In the ever-evolving landscape of AI technology, Microsoft Copilot is here to upgrade your business workflow. Copilot seamlessly integrates into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams to assist in all aspects of your workflow. Incorporating data from various Microsoft applications, Copilot turns simple ideas into robust assets, fostering creativity, productivity and efficiency.

A Study on Copilot Impact

A recent study conducted at Microsoft involved 80 individuals from Communications and Marketing teams exploring the everyday benefits of Copilot for Microsoft 365, now tailored for enterprises. The findings pointed to shared pain points, including meeting fatigue, lack of focus, and information overload. Copilot emerged as a transformative solution to address these pain points, significantly increasing productivity, expediting task completion, and providing the creative space necessary for high-quality work.

Pre-Assessment

• 70% of employees suffer from meeting overload.
• 86% of employees experience information overload daily.
• 80% struggle with having enough focus time each day.

The Copilot Impact

• 86% acknowledge it makes them more productive.
• 81% credit the AI for helping them complete tasks faster.
• 89% find it beneficial in jump-starting the creative process.
• 78% believe it significantly improves the quality of their work.
• 70% report that it reduces time spent on tasks they don’t enjoy.
• 76% specifically note its role in reducing mental effort on mundane tasks.
• 71% appreciate it for reducing time spent searching for information.

Copilot Helps Meeting Recall and Organization

Copilot plays a pivotal role in Teams, where it aids in extracting crucial and contextual information from calls. If you were unable to attend a meeting, you can ask the AI assistant to help articulate the takeaways from the session.

What were the main points from the meeting – Was there an overall decision? Were there any disagreements? Were any tasks assigned to me?

This feature proves invaluable in extracting important nuggets of information, ensuring that key points are not lost amid the conversational flow. Within Teams, Copilot also excels at efficiently scheduling meetings and organizing schedules, avoiding double-booking or conflicts. By prioritizing important meetings, summarizing key points, and aiding in recall, Copilot will alleviate the challenges of meeting-centric workdays.

Copilot Boosts Creative Processes

Within Microsoft Word, Copilot becomes an indispensable ally for writers, assisting in drafting all communications, sparking ideas for blogs, building outlines, and helping break any creative rift. The AI can assist in every stage providing refinement and clarity, and can even suggest opposing perspectives, turning a tedious task into a creative and efficient workflow. The work can then seamlessly be transferred across channels into a PowerPoint or Excel Sheet, transforming simple ideas into powerful tables or engaging presentations.

Within Business Chat, Copilot can access information scattered across emails, calendars, and documents. By formulating a holistic understanding, Copilot acts as a valuable source of feedback, offering a fresh perspective, identifying potential blind spots, and refining the clarity of messages. This collaborative environment allows for the refinement of ideas before they mature into final deliverables.  

Prerequisites to Consider

Before embarking on the Copilot journey, it’s crucial to understand the requirements. Copilot is an add-on license with the following license types being required as a prerequisite:

• Microsoft 365 Business Standard
• Microsoft 365 Business Premium
• Microsoft 365 E3
• Microsoft 365 E5
• Office 365 E3
• Office 365 E5

Copilot currently requires an annual commitment of $360 per user per year. While recognizing Copilot’s transformative potential, it’s essential to ensure alignment with your unique business requirements.

Conclusion

Embrace Copilot as more than just an AI tool; it’s your strategic ally in navigating modern business complexities. From foundational skills like creating, summarizing, and analyzing to continuous evolution and adaptability, Copilot enables a future marked by efficiency, creativity, and unparalleled service delivery. Businesses interested in learning more about Microsoft 365 Copilot can contact Virtuas to learn more.

