Office 365 Weekly Digest | November 10 – 16, 2019

Welcome to the November 10 – 16, 2019 edition of the Office 365 Weekly Digest.

There were eight features added to the Office 365 Roadmap last week, including updates for To Do, SharePoint and Teams. One update of note is the Microsoft 365 Usage Analytics Power BI Application – the long-anticipated replacement for the Power BI Adoption content pack for Office 365.

There are no new events, but a few new sessions for existing event series. The spotlight event of the week is “Microsoft Teams: Plan your upgrade (Start here!)” webinar on Tuesday, November 19th at 8am Pacific.

Blog posts in last week’s roundup include Ignite 2019 recaps for Teams, Adoption, Office 365 ProPlus, Information Protection, Stream and Search.

Noteworthy item highlights include an update on running PowerShell cmdlets for large numbers of users in Office 365, information on what makes up a good Zero Trust strategy, a new report-only mode for Conditional Access, and a list of all the Microsoft 365 related videos from Microsoft Mechanics “Live” series at Ignite 2019.

OFFICE 365 ROADMAP

Below are the items added to the Office 365 Roadmap last week…

Description	Feature ID	Estimated Release	Details
People cards for SharePoint list and library web parts	57814	Q2 CY2020	Added: 14 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: SharePoint Now, when you see a person’s name or face within a SharePoint List or Library web part, you can hover over it and reveal their people card. You can then see their contact information and their relevant content that you have permissions to see – right in context without leaving the web part experience on the SharePoint page.
Notifications for shared lists in Microsoft To Do (AAD users) created with SDS	56871	December CY2019	Added: 15 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: To Do Customers who use list sharing in Microsoft To Do with their AAD account will begin receiving push notifications for activity in shared lists, such as task creation and completion.
Share extension for Microsoft To Do on iOS	56873	December CY2019	Added: 15 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: To Do – iOS For anywhere the share option appears on iOS devices, customers will be able to share the item to Microsoft To Do, where it will be automatically made into a task.
Drag & drop to create list / task in Microsoft To Do on Android	56875	December CY2019	Added: 15 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: To Do – Android Customers using Microsoft To Do on Android in split view will be able to drag and drop text or files from web browsers or other apps into To Do to create lists, tasks, steps or attach a file as task attachment.
New Azure AD end-user account page	57055	December CY2019	Added: 15 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: Azure AD The Azure AD end-user profile page is getting refreshed and renamed to My Account.
Natural language processing date detection in Microsoft To Do (iOS)	56876	November CY2019	Added: 15 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: To Do – iOS When customers using Microsoft To Do create a task on iOS, natural language detection will recognize and parse dates in the entry bar, to automatically set a due date or reminder.
Microsoft 365 Usage Analytics Power BI Application	58080	December CY2019	Added: 16 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: Microsoft 365, Power BI To help you better understand your usage of Microsoft 365 we have create a new Power BI application. This application will replace the existing usage analytics Power BI content pack. The new application includes the same data as the content pack, but has an updated layout and graphics.
Microsoft Teams – New location for New Chat button, Recent, and Contacts tabs in Chat app	58033	November CY2019	Added: 16 November 2019 Status: In development App / Service: Teams We’re changing the location of New Chat button, and moving the Contacts and Recent view options to a drop down in the Chat list header, as opposed to standalone tabs. The New Chat button will now be located at the top of the chats list.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Learn Tips for Taking Teams to the Next Level: Part 1 – Effective Workspaces

Designed for those who are already familiar with Microsoft Teams, our Tips & Tricks sessions offer insights and best practices. Learn how Teams can help organize your workday and make it easier to stay connected with colleagues. In Part 1 – Effective Workspaces, you will explore ways to determine the best approach for creating workspaces for projects and workgroups. After this session, you will be able to: (1) Decide if your team is best served by a team and channels or a group chat and meetings, (2) Create a workspace for your team to provide the best collaboration experience, (3) Use a personal team to simplify your productivity, and (4) Determine best practices for Teams. Access the consolidated on-demand version of Tips and Tricks here: https://aka.ms/teamstipsandtricksondemand.

