. This works for new and existing documents and also allows your to rewrite taxt, expand on it, condense it and more. Chat mode on the other hand acts as your Word AI assistant. It can summarise and explain text, paragraphs or whole documents, suggest changes and also. Help you discover Word features such as formatting or just help you to learn new features.
PowerPoint
Here we get similar capabilities to Word. Copilot can create, restructure, change and enhance PowerPoint presentations from scratch based on user-provided criteria. It can also analyse existing Word documents (and other uploaded files) and generate a complete presentation from the information contained within it.
Excel
With most people using just a tiny fraction of what Excel can do, Copilot in Excel will help anyone analyse tables, highlight data correlations, suggest and help with new formulas based on your natural written queries, and can also generate insights to help you better reason over tables data and even entire workbooks. It is also really great for helping you format and organise data, create visualisations, and even teach you (or write) formulas for you.
OneNote
One of my favourite apps, Copilot here can assist in drafting ideas, plans, and organising information within your Notebooks. Copilot can also format content and create lists according to your criteria. What’s great is it can also do the woith your hand written notes (for those like me that use OneNote on my tablet). I find it great for handwritten meeting notes or interviews in that Copilot can then write my notes up professionally for me!
Outlook
Load of useful abilities for Copilot here in Outlook and one I think most people will use alot. Copilot in Outlook can summarise emails from friends, family, and colleagues which is nice for long email chains you have just been forwarded!
It’s also great for helping you to draftnand write an ew email or response to an email based on specific tones, lengths, and formats you set.It can also help coach you by reviewing what you have written and suggesting changes.
Copilot can pull information from other emails to provide context in threads, making it useful for managing multiple email chains.
What about Copilot Pro?
Despite the price increase, Microsoft is limiting Copilot usage under the Home and Personal subscriptions through monthly AI credits which are automatically applied to your account and reset each month (think mobile data tarrifs). They have not yet shared (that I have seen anyway) how many AI credits will be given each month.
Microsoft also offers Copilot Pro which is currently $20 /£19 a month which brings the same features as above but gives unlimited access to Copilot in Office, plus what they call boosts for image creation in tools like Designer.
I’m hoping this also gets a price reduction as it suddenly seems quite pricey for the additional capacity rather than entire features.
Conclusion.. Yes please!
To me I can’t wait to see this come to Family accounts because for me today, if I want Copilot Pro in Office for all 4 members of my family, I need to pay $80 a Month! This makes is so much more affordable and a no brainier.. bringing AI tools to its 84 millions consumer users and at a much more digestable price that with Copilot Pro.
As we all get back into the flow of work following the Christmas and New Year break, Microsoft continue to announce new features for Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Microsoft 365 Copilot has been available to “everyone” to buy and use now for a year now and it’ actually hard to conceive that it only actually ben 12 months! That said, I know hundreds of organisations that are using it every day and getting a great experience from it. I also know others (and people in my own organisation that have a bit more of a “hmmmmm and it’s ok” mindset to Copilot.
As I head back into my first full week at work with Copilot at my side, it’s worth looking at just how far it has come. From taking notes and summarising content, helping me catch up things I have missed (or forgotten) and evening being my companion to help me thrash out ideas, explain things, get a different opinion – Copilot is by my side.
Copilot is like that tireless colleague who’s always ready to lend a hand, doesn’t get tired, doesn’t take a lunch a break and doesn’t need to pop out for a coffee when I need it! I often describe Copilot as a drunk intern, in that it adds huge amounts of value to my day, but it doesn’t solve every work problem, nor can it assist with every task. It can’t make decisions for me, do my executive reports, remember to do things for me (there’s other tools for that) and can’t actually do my job for me. Microsoft 365 Copilot is a tool, a powerful tool, but like any tool, its effectiveness hinges on how you use it and more importantly how you don’t!
Having helped many customers and seen the results it can have, as well as my own experience of integrating Copilot into my daily work (and personal online life) routine, it takes time. It not as simple as allocating a licensing and clicking the Copilot button. Good adoption and useful results require practice (lots), sharing what works, and an understanding of its capabilities and limitations. In this blog. I share a few little tips we have learned on the way, coupled with some tips to see value every day.
1. Results may not be instant – Practice makes perfect
You may hear people say “it is rubbish” or “it didn’t do what I thought”, or “Copilot can’t help me in my job”.
This is sometimes true, but nearly all of the time, it is simply not! Copilot can certainly help you brainstorm ideas, answer questions, explain content and even get a third person review on something you have created, but it it is not going to transform you into a master mathematician, coder, web designer or salesman overnight.
Like learning a new musical instrument (my son is learning the trumpet at the moment) or a language, it takes time (and patience) to get the hand of pretty much any tool.
Success comes (and I see it every day) by embrace the learning curve, trying new things and giving yourself room to grow alongside this technology which is constantly evolving and improving. Working with Generative AI is a totally different way of working with technology so give yourself time to work with it. There is no AI Natives (yet!).
2. Don’t get fired – Copilot for everyone but not for everything!
Think of Copilot as your co-pilot, not as the captain of your work. Copilot is there to assist you in what you do but not to take over. While it might draft a great email or executive summary, help you expand on a point or explain something, only you (as the Pilot) can ensure it aligns with your objectives and ask and that what it produces resonates with your audience.
