M365 Copilot Retention Policies

As you may know, M365 Copilot Chat data is available for organizations to retain and perform eDiscovery on for legal purposes.  Up until now, Copilot interactions data shared the same policy with Teams chats.  Microsoft received feedback that many organizations wanted to separate these policies so that they can treat Copilot and Teams chat data separately with different policies.

Hearing this feedback, new data lifecycle management policy has been created and dedicated to Microsoft Copilot.  This enables organizations to specify separate retention and deletion policies for Copilot and Teams chat data.

References:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsecurityandcompliance/new-m365-copilot-data-lifecycle-management-options/4304636

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/retention-policies-copilot

M365 Copilot Government Community Cloud (GCC) Generally Available (GA) Announcement

We had a major announcement.  M365 Copilot GCC is now GA.  This has been a long-time coming.  Here are the important points.

• Phase 1 was released on 12/13/2024
• Phase 2 is scheduled for Q1 CY15
• What is in Phase 1?
• All the core features you need to start adoption. 
• BizChat, M365 Apps (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), Outlook, Teams Chat / Channel, and Intelligent Meeting Recap
• It is important to note that Web Search (web grounding) is OFF by default, and admin controls to turn on Web Search will not be delivered in this release.  Timeline is TBD.
• What is in Phase 2?
• Teams Meeting Copilot (real-time), OneNote, Stream, Planner, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint, Loop and SharePoint Agents

Resources:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/publicsectorblog/microsoft-365-copilot-gcc-generally-available-starting-december-13th-empowering-/4356680

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/office-365-platform-service-description/microsoft-365-copilot

Microsoft Forms and Copilot

Microsoft Forms now can leverage Copilot.  If you are not too familiar with Microsoft Forms, it is a solution that enables you to create form, knowledge checks, surveys, polls, questionnaires, registration, etc.  Microsoft Forms are very easy to create, you can get real-time responses, built-in analytics, customization presentation options, etc.

Copilot will now work and streamline with you the creation of a form.  It is pretty amazing.  For instance:

• Ask Copilot for assistance in authoring a new form.  For instance, tell Copilot you want to write a new employee survey to gauge employee satisfaction level.  From there, you can refine and edit based on your needs.
• Once the form is complete, Copilot can offer smart suggestions to make it more inclusive, visually appealing, etc.
• Before you are ready to publish the form, Copilot can help write a default message about the form.  Copilot can also be used to author reminder messages for the form.
• In addition to forms, Copilot can help you create quizzes.  You can provide Copilot content, and then it will generate questions.

Pretty neat stuff. 

References

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftformsblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-copilot-in-microsoft-forms-%E2%80%93-ignite-2024/4303638

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/microsoft-forms-service-description

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/online-surveys-polls-quizzes 

New Copilot Outlook Meeting Experiences

There have been some incredible new capabilities and use cases that are now are available with Outlook and Copilot.

Some of the new use cases are:

• Ask copilot to find time with you and someone in your organization, “Schedule a meeting with my manager for next week” or “Schedule a meeting with Caitlin for next week”.  Even ask Copilot to find and reserve time on your calendar.
• Leverage Copilot to draft meeting agendas.  Provide Copilot an outline of topics and an agenda will be written.
• Leverage Copilot to schedule a meeting based on an email thread (sometimes they can be very long), and have Copilot summarize the thread, write the agenda, and find times that work for everyone.

Reference

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/outlook/what%E2%80%99s-new-and-coming-to-microsoft-outlook-%E2%80%93-ignite-2024/4297199

M365 Copilot with SharePoint Pages

Copilot in SharePoint has now been delivered.  You probably have already been using Microsoft Copilot in M365 Apps like Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, etc.  You can now leverage several of the came capabilities when authoring content in your SharePoint Pages.

Some of the key features are:

• Auto Rewrite: Which will rewrite content making it cleaner and professional for broad consumption.
• Change Length: Copilot will rewrite content so that you can fit it in pages that may have limited space.
• Change Tone: Copilot will modify your content to better deliver as causal, professional, enthusiastic, etc.

This feature started rolling out in WW in Sept 2024.  This does require a M365 Copilot license to leverage.

Reference

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/spblog/rewrite-with-copilot-in-sharepoint-tailor-your-content-with-ease/4319824

Microsoft 365 Video Unification of Stream and Clipchamp

Microsoft announced that they are spearheading a new, cohesive Microsoft video experience by evolving Clipchamp and Stream into a single, streamlined video solution that harnesses the power of both services.  Clipchamp is a video editing capability and Stream is an enterprise video delivery experience.  This integration brings deeper alignment with the benefits of OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online.

Users can continue to store video in SharePoint and OneDrive like they do with documents.  Clipchamp will provide more robust and versatile video solutions to enhance the productivity with video.  This is simply a unification of these capabilities, and users are not losing any capabilities.  By bringing together the player, video homepage, editor and capture tools into a single cohesive experience, barriers are removed for the creation and management of video content.  The goal to remove all barriers between creating and then consuming video.