Getting Started with Microsoft Teams

This 60-minute session introduces you to the key activities needed to get started with Microsoft Teams today. From setting your profile, to running a meeting, users will leave this session with the foundation needed to use Teams with confidence. The session is also available on demand at https://aka.ms/teamsgettingstartedondemand.

Microsoft Teams: Plan your upgrade (Start here!)

Discover everything you need to facilitate a successful upgrade to Teams. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Understand why a formal plan is crucial for upgrade success, (2) Identify the steps to the upgrade success framework, (3) Recognize common attributes of successful customers, and (4) Create and implement their own upgrade plan. The audience for this session is All (Business Sponsors, IT Admins, User Readiness/Change Manager, Project Lead).

Microsoft Teams: Seamless Collaboration with Microsoft 365

Are you still sending an e-mail with an attachment to your teammates when you want to collaborate on a file? How fast do they respond? How do you know if they are working on the file? How do you manage version control? With Microsoft 365 tools for teamwork, you can seamlessly collaborate on files with your team members. Using Microsoft Teams, you can invite your teammates into an environment where they can effectively collaborate and engage in a persistent conversation. Join us for this session and explore how to avoid productivity sinkholes and increase productivity. This interactive 2-hour session will give you the opportunity to test drive Microsoft Teams in a live cloud environment. A trained facilitator will guide you as you apply these tools to your own business scenarios and experience how they can work for you. Each session is limited to 12 participants, reserve your seat now.

Make the switch from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams: End User Guidance

Designed specifically for Skype for Business end users, this course offers everything you need to help make the transition to Microsoft Teams. We’ll focus on the core communication capabilities you use today, chat and meetings, as well as provide an orientation to additional collaboration functionality Teams has to offer. The session is also available on demand at https://aka.ms/fromskypetoteamsondemand.

Microsoft Teams: Identify your upgrade approach

Determine the most suitable approach based on your current Skype for Business implementation and upgrade goals. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Understand common scenarios and upgrade approaches, (2) Visualize the user experience for each approach, and (3) Determine the optimal upgrade approach for your organization. IT Admins are the primary audience for this session.

Learn Tips for Taking Teams to the Next Level: Part 2 – Get More from Teams

Designed for those who are already familiar with Microsoft Teams, our Tips & Tricks sessions offer insights and best practices. Learn how Teams can help organize your workday and make it easier to stay connected with colleagues. In Part 2 – Get More from Teams, you will learn tips and tricks for managing and organizing work and communications in Teams. After this session, you will be able to: (1) Implement strategies to manage and organize your work, (2) Leverage formatting best practices to help get your messages noticed (and responded to), (3) Easily find files, chats and projects, and (4) Simplify your workday. Access the consolidated on-demand version of Tips and Tricks here: https://aka.ms/teamstipsandtricksondemand.

Run Effective Meetings with Microsoft Teams

Have you spent significant time and resources to prepare for a meeting and still felt it wasn’t productive? Have you attended a meeting only to leave feeling like not much was accomplished? Join this class to learn how to make your meetings engaging, productive and effective. Microsoft Teams can help make your meetings worth showing up for. After this session, you will be able to: (1) Use Teams for your entire meeting experience, (2) Record your meeting, making it easy for those who couldn’t attend to get caught up, (3) Keep important meetings at your fingertips by pinning them for easy access, and (4) Assess which audio and video devices are best for your meeting needs. You can access the recorded version of this session on-demand at Run Effective Meetings with Microsoft Teams – On Demand.

Microsoft Teams: Ready your end users

Design a user readiness strategy to help your users love and adopt Teams. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Recognize factors that influence user acceptance and adoption, (2) Define core value messaging for Teams in your organization, and (3) Outline your awareness, training and support activities. The audience for this session is: User Readiness/Change Manager.

