Microsoft 365 & Power Platform product updates call
💡Microsoft 365 & Power Platform product updates call concentrates on the different use cases and features within the Microsoft 365 and in Power Platform. Call includes topics like Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft Teams, Power Platform, Microsoft Graph, Microsoft Viva, Microsoft Search, Microsoft Lists, SharePoint, Power Automate, Power Apps and more. 👏 Weekly Tuesday call is for all community members to see Microsoft PMs, engineering and Cloud Advocates showcasing the art of possible with Microsoft 365 and Power Platform. 📅 On the 27th of January we'll have following agenda: News and updates from Microsoft Together mode group photo Patrick Rodgers – Introduction to SharePoint Site Creation in Microsoft Graph Natalie Pienkowska – Announcing Frontline Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot 📞 & 📺 Join the Microsoft Teams meeting live at https://aka.ms/community/ms-speakers-call-join 👋 See you in the call! 💡 Building something cool for Microsoft 365 or Power Platform (Copilot, SharePoint, Power Apps, etc)? We are always looking for presenters - Volunteer for a community call demo at https://aka.ms/community/request/demo 📖 Resources: Previous community call recordings and demos from the Microsoft Community Learning YouTube channel at https://aka.ms/community/youtube Microsoft 365 & Power Platform samples from Microsoft and community - https://aka.ms/community/samples Microsoft 365 & Power Platform community details - https://aka.ms/community/homeWhat's new in Microsoft Planner – June 2025
Discover the latest enhancements in Planner, designed to help you manage your work more efficiently. This month, we’re excited to highlight new features and updates that make planning, organizing, and tracking tasks simpler than ever. Get real-time task notifications for Project Manager agent via email In May, we introduced real-time task notifications for Project Manager agent in Planner in Teams, alerting you when a task is completed and ready for review or when your input is needed to move it forward. We’re now expanding these capabilities to send you notifications via email. This enhancement gives you more flexibility in how you stay informed, helping you maintain momentum on critical tasks—even when you’re away from Teams. Whether you prefer to manage your day from your inbox or your Activity feed, these notifications ensure you never miss a beat on the tasks assigned to Project Manager agent. Boost efficiency with Planner's bulk editing feature Planner’s new bulk editing feature is here to simplify task management. In the Grid view of any basic plan, you can now update multiple tasks simultaneously—assign tasks, adjust priorities, update progress, and modify start and due dates—all in one go. To get started, navigate to a basic plan and select the Grid view. Then, select a set of tasks you want to update by either selecting and dragging the tasks or by using Ctrl + the up arrow or down arrow. Use Project Manager agent to generate status reports - now in public preview The new Status Reports feature in Planner in Teams enables you to auto-synthesize your plan's progress, milestones, risks, and next steps, ensuring everyone on your team has shared visibility. All report features, including the ability to share the status report as a newsletter, are now available in public preview for all English users. Support for additional languages is being rolled out in the coming days. Learn more about how to generate status reports in minutes with Project Manager agent in Planner. Project Manager agent now supported in 40+ languages We’re excited to share that Project Manager agent is now multi-lingual! With this update, you can now use the Project Manager agent to generate and execute on tasks in any language that is also available for Microsoft 365 Copilot, excluding Arabic and Hebrew for now. Note that Arabic and Hebrew support, as well as the ability to generate status reports in these languages, will be available later this week. See the full list of supported languages for Microsoft 365 Copilot. ICYMI: A look back at what we shipped earlier this year Now that we’re halfway through the year, our team would love to recap some of our favorite Planner features that have shipped recently: Project Manager agent in public preview: The Project Manager agent is an AI-powered virtual project manager designed to enhance your planning experience by streamlining workflows and handling tasks on your behalf. The Project Manager agent integrates AI directly into your plans, empowering you to focus on strategy, while enabling smarter team collaboration. See our announcement blog post to learn more. Custom backgrounds: Personalize your workspace with images or themes, enhancing visual appeal and organization. To add a background, open the Plan details of any basic plan by either selecting the plan name or the dropdown menu next to it in the plan header. Board view in My Day and My Tasks: With Board view now available in My Day and My Tasks, you can manage and prioritize your tasks in a more visual way. Reorder columns across all plans: Previously, reordering columns was only available in premium plans. With this update, reordering columns is available across all Grid views. To try it out, simply select and drag the column headers to rearrange them, or use the CTRL + Shift + < and CTRL + Shift + > keyboard shortcuts. Generate status reports using Project Manager agent: The new Status Reports feature in Planner in Teams enables you to auto-synthesize your plan's progress, milestones, risks, and next steps, ensuring everyone on your team has shared visibility. Learn more about how to generate status reports in minutes with Project Manager agent in Planner. Retirement of Microsoft Project for the web: We also wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that starting August 1st, 2025, we will be transitioning all users to Microsoft Planner. As an effort to provide a unified work management experience, we are retiring Project for the web, as well as the Project and Roadmap apps in Microsoft Teams. No actions are necessary in preparation for this change as all licensing should carry over seamlessly. Learn more about this change in our announcement blog post. Do you have a Planner feature you’ve been enjoying recently? Let us know in the comments! Share your feedback Tell us what you think about the new Planner using the Feedback button in the top right corner of the app. We also encourage you to share any feature requests by adding your ideas to the Planner Feedback Portal. Your feedback helps inform our feature updates, and we look forward to hearing from you as you try Planner’s new and existing capabilities! Resources Check out the Planner adoption page. Sign up to receive future communication about Planner. Check out the Microsoft 365 roadmap for feature descriptions and estimated release dates for Planner. Watch Planner demos for inspiration on how to get the most out of Planner in Teams. Visit the Planner help page to learn more about the new Planner.
