Microsoft 365 Admin Monthly Digest – Jan 2024

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Welcome to the Microsoft 365 IT admin blog, your monthly source of tips, insights, and best practices for managing and optimizing your Microsoft 365 environment. In this edition, we cover the upcoming AMA on Copilot for Microsoft 365, the latest enhancements to the Microsoft 365 mobile app and how admins can deploy it to support secure flexible work, and talk about the latest enhancements and updates relevant to Microsoft 365 admins including how admins can send Copilot feedback to Microsoft, and test connectivity of your tenant if you’re on 21vianet. 

Join the next AMA on Copilot for Microsoft 365 

We’ll be hosting the next AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Microsoft 365 Copilot on Wednesday, January 17, 9am PT, in the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Tech Community. The upcoming AMA will be focused on Copilot for Microsoft 365 and follow up on any questions you might have about it entering the new year. If you haven’t yet, consider joining and subscribing to the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Tech Community to stay updated on the latest news and events. We’re planning to bring more engagement and are planning events like subject-specific AMAs, Tech Accelerators, and more.  

You can send in your questions to the event page now, and a team of experts will join us to help answer them during the event. 

Securely enable flexible work patterns with the Microsoft 365 app 

As organizations continue to find balance in modern work, IT has also had to deploy digital tools and strategies that accommodate this while keeping their tenant safe and secure. The Microsoft 365 app is home to all your favorite productivity apps, providing a way for your users to access their work content from wherever they are. Sustained investments in the Microsoft 365 app have brought continued enhancements detailed here in this blog including the addition of Microsoft Copilot into the app. 

At a glance, new user interface improvements make it simpler to find, launch, and manage content. The app also helps users prioritize content needing action on the day, and now with the addition of Microsoft Graph connectors, can reach third-party content as well. Users can also access Microsoft Copilot through the Microsoft 365 app, allowing them to bring the productivity unlocked with generative AI anywhere. 

Learn more about mobility and security for Microsoft 365 here, including links to mobile app management.  

New Copilot for Microsoft 365 onboarding resources; Copilot availability for Education customers 

Microsoft recently made available a new email campaign template to help you onboard your users to Copilot for Microsoft 365. Available on our Copilot adoption site, you can download these email templates that include helpful tips and videos on how to get the most out of Copilot as an end user. In addition, we have helpful tools in-product, like Copilot Lab, that provides a repository of prompts to help get your users started. These are available through the prompt guide, just beneath any Copilot chat box. 

It was also announced in December that Copilot for Microsoft 365 will be available for Microsoft 365 A3 and A5 faculty for $30 per user per month with a 300-seat minimum per tenant. Furthermore, Microsoft Copilot with commercial data protection (formerly Bing Chat Enterprise) will be available to all faculty, staff, and higher education students age 18+ in early February. You can read the announcement here. 

Highlights across Microsoft 365 administration 

Let’s check out some of the latest features we launched in the Microsoft 365 admin center and how they can help you get things done.   

Enable and manage feedback from users on Copilot for Microsoft 365 

Diagnostic data has always been critical for product teams at Microsoft to triage customer feedback and escalations. Microsoft 365 has several policies to help admins manage feedback collected from users when using Microsoft 365 applications to not only keep you informed of what your users are experiencing, but also simplify how that feedback is passed on to Microsoft. Recent enhancements have also been made to allow you to include feedback on the last N interactions with Copilots on behalf of your users. To learn more about Microsoft feedback for you organization, check out this article. You can also view the policies to manage feedback and how to set them up in this document. 

Preview of Microsoft 365 connectivity test tool for Microsoft 365 operated by 21vianet 

For customers using Microsoft 365 operated by 21vianet, we recently announced the Preview of the Microsoft 365 connectivity test tool to help aid in the diagnostics and enhancement of your Microsoft 365 service. Already available to other Microsoft 365 customers, the tool helps provide a comprehensive report detailing connectivity performance along with actionable recommendations for optimization. You can also save the report as a PDF for dissemination amongst your peers, service providers, or directly to Microsoft for further assistance. For organizations with Microsoft 365 operated by 21vianet, you can access the tool here. For other Microsoft 365 customers, you can access it here instead. 

Stay updated 

As always, stay current with the latest updates on the Microsoft 365 admin center from the Microsoft 365 roadmap and the message center. To keep up with the latest on Copilot for Microsoft 365, consider joining our Copilot for Microsoft 365 Tech Community.  

Comment below if there are IT admin or change management topics you would like us to explore in future!