Microsoft Teams: Implement your upgrade approach

Execute your defined upgrade approach as part of your formal upgrade plan. By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: (1) Recognize the upgrade settings in your O365 tenant admin portal, (2) Understand technical tips and considerations for a successful upgrade, and (3) Apply the appropriate settings in the Portal to execute your upgrade. The primary audience for this session is IT Admins.

Customer Immersion Experience: Protecting Your Sensitive Information

Data needs to be protected wherever it’s stored and whenever it travels, and you need the tools to monitor policy violations and risky behavior. Join us to explore how to implement a comprehensive and integrated approach across devices, apps, cloud services, and on-premises. During this 2-hour interactive session, you will explore how to: (1) Identify, monitor and automatically protect sensitive information across Office 365, (2) Help classify and protect documents and email, and (3) Use policies to enable BYOD scenarios by protecting data at the app level. Each session is limited to 12 participants, reserve your seat now.

Customer Immersion Experience: Protecting Identity, Apps, Data and Devices

Identity is at the center of security: don’t compromise when it comes to your company’s valuable information. Join us to explore how to use secure authentication, govern access, get comprehensive protection and set the right identity foundation. During this 2-hour interactive session, you will explore how to: (1) Enable password protection, (2) Bring multi-factor authentication to your Windows 10 users, (3) Protect your users and data through Office 365 multi-factor authentication, and (4) Use conditional access to protect across devices, locations and apps. Each session is limited to 12 participants, reserve your seat now.

Hockey Stick Adoption of Teams utilizing People Manager Framework Webcast

When: Monday, December 9, 2019 9:00am – 10:00am PT | On December 9th 12 noon eastern (9am pacific) join Microsoft’s Michael Gannotti and Pradeep Bethi, as Pradeep presents the opportunities, approaches, and resources available with the People Manager Framework. The framework is designed to help organizations increase adoption of Microsoft Teams. During the session Pradeep will be addressing the following areas: (1) How to make Teams adoption easy for end-users, (2) How and why should we think beyond chat and meeting, (3) How to create a motion for Microsoft Teams as a platform, (4) How to utilize People Manager Framework to create hockey stick adoption of Microsoft Teams, and (5) How to get funded. Along the way Pradeep will field your questions around adoption and the People Manager Framework. Don’t forget to add the event to your calendar!

Microsoft Teams: Enabling Real-time Collaboration for Cross-functional Teams

How do you bring various stakeholders together across multiple teams to achieve your goal? Do you wish you could reduce the number of meetings or e-mails while still being able to solicit feedback, keep everyone informed, and get consensus? Join us to explore how to bring everything together in a shared workspace with Microsoft Teams. Learn how to chat, meet, share files, and work with other business applications to effectively engage others. This interactive 2-hour session will give you the opportunity to try it for yourself and test drive Microsoft Teams in a live cloud environment. A trained facilitator will guide you as you apply these tools to your own business scenarios and experience how they can work for you. Each session is limited to 12 participants, reserve your seat now.

Customer Immersion Experience: Simplifying Your Privacy and Compliance Journey

Your business needs to control how sensitive data is managed. Join us and explore how to assess your compliance risk, protect sensitive and business critical data, and respond efficiently to data discovery requests. During this 2-hour interactive session, you will explore how to: (1) Simplify assessment of compliance risk, (2) Integrate protection and governance of data, and (3) Intelligently respond to data discovery requests. Each session is limited to 12 participants, reserve your seat now.

Customer Immersion Experience: Protecting Assets and Empowering Your Defenders

Today’s workforce can work from anywhere, on any device, and on any app. Security teams need to understand threat signals from disconnected products and optimize security with minimal complexity. During this 2-hour interactive session, you will explore how to: (1) Safeguard users from malware attacks such as phishing and spoofing with Office 365, (2) Use the Windows Defender ecosystem to proactively monitor and protect your users, (3) Utilize Office 365 ATP to help protect users from bad links and attachments, and (4) Let machine learning and automation protect users from threats. Each session is limited to 12 participants, reserve your seat now.

