Loop governance, lifecycle, manageability for IT Admins – Nov 2024
Dive into our latest update on Loop governance, lifecycle, and manageability tailored just IT admins! Discover how Loop's seamless integration with Microsoft 365 can transform your team's productivity with real-time co-authoring, versatile components, and enhanced security features. From Copilot Pages to comprehensive manageability roadmap items, this blog has everything you need to confidently pilot and fully enable Loop in your organization.
App Assure Powers Seamless Transitions for the new Outlook
Microsoft is continually evolving its products to deliver greater functionality, stronger security, and better experiences for users. That evolution is now underway for Outlook as we transition from classic Outlook to the new Outlook for Windows, a move that accelerates access to innovations like Copilot and other AI-native tools essential for success in today’s business landscape. Users are already asking for their most critical productivity apps to be ready for this change. And just as App Assure helped software companies transition from Exchange Tokens to Nested App Authentication earlier this year, we now stand ready to help you make the transition to new Outlook seamless and worry-free. Benefits of new Outlook Outlook is your organization’s hub for communication and collaboration. With the transition from COM add-ins to Web add-ins, new Outlook for Windows empowers both customers and partners alike. Customers receive a streamlined interface that provides a consistent user experience across devices and AI-native tools built directly into Outlook, all while benefiting from a lower total cost of ownership and quicker access to new features. Partners benefit from Microsoft’s deep investment in extensibility, allowing them to reach the entire Outlook audience whether those users are working via Windows, Mac, Mobile, or web. This is why App Assure has been working proactively with the most popular add-ins, collaborating with software companies to update, test, validate, and publish their solutions for the new Outlook. Our goal is simple: when customers make the switch, their essential tools are ready to go, with no disruption and no surprises. Most of the 14 most common scenarios for COM add-ins, those that make up 95% of how COM add-ins are actually used, can already be handled by web add-in APIs either fully or at a basic “minimum viable product” (MVP) level. Ecosystem Readiness for our Customers One such app beloved by customers is Applications for Administrative Solutions (AFAS), whose Outlook add-in helps streamline Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) workflows by integrating email-driven tasks directly into daily operations. To ensure a smooth transition to the new Outlook, AFAS partnered with App Assure to modernize their add-in using Graph API to facilitate moving from COM add-ins to web add-ins, aligning with enterprise-grade security and Microsoft Entra policies. Through collaborative testing, technical validation, and direct support from App Assure engineers, AFAS was able to update and publish their add-in with confidence, ensuring that customers won’t miss a beat when they move to new Outlook. But AFAS is just one example. Many software companies have been preparing their mission critical apps for new Outlook with App Assure’s guidance. Here are a number of the most recent software companies we’ve worked with (with many more on the way): Many of our partners remark on how streamlined their updates are with App Assure’s collaboration and how easy it is to work with our team. Here are a couple of their recent comments: AFAS: GnuPG: New Outlook has great momentum with users, and organizations want to ensure that the add-ins that are an essential part of their daily workflows continue to work. App Assure stands ready to assist. Many software companies are already taking advantage of our no-cost service providing guidance on how to transition from COM add-ins to web add-ins. Reach out at achelp@microsoft.com and let’s make your add-in ready for the future!Understanding foundation model changes in Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft regularly enhances the underlying AI models that power Microsoft 365 Copilot. These updates are designed to bring performance improvements, more advanced reasoning, and expanded multimodal capabilities without altering controls, configurations, compliance, security, or core enterprise contractual commitments.Announcing the 2026 Microsoft 365 Community Conference Keynotes
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference returns to Orlando this April, bringing together thousands of builders, innovators, creators, communicators, admins, architects, MVPs, and product makers for three unforgettable days of learning and community. This year’s theme, “A Beacon for Builders, Innovators & Icons of Intelligent Work,” celebrates the people shaping the AI‑powered future — and the keynote lineup reflects exactly that. These leaders will set the tone for our biggest, boldest M365 Community Conference. Below is your first look at the official 2026 keynote order and what to expect from each session. Opening Keynote Jeff Teper — President, Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps & Platforms Building for the future: Microsoft 365, Agents and AI, what's new and what's next Join Jeff Teper, to discover how AI-powered innovation across Copilot, Teams, and SharePoint is reshaping how people communicate, create, and work together. This session highlights what’s new, what’s fundamentally different, and why