Remember you are accountable for what Copilot produces for you – Copilot is the co-pilot. You are always in command. Copilot will remind of this, but do. Check the content, is it what you needed and asked for. Does it seem correct, read well and has it used the right content and context. If Copilot get’s it wrong, its your block on the line not Copilot’s.
Your expertise and personal touch are irreplaceable, and you are still responsible for what it produces. Don’t look silly buy not checking what it produces!
3. Remember you are human – It is not!
The Human Touch is everything. For example, when using Copilot to write or reply to a sensitive email, or when writing a personal response to something, Copilot can absolutely provide you with a solid starting point or provide guidance on how to write it.
We have all read those emails comms that are so obviously written by AI. It’s easy to spot an email from someone you know that has clearly left AI to write for them!
Empathy, nuance, and authenticity and the way in which you communicate is what makes you. It’s important to use what Copilot (or an AI) creates as a draft or a guide and ensure you inject your personality and insights to make your communication truly impactful and truly you.
4. Copilot is not a mind reader – be clear in your asks
Copilot doesn’t inherently understand the nuances of your specific situation, so back to my drunk intern analogy, you need to give it context around what you want your assistant to do.
Copilot can “summarise a report” but won’t know how you would like this summarised, the tone you woudl like, who you are summarising it for and how long you want it unless you tell it. Be explicit about the how you want the output (the goal), the context of what you need, and your expectations for how you want the output to be presented.
Remember the formula for Copilot promoting is G.C.S.E – Goal, Context, Expectations and Source.
5. Don’t leave sensitivity to chance
Microsoft 365 Copilot will adhere to your company identity and access management, respect DLP policies and even understand sensitivity labels if they are used.
Many organisations however do not use these (though are starting too), but regardless, make sure you check that you are not feeding Copilot confidential customer information when creating responses for other customers or sharing internal information that is not supposed to be shared.
People get scared that Copilot may share sensitive information. Since Copilot is the assistant and not the author, you are responsible for checking that the data you have fed it (or referenced) can be used and shared externally.
There are new tools coming to help users better protect privacy and for IT / Sec to control what Copilot accesses, but it’s still “on you”. Remember Copilot can’t get the sack – you can!
6. Copilot will not replace learning but it can help you learn.
Some like to portray that they are an expert over night with AI tools like Copilot. Sure Copilot is great at simplify complex concepts or helping you know how to do something in say Excel or Word. Copilot is also really great at helping you understand seomthing, can explain something complex “as if i am a 10 year old” and so on, but it’s not a substitute for your own learning journey.
That said, I find Copilot is great for helping you to learn something. It can help you “learn” the basics about a topic, put things into different perspectives, and even help map learning paths and helps you find resources. At the end of the day, it is still you that will learn what you are learning, but Copilot is really great at helping you learn in your way…
7. Copilot has an appauling memory
One fo the things Copilot is really bad at (by design currently) uis remembering things. This mean that not only will it not ask you how that report went, or if your customer replied to the email it helped you write.
In fact Copilot cannot (currently) evcen remeber past convrsations or preferences so once you “start a new conversation”, all history of that task you were working are forgotten.
As a tip – I tend to have a couple of chats running in parallel so I can switch between contexts as I need to. ChatGPT now has this capability to imagine* it is only time before this comes to Microsoft 365 Copilot
8. The Roadmap is every changing
The last time I looked, there was 112 new features in development and 18 that are currently “rolling out”. This AI technology is evolving rapidly and Copilot is no exception.
New features and improvements roll out regularly. It’s worth checking on the Microsoft 365 Roadmap from time to time to ensure you stay informed about what is coming. There are also a plethor of blogs like this one, user communities, webinars and formal training to help you stay abreast of the latest innovations and tips.
Knowledge is power – the more you know, the more you can leverage Copilot to your advantage.
9. Integrate Copilot into your daily routine
Consistency is key. Copilot really adds avlue when you use it little and often and when it’s seamlessly woven into your daily workflow. Here are some reaaly simple habits to form:
Start your week with a recap: Use Copilot to remind you of any emails you did not repond to last week from your peers or boss, to prepare you for your upcoming meetings, or to sugegst a date your team (rememeber it knows who works for you) are available for an afternoon off-site.
Start Your Day with Copilot: Use Copilot in the morning to outline your your day, important tasks or get you up-to-date on something. You will soon be able to schedule Copilot to do certain tasks for you.
Catch on and control your meetings: One of Copilot’s hero capabilities is to help ypou catch up on a meeting you missed, take notes for you in a meeting and even help keep the meeting flowing.
Remeber your GCSEs: Before engaging with Copilot, know what the Goal is you are trying to achieve. Give Copilot context on how you wnat it done and ensure it knows what you expect. Clear questions yield better answers.
Share and Collaborate: Encourage your team to adopt Copilot and share tips. Collective learning amplifies benefits.
The true power of Copilot lies in how you incorporate it into your daily routine:
10. Don’t Give up
You may not always get the instant results, don’t give up. Ttry again, ask others what works for them and check out help and guidance. There’s loads.
