FastTrack Blog articles

Copilot agents are scaling faster than most organizations expected

JulieHersum — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 17:53:04 GMT

Copilot agents are easy to pilot.

Across organizations, teams are building agents to automate tasks, surface insights, and streamline everyday work. Early results are positive—and encouraging. One agent leads to another. Interest spreads. Adoption grows.

Then a different question starts to surface:

What happens when Copilot agents move beyond experiments and start to scale across the organization?

That’s where things are getting more complicated.

When success creates a new problem

In early stages, conversations about Copilot agents focus on how to build, with questions centering on tools, prompts, and connectors. As usage expands, the challenge shifts away from delivery and toward coordination.

Organizations see signals like:

Multiple teams building agents independently
Overlapping use cases with different risk profiles
Unclear ownership as agents move into shared workflows
Hesitation around approving the next agent

These aren’t failures. They’re signs that agent usage is becoming meaningful enough to require intent, especially at an enterprise level.

Why scale changes the conversation

As Copilot agents move from isolated experiments to shared enterprise capability, the conversation shifts. The challenge is no longer just how to deliver agents, but how—and which—agents the organization should operate at scale.

That shift introduces tradeoffs that rarely appear during pilot phases:

How much autonomy should teams retain?
Where does consistency start to matter?
How should we support experimentation without creating fragmentation?
How can leadership stay aligned as impact grows?

Without a shared way to reason through these decisions, choices begin to outpace clarity.

This is where many IT and business leaders pause. Not to stop innovation, but to ask a more fundamental question:

What does “scaling well” actually look like for us?

A CIO‑level framework for deliberate scale

Organizations that recognize themselves at this inflection point will want to read Microsoft’s Accelerator article, A CIO framework for scaling Copilot agents—a CIO‑level perspective designed for when agent adoption begins to scale.

The framework explores:

What changes as agents move from pilots to enterprise capability
How leadership decisions evolve with scale
How to balance flexibility with coherence
How to guide growth before friction sets in

It’s framed for CIOs and senior IT leaders who are thinking beyond approving the next agent build, who are focusing now on aligning teams, expectations, and operating models at scale.

👉 Read the full framework on Microsoft 365 Accelerator

Discussion

What signals tell you it’s time to move from experimenting with agents to planning for scale?
Where does agent growth create the most tension in your organization today?
What’s the one decision you wish had been clearer earlier in your agent journey?

Microsoft 365 Accelerator is where planning conversations go deeper.
If your organization is moving from “can we build this?” to “how do we scale this responsibly?”, Accelerator is where you want to go next.

Copilot Chat in financial services: Is productivity moving faster than policy?

JulieHersum — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:49:44 GMT

In financial services, it's rarely the value of a new technology that slows down adoption. More often, it's when productivity starts to outpace the policies designed to govern it.

That tension is beginning to surface with Copilot Chat.

Teams are finding real efficiency gains—faster research, clearer summaries, better preparation—while leaders ask a different question:

What does responsible, repeatable adoption look like once usage expands across regulated roles?

Those conversations usually appear when Copilot Chat becomes operational enough that ad hoc decisions feel insufficient.

A new post on Microsoft 365 Accelerator is designed for that exact moment. How financial leaders are scaling Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat without increasing risk introduces a planning kit that shows financial services leaders how to scale Copilot Chat usage while keeping governance, audit readiness, and oversight intact.

Instead of features, the kit is focused on the decisions and guardrails that help organizations move forward and use Copilot Chat with confidence.

If you’re seeing strong demand from business teams and equally strong questions from risk or compliance teams, this kind of guidance brings those conversations together.

👉 Read the full planning guidance and explore the Copilot Chat kit on Microsoft 365 Accelerator.

We'd like to know:

At what point did Copilot Chat usage in your organization start raising governance or policy questions?
Which decisions felt easy during early experimentation but harder once Copilot Chat became more widely used?
How are you thinking about ownership and oversight as Copilot Chat moves beyond individual use cases?

Tell us in the comments below.

If this discussion feels familiar, you’re not alone. Microsoft 365 Accelerator is designed for the next phase—when teams start asking not just can we, but how do we do this well.

Copilot adoption: Move your org from pilot to production with this guide

JulieHersum — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:32:15 GMT

Are you an IT admin or Copilot adoption lead ready to safely start or scale your rollout of Microsoft 365 Copilot?

Piecing together the right guidance can be something of a treasure hunt so we created a trusted, single starting point for you: 8 Copilot & agent hubs every adoption leader should bookmark.

This guide is organized around the typical adoption lifecycle (plan → build → operate) to help you accelerate your Copilot adoption without skipping governance.

