Category: Microsoft

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2025 Work Trend Index Report – AI agents will make every employee an “agent boss”.

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 FindingStats
AI Adoption 82% of industry leaders acknowledge AI is changing work
New Work ModelsThe “Frontier Firm” concept describes organisations using AI-powered intelligence on demand.
New emerging rolesThe 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 productivity53%
Global workforce feeling overburdened80%
Average interruption rateEvery 2 minutes
Leaders planning to use AI to improve work82% (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 PerspectiveEmployee 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 UsageAreas 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..

PercentageAreas 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.

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New Start Menu in testing for Windows 11

New Windows 11 Start Menu

Before we start, why should we get excited about a change to Start Menu?

Afterall, it is something that has been under constant critique since Microsoft changed it up (ok – ruined it) with Windows 8, which was a bold (yet poorly received) attempt to modernise the Start menu after years of “consistency” of the Windows 95 start menu which didn’t really change all the way up to Windows XP.

Classic Windows 95 Start MenuThe Windows 8 Start menu
Classic Windows 95 Start Menu (left) and much “unloved” Windows 8 Start Menu (right

Windows 11 Start Menu Changes

The days of the Windows 8 “start menu-less” UI (which was very optimised for touch and aligned to Microsoft’s entry into the devices market with the Surface RT and now more familiar Surface Pro) are thankfully way behind us. The Start Menu came back with Windows 8.1, evolved through Windows 10 and is now clean and elegant blend of what worked well in Windows 95 and what modern touch friendly interface should look like in 2025.

Windows 11 is a great interface, clean and crisp, but there has been lots of feedback around the need to bring more grouping and controls in to Windows 11. This has also led a to plethora of third-party apps that bring some of this functionality back for power-users.

It is now great to see that, in the latest Dev build of Windows 11 introduces a refreshed Start menu design that is designed to enhance user experience and productivity.

New Windows 11 Start Menu in Dev Build
New Windows 11 start menu – in Windows Insider Dev Build

This new design aims to provide a more intuitive and seamless interaction, making it easier for users to access their favorite apps and settings. The updated Start menu features a cleaner layout, improved search functionality, and customisable options that allow you to tailor the experience to your professional needs.

How do I try it out?

The new Start Menu design is being tested for Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel .

So if you enrolled (or want to), you can get the latest update and check it out. Don’t forget to file feedback in the Windows Feedback Hub.

This new feature is subject to Microsoft’s usual A/B testing meaning not everyone will see the new start menu straight away.

Share your feedback with the community too and if you find this useful, please share this post and help and help shape the future of Windows!

Change is the only constant

Microsoft continuously refines and updates various components of their Windows Operating system, using the Windows Insider Community for early testing and feedback.

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Windows 365 Link now available for £314

Microsoft’s dedicated mini PC that just runs Windows 365 is now evaulable to from limited distributes for £314 / $350.

I’ve just ordered mine, which should arrive early next week, after being lucky enough to play around with one at Microsoft Ignite in Chicago back in November.

What is Windows 365 Link?

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!!

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Microsoft Turns 50 – here are my personal memories

Microsoft 50th Birthday banner

Microsoft is 50. Yes 50.

To celebrate, they are holding a special 50th anniversary Copilot event today (Friday, April 4) at 9:30 AM Pacific Time (5:30pm UK Time).  This actually makes me feel very old, as Microsoft were founded the year I was born!!

The event will be live-streamed here, directly on Microsoft’s website, so you can watch the announcements as they happen. If you go to the website, they have kindly included a calendar invite, which you can add to your calendar app of choice.

What to expect from the Microsoft @ 50 event

Microsoft have said that the “event” will focus on consumer AI announcements related to Microsoft Copilot, but knowing Microsoft, I expect there will be some other teaser announcements too.

Microsoft as a Copilot Company

Microsoft does not hide behind the fact that Microsoft are in fact a Copilot Company. Over the last few months, Microsoft has completely rebuilt the Consumer Copilot app for Windows and across mobile platforms and have recently included unlimited access to Copilot Voice, Vision and their latest Deep Research language models.

We have also seen (this year) the launch of the Copilot+ PCs, which were announced last year on both Qualcomm and Intel chipsets and their new flagship Copilot+ PC devices in Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. We also continue to see more exclusive AI features that are powered by dedicated NPU chips coming to Windows 11 PCs. Features like Windows Recall, Click To Do, and AI in Windows Search, and of course updates to Windows Studio Effects and more. We have also seen new AI features across core “inbox” apps such as Paint, Notepad, Snip & Sketch and more. I expect there is more coming …..