Stay Curious and ensure you experiment with different prompts and functions. You might discover new ways Copilot can assist you.
Reflect Regularly by taking time to assess how Copilot is impacting your work. Adjust your approach as needed to maximise benefits.
Share your success so other can benefit from what you have learned and what works best for you.
Final Tips
Microsoft 365 Copilot is a remarkable assistant that can amplify your productivity, spark innovation, and even make mundane tasks more manageable. But remember, it’s a tool designed to enhance your capabilities – not replace them. By using it thoughtfully, staying informed about its features, and integrating it into good work habits, you can unlock its full potential.
Technology is a force multiplier, but it’s the human element that truly makes the difference. Copilot offers incredible capabilities, but it’s up to you to wield them effectively. Use it wisely, continue to learn, and keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Your proactive engagement and thoughtful application are what turn a powerful tool into transformative results. So take charge, embrace the technology, and watch how it elevates the work you do every daym, little my little, bit my bit can make a huge difference in a week.
Oh and don’t forget to share your successes with others.
In a recent podcast episode with Bill Gurley and Brad Gerstner, Satya Nadella – CEO of Microsoft, discussed a wide range of topics related to his role at Microsoft, the state of the technology, business growth and capitalism in this new “AI Era”.
The podcast which you can watch on YouTube here covered some interesting topics including the Future of AI Agents and their potential to transform how we interact with technology. In this blog (worth a listen), Satya gives his predications/insights into the future of AI Agents and emphasises that AI agents will fundamentally change the landscape of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions, predicting that the traditional notion of business applications will collapse in the era of agentic AI.
What is Agentic AI?
Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can make decisions and take actions autonomously, without direct human intervention. These systems are designed to perceive their environment, reason about the best course of action, and execute tasks independently. In short these agents are designed to function as workplace teammates, capable of handling various tasks across different applications.
As example, in e-commerce platforms, instead of static, rule based chatbots, agentic AI-driven systems can track a customer’s journey, personalised recommendations, and assist with returns seamlessly without user / supervisor input. These agents will be able to actively learn from interactions, optimising the customer journey in real time and learning about user preferences.
Agentic AI typically inhibits the following features:
Autonomy: Agentic AI systems can operate independently, making decisions based on input data and predefined goals.
Adaptability: These systems can adapt to changing circumstances and inputs, adjusting their actions to achieve their objectives.
Proactivity: Agentic AI can anticipate user needs and take actions without explicit instructions, making them more proactive in their behavior.
Collaboration: In the future, agentic AI systems will be able to work together in multi-agent networks, collaborating to handle complex tasks that a single agent cannot manage alone.
Changes Ahead for AI Agents
The video / podcast is an hour and a half (but an enjoyable and informative listen). Reading between the sections, Satya talks extensively about where he sees AI Agents evolving massively through 2025. I have summarised this below.
Increasing Sophistication and Capabilities
AI agents will become increasingly sophisticated and capable, eventually replacing traditional software applications. These agents will be able to understand and anticipate user needs, providing personalised and proactive assistance. They will leverage advanced natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning algorithms to interact with users in a more human-like manner.
Autonomous AI Agents
Through 2025. we will see autonomous AI agents handle more and more complex tasks with minimal human oversight, optimising workflows and enhancing efficiency across industries. These agents will streamline workflows, manage intricate operations, and simplify everyday activities. For example, OpenAI’s “Operator Agents” will autonomously execute multi-step processes, such as scheduling meetings or managing projects.
Multi-Agent Networks
Sayta talks abiut the “future” being a place that is not about singular agents but more about networks or systems of agents where agents can discover and collaborate with other agents. These multi-agent networks will enable agents to handle tasks that they can’t do themselves by invoking other agents (agents talking to other agents). This collaborative approach will enhance the overall capabilities and efficiency of AI agents.
Vertical AI Agents
Vertical AI agents, which are specialised for specific industries, are expected to have their moment in 2025. These agents will dominate their respective fields by offering tailored solutions that address industry-specific challenges. For example, retail AI agents will act as personal shoppers, offering personalised recommendations and optimising inventory management.
Persistent Memory and Personalisation
AI systems with persistent memory will enable highly personalized interactions, transforming AI into long-term companions that adapt to user preferences and habits. This capability will allow AI agents to provide more relevant and context-aware assistance, enhancing user experiences.
Emotional Intelligence
Future AI agents are expected to possess emotional intelligence, allowing them to understand and respond to human emotions. This will enable more empathetic and effective interactions, particularly in customer service and healthcare settings.
Integration with IoT and Personal Devices
AI agents will increasingly integrate with the Internet of Things (IoT) and personal devices. This integration will enable seamless interactions across various platforms and devices, creating a more connected and efficient ecosystem. For example, AI agents in smart homes will manage household tasks, monitor energy usage, and provide personalized recommendations.
Ethical AI and Transparency
As AI agents become more prevalent, there will be a greater emphasis on ethical AI and transparency in decision-making. Ensuring that AI agents operate responsibly and transparently will be crucial for gaining user trust and acceptance. This includes addressing issues related to data privacy, bias, and accountability.