Inside the guide, you’ll learn:

What each resource hub includes—and how each maps to plan → build → operate for Copilot.
How to turn guidance into motion: Practical steps you can reuse for rollout and change management (not just reference links).
Which resources to share with each audience—admins, champions, and business sponsors—so everyone stays aligned.
How to scale with confidence: Starting points. that support a governed, production-ready Copilot program

To get started, check out the full post and bookmark each resource hub today.

Did you know?

FastTrack helps eligible customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption by providing expert guidance, self‑service resources, and structured engagements at no additional cost.

If your adoption program could use a boost, FastTrack can help.

Visit the Microsoft 365 Accelerator site for Copilot quickstart guides, governance templates, and adoption kits—or submit a request for personalized deployment and change management assistance (RFA) from FastTrack today.

The Copilot resource guide to share with your employees

JulieHersum — Thu, 19 Feb 2026 20:01:33 GMT

From customers driving Microsoft Copilot adoption, one request we hear a lot is: “Can you send me to a simple starting place?”

Now we can. Essential Copilot resource hubs for employees is a trusted, easy-to-share guide that rounds up key Microsoft-owned Copilot learning and support hubs. It's designed to help you speed up Copilot onboarding and get your employees building good habits from day one.

How to use it with end users

Adoption leaders: Use the hubs to structure learning paths (new user onboarding, prompting basics, role-based scenarios) and reinforce them in champions and community programs.
IT admins: Add a link to the guide in your rollout emails, intranet, and helpdesk macros so employees have a consistent “start here” link.
Everyone: Share this as one source of truth, then keep your internal guidance focused on what’s unique to your organization (policies, approved use cases, and where to get help).

For more information about this simple approach that scales, read the guide: Essential Copilot resource hubs for employees

Need help?

FastTrack helps eligible customers with Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption by providing expert guidance, self‑service resources, and structured engagements at no additional cost.

If your adoption program could use a boost, visit the Microsoft 365 Accelerator site for Copilot quickstart guides, governance templates, and adoption kits. Or, submit a request for personalized deployment and change management assistance (RFA) from FastTrack today.

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).

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.

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!

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)}

Bring your users the future of secure personal computing with Windows 365

AzharullahMeer — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 20:43:07 GMT

In this age of hybrid and remote work, organizations face a couple of challenging realities. One is that end users need to access their Windows experience seamlessly and securely from anywhere in order to stay productive. Another is that Microsoft’s end-of-service date for Windows 10 is coming up October 14, 2025.  

The good news is that by migrating to Windows 365 now, you can help your organization smoothly and effectively address each of these challenges.  

Windows 365 allows users to stream Windows 10 or Windows 11 from the Microsoft Cloud to their personal or corporate devices with secure and reliable access to apps and data. Admins also have the ability to access and manage settings remotely and securely, empowering all to stay productive from anywhere.  

Windows 365: Productivity from anywhere

Windows 365 is software-as-a-service (SaaS) that creates a Cloud PC for each user, empowering them with a familiar, personalized, and secure Windows experience, regardless of location or endpoint.  

Windows 365 is also a turnkey Cloud PC solution for admins, meaning it’s easy to deploy and manage with integrated tools that maximize technology investments, like Microsoft Intune and the Intune Suite.  

Windows 10 end of support

Windows 10 end of support is coming on October 14, 2025. By embracing cloud-native management and operations with Windows 365 now, well ahead of the Windows 10 end-of-support date, you’ll be able to: 

Achieve high ROI by fully capitalizing on the benefits of cloud-native solutions, such as enhanced collaboration and seamless hybrid work capabilities. 
Safeguard your organization and its data by embracing cloud-native management and operations. 
Support a work-from-anywhere and manage-to-anywhere environment while providing exceptional user experiences.

In addition, by utilizing Windows 365, you can receive Extended Security Updates (ESU) for any Windows 10 devices that connect to a Cloud PC and run Windows 11, at no additional cost.  

For more details, please refer to Plan for Windows 10 EOS with Windows 11, Windows 365, and ESU | Windows IT Pro Blog (microsoft.com) 

A note on security with Microsoft Zero Trust 

Windows 365 is aligned with Microsoft’s Zero Trust strategy that’s secure by design—from the network to the application layers—and helps organizations: 

Mitigate risks and leaks by centralizing data and access in the Microsoft cloud, not on devices. 
Protect data in transit and at rest with integrated identity management and encryption. 
Adopt new use cases that increase velocity, efficiency, and customer satisfaction. 
Meet industry-specific requirements with centralized, cloud-based operations and security controls from Microsoft. 
Achieve all of the above with minimal IT admin effort.

Get started deploying Windows 365 today

Embrace the future of work with Windows 365, the robust solution for organizations that need secure, reliable IT infrastructure and cloud capabilities that support hybrid work.  

