Microsoft news you can’t afford to miss

Alongside the monthly Microsoft updates we think you’ll find most useful, we have great pleasure sharing another recognition received from Microsoft! Atech are delighted to have been recognised as a Microsoft verified Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) solution partner. Our latest milestone acknowledging our security expertise with Microsoft technology.

We have pleasure sharing a round-up of updates we believe you’ll find useful from your Microsoft investment and we encourage you to contact your account manager if you require any additional information regarding any of the topics shared here.

With so many updates available regarding Copilot, we encourage you to download our webinar series to understand how we can help you with your Copilot readiness. Atech are a Microsoft Copilot launch partner and have a range of funded workshops available to your organisation.

New features for your users:

1. Meeting details displayed on pre-join screen
Microsoft Teams for Windows and Mac will display meeting details such as the title, start and end time, and number of participants on the pre-join screen for in-tenant participants.

When will this happen:
Early mid-April 2024 and expect to complete by late April 2024.

2. Attach recent and relevant files more quickly to chats and channel posts
Microsoft Teams will soon deliver Quick attach, which will display your most recent and contextually relevant files when you select the paperclip to attach a file to a Teams chat or channel post. This new feature will save time when attaching files.

When will this happen:
Mid-March 2024 and expect to complete by late March 2024.

3. Hide General Channels
As a team member, when you become a part of a team, you see general channel always shown in your teams and channels list. Sometimes, even though the channel is not used, you still have it sticking in your teams and channels list. Introducing the capability for you to hide general channel, like any other channel in the team. Note, if general is the last channel in the team, then the team will get hidden as well.

When will this happen:
Mid-February 2024 and expect to complete by early April 2024 (previously mid-March).

4. Meeting Options categorization

Meeting Options are a group of settings that organizers and co-organizers set on a per-meeting basis. We are introducing categories within Meeting Options to provide increased clarity within the information architecture of available options and help organizers and co-organizers configure their meetings according to their needs. The categories are available throughout the meeting lifecycle in Microsoft Teams.

When will this happen:
Late April 2024 and expect to complete by late-May 2024.

5. Voice Isolation
Whether you’re at your desk or at a coffee shop, nearby conversations can interfere with your Teams calls and meetings. Voice isolation is an AI based advanced noise suppression feature that eliminates unwanted background noise including other human voices. The technology recognizes your voice profile and ensures only your voice is transmitted. Voice isolation can be enabled for calls and meetings and is available now. Learn more about voice isolation in Teams.

When will this happen:
GA

6. Intelligent call recap
The Calls app in Teams will soon have AI-generated notes and action items from your calls, so you can pay attention to your conversations and save time coordinating next steps. Intelligent call recap will work for both VoIP and PSTN calls, and summaries will be generated from calls for which transcription was enabled. This feature will be available in the first half of 2024 for both Teams Premium and Copilot for Microsoft 365 users.

When will this happen:
First half of 2024

7. Improvements to working hours and location
In 2023, Microsoft Outlook on the web and new Outlook for Windows released new flexible working hours that allowed users to set different working hours and location (office/remote) for individual workdays. Users could update their daily work location in the calendar and see their coworkers’ work location in the scheduling assistant. We will soon roll out these additional updates:

• Updated daily location menu to help users plan their day and see who else is in the office.
• Integrating your work location with your Out of Office time.

When will this happen?
Late March 2024 and expect to complete by late May 2024.

8. Microsoft Outlook Mobile: Open a Teams Meeting chat from the calendar
For meetings that are created as Microsoft Teams Meetings, users now have the option to open the Teams Meeting chat directly from the meeting event on their Outlook mobile calendar.

When will this happen?
Mid-February 2024 and expect to complete by late June 2024.

9. Copy email as attachment is coming
With this rollout for new Outlook for Windows, it’s easier for users to send longer emails as an attachment, instead of opening an existing email and using copy and paste to capture an entire thread in a new email. This feature is not yet available for emails marked “not forwardable.”

When will this happen?
Mid-February 2024 and expect to complete by late June 2024.

10. Guest Sharing
Business-to-business (B2B) guest sharing for Loop workspaces, pages, and components will be available soon, subject to administrator policy. If configured, this will enable Loop workspaces, pages, and components to be shared with people outside of your tenant.

Please note that Loop will respect your OneDrive and SharePoint sharing settings. If your tenant does not allow sharing with guests, then those settings will prevent guest sharing of Loop workspaces, pages, and components as well.

When will this happen?
Late April 2024 and expect to complete by early June 2024.

New features for your administrators

1. Change history reports now include organization settings reports
There is a feature enhancement for change history reports in the SharePoint admin center. Now, with the newly launched organization setting reports, you can track and review changes made to settings that impact the entire tenant.
Leverage change history reports by creating up to ten instances to track what changed, when it happened, and who initiated the change across site and organization settings. While the site setting reports are generally available, the organization settings reports feature update will be rolled out in preview beginning in March 2024.

When will this happen?
Public Preview (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, and DoD): We will begin rolling out mid-March 2024 and expect to complete by early May 2024.

2. Microsoft SharePoint eSignature: Creators and recipients can view, track, and sign requests in Approvals app in Teams

This rollout will allow users who have set up SharePoint eSignature in their tenant to track eSignature requests in the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams. Users will be notified about new requests, will be updated about ongoing requests, and will be able to initiate signing the document all within their flow of work in Microsoft Teams.

