The ultimate Microsoft 365 community event is back!
It’s an incredible time for our partners as we continue to see the future of work come to life with Microsoft 365 Copilot product announcements and enhancements. While we focus on pushing the boundaries of technology, we never lose sight of the fact that this journey is about you: our partners who have built your businesses around helping people get the most out of Microsoft solutions. We’re always listening to your feedback, learning from your experiences, and working to make our products better for you. When it comes to collaboration, we know how important it is to bring together teams, customers, partners, and individuals across both digital and hybrid spaces. However, there’s still something special about meeting face to face. That’s why I’m excited to welcome you back to the Microsoft 365 Community Conference (#M365Con). Read more here and register today!MVP’s Favorite Content: Copilot, FinOps, SharePoint, Maturity Model
In this blog series dedicated to Microsoft's technical articles, we'll highlight our MVPs' favorite article along with their personal insights. Lasse Nordvik Wedø, M365 MVP, Norway Microsoft 365 Copilot – Microsoft Adoption “I strongly recommend that anyone who works with adoption of Copilot (everyone?!?) familiarize themselves with the Copilot Adoption site and its resources. Over the past year, I have worked with numerous clients to implement Copilot in their organizations, and I've seen firsthand the transformative impact it can have on operations, when done right. I've also witnessed failures when organizations neglect to train their employees adequately. To maximize the benefits of Copilot, I recommend a well-thought-out, long-term adoption plan. While this technology literally is plug-and-play, ensuring that employees know where and how to leverage Copilot’s potential isn't always straightforward. It requires careful planning and execution to integrate seamlessly into your workflows and deliver the expected value. Take the time to explore the resources on the Copilot Adoption Site and consider how to develop a comprehensive adoption strategy for your organization, with or without an adoption partner.” *Relevant Article: Educate and Train Your Team | LinkedIn (Part 3 in a series of articles on getting started with Copilot) Jurgen Allewijn, Microsoft Azure MVP, Netherlands FinOps toolkit overview - Cloud Computing | Microsoft Learn “FinOps is kind of a fashion statement and often underestimated what it really entails. The FinOps toolkit really helps organisations with implementing and adopting of FinOps.” *Relevant Blog: Challenging the Cloud Cost-Saving Myth: A Closer Look at Azure and cost control | by Jurgen Allewijn | Jan, 2025 | Medium Mohamed El-Qassas, Business Applications MVP, Saudi Arabia Installation overview for SharePoint Server Subscription Edition - SharePoint Server | Microsoft Learn "Experience the power of the latest SharePoint Server! Organizations with on-premises deployments are encouraged to explore the significant advantages of upgrading. Discover enhanced security, improved performance, and access to the most innovative features by transitioning to the latest version." *Relevant Blog: Install SharePoint Subscription Simon Hudson, M365 MVP, United Kingdom Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Learn “The Maturity Model for M365 provides a suite of competency based tools that put the technology in a true business context. They let organisations benchmark themselves on critical business skills such as collaboration, AI and business process; from this they clarify actions to take, with supporting technologies, to improve. It's great for true business development, for consulting engagement and executive buy in and understanding." *Relevant Activity: Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 - YouTube - I have contributed to the development of these, I cohost the monthly PnP Practitioner call and have run workshops and sessions at international conferences.
Lost Macros
Hi, I was speaking to a tech support person in chat and they sent me here after poking around on my computer. I have lost my Macros in EXCEL 365 twice. The first time Excel froze and I had to start excel. the second time was last night. There was some sort of update on my computer over night. It didn't seem to affect Excel as I was able to continue working on it this morning. But when I went to apply a macro they were all gone. I am not very tech savvy but I read something that said it could be retrieved if I went to a folder called XLSTART but when I went there the folder was empty. I want my macros back as they took hours to make and get them right. I also want to ensure that this won't happen again. I am not sure if antivirus software has anything to do with this. I just know I never had this problem with older versions of excel. PLEASE HELP! I can't get any work done if I am constantly trying to rewrite macros.