Microsoft 365 Backup is a service that will allow businesses to backup and restore OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange Online data at unprecedented speeds and with a restore service level agreement (SLA). Microsoft 365 Backup will keep data within the Microsoft 365 security boundary, so organizations do not have to worry about data leakage or compliance risks. This blog post will explore how Microsoft 365 Backup can benefit businesses in three ways:

1. Protect Data From Ransomware and Security Breaches

Once released, Microsoft 365 Backup will be able to help organizations protect their data from ransomware and security breaches by providing a reliable and fast recovery solution. With Microsoft 365 Backup, organizations will be able to:

1. Back up all or selected SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, and Exchange mailboxes in the tenant
2. Restore files, sites, and mailbox items in the tenant in parallel to a previous point-in-time in a granular or massive scale
3. Search or filter content for backups using key metadata such as item or site names, owners, or event types within specific restore point date ranges

2. Meet Regulatory Requirements and Compliance Standards

Many industries and regions have specific regulatory requirements and compliance standards for data retention and protection. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union requires organizations to respect the rights of data subjects, such as the right to access, rectify, erase, or port their personal data. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in the United States requires healthcare providers to protect the privacy and security of patients’ health information.

Microsoft 365 Backup will be able to help organizations meet regulatory requirements and compliance standards by providing a secure and compliant backup solution for data. With Microsoft 365 Backup, organizations will be able to:

1. Keep data within the Microsoft 365 security boundary, which is compliant with various standards such as ISO 27001, SOC 2, FedRAMP, HIPAA, GDPR, and more
2. Apply retention policies to backups based on business needs and legal obligations
3. Use encryption at rest and in transit to protect backups from unauthorized access or modification
4. Audit backup activities and events using logs and reports

3. Reduce Costs and Complexity of Backup Management

Managing backups for Microsoft 365 data will be able to be costly and complex if organizations use third-party solutions or manual processes. Businesses may have to deal with issues such as:

1. Data fragmentation across multiple backup locations
2. Data duplication across multiple backup copies
3. Data inconsistency across different backup versions
4. Data migration across different backup formats
5. Data governance across different backup providers

Microsoft 365 Backup will help businesses reduce the costs and complexity of backup management by providing a unified and integrated backup solution for data. With Microsoft 365 Backup, organizations will be able to:

1. Access Microsoft 365 Backup directly in the Microsoft 365 admin center
2.  Use the same credentials and permissions as the Microsoft 365 account
3. Use the same interface and experience as the Microsoft 365 services
4. Use the same APIs and SDKs as the Microsoft 365 development tools

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 Backup is a service that will provide a comprehensive backup solution for OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange Online data. Microsoft 365 Backup will be available in public preview in Q4 of 2023. Microsoft 365 Backup will help businesses protect their data from ransomware and security breaches, meet regulatory requirements and compliance standards, and reduce costs and complexity of backup management.

Businesses interested in learning more about Microsoft 365 Backup can contact Virtuas to learn more.

Microsoft Purview Audit Standard Provides the Following Benefits:

1. It is enabled by default, so there is no need to turn it on or configure it.
2. It supports thousands of searchable audit events, covering various workloads such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive for Business, Teams, Power Platform, Power BI, and more.
3. It retains audit records for 90 days, which is sufficient for most forensic and compliance investigations.
4. It can be accessed by graphical user interface (GUI), PowerShell cmdlet, or Office 365 Management Activity API.

Microsoft Purview Audit Premium: An Advanced Option for Forensic and Compliance Investigations

While Microsoft Purview Audit Standard is a great feature for all Microsoft 365 customers, some organizations may have more complex or specific needs for auditing and investigation. For those organizations, Microsoft offers Microsoft Purview Audit Premium, an advanced option that provides additional capabilities and flexibility.

Microsoft Purview Audit Premium Provides the Following Features:

1. It allows organizations to create customized audit log retention policies based on the service, activity, or user. For example, an organization can retain audit records of SharePoint Online activities for one year, while retaining audit records of Teams activities for six months.
2. It extends the default retention period of audit records from 90 days to one year, with the option to retain them for up to 10 years. This is useful for meeting regulatory requirements or conducting long-term investigations.
3. It includes high-value and crucial events that are not available in Microsoft Purview Audit Standard. These events include mailbox access by non-owners, password reset attempts, malware detection, and more.
4. It provides higher bandwidth to the Office 365 Management Activity API, which enables faster and more efficient access to audit data.

