[m365weekly] #57

☁️What’s on my mind

Last week was really exciting thanks to Microsoft’s launch of Microsoft Teams Essentials. I don’t expect the whole world to suddenly want to use Teams just because it was introduced as a standalone service.

It is true that Teams Essentials is considerably cheaper than, for example, Zoom, and that it also offers considerably more for the money in terms of business support. But on the other hand, it is the complexity of the Microsoft 365 environment that is the big drawback.

How long does it take you to start using Zoom? Let’s be conservative in our estimate and say like 30 minutes. And anyone can do it. How long does it take to get started with Teams Essentials? If you want it to work the way it should, you need to integrate it into your existing Microsoft 365 environment. And now we’re getting to the point where you need an expert to set it all up for you.

If you’re a Microsoft 365 expert, that is good news for you, isn’t it?

Have a great week.
Matic Z.

FEATURED STORY: MICROSOFT TEAMS ESSENTIALS

It is here, it’s good, but, as I mentioned above, somewhat complex to set up. Businesses that have been using their own Exchange mail servers will be most excited about the possibility to connect the Teams Essentials service to their existing mail server in the company. This way, the calendar in Teams will be synchronized in both directions.

However, I must point out that Teams Essentials is a service aimed at small and medium-sized businesses,(source 2 – official Microsoft blog) which is why 300 is the maximum number of users that can have Teams Essentials licenses assigned.

Microsoft Teams Essentials: The Setup, Intro & Tutorial. A great YouTube video to find out what the main features of Teams Essentials are. It also explains very well how to get the whole thing up and running.

💻 Productivity & Modern Workplace

Become part of your presentation with Presenter Modes in Microsoft Teams. When you present in Microsoft Teams and you share your screen you might not be visible. Presenter modes make it easier to interact with your audience.

Create Connected PivotTables in Excel for the web. You can now create reports connected to Power BI datasets from a blank workbook in Excel for the web.

How to format a group header to display the weekday in Microsoft Lists. Format a group header in Microsoft Lists and SharePoint lists to display the day of the week when the item was created.

Now it’s easier than ever to edit photos in OneDrive. OneDrive is getting better as a photo editor as well. Check out new features.

☁️Sysadmin Stuff

Microsoft Teams Direct Routing changes you need to be aware of for Q1 2022. Recently, Microsoft notified via Message Center that there are two upcoming changes to Teams Direct Routing. These might affect your telephony service based on Teams Direct Routing.

Teams Real Simple with Pictures: Let’s deploy End to End Encryption (E2EE) for 1 to 1 VOIP Calls. A step-by-step guide for those who would like to enable this security measure.

Policy Lookup for Microsoft 365 Retention Policies in Preview. The ability to lookup a user, site, or group and report the Microsoft 365 retention policies applicable to the location is now available in preview.

☁️Security & Data Governance

Email Security Predictions 2022: 4 Ways Hackers Will Target Businesses. Vade Secure experts sharing their thoughts on the threats that will loom largest in 2022.

Easiest Method To Enable MFA For Admins Using Azure AD Conditional Access. Let’s see the easiest method to enable MFA for Admins using Azure Active Directory Conditional Access policies.

Use Registration campaign to promote Microsoft Authenticator App. Let’s face it. Multi-factor authentication is here and it is a good security solution. Now we just need a way to promote it among users.

☁️Noteworthy (long)reads

How’s your intranet doing these days? The death of Intranet portals was predicted years ago. What is the situation today? Read …

Our leadership team lived together for a week and… Working from home or hybrid presents a number of challenges for businesses. The fact is that direct human interaction is essential because that’s the way the human race is built. But what has this company’s experiment shown? Read on.

DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

31 December 2021 – Last day of Microsoft Open License Program (OLP). From the start of 2022 OLP products are available in CSP (source, source 2).

January 2022 – Microsoft launches “New Commerce Experience”, a new way of transacting in CSP. Important for Microsoft partners (resellers) and MS distributors.

1 January 2022 – No more transacting in OLP program. From then on perpetual licenses are available in CSP.

1 March 2022 – First Microsoft 365 price increase since 2011 (source). It’s going to be a substantial price increase.

😂 On a Less Serious Note

☁️ Last but not least …

Here are a few things you can do if you enjoyed reading this newsletter:

Did someone forward this email? Sign up for the weekly newsletter here.

Click to subscribe