Microsoft 365 Blog articles

Now in public preview: Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage and OneDrive Storage

SharonYam — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

As organizations create, collaborate, and retain more content in Microsoft 365, storage needs rarely grow in a perfectly predictable way. IT leaders and admins need a practical way to respond to demand without overprovisioning capacity, disrupting users, or adding unnecessary licensing complexity.

To help you with this, Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage and Microsoft 365 OneDrive Storage are now in public preview. Based on a pay-as-you-go pricing model, these services make it easier to add additional storage for active SharePoint content and OneDrive accounts when they grow beyond the storage included with your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Scale storage with the needs of your organization

Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage and OneDrive Storage give your organization more options when your organization exceeds a SharePoint Online tenant’s included quota or a OneDrive account’s licensed quota. Instead of purchasing additional storage through a fixed subscription, these services can help you align storage spending more closely with your organization’s actual demand without changing the end-user experience.

Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage and OneDrive Storage use the Microsoft 365 pay-as-you-go framework. Administrators can connect usage to a Microsoft Azure subscription, monitor consumption, and create budgets and alerts as costs approach defined thresholds. Learn more in the pay-as-you-go services overview and see how to create a budget for pay-as-you-go billing in Microsoft 365.

For Microsoft 365 OneDrive Storage admins can set a limit on how much additional storage individual users can have outside of the SKU entitlement. For example, with an F3 SKU, the entitlement is 2GB. If an admin sets a user to a cap of 20GB, only usage above 2GB is billed, but won’t exceed the 20GB cap. You can learn more about how Admins can set a user-specific limit above licensed quota when PAYG is on in the overview: Change a specific user's OneDrive storage space.

While the tenant is enrolled in Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage, quota-related email and SharePoint admin center banner notifications are suppressed because the tenant is treated as within quota. Cost-management controls therefore become an important part of your operating model.

Flexible billing across active and archived content

You can combine Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage with Microsoft 365 Archive to manage your storage and control costs. Microsoft 365 Archive provides long-term, compliant storage for your inactive content, all inside of SharePoint, for up to 75% less than standard storage at list price. (See the Pricing model for Microsoft 365 Archive for more details.) It can also help you improve Copilot results because archiving content removes outdated and redundant content from the Copilot Search index.

When SharePoint storage above the tenant quota includes both active SharePoint storage and content managed through Microsoft 365 Archive, billing reflects the lower blended cost across those storage types. This helps organizations combine active collaboration and archive strategies without paying the active-storage rate for archived capacity.

For example, consider a tenant using 200 GB above its quota, with 100 GB in archived storage and 100 GB in active storage. At listed rates of $0.05 per GB for archived storage and $0.20 per GB for active storage, the estimated monthly charge would be $25. This compares to an extra $40 per month for this active storage. Pricing is shown in USD for illustration; review current pay-as-you-go pricing and availability before making purchasing decisions.

Furthermore, with Microsoft 365 Archive, you only pay for storage when usage exceeds your SharePoint Online license quota. So you can proactively archive files and sites now to prepare for your future growth and to get ready for Copilot for no cost - as long as you stay under your SharePoint Online tenant quota.

Get started with the public preview

Microsoft 365 SharePoint Storage and OneDrive Storage are available in public preview for eligible Microsoft 365 commercial customers. Evaluate your current SharePoint and OneDrive storage trends, identify where flexible capacity can support your organization, and begin planning for pay-as-you-go billing.

Learn more about these services and setting them up:

Discover the Experts Bringing Microsoft 365, AI, and Copilot to Life at ESPC 2026

HeatherCook — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 16:18:49 GMT

ESPC Microsoft 365 and AI conference returns to Amsterdam from November 30 to December 3, 2026, bringing together thousands of IT professionals, business leaders, developers, architects, and consultants for four days of innovation, learning, and networking.

With hundreds of sessions, workshops, and opportunities to connect with peers and industry experts, ESPC 2026 promises something for everyone in the Microsoft ecosystem. At the heart of the conference are four inspiring keynote sessions that will explore the future of work, AI, collaboration, and professional growth. Mark your calendar and join these industry leaders as they share insights, experiences, and practical takeaways to help you stay ahead in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. Here’s a sneak peek of the keynote sessions:

ESPC26 Opening Keynote: The AI-Powered Enterprise by Jeff Teper, Microsoft

December 1, 2026 | 9:00 AM–10:00 AM CET

Following his highly anticipated keynote at last year's conference a year of rapid technological advancement, Jeff Teper, EVP, Microsoft Apps & Agents, returns to open the keynote series at ESPC 2026. Widely recognized for his leadership and central role in developing and leading Microsoft collaboration technologies, Jeff now leads product, engineering, and design for SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Dynamics 365 and agents. Jeff will share his perspective and Microsoft strategy surrounding the latest innovations in productivity and AI-powered work.

This keynote will explore how the biggest AI value gains extend beyond individual applications and personal productivity gains. They emerge when organizations connect people, knowledge, business processes, data, workflows, and agents into a unified operating model. You can expect valuable insights into business transformation trends, product innovation, and demos to show how everyday work is evolving. Whether you're a decision-maker, business leader, or technology professional, this session will offer practical perspectives on navigating the next wave of digital transformation.

Leading Through Change: Fireside Conversations on AI, Productivity, and Business Transformation by Karuana Gatimu, Microsoft

December 2, 2026 | 9:00 AM–10:00 AM CET

Join Karuana Gatimu, Director of the Microsoft SCALE Experience Group, AI & Collaboration, as she explores the technologies and strategies helping organizations drive meaningful business outcomes.

Known for translating complex technology into actionable guidance, Karuana will share practical insights, real-world examples, and best practices that you can take back to your teams. From collaboration and productivity to AI-powered innovation, this keynote will provide valuable inspiration for organizations looking to maximize their Microsoft investments.

The Last Consultant Standing: Staying Relevant When AI Can—And Will—Do Your Job by Jussi Roine, Not Bad Security

December 2, 2026 | 2:00 PM–3:00 PM CET

The pace of technological change is accelerating, leaving many professionals wondering what their future role will look like in an AI-driven world. In this thought-provoking keynote, Jussi Roine challenges common assumptions about AI and professional relevance.

Rather than focusing on competing with technology, Jussi will explore how consultants, IT professionals, and developers can strengthen human skills that remain essential in the age of AI. You will leave with fresh perspectives on adaptability, continuous learning, and building a career that thrives alongside intelligent technologies.

Crafting the Next Era of Work with AI and Empathy by Vesa Juvonen, Microsoft

December 3, 2026 | 9:00 AM–10:00 AM CET

As organizations continue to embrace AI, one question becomes increasingly important: how do we balance technological advancement with human connection? In this keynote, Vesa Juvonen will explore how innovation and empathy can work together to shape the future workplace.

Through practical examples and relatable insights, Vesa will share ideas for embracing new technologies while keeping people at the center of transformation efforts. Whether you're leading organizational change, building solutions, supporting users, or exploring ways to work smarter, this session will provide actionable ideas to help you navigate the evolving world of work.

Register today

Register for ESPC 2026 now and get ready for four days of learning, innovation, and community building in Amsterdam from November 30 to December 3, 2026. Discover how Microsoft 365, Copilot, automation, and AI can help your organization thrive in the future of work.

One month until Office LTSC 2021 end of support

JeremyCarlson — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

As previously communicated, support for Office LTSC 2021 will end on October 13, 2026. After that date, no further updates, security fixes, or technical support will be available for this version of Office. While the applications may continue to function, using unsupported software could lead to potential security risks, compliance risks, system incompatibilities, and other issues.

Support for Visio LTSC 2021, Microsoft Project LTSC 2021 and several other products will also end on October 13, 2026. Organizations using these products should upgrade as soon as possible to maintain security, compliance, and performance.

Impact on your organization:

After end of support, Office LTSC 2021 suites and standalones will no longer receive security updates or other fixes, and no technical assistance will be available for devices still running them. Continuing to use unsupported software can expose your organization to security and compliance risks and may impact service reliability and performance.

What you can do to prepare:

To mitigate these risks while maintaining access to desktop Office apps, we recommend upgrading devices to a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 suite that includes Microsoft 365 Apps (for enterprise or for business). Microsoft 365 Apps provides always-up-to-date versions of familiar apps like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for desktop, mobile, and web with continuous support under the Modern Lifecycle Policy, and is eligible for use with the Microsoft 365 Copilot add-on.

Enterprises should look to Microsoft 365 E3, Office 365 E3, or Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise.

Organizations with fewer than 300 users should look to Microsoft 365 Business Premium, Microsoft 365 Business Standard, or Microsoft 365 Apps for business.

For scenarios that require a fully disconnected solution, we recommend upgrading to Office LTSC 2024. Office LTSC 2024 is Microsoft’s current supported on-premises version of Office for commercial customers and will be supported until October 2029 under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy.

Take steps to prepare for this transition with the following resources:

Read the upgrade guidance for an overview of how to move from Office LTSC 2021 to Microsoft 365 Apps.