SharePoint at 25: The knowledge platform for Copilot and agents
Join us for a global digital event to celebrate the 25th birthday of SharePoint! Gear up for an exciting look at SharePoint’s historic moments along with an exclusive look ahead to the next chapter of SharePoint’s AI future! You will discover how SharePoint’s new content AI capabilities and intelligent experiences will transform the way people create, manage, and collaborate. Be sure to stick around after for our live Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA), where you can ask your questions about the exciting new SharePoint features directly to the product team! 🛠️ Don’t miss the SharePoint Hackathon in March 2026 Design, create, share! We are excited to invite you to a hackathon dedicated to crafting exceptional employee experiences using AI and the latest SharePoint features. More details coming soon. Event Link
📣 Getting Started with AI and MS Copilot — Português
Olá, 👋 📢 Quer explorar IA e Microsoft Copilot de forma prática para o aprendizado? Participe da sessão “Introdução à IA com o uso do MS Copilot”, pensada especialmente para docentes que estão começando a usar o Copilot. Vamos aprender os fundamentos da IA generativa, como criar boas instruções e aplicar essas ferramentas na sala de aula. 📌 Sessão com exemplos práticos, materiais para utilizar e um espaço ideal para praticar e tirar dúvidas. No horário indicado, favor realizar acesso ao link: Teams meeting.Elevate teaching and learning with AI-powered experiences on Surface Copilot+ PCs
Surface is a premium endpoint, designed and built by Microsoft to run Microsoft technology. When it comes to the classroom, Surface Copilot+ PCs bring the best of Microsoft—hardware, Windows, Microsoft 365 1 , and Microsoft 365 Copilot 1 —into one teaching device, delivering intelligent experiences more securely on‑device and in the cloud. For educators, this means every lesson and interaction is powered by a device purpose-built for teaching and learning in the digital era. Why Surface for Education? Surface Copilot+ PCs, combined with Windows 11, give teachers a powerful platform designed to simplify teaching and elevate learning. With lightning-fast performance, educators can create engaging lessons, generate content, and personalize instruction. Windows 11 features like Snap Layouts, Click to Do 2 , and Copilot Voice streamline multitasking and lesson prep, while intuitive touch, pen 3 , and voice input make teaching feel natural. Together, Surface and Windows 11 help deliver a more secure, AI-supported solution that can save time, support creativity, and help teachers focus on what matters most—students. Engage students with AI-enhanced learning Picture a classroom where every student is actively engaged, their curiosity sparked by lesson plans and quizzes thoughtfully designed by teachers with the help of AI. Microsoft Learning Zone, included with all Microsoft Education licenses at no extra cost 4 , is an AI-powered learning app for Windows 11 designed to help educators create engaging lessons. The app’s AI powered lesson creation feature is designed specifically for Copilot+ PCs. Thanks to the Copilot+ PC’s built-in Neural Processing Unit (NPU), these devices offer fast, reliable performance by running AI models directly on the device and combining them with cloud-based capabilities when needed. This hybrid approach helps Microsoft Learning Zone generate lessons quickly and keeps the experience smooth, secure, and ready for classroom use. It also helps educators streamline lesson planning with interactive activities, instant feedback, and personalized learning pathways. For example, teachers can use Microsoft Learning Zone to develop Kahoot! quizzes for a whole class or to prepare individualized learning experiences like personalized practice questions based on recent student performance, while keeping student data more secure and private. Surface Copilot+ PCs can also help teachers use AI in context to streamline lesson prep and administrative tasks, so they can spend less time on administration and more time inspiring students. For example, teachers can engage with Copilot in a single click using the Copilot key 5 on a Surface keyboard or by saying “Hey Copilot” out loud. And using pen, touch, and voice commands in conjunction with Teach in Microsoft 365 Copilot 6 running on Surface, teachers have a central hub for generating lesson plans, quizzes, rubrics, flashcards, feedback, and more. They can transform ideas and research into engaging lectures in moments, tailor instruction to meet the needs of every learner, and connect with colleagues to share best practices. Recently, we also announced the Microsoft Elevate for Educators skilling program along with more AI-powered experiences purpose-built for education, including the Study and Learn agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Study Guide. Microsoft Elevate helps equip educators with the AI skills they need for the classroom of the future. Delivered through platforms like Microsoft Learn and Minecraft Education, these flexible learning paths ensure that educators