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Intermittent Delay in Loading Files Tab in Microsoft Teams Channels

dicknoort715 — Thu, 09 Oct 2025 13:20:31 GMT

Description:

Within our municipality, we are experiencing an intermittent issue where the Files tab in Microsoft Teams channels takes >5 seconds to load. This behavior appears to be random and is not tied to specific users, devices, or locations. We have conducted several internal checks and can confirm the following:

The issue occurs in both small and large Teams channels, regardless of the number of files or folders.
It affects various Surface laptops, so it does not appear to be device-specific.
It happens both inside and outside our municipal buildings, ruling out local network dependency.
We exclusively use Microsoft products, including Surface devices, Microsoft Defender, and Intune for device management.

We would like to know:

Is this a known issue within Microsoft Teams?
Are there specific tenant-level settings or Intune configurations that could influence the performance of the Files tab?
Are there any recommended diagnostics or optimizations we can apply to improve consistency?

We appreciate any guidance or insights you can provide.

Kind regards,
Dick Noort
Advisor Information Services

Ready to accelerate your Zero Trust journey? Discover what’s next

JulieHersum — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:40:32 GMT

For admins | 1-minute read

Zero Trust isn’t just a security buzzword—it’s the new baseline for protecting your organization in a world where threats are always evolving.

But what does it really take to move from strategy to action?

Find out by reading our recent blog, Accelerate your Zero Trust journey: Using the Microsoft Zero Trust workshop for impact on the M365 Accelerator site. In it, we break down some of the real-world challenges IT admins face and show how this hands-on workshop can help you build a clear roadmap forward.

For example, learn how you can use the workshop to:

Assess and improve your security posture by evaluating your organization’s current security maturity across six critical Zero Trust pillars (Identity, Devices, Data, Network, Infrastructure, Security Operations), identify gaps, and prioritize actions for improvement.

Drive cross-team alignment and executive buy-in by bringing together stakeholders from security, infrastructure, networking, and compliance for communication, consensus building, and creating a data-driven roadmap that resonates with leadership.

Turn security strategy into actionable results with practical steps for leveraging the Zero Trust Workshop to transform security from a reactive task into a proactive, strategic advantage for your organization.

Next steps

Ready to move beyond theory and see how Microsoft’s approach can help you secure identities, apps, and data?

Then Accelerate your Zero Trust journey is your next must-read.

Get the full story and workshop details here.

Governing Copilot agents: Your next step starts here

JulieHersum — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 23:42:47 GMT

For those of you navigating this shift, Rob Howard, Microsoft’s VP of Product Management for Microsoft 365 Copilot Extensibility, offers a practical governance framework in his article, What IT admins need to know about governing AI agents.

The article introduces three key governance pillars:

Security controls using Microsoft Purview.
Management controls through admin centers and deployment planning.
Agent reporting to monitor usage and stay ahead of compliance.

You’ll also get a first look at governance zones—a planning model to help segment Copilot deployment based on your organization’s risk tolerance and data sensitivity. Think sandbox, controlled, and trusted zones, with guidance on how to phase rollout.

What else you’ll find:

A checklist to assess your readiness.
Real-world examples of phased deployment.
Links to tools you already use, like Purview, Power Platform admin center, and Microsoft 365 admin center.
A preview of the upcoming white paper and webinar.

Next Steps

Ready to securely and strategically lead your organization into the future of AI?

Read Rob’s blog today for reliable advice on governing Copilot agents. It’s part of a broader initiative by FastTrack for Microsoft 365 to support IT admins with actionable, admin-relevant content on governing Copilot AI agents—so stay tuned for future articles, webinars, and more on the topic!

Bring AI out of the shadows with agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

JulieHersum — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 22:17:46 GMT

For IT admins and Microsoft 365 admins
7-minute read

Overview

Shadow AI is almost certainly happening across your organization—whether you can see it or not. Employees are using tools like ChatGPT and Notion AI to get work done, even without organizational knowledge or approval. This creates real risks like data leakage, compliance violations, and a lack of visibility into how employees are using artificial intelligence.

Fortunately, IT admins are in a unique position to fix the problem at its core.

Today's article is intended to be a practical playbook for helping IT admins lead the charge toward responsible AI use in their organizations by empowering secure, compliant, and easy-to-manage agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat.

What is shadow AI?

Like shadow IT, the term ‘shadow AI’ exists for a reason: it refers to unsanctioned, often hidden, use of AI tools.

In the shadows, artificial intelligence can be hard to detect and even harder to govern. Tools can be browser-based, embedded in SaaS apps, or used on personal devices. Controls that mitigate shadow IT—like app blocking or firewall rules—don’t necessarily translate to AI use.

Both shadow IT and shadow AI involve technical and behavioral elements, however unauthorized use of AI presents deeper behavioral challenges beyond unauthorized tools. These challenges center around how users make decisions and potentially bypass governance in ways that are harder to detect and control.

While employees may not want to go rogue or bypass IT—and they generally don’t want to put the organization at risk—they do want to get their work done efficiently. They turn to public AI tools when they can’t find the capabilities they need inside the tools they have permission to use.

Agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat give you a way to lead AI use into the light and meet your users’ needs with modern AI business tools. By building and deploying task-specific, data-grounded chat experiences that live inside Microsoft 365, users get fast, relevant answers they’re looking for without having to step into the shadows and leave the secure environment you manage.

These agents are part of the broader Microsoft 365 Copilot ecosystem and are designed to automate and execute business processes directly within Copilot Chat.

Should you ignore or even allow shadow AI?

When employees use public AI tools without oversight, they create risks that are harder to detect, harder to govern, and harder to reverse.

For IT admins, the stakes are high for operational, security, and technical risks:

Loss of visibility and control: You can’t protect what you can’t see.

- Shadow AI obscures oversight. It’s harder to track usage or enforce policies for tools used outside your environment.

- No centralized monitoring = no control. Without a unified view, you can’t troubleshoot issues, optimize usage, or step in when something goes wrong.
- Shadow data silos emerge. Generative AI content created outside your tenant isn’t retained or governed, which complicates lifecycle management, legal holds, and compliance requests.

Security and compliance risks

- Enterprise-grade protections are lacking. Most public AI tools don’t support conditional access, audit logs, or data loss prevention (DLP) policies, leaving you with blind spots and increased risk of data leaks.

- Sensitive data exposure. Employees may unknowingly input proprietary or regulated data into public models, risking violations of GDPR, HIPAA, or internal policies.
- Compliance gaps. If tools aren’t tracked or documented, they increase the burden of proving compliance and can become major liabilities during audits or regulatory reviews.

IT and governance challenges

- IT is out of the loop. Adoption of unauthorized AI tools sidelines IT, preventing teams from recommending secure, supported alternatives or aligning tools with organizational standards. When users go rogue with AI tools, they aren't using recommended secure, supported options that align with your environment and policies.
- Tool sprawl = more support tickets. Unapproved tools often lack integration with existing systems, creating support burdens and increasing the risk of misconfigurations.

Bottom line: Allowing or ignoring shadow AI will make it much harder to manage later. That’s why Copilot Chat agents, combined with strong governance and user education, are such a powerful response: they give you a way to meet end user demand without losing control.