Consider engaging Microsoft FastTrack, a Microsoft support service, for moving to Microsoft 365.

Take action before October 13, 2026 to help maintain security, compliance, and access to supported Office apps.

Introducing Viva Glint APIs for Survey Data Export and Visier Integration

Aadithya_H_Hosabettu — Wed, 02 Sep 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Enterprise HR analytics increasingly depend on frictionless data integration across a diverse ecosystem of solutions to unlock deeper, actionable insight. With the introduction of programmatic survey export APIs—and a Visier connector built on top of them—Viva Glint enables customer data to flow securely into the analytics environments where business decisions are made.

The market problem

Organizations have invested heavily in employee listening, but insights often remain confined within the survey platform. Manual processes—downloading reports, reformatting data, reconciling employee identifiers, and ingesting files into data warehouses—limit what HR and People Analytics teams can achieve. These workflows create operational overhead, slow time-to-insight, and reduce the ability to act when it matters most. Customers are asking for a better way that aligns with how modern data ecosystems operate—one that reduces manual effort, automates data movement, supports ecosystem flexibility, and enables richer downstream analytics, all delivered with privacy and governance by design.

Introducing Viva Glint Export APIs

To address these needs, Microsoft is introducing Viva Glint export APIs—purpose-built to bring employee listening data into the flow of enterprise analytics. The Viva Glint export APIs let organizations securely and programmatically export survey response data for advanced analytics, reporting, and integration with external platforms. Built on Microsoft Graph, they use familiar, standards-based authentication and authorization to ensure secure, governed access across systems.

In practical terms, the APIs deliver:

Automation — Trigger exports on demand or on a defined cadence, eliminating manual downloads and operational bottlenecks
Extensibility — Easily integrate with analytics and data platforms such as Visier, Azure Data Lake or with any cross-cloud environments
Integration foundation — Establish a governed data layer that partners and customers can build on to build further HR intelligence workflows.

Setting up the APIs

The APIs enable exports for all Glint surveys within a defined time period, for a specific survey, or for a single survey cycle. The following steps set up the application used to automate data exports.

Register a Microsoft Entra application. In the Entra admin center, create an App Registration and record the Directory (tenant) ID and Application (client) ID.
Add a client secret under Certificates or secrets to the Entra application
Grant the export permission. In the created Entra application, add the Microsoft Graph application permission SentimentSurvey.Export.All. Because survey data is highly sensitive, only your tenant Global Administrator can grant admin consent — a deliberate governance control.
Acquire a token via the standard OAuth 2.0 client-credentials flow and call the export endpoints.
Enable API application id on Glint – Glint admin to add the Microsoft Graph application id in Settings > API Settings > Allowed Applications. Glint will only allow application ID requests from the allowed application settings.
Initiate the data export job. Call the POST API endpoint with the appropriate export start date and end date values to schedule an export job.
Monitor the job. Continuously monitor the initiated job for completion.
Export the results. Download the results as a zipped file containing one file for every exported survey cycle and one folder for every exported survey program.
Availability: Viva Glint export APIs are currently available through a limited private preview for approved customers. Features, timelines, and availability may change during the preview period. Interested customers should reach out to their CxPM or Microsoft support to express interest and have their tenant enabled.

Every programmatic export is captured in the activity audit log (success/failure, Microsoft Graph correlation ID, and a link to the exported file), so governance and compliance teams retain full traceability. By default, exports include the minimum HR data alongside responses; additional attributes are configurable per tenant through support — keeping you in control of what leaves the platform.

Analyze faster with the vivaglint R library

For teams that would like to analyze along with data integration, the open-source vivaglint R package wraps these APIs end-to-end. Configure credentials once with glint_setup(), then pull data directly with read_glint_survey_api() — by cycle, by full survey, or by date range:

Sample code illustration:

library(vivaglint)

glint_setup(tenant_id, client_id, client_secret, experience_name) # pass configs for setup

survey <- read_glint_survey_api(mode = "daterange",

                                start_date = "2025-01-01",

                                end_date   = "2025-03-31")

summarize_survey(survey, scale_points = 5)      # Get survey means, favorability, response rates

get_correlations(survey, method = "spearman")   # Get inter-question relationships

analyze_attrition(survey, attrition_file = "employee_attributes.csv") #Join with external data

From there you can compare cycles, aggregate by manager hierarchy, run factor analysis, and link survey responses to turnover — the exact analyses customers told us they want.

Viva Glint + Visier: sentiment, meet workforce intelligence

Our first flagship integration built on these APIs is with Visier, the workforce intelligence platform. Visier’s new connector for Microsoft Viva Glint brings survey engagement data directly into the Visier platform — no manual ETL, no mismatched IDs.

Setup is straightforward and secure. In Visier, an admin selects Microsoft Viva Glint as a data provider in the Survey category, then enters the Entra tenant ID, client ID, and secret from the app registration above; Visier confirms “Authentication successful.”

Once connected, survey fields map into Visier’s Employee Survey model — employee ID, scores, comments, topics, and cycle metadata.

The connector then operates on a simple loop:

A survey closes in Viva Glint.
The connector triggers an automated transfer via the Viva Glint export API—on schedule or on demand.
Engagement data joins your workforce model as Visier aligns it to your existing organizational context.
Insights are delivered so engagement data can be analyzed alongside broader workforce metrics available within Visier's workforce intelligence platform.

The result: organizations can now analyze employee sentiment data alongside workforce analytics data in a more streamlined workflow for key questions such as Which teams with low belonging scores also show elevated attrition risk? Are new hires from certain channels less engaged at 90 days?. For organizations running both platforms, the connector is available for early access—see visier.com.

The developer & analyst ecosystem — and where we’re headed

The export APIs are more than a feature; they are a platform capability. Around them, a growing ecosystem is taking shape: the vivaglint R library and the vivaglint_py Python library give analysts productive, code-first access to their data, while partners like Visier show what ISV-built integrations can deliver.

The Viva Glint APIs and libraries mark an early step in Viva Glint's journey toward a more connected employee experience ecosystem, helping organizations to bring survey insights into the analytics platforms and business tools they already use and trust.

To join the private preview, contact your CxPM or Microsoft support.

Start ingesting Assistant data into Microsoft 365 with supported connectors

JyotsnaPuttaraj — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:03:20 GMT

Help employees find the right people faster with Assistant relationship data

Executive assistants in an organization play a critical role in coordinating schedules, communication, and executive operations. However, assistant information is often stored in HR systems or business applications and is not easily discoverable across day-to-day Microsoft 365 experiences.

Organizations can now ingest Assistant relationships from external systems into Microsoft 365. Once ingested, this information becomes part of the organization's people data and can be surfaced across Microsoft 365 experiences and Copilot.

Why This Matters

By bringing assistant relationships into your people data, employees can quickly identify the right contact for executive coordination, navigate organizational support structures more effectively, and gain richer organizational context within their daily workflows across Microsoft 365 and Copilot.

Assistant Information Across Microsoft 365

Copilot

Once Assistant data is ingested into Microsoft 365, Copilot can use this information to answer assistant-related questions and support common coordination workflows. For example, employees can ask:

"Who is X's assistant?"
"Who should I contact to set up time with X?"
"Who supports this executive?"

Image: An illustrative mock-up demonstrating how Assistant information is displayed in Copilot

Profile Cards

Assistant information is displayed on Profile Cards, making it easy for employees to identify and contact a leader's assistant while viewing the leader's profile.

Organization View

Assistant information is surfaced in Organization View, providing better visibility into organizational support structures and helping employees discover the right points of contact across the organization.

Getting Started

IT administrators can ingest Assistant information from external systems into Microsoft 365 using:

Custom people connectors Learn more
SAP SuccessFactors/ Workday connectors available in Organizational Data in Microsoft 365 Learn more.

Other People relationships

Assistant relationships are just one example of how Microsoft 365 is bringing organizational context closer to where people work. As organizations increasingly operate through matrixed teams and cross-functional collaboration, Microsoft 365 can support a rich set of workplace relationships—from reporting structures to dotted-line and custom relationships—helping people better understand how individuals, teams, and leaders are connected. Learn more.

Learn more/ Resources

What's New in PowerPoint Craft

ephilippona — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 15:27:44 GMT

The PowerPoint team is modernizing the creation experience to help you build polished presentations with less friction. Over the past several months, we’ve focused on updates you can use directly—new SmartArt layouts, fresh themes, and a simpler Design ribbon—alongside improvements that make opening files feel clearer and more reliable.

1. New SmartArt for Modern Storytelling

What’s new

We’ve shipped 13 new SmartArt layouts, including timelines, lists, and “Meet the Team” designs, with more layouts rolling out very soon. These updates make it easier to turn information into polished visuals directly in PowerPoint.

The SmartArt gallery now has updated categories, and we’re addressing longstanding editing friction with improvements like multi-image insert support and clearer placeholder text for unedited nodes.