can build AI fluency at their own pace, whether they're just beginning their journey or advancing to specialized applications. Read more about Microsoft Elevate and other AI tools for education here. In classrooms where both teachers and students are using Surface Copilot+ PCs, Live Captions 7 with on-device automatic translation can help make spoken content accessible to all students, including students with hearing impairments. The NPU transcribes and translates audio in real time, supporting 40+ languages into English, all processed on-device versus the cloud. Ideally with Surface Copilot+ PCs and Microsoft’s AI-powered tools, technology fades into the background in the classroom, helping teacher creativity and connection take center stage and enabling student learning to be more dynamic, inclusive, and impactful. Empower the classroom of the future, today Surface Copilot+ PCs, purpose-built by Microsoft, are designed to be the foundation for today’s classrooms and the launchpad for tomorrow’s AI innovations. With Windows evolving as the canvas for intelligent AI and agents, Surface devices and Windows together form an essential, AI-assisted platform for educators. Now, every teacher can activate Copilot agents 8 directly on their Surface device to act as a digital teaching partner. These agents can adapt to each teacher’s unique style, streamline daily routines, and unlock new possibilities for student learning. Building agents is simple: teachers or IT can use ready-made templates or create custom agents using natural language, all within the familiar Surface and Windows environment. Surface’s intuitive hardware—touchscreen, pen, voice, and the dedicated Copilot key—makes accessing AI support effortless. Teachers can get immediate answers to classroom questions, troubleshoot tech issues, or navigate school resources using natural input methods. By combining Copilot’s intelligent capabilities with Surface’s secure hardware, educators can gain a more personalized, efficient, and protected teaching experience ready for the future of learning. In addition, Surface Copilot+ PCs help support the full range of learning needs by delivering the performance and experience required for the education tools students and educators depend on every day. Surface devices are designed to work with common education apps like TestNav for assessments, Minecraft Education for STEM, Adobe Express for creativity, and assistive technologies such as JAWS. And, going forward, the built-in NPU on Copilot+ PCs like Surface enables Microsoft and other educational software providers to develop innovative new AI experiences that can run on the device, in the cloud, or both. Boost productivity and collaboration In the classroom, Surface Copilot+ PCs can become the teaching command center: always ready, always responsive. With a simple voice command, Copilot Voice and improved Windows Search 9 instantly pull up lesson plans, student materials, or answers to unexpected questions, freeing instructors from frantic searches and giving back precious prep time. Collaborating on Surface is intuitive and efficient. Teachers can quickly save lesson materials in Teams or OneDrive 1 and share them with students for interactive feedback. Whether teachers are leading a lively discussion in person, connecting with students remotely, or conferencing with colleagues via video, Windows Studio Effects on Copilot+ PCs ensure they’re always seen and heard clearly. Subtle features like background blur, eye contact, and automatic framing help maintain a professional presence, so the focus stays on interacting with students or other teachers—not on the tech. And Surface Copilot+ PCs are designed to empower mobility in and outside the classroom. With extended battery life and lightweight devices, teachers are no longer tethered to a desk or a charger. They can move about freely, interact with students, project and present seamlessly, and focus on teaching. For example, on a Surface Pro with Surface Pen inking, Dual Studio Mics, and natural language prompts in Copilot, teachers can annotate readings, capture ideas by voice, and generate lesson materials on the fly—without breaking the flow of instruction. Throughout the day, Surface Copilot+ PCs can also help teachers anticipate what’s next. Context-aware Windows Search doesn’t just find files—it suggests smart next steps, like opening a document in Word or sharing it with a colleague, streamlining workflows. When inspiration for a lesson strikes, Click to Do lets teachers quickly summarize, explain, or create new content on the fly, helping them build engaging lectures and materials in real time. Surface’s vibrant touchscreen and Snap Layouts can help keep resources organized and visible, supporting a productive work experience. And, most importantly, Surface devices help safeguard faculty, staff, students, and sensitive school data with advanced security and remote management features 1 . As innovations advance in AI, Microsoft and Surface provide built-in protection at every layer—hardware, firmware, operating system, cloud, software applications, and identity. Surface Copilot+ PCs are more than just devices—they’re partners in teaching, learning, and innovation. By combining Microsoft’s advanced hardware, intuitive software, and powerful AI, Surface empowers educators to engage students, boost productivity, and modernize their classrooms, all while keeping data more secure and private. Visit Surface.com/Business to learn more. Students, parents and educators can save up to 10% on select Surface devices and more at the Microsoft Store. 