Microsoft have also said that there is much more to come for Copilot so maybe we will get to see more of this vision and plan tomorrow (April 4th).

My personal glance back over the 50 years of Microsoft

Everyone will have their own stories and memories of milestones that made Microsoft who they are today. Personally I remember getting my first PC (Intel P90 processor, 2MB RAM and 100MB Hard drive) which ran MS-DOS 5.0 . I remember using Word Perfect in MS-DOS before deploying Windows 3.0 I seem to remember.

My next memory was working with Windows for Workgroups and Novell Netware, and then deploying Windows NT 3.51, Windows 3.11 and then working with an Oil Company doing Windows 3.11 to Windows 95 migrations on oil rigs in my early 20s.

I remember my first Xbox, my kids are no using Xbox One X and love games like Flight Simulator and Minecraft.

I’ve used Windows Phone (yes ok!), had a Microsoft Fitness Band (yes ok) and used MSN Messenger and Skype at length during my teen and early adult years!

We are now about to say goodbye to Windows 10, have seen Azure continue to gain market share in Cloud, Microsoft 365 be the worlds productivity suite and Microsoft become the biggest security company in the world.

The last few years has been all about AI with everything being about Copilot, even the PC with the launch of the Copilot Plus PC.

Today, I write this, after coming back from an incredible week at Microsoft MVP Summit in Seattle, full of excitement for what is coming next across the Microsoft eco system.

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Official Windows 11 Roadmap finally unveiled.

Microsoft has finally unveiled a dedicated Windows 11 roadmap website, designed to simplify the lives of IT pros, and IT technical management and users who care about new features and updates.

This addresses longstanding frustrations about the lack of transparency in the Windows Insider program, where new features are tested before going live.

Why Was This Roadmap Needed?

In short – there has never really been one.

For years, IT professionals grappled with inconsistent communication and unclear timelines in the Windows Insider program. Managing systems with this uncertainty was a challenge, to say the least. Microsoft listened to feedback and responded with a user-friendly roadmap that offers:

  • Feature Tracking: It shows the current status of features—whether in testing, gradual rollout, or general availability.
  • Intended Timelines: Features now come with estimated release windows, helping IT teams prepare systems for upcoming changes.

Simplified Navigation and Transparency

The roadmap include features that are in testing with users enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, features in a gradual rollout phase, and features that are generally available. Many of the features will include a target release window, which should help with preparing for upcoming features and changes.

Microsoft new Windows Roadmap

This empowers IT and Change Management teams to manage changes effectively, a step forward from the often-criticised lack of clarity in past processes.

What about Windows Server?

No, not yet. For now, it only covers Windows 11 client editions – leaving out Windows Server.

Conclusion – Yes! Finally!

This roadmap marks an important evolution in Microsoft’s approach to transparency, giving IT administrators the tools they need to keep systems running smoothly. Though it’s still early days, the potential for this tool to grow and cover more updates is vast.

Of course just like the Microsoft 365 roadmap, features listed on the roadmap remain subject to change, postponement, or cancellation.

For more details, check out the Microsoft announcement

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Deep research AI models coming to Microsoft 365 Copilot

As March 2025 comes to an end, Microsoft have unveiled several exciting updates across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Chat, and Copilot Studio.

Copilot announcements this week

1. Updates to Copilot Studio Message Rates

Effective April 1, 2025, updated (cheaper) message rates for Copilot Studio will go live. These adjustments cover tenant Microsoft Graph grounding and agent actions (previously known as autonomous actions). The prices of tenant Microsoft Graph grounding and autonomous actions are being reduced from 30 messages and 25 messages to 10 messages and 5 messages respectively, from April 2nd, 2025.

Also coming is Agent flows which allow agent creators to bring Power Automate automation features directly into Copilot Studio to quickly and consistently automate business processes. There will also be new deep reasoning in agents combines reasoning models including Open AI o1 with the ability to access enterprise data to complete complex tasks.

Microsoft are also updating pricing with a new  zero-rating for Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users in Microsoft 365 apps and services, ensuring inclusive, seamless integration and cost-effective use of these tools. This means licensed Microsoft 365 Copilot users will not be charged for using agents in their organisation

2. Rule-Based Workflows in Copilot Studio

From April 2025, Copilot Studio will introduce structured, rule-based workflows for agents. This aims to simplify process automation, enabling users to create efficient, consistent workflows with minimal manual effort. Usage of this functionality will contribute to the Copilot Studio meter, encouraging innovation while maintaining transparency in resource utilisation.

