MASTERING MICROSOFT

Finchloom's Newsletter about Business and Technology converging at the Intersection of AI including updates and important information about Microsoft.?

June 02 2024 - (M365 Backup – Promos ending July 1st – ChatGPT-4o in Azure!)?

Finchloom's Mastering Microsoft Newsletter!?

This newsletter is for you, the employees of all organizations that use Microsoft 365 and Azure, the leading cloud platforms for business and technology. Whether you are a leader, a power user, an IT professional, or a curious learner, you will find something valuable and interesting in this newsletter. We will bring you the latest news, updates, tips, and insights about Microsoft and Finchloom, the 100% AI cloud partner that helps you master Microsoft 365 and Azure.?

In this edition, we will cover some of the hot topics and features that are relevant for your work and productivity, such as organizational messages, Microsoft 365 backup, tenant name change, Teams meeting recording, and more. We will also showcase some of the amazing AI capabilities that Microsoft and Finchloom offer, such as Microsoft Copilot, OpenAI ChatGPT-4o, and data governance. And we will invite you to join some of our upcoming webinars and events, where you can learn more and interact with us live.?

But this newsletter is not just about Microsoft and Finchloom. It is also about you, the people who use these tools every day to create, collaborate, and innovate. We want to hear from you, your questions, your feedback, your stories, and your ideas. We want to share with you our passion and vision for the future of work, where business and technology converge at the intersection of AI. And we want to have some fun along the way.?

So, without further ado, let's dive into this edition of Mastering Microsoft!?

Modern Work Topics?

• HUGE NEW FEATURE in preview – send organizational messages as pop-ups in Microsoft apps! Introducing organizational messages (preview) in the Microsoft 365 admin center - Microsoft Community Hub. This is a game-changer for communication and engagement. Imagine being able to send a message to all your employees or a specific group, and have it pop up on their screen, no matter what app they are using. You can use this feature to announce new product features, policies, events, or anything else that you want to get their attention. You can also customize the message, the audience, the frequency, and the duration of the pop-up. This feature is currently in preview, so you need to enable it in the admin center and give feedback to Microsoft. We have been using it at Finchloom and we love it. It's like having a mini billboard on your screen. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/introducing-organizational-messages-preview-in-the-microsoft-365/ba-p/4123890?
• NEW FEATURE: Microsoft 365 Backup! Now you can recover from Ransomware and forced deletion in MINUTES! This is a must-have feature for any organization as part of an overall data protection and business continuity solution. Microsoft 365 Backup is a new service that automatically backs up your data in Microsoft 365, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, and Teams. You can use this service to restore your data in case of accidental or malicious deletion, ransomware attacks, or corruption. You can restore individual items, folders, or entire sites, with granular control and audit logs. You can also set retention policies and backup schedules according to your needs. This feature is currently in preview, and the pricing is simple! Only pay for storage at $0.15/GB/per month on an Azure subscription. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/backup/backup-overview?view=o365-worldwide ?
• NOW AVAILABLE: Change your Microsoft 365 SharePoint tenant name! Since BPOS and Office 365, when you created your tenant (for example, company1.onmicrosoft.com ) you could never change that internal Microsoft tenant name - or if you did, the SharePoint links all had the old name. Now, with Advanced SharePoint Management, you can!!!! This is a long-awaited feature for many organizations that want to change their tenant name to reflect their branding, mergers, acquisitions, or reorganizations. With Advanced SharePoint Management, you can now change your SharePoint domain name, and the change will be reflected in all your SharePoint sites, OneDrive URLs, and Teams. You can also keep your old domain name as an alias, so you don't break any existing links or bookmarks. This feature is now available, so you can start planning your domain name change. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/change-your-sharepoint-domain-name#advanced-tenant-rename ?
• NOW AVAILABLE! You can now share recorded Teams Meetings from Microsoft Stream with EXTERNAL participants!!! Your organization’s tenant may prevent this, but it generally now works when it hadn’t for so long: Play, share, and download a meeting recording in Microsoft Teams - Microsoft Support. This is a great feature for collaboration and sharing with external partners, customers, or vendors. You can now share your recorded Teams meetings from Microsoft Stream with anyone outside your organization, by generating a shareable link and setting the permissions. You can also download the recording and share it via email or other channels. This feature is now available, so you can start sharing your recorded Teams meetings with external participants. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/play-share-and-download-a-meeting-recording-in-microsoft-teams-7d7e5dc5-9ae4-4b94-8589-27496037e8fa ?