Availability

Windows & Mac: New SmartArt layouts are rolling out now, with full availability by July 2026.

2. Fresh Themes

What’s new

We’ve added 13 new themes to the Design tab in PowerPoint ribbon for Windows and Mac. These themes offer a range of styles, from professional and minimal to playful and educational, so you can find the right look for your presentation.

Many older themes have been retired from the gallery, but they remain searchable from Backstage if you need them. Existing presentations that use those themes are unaffected.

Availability

Windows & Mac: Rolled out to Beta users now, with full general availability by July 2026.

3. A Simpler Design Ribbon

What’s new

We’ve updated the Design ribbon so the settings you most often need, such as Colors, Fonts, Effects, Background Styles, and Layout are easier to find and apply while you customize your slides.

Availability

Windows & Mac: Rolling out to Beta users now, with full general availability by July 2026.

4. A Modern File Open Progress Experience

What’s new

The file open experience has been completely redesigned. Instead of seeing multiple, overlapping progress dialogs (for authentication, downloading, and loading), you will now see see a single, cohesive progress dialog that clearly communicates what’s happening.

The result is a more cohesive, lower-friction experience that reduces visual noise from the very first click, helping you better understand what's happening during your file opening experience.

Availability

Windows & Mac: In Beta Channel now and rolling out to production this Fall 2026.

To share feedback, use the feedback option in PowerPoint and include the version number shown in your PowerPoint account information so the team can investigate accurately.

Built for Business: How Microsoft 365 Copilot Connects the Tools That Power Your Business

carolinestanford — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:03:27 GMT

Small businesses don't run on a single application or tool. Every day, teams move between email, documents, meetings, spreadsheets, customer records, and financial systems – which means that the information you need is often spread across all those tools, making it harder to find answers, make decisions, and take action quickly.

That's why we're excited to highlight how Microsoft 365 Copilot is working with trusted partners to bring business data, expertise, and workflows directly into the flow of work, powered by AI. Copilot is built into the apps your team uses every day and extends to the systems that run your business through integrations and partner agents – to help you spend less time searching, switching between apps, and manually stitching information together, and more time growing your business. Today, we're starting with Xero.

Bring up-to-date financial data into the flow of work with Xero

Financial information is some of the most important data a small business owns, but it’s often trapped in a separate system. Answering a quick question or checking on an invoice can mean stopping what you're doing, opening another app, and searching for the numbers you need before you can get back to work. Xero's new integration with Microsoft 365 Copilot brings financial context into the tools teams already use.

Using Xero's financial agent, JAX, Microsoft 365 Copilot can surface financial insights from Xero right where you already work – from Copilot Chat to the everyday apps you use to create and collaborate – while Xero stays the system of record.

Moving from information to action

Say you're planning your next quarter, reviewing recent performance, or just trying to understand what needs attention this week. Instead of digging through reports, you can ask questions in natural language like:

What was my profit this quarter?
How much am I owed?
What is my current cash position?

Copilot works with JAX to surface answers, insights, and recommended next steps – all within your workflow. When it’s time to take deeper action, you can move directly into Xero, where the records and business processes live.

Why this matters for small businesses

Small businesses rarely have a dedicated team for every function. Owners, finance leaders, and employees often wear multiple hats, and every minute spent hunting for information or rebuilding a report is a minute not spent serving customers or growing the business.

Xero’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Diya Jolly, put the customer benefit simply:

“Whether you’re forecasting in Excel or building a pitch in PowerPoint, Copilot can surface the insights behind your business’s financial health, with a clear, seamless path back to Xero as the source of truth and destination for deeper work.”

For the millions of small businesses and accountants who can’t afford to lose context between tools, that’s the real promise of the agentic era.

Built on trust

Microsoft 365 Copilot is built on Microsoft's enterprise-grade approach and commitments to security, privacy, and compliance. With the Xero integration, you stay in control of your data, Xero remains the source of truth for your financial records, and the financial data you see in Copilot is never used to train Microsoft’s AI models. For a small business, that means you can have confidence in how your information is accessed and protected while you get the benefits of AI.

Connecting more tools that power your business

Across every industry, small businesses rely on specialized tools that hold critical information – and Microsoft 365 Copilot is where those tools connect, without asking your team to learn a new way of working. Whether you’re analyzing finances, preparing customer communications, or making a big decision, Copilot brings the right information to the right person, when it’s most useful. Through partners like Xero, that value keeps growing.

Stay tuned for more in this series and learn more about Microsoft 365 Business with Copilot.

About Xero

Xero is a global small business platform that helps customers supercharge their business by bringing together the most important small business tools, including accounting, payroll and payments — on one platform. Xero’s powerful platform helps customers automate routine tasks, get timely insights, and connects them with their data, their apps, and their accountant or bookkeeper so they can focus on what really matters. Trusted by millions of small businesses and accountants and bookkeepers globally, Xero makes life better for people in small business, their advisors, and communities around the world. For further information, please visit xero.com

Unlock more value from your data with Microsoft 365 Archive and partner integrations

Trent Green — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

As organizations continue to generate and store growing volumes of data across Microsoft 365, managing that data efficiently is becoming increasingly important. From controlling storage costs to improving AI relevance and maintaining compliance, organizations need a smarter approach to handling inactive content.

That’s where Microsoft 365 Archive comes in—combined with a growing ecosystem of partner solutions like Proventeq365 that can extend its capabilities.

Optimize your data estate with Microsoft 365 Archive

Microsoft 365 Archive is designed to help organizations manage inactive, redundant, or rarely accessed Microsoft SharePoint content by moving it into a low-cost, cold storage tier while maintaining access within Microsoft 365.

Microsoft 365 Archive can help organizations:

Reduce additional SharePoint storage costs by shifting inactive content to a lower-cost archive tier instead of keeping it in standard SharePoint storage
Maintain compliance, security, and access controls by preserving existing metadata, permissions, and governance policies for archived data
Improve relevance of search and AI experiences by removing inactive or outdated content from active Microsoft 365 Copilot and search indexes

By keeping archived data within the Microsoft 365 trust boundary rather than exporting it to external systems can help organizations reduce operational complexity and centrally manage governance.

Spotlight: Extend Microsoft 365 Archive with Proventeq365

Through the Microsoft ecosystem, customers can combine native archiving capabilities with partner innovation to build a more comprehensive data management strategy.

One example of this partner innovation is how Proventeq provides support for Microsoft 365 Archive within its Proventeq365 platform, enabling organizations to align archiving with broader content and governance strategies.

“As organizations look for practical ways to optimize content management across Microsoft 365, partner solutions that extend native capabilities can play an important role,” said Brad Gussin, Principal Group Product Manager. “Integrations with Microsoft 365 Archive, like Proventeq’s, can help customers take a more policy-driven approach to archiving and storage optimization as part of their broader governance strategy. It’s also a critical step in Copilot readiness.”

Working alongside native Microsoft 365 Archive capabilities, Proventeq365 can extend archive adoption through granular policy control, intelligent analytics, lifecycle automation, and governance visibility – helping organizations apply archive strategies at enterprise scale and meet advanced or specialized requirements.

Proventeq365 can help customers do the following:

Apply a policy-based approach to archiving decisions, aligning storage with governance requirements
Streamline content management across Microsoft 365 environments
Support storage optimization initiatives as part of a broader data lifecycle strategy

Proventeq365 now supports Microsoft 365 Archive across sites, libraries, Teams-connected content, folders, and individual items through both manual and policy-driven lifecycle management.

Next steps

Microsoft 365 Archive provides organizations with a flexible way to manage inactive content within Microsoft 365, while reducing additional SharePoint storage costs.

With Proventeq365, customers can further extend these capabilities by adopting more structured, policy-aligned approaches to archiving and storage optimization.

Together, Microsoft and its partner ecosystem can help organizations to build a more efficient and well-governed data estate that’s ready to support the next generation of AI-powered experiences.

Learn more about Microsoft 365 Archive and get started today.

Learn more about Proventeq365 and book a demo.

10 things to know before enabling Microsoft 365 Backup

Aditi_Gangwar — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 17:00:33 GMT

Microsoft 365 Backup can help strengthen your organization’s native safety net; it’s built directly into the platform you already trust, designed to recover your Microsoft Exchange Online, SharePoint, and OneDrive data fast when it matters most. It can be used through the Microsoft 365 admin center, and via partner applications built on the Microsoft 365 Backup Storage platform.

Here are 10 things that you should know before you enable it.

1. Resiliency with compliance built in

Protect your data without compromising on compliance.

Microsoft 365 Backup delivers data resiliency and all backup data stays within the Microsoft 365 trust boundary, in the same region and with the same data residency requirements as your live content.

Whether your organization operates under GDPR, data sovereignty mandates, or industry-specific regulations, your backup data inherits the same compliance posture as the content it protects. This is unlike export-based backup solutions, where you must apply separate compliance controls and requirements.