3. Deep Reasoning in Copilot Studio

So this is a big one – Microsoft have made deep reasoning capabilities available in Copilot Studio’s public preview from today. This will empowers users to address complex, decision-intensive tasks by leveraging advanced reasoning algorithms.

Whether it’s managing intricate processes or solving challenging problems, this tool offers remarkable precision and depth in its execution.

4. Two new Deep Reasoning Agents

Microsoft announced two new deep reasoning agents—Researcher and Analyst—as part of an early preview which will also be coming “soon” with previews coming in April before wider rollout.

  • Researcher Agent: has been designed for content creation and information synthesis, this agent combines OpenAI’s advanced deep research model with Microsoft Copilot’s orchestration. By integrating Copilot Chat’s web and work grounding capabilities, Researcher enables users to brainstorm ideas, generate high-quality content, and analyze data more effectively.
Researcher Agent in Copilot.
  • Analyst Agent: This is powered by a new reasoning model. the Analyst agent will function as a virtual data scientist and will have the ability to process complex datasets and provide real-time code validation (using Python) and will be able to deliver actionable insights and visually compelling representations of data in minutes.

Microsoft say that these agents will be gradually rolled out to Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed users through the Frontier program, an early access programme for customers to test out early and new Copilot innovations.

Read more

To dive deeper into these updates, visit Microsoft’s official blog.

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Why Surface Flex Keyboard is a Game-Changer.

Surface Flex Keyboard

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?

Introducing The 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 Feel and Different use cases

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.

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Meet Microsoft 365’s New Mini Apps

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.

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Cisco and Microsoft Shake Up Collaboration at Enterprise Connect 2025 with new AI infused features

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.

Read more.

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftteamsblog/microsoft-teams-at-enterprise-connect-2025-leading-the-future-of-collaboration/4393733?wt.mc_id=MVP_309187

https://www.webex.com/us/en/live-events/enterprise-connect-2025.html

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SMBs – upgrade to Microsoft 365 E5 Security for $12

Microsoft quietly announced yesterday that Microsoft 365 Business Premium customers (this is a SMB license for customers with less than 300 seats) can now add the Microsoft 365 E5 Security as a bolt on for just $12 pupm.

This represents a saving of 57%

Why would I want Microsoft E5 Security Add-on

This upgrade includes a heap of Enterprise E5 features previously only available to Microsoft Enterprise Customers on Microsoft 365 E3. It includes:

  • Microsoft Entra P2 (Identity protection, Risk Based Conditional Access, Secure Access etc)
  • Defender for Office Plan 2
  • Defender for Identity
  • Defender for Endpoints (Plan 2) with XDR
  • Defender for AI & Cloud Apps and
  • more.

The offers huge value for SMBs bringing their security protection in line with what has previously only been included within Microsoft 365 E5 but at a fraction of the cost. The enhanced protection features in Entra P2 and Defender P2 will be highly valuable for business looking to strengthen their security posture with best-in-class solutions, whilst reducing the reliance on multiple technologies and vendors with integrated management across the rest of their Microsoft 365 Security Portal.

How do I get the Microsoft 365 Security Add-on

Simple – if you are a web-direct customer, you can add-on via the Microsoft 365 Admin centre. If you buy from partner (Cloud Solution Provider) via NCE, speak to them for pricing or speak to us at https://www.cisilion.com.

You can read the full details here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365businessblog/microsoft-365-e5-security-is-now-available-as-an-add-on-to-microsoft-365-busines/4388436?wt.mc_id=MVP_309187

Is there a Compliance E5 Add-on?

Not yet, though have seen lots of questions about this, so I’d guess this might be next!

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Windows 11 UI Updates: New Features & Start menu design

If you are a WindowsInsider then the  latest update to Windows 11 (which will soon become mainstream) brings a mixture of  new features and subtle, but important redesign. Let’s taken a look.

New File Sharing Tools

One of the standout features in the new update is an enhanced file-sharing menu. This new tool appears at the top of the screen whenever you drag a file out of a folder.

New native file sharing in Windows 11

It presents an array of icons for apps like WhatsApp, My Phone, and Microsoft Teams, allowing for seamless sharing directly through these platforms. Additionally, you can now share files from jump lists on the taskbar, making it even easier to send documents, images, and PDFs.

Redesigned Start Menu

The Start Menu, which was relocated to the center of the taskbar with Windows 11, has received several layout options in this update. Users can now choose between grid or category views for the All Apps page.