Final Days – Microsoft Promotions Expiring July 1st 2024!

• Promotion on new subscriptions of Microsoft 365 E3 offered at 15% for the first year! This is a fantastic deal for organizations that want to upgrade to the most comprehensive and secure cloud productivity suite. Microsoft 365 E3 includes all the features of Microsoft 365 Business Premium, plus advanced security, compliance, and device management capabilities. You can also get access to Windows 11 Enterprise, Device Management, and Security and Compliance Tools. Don't miss this opportunity to get Microsoft 365 E3 at a discounted price for the first year.? For customers NEW to Microsoft 365 E3 only.
• Promotions of up to 40% off on new Microsoft Teams bundles that include Teams PHONE! This is a great deal for organizations that want to modernize their communication and collaboration with Teams. Teams PHONE is a cloud-based phone system that lets you make and receive calls from anywhere, on any device, using your existing phone number. You can also get advanced features like voicemail, call forwarding, call recording, and auto attendants. With these new Microsoft Teams bundles, you can get Teams PHONE and other Teams add-ons at a reduced price for the first year.?
• 37.5% percent off Year 1 of a step up to Microsoft Entra ID Governance P2 – full Identity Governance!!! This is a great deal for organizations that want to enhance their identity and access management with Microsoft Entra. Microsoft Entra is a new cloud service that helps you manage and protect your digital identities, across cloud and on-premises. With Microsoft Entra ID Governance P2, you can get full identity governance capabilities, such as identity lifecycle management, access reviews, privileged identity management, and identity protection. You can also get access to Azure Active Directory Premium P2, which includes features like conditional access, identity protection, and password-less authentication. Don't miss this chance to get Microsoft Entra ID Governance P2 at a discounted price for the first year. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/identity-access/microsoft-entra-id-governance?rtc=1 ?
• 15% or 20% off Windows 365 Cloud PC Monthly OR Annual subscriptions – Use Cloud PCs – always on, always up to date, always fast, and let your contractors and employees bring their own device to work (Since no data ever leaves to the endpoint). This is a great deal for organizations that want to simplify and secure their device management with Windows 365. Windows 365 is a new cloud service that lets you stream your personalized Windows desktop to any device, from anywhere. You can access your apps, data, and settings, just like you would on a physical PC. You can also get the benefits of cloud security, scalability, and performance, without worrying about hardware maintenance, updates, or backups. With these new Windows 365 Cloud PC subscriptions, you can get Windows 365 at a reduced price for the first year. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-365?

Infrastructure Topics?

• July 9th end of support for SQL 2014. So many of you have old servers. Time to decide if you need Azure Arc to extend support or migrate databases to Azure! It’s so much better. Let’s meet and we’ll demonstrate. This is a critical reminder for organizations that still use SQL Server 2014. After July 9th, 2024, Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, technical support, or hotfixes for SQL Server 2014. This means that your data and applications will be vulnerable to security risks, performance issues, and compatibility problems. You have two options to avoid these risks: either migrate your databases to Azure SQL, the fully managed cloud database service, or extend your support with Azure Arc, the hybrid and multicloud management service. Both options will give you the benefits of cloud innovation, security, and scalability, while reducing your costs and complexity. We can help you choose the best option for your needs and guide you through the migration or extension process. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/americas-partner-blog/2024/03/28/sql-server-2014-end-of-support-keep-your-customers-secure/?wt.mc_id=AID1111111_EML_8554000 ?

Security Topics

• Free customer webinar hosted by Microsoft – Securing Your Digital Estate with Microsoft Defender. Enhance your cybersecurity posture even as threats evolve and escalate. Discover how Microsoft Defender can help protect your organization. This is a free webinar that you don't want to miss if you care about cybersecurity. In this webinar, you will learn how Microsoft Defender, the unified security platform for Microsoft 365 and Azure, can help you protect your digital estate from the most sophisticated and persistent threats. You will see how Microsoft Defender leverages AI, automation, and integration to provide comprehensive and proactive security across your identity, endpoints, email, cloud apps, and infrastructure. You will also hear from Microsoft experts and customers who have successfully deployed and used Microsoft Defender to enhance their cybersecurity posture. Register now and join us on June 30th, 2024, at 10:00 AM PST. https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=243790818540&wt.mc_id=AID3060950_EML_8563784 ?

