M365 Weekly Newsletter
Issue #111
☁️What’s on my mind
There have been two outages of Microsoft services in the last few months. The last one, a few weeks ago, happened just as Europe was waking up and users were starting their working day.
I can imagine that many users were quite angry and that the system administrators had no choice but to shrug and put all the blame on Microsoft.
Well, if nothing else, here you have one great advantage over having to maintain your own infrastructure – you can blame the downtime on Microsoft with the greatest of pleasure.
Microsoft is, of course, a responsible SaaS provider and it provides SLAs to its customers. Microsoft promises at least 99.9% uptime for Exchange Online. For anything less, they give some money back.
But it is a pain in the arse to get that money. At least according to this story.
Have a nice weekend,
Matic Z.
☁️Productivity & Modern Workplace
How to reply like a pro in Microsoft Teams. Stop struggling with awkward responses in busy Microsoft Teams chats – upgrade your communication game and reply like a pro with this trick.
How to Schedule an Email in Outlook. Stop relying on sticky notes to remind yourself to send an email. There’s a better way. Schedule emails in Outlook and Outlook Online using the Delay Delivery feature. Increase the chance of getting a response by sending emails at the right time with this simple guide.
Unlock the Magic: Create Eye-Catching Animations in PowerPoint Now. Another great animation idea for your PowerPoint presentations.
Cloud-based Message Recall in Exchange Online. The Exchange Team announced the arrival of a new cloud-based message recall feature for Exchange Online that improves on the classic Outlook for Windows message recall feature by increasing its success rate and usability. Recipients no longer need to have Outlook for Windows open for recalls to be processed, and it can now recall ‘read’ messages from any folder or sub-folder within the mailbox. It also offers a simple web-based status report that provides an overall recall result and status for each recipient.
Four habits from the Microsoft Teams team to boost productivity. As the world of work becomes increasingly flexible, it’s becoming harder to separate work and life. With the start of a new year, there’s a renewed sense of energy and opportunity to explore new ways of working. The Teams marketing team has identified the most popular productivity tips to help individuals experience the benefits of flexible work patterns. By incorporating these habits into their work routine, individuals can increase their productivity and reduce stress levels.
☁️Sysadmin Stuff
Informing users of newly enrolled devices. With the latest service release of Microsoft Intune, organizations now have an easy method to inform users when a new device is enrolled using their credentials. This feature, called enrollment notifications, is available for Windows, Android, iOS/iPadOS, and MacOS devices enrolled through user-driven methods. The notifications can be email or push notifications in the Company Portal app, providing organizations with more control over their enrolled devices.
Enable Meeting Attendance Reports In MS Teams. Do you want to learn how to track attendance for meetings in Microsoft Teams? The attendance report feature in Microsoft Teams allows organizers to see who participated in a meeting, what time they joined and left, and more. Calling out the names of attendees during a meeting can be challenging and not very effective, but the attendance report feature makes it easy to obtain attendance history.
Multiple Identity Support For Intune MAM Policies. As the need for multiple identity support for Intune MAM policies grows, Microsoft has announced a new feature on its roadmap to address this issue. With the release of Multiple MAM accounts support by July 2023 in preview, users will be able to access company information through specific Intune-managed applications on a single device with multiple company accounts. This feature comes as a relief to contract staff from different organizations who want to use the same iOS device to access their emails using Microsoft Outlook, a multi-identity supported app that is managed by Intune App Protection Policy.
☁️Security & Data Governance
Ultimate Comparison of Defender for Endpoint Features by OS. In February 2023, the latest version of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (MDE) has been released, and it promises to deliver even more endpoint protection and endpoint detection and response capabilities than before. As an ultimate comparison guide for MDE features by the operating system, the author has updated the comparison to reflect the new features and capabilities available in version 5, which includes support for macOS and Linux file indicators, firmware assessments in Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management, and more.
A friendly reminder about least privilege access and other simple stuff. Have you ever found yourself in a cybersecurity nightmare, working around the clock to help a customer out of a terrible situation? It’s a scenario that’s all too common, and one that can be avoided by simply following basic cyber hygiene practices. A rant from Alex Fields, Microsoft MVP.
How to use Conditional Access to configure limited web-only access for unmanaged devices. As times change, employees are no longer working in the same way they used to. They are working with data in the cloud, from home, or even from personal (unmanaged) devices. With no control over these devices, they cannot be considered secure. The question then arises – how can unmanaged devices access corporate data on online services? There are multiple options to consider.
☁️Noteworthy (long)reads
10 Leading Open Source Business Intelligence Tools. n today’s data-driven economy, businesses need to make informed decisions, and this requires insightful information to back up their decision-making process. Open Source Business Intelligence (BI) Tools provide a way for raw data to be analyzed and presented in a readable format.
The Best Windows 11 Apps. In this Windows 11 review, the reader will be taken on a journey to explore the top new Windows 11 apps that are not only free but also built-in. With these top apps and features, users can expect to be a lot more productive.
How Bill Gates’ Minesweeper addiction helped lead to the Xbox. Ars Technica Senior Gaming Editor Kyle Orland has written a book on the history of Minesweeper, revealing the game’s widespread popularity among Microsoft employees in the early ’90s, including a certain CEO. The game quickly became a hit on Microsoft’s internal network, and many employees could be found playing it on their computers late into the night. Despite being a polarizing game, Minesweeper managed to hook Bill Gates, who became obsessed with dominating the game and beating the high score.
☁️Classifieds
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☁️On a Less Serious Note
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