New desktop grid view in Windows 11

As you can see if the image above, the new grid view maintains alphabetical ordering, but extends the layout sideways to fit more apps on screen, reducing the need for scrolling. The category view groups applications under headings like social, productivity, and entertainment, with the most-used apps highlighted for quick access.

This is much easier to use and more pleasing on the eye in my option. What do you think?

Multiple App Access to Webcam

In response to feedback from users, Microsoft will now allow multiple apps to access a webcam simultaneously (though there are some hardware limitations).

One of the primary benefits of this new feature is that, for the first time you can leverage video streaming for both a sign language interpreter and the end audience at the same time, enhancing accessibility.

It can also of course be used for multiple apps using the same camera without having to close the other app or turn the camera off.

Summary

The changes to the Windows 11 desktop in my opinion provide some really useful features and redesigns.

To test these now you need to be a WindowsInsider and being pre release their may be bugs and refinements before the updates hit mainstream users.

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Copilot in Excel gets new document references features

In an new update announced on the Microsoft 365 Insider blog this week, Microsoft has announced that Copilot in Excel will soon be able to reference documents in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF formats jyst like the other officee apps can. This enhancement significantly expands the capabilities of Copilot in Excel, making it a more powerful tool for users.

With this update, you can now ask Copilot to perform tasks such as displaying to-do items in a table or organising emails with columns for the sender and subject line. This feature is particularly useful when you need to combine data from various sources, including public statistics from the web, internal documents, organisational details, or tables from another Excel files or contained in Word docs.

Getting Started with the New Feature

To take advantage of this new functionality, you need to meet the following minimum requirements:

  • Windows: Build 17729.20000 or later
  • Mac: Build 24053110 or later
  • Copilot license
  • Web search enabled
  • Stable internet connection

Upcoming Web Version and Limitations

Microsoft has announced that this update will soon be available for the web version of Excel. However, there are some limitations to be aware of. For example, refreshable data imports only work for Excel files with tables stored on SharePoint or OneDrive. Additionally, there is limited support for handling workbook and external data simultaneously.

Recent Updates to Copilot in Excel

Copilot in Excel has received several updates in recent months, further enhancing its functionality. One of my favourite features is the Clean Data feature, which addresses issues such as text and number inconsistencies.

Copilot has been integrated into the Excel start up experience, enabling users to use Copilot to explain what they want to create and receive improvement suggestions.

Looking Ahead: More Features on the Horizon

With Microsoft’s global AI tour taking place in cities around the world, including a stop in the UK on March 5th, we can expect even more exciting features to be announced soon. These updates highlight Microsoft’s commitment to continually improving Copilot and making it an indispensable tool for Excel users.

Stay tuned to my blog for more updates in Copilot and bookmark the Microsoft 365 Road map page.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?filters=%5B”Microsoft+Copilot+for+Microsoft+365″%5D

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Teams Rooms have just got much easier to deploy

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.

References:

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Here’s how to save and re-use your Copilot Prompts

Finally, it is here – Microsoft 365 Copilot now lets you save your prompts within Copilot for easy re-use later. Yes – this means you no longer need to save your prompts in separate documents or constantly copying and paste them.

How to save and re-use your prompts in Copilot

  1. Open Copilot chat window in your browser at https://m365.cloud.microsoft/chat/.
  2. Enter your prompt or prompts as usual
  3. When Copilot has completed its response(s), scroll back to your prompt in the chat.
  4. Hover your mouse over the prompt – you’ll see bookmark and link icons appear.

5. Click on the bookmark icon to save the prompt to your library – you can also give it a friendly name to make it easier to find and reuse later.

    Accessing Your Saved Prompts

    Finding your saved prompts is just as easy.

    1. Click on “View Prompts” above the chat box.
    2. In the prompt library popup window, select “Your Prompts.” where you will be presented with a list of all the prompts you’ve saved.
    3. Click on any saved prompt, and it will automatically paste the text into the chat window, ready for you to use again.

    Why this feature matters

    The ability to save and easily access prompts directly within Copilot enhances productivity and streamlines your workflow. It’s a small change with a significant impact, making it easier than ever to manage your prompts efficiently.

    No more hassle, no more copying and pasting—just seamless, effortless prompt management.

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    Microsoft makes OpenAI o1 model free for Copilot users.

    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.

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    New Surface Devices: Intel-powered Copilot+ PCs.

    You can now get Intel powered (as well as Snapdragon) powered Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 for business.