How to Take Advantage of Microsoft Purview Audit Standard

Customers can start using Microsoft Purview Audit Standard right away. To search the audit log using the GUI, one of the following roles is required: global administrator, compliance administrator, security administrator, security reader, or audit log reader. To search the audit log using PowerShell or API, one needs to have the global administrator or audit log reader role.

To Search the Audit Log Using the GUI:

1. Go to https://protection.office.com/auditlogsearch
2. Specify the date range, activities, users, and file or folder names that you want to search for
3. Click Search
4. Review the results and export them if needed

To Search the Audit Log Using PowerShell:

1. Install the Exchange Online PowerShell module
2. Connect to Exchange Online PowerShell
3. Use the Search-UnifiedAuditLog cmdlet with the appropriate parameters
4. Review the results and export them if needed

To Search the Audit Log Using API:

1. Register an application in Azure Active Directory
2. Obtain an access token from Azure AD
3. Use the Office 365 Management Activity API with the appropriate parameters
4. Review the results and export them if needed

For more details on how to search the audit log using different methods, or to better understand the benefits of Purview Audit, contact us at Virtuas.

Conclusion

Microsoft Purview Audit Standard is a new security feature that allows all Microsoft 365 customers to search for audit records of user and admin activities across Microsoft 365 services. It is enabled by default and supports thousands of searchable audit events. It can help organizations monitor and investigate potential breaches, data leaks, unauthorized access, and other incidents. Microsoft Purview Audit Premium is an advanced option that provides additional capabilities and flexibility for forensic and compliance investigations. It allows organizations to create customized audit log retention policies, extend the retention period of audit records up to 10 years, include high-value and crucial events, and access audit data faster and more efficiently. Both options can be accessed by GUI, PowerShell cmdlet, or Office 365 Management Activity API.

1: Extensive Range of Deeply Integrated Analytics

Microsoft Fabric provides an extensive range of analytics capabilities that are deeply integrated with each other. This means that users can access different tools and services from a single product without having to switch between multiple vendors or platforms. For example, users can perform data engineering with Spark, data warehousing with SQL Serverless, data science with Python or R, real-time analytics with Azure Data Explorer, and data visualization with Power BI. All these experiences are seamlessly connected and share common assets, such as data sources, metadata, security policies, and governance rules. This reduces complexity and increases productivity for users across different roles and tasks.

Virtuas can help clients take advantage of this integration by designing and implementing end-to-end analytics solutions that leverage the best of Microsoft Fabric. Virtuas is helping clients choose the right tools and services for their specific needs, optimize their data pipelines and workflows, and ensure that their data is consistent and secure across the platform.

2: Shared and Familiar Experiences Across Products and Services

Microsoft Fabric also offers shared and familiar experiences across different products and services. This means that users can enjoy a consistent and easy-to-learn user interface that adapts to their role and task. For example, users can use the same code editor for Spark notebooks, SQL scripts, Python scripts, and Power BI reports. They can also use the same visual studio code extension for developing and debugging their code across different services. Additionally, users can benefit from the integration with other Microsoft products, such as GitHub, Teams, Outlook, and Office 365.

Virtuas helps help clients adopt these shared and familiar experiences by providing training and support for their users. Virtuas is helping clients learn how to use Microsoft Fabric effectively and efficiently, how to collaborate with other users on the platform, and how to integrate their analytics solutions with other Microsoft products.

3: Easy Access and Reuse of All Assets

Microsoft Fabric also enables easy access and reuse of all assets on the platform. This means that users can find and use any data source, dataset, model, report, or dashboard that is available on the platform. They can also share their own assets with other users or groups on the platform. This fosters a culture of data democratization and collaboration within organizations. Users can also leverage OneLake – a unified data lake that allows them to use their preferred analytics tools on any data stored in Azure Data Lake Storage.