FastTrack for Microsoft 365 is here to help

With comprehensive technical and remote deployment assistance, FastTrack for Microsoft 365 can help you experience a streamlined and efficient transition to Windows 365 or upgrade from Windows 10 to Windows 11.   

Windows 365 deployment resources 

Admins with credentials

- Credentialed admins can start deploying Windows 365 today with the Windows 365 deployment checklist located within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

Uncredentialed or non-admins

- Visit the Setup site to access Windows 365 setup guidance.

Need Windows 365 deployment assistance? 

Customers with eligible licenses can request deployment assistance from FastTrack. Learn more and submit a request for assistance here. 

 Learn more 

Windows 365 
Watch an interactive demo of Windows 365

Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub—where onboarding AI is as intuitive as using it

JulieHersum — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 16:00:00 GMT

Securely onboarding AI across an organization can involve several processes. Applying access controls, monitoring integrations with existing infrastructure, managing end user adoption, and more can make the project downright daunting. Add on challenges like staffing shortages and limited in-house AI expertise and you just might decide to put off introducing AI—even a system as valuable as Microsoft 365 Copilot—until tomorrow, or even next month.

At FastTrack for Microsoft 365, we get it.

We also know AI is too important to put off. So, to continue helping admins implement AI across their organizations as seamlessly and responsibly as possible, Microsoft 365 engineers have updated a few key portions of the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub.

These updates help simplify Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding processes so you can empower your organization to achieve more with AI quicker and more securely than ever before.

What’s new at the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub?

The Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub has a fresh look and feel, including an upgraded, modern UI, stateful personalization, and exportable project management.

1. Modern UI

The first thing you may notice is the sleek, new card-based layout that now displays Microsoft 365 Copilot’s Readiness assessment and three setup guides: Quickstart, Foundations+, and Advanced configurations.

2. Microsoft 365 Copilot setup guides: Interactive, personalized, actionable

Don’t let the onboarding hub’s pretty (inter)face fool you though, there’s more value behind those cards than meets the eye. First, here’s a quick run-down of each:

Readiness assessment: Start here to optimize your tailored setup experience. The responses you provide help Copilot’s setup guides determine which tasks you should complete, and in what order, for the safest and most efficient onboarding experience.
Quickstart: In this, Copilot’s most streamlined setup guide, you can safely get Copilot up and running right away, with minimal configuration and customization. If your organization needs a little more time to shore up data hygiene and governance, you can temporarily restrict Copilot search with RSS (Restricted SharePoint Search) while completing those projects.
Foundations+: Build on your Quickstart setup by following steps in the Foundations+ setup guide for fine-tuning data protection settings and readiness options according to your organizational policies.
Advanced configuration: Leverage the full potential of Copilot with advanced security, privacy, and data protection controls. This Advanced configuration guide also provides advanced Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption resources to help you boost end-user engagement.

Each Microsoft 365 Copilot setup guide uses automated wizards with customizable, stateful personalization to lead you, step-by-step, through streamlined, interactive setup experiences.

This means Copilot setup guides are personalized according to your organization’s specific scenarios and requirements, resulting in a unique and highly proficient onboarding experience.

How it works: Information from your Microsoft 365 organization profile, combined with your readiness assessment responses, prepopulates each guide for a comprehensive overview of your organization’s environment. This, coupled with Microsoft’s engineering expertise, allows each setup guide to accurately suggest your next task and lead you through the most efficient and secure path to onboarding Microsoft 365 Copilot.

As you advance and complete tasks, each guide also tracks your progress, accounts for tasks you’ve already finished, and adjusts Microsoft’s next suggested actions accordingly. Look for personalized task tables within the guides as well as suggested action cards at the Copilot onboarding hub.

If you take a break, Copilot’s setup guides remember what steps you’ve already completed and suggest the next recommended task when you return.

For example:

Say you’re an organization that owns E5 licensing and has deployed sensitive data policies—maybe you’re a bank. By responding “Yes” to Copilot’s readiness assessment question, “Does your organization have regulated or sensitive data types?” you might be instructed to review and apply Microsoft Purview best practices next to ensure Microsoft’s strongest security and compliance standards.
On the other hand, you could be a small organization that wants to add Copilot to your Teams subscription primarily to iterate on images. If you respond “No” to the readiness assessment question, "Do you have regulated or sensitive data types?” the guide is likely to minimize your number of basic onboarding steps.
Mature organizations and long-time customers who’ve already deployed several Microsoft 365 products may have already completed Microsoft Purview best practices. If you’re an admin in this scenario, you’ll likely have fewer steps in your Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding journey. The guides will detect and update previously completed or nonapplicable tasks and highlight your remaining, pertinent tasks.
In another scenario, maybe your organization purchased 100 Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses. You’ve finished assigning them all and have completed every onboarding guide. Back at the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub, you may find personalized suggested action cards to guide you on next steps. For example:

3. Expanded project management for your Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding tasks

We know admins rely on integrated and comprehensive project management tools to assign tasks, set deadlines, and track setup progress. To help make your job easier, Microsoft engineers have streamlined project management too.