thoughtful design continues to matter. See the latest advances in AI and agents, gain insight into where collaboration is headed, and learn why Microsoft is the company to continue to bet on when it comes to building what’s next. Expect: New breakthroughs in collaboration powered by AI and agents Fresh innovations across Teams, Copilot, and SharePoint Practical guidance on how design continues to shape effective teamwork Real world demos that show how AI is transforming communication and content Insight into what is new, what is changing, and what is coming next Business Apps & Agents Keynote Ryan Cunningham — Corporate Vice President, Power Platform In this keynote, Ryan Cunningham will share how Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, Power Apps, and Agent 365 come together to help makers build powerful agents and help IT teams deploy and govern them at scale. We’ll share how organizations can design, extend, and govern a new model for the intelligent workplace – connecting data, workflows, and systems into intelligent agents that move work forward. Copilot, apps, and agents: the next platform shift for Microsoft 365 Microsoft 365 Copilot has changed how we interact with software. Now AI agents are changing how work gets done – moving from responding to prompts to taking action, across the tools and data your organization already relies on. Expect: A clear explanation of how to leverage and build with Copilot and agents How agents access data, use tools, and complete multi-step work A deeper look at the latest capabilities across Microsoft 365 Copilot, Copilot Studio, and Power Apps End-to-end demos of agents in action Security, Trust & Responsible AI Keynote Vasu Jakkal — Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security & Rohan Kumar — Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security, Purview & Trust In our third keynote, Vasu Jakkal and Rohan Kumar join forces to address one of the most urgent topics of the AI era: trust and security at scale. As organizations accelerate into AI‑powered work, safeguarding identities, data, compliance, and governance is mission‑critical. Securing AI: Building Trust in the Era of AI Join Vasu Jakkal and Rohan Kumar as they unveil Microsoft’s vision for securing the new frontier of AI—showing how frontier firms are protecting their data, identities, and models amid rapid AI adoption. This session highlights how Microsoft is embedding security and governance into every layer of our AI platforms and unifying Purview, Defender, Entra, and Security Copilot to defend against threats like prompt injection, model tampering, and shadow AI. You’ll see how built-in protections across Microsoft 365 enable responsible, compliant AI innovation, and gain practical guidance to strengthen your own security posture as AI transforms the way everyone works. Expect: Microsoft's unified approach to secure AI transformation Forward‑looking insights across Security, Purview & Trust Guidance for building safe, responsible AI environments How to protect innovation without slowing momentum Future of Work Fireside Keynote Dr. Jaime Teevan — Chief Scientist & Technical Fellow, Microsoft Dr. Jaime Teevan, one of the foremost thought leaders on AI, productivity, and how work is evolving. In this intimate fireside‑style session, she’ll share research, real‑world insights, and Microsoft’s learnings from being both the maker and the first customer of the AI‑powered workplace. Expect: Insights from decades of workplace research The human side of AI transformation Practical guidance for leaders, creators, and practitioners Why collaboration is essential to unlock the true potential of AI. Community Closer Keynote Karuana Gatimu - Director, Microsoft Customer Advocacy Group & Heather Cook - Principal PM, MIcrosoft Customer Advocacy Group From Momentum to Movement: Where Community Goes Next As the final moments of Microsoft 365 Community Conference come to a close, Heather Cook and Karuana Gatimu invite the community to pause, reflect, and look forward together. This Community Closer keynote connects the breakthroughs, conversations, and shared experiences of the week into a bigger story—one about people, purpose, and progress. Together, they’ll explore how community transforms technology into impact, how advocates and builders shape what’s next across Microsoft 365, and why this moment matters more than ever. More than a recap, this session is a call to action—challenging attendees to take the energy of the conference back to their teams, regions, and communities, and turn inspiration into sustained momentum. You’ll leave not just with ideas, but with clarity, confidence, and a renewed sense of belonging—because community doesn’t end when the conference does. It’s where the real work begins. More Than Keynotes: Why You’ll Want to Be in Orlando The M365 Community Conference brings together: 200+ sessions and breakouts 21 hands‑on workshops 200+ Microsoft engineers and product leaders onsite The Microsoft Innovation Hub Ask the Experts, Meet & Greets, and Community Studio Women in Tech & Allies Luncheon SharePoint’s 25th Anniversary Celebration And an epic attendee party at Universal’s Islands of Adventure Whether you create, deploy, secure, govern, design, or lead with Microsoft 365 — this is your community, and this is your moment. Join Us for the Microsoft 365 Community Conference April 21–23, 2026 Loews Sapphire Falls & Loews Royal Pacific 👉 Register now: https://aka.ms/M365Con26 Use the SAVE150 code for $150USD off current pricing Come be part of the global community building the future of intelligent work.