Learn more about privacy, security, and compliance in Microsoft 365 Backup

2. Fast restore speeds – up to 1–3 TB per hour

When something goes wrong, speed is everything.

Microsoft 365 Backup delivers restore speeds of approximately 2 terabytes per hour*, assuming an approximately 1k site parallel restore session with sites following a normal distribution of sizes. (See performance expectations for more details.)

For SharePoint and OneDrive, restores using fast restore points typically complete in 2-20 minutes, though very large sites and accounts (such as multi-TB sites) may take an hour or more. Exchange mailbox restores process at roughly 200 to 500 items per minute per mailbox. (See performance expectations for more details.)

When you’re under pressure to get your organization back online, that speed makes all the difference.

Learn more about Backup and Restore performance

3. Built for bulk recovery after ransomware and malicious attacks

This isn’t just backup — it’s a key part of your ransomware recovery plan.

When a large-scale attack hits, you need tooling that can orchestrate recovery at the speed of the incident. Microsoft 365 Backup is purpose-built for these large-scale recovery scenarios where you need to restore hundreds or even thousands of sites or mailboxes at one time.

Bulk restore lets you roll back affected content across your organization to a healthy pre-attack state.

You can restore to the original location (replacing compromised data) or to a new location for investigation.

Backups are stored on append-only storage. Any changes to the content are snapped to new backups; the system does not modify any of the existing backups. Just as importantly, there are protections and recovery options for accidental or malicious policy modifications or offboarding requests.

4. Choose what fits your scenario: fast or precise restore points

Daily fast restore points are optimized for the fastest possible recovery. These are the recommended options for most restore scenarios, delivering the quickest path back to a healthy state.

If you need to recover from a more specific point in time, restore points are available as frequently as every 10 minutes. We recommend using daily fast restore points for most scenarios and reserving granular restore points for situations where pinpointing the moment of recovery is critical.

Workload	Fast Restore Points	Restore Points	Retention
SharePoint & OneDrive	Daily	Every 10 minutes (trailing 2 weeks), weekly after that	As per the configured recovery window
Exchange Online	N/A	Every 10 minutes (across the recovery window)	As per the configured recovery window

You can perform a full site, account, or mailbox rollback to a prior point in time, or use granular file-and-folder or mail-item restore to recover individual items without touching everything else.

Learn more about restoring data

5. Configure backup at scale with dynamic rules and CSV uploads

You don’t have to add sites and mailboxes one by one.

Microsoft 365 Backup gives you powerful tools to configure protection across your entire organization quickly.

Dynamic rules – Select Distribution Lists or Security Groups to define your backup scope for OneDrive and Exchange. Membership changes are automatically re-evaluated daily, so your backup policy stays current as people join and leave teams.

Full-workload backup policies – Turn on automatic backup for all Exchange Online users, all OneDrive accounts, and/or all SharePoint sites in your tenant with a single toggle.

CSV upload – Bulk-add up to 50,000 mailboxes, sites, or accounts per CSV file for precise, large-scale configuration.

Whether you’re protecting 50 users or 50,000, setup scales to match. If needed, you can also select individual artifacts from a list and back them up.

Just as importantly, you can backup your entire tenant in a matter of hours or days. No need to wait weeks, months, or longer to export copies outside of the Microsoft 365 environment.

Learn more about Backup performance

Learn more about creating and managing backup policies

6. Pay only for what you protect

No additional licenses. No upfront costs. No commitments.

Microsoft 365 Backup uses a simple pay-as-you-go model at $0.15 per GB per month of protected content, billed through your Azure subscription.

Billing is based on the total size of content under backup protection. This includes the storage used by protected SharePoint sites, OneDrive accounts, and Exchange mailboxes as shown in their usage reports, plus second-stage recycle bin content and Exchange archive mailboxes.

Learn more about pricing

7. If you ever turn it off, there’s a 90-day safety net

Disabling backup doesn’t mean your data vanishes overnight.

If Microsoft 365 Backup is turned off (whether intentionally, accidentally, or due to a billing issue), a fixed 90-day recovery grace period begins.

During those 90 days:

Existing backups remain fully restorable.

Offboarding can be cancelled at any point during the grace period.

Multi-admin notifications are triggered automatically, alerting the configured administrators.

Any and all mailboxes, SharePoint sites, and/or OneDrive accounts will not be hard delete-able in the primary service. As an extra line of defense, those mailboxes, sites, and OneDrive accounts are held in a soft deleted state as long as they are backed up.

The offboarding action is recorded in the Microsoft 365 Audit logs.

You can also offboard at the individual protection unit level — removing specific sites, mailboxes, or OneDrive accounts from backup without turning off the entire service.

Important:

Offboarding faster than 30 days is not supported under any circumstance. This is an intentional safeguard to protect the tenant and help ensure that backup data cannot be rapidly purged, even by a compromised or malicious administrator.

For mailboxes, you must first completely offboard the mailboxes from Backup before you disable or remove the primary/archive mailboxes, or move the mailbox on-prem/cross-tenant.

Learn more about offboarding

8. Stay informed about the roadmap and feature updates

Microsoft 365 Backup is actively evolving, and you can follow along.

Here’s where to stay current on what’s coming and what just shipped:

Microsoft 365 Roadmap – Filter by “Microsoft 365 Backup” to see upcoming features, timelines, and rollout status.

Microsoft 365 Backup Adoption Hub – Find getting-started resources, partner solutions, and community stories.

Recent highlights include the following:

Granular file-and-folder browse and restore (now GA)

Departmental billing for multi-subscription environments

Government Community Cloud (GCC) availability

9. You’re not on your own; support channels are ready

If you hit a snag, help is easy to find.

Microsoft 365 Backup is supported through the same channels you already use:

In-product support – Open a support ticket directly from Help & Support in the Microsoft 365 admin center, as per your purchased plan.

Documentation – Explore the full Microsoft 365 Backup docs on Microsoft Learn, which cover setup, policies, restore procedures, and troubleshooting.

10. What you need to get started

Getting started is easy.

There are two prerequisites:

An admin role with the right permissions

Any of the following roles can set up and manage Microsoft 365 Backup:

Global Administrator
SharePoint Administrator
Exchange Administrator
SharePoint Backup Administrator
Exchange Backup Administrator
Microsoft 365 Backup Administrator

A pay-as-you-go billing policy

Microsoft 365 Backup requires a pay-as-you-go billing policy, which connects the service to an Azure subscription. Creating this billing policy requires the Owner or Contributor role on the Azure subscription. If the organization doesn’t have an Azure subscription yet, one can be created during the setup process.

No agents to install, no infrastructure to provision, no additional software to deploy.

Learn more about setup

Quick reference

Aspect	Details
Workloads	Exchange Online (EXO), SharePoint Online (SPO), OneDrive for Business (ODB)
Pricing	$0.15/GB/month — pay-as-you-go via Azure
RPO	10 min (trailing 2 weeks for SPO/ODB, full year for EXO); weekly (2–52 weeks for SPO/ODB)
Restore speed	~1–3 TB/hour
Retention	As per the configured recovery window (3 months / 6 months / 1 year / 2 years)
Data residency	Within Microsoft 365 trust boundary, same geo as live data
Immutability	Append-only storage
Bulk configuration	Dynamic rules (DLs/security groups), CSV (up to 50K entries), full-workload auto-backup
Offboarding grace period	90 days
Admin roles	Global Admin, SharePoint Admin, Exchange Admin, SharePoint Backup Admin, Exchange Backup Admin, or Microsoft 365 Backup Admin

*1,000+ protection unit restore speeds published here are based on internal benchmarking where SharePoint sites have an average of 12GB of stored content per site, Exchange Online mailboxes have an average of 26K items and an aggregate size of 10 GB. Those bulk recoveries use the in-place restore option, which is typical for large scale attack recovery scenarios. Actual times will depend on the number and size of the items in each site/mailbox.

Putting file-level archiving into practice with Microsoft 365 Archive and Syskit Point

Trent Green — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 17:50:00 GMT

Most Microsoft SharePoint sites don't go quiet all at once. They stay active, new files added, documents edited, teams collaborating, while years of completed projects, superseded drafts, and old reports accumulate quietly in the background. The site looks healthy. But when Microsoft 365 Copilot draws on that content to generate responses, it can surface outdated, redundant, and inactive files alongside current materials. This can result in noise.

Organizations that keep their active content clean can give Microsoft 365 Copilot a stronger signal to work with, and their teams a better experience acting on what it surfaces. Microsoft 365 Archive and Syskit Point can help you address stale content at the source and can offer a practical way to improve the reliability of what Copilot returns.

File-level archiving, now in public preview

In March, we extended the capabilities of Microsoft 365 Archive with the public preview of file-level archiving, which allows organizations to move individual SharePoint files and folders within active sites to a lower-cost storage tier. Once an administrator enables file-level archive for a site, any user with edit permissions can archive individual files while the rest of the site remains fully operational. When a file is needed again, it can be reactivated individually, with no reactivation fee.