    Image (c) Microsoft

    Microsoft has given their Surface Copilot+PC the “Intel” treatment today with a new varient of their Copilot+ Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7. These follow the new sleeker design of the Snapdragon versions released last year.

    Powered by Intel Lunar Lake processors, these are designed for business users who still need or want the latest Surface technology but prefer the power and versatility of an x86 processor over the Snapdragon ARM devices. Despite the huge amount of support that Windows on Arm (WoA) now has, there are still many legacy applications that aren’t compatible with Arm or don’t run well with x86/x64 emulation.

    Adding new options to the current line up, these new Intel-driven Surface devices will coexist with the Snapdragon-powered cousins, will be exclusively available through Microsoft’s business online store and via Surface for Business commercial channels only.

    Intel Inside!

    Both the new Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 offer configurations with the Intel Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 series 2 processors. The Intel powered Surface Laptop 7 is available in 13.8in or 15in display options.

    These can be then be configured with 16GB or 32GB of RAM and storage options of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB.

    Being a Copilot + PC these also have dedicated NPUs, delivering 40 TOPS on the Ultra 5 varient and 48 TOPS on the Ultra 7 models.

    Battery and Performance Boosts

    The Intel powered Surface Laptop 7 for Business has over 20 hours battery life. Surface Pro 11 boasts over 14 hours!

    Microsoft say these new devices deliver up to 26% faster performance when multi-tasking, up to 2x faster graphics performance, and 3x the battery life when on Teams calls.

    The same, yet different!

    While the Intel version of the Surface Pro 11 and Laptop 7 share many similarities with the Snapdragon cousins, the Intel versions come with a few subtle yet significant enhancements.

    Both devices feature a much sought after anti-reflective screens to cut down on glare and reflection which should help improve remote and outside working. Surface Laptop 7 also. Comes with a card-reader variant (option), and the Surface Pro 11 gets a built-in NFC reader.

    WiFi gets an upgrade too with support for the latest Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, added ports and even customisae haptic typing alongside a slighly larger touchpad.

    Last, but not least,  Surface Laptop 7 will also be available in a 5G variant (coming later this year), a feature previously only available on the Surface Pro.

    Unlike the Snapdragon versions, the Intel models come in either classic Platinum or Black only.

    A new Surface Dock too

    Microsoft also introduced the “Surface USB4 Dock,” a more compact and budget-friendly version of the Surface Thunderbolt 4 Dock. Released last year.

    Surface USB4 Dock

    The USB4 Dock can output to two 4K displays, using both the HDMI and USB-C ports on the back.

    This is priced at around £100 cheaper too, though does ship with a few less ports. This makes it an attractive option for organisations that need docking solutions and are keen to keep the brand consistent with the device. Here you get two USB-C ports and one USB-A port, along with a HDMI port and Ethernet jack.

    There is no Surface Connector Port on this model.

    Pricing

    Pricing for the Intel varients of the Surface Pro 11 and Laptop 7 are more expensive that the Snapdragon counterparts.

    The Snapdragon devices start from $1,099, whereas the Intel models kick off at $1,499.

    Availability

    Both the Intel-powered Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7 are available for pre-order now.

    Surface USB4 Dock is also available for pre order.

    Shipping for all begins on February 18 2025.

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    OpenAI launches ChatGPT Gov for U.S. Government Agencies

    This week, in a significant development amidst the backdrop of intensifying AI competitiveness, OpenAI has unveiled ChatGPT Gov

    This customised version of the AI-powered chatbot platform is tailored specifically for U.S government agencies, providing them with an advanced tool to access and utilise Open AI technology.

    Microsoft announced back in 2023 that its Azure OpenAI Service was available for Azure Government customers. The new service will allow government agencies to use generative AI capabilities in a way that meets security and privacy requirements. OpenAI can now also be deployed in Microsoft Gov Data Centres.

    What is ChatGPT Gov?

    So ChatGPT Gov mirrors many capabilities of OpenAI’s enterprise-focused tier, ChatGPT Enterprise. By leveraging this platform, Open AI say that government agencies can deploy specific OpenAI models on both Microsoft Azure commercial and government clouds as well as using Microsoft’s own Azure AI models for example. This integration brings enhanced management of security, privacy, and compliance concerns, which is crucial for handling non-public sensitive and classified data.

    ChatGPT Gov also aims to streamline internal authorisation processes, making it easier for agencies to implement OpenAI’s tools effectively as easily with the relevant guard rails in place.