What IT admins are up against

When it comes to eradicating rogue AI, admins have their work cut out for them. Here’s a summary table of how activating Copilot Chat agents at your organization can help stem the tide:

Unsanctioned AI use contributes to:	How to stem the problem:
Loss of visibility and control Employees use unsanctioned AI tools.	Reframe shadow AI as a signal Offer sanctioned tools that meet user needs and bring AI usage into the light.
Data governance gaps Unapproved tools bypass DLP and compliance policies.	Keep data in your tenant Copilot agents respect Microsoft 365 compliance, identity, and data boundaries.
Inconsistent AI use across teams Different tools create fragmented workflows.	Centralize AI access Deploy agents across Teams and Microsoft 365 to unify usage.
Security and compliance risks Shadow tools may not meet regulatory standards.	Use enterprise-grade protection Copilot agents are authenticated with Azure AD and governed by Microsoft Purview.
Lack of deployment clarity Admins may not know where to start.	Follow a clear blueprint This blog outlines steps for setup, governance, and scaling.
Missed innovation opportunities IT is seen as a blocker, not a partner.	Support safe innovation Let business units build AI chat agents with IT guardrails in place.

Copilot Chat agents remove the roadblocks to getting value from AI

Microsoft's chat agents aren’t just another AI tool—they’re designed to work the way IT works.

Secure by design: Agents run inside your Microsoft 365 tenant and authenticate through Azure AD.
Compliant by default: They respect DLP and audit policies and retention through Microsoft Purview.
Customizable and governable: You can define access, data sources, and usage policies.
Easy to deploy: Agents live inside Teams and Microsoft apps, so users don’t need to install anything new.

Copilot Chat agents strengthen governance

While Copilot for Microsoft 365 helps users work more efficiently inside apps like Word, Excel, and Teams, Copilot's AI agents go a step further. They give IT the ability to create task-specific, role-based, and data-grounded AI experiences that directly replace the kinds of tools employees might otherwise seek out on their own.

Key deployment benefits for IT admins

Benefit	Impact
Visibility	Know who’s using AI, how, and with what data.
Control	Define and enforce usage policies.
Compliance	Align AI use with regulatory standards.
Efficiency	Reduce support tickets with self-service agents.
Innovation	Empower business units without losing oversight.

Take the next step

Like shadow IT, you may not get rid of shadow AI completely or overnight. But you can meet it head-on with tools that work for your users and comply with your policies.

Start by deploying a few AI Chat agents in high-impact areas. Use the resources in this article to guide your rollout.

With Copilot Chat agents, you’re not just solving a technical problem. You’re leading your organization toward safer, smarter AI adoption.

Tools that make it easier

When it comes to Microsoft 365 deployments, you’re never alone. FastTrack for Microsoft 365 offers a full set of resources to help you learn about, build, manage, and instruct end users on Copilot Chat agents:

Credentialed access, sign in required:

Microsoft 365 advanced deployment guides and assistance
Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub
Microsoft 365 Copilot: Quickstart, Copilot Chat licensing

Open access, no sign-in required:

Get started with Microsoft 365 Copilot extensibility
Microsoft 365 Copilot ADG: Streamlining your Copilot journey (video)
Copilot Chat Success Kit – Microsoft Adoption
Microsoft Copilot AI setup and usage guides
AI in business: Artificial intelligence tools & solutions (blog)
Request assistance from FastTrack

Deployment blueprint: Get started today

Remember: You don’t need to roll out everything at once. Start small, build momentum, and scale responsibly.

Here’s a blueprint that will get you to the finish line:

Copilot Chat agent deployment checklist

Step 1: Prepare your environment

☐ Set up Copilot Studio and review licensing.

☐ Create Power Platform environments that reflect your data boundaries and governance needs.

☐ Identify early declarative agent use cases (e.g., HR FAQs, IT help desk).

Note: Only declarative agents are currently supported in Copilot Chat. Agents that access tenant data (e.g., SharePoint, Graph) require pay-as-you-go billing.

Step 2: Define governance policies

☐ Use role-based access control (RBAC) to manage who can create, publish, and use agents.

☐ Apply naming conventions, approval workflows, and publishing guidelines.

☐ Set up guardrails for data access, agent behavior, and knowledge sources.

☐ Assign maker permissions via Microsoft Entra groups or Copilot Studio user licenses.

Step 3: Deploy and monitor

☐ Use the Microsoft admin center and Power Platform admin center to manage billing and access.

☐ Monitor usage with audit logs, analytics, and the Copilot Control System.

☐ Identify which teams are still using unauthorized AI tools and guide them toward approved Copilot agents.

Step 4: Support and scale

☐ Offer training, templates, and office hours to support agent creators and users.

☐ Establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) to share best practices and governance.

☐ Highlight successful use cases to drive adoption and build momentum.

☐ Encourage feedback loops to refine agent behavior and expand scenarios.

Shadow AI prevention checklist

What else should you do to discourage shadow AI? Here's a handy checklist of actions to take:

Data protection

☐ Apply Microsoft Purview DLP policies to monitor and restrict sensitive data.

☐ Use sensitivity labels and encryption to protect data at rest and in transit.

☐ Set up conditional access policies to limit AI tool usage by role, device, or location.

Acceptable use

☐ Publish clear guidance on approved AI tools and data usage.

☐ Include AI-specific clauses in acceptable use and security policies.

☐ Reinforce policies through onboarding, training, and regular reminders.

Monitoring and detection

☐ Use Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps (MCAS) to detect unsanctioned AI usage.

☐ Analyze browser traffic and app usage patterns for high-risk behavior.

☐ Set up alerts for uploads to known AI endpoints (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude).

Education and empowerment

☐ Run awareness campaigns about shadow AI risks and approved alternatives.

☐ Offer training on how to use Copilot and Copilot Chat agents effectively.

☐ Create a feedback loop for users to request new AI capabilities.

Internal partnerships

☐ Collaborate with HR, legal, and other teams to understand AI needs.

☐ Support business units in building Copilot Chat agents with IT oversight.

☐ Use shadow AI behavior as a signal for unmet needs and prioritize accordingly.

Governance alignment

☐ Align Copilot deployment with your organization’s responsible AI principles.

☐ Document how Copilot Chat agents support ethical and regulatory standards.

☐ Use audit logs and analytics to support transparency and accountability.

Driving adoption and measuring impact with the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard

JulieHersum — Thu, 29 May 2025 18:35:37 GMT

Since 2023, nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies have integrated Microsoft 365 Copilot’s advanced AI into their daily workflows, unlocking new efficiencies and streamlining collaboration—and they’re seeing measurable business impact.

For example, Vodafone discovered employees who use Copilot save an average of 3 hours per week, reclaiming 10% of their workweek. Lumen Technologies estimates that using Copilot will help their sales teams save $50 million per year.

These are game-changing outcomes. But how do these companies know their numbers are accurate? And how did they achieve them? The key to maximizing the value of AI-driven productivity tools is more than simply licensing your end users and waiting for them to make the most of it. In fact, the key lies in measuring its impact.

To drive meaningful adoption and maximize ROI with Microsoft 365 Copilot, organizational leaders need clear visibility into how their workforces are using it. This means understanding:

Who’s adopting AI with Copilot.
How effectively is Copilot supporting workflows.
What measurable productivity gains are users achieving.

In this article, business leaders and IT can learn more about the Microsoft 365 Copilot dashboard, including its key features and core metrics.

We'll also go over IT's tasks for configuring the dashboard and granting access to business leaders so they can analyze Copilot usage patterns themselves, refine their Copilot engagement strategies, and help drive productivity gains in their teams and throughout the organization.

What is the Copilot Dashboard?