10 Disclaimers: Sold separately. Software license required for some features. Click to Do. Copilot+ PC feature. Image actions now available across devices; other actions vary by device, region, language, and character sets. Subscription required for some actions. Learn more. Surface Pen sold separately. Surface Slim Pen (2nd Edition) experiences and compatibility vary by which Surface device you are using it with. Visit Surface Slim Pen Compatibility to learn more. Microsoft Learning Zone requires a Microsoft 365 Education Essentials, Core (A3), or Advanced (A5) license. Microsoft Education licenses. Copilot key feature availability varies by market, see aka.ms/keysupport. This feature is only available to Faculty/Staff with a Microsoft 365 for Education license. Teach in the Microsoft 365 Copilot App. Copilot+ PC feature. Live Captions translates video and audio subtitles into English from 40+ languages and from 25+ languages into Chinese (Simplified). See Copilot+ PC FAQs. Copilot with commercial data protection is available at no additional cost for users with an Entra ID with an enabled, eligible Microsoft 365 license. Copilot for Microsoft 365 sold separately and requires a qualifying volume license or subscription - Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 | Microsoft 365. Minimum age limits apply to use of Copilot and certain AI features. Details. Copilot+ PC feature. Improved Windows search works with specific text, image, and document formats only; optimized for select languages (English, Chinese (Simplified), French, German, Japanese, and Spanish). See Copilot+ PC FAQs. Microsoft Store Education discount is available to K-12 and higher education students, faculty and parents. Education discount only valid on select products, and may not be combinable with other offers. See terms and conditions at Education & Student Discounts on Laptops, Microsoft 365, Windows, Surface | Microsoft Store
Why “Working Smarter with AI” Matters for Every Nonprofit Right Now
Nonprofits are being asked to do more than ever, often with fewer people and tighter resources. Important mission‑driven work gets buried under emails, meetings, and administrative overload. Working Smarter with AI highlights a major shift happening across the sector — one that helps organizations reclaim time, reduce burnout, and refocus on what truly matters. AI Is Changing How Work Gets Done AI isn’t a future concept anymore. It’s already helping teams streamline tasks, cut through busywork, and stay focused on mission‑critical work. This isn’t about working faster — it’s about working smarter. Digital Debt Is Draining Teams Email overload, nonstop meetings, and constant information flow are holding staff back. AI can take on routine tasks so people can spend more time on creativity, strategy, and impact. Refocus on Mission‑Driven Work From summarizing documents to drafting content and analyzing information, AI tools remove the tedious parts of work and help teams reconnect with their purpose. AI as a True Productivity Partner Tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot support staff right inside the apps they already use. Whether it’s clearing inboxes, drafting grant proposals, or building presentations, AI gives teams a head start — and nearly 90% of users say it helps them feel more fulfilled. Built on Responsible AI Responsible AI ensures fairness, transparency, and privacy. It keeps people in control and supports staff rather than replacing them. A Better Way of Working AI gives nonprofits the opportunity to rethink how work happens — reducing burnout, boosting creativity, and helping teams stay focused on advancing the mission. Want to dive deeper? Get the free e‑book: Working Smarter with AI
Unleashing New Business Opportunities for Microsoft Partners with PostgreSQL & MySQL on Azure
The latest innovations announced at Microsoft Ignite 2025 for PostgreSQL and MySQL running on Azure are more than just technical upgrades—they’re a launchpad for new business growth, deeper customer engagement, and accelerated digital transformation. Here’s how these advancements can help you deliver greater value and unlock new opportunities for your clients. 