M365 Weekly Newsletter
Issue #117
☁️What’s on my mind
One of the things that have really struck me lately is the incredible laxity of some organizations when it comes to documenting and managing their Microsoft 365 environment.
How is it possible for an organization to lose access to Microsoft 365 when the responsible IT guy leaves the company? I think it’s basic hygiene that more than one employee has global admin rights. And where is the handover of documentation on departure?
As long as we were all neatly tucked away in on-premises computing, we could still resolve many a similar situation ourselves.
But in the case of cloud services, however, we have to rely on the sometimes lengthy process of proving that we are indeed the owner of the tenant or domain so that Microsoft support can then give us proper access to the data.
Have a really nice rest of the week,
Matic Z.
☁️Productivity & Modern Workplace
What is SharePoint Used For? Navigation! Do you use SharePoint Online for managing documents and collaborating with your team? Did you know that it’s also an excellent tool for navigation? This article explains how to create effective navigation with mega menus and why it’s a useful feature for your business. With mega menus, you can organize a large amount of content into easy-to-find categories and reduce the number of clicks required to find information, improving the user experience and saving time.
Microsoft Edge: The Best Browser on Earth. With the integration of AI and some sleek new features, Microsoft is making the argument that Chrome doesn’t even need to be on your machine anymore. Edge has AI-powered internet search, insights, and questions for the page you’re on, active tabs that stay open and can be expanded and collapsed while in any tab, less RAM usage than Chrome, upscaling video capabilities, etc. It’s definitely worth checking out if you want to boost your productivity.
Get more done in less time with these 10 popular Word add-ins. Tired of spending too much time writing and formatting Word documents? These popular Word JavaScript add-ins can help you streamline your Word processing experience and boost your productivity.
☁️Sysadmin Stuff
Use Cross-Tenant Synchronization in Azure AD to Experience Seamless Collaboration. Microsoft has introduced cross-tenant synchronization, a new preview feature that streamlines the creation, modification, and removal of Azure AD B2B collaboration users across multiple tenants. With advanced automation and no need for consent prompts, cross-tenant synchronization allows for seamless collaboration between tenants while reducing the likelihood of security threats and administrative errors.
Use Your Own Domain for Microsoft 365 Service Messages. Microsoft 365 is giving organizations the ability to choose a verified domain for their tenant as the domain used for product advisory emails. By using a verified domain, these messages are now internal rather than external, which could be a major advantage for some organizations. Want to learn more about this new feature? Keep reading.
Migrate Mail Contacts to Azure AD Guest Accounts. If you’re using Exchange Online, you might want to consider replacing your mail contact objects with guest accounts. According to Tony Redmond, Microsoft puts a lot of effort into developing and maintaining guest accounts as part of Azure AD External Identities, and tenants benefit from the improvements made to the functionality and lifecycle management for external identities.
☁️Security & Data Governance
Securing Power Platform With Data Loss Prevention Policies. Power Platform gives users the autonomy to build low-code/no-code apps, automate processes, and gain valuable insights without burdening IT. However, this power in the hands of end-users can raise concerns about the security of an organization’s data. To prevent unintentional data exposures and mitigate the risk of cybercriminals, Microsoft’s data loss prevention policies can be applied to Power Apps canvas apps and Power Automate flows.
Getting started with Endpoint Privilege Management. Endpoint Privilege Management is a new capability in the Intune Suite that allows users to complete tasks that require elevated permissions while maintaining standard user permissions. Peter van der Woude’s post explains how to get started with EPM, from enabling it for the tenant to creating Windows elevation settings and rules policies.
Secure Your Microsoft 365 Environment: A Comprehensive Guide Mapped to CIS Controls. Check out this comprehensive guide that maps to CIS Controls, including security controls across Azure AD, Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Intune. You’ll find a link to a valuable M365 security baseline PDF inside the post.
☁️Noteworthy (long)reads
Standing up for democratic values and protecting stability of cyberspace: Principles to limit the threats posed by cyber mercenaries. Private “cyber mercenary” companies are a growing threat to democracy and human rights worldwide. Microsoft is disrupting their operations and sharing information about their tactics.
From Clippy to ChatGPT: AI Advances in Productivity. Microsoft is using AI to improve user experience, productivity, and insights in Bing search and Microsoft 365 suite. However, ethical concerns exist around the use of AI, including bias, privacy and security, transparency and accountability, job displacement, and misuse and abuse. Microsoft has published responsible AI principles to address these concerns. The integration of OpenAI and ChatGPT into Bing search improves the relevance and accuracy of search results, and Microsoft aims to use AI to transform the workplace into a more efficient, productive, and fulfilling environment.
What licenses are required for Microsoft Teams Rooms soon? Have you heard about Microsoft’s new licensing change for Teams Rooms Systems? They’ve introduced two new licenses, Teams Rooms Basic and Teams Rooms Pro. Learn what will happen if you stick with user licenses instead of Teams Room licenses beyond July 1, 2023.
☁️Classifieds
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☁️On a Less Serious Note
☁️ Last but not least …
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