The Microsoft Copilot Dashboard is a tool in Viva Insights that helps IT, business leaders, change managers, and other non-technical stakeholders track usage of Microsoft 365 Copilot with practical insights they can use to:

Prepare users to work effectively with AI
Drive Copilot adoption across teams
Measure impact on workplace behavior

Key features and core metrics of the Copilot Dashboard

With a Viva Insights license, your unlock advanced dashboard features, including:

Comprehensive Metrics

A 28-day aggregated view of Copilot usage, adoption, readiness, and impact, to help you understand engagement and Copilot business value.

Readiness tracking

Based on Microsoft 365 app usage patterns, these metrics can help you identify which teams are ready to adopt AI into their daily workflows and which may need additional support, training or upskilling.

Adoption insights

With adoption insights, dashboard users can track active Copilot usage patterns within each Microsoft 365 app to measure how effectively teams are integrating Copilot into workflows. They can also pinpoint areas where Copilot users may need training or support to maximize productivity. By default, the dashboard’s Adoption trendline shows the prior six-month trend for all users in the organization. You can adjust filters at the top of the page for specific groups.

Impact analysis

This insight allows you to analyze how often employees in your organization use Copilot during a specified time period. Leaders can also measure productivity gains through metrics like meeting efficiency, email usage, and document collaboration.

Advanced tools, such as before-and-after behavioral data and employee surveys, can reveal early and even deeper insights into Copilot’s organizational impact.

Learning opportunities

Use qualitative feedback data from Copilot impact pulse surveys to identify Copilot satisfaction levels, challenges, and areas for improvement.

For example, you can compare high-adoption teams with low-adoption ones to uncover training or awareness gaps.

Managing the Copilot Dashboard: Key admin responsibilities

Global admins play a critical role in configuring and managing the Copilot Dashboard.

Their roles include:

Setting up and configuring the Copilot Dashboard.
Granting access and supporting business stakeholders.
Integrating data.

1. Setting up and configuring the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard

Global IT admins are responsible for setting up and configuring the Copilot Dashboard to align with organizational goals and requirements. This includes managing settings and turning features on and off as needed.

2. Granting access and supporting business stakeholders

Admins, you'll also need to assign permissions to specific leaders, stakeholders, or groups through the Microsoft 365 admin center or PowerShell. Make sure stakeholders in different roles have the correct permissions.

You'll also play a critical role in supporting and troubleshooting issues that users might encounter, such as technical problems and related assistance.

Who should have access to the Copilot Dashboard?

Business leaders

You can view engagement and adoption metrics directly and make informed decisions about how best to guide users on adopting Copilot.

Department heads

You'll want to monitor how your teams are using Copilot and identify areas for improvement.

IT managers

You'll need to oversee the technical aspects of Copilot deployment and ensure smooth operations.

HR Managers

Track employee sentiment and impact metrics for workforce planning and development.

How do admins grant access to the Copilot Dashboard?

You can delegate and manage access for individuals or groups to the dashboard in two different ways:

1. The Microsoft 365 admin center

Access the Copilot Dashboard here or
Sign in to Microsoft 365 admin center
Navigate to the Settings tab
Select Setup
Go to the Copilot Dashboard to Manage access settings. From there you can search for and select users to grant or revoke access.

Manage access for groups by selecting the Groups option, searching for Entra ID groups, and adding or removing users as needed.

2. PowerShell

Viva Insights admins can delegate access to organizational insights and the Copilot Dashboard using PowerShell.

Set policies to enable or disable access to the dashboard at the tenant level using PowerShell cmdlets. This method gives you more granular control. Use it to manage access for larger groups or the entire organization.

Note: You can only delegate access to users with a Viva Insights license. Viva Insights is available as part of the Microsoft Viva Suite or as a standalone add-on to Microsoft 365 enterprise plans.

How do business stakeholders access the Copilot Dashboard?

Business stakeholders, you can access the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard through your Teams Viva Insights app.

3. Integrating organizational data into the dashboard

Admins will upload organizational data directly through the admin center and configure it for analysis. If both the Viva Insights admin and the Global admin upload data, the dashboard will merge these uploads and display insights based on the most recent data.

Empowering business stakeholders with insights they can act on

Microsoft 365 Copilot is transforming productivity, and metrics powered by Viva Insights are proving its impact to the world.

Access the Copilot Dashboard today for yourself and unlock Copilot’s full potential for driving organizational success.

Learn more

For more information on connecting to the Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers, watch our recent video, AI Transformation: Maximize the value of Copilot with Copilot Dashboard and check out our article: Connect to the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers | Microsoft Learn.

Need more assistance? FastTrack is here to help!

FastTrack is available to support customers with eligible licenses. Request assistance from FastTrack today or contact your assigned FastTrack Architect (FTA).

Azure Firewall and Service Endpoints

cloudtrooper — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 11:48:33 GMT

In my recent blog series Private Link reality bites I briefly mentioned the possibility of inspecting Service Endpoints with Azure Firewall, and many have asked for more details on that configuration. Here we go!

First things first: what the heck am I talking about? Most Azure services such as Azure Storage, Azure SQL and many others can be accessed directly over the public Internet. However, there are two alternatives to access those services over Microsoft's backbone: Private Link and VNet Service Endpoints. Microsoft's overall recommendation is using private link, but some organizations prefer leveraging service endpoints. Feel free to read this post on a comparison of the two.

You might want to inspect traffic to Azure services with network firewalls, even if that traffic is leveraging service endpoints. Before doing so, please consider that sending high-bandwidth traffic through a firewall might have cost implications and impact on the overall application latency. If you still want to go ahead, this post is going to explain how to do it.

The Design

Service endpoints have two configuration parts:

Source subnet configuration to tunnel traffic to the destination service.
Destination service configuration to accept traffic from the source subnet.

The key concept to understand is that if traffic from the client is going to be inspected by a firewall before going to the Azure service, then the source subnet is actually the Azure Firewall's subnet, not the original client's subnet:

You can configure service endpoints for a specific Azure service on a subnet using the portal, Terraform, Bicep, PowerShell or the Azure CLI. In the portal this is what it looks like:

For Azure CLI, enabling service endpoints for Azure Storage accounts in all regions would look like this:

❯ subnet_name=AzureFirewallSubnet
❯ az network vnet subnet update -n $subnet_name --vnet-name $vnet_name -g $rg --service-endpoints Microsoft.Storage.Global -o none --only-show-errors

You would then configure your Azure services to accept traffic coming from the Azure Firewall subnet. For example, for Azure Storage Accounts this is what you would see in the portal:

Network Rules or Application Rules?

Ideally you should use Application Rules in your firewall to make sure that your workloads are accessing the right Azure services, and not exfiltrating data to rogue data services that might be owned by somebody else and still could have the same IP address.

This is an example of a star rule granting access to all Azure Storage Accounts, but you should specify your own:

I tested with two storage accounts, one in the same region and another one in a different region than the client (the client being in this case the Azure Firewall). Access to both storage accounts is working, and as you can see both accesses are logged in the Storage Account as well as in the Azure Firewall (I have removed some characters from the storage account names to obfuscate them):

❯ ssh $vm_pip "curl -s4 $storage_blob_fqdn1"
Hello world! 
❯ ssh $vm_pip "curl -s4 $storage_blob_fqdn2"
Hello world!
❯ query='StorageBlobLogs | where TimeGenerated > ago(15m) | project AccountName, StatusCode, CallerIpAddress'
❯ az monitor log-analytics query -w $logws_customerid --analytics-query $query -o table
AccountName              CallerIpAddress     StatusCode  
----------------------   -----------------   ----------
storagetest????eastus2   10.13.76.72:10066   200
storagetest????westus2   10.13.76.72:11880   200
❯ query='AzureDiagnostics | where TimeGenerated > ago(15m) | where Category == "AZFWApplicationRule" | project SourceIP, Fqdn_s, Protocol_s, Action_s' 
❯ az monitor log-analytics query -w $logws_customerid --analytics-query $query -o table 
Action_s  Fqdn_s                                       Protocol_s SourceIP
--------- -------------------------------------------- ---------- ----------
Allow     storagetest????eastus2.blob.core.windows.net HTTPS      10.13.76.4 
Allow     storagetest????westus2.blob.core.windows.net HTTPS      10.13.76.4

The storage account sees as client IP the Azure Firewall's IP (in the subnet 10.13.76.64/26), and the Azure Firewall logs show the actual client IP (in the workload subnet 10.13.76.0/26).