    What about Azure Open AI for Gov

    Microsoft Open AI, enables federal, state, and local government agencies to use GPT-3, GPT-4 and 4o along with embeddings via the Azure OpenAI Service REST APIs. This capability helps to improve natural language-to-code translation, semantic search, content generation, and summarisation and for Gov to build and use Microsoft Open AI services across Gov cloud.

    Gen AI in Government

    Since its introduction, ChatGPT has already seen extensive adoption across the U.S. government as well as here in the UK. I’m. Personally working with a dozen or so local governments and councils here in the UK on AI adoption.

    Open AI says that more than 90,000 users from more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies have collectively sent over 18 million messages to support their daily operations. This widespread usage demonstrates Open AI and Microsoft’s potential to transform government workflows and decision-making processes.

    What about Copilot

    While ChatGPT Gov offers a robust AI solution for government agencies, it’s worth exploring how Microsoft 365 Copilot also serves these needs. Microsoft

    For many organisations using or exploring Gen AI tools like ChatGPT, many are using a combination of tools and services from different vendors. Open AI and Microsoft are tightly partnered.

    Microsoft 365 Copilot is built on Open AI (which in turns runs in Microsoft Azure) and integrates seamlessly with existing Microsoft 365 tools, providing personalised assistance across a range of applications such as Word, Excel, and Outlook and also supports the building (both professional and low code) of autonomous AI agents, and scheduled prompts (coming soon).

    This integration ensures that users can enhance productivity and streamline tasks within the familiar Microsoft ecosystem.  So how does Microsoft 365 Copilot differ to ChatGPT?

    ChatGPT

    • Targeted for AI-powered chat and conversation but also supports connectors and extebsibikity to other services via extensions and APIs.
    • Recently launched the ChatGPT Gov version for U.S. government agencies and are expected to do similar in other global regions.
    • Deployable on Microsoft Azure commercial and government clouds
    • Doesn’t provide native integration into line of business office apps and services like Office 365, Power Platform and Fabric.

    Microsoft 365 Copilot

    • Customised version of ChatGPT that runs in Microsoft 365 Tennant boundaries.
    • Provides chat based conversations and access to company agents and connectors on PAYG basis or via Microsoft 365 Copilot subscription.
    • Embedded within Microsoft 365 applications like Word, Excel, Teams, and Outlook as well as Dynamics 365 and Power Platform.
    • Designed to enhances productivity and efficiency within the existing Microsoft ecosystem and seen as add on to Microsoft 365 on a per user per month billing method.
    • Can provides contextual assistance and automation for daily tasks and workflows through agents and autonomous agents (public preview).

    In conclusion, while both ChatGPT and Microsoft 365 Copilot are powerful AI tools, they cater to slightly different use cases

    US Government agencies may find ChatGPT Gov particularly beneficial for secure, AI-driven interactions (in place of the general version of ChatGPT) , whereas Microsoft 365 Copilot excels in enhancing productivity and providing natively and seemlessly integration into their wider app services and data. Gov agencies using Microsoft 365 Copilot and Azure AI or Open AI deployed in Azure also benefit from enhanced controls and security protection.

    It’s great to see Open AI providing dedicated models and instances for central and federal governments.

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    Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat: Everything you need to know including features, agents, pricing, and how to access it.

    Copilot Chat on a Phone

    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.

    1. 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.
    2. Copilot within the Office 365 Apps such as Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word etc is only available with Microsoft 365 Copilot.
    3. 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

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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;

    1. A customer service rep can ask a customer relationship management (CRM) agent for account details before a customer meeting.
    2. 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.
    3. 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:

    1. Track each “message” sent to the AI whereby each message costs $0.01, billed monthly.
    2. 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.

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    Comparative Analysis of Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI and Cisco AI Defense

    Introduction

    The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into enterprise environments has introduced new security concerns. As adoption of AI continues at “cautious” pace, organisations must ensure the safety of the hundreds of AI apps that employees use (or try to use) sanctioned or unsanctioned as well as any AI applications built or customised by the organisation. This affects both data governance, exposure, and leakage as well as compliance.

    Last week, Cisco announced the upcoming availability of their new AI Defense Service. Whilst other provides claim similar protections, Cisco AI Defense is different. This blog aims to provide a comparison between this new service from Cisco and Microsoft’s Defender for Cloud and AI product.

    I have aimed to not only compare their key features, similarities, and differences, but also to look at how both offerings can indeed help organisations based on specific business scenarios and needs.