Proactive AI Agents
Proactive AI agents will anticipate user needs and take actions without explicit instructions. For example, an AI assistant might reorganize your day based on traffic updates and weather, reschedule missed appointments, and even draft personalized messages. This proactive approach will make AI agents more valuable and indispensable in daily life.
Enhanced Communication and Collaboration Tools
AI agents will enhance communication and collaboration tools, making it easier for teams to work together. These agents will facilitate real-time collaboration, manage project timelines, and provide insights to improve productivity. They will also assist in content creation, research, and workflow automation.
Shift and the of SaaS apps?
Another interesting section to listen too is at around 31 minutes, where Satya talks about his vision of how AI agents could potentially replace traditional SaaS (Software as a Service) applications. Whilst something that will not happen over night, he talked about the shift from business apps with connectors into other apps, but in an agent to agent and agent to back-end system.
We can already have connectors into applications like SAP, Dynamics etc. A great quote he used was “when was the last time any of us really went to a business application” In the AI age, we access the data in these systems from a mesh of data sources which over time, these back-end SaaS systems would eventually become obsolete as AI agents take over multi-repository CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) operations. This shift would lead to the collapse of conventional business applications, with AI agents handling the core logic.
The idea will be that you simply pull information from systems through AI Agents such as looking up customer details, updating inventories, changing a contact in NetSuite CRM for example or checking delivery status for an order.
Other examples, Sayta talked about with regards AI Agents included:
Infinite Memory: He explained that infinite memory refers to the ability of AI agents to retain and recall information over extended periods, much like a human’s long-term memory. This capability will allows AI agents to build on past interactions and experiences, making them more effective and personalized in their responses and actions.
Proactive Task Management: AI agents are envisioned to operate autonomously, handling complex tasks such as processing customer returns, managing shipping invoices, and optimizing supply chain operations. This proactive approach reduces the reliance on user-initiated interactions, further diminishing the need for traditional SaaS applications.
Automation of Business Logic: Satya explained that AI agents would be able to automate many backend business processes, creating a new tier of multi-agent orchestration. This means that business logic, which is currently hardcoded into individual applications, will be managed by AI agents across multiple apps or databases and will adapt based on useage and need.
Integration with Existing Tools: Nadella highlighted the integration of Python with Excel as an example. AI agents can use Excel’s visualisation capabilities for advanced tasks, transforming it into a more intelligent and autonomous tool. This integration demonstrates how AI agents can enhance existing applications, making them more efficient and reducing the need for traditional SaaS apps.
This blog takes a stroll back down the 2024 memory lane and looks at some of the highlights I have seen through 2024 from a technology (I fo.cus here mainly on Cisco and Microsoft) and what we achived at Cisilion – where I’m the CTO. We are sarting with January and working thriugh to December 2024.
As we settle back to work in 2024 Microsoft 365 Copilot became available for every organisation to buy at $30 per user per month. Microsoft also released Copilot Pro for Consumers priced at $20 per user per month. https://robquickenden.blog/2024/01/microsoftcopilot-for-everyone
Aligned with this Microsoft also announced a new tier of specialist partners, known as Copilot Jump Start Partners who would gain access to specialist funding to help customers test and adopt Microsoft 365 Copilot. Cisilion are announced as one of this elite partners.
Cisilion were also crowned one of 17 partners in the UK as Microsoft Cyber Security Investment Partner due to our exemplar work in helping organisations leverage the best of Microsoft Threat Protection, Identity and Access Control and Data Protection.
Cisco Live 2024 saw over 16,000 people – the largest in person attendance in more than 6 years. The theme was very much aligned with the industry buzz and innovation around AI with Cisco emphatic statement “there is no AI without a network”. This was very much the theme and focussed on Cisco’s innovations and vision around the network and Data Centre fabric for the AI era that is among us.
Mar 2024
Cisco completed the acquisition of Splunkwhich they acquired in November 2023 for $28billion.Cisco say that the combination of Cisco and Splunk will provide truly comprehensive visibility and insights across an organization’s entire digital footprint, delivering an unprecedented level of resilience through the most extensive and powerful security and observability product portfolio on the market.
Cloud Security: Cisco Announces Cisco Hypershield . Not planned for release until sometime in 2025, Hypershield is different to traditional security products and is integrated directly into the network’s fabric, offering a revolutionary approach to protecting digital infrastructure services in data centres, protecting applications, devices, and data across public and private data centers, clouds, and physical locations.Cisco Hypershield: New Era of Distributed, AI-Native Security
Microsoft Licensing all Change: Microsoft forced to “de-couple” Teams from new Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Subscriptions after EU monopolies ruling, impacting the price new commercial customers pay for Microsoft 365 and Teams.
The AI Powered PC: Microsoft announce the next generation of Computing with the Copilot+ PC, built in partnership with Qualcomm. At the heart of the Copilot+ PCs lies groundbreaking ARM CPU and NPU technology, capable of over 45 trillion operations per second, powering a new era of AI experiences on Windows PCs. They are designed to run AI workloads with unprecedented efficiency and speed, outperforming competitors and enabling features like Recall, Cocreator, and Live Captions. These will power the next wave of edge AI. https://robquickenden.blog/2024/05/sufacepro11-laptop7/
Cisco announces new $1B AI investment wave at Cisco Live in Vegas – a bold move to foster industry innovation and customer readiness and likely help them fund and invest into future acquisitions which is becoming common in the industry with start up innovation and backing.Cisco Live 2024: Unveiling an AI-powered and secure future – Modern Work and AI Blog
CrowdStrike update bug causes global IT outages as update bricks Windows devices and costs the economy big time with flights grounded and huge disruption everywhere.