If you use network rules you would lose a lot of the flexibility of the Azure Firewall, even if using FQDN-based rules. The reason is that if there were 2 storage accounts with different FQDNs sharing the same IP address, and the same client resolves both FQDNs, when Azure Firewall looks at the packet it will not be able to guess to which storage account each specific packet belongs to. From a routing perspective it would still work though, as long as you have the default SNAT settings of Azure Firewall, which involves translating the IP address when public IP addresses are involved:

Conclusion

There are some reasons why you might want to pick VNet service endpoints over private link (cost would probably be one of them). If so, there are advantages and disadvantages of sending traffic to Azure services via a firewall. If you decide to inspect traffic to VNet service endpoints with Azure Firewall, hopefully this post has shown you how to do that.

What are your thoughts about this?

Google Workspace migration to Microsoft 365 with multiple domains

ep_green — Thu, 03 Apr 2025 12:29:44 GMT

I'm managing a project to migrate mail from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 via (Google Workspace Migration).

My scenario is composed as follows:

Primary domain in GWS: domain1.com

Secondary domain in GWS: domain2.com

Routing domain (alias domain) in GWS: m365.domain1.com and gws.domain1.com

Microsoft side: accepted domain: domain1.com,domain2.com, m365.domain1.com and gws.domain1.com

Users domain1.com have aliases routing domain m365.domain1.com and external forwarding gws.domain2.com.

Users domain2.com have aliases routing domain m365.domain1.com and external forwarding gws.domain1.com.

For users domain1.com the hybrid coexistence scenario, mailflow and batch work perfectly.

For domain2.com users, the batch works, but at the time of completion, it returns an error that Google asks for verification of the forwarding address, as it is different from domain2.com.

“GmailForwardingAddressRequiresVerificationException”

Which configuration am I doing wrong?

And above all, is the scenario in question supported?

Thank you

Deploy Microsoft Defender XDR today and start protecting your entire digital estate

JulieHersum — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 18:22:33 GMT

The average organization now hosts 351 exploitable attack pathways, says Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Risk Report¹, so it’s no wonder leaders across sectors are calling for enhanced protection of high-value assets within applications, email, endpoints, identity, and more.

But deploying a comprehensive security solution like Microsoft Defender XDR can be a big lift, especially in organizations using legacy systems or a mix of third-party tools. Complex integrations and configurations combined with common issues like limited staffing resources can further delay or even prevent full product implementation.

Fortunately, FastTrack for Microsoft 365 is ready to help streamline your security product deployment and today we’ll explain how.

In this blog, you’ll learn:

Why Microsoft Defender platform adds value beyond security.
How to deploy Microsoft Defender efficiently and securely using Microsoft admin center advanced deployment guides.
Answers to FAQs.

Microsoft Defender: The industry leading², XDR solution with added value

Microsoft Defender protects your entire organization with a unified security platform that consolidates multiple security functions (e.g., endpoint, identity, cloud security) under a single tool.

This comprehensive coverage creates overlapping security, which strengthens overall security and helps reduce workloads for security and IT teams.

And while in some cases, transitioning security systems can create vulnerabilities in the short term, FastTrack engineers at Microsoft have solved for this by providing incremental security coverage as you wind down third-party point solutions. We’ll describe this in more detail later on but first let’s go over the Microsoft Defender platform.

The Microsoft Defender platform:

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint

Helps prevent, detect, investigate, and respond to advanced threats with next-gen antivirus, endpoint detection response (EDR), automated investigation, and prioritized remediation capabilities. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint setup guide

Microsoft Defender for Office 365

Protects email and collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams against advanced threats, i.e., phishing, business email compromise, and malware attacks. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 setup guide

Microsoft Defender for Identity

Protects on-premises Active Directory from targeted attacks with signals that identify, detect, and investigate compromised identities and malicious insider actions.

Microsoft Defender for Identity setup guide

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

A Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) that uses rich visibility, control over data travel, and sophisticated analytics to identify and combat cyber threats across cloud services. Gain visibility into Shadow IT, discover cloud apps in use, control and protect data within apps, and detect and respond to threats across all potential threat vectors.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps setup guide

Microsoft Defender XDR, powered by AI, integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 products and security tools

Seamless integration provides for stronger, more consistent, automated security across the entire software ecosystem. For example:

Microsoft Defender is embedded with Microsoft Sentinel

Microsoft Sentinel is a new FastTrack offering. It’s a very powerful cloud-native, AI-powered security information and event management (SIEM) solution that helps teams address top cyberthreats, including ransomware attacks, by:

Enriching data with machine learning: Sentinel employs machine learning to enrich data with Microsoft's threat intelligence, the secret ingredient that fuels capabilities, including threat hunting, detecting, investigating, and responding to threats across an ecosystem.
Reducing “alert fatigue”: Sentinel filters through billions of signals, correlates them into alerts and incidents, and even prioritizes incidents. This allows for more efficient and cost-effective remediation strategies and reduced alert fatigue for SOC teams.

Microsoft Defender integrates with Azure’s Microsoft Defender for Cloud

Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) that secures full-stack workloads, end to end, across Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Azure Cloud Services with constant cyberthreat monitoring at the code level.

How to deploy Microsoft Defender security products efficiently and securely

Because each organization’s deployment scenario will be as unique as the organization itself, Microsoft engineers designed Defender to be highly customizable and able to accommodate a variety of different scenarios. However, no one should let complexities surrounding custom configurations delay deployment.

FastTrack for Microsoft 365 is here to help

With a variety of self-serve resources, detailed documentation, automated, step-by-step deployment guides, and even one-on-one assistance (with an eligible license), FastTrack can help you reduce complexity and get your Microsoft Defender products up-and-running quickly.

Here’s how to start:

1. Visit the Microsoft 365 Setup site

Regardless of license status or credentials, start your journey at the Microsoft 365 Setup site for open, self-service access to detailed setup guides, on-demand videos, and helpful blogs to plan secure and efficient Microsoft Defender deployment workloads.

2. Sign in to the Microsoft admin center

Once your organization owns a license and you’re ready to deploy, sign in to the Microsoft admin center and access Microsoft Defender advanced deployment and setup guides.

3. Deploy using Microsoft Defender advance deployment guides

Start with zero trust

These streamlined, automated guides combine detailed documentation with stateful personalization, so you know you’re following the right instructions for your organization’s scenario. The step-by-step instructions also lead you through the correct order of operations so you can be confident you’re setting up each Microsoft Defender solution correctly, from beginning to end.

Microsoft Defender setup guides: What to expect once you get there

Each Microsoft Defender setup guide follows a similar pattern.

They begin with an Overview, describing foundational prerequisites and Requirements, then have you identify your organization’s particular Scenario and goals, before walking you through your recommended Deployment and Configuration steps based on your scenario and Microsoft’s best practices.