1. Introducing Azure HorizonDB: Built for Performance and AI Workloads We’re excited to unveil Azure HorizonDB in private preview—a new, fully managed PostgreSQL service engineered for business and developers alike. HorizonDB is designed for ultra-low latency, high read scale, and built-in AI capabilities, offering seamless scaling up to 192 virtual cores and 128 TB of storage. Deep integration with developer tools, including GitHub Copilot, delivers performance, resilience, and simplicity at any scale. With HorizonDB, teams can: Build AI apps at scale using advanced DiskANN vector indexing, pre-provisioned AI models, semantic search, and unified support for both relational and graph data. Accelerate app development with built-in extensions, including the PostgreSQL extension for Visual Studio Code integrated with GitHub Copilot. Copilot in VS Code is context-aware for PostgreSQL and enables one-click performance debugging. Unlock data insights through deep integrations with Microsoft Fabric and Microsoft Foundry. Expect reliability with enterprise-ready features from day one, including Entra ID integration, Private Link networking, and Azure Defender for Cloud. Business Opportunity: Position your practice as an early adopter and expert in next-generation database solutions. Position your practice as an early adopter and expert in next-generation database solutions by introducing customers to Azure HorizonDB. Use this conversation to offer migration, modernization, and AI-powered application development services leveraging Azure Database for PostgreSQL with future migrations to HorizonDB. Help clients build resilient, high-performance, and intelligent data platforms—driving new revenue streams and deeper customer engagement. 2. Modernize Data Infrastructure with Limitless Scale and Performance Azure’s new Elastic Clusters in Azure Database for PostgreSQL enable organizations to scale their databases horizontally across multiple nodes, supporting virtually unlimited throughput and storage. This means you can help clients build and grow multi-tenant SaaS applications and large-scale analytics solutions without the complexity of manual sharding or the limitations of legacy infrastructure. Azure’s managed service automates shard management, tenant isolation, and cross-node query coordination, freeing up your teams to focus on innovation instead of administration. Business Opportunity: Position your practice as the go-to partner for scalable, future-proof data platforms. Offer migration services, architecture consulting, and managed solutions that leverage Azure’s unique scale-out capabilities. 3. Accelerate Innovation with AI-Ready Databases Azure is leading the way in AI integration for open-source databases. With the PostgreSQL extension for Visual Studio Code and native Microsoft Foundry support, developers can build smarter apps and AI agents leveraging advanced AI capabilities directly in the database. Features like natural language querying, vector search, and seamless Copilot integration mean your clients can unlock new insights and automate processes faster than ever. Business Opportunity: Expand your offerings to include AI-powered analytics, intelligent agent development, and custom Copilot solutions. Help organizations harness their data for real-time decision-making and enhanced customer experiences. 4. Simplify and Accelerate Migrations from Legacy Systems The new AI-assisted Oracle to PostgreSQL migration tool dramatically reduces the effort and risk of moving off expensive, proprietary databases. Integrated into the PostgreSQL extension for VS Code, it automates schema and code conversion, provides inline AI explanations, and ensures secure, context-aware migrations. Business Opportunity: Lead migration projects that deliver rapid ROI. Offer assessment, planning, and execution services to help clients escape legacy costs and embrace open-source flexibility on Azure. 5. Enable Seamless Analytics and Real-Time Insights With support for Parquet in the Azure storage extension for PostgreSQL and Fabric zero-ETL mirroring for Azure Database for MySQL and Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Azure is bridging operational databases and analytics platforms. Business Opportunity: Build solutions that unify data estates, streamline analytics workflows, and deliver actionable intelligence. Position your team as experts in data integration and real-time analytics. 6. Drive Industry-Specific Transformation Ignite 2025 showcases real-world success stories from industries like healthcare (Apollo Hospitals), automotive (GM), and finance (Nasdaq), demonstrating how Azure’s open-source databases power resilient, scalable, and AI-driven solutions. Business Opportunity: Use these case studies to inspire clients in regulated or complex sectors. Offer tailored solutions that meet strict compliance, security, and performance requirements. Why Partners Win with Azure’s Latest Innovations Faster time-to-value: Help clients adopt the latest tech with minimal downtime and risk. Expanded service portfolio: From migration to AI, analytics to managed services, the new capabilities open doors to new revenue streams. Trusted platform: Azure’s enterprise-grade security, compliance, and high availability mean you can deliver solutions with confidence. Ready to help your customers achieve more? Dive deeper into the Ignite 2025 announcements and start building the next generation of intelligent, scalable, and AI-powered solutions on Microsoft Azure. Learn more here: https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/home