2025 Event Planning: Cisilion finalise our event plan for H1 2025 include more industry aligned events for Legal, Public Sector and Tech for Social Impact.
MVP Summit tickets booked for March 2025
Happy and prosperous 2025
I’d finally like to thank all my followers and subscribers a very happy new year!
Windows 11 is set to make a huge change to how we use cameras and webcams on Windows 11 PCs with the introduction of advanced camera features. These new functionalities, currently available in the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build in the Dev Channel, promise to enhance accessibility and usability for a wide range of users.
Previously, Windows allowed camera access to only one application at a time, which caused conflicts and limited multitasking capabilities. With this new feature, multiple applications can now access and utilise the camera feed simultaneously.
Key Features and Benefits
Multi-App Camera Support: One of the standout features is the ability for multiple applications to be able to access your devices camera/webcam at the same time. This is particularly beneficial for people who need to stream video to different platforms at the same time. For instance, remote workers can now participate in multiple virtual meetings without needing to switch between applications (and turn off their cameras), and in the consumer space, gamers can stream their gameplay on various platforms concurrently.
Basic Camera Function: Designed to improve stability of “older” webcams and deices and to help with debugging, Microsoft are introducing a feature limiting the webcam’s features to the essentials. This ensures that the camera can operate at its most basic level, which is useful if other features are causing issues.
Enhanced Accessibility: Developed in conjunction with accessibility and hard-of-hearing community, the multi-app support feature also enables video streaming to both a sign language interpreter and the end audience simultaneously. This could be a significant step forward in making technology more inclusive and accessible.
Use Cases
Remote Work and Collaboration: With the multi-app camera support, professionals working from home can join multiple video conferences at once, making it easier to manage different meetings and collaborations without the hassle of switching between apps.
Content Creation and Streaming: Gamers and content creators will find the new features particularly useful. They can now stream their content on multiple platforms simultaneously, reaching a broader audience and enhancing their streaming capabilities.
Educational Purposes: Teachers and educators can leverage these features to conduct virtual classes more effectively. For example, they can stream their lessons to different platforms or groups of students at the same time, ensuring that everyone has access to the content.
Enabling and using the Feature
You need to be running Windows Insider Build 26120.2702 or later.
To activate the feature, users need to head over to settings and enable the “Multi-App Camera” setting by toggling it on as shown in the screenshot below.
Once enabled you’ll be able to use your camera(s) in multiple apps. The shot below shows the camera app and a Teams video call using the same camera simultenuously.
Still more to come
Microsoft has also said that more options are coming in the advanced camera settings, including the ability to choose and customise things like resolution and frame rate for the webcam/Camera(s).
These enhancements (also fed by user feedback from the Windows Feedback Hub), will provide users with greater control over their camera settings, allowing for a more customised and optimised experience.
One of the concerns I often talk to organisations about, is the fear that Copilot might surface sensitive information that it should not have access to due to IT/Compliance teams not really knowing who has access to what. The phrase “Security through obscurity” is often what we heard being used.
The primary cause of this is the over-permissioning and sharing of files, which is a growing concern for organisations and one of the “blockers” often cited in Copilot Adoption.
The over-sharing problem
The ability to reason over employee data and shared organisational data is one of Microsoft 365 Copilot’s strengths over other Gen AI tools (that need feeding). These responses Copilot gives and the content it creates rely on access to data that the user already has access to across their organisation’s Microsoft 365 environment. And here often lies the problem. If an organisation has low levels of data governance, no data classification and labelling, combined with high levels of over-sharing can create real concerns for IT and Data Compliance teams.
One of the reasons that Copilot often has access to data that it “perhaps” shouldn’t have is not due to security flaw or issue across Copilot or Microsoft 365, but because files or sites have been shared too widely and have no (or the wrong) privacy and sensitivity set. Addressing this is no small task since many organisations will have million of files and tens of thousands of SharePoint and Teams sites.
Organisations and even teams within organisations often operate at various levels of maturity in governing SharePoint data. While some orgaanisations strictly monitor permissions and oversharing of content, others do not. The situation is further complicated because many people, teams and organisations have “legitimate” reasons to share “some” data widely within the organisation. This can mean users in your organisation may make choices that result in the oversharing of SharePoint content. As an example
Users may save critical files in locations accessible to a wider audience than intended.
Users may prefer sharing content with large groups rather than specific individuals.
Users might not pay close attention to permissions when uploading files.
Users may not understand how to use sensitivity labelling (if enabled) to control access.
Services such as Microsoft SharePoint and Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 utilise all data to which individual users have at least View permissions, which might include broadly shared files that the user is unaware of. As a result, users might see these applications as exposing content that was overshared. Oversharing can lead to sensitive information being exposed to unintended recipients. Users, while well intentioned, might not always grasp the implications of their sharing choices. They might overlook permissions or opt for convenience over security.