BLOG ROUNDUP

Microsoft Teams Calling, Meetings, and Devices at Ignite 2019: that’s a wrap!

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week at Microsoft Ignite 2019 in Orlando and participated in keynotes, breakout sessions, and spent time on the expo floor. There were many announcements for Microsoft Teams shared across the week. And for those that were unable to attend in person you can watch the sessions on-demand. The following is a list of sessions related to Teams meetings, calling, devices, and transition planning.

Adoption Overview from Microsoft Ignite

Achieving real value from use of Microsoft 365 services was a hot topic at Microsoft Ignite 2019. For those of you who may not have been able to attend, this post includes a handy viewing guide for some of the top sessions. We also had key announcements regarding our adoption tools at the show. They were: (1) Microsoft 365 Learning Pathways general availability and multi-lingual capability set for release in Q1/CY20, (2) Teams app for M365LP integration, (3) Advisor for Teams automated planning tools for Teams deployments, and (4) Productivity Score announcement.

New functionality to make it easier to customize, manage, and secure Office 365 ProPlus

At Microsoft, we’re committed to protecting your data and helping your organization stay current and secure in today’s fast-moving, complex technology environment. And we’ve designed new innovations for Office 365 ProPlus to do just that. As announced at Microsoft Ignite 2019 last week, we introduced: (1) An update to the Office cloud policy service, (2) Deeper integration for managing Office 365 for Mac using Jamf Pro, (3) New tools for Configuration Manager to better plan Office deployment projects, (4) New security features for the Office client, and (5) New Group Policy setting to enable users to install Insider builds. Together, these new functionalities help you more efficiently adopt, deploy, and manage Office 365 ProPlus—regardless of the size of your organization and the platform you choose.

Microsoft Information Protection – Ignite 2019 recap

Ignite 2019 is now over and it was a great event and the biggest one for Microsoft Information Protection this year. As Microsoft Information Protection is a solution for consistent labeling across all Microsoft 365 platform, we have many partners that collaborate and announce their investments and releases. This year we had major announcements from Microsoft 365 Security and Compliance, Office 365, SharePoint, Azure Information Protection, Power BI and many more. This post is a short recap and references to all the great updates that was announced for Microsoft Information Protection during Ignite 2019.

What’s New in Microsoft Stream – Microsoft Ignite 2019

Video is how we learn, share ideas, and build personal connections. Microsoft Stream continues to expand on the promise of delivering intelligent video to organizations using video to communicate, inform and engage employees. New Stream innovations help infuse AI driven productivity, easier expertise sharing and better accessibility into the modern workplace. A quick roadmap summary for these updates: (1) AI powered voice enhance eliminates background noise in recorded videos – generally available Q2 CY20, (2) Additional languages for transcripts and captions – generally available now, (3) Record, edit and personalize videos with the Stream mobile app – generally available Q1 CY20, and (4) PowerApps integration to support Stream videos – generally available Q1 CY20.

Microsoft Search at Microsoft Ignite Resources and Recap

Microsoft Ignite may be over, but it’s not too late to get caught up on anything and everything Microsoft Search from Orlando. The Microsoft Search adoption kit includes several ready to use templates for email, Teams, Yammer, and SharePoint to help your Office 365 users understand how Microsoft Search helps them be more productive every day. You’ll be set up for a successful roll-out, no matter what your business challenges. Check out these resources at https://aka.ms/MicrosoftSearch. You can also access new developer resources such as APIs, SDKs and open source projects from Microsoft Search at https://github.com/microsoft-search. The post also contains a list of all Search-related sessions from Ignite 2019.