    Cisco AI Defense

    Overview

    Due to be released in March 2025, Cisco’s new AI Defense works slightly differently to Microsoft’s offering and is focused on securing AI applications throughout their entire lifecycle. AI Defense integrates with Cisco’s extensive network infrastructure portfolio providing specialised AI security measures. 

    Business and technology leaders can't afford to sacrifice safety for speed when embracing AI. In a dynamic landscape where competition is fierce, speed decides the winners. Fused into the fabric of the network, Cisco AI Defense combines the unique ability to detect and protect against threats when developing and accessing AI applications without tradeoffs". Jeetu Patel | Exec VP | Cisco.

    Whilst not released yet, it will I have based this product release information I have read.

    Cisco AI Defense focused on two primary areas of protection.

    1. Accessing AI Applications: Recognising that whilst third-party AI applications can significantly boost productivity but may pose risks such as data leakage or malicious downloads. Cisco AI Defense is designed to give IT and SecOps full visibility into app usage and can enforce policies to ensure safe, secure access.
    2. Building and Running AI Applications: Cisco acknowledge that developers require the freedom to innovate without worrying about vulnerabilities or safety issues in their AI models. AI Defense discovers your AI footprint, validates models to identify vulnerabilities, and applies guardrails to enforce security measures in real-time across both public and private clouds

    Key Features

    • End-to-End Protection: Protects both the development and use of AI applications, ensuring safety and security throughout the AI lifecycle.
    • Network-Level Visibility: Leverages Cisco’s unmatched network visibility and control to detect and protect against threats.
    • AI Model and Application Validation: Identifies potential safety and security risks with automated vulnerability assessments.
    • Real-Time Protection: Offers robust real-time protection against adversarial attacks, including prompt injections, denial of service, and data leakage.
    • AI Cloud Visibility: Automatically inventories AI models and connected data sources across distributed environments.

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI

    Overview

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI is designed to offer comprehensive security for AI applications and cloud services. Being a Microsoft product, it integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 and their wider cloud ecosystem, providing robust threat protection and security posture management. It also supports multi-cloud environments making it suitable for enterprise organisations.

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI’s primary protection areas are based upon:

    1. Threat Protection and Security Posture Management: Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI provides real-time threat protection for AI workloads and visibility into AI components, identifying vulnerabilities and offering built-in recommendations to strengthen security.
    2. Integration and Continuous Monitoring: It integrates with Defender XDR for centralised alerts and continuous monitoring, ensuring security measures are enforced across hybrid and multicloud environments.

    Key Features

    • AI Threat Protection: Provides real-time threat detection for generative AI applications, including data leakage, data poisoning, jailbreak, and credential theft.Real-time identification and mitigation of threats to generative AI applications.
    • AI Security Posture Management: Continuous monitoring and management of the security posture of AI applications, with automated vulnerability discovery and remediation recommendations.
    • Cloud App Security: Protection for SaaS applications, offering visibility into cloud app usage and protection against threats.
    • Prompt Evidence: Includes suspicious segments from user prompts and model responses in security alerts.
    • Extended Detection and Response (XDR): Integration with Defender XDR to centralise AI /workload alerts and correlate incidents for efficient incident management.
    • Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: Seamlessly integrates with Azure, Microsoft 365, and other Microsoft security solutions and workloads.

    Comparative Analysis

    In short, both Microsoft and Cisco are providing products which complement their wider security portfolios to help customers better protect their organisations in the rapidly evolving world and adoption of AI technologies.

    Similarities

    • AI Security: Both solutions focus on helping organisations secure AI applications and provide end-to-end visibility into their AI workloads.
    • Real-Time Threat Detection: Each offers real-time threat detection and protection, ensuring prompt identification and mitigation of security threats.
    • Integration with respective Ecosystems: Both solutions integrate with their respective broader security ecosystems (Cisco for Cisco products, Microsoft for Microsoft products).

    Differences

    Whilst both focus on security across the customers domain with a focus on understanding and protecting against (and keeping control of) AI based applications, there are clear, there are some subtle and unique differences.

    Scopes of Use

    Cisco AI Defense Specialises more in securing AI applications throughout their lifecycle including home grown developed services, where as Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI is more focused on providing comprehensive security for both AI applications and SaaS applications.

    Platform Integration

    Cisco AI Defense provides deep integration with Cisco’s network infrastructure and other Cisco security products. Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI has seamless integration with the wider Microsoft’s ecosystem, including Azure, Microsoft 365, Dynamics, Power Apps as well as being part of the wider Microsoft security solutions.

    Capabilities

    Cisco AI Defense places a key emphasis on AI-specific security measures that include automated vulnerability assessments and real-time protection against adversarial attacks.