Let’s walk through the Microsoft Defender for Endpoint guide as an example:

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint setup guide

Arrive at Overview (see above) to learn more about the Defender setup guide and watch a short video.
Follow the subway navigation and review Microsoft Defender for Endpoint’s minimum setup requirements‎ to make sure you’re ready for a secure setup experience before you begin.
At Scenario, identify your organization’s current security situation and your goals, for example:

- Do you already have an endpoint security solution in place?
- Would you like to see how Defender for Endpoint works before rolling it out?
- Do you want help designing configurations?

At Deployment, find Microsoft’s recommended next steps based on your Scenario. These steps include:

- Preparation: Key points to consider as you prepare for migration.
- Setup: Guidance on which specific steps you should carry out next.
- Onboarding to your tenant: Advice on how to onboard while protecting other platforms in your environment.

5. Lastly, Configuration is where you’ll configure various settings and learn more about:

- Attack surface reduction
- Mobile threat defense
- Next-generation protection
- Auto remediation and investigation
- Microsoft Secure Score
- Endpoint detection and response
- Threat and vulnerability management

Frequently asked questions

Transitioning to or implementing a new security suite can be tricky. However, Microsoft Defender setup guides have been designed to eliminate as much risk and friction as possible from the deployment process. They also do a great job of anticipating and addressing questions admins frequently ask. Here are a few frequently asked questions and answers:

How do I securely migrate to Microsoft Defender for Office 365?
- Read this Learn article to understand securely migrating from a third-party protection service or device to ‎Microsoft Defender for Office 365‎.
How should I deal with urgent security incident response issues?
- Get a better understanding of the complex threats affecting your organization. Subscribers to Defender Experts for Hunting can engage with their own security incident response teams to address urgent security incident response issues.
Where can I go to learn how to fix onboarding issues myself?

4. Does Microsoft offer training for Microsoft Defender?

- Yes! To get started with Microsoft Defender training, browse the list of learning paths, and filter by product, role, level, and subject.

Need additional assistance?

Whether you have a few questions or want assistance with deployment of your entire Microsoft Defender suite, FastTrack Engineers and Partners are ready to help. Eligible customers can request direct, remote assistance from FastTrack for Microsoft 365.

[1] Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Report

[2] Microsoft Defender was named an XDR leader in The Forrester Wave: XDR platforms, Q2 2024, receiving top scores in 15 of 22 criteria, including Endpoint Detection, Threat Hunting, and Innovation.

EFZ4 BAD Request is throttled

AdminOK — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 06:56:24 GMT

Hi,

We recently migrated to Microsoft 365, and we have an application called KEO, which downloads emails for its internal functionality. However, the application is now displaying an error:

"EFZ4 BAD Request is throttled. Wait XXXXX ms"

Is there a way to fix this issue, or what steps should we take to resolve it?

Thank you

Litigation Hold Mailbox Migration

rschlager — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 13:01:14 GMT

My company is currently moving from Exchange 2016 to 365. We are currently setup in a hybrid environment. The question arose of how do we migrate mailboxes that are on litigation hold.

I have found that you can do a migration of the lit hold mailboxes from on-prem to 365 without any issues per this document - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/policy-and-compliance/holds/holds?view=exchserver-2016#migrating-mailboxes-on-hold-from-exchange-server-to-microsoft-365-or-office-365. However, what I can't seem to find is the best way to test a migration for a lit hold mailbox. I also have found that some of our lit hold mailboxes have been on hold so long that their mailboxes are on Exchange version 0.10.

So, I really have 2 questions.

1) How can I test migrating a lit hold mailbox from on prem to 365 without using an active person's mailbox?

2) Does the Exchange Version for the mailbox matter when I migrate them?

Any help would be much appreciated.

The future of Microsoft 365 deployment: Microsoft 365 Setup Expert

JulieHersum — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 20:45:21 GMT

Are you an IT professional, a business or technical decision-maker, or stakeholder involved with managing Microsoft 365 environments? If so, you need quick and reliable access to setup and deployment information. Now you have that access at your fingertips with Microsoft 365 Setup Expert. Read below for more details or check out the full blog post here.

What is Microsoft 365 Setup Expert?

Microsoft 365 Setup Expert is an innovative, AI-powered solution that helps IT, BDMS, TDMs, and related stakeholders streamline their Microsoft 365 setup and deployment workloads.

Developed by FastTrack engineers, this tool responds to queries with the information you need to make informed decisions about product purchases, licensing, deployment, and troubleshooting.

Advantages of Using Setup Expert

Setup Expert delivers essential insights for navigating Microsoft 365 setup workflows with confidence, regardless of your job role or credentials.

Key Features

Prepurchase guidance: Evaluate different Microsoft 365 solutions, compare licensing options, and get recommendations for compliance, remote work, and security scenarios.
Post-purchase support: Plan product rollouts, deploy advanced features, troubleshoot issues, and scale deployments based on organizational needs.
Reliable information: Sourced from official Microsoft channels, ensuring accuracy and relevance.
Role-based responses: Tailored insights for both technical and non-technical users.

Real-World Applications

Whether you're planning a new deployment or managing an existing environment, Microsoft 365 Setup Expert can help you:

Simplify and expedite deployments
Reduce reliance on credentialed admins
Foster collaboration across roles
Streamline procurement decisions

Learn more about Microsoft 365 Setup Expert

Dive deeper into how Setup Expert can transform your setup processes in the full blog post at the Setup site.

Find Setup Expert at setup.cloud.microsoft and start leading your organization through smarter, faster, and more collaborative deployments today!

GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 Migration Issues

OliP1 — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 14:12:43 GMT

Hi there, I wonder if I could get some help with an issue I've got. Currently I am attempting to migrate one user mailbox from the current GoDaddy tenant to our new Microsoft tenant, to initially test out the migration. I've followed the Migration tool in the Exchange admin center but am receiving the following error:

Error: MigrationRecipientNotFoundException: A recipient wasn't found for "***@***.onmicrosoft.com". Create a recipient of the appropriate type for this migration and try again.

I've got the user created in the Microsoft 365 admin center and a mailbox is set up for them. Both on GoDaddy and Microsoft it is UserMailbox recipient type.

I'm using the IMAP Migration settings as outlined from the GoDaddy IMAP settings, and have since checked with GoDaddy and they give these settings:
IMAP Server: imap.secureserver.net

Authentication: Basic

Encryption: SSL

Accept untrusted certificates: Yes

Port: 993

GoDaddy have also said that Basic authentication is supported by them and I have checked the Entra configuration to ensure that Basic is not blocked. I have even had the user I'm attempting to migrate log in to the temporary onmicrosoft account to make sure there are no log in issues there.

I have posted this on the Answers forum as well and was pointed in this direction for further help.

Any thoughts or help on this would be amazing.

Thanks in advance, Oli

Migration Email to 365

Kanzleilul — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 13:32:08 GMT

Hello,

I would like to transfer my email account from our host Siteground to Microsoft's business account. This is because the conventional hoster only has limited email storage and is almost full. The provider Siteground supports IMAP. I have several questions:

How do I proceed now? Do I have to transfer the domain first and then can I also transfer the email account in the second step?
Once the transfer has been completed, can I create additional email addresses via Siteground or do I now have to create all emails via 365 (which will probably incur costs)?

Thank you!