Migrating from NinjaOne, BitDefender, and Phish Titan to a Unified Microsoft Intune and Defender So
I'm currently in the process of evaluating a major migration strategy for the MSP I work for, and I wanted to share my thought process and get some advice on potential gaps I might be overlooking. Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated as this is something I want to get right! Current Setup: We currently manage around 300 Microsoft 365 tenants. Each client typically pays for Microsoft 365 licenses per user (usually Business Basic or Standard), along with NinjaOne RMM for device management, BitDefender for endpoint protection, and some opt for Phish Titan for email filtering. Our current setup involves: NinjaOne RMM: Used for remote device management and client support. BitDefender: For antivirus/endpoint protection. Phish Titan: For email filtering, spam protection, and phishing simulation. The Plan: Migrate to Microsoft Intune and Defender The strategy I am considering involves transitioning our clients devices to Microsoft Intune for device management and Defender for Endpoint for security. Many of the devices we manage are already AzureAD joined. Currently we AzureAD join all the devices in the tenant to the 365 Admin which we control. Intune: Will allow us to manage all devices from a single platform, with granular policies for compliance, software updates, and app management. Defender for Endpoint: Threat protection, antivirus, and EDR features that can replace BitDefender,. Also for those clients who currently opt form email filtering, its email protection features could potentially replace Phish Titan’s filtering and simulation with the addition of Defender for 365. Licensing Concerns and Confusion: This is where I’ve run into several licensing questions and concerns: 365 Admin with E5 License: In my current plan, each client tenant would have a single 365 admin account with an E5 license to manage the devices and benefit from Defender’s full suite of features (including threat intelligence, EDR, attack surface reduction, etc.). All devices in the tenant would be Azure AD-joined to this E5-admin account. My assumption is that since the devices are Azure AD-joined to an account with E5, they would benefit from the full capabilities of Defender for Endpoint, regardless of the license assigned to the end user (who might only have a Microsoft 365 Business Basic or Standard license). However, I’m not 100% certain if the user logged into the device would be limited in any way (e.g., does Defender’s full suite apply only to the device, or does the end-user's license also need to include premium features like Defender for Endpoint?). Entra ID Premium (P1 or P2): My goal is to also enforce MFA across all tenants automatically for new users. I understand that for this, we would need Entra ID Premium P1 or P2. The challenge is whether I can apply a tenant-wide P1/P2 license or if I need to assign the P1/P2 license to each individual user. If I assign the P1 license to the 365 admin, will I be able to enforce MFA for all new users in the tenant, or do I need to assign P1 licenses to each user to make this work? BitDefender Replacement: My understanding is that Defender for Endpoint (through the 365 E5 license) provides advanced features that can completely replace BitDefender in terms of security, threat protection, and response. Does anyone have feedback on how Defender compares to BitDefender, particularly around ease of management, efficacy, and any potential gaps in coverage? Email Filtering and Phishing Simulation: Defender for Office 365 (included with 365 E5) offers email protection, phishing simulation, and spam filtering. If we switch from Phish Titan to Defender, will we be missing any significant functionality, or is this a strong enough alternative? Windows Autopilot Considerations: I also want to incorporate Windows Autopilot into our deployment strategy. While we’re not overly concerned about achieving zero-touch deployment, I believe we can still leverage Autopilot to streamline the device provisioning process and ensure that devices are correctly configured for our clients from the outset. Azure AD Join: My assumption is that for devices to fully utilize Autopilot features, they would need to be Azure AD-joined to the end user. I’m considering how to implement this for end-user devices and whether we can still maintain efficiency if users log into the devices with different Microsoft 365 licenses (Basic or Standard). End-User Experience: I want to ensure that even if users are logging in with lower-tier licenses, they still have a seamless onboarding experience, with essential policies and security measures applied from the get-go (Installed apps, Networking settings, etc) Has anyone here gone through a similar migration, or do you have any insights into the potential pitfalls of this approach? Am I missing any important considerations? Any advice would be appreciated.
Question certification
Hello, I write to you for a doubt about the certification exam, yesterday I finished a learning path of 4 modules called "AZ-500: Identity and access management" and at the end, I think there was already examination and I take this, I give it where it says "Personal training examination" and it leads me to that, which I have to do now, keep doing routes and modules or if there is an exam? I am lost (Sorry, the screenshots are in Spanish) Thank you