AI Topics

• Employees are bringing their own AI to work! Read the LinkedIn Employee Work Survey. Let’s give them all an AI that is “Safe to Use at Work”. Microsoft Copilot (Web) is available to nearly ALL EMPLOYEES that have Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, and E5! Let us show you how to check if you are configured for “safe for work AI” and stop people from feeling like they need to bring their own AI and put company data at risk. This is a fascinating report that reveals how employees are using AI tools at work, and the challenges and opportunities that arise from this trend. According to the report, 40% of employees are using AI tools at work, and 20% are bringing their own AI tools to work, without their employer's knowledge or approval. This can pose serious risks for data privacy, security, and compliance, as well as ethical and legal issues. That's why we recommend that you give your employees an AI tool that is safe to use at work, and that is Microsoft Copilot. Microsoft Copilot is a web-based AI assistant that helps you write code, documents, emails, and more, by suggesting relevant and accurate content based on your context and intent. Microsoft Copilot is powered by OpenAI Codex, the most advanced AI system for natural language understanding and generation. Microsoft Copilot is also integrated with Microsoft 365 and Azure, so you can access your data and apps securely and seamlessly. Microsoft Copilot is available to nearly all employees that have Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, and E5. We can help you check if you are configured for safe for work AI and show you how to use Microsoft Copilot to boost your productivity and creativity. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/ai-at-work-is-here-now-comes-the-hard-part ?
• OpenAI ChatGPT-4o is now available in Azure! If you like the demos of ChatGPT-4o (The “o” is for omni) using vision to see and hear you as it crafts it’s reponses. You can now start using this model in Azure! This is an exciting announcement for AI enthusiasts and developers. OpenAI ChatGPT-4o is the latest and most powerful AI model from OpenAI, the research organization behind GPT-3, the groundbreaking natural language model. ChatGPT-4o is a multimodal model, which means that it can process and generate not only text, but also images, audio, and video. ChatGPT-4o can also engage in natural and conversational interactions, using vision and speech to see and hear you as it crafts its responses. ChatGPT-4o is now available in preview on Azure, the preferred cloud platform for OpenAI. You can access ChatGPT-4o through the Azure OpenAI service, which provides a simple and secure way to use OpenAI models in your applications. You can also use the Azure OpenAI Playground, which is a web-based interface that lets you experiment with ChatGPT-4o and other OpenAI models. We can help you get started with ChatGPT-4o and Azure OpenAI and show you how to create amazing AI experiences. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-gpt-4o-openais-new-flagship-multimodal-model-now-in-preview-on-azure/?

Showcase?

• Economic Impact of AI report. We’ve known it all along: Using AI at work turns all users into Power Users! If you run a business or are an executive, read this about how to completely transform your employees to upskill in all areas with AI at work! This is a compelling report that shows the economic impact of AI at work, and how it can transform your organization and workforce. According to the report, AI at work can increase productivity, innovation, and growth, by augmenting human capabilities and enabling new ways of working. The report also shows that AI at work can create new jobs, skills, and roles, by shifting the demand for labor and creating new opportunities for learning and development. The report estimates that AI at work can add up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, and create up to 133 million new jobs by 2022. The report also provides a framework and best practices for adopting and scaling AI at work, based on the experiences of leading organizations and experts. We can help you read and understand this report and show you how to use AI at work to transform your organization and workforce. DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE: https://clouddamcdnprodep.azureedge.net/gdc/gdcjXrIkp/original?wt.mc_id=AID3060950_EML_8563784 ?

FAQ – What Clients are Asking About?

• A lot of interest in Data Lifecycle Management in Microsoft Purview. There are a lot of inquiries about old data – a new term called ROT data – Redundant, Obsolete, and Trivial data – that might be still stored in Microsoft 365. This is a common question and concern for many organizations that have a lot of data stored in Microsoft 365 and other sources. How do you manage and optimize your data lifecycle, from creation to deletion, and ensure that your data is relevant, accurate, and compliant? That's where Microsoft Purview comes in. Microsoft Purview is a new cloud service that helps you discover, catalog, classify, and govern your data, across Microsoft 365, Azure, and other sources. With Microsoft Purview, you can get a holistic view of your data landscape, understand the quality and lineage of your data, apply policies and labels to your data, and monitor and report on your data compliance. Microsoft Purview can also help you identify and eliminate ROT data, which is data that is redundant, obsolete, or trivial, and that consumes storage space, increases costs, and reduces efficiency. We can help you learn more about Microsoft Purview and data lifecycle management and show you how to use it to improve your data governance. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/purview/data-governance-solution?

Upcoming Finchloom Webinars?