Now you can find workload monitoring inside each Microsoft 365 Copilot setup guide that is:

Assignable: Easily distribute tasks among team members.
Trackable: Keep an eye on progress.
Schedulable: Set deadlines and timelines.
Exportable: Track Copilot onboarding tasks outside of the hub.

The option to export task management is a new and practical update. To carry it out, simply place task information into a CSV, and then import the information to your usual project management software.

Why use FastTrack for Microsoft 365 resources to onboard Copilot?

Can we set up and onboard Microsoft 365 Copilot manually instead, by following a Microsoft Learn article? you might wonder.

Yes, you can. In fact, Microsoft Learn articles are valuable, comprehensive resources for anyone looking to understand Microsoft technologies. They're also freely accessible and kept up to date.

However, Learn articles are static resources with universal guidance and information that’s applicable to many different industries and user environments. Following them to onboard Microsoft 365 Copilot across your organization involves interpreting which tasks and best practices apply to your specific environment and then making sure you’ve fulfilled each one.

Microsoft 365 Copilot setup guides: a more efficient and secure way to onboard AI

Aligned with Microsoft’s commitment to making AI broadly and responsibly available—thereby empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more—Microsoft engineers have designed Microsoft 365 Copilot automated setup guides to be:

Tailored to your current state: From a panoramic vantage point, each Microsoft 365 Copilot setup guide assesses your organization’s environment to curate the most relevant onboarding and configuration path for you. This allows for pointed, prescriptive recommendations you can rely on.
Incorporated with Microsoft best practices: You’ll get a smooth, guided setup experience with prepopulated information and step-by-step instructions defined by Microsoft experts for an optimal setup experience.
Streamlined: You’ll know you’re prioritizing the correct order of operations as you progress through your Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding journey. You won’t have to worry whether you’ve made a wrong move or missed a helpful resource.
Comprehensive: Should you need additional onboarding or adoption resources, Copilot’s guides will connect you to the right resource at the right point in your setup journey.

Make the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub your destination for onboarding AI

With modern UI, improved automation, and new capabilities, the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub and setup guides offer a faster and safer way to onboard AI.

Replace guesswork and wasted time with efficiency and security.
Feel confident you’re onboarding AI responsibly.
Shorten your time to discovering value with Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Head over to the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub and empower your end users to achieve more today, instead of waiting until tomorrow.

Navigating to the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub

Bookmark the Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub for quickest access or navigate there by following these instructions:

Sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Follow Setup from the side menu and select Advanced deployment guides & assistance.
Scroll down or filter guides by Product and select Set up Microsoft 365 Copilot.

This takes you directly to Setup Microsoft 365 Copilotopilot for Microsoft 365, your Microsoft 365 Copilot onboarding hub. You’ve arrived!

Need onboarding assistance?

Customers with eligible licenses can submit a request for assistance to FastTrack for help onboarding Copilot.

Simplify your Windows 365 Enterprise deployment with the updated Windows 365 deployment checklist

Josh_Gutierrez — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 22:16:15 GMT

We’re excited to announce that we’ve just released an updated Windows 365 deployment checklist in the Microsoft 365 admin center (MAC).

What is Windows 365?

Windows 365 is a cloud-based Desktop as a service (DaaS) solution that automatically creates a new type of Windows virtual machine for your customer, known as a Cloud PC. A Cloud PC is a highly available, optimized, and scalable virtual machine that provides customers with a rich Windows desktop experience. Cloud PCs are hosted in the Windows 365 service and is accessible from anywhere, on any device (Learn more about Windows 365).

Windows 365 deployment is made to be simple (to see an end-to-end deployment overview, visit Overview of Windows 365 deployment). However, we understand that our customers have unique and complex environments.

What is the Windows 365 deployment checklist?

To help you integrate Windows 365 with your existing enterprise environment, we've compiled learnings and best practices from the Microsoft 365 FastTrack Team, which has worked with hundreds of enterprise customers. We're excited to offer these in an updated Windows 365 deployment checklist experience as part of the Advanced Deployment Guides in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This checklist will guide you as you plan, deploy, and scale Windows 365 in your environment.