Migrating from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 with to have two separate Mailboxes per User + SSO

sz456789 — Wed, 29 Jan 2025 13:14:10 GMT

Context and Requirements:

My company (abc.com) is being acquired by another org (xyz.com). We’re currently on Google Workspace (G Suite) for abc.com email and want to migrate everything (email, calendar, contacts) into Microsoft 365 — specifically into the xyz.com tenant. After migration, each user must have two fully separate mailboxes: Mailbox A: email address removed for privacy reasons (data migrated from G Suite)

Mailbox B: email address removed for privacy reasons (new mailbox in the xyz.com tenant)

We need true single sign-on (SSO) so users can log in once and access both mailboxes (not just alias addresses) within the same tenant. We want to minimize complexity. FYI we will set up abc.com as an Accepted Domain in xyz.com Microsoft Exchange tenant.

What I’ve Investigated So Far:

Migration Tools:

The Exchange Admin Center has a built-in G Suite migration wizard, but it mainly migrates mail to one mailbox.

Third-party tools like BitTitan MigrationWiz can also handle G Suite → M365 migrations.

Two-Mailbox Setup Approaches: One licensed mailbox + one shared mailbox: For example, the user’s main mailbox would be email address removed for privacy reasons (fully licensed with migrated data), while email address removed for privacy reasons is a shared mailbox to keep it separate. The email address removed for privacy reasons account gets Full Access and Send As permissions on the xyz.com mailbox.

Pros: Single sign-on, one set of creds, minimal extra licensing. The data stays separate (two distinct mail stores).

Cons: Shared mailboxes are limited to 50GB if unlicensed, and some compliance features may require a license.

Two fully licensed user mailboxes (two Azure AD user accounts, e.g. email address removed for privacy reasons and email address removed for privacy reasons): Each mailbox is completely independent, but typically requires two sign-ins unless there’s advanced identity federation to unify credentials. Also doubles the licensing.

Pros: Full feature set in both mailboxes, no shared mailbox constraints.

Cons: Additional license costs, and not a straightforward “one-click” SSO for both.

Questions

Which approach is best for maintaining two discrete mailboxes per user without forcing them to manage multiple logins?

Are there any best practices for migrating from Google Workspace into Exchange 365(specific tenaant) maintaining the same email address?

Have you run into compliance or eDiscovery issues with a shared mailbox approach?

Any caveats or special steps needed to ensure calendars and contacts migrate correctly from Google Workspace into the new environment?

3 internal obstacles to overcome for comprehensive security

JulieHersum — Tue, 28 Jan 2025 12:45:00 GMT

Organizations today face relentless security challenges, fending off an average of 59 data security incidents each year.¹ At an average cost of $15 million,² successful exploits can be devasting. To address these risks, organizations need a comprehensive defense, including committed leadership and cutting-edge tools.

At Microsoft, safeguarding data, technology, and secure AI adoption is a year-round priority.  

In fact, Charlie Bell, executive vice president of Microsoft Security, recently underscored Microsoft’s “unique responsibility in safeguarding the future for our customers and community.”

As part of meeting this responsibility, Microsoft’s advanced security solutions include Microsoft Defender XDR, a platform designed to provide holistic security against today’s complex threats. 

While solutions like Microsoft Defender XDR are invaluable, getting them deployed can sometimes be challenging. Organizations may face internal hurdles—conflicting priorities, resource limitations, even resistance to change—that can slow or stall implementation of essential security tools. 

In this article, we’ll explore three common hurdles and discuss how, by deploying Microsoft security products, you can help ensure a more secure future at your organization.

3 common internal obstacles to achieving comprehensive security

1. Reluctance to replace individual, legacy solutions

In the past, organizations commonly implemented individual security tools for different, siloed areas of the organization. Today, we know this fragmented approach weakens data security. In fact, according to Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Risk Report, organizations using multiple individual point solutions experience 2.8 times as many data security incidents as those using fewer, integrated tools. 

Here's a table comparing the performance of individual point solutions vs. Microsoft Defender XDR, the industry-leading unified security platform.³

Is sunk cost fallacy to blame?

“Security is an area significantly impacted by behavioral economics."⁴ Sunk cost fallacy can lead cybersecurity professionals to resist replacing existing systems, even when evidence suggests it's necessary. According to Forbes: “The biggest risk in viewing cybersecurity as a sunk cost is inaction. In other words, thinking that you are safe because you haven’t yet suffered a major breach. Remember this maxim: Everyone is vulnerable."⁵

To move past sunk-cost fallacy, Forbes says decision-makers need to understand that “the implementation of robust security measures can deliver substantial value beyond just mitigating risks.”  

By examining ROI and a products’ impact on improving security, reducing complexity, and streamlining operations “...businesses can start recognizing cybersecurity as a driver of competitive advantage, innovation and operational efficiency,” instead of as simply a cost center⁶[Emphasis added]. 

As an example of the potential for ROI, a 2022 Forrester TEI study found that a composite company achieved an ROI of 242% over three years and a net present value (NPV) of $17 million from switching to Microsoft Defender.

It's easy to overestimate the value of individual or legacy security solutions but the clear security advantages and proven ROI of Microsoft Defender XDR demonstrate that replacing legacy systems can be well worth the effort. 

2. Concerns about ensuring secure integration 

If not managed carefully, integrations involving newly opened communication, authentication, or data transfer channels can introduce vulnerabilities that become attack vectors. Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Risk Report notes that “...misconfigured APIs were one of the leading causes of cloud data breaches in 2023.”

As a unified security platform, Microsoft Defender XDR mitigates such risks through a multilayered approach, through a multilayered approach, offering centralized management (including identity access), comprehensive visibility, and stronger security controls to help prevent human error. This approach “help[s] security teams proactively detect and monitor misconfigurations so they can remediate as needed."⁷

Consistent, automated security with Microsoft Defender XDR

Microsoft Defender XDR integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft security tools, Microsoft 365 products, and AI, delivering consistent, automated security across the entire stack. For example:  

Microsoft Defender XDR is embedded with Microsoft Sentinel, a cloud-native, AI-powered SIEM solution that aids Microsoft Defender XDR in addressing top cyberthreats like ransomware through: 
- Improved visibility across domains: By ingesting data from an organization's infrastructure, devices, users, applications, and cloud environments, Microsoft Sentinel gives security teams a broad view of security threats.
- Enriched data with machine learning: Sentinel employs machine learning to enrich data with Microsoft threat intelligence, powering threat hunting, detection, investigation, and response across an ecosystem.

- Reduced alert fatigue: Filtering billions of signals, correlating them into alerts, and prioritizing incidents helps SOC teams handle alerts more efficiently, minimizing fatigue and enabling focused remediation.

Microsoft Defender integrates with Azure’s Microsoft Defender for Cloud, a cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) that secures workloads across Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and Azure Cloud Services with constant cyberthreat monitoring at the code level. This capability allows:

- Broad attack investigation: Security teams can investigate threats across cloud resources, devices, and identities.

- Workload-specific protections: Dedicated protections extend to servers, containers, storage, databases, and more.

- Actionable security recommendations: Defender for Cloud provides insights to improve overall security posture and prevent breaches.

3. Resource, staff, and time constraints 

Resource constraints, staff shortages, and time limitations are intensifying today’s already challenging cybersecurity landscape and can, understandably, impede deployments of new security products. For example:  

Resource constraints: Many organizations face limited budgets for security tools, technology, and personnel, leading them to continue with patchwork solutions or delay implementing critical security measures, potentially leaving gaps in security.

Staff shortages: As cyber threats become more sophisticated, global demand for skilled IT and security professionals continues to grow while supply hasn’t been able to keep up.⁸ When insufficient staff results in missed security tasks, reduced monitoring, and slower incident responses, organizations can be left vulnerable to risk.