As a result, it’s important to use the permission models in SharePoint to ensure the right users or groups have the right access to the right content within your organisation. The following sections describe the key steps that administrators can implement to configure their SharePoint permissions model to help prevent data oversharing.
Dealing with Oversharing
The good news is that Microsoft is adding new features to SharePoint and Purview to make it easier to see, understand and control over sharing across Microsoft 365 with a hope to help adoption efforts and wider roll out of Microsoft 365 Copilot. This includes new Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) and enhancements for Data Loss Prevention policies in Microsoft 365 Copilot, and SharePoint Advanced Management. These can help automate site access reviews at scale and add controls to restrict access to sites if they contain highly sensitive information.
Microsoft have also released a blueprint guide for organisations planning to or deploying Copilot. These are nicely tailored to adjust to those with mainly Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 licenses respectively.
These new tools IMO are going to be vital to help organisation understand and address oversharing so they feel more feel confident in their employees adopting AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot.
AI is really good at finding information, and it can surface more information than you would have expected. This is why it’s really important to address oversharing. Typically, these issues are a by-product of good collaboration, particularly across Teams, SharePoint sites and OneDrive.
Alex Pozin | Director of Product Marketing | Microsoft
From early 2025, Microsoft will make access to SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) available at no extra cost to Microsoft 365 Copilot subscriptions. Outside of this, SharePoint premium (which includes SAM ) will be available at a cost of around $3 per user each month.)
New Capabilities in SharePoint Advanced Management
There are also new features for SAM that Microsoft says will provide greater control over access to SharePoint files.
New permission state reports (available now) can identify “overshared” SharePoint sites. The site access review feature can then provide a easy way to ask site owners to review and address permissions.
Restricted Content Discovery – which should start to roll out this month in public preview (December 2024), will allow IT admins to prevent Copilot from searching and processing data in specific sites for content and result generation. This does not prevent direct access to the site meaning that users can access the content directly as normal. This feature builds on the SharePoint Restricted Access Control, which was released last year, and lets IT admins restrict site access to specific sites to just “site owners” only, while also preventing Copilot from indexing and summarising files in these sites.
One of the use cases for this, are for where there are data locations containing information that needs to be contained to a set of people – such as financial reports, M&A planning, amnd other secret stuff. IT need to be confident that these locations and files will not show up in SharePoint searches and will be well out the reach of Copilot or other AI tools, essentially making sure that nobody can accidently or unintentionally be aware of, see or access the content. This is where Restricted Content Discovery comes in – locking down and hiding this information from plain site and from Copilot’s retrieval augmentation and indexing.
New Capabilities in Microsoft Purview
Microsoft are also adding new capabilities in Purview too. Purview is available as standalone or is part of Microsoft 365 E5.
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Microsoft Purview is a centralised hub within Microsoft 365 that helps organisations meet regulatory and compliance requirements. It helps organisations manage their compliance obligations, protect sensitive data, and mitigate risks within their Microsoft 365 environment.
Here, there are new tools to help identify “overshared files” that can be accessed by Copilot. These includes oversharing assessments for Microsoft 365 Copilot in the Data Security Posture Management (DPSM) tool which is now in Public Preview (from December 2024) and can be accessed via the newly revamped Purview portal.
DSPM Portal in Microsoft Purview
The oversharing assessments are designed to highlight data that may present exposure risk by scanning files for sensitive data and identifying data repositories such as SharePoint and Teams sites where access permissions appear to be too wide and broad. The tool will also provide recommendations to admins and site owners for ways to mitigate oversharing risk, such as adding sensitivity labels or restricting access from SharePoint.
For example, DSPM can detect and help you deal with controlling ethical behaviour in AI (example demo environment below). For all the recommendation, Microsoft provides a simple step by step “wizard” to help IT and Compliance add policies.
Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention for Microsoft 365 Copilot, also in public preview, enables IT and security admins to create data loss prevention (DLP) policies to exclude certain documents from being processed by Copilot based on a the file or sites sensitivity label. This applies to files held in SharePoint and OneDrive, but can be configured at other levels, such as group, site, and user, to provide more flexibility around who can access what.
Insider Risk Management has also been updated to detect “risky AI usage.” This even includes user prompts that contain sensitive information and attempts by users to access unauthorised sensitive information. What’s key to note here is that this feature is not just limited to Microsoft 365 Copilot and also also covers Copilot Studio, and ChatGPT Enterprise.
Oversharing Blue Prints
I really like this. Microsoft’s new blueprint resource pages on Microsoft Learn provide recommended approaches and guidance for organisations to help them understand, mitigate and manage oversharing during what they define as the three main stages of Microsoft 365 Copilot deployment.
Pilot [Pilot]
Wider Deployment [Deploy at Scale]
Organisational Rollout [Operate]
Microsoft provide two blueprint designs. A “foundational path” and what they call an “optimised path” that uses some of the more Microsoft 365 advanced data security and governance tools found in Microsoft 365 E5 subscriptions.
Is there funding available to help?
It depends – but most likely!
Microsoft have a Cyber Security Investment Program open to select/specialist partners like Cisilion. These provide funded workshops, assessments and proof of value deployments across key Security workloads including Microsoft Purview as well as structured Copilot pilot deployments, vision and value
Organisations should speak to their Microsoft Solutions Partner for more information. You can contact Cisilion here should you need to.