Virtuas is helping clients access and reuse all assets on Microsoft Fabric by creating and managing their data catalog. Virtuas can help clients discover, document, classify, tag, and annotate their data assets on the platform. Virutas is also helping clients implement data quality checks, data lineage tracking, and data sensitivity labeling for their data assets.

4: Simplified and Cost-Efficient Pricing Based on Total Compute and Storage Usage

Microsoft Fabric also offers simplified and cost-efficient pricing based on total compute and storage usage. This means that users only pay for what they use on the platform, without having to worry about licensing fees or capacity planning for individual services. Users can also scale up or down their compute and storage resources as needed, without compromising performance or availability. This provides flexibility and agility for users to handle any workload or scenario on the platform.

Virtuas can help clients optimize their pricing on Microsoft Fabric by monitoring and analyzing their usage patterns on the platform. Virtuas is helping clients identify opportunities to reduce costs by optimizing their compute and storage resource allocation, choosing the right service tiers or options for their needs, and applying best practices for performance tuning and cost management.

Microsoft Fabric is a revolutionary analytics platform that offers many benefits for businesses that want to unlock the potential of their data and lay the foundation for the era of AI. Virtuas can help clients leverage this platform by providing end-to-end analytics solutions that are scalable, reliable, and cost-effective.

Contact Virtuas today to learn more about how to transform business analytics with Microsoft Fabric.

1. Reduce the need for multiple tools and platforms

Microsoft Loop integrates with other Microsoft 365 apps, such as Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Power BI. This means that project teams can access and share their Loop documents from any device or location. They can also embed content from other apps into their Loop documents, such as chat messages, emails, files, dashboards, and more. This way, they can have all the information they need in one place and avoid switching between different apps.

2. Enhance the quality and clarity of documents

Microsoft Loop supports rich formatting and editing features that allow project teams to create professional-looking documents that suit their needs and preferences. They can also use smart templates and components that help them structure their documents and add interactive elements, such as polls, quizzes, checklists, and more. Additionally, Microsoft Loop leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to provide suggestions and insights that can improve their documents, such as grammar and spelling checks, data analysis, design tips, and more.

3. Improve the speed and efficiency of collaboration

Microsoft Loop allows project teams to work together on the same document in real time. They can see each other’s changes as they happen and co-author with ease. They can also communicate and coordinate with each other using comments, mentions, reactions, and chat features within the document. Furthermore, Microsoft Loop enables project teams to track the progress and status of their documents using version history, approval workflows, notifications, and more.

Microsoft Loop is a powerful app that can help project teams solve some of the common problems they face when collaborating on complex tasks. By using Microsoft Loop, project teams can reduce the complexity of their workflows, enhance the quality of their outputs, and improve the speed and efficiency of their collaboration.

Learn More About Loop and how it can improve the speed and efficiency of collaboration on the Virtuas youtube channel.

Contact Virtuas for more information on how Loop can reduce the need for multiple tools and platforms, enhance the quality and clarity of documents, and improve the speed and efficiency of collaboration.

Multifactor Authentication (MFA) adds a layer of security protection by requiring users to provide information beyond a password when they try to log into their account. Microsoft utilizes and recommends number matching notifications for its MFA services, an upgrade from traditional two-factor notifications. Users are sent a unique number they need to type into the Microsoft Authenticator app before they access their account.

Other forms of MFA include text-message and email codes, but they are overall less secure. Text-message and email code notifications lack the uniqueness that number matching provides which puts the users accounts at risk. The unique number provides additional security by ensuring that hackers cannot gain access to a desired account through tactics such as MFA bombing and MFA fatigue attacks. Due to the increased security risk, Microsoft will soon enforce number matching notifications for all Microsoft Authenticator users.

What is Happening?  