The Windows 365 deployment checklist guides admins through the considerations around Azure basics, identity, networking, licensing, management, security, applications, and end user experiences that are applicable to their deployment configuration. Admins can assign tasks for each area to the responsible stakeholders and define a target date of completion. Admins can also see a summary view with an overall status to track progress against their timelines.

How can I access the Windows 365 deployment checklist?

To access the Windows Enterprise 365 checklist, visit this link or directly at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2251210.

Additional Resources:

Please join us for this special event: Secure Your Identity Front and Back Door

JessicaGuindi — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 21:50:20 GMT

“Hackers don’t break in. They log in.”

Bret Arsenault, Chief Information Security Officer, Microsoft.

Please join us for this special event: Secure Your Identity Front and Back Door: A Technical Discussion with Microsoft Experts.

Topic: Secure Your Identity Front and Back Door

Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Time: 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US & Canada) (UTC-05:00)

Join Microsoft Engineers in a focused discussion around securing logins from threats with Risk Based Conditional Access in the cloud and Microsoft Defender for Identity on-premises.

Both capabilities are low/no user impacting, are simple to deploy, and you might already own them. Please bring your questions and doubts and discuss them with our deployment experts.

Details:

Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Time: 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Details: Online event, Registration required

Click Here to Register

Learn how Microsoft Entra ID and Microsoft Defender for Identity (MDI) can help your organization prevent, detect, and respond to ever-growing identity-related threats.

Agenda:

Microsoft Zero Trust guided path
Microsoft Entra ID risk-based conditional access, is a quick way to enhance security
Detection of and response to advanced identity threats on-premises—Microsoft Defender for Identity
Deployment resources and FastTrack assistance

Speakers:

Wendell Caroll, Senior FastTrack Architect, Microsoft

Adam Findlan, Principal FastTrack Architect, Microsoft

Jason Bingham, Principal FastTrack Architect, Microsoft

This is a live event, and it won’t be recorded to ensure customer privacy.

Registration Link

Mastering Endpoint Management: Unveiling the new Microsoft Intune Advanced Deployment Guide (2023)

JessicaGuindi — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:00:00 GMT

Now available! Updated: Microsoft Intune Advanced Deployment Guide

Did you know that “80-90% of all successful ransomware compromises originate through unmanaged devices”? Source: Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2023

Endpoint device management and security are critical for every organization, especially in the era of hybrid work and ransomware attacks. That’s why we are excited to announce the updated Microsoft Intune Advanced Deployment Guide (2023), a comprehensive resource to help you set up, configure, and optimize Intune for your organization’s needs. In this blog post, we will give you an overview of what’s new in the guide, how it can benefit you, and how you can get started with it today.

The new guide gives you a roadmap to set up and configure Intune and includes enhanced tools to simplify deployment. Whether you are new to Intune or a seasoned pro, this guide will help your organization secure and optimize your device management settings and information technology operations.

What is Microsoft Intune?

Microsoft Intune is a cloud-based device management solution that can control devices through policy. It helps IT Systems Administrators assess, manage, and protect apps and devices with or without device enrollment. Already part of Microsoft 365 E3 and Microsoft 365 E5, Intune reduces total cost of ownership (TCO) by bringing together management and security of all endpoints including cloud, on-premises, corporate, and personally owned devices.

What are some of the benefits of Microsoft Intune?

Zero Trust Security Model: Intune supports a zero-trust security model, where trust is never assumed, and verification is required from anyone trying to access resources.
Helps improve device security by reducing attack vectors.
Helps consolidate, automate, and streamline your organization by simplifying workloads and strengthening your zero-trust security architecture with Microsoft Intune.
Automation: Intune allows for the automation of routine tasks, such as software updates and configuration changes, reducing manual intervention and saving time.
Device Compliance Policies: It enables organizations to enforce compliance policies on devices, to help improve security posture, and configuration requirements.

What’s new in the Microsoft Intune Advanced Deployment Guide (2023)?

The new Microsoft Intune Advanced Deployment guide incorporates feedback we’ve heard from customers to make deployment even easier for you to set up Intune using a simplified deployment approach, LEAD (learn, enable, assign, and deploy). The new guide is designed to help IT admins simplify securing endpoint devices in a hybrid workforce and strengthen your Zero Trust security posture. Small micro-learnings are integrated throughout the guide to help inform the user on capabilities and features as they secure and protect their data and applications on all endpoints.

New features include:

A list of enablement scenarios that drive baseline security, app protection, device configuration, and more.
Incorporating Microsoft Intune’s secure configuration framework for a level approach to at-scale delivery.
New options that summarize actions taken and highlighting progress.
More learning content to help admins stay informed on terminology, capabilities, and features of Intune.
Improved automation from the Microsoft Intune API (Application Programming Interfaces) to simplify and reduce the number of steps needed to enable and deploy policies to endpoint devices.