Limited time: Time constraints are a problem as old as time itself, but for IT teams with already heavy workloads, one more thing to do is more than stressful, it can leave systems vulnerable and increase windows of opportunity for bad actors.

FastTrack resources to help you get Microsoft Defender up and running

For Microsoft 365 customers experiencing any of the issues mentioned above, FastTrack for Microsoft 365 is here to help with accessible resources, automated, prescriptive setup guides, and even one-on-one assistance.

Here’s how to start: 

1. Visit the Microsoft 365 Setup site

Review openly accessible setup resources at the Microsoft 365 Setup site. Both business and IT leaders will find value in perusing detailed Microsoft Defender setup guides, on-demand videos, and helpful blogs to plan for safe, efficient Microsoft Defender deployment workloads. 

2. Sign in to the Microsoft Admin Center (MAC) and start deploying Microsoft Defender using FastTrack’s automated setup guides 

When you deploy Microsoft Defender XDR from the MAC using advanced deployment guides, you’re taking the most accurate, efficient, and secure deployment path possible.  

These automated guides combine detailed documentation with step-by-step instructions tailored specifically for your environment to give you streamlined guidance from beginning to end. Start by setting up Microsoft Defender Zero Trust security model for your organization.

3. Request assistance from FastTrack for Microsoft 365

Customers with eligible licenses can request remote, one-on-one assistance from FastTrack before, during, or even post-deployment of Microsoft Defender.  

Take the next step to implement unified protection

Security is too crucial—and the cost of breaches are too high—to let any impediments, real or potential, delay or dissuade you from fully implementing your security investments. 

When you deploy Microsoft Defender, you’re protecting your organization with a unified security platform that combines multiple security functions—including endpoint, identity, and cloud security—under a single tool.  

Start protecting your entire digital estate today: Keep your organization, data, and users safe by implementing the comprehensive power of Microsoft Defender, the industry-leading XDR solution that reduces costs and overhead while helping you keep your organization secure across all domains from costly cybercrime. 

To learn more about improving your security posture with Microsoft Defender, check out our recent webinar: Supercharging your SOC: Unlock the power of endpoint security in Microsoft Defender XDR.

Footnotes

^{1 Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Risk Report}

^{2 Microsoft’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook Insight Report, 2022}

^{3 Microsoft Defender was named an XDR leader in The Forrester Wave: XDR platforms, Q2 2024}

^{4 3 Ways Behavioral Economics Obstructs Cybersecurity}

^{5 Closing the cybersecurity skills gap}

^{6 Cybersecurity As a Strategic Investment (forbes.com)}

^{7 2024-State-of-Multicloud-Security-Risk-Report.pdf (microsoft.com)}

^{8 Closing the cybersecurity skills gap (microsoft.com)}

Azure Private Endpoint vs. Service Endpoint: A Comprehensive Guide

SriniThumala — Mon, 06 Jan 2025 13:15:57 GMT

When building secure and scalable applications on Microsoft Azure, network connectivity becomes a critical factor. Azure provides two primary methods for enhancing security and connectivity: Private Endpoints and Service Endpoints. While both serve to establish secure connections to Azure resources, they function in distinct ways and cater to different networking needs. This blog will explain the differences between the two, their use cases, and when you should use each.

Understanding Service Endpoints

Azure Service Endpoints allow you to securely connect to Azure services over an optimized route through the Azure backbone network. When you enable service endpoints on a virtual network, they extend the private IP address space of that virtual network to the service. Essentially, they provide a direct, secure connection to Azure services like Azure Storage, Azure SQL Database, and Azure Key Vault without requiring the traffic to traverse the public internet.

Key Characteristics of Service Endpoints:

Public Services, Private IP: Service endpoints allow traffic to go through the Azure backbone but still access services using their public IP addresses. However, the traffic is not exposed to the internet.
Network Security Group (NSG) Integration: Service endpoints can be secured using NSGs, which control access based on source IP addresses and subnet configurations.
No DNS Resolution: Service endpoints use public DNS names to route traffic. Thus, the service endpoint enables network traffic to be routed privately but relies on public DNS resolution.

Use Cases for Service Endpoints:

Simplified Security: Service endpoints are ideal for connecting to Azure services in a straightforward manner without needing complex configurations.
Lower Latency: Since traffic is routed through the Azure backbone network, there’s less congestion compared to public internet traffic.
Integration with NSG: Service endpoints allow for tighter security control with Network Security Groups, ensuring only approved subnets and virtual networks can access specific services.

Understanding Private Endpoints

Private Endpoints, on the other hand, provide a direct, private connection to Azure resources by assigning a private IP address from your virtual network (VNet) to the service. Unlike service endpoints, which rely on public IPs, private endpoints fully encapsulate the service in a private address space. When a service is accessed via a private endpoint, the connection stays within the Azure network, preventing exposure to the public internet.

Key Characteristics of Private Endpoints:

Private IP Connectivity: Private endpoints map Azure resources to a private IP in your VNet, ensuring all traffic remains private and not exposed to the internet.
DNS Resolution: Private endpoints also require DNS configuration so that the private IP address can be resolved for the associated Azure service. Azure offers automatic DNS resolution for private endpoints, but custom DNS configurations can also be set.
End-to-End Security: Since the connection is over a private IP, it adds an additional layer of security by preventing any egress or ingress to public networks.

Use Cases for Private Endpoints:

Critical Security: Private endpoints are perfect for applications requiring high security, such as those handling sensitive data, financial transactions, or proprietary business logic.
Strict Regulatory Compliance: If you are dealing with highly regulated industries (e.g., healthcare or finance), private endpoints provide a way to ensure your data is not exposed to the public internet.
Network Isolation: Private endpoints are suited for scenarios where you want to fully isolate your Azure resources from the internet and only allow access from within your VNet.

Key Differences: Private Endpoint vs. Service Endpoint

Feature	Private Endpoint	Service Endpoint
Connection Type	Uses a private IP address from your VNet	Uses a public IP address but routed through Azure's backbone network
Security Level	Higher security, no exposure to the public internet	Lower security as it still uses public DNS and IP
DNS Resolution	Requires DNS configuration to resolve private IPs	Relies on public DNS for resolution
Use Case	Ideal for critical security and isolated traffic	Best for connecting to Azure services with basic security requirements
Supported Services	Limited to resources that support private endpoints	Supports a broader range of Azure services like Storage, SQL, etc.

When to Use Each Option

Choose Service Endpoints if:

You want to connect to Azure services like Storage, SQL, or Key Vault using the Azure backbone network.
Your security requirements do not mandate complete isolation from the public internet.
You need to leverage Network Security Groups (NSGs) to limit access from specific subnets or VNets.

Choose Private Endpoints if:

Your application requires full isolation from the public internet, such as for sensitive workloads or highly regulated data.
You want traffic to flow entirely within the private network, ensuring complete confidentiality.
You need to maintain strict security standards for applications that interact with services like databases, storage accounts, or other critical infrastructure.

Conclusion

Both Private Endpoints and Service Endpoints play vital roles in securing connectivity to Azure services, but they cater to different security needs. Service Endpoints offer an easier, simpler way to secure access over the Azure backbone, while Private Endpoints provide complete isolation and enhanced security by assigning a private IP address.

By carefully assessing your application's security needs and performance requirements, you can choose the appropriate method to ensure optimal connectivity and compliance with Azure services.

Help with 365 migration please

Lilly1982 — Mon, 16 Dec 2024 16:29:46 GMT

Can anyone help me with this Migration please.

The tenancy has existed for some time and all users have had a business standard license to enable them to use Teams and Office 365 for some time. This means that mailboxes were created automatically but these have never been used.