Until now, the Microsoft Authenticator app would send a simple push notification and allowed for admin control and enforcement for what notification type was being used. Users could choose if they wanted to use number matching or a different type of MFA notification. Starting on May 8, 2023, Microsoft is removing the admin control and enforcing the number match experience for all Microsoft Authenticator push notifications.

Number matching is the most secure form of MFA notifications and organizations are faced with an increased risk of a cyberattack when using other forms. Wanting to decrease the risk of attacks, Microsoft is taking matters into their own hands and enforcing the most secure form of MFA notifications for all users of their authenticator app.   

Why is Number Matching for MFA Being Enforced? 

While all MFA notification types have provided additional areas of protection for organizations accounts, attackers have found ways to override the system. By using a technique such as MFA bombing and MFA fatigue attacks, attackers are able to bypass traditional security methods.

MFA bombing which leads to MFA fatigue attacks, allows attackers to send large numbers of authentication requests to an online account. With the help of automated tools and sometimes stolen credentials data, attackers are able to send out thousands of notification request. The hope is the user will get so overwhelmed by the bombardment of MFA notifications that the user selects “allow” to make the notifications stop. Once the user allows access into their account, hackers can gain access to the desired system often installing ransomware and holding data hostage in exchange for money.  

MFA bombing and MFA fatigue attacks are preventable when number matching as the notification type. The unique number provided with number matching increases protection for users. Other forms of MFA notifications lack the uniqueness which puts individual accounts and organizational data at an increased risk. The number provided is almost impossible to duplicate which ensures that organizations are protected from these attacks. Unlike with text and email codes, attackers can no longer send out thousands of automated requests that bombard users in an attempt to access a desired account.

As cybersecurity risks increase, organizations must adapt and become more vigilant when protecting their data. Microsoft understands the risk from not enabling number matching, which is why they are enforcing it starting on May 8, 2023.  

What Can Your Organization Do? 

Although organizations have until May 8th to enable MFA number matching, we have already been rolling out number matching for our clients. We recommend working with our team to schedule the transition before it’s enforced on May 8th to ensure your organization has increased protection against cybersecurity attacks.

Contact us at Virtuas for assistance enabling number-matching notifications and for all your cybersecurity needs.

You can use many search operators on SharePoint or OneDrive to find your files but remembering them can be a chore. Our reference sheet includes KQL syntax and different operators to help you find the right document. Download and print it out for whenever you need a reminder of what operators you can use.

The Basic Microsoft Search Function

Microsoft Search is a powerful function. When you want to find a certain file in OneDrive, you enter in a simple search term, such as “Annual Budget”. Microsoft will scan all your files and display a result list that contains every file with the term in it, whether it is in the title or in the content. Of course, that can produce pages of results, which is where KQL comes into play.

What is KQL?

KQL, which stands for Keyword Query Language, is the basis of how you use search operators and restrictions to easily find your files. While using improper syntax still yields results, extraneous files you meant to filter out will still show up.

A KQL query requires a search term and at least one operator to work. With proper KQL syntax, which is included in our KQL cheat sheet, you can combine different operators and restrictions to focus on the file you need.

Using Search Operators and Property Restrictions

If you find that basic search still returns too many files, add search operators and property restrictions to your search. Adding both to search terms throughout the Microsoft ecosystem allows you to pinpoint your needed file much faster.

How to Use Search Operators

There are many operators out there that you can use, and each of them have a different function. Operators come in forms of symbols, like the Wildcard asterisk, and in words, like the Proximity operator ONEAR. Each comes with their own set of rules, such as how the Wildcard can only be used for prefix matching and must come after the characters. For a brief overview of some operators, check out our video!

How to Use Property Restrictions

Property restrictions are another way to narrow down results if you know other characteristics of the file you are looking for. Using a property restriction requires a property name, and they are useful when you remember an aspect of your file, such as the author’s name. Combining multiple restrictions together will cut down your results significantly, as shown in our tutorial.

