Advanced Security features in M365, Copilot & Azure

I prepared for You the summary of the most important news, announcements, and articles about Microsoft 365 & Copilot from last week. Enjoy!

Advanced firewall protection for all Azure customers

Microsoft has announced the availability of Advanced Firewall Protection for all Azure customers, enhancing security across cloud environments. This new feature includes capabilities such as threat intelligence-based filtering, deep packet inspection, and advanced logging. By integrating these features, Azure aims to provide robust protection against sophisticated cyber threats, ensuring that customer data and applications remain secure. The advanced firewall protection is designed to be easy to deploy and manage, offering a seamless experience for users while maintaining high security standards.

The introduction of advanced firewall protection is part of Microsoft's ongoing commitment to securing the digital future. This initiative reflects the company's dedication to providing cutting-edge security solutions that address the evolving threat landscape. With these enhancements, Azure customers can benefit from improved security posture and greater peace of mind. Microsoft continues to innovate and expand its security offerings to meet the needs of its diverse customer base.

Looking forward to seeing how this advanced firewall protection will safeguard our digital assets! #Azure #CyberSecurity #CloudSecurity

Microsoft Copilot Pricing Guide - Free vs Paid

The article provides a detailed overview of the pricing options for Microsoft Copilot, highlighting both free and paid versions. The free edition offers basic features that allow users to leverage AI assistant capabilities in their daily work without additional costs. For those seeking more advanced functionalities, Microsoft offers paid versions such as Copilot Pro at $20 per month and Copilot for Microsoft 365 at $30 per user per month. These paid editions include enhanced features designed to boost productivity, creativity, and collaboration across various platforms, making them suitable for enterprise use.

Microsoft Copilot products are tailored to meet diverse needs, from developers and writers to business professionals. The suite includes specialized tools like GitHub Copilot for coding, Word Copilot for document creation, Excel Copilot for data analysis, and PowerPoint Copilot for presentation design. By evaluating specific requirements, users can choose the Copilot product that best aligns with their goals, ensuring they maximize the benefits of AI-powered assistance.

Excited to explore how Microsoft Copilot can enhance productivity and creativity! #MicrosoftCopilot #AI #Productivity

Microsoft Security Copilot Flight School

Microsoft has launched the Security Copilot Flight School, a comprehensive training series designed to help users master the Security Copilot platform. The series consists of 11 episodes, each approximately 10 minutes long, covering fundamental concepts of AI definitions and architectures, prompting and automation, and advanced topics like Logic Apps and custom plugins. The goal is to equip participants with the knowledge needed to effectively operate Security Copilot and leverage its capabilities to meet organizational security needs. The training is available on Microsoft Learn and the Microsoft Security YouTube Channel, with resources on GitHub to enhance learning.

The Flight School is part of Microsoft's broader initiative to redefine enterprise security through AI innovation. By familiarizing users with Security Copilot, Microsoft aims to empower organizations to reach new heights in security management. The series is designed to be sequential, ensuring a structured learning path that aligns with best practices. This initiative reflects Microsoft's commitment to providing valuable educational resources and fostering a community of skilled security professionals.

Excited to see how Security Copilot Flight School will elevate our security practices! #MicrosoftSecurity #AI #Training.

Microsoft 365 E5 Security is now available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Microsoft has announced that Microsoft 365 E5 Security is now available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Premium. This enhancement aims to provide small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with advanced security features to combat evolving cyber threats and meet increasing regulatory and cyberinsurance requirements. The E5 Security add-on includes Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. These tools offer comprehensive protection, including risk-based conditional access, identity governance, and sophisticated machine learning capabilities to detect and remediate potential threats.

By integrating E5 Security, SMBs can benefit from enterprise-grade security solutions at a fraction of the cost. The add-on is available for $12 per user per month, representing significant savings. This move underscores Microsoft's commitment to empowering SMBs with robust security measures to safeguard their data and operations. With the addition of E5 Security, Business Premium customers can now enjoy enhanced protection and streamlined security management.

Looking forward to seeing how this new add-on will bolster SMB security and resilience! #Microsoft365 #CyberSecurity #SMB

Apple Identity in Entra External ID

Microsoft has announced the public preview of Apple Identity Provider support for Microsoft Entra External ID. This new feature allows users to sign up and sign in to applications using their Apple ID through the "Sign in with Apple" option. Apple joins Google and Facebook as pre-configured social identity providers in Entra External ID, supporting Single Sign-On (SSO) through the OAuth framework. This integration simplifies the user experience by pre-filling user information from Apple, such as name and email address, during sign-up. Additionally, it enables developers to publish social login-enabled mobile apps in the Apple App Store, complying with App Store Review Guidelines.

To configure Apple as an identity provider, developers need to register their Apple application in the Apple Developer Portal and set up the Apple external identity provider in their Entra External ID tenant. This process involves collecting necessary credentials from the Developer Portal and adding the Apple identity provider to the application's user flow. With this new feature, Microsoft aims to enhance user satisfaction and conversion rates by offering a seamless and secure sign-in experience.

Thrilled to see how "Sign in with Apple" will streamline user authentication and boost app engagement! #MicrosoftEntra #AppleID #IdentityManagement

??? Microsft 365 Roadmap - Zero code workflows in Copilot.

The week following the scheduled prompts, I will share an exciting update about Copilot Actions. This new feature enables you to set up simple workflows with Copilot using a zero-code approach.

What's fantastic about this feature is that it will soon be available in Target Release tenants. You can expect Actions to be available within the next few weeks.

??Description

With Copilot we are bringing the power of next-generation AI to the tools millions of people use every day. Another step on that journey is automating time-consuming tasks to enhance employee productivity.

Copilot Actions provides a user-friendly way to automate and delegate common IW tasks within Microsoft 365 to Copilot. Actions combine Copilot prompts and conversations, triggers (events like file modifications or schedules like daily reminders), and user-defined rules to generate artifacts. To make getting started easy, Copilot Actions offer categorized Templates such as Catch up and Gather, etc., that are tailored for common personal productivity scenarios. Actions is a Copilot feature that delivers immediate value without the need for any setup. This out-of-the-box functionality ensures that even users with minimal technical expertise can benefit from the powerful async capabilities of Copilot. Copilot Actions is accessed via the Microsoft 365 app for the Web.

This is an English-only release for the UX language.

??Release stages:

We will begin rolling out to Targeted Release in March/April 2025

AI-powered Advanced Analytics in Excel in Copilot with Python

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend ??

Szymon