Microsoft 365 Archive is designed to help organizations save money. It can help organizations save up to 75% compared to adding additional SharePoint storage. Archive is available on a pay-as-you-go basis, with charges applying only when a tenant has exceeded its included storage quota. (See the Microsoft 365 Archive pricing model for more information.)

Critically, archived files are removed from Copilot's active index. As a result, when you archive outdated content, it no longer competes with current material when Copilot generates responses, summarizes documents, or answers questions against organizational data.

Archived files retain their existing security settings, compliance protections, and metadata, including retention policies, sensitivity labels, and legal hold status, within the Microsoft 365 trust boundary. (See the Privacy, security, and compliance in Microsoft 365 Archive page for more information.)

Scaling file-level archive with Syskit Point

Knowing which files to archive is the step that often slows organizations down. A site might be in daily use but contain hundreds of files that haven't been accessed in years. Identifying them manually, across a large tenant, is not practical.

To help our customers with this step, providers like Syskit are integrating with Microsoft 365 Archive to bring file-level archiving into their solutions. Syskit Point, a platform for Microsoft 365 governance, added support for file-level archive on day one of the public preview. Syskit Point provides the identification and governance layer that makes the feature actionable at scale.

"We're thrilled to see partners like Syskit building data governance capabilities on top of the file-level Microsoft 365 Archive platform. Customers have told us how important this more surgical archive targeting is, and that scaled policy applications are just as important to realizing the value of file-level archive," said Brad Gussin, Principal Group Product Manager, Microsoft 365 Archive.

Syskit Point works across three stages:

Identify what's genuinely inactive. Syskit Point can surface stale files using both last-accessed date and last-modified date; a distinction that matters when identifying content that is genuinely cold versus content that is old but still referenced. This can allow IT teams to act with confidence rather than guesswork.

Reduce file size before archiving. SharePoint retains up to 500 versions of a file by default. Syskit Point allows administrators to trim version history before archiving, compounding the storage savings beyond what archiving alone delivers.

Maintain governance throughout. Admins can archive inactive SharePoint files to cold storage directly from the Storage Metrics report. Syskit Point can become the governance layer on top of Microsoft 365 Archive, handling the full file lifecycle: archive, restore, delete, in one place.

For organizations rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot, the question is no longer just who has access to what; it's whether the content Copilot draws from is worth drawing from at all. File-level archive, paired with the right governance layer, can help IT teams solve that problem.

About Syskit Point

Syskit Point is a governance layer for Microsoft 365 built for organizations where losing control has real consequences. IT teams can use it to keep their Microsoft 365 environment under control, secure it against oversharing and data leakage, optimize storage and licensing costs, and roll out AI with confidence. Syskit offers one platform, Microsoft 365 coverage, no custom setup required.

Learn more at syskit.com.

Update Health in Cloud Update is now Generally Available

BobClements — Wed, 27 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Keeping Microsoft 365 Apps up to date is essential for security, reliability, and access to new features. When an update does not complete successfully, however, identifying the issue and understanding its impact across devices can take time.

Today, we’re announcing general availability of update health in cloud update in the Microsoft 365 Apps admin center. Update health gives you clearer visibility into issues across cloud update-managed devices by surfacing descriptive error information, aggregated issue views, and device-level troubleshooting details in one place.

What update health helps you do

Update health builds on the existing monitoring experience in cloud update by helping you quickly understand why devices did not update as expected.

With this release, admins can:

See aggregated views of update issues across cloud update-managed devices

Review descriptive, easier-to-understand error messaging aligned to update error codes
Export device lists for follow-up and remediation workflows

Drill into affected devices for more detailed issue information

Use linked guidance to help with troubleshooting and resolution

As a result, you can spend less time identifying issues and interpreting logs, and more time taking action on the devices that need attention most.

Why this matters for IT admins

Managing updates at scale is not just about deploying the latest build. It also requires confidence that issues can be identified quickly and addressed efficiently.

Cloud update already provides a modern service management experience for Microsoft 365 Apps, including controls such as rollout waves, pause, rollback, and exclusion windows. Update health extends that experience by improving visibility into what happens after an update is offered to devices. Together, these capabilities help admins manage updates with greater confidence while reducing the effort needed to investigate failures.

Availability

Update health is now generally available for eligible organizations using cloud update. The feature is enabled by default, with no user impact and no changes required to existing update policies.

Getting started

No additional setup is required beyond using cloud update to manage Microsoft 365 Apps updates for your devices. Once the feature is available in your tenant, you can access update health by selecting one of the channel profiles in the left navigation.

New investments to accelerate your migration to Microsoft 365

TroyStarr — Mon, 11 May 2026 14:44:52 GMT

Microsoft continues to power the digital transformation of customers with cutting edge, AI-enhanced productivity and collaboration tools. That's why we're excited to announce new investments to make it easier than ever to migrate your data to Microsoft 365 so you can take full advantage of these capabilities.

Introducing the Slack to Teams Migration Tool

When organizations explore adopting Microsoft 365, one of the first questions they ask is how they can migrate their data from their current platform to Microsoft 365. We have extensive experience and migration tools to support customers who want to move their emails, calendars, and files to Microsoft 365. But in the modern workplace, migrating chats and conversations can be just as important.

That’s why we’re introducing the Slack to Teams Migration Tool from Microsoft. This tool is designed to migrate public and private channels from Slack to Teams, where your most critical conversations take place. The tool provides first class integration with Teams so migrated messages appear as if they’ve been posted directly in Teams with the original author and creation timestamp preserved. It also maintains the rich message content you’d expect, including message formatting, links and images, @-mentions, standard emojis, threaded replies, and more. File attachments are no problem as those are migrated too. And channel ownership and membership are preserved so that after the migration, participants can pick up right where they left off.

The Slack to Teams Migration Tool from Microsoft has no licensing cost. Customers simply need to provide an Azure Blob Storage subscription and container to temporarily store their Slack export files while the migration is taking place. (Azure Blob Storage subscriptions have their own cost.) Once the migration is complete, the Azure Blob Storage subscription is no longer needed.

This migration tool is a great option for customers interested in performing Slack migrations on their own, or as another tool for migration partners to help customers successfully transition to Microsoft 365. It's available now to all standard commercial customers worldwide. To learn more, see Introduction to the Slack to Teams Migration Tool.

Future investments in the Slack to Teams Migration Tool

These investments are an exciting start for this migration tool, but we’re not done yet. Over the coming year we plan to add even more features to the tool. Some of those features include:

The ability to migrate group chats from Slack to Teams
The ability to migrate direct messages (1-on-1 chats) from Slack to Teams
The ability to migrate Slack canvas content into Microsoft Loop tabs in Teams
The ability to provide an experience in Teams that will be familiar to users migrating from Slack

The migration team would love to hear your feedback about any additional scenarios that are important to you. We operate preview programs for customers that want to engage closely with us to help shape the future investments in our migration tools. If you're interested in participating, please nominate yourself using this form:

Microsoft 365 Migration Preview Registration

New Microsoft 365 migration documentation center

Migration can be an intimidating project for some, especially if you have limited experience performing migrations. Having comprehensive yet easy-to-follow documentation at your fingertips to plan and execute your migration can be the key to a smooth experience.

That’s why we’ve just launched our new Microsoft 365 Migration documentation center. Here you’ll find consolidated documentation about all M365 migration scenarios. Whether it’s migration from external platforms to M365 or migrating from one M365 tenant to another, you’ll find the right documentation here. This documentation center covers the full set of features and workloads in M365, from emails, contacts, and calendars, to files, to chats and conversations.

Please check out our new migration documentation center at https://aka.ms/m365migrationdocs. As you read through the articles, let us know if they were helpful to you by giving them a thumbs up or thumbs down reaction. We take your feedback seriously and will use it to make sure our documentation meets your needs.

Summary

We're proud to add the Slack to Teams Migration Tool alongside our other migration tools, giving customers more options to accelerate their migration to Microsoft 365. And with our new migration documentation center guiding you along the way, you'll find the migration process much less intimidating than you may have expected.

Let's get migrating!

Troy Starr
Principal Product Manager
Microsoft 365 Migration Team

Microsoft 365 E7 and Agent 365 are now generally available

carolinestanford — Fri, 01 May 2026 15:00:00 GMT

Frontier Transformation is about fundamentally changing how organizations operate – embedding AI into everyday workflows to accelerate decisions, improve outcomes, and drive measurable business impact. Achieving these benefits requires more than just access to powerful models. At Microsoft, we see transformations succeed only when two elements come together: Intelligence and Trust.

Microsoft 365 E7 is built to do exactly that – combining advanced AI capabilities with enterprise-grade security and governance so organizations can move beyond isolated pilots and deploy AI confidently at scale.

Today, Microsoft 365 E7 – the Frontier Suite – is generally available, offering a single, integrated solution that unifies intelligence and trust, so organizations can move from experimentation to enterprise-wide AI adoption.