The new Microsoft Intune Advanced Deployment Guide will bring together mission-critical management and security tools into a single, cloud-powered solution. The guide will also focus on simplifying endpoint management, protecting your hybrid workforce by strengthening your Zero Trust security posture. 

Getting Started with the Guide

To access the Microsoft Advanced Deployment Guide for Intune, simply head over to the Microsoft 365 admin center. You'll find the new Intune advanced deployment guide under the "Advanced Deployment Guides & Assistance" section. It's designed to cater to both newcomers and seasoned professionals, making it accessible to anyone looking to optimize their device management strategy.

Comprehensive Guide to Teams Phone Number Assignment in your Organization

JessicaGuindi — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 16:35:14 GMT

New feature: Assign phone numbers in Teams Phone

We’re pleased to announce a new feature to the Plan and implement your ‎Microsoft‎ ‎Teams Phone‎ deployment guide to make it easier for you to assign your users Teams phone numbers. This feature gives you a comprehensive view of all available user phone numbers within your organization and allows you to easily handpick the users you want to assign to each number.

Please note that this feature is only available in the Microsoft 365 admin center for commercial tenants, so you will need to login as a tenant admin when clicking the above link

Summary

How it works

You can access the new guide in the “Advanced Deployment Guides & Assistance” section of the Microsoft 365 admin center. Select “Plan and Implement your Teams Phone Deployment” and follow the steps.

You’ll see a new user interface that simplifies assigning and setting up user phone numbers. You can view all the available phone numbers in your organization and filter them by phone number, service provider, or location. You can also assign multiple emergency addresses and users to specific phone numbers. Note, this selection is limited to users with a Microsoft Calling Plan license who haven't been assigned a phone number. 

Benefits of the new feature

 This feature solves the top feature request from admins, to simplify and streamline the process of setting up phone numbers. It also saves you time and effort to seconds by reducing the number of portals and interfaces you need to navigate through and helps you avoid errors and inconsistencies by showing you all the relevant information in one place.

Try it out!

We hope the new deployment guide will make your Teams Phone deployment easier and faster. To try it, go to the Microsoft 365 admin center and select the Plan and implement your Teams Phone deployment guide.

 Feature Detail

This feature is especially helpful for trial and new customers interested in setting up a pilot project rapidly.

Step 1: Select country or region.

Step 2: Use filters if desired.

Step 3: Select the user you want the phone number assigned to.

Step 4: Select or modify the emergency address.

Step 5: Select Assign to complete the phone number assignments.

Step 6: You’ll receive a confirmation notification.

Grow Together with Microsoft Viva!

JessicaGuindi — Mon, 15 May 2023 10:36:12 GMT

Spring into Productivity: How Microsoft Viva Can Transform Your Workforce and Bring New Life to Your Business

Transform how your employees work together by using ‎‎Microsoft Viva‎‎, the employee experience platform built within Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams. Support employee connection, insight, purpose, and growth, and empower people and teams to be their best with Viva.

A video overview of Microsoft Viva

The Microsoft Viva advanced deployment guides explain how to enable use cases and features that bring together employee communications, knowledge, learning, resources, insights and purpose into an integrated employee experience platform. You can complete the guides in any order. Ensure and enable the best experience for your employees by reviewing and completing the steps found within the Microsoft Viva advanced deployment guides.

Microsoft Viva Foundation

Microsoft Build a Foundation advanced deployment guide

Check the health of your network, data security and compliance readiness, and governance policies and controls and take actions to optimize for the employee experience guides you intend to deploy.

Microsoft Viva Connections

Microsoft Viva Connections advanced deployment guide

Viva Connections gives everyone a personalized destination to discover relevant news, conversations, and the tools they need to succeed. Shape an inclusive corporate culture where everyone has a voice.

The following tasks are required to enable Viva Connections. Some of the tasks may have been completed in previous guides. If you have already completed the task, update or complete the step in the advanced deployment guide to reflect your progress.

Microsoft Viva Engage

Microsoft Viva Engage advanced deployment guide

Viva Engage is a new employee experience that connects people across the company—wherever and whenever they work—so that everyone is included and engaged. The Viva Engage app in Teams helps organizations build community, spark engagement with leadership, harness knowledge and answers, and build personal networks.

Microsoft Viva Learning

Microsoft Viva Learning advanced deployment guide

Viva Learning is a central hub for learning, where people can discover, share, assign, and leverage from best-in-class content libraries across an organization. Viva Learning also enables business leaders to drive a culture of employee learning through empowered time management and coaching.