The video playback capabilities have been enhanced.  With AI, video playback and discovery is made significantly easier for users.

One of the new features is the ability to share a clip from within a video giving video authors and viewers the ability to customize their own start and end time.  This allows important video content to be targeted and then shared without having to go through complex video editing.

There are several other new capabilities:

• Enhanced meet capture, camera and screen recoding capabilities
• Brand kits
• Templating
• Edit video through recorded transcript (really cool)
• Summarize video with M365 Copilot
• Simplify video focus

Note Clipchamp Standard is available through M365 and Office 365 suites.

Reference:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/the-future-of-video-in-microsoft-365/4338960

Windows 365 Overview

Doing a write up on Windows 365 (W365).

What is W365?

W365 is a SaaS service providing virtual machines at a fixed price per user per month basis.  It is managed like physical devices via Microsoft Intune making it very easy for administrators to manage.  The service works great for hybrid work environments providing secure work from anywhere Windows experiences.

What is the cost savings between W365 and Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD)?

The cost savings can vary based on the specific use case and deployment model.  W365 offers a predictable, per-user, per-month pricing model which is beneficial to budget conscious organizations giving them a known and predictable expenditure.  AVD follows a consumption-based pricing model which is more cost effective for organizations that need to scale up and down resources.  Additionally, AVD does provide pooled AVD desktops that can be used to consolidate several users in a shared VM.  Plus, AVD allows for customizable VM configurations which can help optimize costs based on specific performance and resource requirements.

What are the differences between W365 and AVD?

For W365:

• User Experience: W365 offers personal, persistent desktop experience giving the user a dedicated Cloud PC.
• Management: W365 is designed for simplicity and ease of management.  It integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Intune.
• Cost Model: W365 is a fixed per user, per month basis.
• Deployment: W365 is quick to set up.
• Use Cases: W365 is ideal for organizations with the need for personal, persistent desktops, quick onboarding, and looking to reduce VDI management costs.
• Technical Architecture: W365 is built on top of AVD components but with a different transaction model.

For AVD:

• User Experience: AVD supports both personal desktop and pooled desktop (allowing multiple users to share the same VM).
• Management: AVD offers more flexibility and customization options allowing it to be tailored with more complex organizations.
• Cost Model: AVD follows a consumption based pricing which can be mote cost effective for organizations that has fluctuation. 
• Deployment: AVD requires more expertise to set up and manage, yet it provides robust security configuration customization for a complex organization.
• Use Cases: Suitable for organizations with varying workloads.
• Technical Architecture: Provides a scalable and secure platform for delivering virtual desktops, leveraging Windows Server Multi-sessions OS to optimize resource utilization.

What are the different W365 Plans?

Standard Plan: This plan provides a suitable solution for light users who need some M365 desktop apps and web apps. It includes 2 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage.

Premium Plan: Designed for users who leverage a lot of desktop apps beyond M365 apps. It includes 4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage.

You can buy additional sizes

4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 256 GB storage

4 vCPU, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB storage

8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 128 GB storage

8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 256 GB storage

8 vCPU, 32 GB RAM, 512 GB storage

16 vCPU, 64 GB RAM, 512 GB storage

What are the limitations of W365?

• W365 can be higher total cost than AVD.  Yet AVD requires additional personal costs and time to manage.
• W365 has configuration limitations when compared to AVD.
• Disk performance cannot be optimized for highly complex operations.
• Data usage limits on outbound data.
• W365 does not provide a GPU option.
• W365 users cannot exceed the original selection for storage capacity limits.

What are the W365 deployment models?

W365 offers two primary deployment models.

First is Microsoft hosted network.  This option is ideal for simplicity, reliability and scalability.  It supports the Microsoft Entra join identity model and does not require an Azure subscription or expertise.  Microsoft sets up and fully manages the infrastructure and related services required to deliver functional Cloud PCs to users.  This model is recommended for its ease of use and minimal management overhead.

Second is Azure Network Connections (ANC).  This option supports both Microsoft Entra join and Microsoft Entra hybrid join identity models.  It allows organizations to use their own Azure subscriptions and manage the network infrastructure.  This model provides more control and flexibility.

W365 and Hybrid Join

Hybrid joined devices in W365 are those that are joined to an on-premises Active Directory and registered with Microsoft Entra ID.  These devices require network line of sight to your on-premises domain controllers periodically.  This is beneficial for organizations that need to maintain a certain on-premises policies and controls with the cloud.  Without this connection, the devices can become unusable.  This setup allows for the management of devices using group policy objects (GPO) and Intune MDM, providing flexible and comprehensive management.

What is Windows 365 Link?

W365 Link is a mini desktop PC that exists exclusively to connect to the Windows 365 cloud service rather than running W365 locally.  It offers a secure instance access to your W365 environment.  This device is designed for desk-based users and is well suited for enabling secure productivity in shared workspaces such as hot desks, call centers, reception desks, labs, etc.

References

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-365/enterprise

https://www.microsoft.com/en/windows-365/business/all-pricing