Conclusion
In many of the discussions I and my team at Cisilion have with customers, we see that almost all of the organisations we work still have concerns over data governance in the realm of AI access. Of these most expect Microsoft to help them address these whilst some have already invested in third party tools to help them get a “grip” on their data and sharing.
We have seen a plethora of customers invest/upgrade to high-tier Microsoft 365 plans (including E5 Security and Compliance) or full Microsoft 365 E5 in order to gain access to Microsoft Purview. Some argue these tools should be provided as part of their Copilot investment, so it is great to see Microsoft meeting customers in the middle and at least providing some of these tools as part of this license investment.
The issue is not Copilot per-say, but it is that Copilot with it’s ability to access compnay data is causing more organisations to double down and look at the existing issues they have of too many SharePoint Sites, too much over sharing, orphaned data (data with no owner) inadequate data classification and labeling.
By addressing security and data governance and levering the new tools available, this at least should solve one of the blockers to AI adoption.
The second is Adoption and Change Management – more on that in the next blog post!
Microsoft announced at Ignite, the new Facilitator agent – an update to the AI notes in Teams that works inside your meetings and chat and is designed to enhance collaboration and streamline the way teams work. It works similar to the AI generated notes after a meeting, but this works live alongside you and all participants can see it working live in the meeting.
How Facilitator works in Teams Meetings
Facilitator will take real-time notes during Teams meetings (not currently adhoc meetings or Meet Now), enabling everyone to co-author and collaborate seamlessly. This allows meeting participants to focus and engage more deeply in meetings, while ensuring alignment before the meeting concludes.
To enable this feature and use it a meeting, organisers can toggle AI-generated notes setting on or off when setting up a meeting in the Teams calendar or enable it during the meeting via the Notes section in the meeting.
Once enabled, a notification appears in the meeting chat to inform all participants. This also activates meeting transcription, with a notification to users… During the meeting, participants can click on Notes to open a pane where the AI generated live notes are created every few minutes, organised by topics and follow-up tasks.
What is nice about this is that participants can edit the notes inline or assign tasks to users, with attributions indicating whether the content is AI-generated or user-edited making these Co authored notes by humans and AI!
After the meeting ends, notes continue to be accessible in the Recap tab and are stored in the OneDrive of the user who enabled real-time notes. These notes are contextual to the meeting transcript, ensuring relevance and accuracy.
Future Capabilities in Meetings
As the Facilitator agent gets developed futrther, Microsoft say that it will be able to take on more tasks to enhance meeting effectiveness. Soon, it will also manage meetings from end-to-end, including managing agendas, moderating discussions, and handling action items automatically or semi-automatically
In early 2025, the real-time note-taking experience will also expand to Microsoft Teams Rooms. Employees will be able to invite a Teams Room to a meeting, allowing all participants to see real-time notes however, they have joined the meeting. This feature will also be available for ad-hoc meetings, enabling in-office discussions to be captured seamlessly.
How Facilitator works in Teams Chats
As of now (November 2024), the Facilitator Agent creates and maintains up-to-date summaries of what it considers valuable information within Teams chats. This includes key decisions, action items, and open questions, helping groups stay focused, align faster, and resolve issues efficiently.
AI-generated notes are automatically enabled when creating a new chat. For existing chats, users can toggle it on via the Notes icon which is shown at the top right of the chat window as shown below.
When notes are enabled, a notification appears in the group chat to inform everyone that notes are being taken in real time.
To access the notes users simply click on the Notes icon in the top right corner of the chat to show a summary of the chat thread, organised by topics with corresponding decisions, action items, and unanswered questions.
These are continuously updated as the chat conversation progresses.
Availability and access
Facilitator is already in public preview now for desktop (Windows/Mac), web, and iOS/Android. To access the public preview of the new Facilitator agent, meeting hosts need a Microsoft 365 Copilot license.
Facilitator will only be available to users that have app permission policy for Microsoft apps set to “Allow all apps”. The Facilitator App will become available soon for Admins to see and manage in Teams admin center. For more information about app permission policies, see Manage app permission policies in Microsoft Teams – Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft has introduced autonomous Copilot AI agents in public preview. These agents can learn, adapt, and make decisions, aiming to assist employees with various tasks and improve productivity. While AI has the potential to displace some jobs, it also creates new opportunities and enhances productivity.
Microsoft’s wave of Autonomous agents are here
Microsoft has unveiled new tools designed to help businesses create software agents powered by foundation models, referred to as autonomous Copilot AI agents. These agents are currently available in public preview.
Copilot is Microsoft’s generic term for all their AI-driven productivity workloads. Copilot is built upon the advanced GPT-4 series of large language models by OpenAI and offers a chatbot interface where users can input text, images, or audio prompts to receive responses tailored to their needs. Microsoft 365 Copilot also seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office applications like Word, Teams, and Excel. It can generate documents, analyse extensive Excel spreadsheets, summarise meetings content, rewrite documents, create entire PowerPoint presentations and even reason over your inbox and company information you have access too….., and much, much more.