• JUNE 21 2024: Public FREE Webinar: This webinar is for all EMPLOYEES OF ALL ORGANIZATIONS who are not currently members of Finchloom. Come learn about the benefits of membership and see Jim’s Robot Dog LIVE and also a live Copilot demo! This is a webinar that you don't want to miss if you are curious about Finchloom and what we can do for you. Finchloom is the 100% AI cloud partner that helps you master Microsoft 365 and Azure, by providing training, coaching, support, and innovation. As a member of Finchloom, you can access our exclusive content, events, and community, where you can learn from our experts and peers, and get the most out of your cloud investment. In this webinar, you will learn about the benefits of membership, and see some of the amazing things that we do at Finchloom, such as Jim's Robot Dog, a robotic pet that uses AI to interact with you, and Microsoft Copilot, the web-based AI assistant that helps you write code, documents, emails, and more. Register now and join us on June 21st, 2024, at 11:00 AM PST. https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/d48a392b-c144-436c-a255-f1d633d033b1@10bc41c7-3748-443d-b83d-ee70acfabc56 ?
• JULY 19 2024 : Public FREE Webinar: The NEW Microsoft PLANNER – Join Jim for a FREE webinar July 19 2024 to learn about how to use the new Planner in Microsoft Teams to organize your work day (The Finchloom Way!). This is FREE for ALL EMPLOYEES OF ALL ORGANIZATIONS THAT USE MICROSOFT 365. This is a webinar that you don't want to miss if you want to improve your work management and productivity with Microsoft 365. Microsoft Planner is a new app in Microsoft Teams that lets you create and manage tasks, projects, and plans, using a simple and visual interface. You can use Microsoft Planner to organize your work day, track your progress, collaborate with your team, and integrate with other Microsoft 365 apps. In this webinar, you will learn how to use the new Planner in Microsoft Teams, and how to apply the Finchloom Way, a proven method for organizing your work day using Microsoft 365. Register now and join Jim on July 19th, 2024, at 10:00 https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/85764264-e7c0-4626-939e-1c2164da2f9e@10bc41c7-3748-443d-b83d-ee70acfabc56 ?

Jim’s Final Thoughts?

Tribal knowledge, the collective wisdom and capabilities of a workforce, is a treasure trove of insights, experiences, and ability. It's the unspoken understanding and informal sharing that happens within an organization, often shaping its culture and operations. However, harnessing this knowledge can be a challenge. Without proper documentation and sharing mechanisms, valuable insights can remain siloed within departments or with individuals, leading to inefficiencies and a loss of expertise when employees leave.??

In a world where AI and technology are increasingly integrated into our workspaces, the potential to capture, index, and surface this tribal knowledge is immense. Imagine a system that records human conversations, decisions, and ideas, making them easily accessible for future reference and innovation. Such a system would not only safeguard against the loss of institutional knowledge but also empower employees to catch up, create, and ask with ease, fostering a culture of continuous learning and collaboration. By embracing AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot, organizations can ensure that their tribal knowledge is preserved, searchable, and serves as a foundation for ongoing growth and innovation.??

Finchloom is engaged with organizations of all sizes to transform the employee experience by teaching and coaching how to properly use Microsoft 365 (The Finchloom Way) so that Copilot for Microsoft 365 becomes an invaluable tool to research and tap into the collective knowledge base of your work and your organizations work. Turning “tribal knowledge” into “recorded knowledge”.??

Reach out to us and I’ll talk to you about how we can achieve this together for your organization.?

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Thank you!?

Jim?

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About the Author

With a career spanning over three decades in the dynamic world of IT, Jim Richardson is a seasoned professional who has been at the forefront of Microsoft End User Experiences, Cloud Services, and AI. He is also an avid Video Gamer and Musician who loves live music concerts and Disneyland and is also the founder and CEO of Finchloom. ?His work is inspired by the visionary leadership of Bill Gates and the creative genius of Walt Disney, blending technological prowess with a touch of imagination – All at the intersection of business and AI.? ? His journey has taken him around the globe, working with diverse companies, from startups to Fortune 500s, helping them harness the power of Microsoft solutions. Jim believes in making technology not just useful, but also fun and engaging. His mission (with Finchloom) is to empower businesses to reach their full potential through optimal deployment and adoption/use of Microsoft technologies.? ? In the grand tapestry of the tech world, he is a weaver of solutions, a guide in the cloud, and an advocate for the transformative power of AI. Jim is not just an IT professional; He is a digital storyteller, a tech whisperer, and a cloud navigator. ?