Microsoft 365 E7 brings these capabilities together in one suite:

Microsoft 365 Copilot: AI built for work

Microsoft 365 E5: enterprise‑grade productivity, security, identity, and compliance

Microsoft Entra Suite: identity and network access controls that secure employee use of all apps and AI

Microsoft Agent 365: the control plane for governing, observing, and securing AI agents at scale

This integrated approach helps organizations confidently deploy AI and agents at scale while maintaining the security and compliance posture they need, using the enterprise-grade tools they trust from Microsoft.

With today’s general availability, customers can now purchase and deploy Microsoft 365 E7 across their organizations.

Agent 365 is now generally available

Today also marks the general availability of Microsoft Agent 365. Agent 365 is the control plane for agents, extending the visibility, control, and trust that organizations rely on for users to the agents they deploy. To learn more about Agent 365 and expanded capabilities we are announcing read the latest Blog here.

As agents become part of everyday work, Agent 365 provides a consistent way to:

Observe: Gain visibility into agents in your environment, understand how they’re used, and act quickly on performance, behavior, and risk signals before they impact the business.

Govern: Establish guardrails for agents and people, onboard agents with IT oversight, and govern agent access to resources and data. Be audit ready with built-in compliance and data retention.

Secure: Secure agent identities, control access to resources, prevent data oversharing and leaks, and defend against threats and vulnerabilities with enterprise-grade security solutions.

Agent 365 provides management and protection for agents built across platforms and runtimes, including SaaS, cloud, and local agents. Agent 365 also supports agents with both their own access and delegated access, helping to ensure a consistent approach across all agent scenarios.

Get started with Microsoft 365 E7 and Agent 365

At $99 per user per month, E7¹ is priced below purchasing these capabilities à la carte, giving customers a simpler, more cost-effective way to deploy enterprise AI at scale.

In addition to being included with Microsoft 365 E7, Agent 365 is available as a standalone license at $15 per user per month.

¹Microsoft 365 E7 is available with and without Teams.

Read related articles and resources:

Introducing the First Frontier Suite built on Intelligence + Trust

Powering Frontier Transformation with Copilot and agents

Partner Blog: Lead Frontier Transformation with Microsoft 365 E7, now generally available

Microsoft 365 Enterprise Webpage

Agent 365 Webpage

Agent 365 adoption resources and a Getting Started Guide are available at aka.ms/A365adoption

To discuss how Microsoft 365 E7 can meet your organization’s needs, please connect with your Microsoft representative or partner of choice.

Microsoft 365 Backup granular restore now generally available!

diksha050 — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:05:47 GMT

Data recovery shouldn’t feel like an all-or-nothing decision. Until now, Microsoft 365 Backup allowed you to recover OneDrive accounts and SharePoint sites. We’re excited to announce granular browse and restore for OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online, giving IT teams a more selective way to recover individual files and folders when something goes wrong, while leaving the rest of your environment untouched.

With these enhancements, Microsoft 365 Backup provides IT teams with greater flexibility to back up and restore files, folders, accounts, and sites—helping streamline recovery timelines while maintaining security and control. (Learn more about restoration expectations.)

Find and restore individual files & folders

Granular browse and restore helps admins perform targeted recovery for a variety of scenarios, instead of restoring the entire OneDrive account or SharePoint site. You can browse backup snapshots, select specific files or folders, and restore only what’s needed. This can help streamline restore workflows and support recovery following events such as accidental deletions or security incidents.

With this feature, Microsoft 365 Backup offers:

Enhanced control with selective search and restore options

Precision recovery, allowing you to recover individual files or folders, which can help minimize disruption and save time

Ability to backup and restore SharePoint and OneDrive content with fidelity (e.g., file- and site-level metadata and permissions)

Image: Select files and folders to restore in the Microsoft 365 admin center

In addition, admins have two ways to find files, folders, and sites to restore:

Browse method: Windows Explorer-like interface to navigate folder structures and select items
Search method: Search within a site/subsite by filename to quickly locate items

Next steps

Granular browse and restore is now generally available worldwide. We’re developing in-place restore (Roadmap ID: 464991), which restores files and folders to their original location with conflict resolution options: Fail, Rename, or Replace; we’ll share more about this feature and release dates in the future.

If you’re new to Microsoft 365 Backup, check out the Microsoft Learn documentation to set up Microsoft 365 Backup and get started today.

If you’re already using Microsoft 365 Backup, you can start using granular browse and restore as soon as it’s available in your tenant. See the Restore data in Microsoft 365 Backup page to see the step-by-step process for granular file and folder restore.

Register today for the Microsoft 365 Archive + Orchestry webinar

wbaer — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 17:58:36 GMT

Join us for a live webinar on May 7, 9:00 am PDT, with Trent Green, Microsoft, and David Francoeur, Orchestry, to learn more about what file-level archiving does, how it works, and how to turn it into a scalable, automated strategy across your tenant.

Register now for the May 7 webinar [orchestry.com]

File-Level Archival: The Next Frontier of Microsoft 365 Storage Optimization
May 7, 2026 | 9:00 AM PDT

Optimizing storage costs with file-level archiving

We recently launched the public preview of file-level archiving, a new way to help reduce additional Microsoft 365 storage costs, without deleting content. Microsoft 365 Archive allows end users and admins to move individual files into an archive cold storage on SharePoint and OneDrive for Business, while retaining visibility, search, and compliance posture.

We’re happy to work with companies, like Orchestry, to bring our customers archiving at enterprise scale.

Join Orchestry & Microsoft

Join David Francoeur, Head of Product Strategy & Innovation, Orchestry, and Trent Green, Principal Product Manager, Microsoft 365 Archive, Microsoft, to learn more about the following:

The difference between site-level vs. file-level archival
How file-level archival works: cold storage, reactivation, admin controls, and billing
Where native tooling breaks down and automated governance takes over
How to define rule-based archival criteria (inactivity, file type, file size)
Why archived content is excluded from Microsoft 365 Copilot and why that matters for AI readiness

Move beyond site-level cleanup with Orchestry and Microsoft 365 Archive. Help reduce additional SharePoint storage costs and keep the content that matters.

Register today.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Debugging the future of work: Microsoft 365 Community Conference 2026

JonJones_MSFT — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:10:35 GMT

Building in the era of AI can get very challenging. That’s exactly why we’re here to help you debug, refactor, and level up at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, happening April 21–23, 2026 in Orlando, FL. Whether you’re a developer ready to scale your skillset or a power user looking to upgrade your formatting skills, walk away with practical tools you can use immediately. We've lined up hands-on sessions and interactive workshops to help you build intelligent, adaptable agents and solutions across the Microsoft ecosystem, and supercharge your Copilot journey.

Here’s what you’ll learn by attending the sessions:

Create custom agents for your company in Microsoft 365 Copilot

Custom agents are how you turn Copilot into your Copilot. The conference will cover how to design, secure, and deploy company-specific agents using Microsoft technologies like Copilot Studio, Microsoft Graph connectors, Entra ID, and Azure, and how to integrate them into Microsoft 365 experiences (Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook) with the Agent Toolkit and extensibility patterns. Expect practical guidance on grounding agents in enterprise data, enforcing permissions, and shipping them through your existing dev and governance processes.

Build smarter with SPFx

Want to build once and run everywhere across Microsoft 365? This is your blueprint. In the demo-driven sessions, you’ll build and ship a production-ready SPFx solution across SharePoint, Teams, Outlook, and Copilot, complete with theming, graph integration, and Entra-backed authentication. You’ll also pick up practical guidance on performance, accessibility, Application Lifecycle Management, and scaling from prototype to production. You’ll leave convinced and equipped that SPFx is the best path to building modern, scalable applications across the entire Microsoft 365 stack.

Hook into Azure DevOps

AI in Azure DevOps is a workflow upgrade. Learn how built-in capabilities ADO AI Chat and the Work Item Assistant help you automate repetitive tasks, improve backlog quality, and accelerate sprint velocity. reclaim engineering time, strengthen downstream effectiveness of code-centric tools like GitHub Enterprise and GitHub Copilot, and create a more efficient, AI-powered DevOps loop.

Adopt open-source tooling where suitable

Open-source and community tooling can help teams adopt established patterns and reduce custom implementation effort. The conference will cover how to evaluate and adopt community libraries, templates, and accelerators (for example, PnP tooling in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem) to reduce boilerplate, standardize common API and authentication approaches, and deliver solutions faster, while maintaining appropriate standards for security, maintenance, licensing, and long-term ownership.

Ready to put it into practice?