When will this happen?
Mid-May 2024 and expect to complete by mid-June 2024.

3. Defender for Office 365: New Quarantine release details
In Microsoft Defender for Office 365, Microsoft are rolling out new details on who or what is responsible for releasing a message from quarantine.

These details will now be included in the email summary flyout panel accessible from the Quarantine page.

When will this happen?
Late March 2024 and expect to complete by mid-April 2024.

4. Defender for Office 365: User submission automatic feedback response
Microsoft Defender for Office 365 now allows organizations to automatically respond to end user submissions of phish based on the verdict from the automated investigation and response (AIR) investigation. This feature is configurable and allows organizations to dictate which threat scenarios they would like end users to receive feedback emails about. The feature may be configured in Settings > Email & collaboration > User reported settings within the Email notifications > Results email section.

More Info: Automatic user notifications for user reported phishing results in AIR | Microsoft Learn

When will this happen?
GA

5. Defender for Cloud Apps: Block sensitive data from being used with generative AI

Admins can customize their organization’s branding assets onto Edge for Business through the Microsoft Edge management service.

More Info: Protect data used in prompts with common AI apps | Microsoft Purview

When will this happen?
GA

6. Customize organizational branding using the Microsoft Edge management service
Starting late March 2024, admins can customize their organization’s branding assets onto Edge for Business through the Microsoft Edge management service. This branding can help users signed in with an Entra ID (formerly known as Azure Active Directory) more easily differentiate between multiple profiles and browser windows through visual cues on the profile pill, profile flyout, and Edge for Business taskbar icon.

More Information: Add company branding to your organization’s sign-in page – Microsoft Entra | Microsoft Learn

When will this happen?
late April 2024 and expect to complete by early May 2024.

7. Insider Risk in Conditional Access
Protect your organization from insider threats with Microsoft Entra’s Conditional Access and Adaptive Protection in Microsoft Purview. Automatically block access to critical assets when insider risk levels elevate, ensuring data security and compliance seamlessly. Set up custom policies based on risk levels and enforce strong authentication measures, safeguarding against data breaches. Gain control and visibility over insider activities without manual intervention, empowering proactive security measures.

More Information: Insider Risk in Conditional Access | Microsoft Entra + Microsoft Purview Adaptive Protection

When will this happen?
GA.

8. Microsoft Copilot for Security is generally available on April 1, 2024
Official Announcement: Microsoft Copilot for Security is generally available on April 1, 2024 | Microsoft Security Blog

Microsoft Copilot for Security: General Availability details – Microsoft Community Hub

Microsoft Copilot for Security | Microsoft Security

Pricing: Microsoft’s AI Copilot for Security launches next month with pay-as-you-go pricing – The Verge

9. Preview of Copilot in Intune
Copilot in Intune provides AI powered insights that are tailored for organizational needs, such as quickly resolving end user issues and ensuring policies and settings are configured to optimize business outcomes safely.

Microsoft introduces a preview of Copilot in Intune | Microsoft Intune blog

When will this happen?
April 1, 2024

10. Microsoft Entra adds identity skills to Copilot for Security
Microsoft recently announced that Microsoft Copilot for Security will be generally available worldwide on April 1. The following new Microsoft Entra skills will be available in the standalone Copilot for Security experience: User Details, Group Details, Sign-in Logs, Audit Logs, and Diagnostic Logs. User Risk Investigation, a skill embedded in Microsoft Entra, will also be available in public preview.

These skills help identity admins protect against identity compromise through providing identity context and insights for security incidents and helping to resolve identity-related risks and sign-in issues. We’re excited to bring new identity capabilities to Copilot for Security and help identity and security operators protect at machine speed.

Full announcement: Microsoft Entra adds identity skills to Copilot for Security – Microsoft Community Hub

When will this happen?
April 1, 2024

11. Expansion of Copilot for Microsoft 365 to customers with Microsoft 365 F1 and F3, Office 365 E1, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, and more

Customers that have Microsoft 365 F3 and F1, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Office 365 E1, and more will be eligible to purchase Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the coming weeks.

Full Announcement: Bringing Microsoft Copilot to more customers worldwide | Microsoft 365 Blog

When will this happen?
TBD

12. Microsoft Copilot with Graph-grounded chat (i.e. the “work” scope of Copilot) to be upgraded to GPT-4 Turbo model

Microsoft are in the process of upgrading Copilot to GPT-4 Turbo. For users, this will result in faster and more comprehensive responses when using Copilot with Graph-grounding. This is the experience that users access via the “work” scope at copilot.microsoft.com, at Bing, etc., and via dedicated experiences in the Copilot Teams app and at microsoft365.com.

When will this happen?
Upgrade is in the process of rolling out to end users and we expect it to be completed in the coming weeks.

13. Copilot in Microsoft Teams: Send popover message to users about Copilot

In the Microsoft 365 admin center’s Copilot for Microsoft 365 Usage report, you will see a new action card where you can configure a templatized organizational message. After the organizational message is configured, users who have not used Copilot for Microsoft 365 in the last 30 days will see a popover message in Microsoft Teams recommending they use Copilot in Teams.

When will this happen?
Late March 2024 and expect to complete by mid-April 2024.