The next step in Microsoft 365 Copilot’s advancement is through what are termed AI-Agents, which are chat bots that can not only respond but can also perform a series of linked tasks (actions) based on user instructions. This new wave went into public preview this week at Microsoft Ignite in Chicago.
What are Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents?
This first stage of the next phase of evolution comes with Microsoft introducing a set of Microsoft 365 Copilot agents with predefined roles. These include:
Agents in SharePoint. These can be customers with a personalised name and certain behaviours, and can be shared across emails, meetings and chats, with users being able to ask the agents questions and getting real-time responses. These are grounded just on the SharePoint sites and files you specify. One created, employees can ask the agents questions about data across your files. These agents can even be shared or published in Teams for simple access.
The Employee Self-Service Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Chat (this currently in private preview), will be able to respond to specific HR and IT questions. It can retrieve employee benefits and even things like payroll info and holiday information, or request help from IT such as a new mouse, password reset etc.
The Facilitator agent (in public preview), works like a assistant in meetings and goes beyond the current AI notes that Teams Premium offers. It can take notes, curate actions and even pull up information or execute instructions such as “see if Bob is free and invite him to the meeting”. It will also be able to summarise the conversations based on the role of the participants.
The Interpreter agent (due in preview in early 2025) promises real-time interpretation in Teams meetings in up to nine languages. It will also be able to sample and then simulate their personal voice for a more inclusive experience as part of the translation, essentially using the sound of your voice in the language of the other participants. It was great to see this in action at ignite in a live demo!
The Project Manager agent, will be able to act and work like a PM with the ability to automate project management, from planning to execution using Microsoft (and later other) project tools like Planner.
For organisations that need more control or different templates to build on and use, Microsoft Copilot Studio provides a way to customise or create your own AI agent behaviour.
Agents in Copilot Studio
Agents built in Copilot Studio can operate independently, dynamically planning and learning from processes, adapting to changing conditions, and making decisions without the need for constant human intervention,These autonomous agents can be triggered by data changes, events, and other background tasks – and not just through chat.
Copilot Studio bundles many templates for common agent scenarios that can serve as the basis for a customised version. It will also shortly support voice-enabled agents, image uploading (for analysis by GPT-4o), and knowledge tuning with the added ability automatically add new sources of knowledge to help agents respond to questions.
Devs can use the Agent SDK to access services from Azure AI, Semantic Kernel, and Copilot Studio. There’s also an Azure AI Foundry (also launched at Ignite) integration that links Copilot Studio to facilitate connection to services like Azure AI Search and the Azure AI model catalog.
Finally, a public preview of agent builder in Power Apps was also announced at Ignite.
What about Responsible AI?
Sarah Bird, chief product officer for Responsible AI, wrote in a blog post this week that extra safety considerations arise with autonomous agents and that Microsoft is focused on ensuring that they behave and hand over to human before taking unexpected actions which can have big impacts and that extra guard rails and protections will be put in place.
The blog post talks about examples of such measures including the vital need for a human-in-the-loop check to make sure autonomous decision-making doesn’t do things it’s not expected too. Nothing demonstrates confidence in automation more than a human approval process.
Microsoft also suggest that anyone looking to get a sense of AI agents in a real role, can try out the Linked In Hiring Assistant which is designed to help HR hiring teams speed up the process of dealing with the Admin involved in reviewing job applications.
Key Benefits
The key Benefits these new adaptions to Copilot. Agents should bring to users and organisations includes:
Learning and Adaptation: The Copilot AI agents can learn from their environment and adapt to new information and tasks.
Decision-Making: These agents are capable of making decisions to assist users in their daily work.
Productivity Enhancement: The primary goal is to empower employees by reducing workload and improving efficiency in tasks such as managing meetings, emails, and creating presentations.
Automation of some tasks connected to regular and recurring inquiries or asks.
Human Impact – what about jobs!
The introduction of AI and automation, including Microsoft’s Copilot AI agents, has the potential to impact the roles of people in jobs.
Job Displacement: People naturally worry that AI has the potential to replace certain jobs, particularly those involving repetitive and manual tasks. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, AI could replace the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs….. But.
Job Creation: On the other hand, AI also creates new job opportunities. It can lead to the emergence of new roles that require advanced technical skills and the ability to work with AI systems
Economic Impact: AI is expected to contribute significantly to global economic growth. McKinsey Global Institute estimates that AI could deliver additional global economic activity of around $13 trillion by 2030
Skill Demand: The demand for skills will shift towards more advanced and technical capabilities. Employees will need to upskill and reskill to stay relevant in the evolving job market. AI skills will be similar requirement to the “Internet skills” we saw on CVs in the 1990s!
Conclusion
Microsoft’s autonomous Copilot AI agents represent a significant step towards integrating advanced AI into everyday business operations. By enhancing productivity and reducing routine workload, these agents have the potential to transform how employees manage their tasks.
These will be in public preview very soon as these often take a few weeks to rollout across the globe.
Source: Conversation with Copilot, 22/11/2024 (1) How Will Artificial Intelligence Affect Jobs 2024-2030. https://www.nexford.edu/insights/how-will-ai-affect-jobs.
(3) The impact of AI on jobs – GOV.UK. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1023590/impact-of-ai-on-jobs.pdf.