NOTEWORTHY

Microsoft Ignite 2019 Session Recap: Microsoft Power Apps

At the Microsoft Ignite 2019 Conference in Orlando, we announced many new features, and even a new name: Microsoft Power Apps. Each session had its recording posted shortly afterwards for those who missed it or for those tuning in at home. The entire catalog of videos is now available for viewing on demand. This post is a reference list of the sessions most relevant to Microsoft Power Apps. Included are also a few select sessions related to Microsoft Power Automate and many that are general to Microsoft Power Platform overall. For a more complete list of related sessions, please visit https://aka.ms/pa/ignite2019/sessions.

How it works: Backup and restore for Microsoft Authenticator

Hello! With the dust settling from Ignite 2019, let’s dive in with “how stuff works” – focusing on the Microsoft Authenticator’s backup and restore feature. Earlier this year we released the Microsoft Authenticator backup and restore feature on iOS and Android, which lets you easily move your accounts on the Authenticator app to a new device. Some folks have asked how we secure this process – in this blog, we’ll deep dive into how it works. In the descriptions that follows, a “strong authentication token” means the user has authenticated using multi factor authentication – for example, they used a password and then entered a code sent to their phone or email or signed in with Windows Hello or a FIDO token, depending on the factors they have previously enabled.

Updated: Running PowerShell cmdlets for large numbers of users in Office 365

Back in 2015 a PowerShell script, Start-RobustCloudCommand.ps1, was developed to help Exchange Admins that were moving to Exchange Online and were used to running commands against large numbers of users at once. The script has been a success with lots of positive feedback from customers who have used it to successfully run expensive operations against very large user sets. We’re happy to announce that Start-RobustCloudCommand is moving from a PS script to a PowerShell module. The new RobustCloudCommand module will be easier to install and use. It also includes support for accounts that are MFA enabled.

Zero Trust strategy—what good looks like

Zero Trust has managed to both inspire and confuse the cybersecurity industry at the same time. A significant reason for the confusion is that Zero Trust isn’t a specific technology, but a security strategy (and arguably the first formal strategy, as I recently heard Dr. Chase Cunningham, Principal Analyst at Forrester, aptly point out). Microsoft believes that the Zero Trust strategy should be woven throughout your organization’s architectures, technology selections, operational processes, as well as the throughout the culture of your organization and mindset of your people. Zero Trust will build on many of your existing security investments, so you may already have made progress on this journey. Microsoft is publishing learnings and guidance from many perspectives to help organizations understand, anticipate, and manage the implications of this new strategy. This guidance will continue to grow as we learn more.

Introducing Report-only mode for Conditional Access

The Azure Active Directory Identity Team had such an awesome time at Ignite last week! It was great to meet with so many customers and we learned so much. And we were blown away by the level of excitement customers expressed for the new capabilities we announced. We know many of you weren’t able to attend in person. Over the next two weeks we’re going to post more detailed blogs on the new capabilities we announced—so you can join in that excitement with us! To kick things off, we’d like to start with one of our most highly requested features, the public preview of Report-only mode! Customers tell us they love Conditional Access because they can apply the right controls in the right circumstances. But the big challenge with deploying Conditional Access is figuring out how many users will be impacted by a policy. Report-only mode is a new capability that allows admins to evaluate Conditional Access policies without enforcing the grant or session controls. During sign-in, policies in Report-only mode are evaluated but not enforced, and the sign-in logs record the expected result. Additionally, customers with an Azure Monitor subscription can monitor the impact of their Conditional Access policies using the new Conditional Access Insights workbook. We’re excited to make it easier for IT admins to understand the impact of Conditional Access before potentially impacting users in their environments.

Microsoft Mechanics: Live at Ignite 2019 Series – Microsoft 365

Microsoft’s official video series for IT Pros. Watch & share valuable content and demos from the people who build it. A focus on demos, how-tos and insights for Microsoft 365, Azure, Office, Windows, Surface and quantum computing. Check out all the Microsoft 365 related videos from the Microsoft Ignite 2019 conference!

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OFFICE 365 ROADMAP

UPCOMING EVENTS

BLOG ROUNDUP

NOTEWORTHY

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