Microsoft Viva Advanced Insights

Microsoft Viva advanced insights advanced deployment guide

Viva advanced insights provide scope information and research-based behavioral insights into how an organization gets work done, such as how to enhance organizational agility, boost employee engagement, improve employee connection, and foster innovation. Viva Insights in Workplace Analytics has advanced analysis tools for deep diving into data that can be displayed in both Microsoft Teams and Workplace Analytics. These employee experience tools provide multiple ways of analyzing data and reporting insights to your company's business leaders.

Microsoft Viva Manager and Leadership Insights

Microsoft Viva manager and leadership insights advanced deployment guide

Previously known as Workplace Analytics, Viva manager and leadership insights once deployed will provide data-driven visibility into how work patterns affect wellbeing, productivity, and business performance for your organization.

Microsoft Viva Personal Insights

Microsoft Viva personal insights advanced deployment guide

Viva personal insights help to identify employee experience opportunities to build better work habits. Prioritize wellbeing with actionable recommendations, such as reserving time for focused work, taking regular breaks, and practicing mindfulness.

Microsoft Viva Goals

Microsoft Viva Goals advanced deployment guide

Immerse everyone in the company’s purpose and top priorities with a goal alignment solution that creates a culture of engaged employees achieving results.

Microsoft Viva Topics

Microsoft Viva Topics advanced deployment guide

Viva Topics offers faster learning, connections, and innovation by making information easier to find. Using AI, Viva Topics connects, manages, and protects knowledge and expertise from your organization and delivers them across Microsoft 365.

Helpful resources

Access advanced deployment guides without signing in:

Go to https://setup.microsoft.com

Getting started with advanced deployment guides within the Microsoft 365 admin center:

Go to https://admin.microsoft.com/ and log in
Once logged in, go to the Home page and look for the Training, guides, & assistance card
Select  advanced deployment guides & assistance

Reduce costs and improve productivity, security, and scalability with Microsoft 365 E5

JessicaGuindi — Tue, 18 Apr 2023 11:56:11 GMT

The Microsoft 365 E5 suite combines best-in-class productivity apps with advanced security, compliance, voice, and analytical capabilities. Unlock the value of Microsoft 365 E5's integrated suite of cloud services for your business:

Extend identity and threat protection with integrated and automated security to help stop damaging attacks.
Bring together information protection and advanced compliance capabilities to protect and govern data while reducing risk.
Get audio conferencing and calling capabilities in the cloud to enable your teams.
Benefit from Power BI capabilities that help you realize significant business value from your data.

Experience the synergy:  Why choosing the Microsoft 365 E5 suite over individual products is the ultimate boost for your business

Cost Effective 

While purchasing individual point solutions may seem like a cheaper option, over time, the costs can add up. With an integrated suite of cloud services, Microsoft 365 E5 offers a cost-effective solution relative to individual point solutions.  Microsoft 365 covers all your business needs, including security, collaboration, and communication. You also benefit from the economies of scale that come with an integrated suite.

Help reduce costs with Microsoft 365:

Cut licensing costs by more than 60 percent per user compared to a patchwork of point solutions through consolidation using Microsoft 365 E3.
Automate system updates and help reduce IT management cost by up to 40 percent and time spent on device management by as much as 25 percent with Windows 11 Enterprise and Microsoft 365 E3.
Enable a Zero Trust security model to reduce data breach risk by as much as 50 percent and overall Identity & Access Management (IAM) time by as much as 50 percent with Microsoft 365 security solutions.

Enhanced productivity

With Microsoft 365 E5, users have access to a broad range of tools that enable them to work more efficiently, collaborate seamlessly, and automate repetitive tasks. This integration allows for a smoother workflow, helping users focus on their tasks and increase their productivity.

Improved security

The Microsoft 365 E5 suite comes with advanced security features, including threat detection, identity and access management, and compliance monitoring. By using a suite of tools that work together, organizations can improve their security posture and reduce the risk of data breaches.

Scalability

As your business grows, your needs will evolve, and you will need to add more tools to your arsenal. Microsoft 365 E5 offers scalability, allowing you to add new tools and features as needed without disrupting your workflow.

Overall, choosing Microsoft 365 E5 over individual point solutions provides a comprehensive, seamless, and cost-effective solution that boosts productivity, enhances security, and offers scalability.

Explore Microsoft 365 E5 Deployment

 Zero Trust is the essential security strategy for today’s reality. Whether you are a small business getting started with a Microsoft 365 E3 plan, an advanced Microsoft 365 E5 company, or participating in a recently activated trial; it is fast becoming a security imperative that organizations adopt a Zero Trust approach to secure their digital estate.

Getting the most out of your Microsoft 365 suite can be complex, but Microsoft has created a Zero Trust advanced deployment guide that greatly simplifies the process to help you get started.