The Virtuas Microsoft Search KQL Cheat Sheet

With operators and restrictions, time spent perusing the search results decreases. However, there are many operators and restrictions and remembering them all can be difficult. You could search up the proper search syntax and the different operators if you need them but having a handy paper next to you when you need a quick reminder would be much easier.

Our guide includes the KQL search structure, basic and complex operators, and different restrictions you can implement daily. Each of these also have examples so you have an idea of how to use them.

Download the Virtuas KQL Cheat Sheet

Our reference sheet is great if you need a summary of the different operators and restrictions for your search. The guide includes basic KQL syntax as well as more advance operators like dynamic ranking. Download and print out the quick reference guide so the next time you are looking for a document, you will have all the useful search features at your fingertips. This reference sheet has all the functions you would need to find a file from any Microsoft 365 app. Download our cheat sheet and keep it handy!

For more resources to improve your search results, check out our playlist on Microsoft Search or visit our Insights page.

After ten years of innovation, Microsoft will have their first major price increase for a selection of their commercial products globally, with local market adjustments for certain regions. The change will go into effect on March 1, 2022, and will include Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 E3 and Office 365 E1, E3, and E5. The table below provides a breakdown of the price increase for each product.

Funding New Innovations

This decision has come after the implementation of 24 new apps and over 1,400 new capabilities since Microsoft’s initial launch of Microsoft 365 in July of 2017. These innovations target three key areas, communications and collaboration, security and compliance, and AI and automation. Additionally, Microsoft has announced a fourth key area with the announcement of their newly extended audio-conferencing capabilities in Microsoft Teams.

Read More about the Change at Microsoft’s Website

If you would like to learn more about the upcoming price changes, click on the Microsoft article linked below.

Microsoft.com: New pricing for Microsoft 365

Microsoft Edge Homepage Shortcuts

When logged into a Microsoft 365 account, Edge has a shortcut at the top left corner so you can access apps such as Outlook, OneDrive, or OneNote. You can save important websites on the homepage and have Office 365 apps at your fingertips.

Microsoft Edge’s Informational Layout

The Microsoft Edge homepage offers three types of page layouts that you can choose depending on what’s most helpful to your workflow. While the Focused layout removes all backgrounds and displays the Office 365 apps or websites chosen, and the Inspirational layout gives you a scenic picture of the day, Edge’s Informational layout is the one that all business professionals should be using.

Edge’s Informational layout condenses the picture of the day so that you can see your work files and projects as well as frequented sites. You can opt to see Office 365 content instead of the news by changing the Page Content settings to Office 365.  This shows you your recently edited or commonly opened documents and files, allowing you to immediately access them without having to search through apps. You can also pin important files and see shared documents.

The Microsoft Edge homepage also shows frequent sites and shortcuts that lead to OneDrive and SharePoint. All of these features on Edge’s Informational layout boosts productivity and efficiency, making it the preferred choice for business professionals.

Make Microsoft Edge Work For You

Edge’s new homepage puts your workstream at your fingertips, so switch to the Office 365 Informational layout to supercharge your work productivity and improve your professional life now! Edge’s customizable browser is only one of the reasons why Edge is a great browser for professionals.

Microsoft recently released a feature within Microsoft Stream that allows you to use a modern browser (Chrome or Edge) to do screen recordings without any recording software. This is a great way for subject matter experts in the office to easily create explainer and training videos, as well as publish and share them on Teams!

How to Use It

Visit Stream within your Microsoft 365 portal and then navigate to Create > Record Screen. You’ll be able to record clips of your desktop or a single app, along with audio and webcam video.

When combined with Stream’s auto-generated captions and other authoring tools, you’ll be able to create professional, step-by-step tutorials in no time.

Integrations

Microsoft Stream integrates with Teams so once your content is ready, you can publish it to your user community within minutes.

Limitations

The video length is currently limited to 15 minutes, and Microsoft Windows is the only platform that provides full functionality at this time.