Branch out by attending hands-on workshops at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference to help you get out of your tech debt. Here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll build in the workshops:

SPFx Supercharged: Hands-on Bootcamp for Building SharePoint Solutions – 2026 edition with Beau Cameron, Chris Kent, David Warner, and Hugo Bernier
Develop Declarative Agents to Extend Microsoft 365 Copilot to Get the Most out of your Investment with Andrew Connell
Mission UX: Decoding the Science of User Experience in Microsoft 365 and Power Platform with David Warner and Hugo Bernier

Sessions:

Advanced List Formatting with Chris Kent
Bring Your Own Intelligence: Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot Agents with Azure AI and Microsoft Graph with Reshmee Auckloo
Building AI-Powered SharePoint Experiences with SPFx, Azure, and Your Own MCP Server with David Opdendries
Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot with Declarative Agents with Paolo Pialorsi and Vesa Juvonen
From Data to Decisions: How Copilot in VS Code Empowers Research and Enterprise Teams with Olesya Sarajlic and Semir Sarajlic
Getting Started with PnPjs with Julie Turner and Beau Cameron
How to Fake being an AI Expert: An Evil Consultant’s Guide to AI with Hugo Bernier
Inside Microsoft: Reclaiming Engineering Time with AI in Azure DevOps with Gopal Panigrahy and Apoorv Gupta
Manage your Microsoft 365 Tenant and Assets with Azure Runbooks and PnP PowerShell with Rodrigo Pinto
Navigating SharePoint Framework: Best Practices and Hidden Gems with Andrew Connell
Powerful Things: Defeating the Demogorgon of Power Apps Inconsistency with David Warner
The Future of SharePoint Extensibility: What's New, What's Next with Alex Terentiev and Vesa Juvonen
SPFx Unleashed: One Codebase for Enterprise, Host-Aware apps Across Microsoft 365 with Fabio Franzini
SharePoint knowledge Retrieval and Actions for your Apps with Copilot Studio + Microsoft Foundry with Patrick Rodgers and Yogesh Ratnaparkhi
Supercharge Copilot with Every Enterprise Document with Steve Pucelik and Shreyas Saravanan
The Power of App Builder’s Guide for Choosing the Right Path with April Dunnam
Understanding Copilot Agents: What to Use When with Paolo Pialorsi and Vesa Juvonen
Understanding Work IQ for Developers with Paolo Pialorsi

Join us at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, happening April 21–23, 2026 in Orlando, FL.

AI is a Team Sport – Announcing our first wave of Guest Speakers at M365 Community Conference 2026

JonJones_MSFT — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 18:48:01 GMT

What do championship athletes, enterprise innovators, and community leaders all have in common?

They know that transformation does not happen in isolation. It happens when teams come together with a shared goal, the right strategy, and the courage to try something new.

That is why at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference in Orlando, Florida from April 21 to 23, 2026, we are bringing the spirit of collaboration to life in a whole new way by welcoming a dynamic lineup of guest voices from the worlds of professional sports, innovation strategy, and real-world AI adoption at scale.

This year, we are proud to host legendary athletes Chasity Melvin and Kia Vaughn, alongside innovation thought leaders Dan Toma, Manjunatha Sivanna, Christopher Blakeley and Jon Wear as they join Microsoft leaders on stage to explore how teamwork, leadership, experimentation, and trust are shaping the future of AI powered organizations.

Chasity Melvin is a former WNBA All-Star and coach, with over two decades of experience in professional basketball. As a first-round draft pick, she played 12 seasons in the WNBA and spent over a decade winning championships internationally. She is a multifaceted coach with experience at the collegiate and professional levels including a stint with Charlotte Hornets as the first female coach to coach men.

Her accolades include being an author, motivational speaker, and co-host of the Washington Mystics pre- and postgame show, where she shares her informed perspective as both a player and a coach. She is passionate about the business of sports and technology and is intentional about lending her voice in conversations that drive impact and inspire change.

At the conference, she will join Corporate Vice President and Chief Scientist Jaime Teevan in a fireside chat to share insights on AI and its collaborative future in changing roles, leadership, and transformation. This fireside chat will be hosted by the Director of Customer Advocacy for AI & Collaboration, Karuana Gatimu.

Kia Vaughn is an international champion known across WNBA in the United States and worldwide. Immersed in basketball from an early age, she honed her craft at Rutgers, delivering standout performances on the championship stage.

Throughout her 14-year career on several WNBA teams, including the New York Liberty, Washington Mystics, Phoenix Mercury, and Atlanta Dream, she developed a reputation as a consummate professional. Known for her preparation and reliability, she is geared up to bring an impact-driven global perspective to our Women in Technology Lunch in a conversation with Karuana Gatimu, Director of Customer Advocacy for AI & Collaboration. Don’t miss her insights as she navigates the challenges of an ever-changing league.

Dan Toma is the CEO and Partner at Outcomes Consulting, where he helps global organizations in enhancing their approach to technology. He is an acclaimed author with a key focus on leadership, technology strategy, and delivering business outcomes. As co-author of the recent text, “Innovation Accounting”, he offers practical, detailed, and focused guidance on fostering a culture of experimentation and innovation, essential for organizations adopting generative AI. We’re excited to have him join the Director of Customer Advocacy for AI & Collaboration, Karuana Gatimu, in a fireside chat on real world adoption best practices at scale.

And because AI is only as powerful as the impact it drives in the real world, we are also excited to spotlight customer voices leading enterprise transformation today.

Real world customer stories

Across our product keynotes, Microsoft customers will bring AI transformation to life by sharing how they are moving from experimentation to impact inside their own organizations. These global brands offer a real-world look at how teams are adopting AI, modernizing operations, and building for the future with greater confidence, creativity, and scale. Their stories ground our keynotes in practical insight and show what it really takes to turn innovation into meaningful business outcomes.

Featured in our day one keynote Building for the Future: Microsoft 365, Agents and AI, What's New and What's Next with Jeff Teper, Executive Vice President, Collaborative Apps and Platforms:

Jon Wear, Director of Transformation and Innovation at British Airways, is focused on the airline’s largest‑ever transformation program, an investment of over £7BN, the biggest in BA’s history. This program is modernizing the airline for long‑term growth and is already delivering measurable results, including improved on‑time and financial performance as well as higher customer satisfaction (NPS). As part of this agenda, Jon is co‑leading British Airways’ AI transformation. This has included successfully rolling out Microsoft Copilot to 40,000 employees, deploying AI agents to automate key processes, and building the organizational capabilities required to scale AI responsibly and deliver real‑world impact. Jon has nearly 20 years of professional experience across leadership, strategy, and large‑scale transformation, including service as a military officer as well as senior roles in industry and McKinsey & Company.

Featured in our day one keynote Business Apps & Agents with Ryan Cunningham, Corporate Vice President:

Christopher Blakeley, Principal Program Manager and AI & Agentic Automation Enablement at NASA. In this role, Chris leads the Agency’s Intelligent Automation strategy and drives the expansion of NASA’s Microsoft Power Platform ecosystem that supports more than 50,000 employees across all Centers. He oversees secure and scalable platform adoption, enabling mission and administrative teams to rapidly build automation solutions that streamline operations and advance NASA’s digital transformation goals. brings a unique perspective on applying advanced technologies in mission critical environments. Chris leads the Federal wide Power Platform Focus Group, collaborating with government agencies to coordinate best practices, governance approaches, and enterprise adoption strategies. With more than 20 years of service at NASA, including roles at Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Marshall Space Flight Center, Chris contributes to government‑wide modernization by championing responsible automation and empowering the federal workforce with ai-enabled digital tools.

In our day two keynote Securing AI: Building Trust in the Era of AI with Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security will be joined by:

Manjunatha Sivanna, Principal Platform Manager at Cummins Inc., will provide a look into how enterprise organizations are integrating AI into core business functions to improve decision making, streamline workflows, and empower teams to innovate faster in a rapidly changing technology landscape. In his current role, he is responsible for enterprise-wide adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot and Enterprise AI, establishing information governance and compliance foundations using Microsoft Purview, and enabling low-code innovation through the Power Platform. He works closely with legal, compliance, security, and business teams to ensure AI is deployed in a way that is secure, compliant, and pragmatically useful for employees. He has been a key driver behind large-scale Copilot rollouts, enterprise AI governance models, and ECM modernization initiatives, helping organizations move from experimentation to real-world, production-ready AI outcomes. He is passionate about bridging the gap between technology capability and business value, and about shaping practical patterns for Responsible and Agentic AI in the enterprise.

Together, these voices reflect the very best of our community: diverse perspectives, shared challenges, and a willingness to learn from one another as we shape what comes next. Because in the era of AI, progress is not built alone. It is built together, with trust, curiosity, and teamwork at the center.

Because when it comes to AI, success is a team sport.

Apply sensitivity labels with custom permissions in Office for the web

Camille_Birch — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 14:35:34 GMT

We’re excited to announce that support for applying sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions is now rolling out in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web.

In the past, users were limited to opening and editing files with existing custom permissions in the web apps; applying new sensitivity labels configured for user-defined permissions or modifying permissions always required switching to the desktop versions. Now, all these actions – applying labels and managing permissions for specific users or domains – can be completed entirely within Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on the web.

How the Permissions dialog works in Office for the web

When a user applies a sensitivity label that is configured for user-defined permissions in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint on the web, the Permissions dialog opens to let them choose who can access the file and what each person or domain is allowed to do. This is the same modernized experience that previously shipped in the Windows apps, now available in the browser.