    Whilst similar in approach, Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI offers broader security features, including threat protection for both AI and cloud services, and integrates with Microsoft’s XDR for centralised incident management.

    When to choose which?

    When to choose Cisco AI Defense

    • Best For: Organisations with a significant focus on AI development and deployment, particularly those heavily invested in Cisco’s network infrastructure.
    • Primary Benefits: AI model validation, runtime protection, and extensive integration with Cisco’s network and security products.

    When to Choose Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI

    • Best For: Organisations utilising a mix of AI and SaaS applications, especially those heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (Azure, Microsoft 365, etc.).
    • Primary Benefits: Comprehensive threat protection, tight integration with Microsoft 365, Azure, Dynamics 365 and existing Microsoft security solutions.

    Case Scenario: Ficticous Enterprise Organisation

    Customer Profile: “A large enterprise organisation with a complex infrastructure, several hundred applications (mainly SaaS) as well as in-house and hosted custom applications running in Public Cloud (Azure), mix of productivity tools (Microsoft 365), AI-powered assistants (Microsoft Copilot and Chat GPT), multi-campus network environment (Cisco Meraki), Cloud Voice (Microsoft Teams), Space Management Tools (Cisco Spaces) and network performance monitoring (Cisco ThousandEyes).

    Organisation  has and uses Microsoft 365 E5. They have a contact centre based on Cisco Webex and use Microsoft Teams Meeting Rooms with Cisco endpoints. User devices as mix of Lenovo and Surface. They also use Cisco Duo. They have a Cisco EA.

    They are in the middle of a Microsoft 365 Copilot pilot with around 20% of their organisation but aware that some other departments may have other shadow AI tools. They are also looking at building their own apps that will use a magnitude of AI agents and connectors.”

    Cisco AI Defense vs Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI

    Given the complex infrastructure and diverse applications of this large enterprise organisation, the differences, strengths and similarities of each really stand out. Appreciating this a “made up” organisation, you can see where and why each product has its strength and merits.

    Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI

    Given the extensive use of Microsoft services and the presence of Microsoft 365 E5, Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI is highly recommended. It offers comprehensive security coverage for both AI applications and SaaS applications, integrating seamlessly with the existing Microsoft ecosystem. The core services are also included within the Microsoft 365 E5 subscription.

    Key Benefits:

    • Broad Threat Protection: Covers both AI applications and cloud services, ensuring robust security across the organization.
    • Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem: Seamless integration with Azure, Microsoft 365, and the organisations other Microsoft applications and security solutions.
    • Centralised Management: Facilitates centralised management and monitoring, improving operational efficiency.

    Cisco AI Defense

    Considering the organisation’s significant investment in Cisco networking solutions and the presence of Cisco Meraki, Cisco Spaces, and Cisco ThousandEyes, Cisco AI Defense is also recommended. It provides specialised AI security measures and integrates well with Cisco’s network infrastructure.

    Key Benefits:

    • AI-Specific Security: Focuses on securing AI applications throughout their lifecycle, providing tailored protection.
    • Deep Integration with Cisco Infrastructure: Enhances overall network security by integrating with Cisco’s network and security products.
    • Real-Time Protection: Offers robust real-time protection against adversarial attacks, ensuring continuous integrity of AI operations.

    Combined Approach

    Given the organisation’s diverse IT infrastructure and the need for comprehensive security, a combined approach using both Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI and Cisco AI Defense is advisable. This dual solution ensures that all aspects of the IT infrastructure are covered, from AI applications to cloud services and networking.

    By leveraging both solutions, the organization can achieve a robust, integrated security framework that covers all their IT needs, ensuring comprehensive protection and efficient management.

    Budget and Management Considerations

    • Budget: While using both solutions might seem costly, the investment is likely justified by the enhanced security and centralised management capabilities.
    • Management: Both solutions offer centralised management, making it easier to oversee and control security measures. The tools are managed across the respective product suites which are already in use within the organisation minimising additonal admin / sec ops over head.

    Conclusion

    Cisco AI Defense and Microsoft Defender for Cloud and AI are both robust solutions tailored to different security needs and infrastructures. Understanding their strengths and integration capabilities allows organisations to make informed decisions, achieving comprehensive and integrated security frameworks.

    Cisco AI Defense is new and will be available in March 2025, so please do let me know if I’ve missed anything obvious…

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    Microsoft 365 Personal, Home and a Family get Copilot for three….

    Microsoft 365 Price Rises

    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.

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