AD Sync was in place.

I am trying to migrate from Exchange 2016 to 365. I have:

Checked each user has an e-mail alias in Exchange @leonardgray.onmicrosoft.com.
Configured Outlook Anywhere on my on-premises Exchange Server.
Enabled MRS Proxy on your on-premises Exchange Server.
Use the Microsoft Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer to test your connection settings.
Used the Outlook Anywhere (RPC over HTTP) or Outlook Autodiscover tests - it is showing no issues.
Checked the permissions on the account I'm using to migrate (domain admin and has FullAccess and assigned WriteProperty permissions).
We're not on Exchange server 2007 so no need to worry about unified messaging.
The domains are verified.
The users are created licensed.
I have the CSV with the list of users.
I've created a variety of migration endpoints and it verified as it saved and saved successfully.

I initially tried to use a cutover migration as it is what I have used successfully in the past. This failed, when I researched the error the articles suggested that it was because AD sync was in place. So I turned off AD sync. The cutover migration continued to fail.

The articles suggested that a Staged migration was a better option for this scenario. This failed with this error:

Error: MigrationTransientException: Failed to update the on-premises mailbox with the target address (SMTP:email address removed for privacy reasons). The mail sent to the user will not reach user's hosted mailbox. The error might be due to account credentials used for migration not having enough permission to write data back into the on-premise AD. Please ensure that the account credential has Domain Admin privilege. --] We weren't able to connect to the remote server. Please verify that the migration endpoint settings are correct and your certificate is valid, and then try again. Consider using the Exchange Remote Connectivity Analyzer (https://testexchangeconnectivity.com) to diagnose the connectivity issues.

I did some more reading and found an article that suggested that Staged migrations can only be used from Server 2003 and 2007. So I decided to try a Remote Migration. This one failed with the error: Error: TargetUserAlreadyHasPrimaryMailboxException: Target user '902b455c-5986-47c7-9988-bb7282df52b5' already has a primary mailbox.

The articles about this suggest I need to delete the data in homeMDB and homeMTA. The data in homeMDB looks like a pretty important link between Exchange on prem and Active Directory. I'm not particularly comfortable with just deleting this.

Can anyone tell me what I'm missing?

Cuales son los pasos para migrar mi correo que tengo en Godaddy a Microsoft 365

RobertoMartinez — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 20:07:31 GMT

Tengo una cuenta de correo en Godaddy con mi dominio personal, quiero comprar una licencia de Microsoft 365 y migrar mi correo hacia Microsoft 365 así poder aprovechas todos los servicios que ofrece Microsoft

Mi licencia actual vence el 1 de enero del 2025

He tratado de comprar una licencia con la cuenta de correo, pero me da error porque me indica que está asociado a un proveedor externo que Godaddy.

Intente migrarlo con la gente de Godaddy, me dice que debo tener un plan de licencia y el correo creado en Microsoft para que hagan la migración.

Todo me indica que en Godaddy están haciendo lo imposible para entorpecer la migración.

Quedo atento a su respuesta

ICYMI: FastTrack for Azure (FTA) program retiring December 2024

JillArmourMicrosoft — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 20:36:40 GMT

FastTrack for Azure (FTA) program retiring December 2024

JillArmourMicrosoft — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 20:21:12 GMT

ATTENTION:

As of December 31st, 2024, the FastTrack for Azure (FTA) program will be retired. FTA will support any projects currently in motion to ensure successful completion by December 31st, 2024, but will no longer accept new nominations.

For more information on available programs and resources, visit: Azure Migrate, Modernize, and Innovate | Microsoft Azure

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Intermittent Delay in Loading Files Tab in Microsoft Teams Channels

Ready to accelerate your Zero Trust journey? Discover what’s next

Next steps

Governing Copilot agents: Your next step starts here

Next Steps

Bring AI out of the shadows with agents for Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

What is shadow AI?

Should you ignore or even allow shadow AI?

What IT admins are up against

Copilot Chat agents remove the roadblocks to getting value from AI

Copilot Chat agents strengthen governance

Key deployment benefits for IT admins

Take the next step

Tools that make it easier

Deployment blueprint: Get started today

Copilot Chat agent deployment checklist

Shadow AI prevention checklist

Driving adoption and measuring impact with the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard

What is the Copilot Dashboard?

Key features and core metrics of the Copilot Dashboard

Comprehensive Metrics

Readiness tracking

Adoption insights

Learning opportunities

Managing the Copilot Dashboard: Key admin responsibilities

1. Setting up and configuring the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard

2. Granting access and supporting business stakeholders

Who should have access to the Copilot Dashboard?

Business leaders

Department heads

IT managers

HR Managers

How do admins grant access to the Copilot Dashboard?

1. The Microsoft 365 admin center

2. PowerShell

How do business stakeholders access the Copilot Dashboard?

3. Integrating organizational data into the dashboard

Empowering business stakeholders with insights they can act on

Learn more

Need more assistance? FastTrack is here to help!

Azure Firewall and Service Endpoints

The Design

Network Rules or Application Rules?

Conclusion

Google Workspace migration to Microsoft 365 with multiple domains

Deploy Microsoft Defender XDR today and start protecting your entire digital estate

Microsoft Defender: The industry leading2, XDR solution with added value

The Microsoft Defender platform:

Microsoft Defender XDR, powered by AI, integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 products and security tools

Microsoft Defender is embedded with Microsoft Sentinel

Microsoft Defender integrates with Azure’s Microsoft Defender for Cloud

How to deploy Microsoft Defender security products efficiently and securely

FastTrack for Microsoft 365 is here to help

1. Visit the Microsoft 365 Setup site

2. Sign in to the Microsoft admin center

3. Deploy using Microsoft Defender advance deployment guides

Microsoft Defender setup guides: What to expect once you get there

Microsoft Defender for Endpoint setup guide

Frequently asked questions

Need additional assistance?

EFZ4 BAD Request is throttled

Litigation Hold Mailbox Migration

The future of Microsoft 365 deployment: Microsoft 365 Setup Expert

What is Microsoft 365 Setup Expert?

Advantages of Using Setup Expert

Key Features

Real-World Applications

Learn more about Microsoft 365 Setup Expert

GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 Migration Issues

Migration Email to 365

Migrating from Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 with to have two separate Mailboxes per User + SSO

3 internal obstacles to overcome for comprehensive security

3 common internal obstacles to achieving comprehensive security

1. Reluctance to replace individual, legacy solutions

Is sunk cost fallacy to blame?

2. Concerns about ensuring secure integration

3. Resource, staff, and time constraints

FastTrack resources to help you get Microsoft Defender up and running

1. Visit the Microsoft 365 Setup site

Microsoft Defender: The industry leading², XDR solution with added value

2. Concerns about ensuring secure integration 

3. Resource, staff, and time constraints 

2. Sign in to the Microsoft Admin Center (MAC) and start deploying Microsoft Defender using FastTrack’s automated setup guides 

^{1 Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Risk Report}

^{2 Microsoft’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook Insight Report, 2022}

^{3 Microsoft Defender was named an XDR leader in The Forrester Wave: XDR platforms, Q2 2024}

^{4 3 Ways Behavioral Economics Obstructs Cybersecurity}

^{5 Closing the cybersecurity skills gap}

^{6 Cybersecurity As a Strategic Investment (forbes.com)}

^{7 2024-State-of-Multicloud-Security-Risk-Report.pdf (microsoft.com)}

^{8 Closing the cybersecurity skills gap (microsoft.com)}