Apply a label configured for user-defined permissions. From the Sensitivity menu in the toolbar, the file name flyout, or other entry points your organization uses, the user selects a label that their tenant admin has configured in the Purview portal with the option to let users assign permissions.
Specify users and domains. In the Permissions dialog, the user adds individual people (for example, someone@example.com) or whole domains (for example, example.com) who should have access to the file.
Choose permission levels. For each person or domain, the user chooses from clear permission levels such as Viewer, Editor, or Owner, which correspond to underlying Rights Management usage rights.
Use advanced options when needed. The user can expand additional settings to configure options such as a contact email for access requests. Note that web apps do not currently support setting a custom expiration date for permissions.
Apply and update permissions. After saving, the selected sensitivity label is applied to the file with the specified permissions. Users with appropriate rights can reopen the Permissions dialog later from the web apps to add or remove people or domains, or adjust permission levels, without switching to the desktop client.

The Permissions dialog in Office for the web is designed to be consistent with the experience in the Windows apps, so users see the same permission levels and terminology wherever they work. All enforcement continues to respect your organization’s existing sensitivity label policies, encryption configurations, and Rights Management Service (RMS) settings.

What this means for admins

This feature enables organizations using sensitivity labels configured in the Microsoft Purview portal with encryption and user-defined permissions to apply these labels and manage permissions directly in the web versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Users can now stay within the browser to classify and protect content, eliminating the need to switch to desktop apps for applying or updating labels and permissions.

As support for applying these labels becomes available in Office for the web, consider reviewing your existing sensitivity labels that are configured for user-defined permissions. You may want to update internal guidance and training materials to reflect that users can now complete these workflows entirely in the browser and ensure that security operations and compliance teams are prepared to monitor usage through existing Purview auditing and reporting capabilities.

Admin considerations and scenarios

Many organizations use user-defined permissions for scenarios where central policies cannot realistically predefine every individual who should have access to a file. For example, you might publish labels that require users to specify recipients for documents that contain deal-specific financials, M&A data, or sensitive HR information. In these cases, granting permissions at the time of labeling helps reduce oversharing and keeps access tightly scoped to the people who genuinely need it.

Licensing and configuration requirements

To use sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions in Office for the web, your organization must have licensing that supports configuring Purview sensitivity labels, have sensitivity labeling enabled for files stored in SharePoint and OneDrive, and have configured at least one sensitivity label for user-defined permissions.

The licensing requirements for applying sensitivity labels with user-defined permissions in the Office web apps is that same as for using sensitivity labels that apply encryption in the Office desktop apps. For more information on licensing requirements, see Microsoft 365 licensing guidance for security & compliance.

See Enable sensitivity labels for files in SharePoint and OneDrive for more information about enabling application of sensitivity labels to files stored in the cloud.

Only 6 months until Office LTSC 2021 end of support – are you ready?

JeremyCarlson — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:00:00 GMT

Continuing to use software after end of support can leave your devices vulnerable to potential security threats, productivity losses, and compliance issues. That’s why it’s important to know that in just six months, on October 13, 2026, support will end for Office LTSC 2021 suites and standalone applications (see the full list of impacted products below). After that date, Microsoft will no longer provide security fixes, bug fixes, or technical support for these products.

For small and medium businesses—and for enterprises that haven’t done so already—now is the time to start moving all remaining devices running Office LTSC 2021 to a supported version. Read on for recommended upgrade paths and resources to help you get started today.

Recommended path: Migrate to the cloud with Microsoft 365

Businesses that migrate to Microsoft 365 can support the dynamic, anytime-anywhere nature of modern work more easily—and provide stronger security for their data, applications, and people.

Enterprises should look to migrate to:

Microsoft 365 E3

Office 365 E3

Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise

These offerings provide always‑supported versions of Office apps, along with enterprise‑grade security, compliance, and management capabilities designed for larger organizations.

Organizations with fewer than 300 users should look to:

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

Microsoft 365 Apps for business

These plans combine cloud-backed versions of familiar apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams with the services your business needs to stay connected and productive, including Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive.

Microsoft 365 is also AI ready, so you can use Microsoft 365 Copilot to assist with tasks large and small—something you can’t do with any on-premises version of Office.

Upgrading also brings flexibility without sacrificing continuity. Microsoft 365 Apps—the core suite of desktop and mobile apps included in many Microsoft 365 suites—offers several advantages over on-premises versions of Office. The apps can be installed on up to five PCs, five tablets, and five phones per user, so your team can be productive wherever they choose to work. Updates are applied automatically on a cadence you set, so you avoid disruptive rip-and-replace version upgrades. And because it’s always up to date, Microsoft 365 Apps never goes out of support. Microsoft 365 also offers licensing options to support kiosks and shared devices, as well as users who need to stay offline for extended periods of time.

For organizations with over 150 seats that use custom line-of-business apps that depend on Office to function, Microsoft’s FastTrack App Assure service offers no-cost assistance to help those apps continue to work with Microsoft 365.

We know there is no “one-size-fits-all" approach for managing end of support—and we encourage you to explore our business and enterprise plans to find the right fit for your organization.

Fallback for disconnected scenarios: Upgrade to Office LTSC 2024

For customers and devices that cannot—or cannot yet—move to the cloud, we recommend upgrading to the most recent supported on-premises version of Office for commercial customers, Office LTSC 2024. The Office Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) is designed for devices that can’t accept feature updates or connect to the internet. Office LTSC 2024 is available alongside new on-premises versions of Project and Visio.

Prepare to make your move

As Office LTSC 2021 approaches end of support, Microsoft is committed to helping you prepare. Use the resources below to help you get started today:

Bookmark the Microsoft Lifecycle page to stay informed about future events.

Read the upgrade guidance for an overview of how to move from Office LTSC 2021 to Microsoft 365 Apps.

For companies with over 150 licenses, consider engaging Microsoft FastTrack for support with moving to Microsoft 365.

Visit our Office End of Support Tech Community for more information and resources about the end of support for Office. Or fill out this form to get in touch and have a specialist demonstrate how Microsoft 365 can benefit your organization.

Thank you for being a Microsoft customer!

Office LTSC 2021 products reaching end of support on October 13, 2026
Office suites	Office LTSC 2021
Office applications	Access LTSC 2021, Excel LTSC 2021, OneNote LTSC 2021, Outlook LTSC 2021, PowerPoint LTSC 2021, Project LTSC 2021, Publisher LTSC 2021, Skype for Business LTSC 2021, Visio LTSC 2021, Word LTSC 2021

Help Shape the Future of Microsoft 365: Join Research Sessions at Microsoft 365 Community Conference

JonJones_MSFT — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 18:06:00 GMT

One of the best ways to get value from the Microsoft 365 Community Conference isn’t just attending sessions, it’s helping shape what gets built next.

The Research sessions at Microsoft 365 Community Conference give attendees a rare, behind-the-scenes chance to collaborate directly with the Microsoft teams designing the products millions of people use every day. These sessions are designed for customers, practitioners, and IT professionals who want their real-world experiences to influence what’s coming next across Microsoft 365.

What to Expect

These aren’t traditional lectures or breakouts. Research sessions are small-group, interactive conversations designed to bring your voice into the product design process.

In a typical session, you can expect:

Spending dedicated time with Microsoft researchers (and sometimes partner team members)
Discuss scenarios drawn from real customer workflows
Review early ideas or prototypes and share what would (or wouldn’t) work in your environment
Offer candid feedback to help prioritize and refine future experiences

Topics That Matter to You

The Research sessions focus on some of the most widely used and fast-evolving Microsoft 365 experiences, including:

SharePoint
OneDrive
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Planner
Microsoft Lists
Viva Engage

Whether you’re managing these tools at scale, supporting adoption, or building solutions on top of them, your perspective helps teams understand what’s working today and what needs to change next.

How to Participate

Research sessions are invite-only to keep the groups small and ensure everyone has time to contribute.

Here’s how it works:

Registered conference attendees will receive an email invitation to sign up for Research sessions.
The invitation includes short descriptions of each session and a brief signup form so you can indicate which topics you’re interested in.
Participants are required to complete a consent form and a non-disclosure agreement. Participation in Research sessions is optional. Completing the survey does not affect your ability to attend the conference if you choose not to participate.
Spots are filled first-come, first-served, so early registration is encouraged.

Be Part of What’s Next

The Microsoft 365 Community Conference is all about learning, connection, and community—and the Research sessions take that mission one step further. This is your opportunity to go beyond listening and actively contribute to the evolution of Microsoft 365.

If you’ve ever wanted to influence the tools you rely on every day, the Research sessions are one of the most meaningful ways to do it. Keep an eye out for the invitation, choose a session that matches your interests, and bring your real-world experience to the table.

Attendees of the research sessions must be registered attendees of the Microsoft 365 Community Conference.