Microsoft's Zero Trust security model advanced deployment guide 

What is Zero Trust?

According to a 2021 Microsoft commissioned Forrester study, “Zero Trust is a proactive, integrated approach to security across all digital layers that explicitly and continuously verifies every transaction, asserts least privilege, and relies on intelligence, advanced detection, and real-time response to defend against threats.” When implementing Zero Trust, organizations should adhere to the following principles:

Verify explicitly. Always authenticate and authorize based on all available data points, including user identity, location, device health, service or workload, data classification, and anomalies.
Use least privilege access. Limit user access with just-in-time (JIT) and just-enough-access (JEA), risk-based adaptive policies, and data protection to help secure both data and productivity.
Assume breach. Minimize the blast radius and segment access. Verify end-to-end encryption and use analytics to get visibility, drive threat detection, and improve defenses.

Get started with Microsoft 365 E5 now!

Want to learn more about how to purchase or sign up for a trial of Microsoft 365 E5? Contact the Microsoft 365 Sales team here.

Helpful resources

Microsoft Purview Secures Your Most Important Asset: Your Data

JessicaGuindi — Tue, 28 Feb 2023 12:50:02 GMT

Did you know that the Microsoft 365 admin center includes advanced deployment guides to help you deploy Microsoft Purview products? You can’t innovate without knowing where your data is.

Gain visibility, manage data securely, and go beyond compliance with Microsoft Purview. Safeguard all your data across platforms, apps, and clouds with comprehensive solutions for information protection, data governance, risk management, and compliance.

"A survey of US decision-makers showed that to meet their compliance and data-protection needs, almost 80 percent had purchased multiple products, and a majority had purchased three or more.” 

Source: February 2022 survey of 200 US compliance decision-makers (n=100 599-999 employees, n=100 1000+ employees) commissioned by Microsoft with MDC Research.

Microsoft Purview Information Protection

Get an overview of the capabilities you can apply to your information protection strategy so you can be confident your sensitive information is protected with Purview Information Protection! Use the advanced deployment guide to review how you can use the four-stage lifecycle management approach to discover, classify, protect, and monitor your sensitive data. The Microsoft Purview Information Protection advanced deployment guide provides guidance for completing each of these stages.

Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management

The Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management advanced deployment guide provides you with the information you'll need to set up and manage your organization's governance strategy, to ensure that your data is classified and managed according to the specific lifecycle guidelines you set. With this guide, you'll learn how to create, auto-apply, or publish retention labels, retention label policies, and retention policies that are applied to your organization's content and compliance records. You'll also get information on importing CSV files with a file plan for bulk scenarios or for applying them manually to individual documents.

Microsoft Purview Audit

The Microsoft Purview Audit advanced deployment guide provides an integrated solution to help organizations effectively respond to security events, forensic investigations, and compliance obligations. When you use the auditing solutions in Microsoft 365, you can search the audit log for activities performed in different Microsoft 365 services.

Microsoft Purview eDiscovery

Microsoft Purview eDiscovery advanced deployment guide is the process of identifying and delivering electronic information that can be used as evidence in legal cases. The eDiscovery solutions setup guide assists in the use of eDiscovery tools in Microsoft Purview that allow you to search for content in Exchange Online, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft 365 Groups, and Yammer communities.

Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance and Insider Risk Management

Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance and Insider Risk Management advanced deployment guide

Insider risks are a top concern for security and compliance professionals in the modern workplace. View your current compliance score now and check your score again after the implementation of the communication compliance and the insider risk management features to see improvements in your score.

Helpful resources

Access advanced deployment guides without signing in:

Go to https://setup.microsoft.com

Getting started with advanced deployment guides within the Microsoft 365 admin center:

Go to https://admin.microsoft.com/ and login
Once logged in, go to the Home page and look for the Training, guides, & assistance card
Select  Advanced deployment guides & assistance

Where to learn more:
For eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions, FastTrack is an ongoing benefit for the duration of your subscription. This means that, at any point, you can come back for additional assistance. Learn more at aka.ms/FastTrackServiceDescription.

FastTrack Blog articles

Copilot agents are scaling faster than most organizations expected

When success creates a new problem

Why scale changes the conversation

A CIO‑level framework for deliberate scale

Copilot Chat in financial services: Is productivity moving faster than policy?

We'd like to know:

Copilot adoption: Move your org from pilot to production with this guide

Did you know?

The Copilot resource guide to share with your employees

How to use it with end users

Need help?

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!

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?

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

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)}

A note on security with Microsoft Zero Trust 

Windows 365 deployment resources 

Need Windows 365 deployment assistance? 

Experience the synergy:  Why choosing the Microsoft 365 E5 suite over individual products is the ultimate boost for your business

Cost Effective 