New Year, new Microsoft 365 Core advanced deployment guides for Exchange, SharePoint, and Teams!
New Years’ Resolutions: Work out 3-5 days a week. Spend more time with family. Deploy Microsoft 365 services to make my company more efficient and secure. We can’t help you with the first two, but we can help you deploy Microsoft 365 services to improve your company’s efficiency and security with the new Core onboarding advanced deployment guides. Did you know that thousands of customers use the Core onboarding advanced deployment guides each month? The Microsoft 365 admin center features Core advanced deployment guides that simplify moving from on-premises IT to the cloud. IT pros can use our core onboarding guides to speed deployment and configure Azure Active Directory, DNS, networking, identity management, and more with advanced deployment guides from Microsoft. Core onboarding involves service provisioning and tenant and identity integration. The Core onboarding advanced deployment guides for onboarding services include: Microsoft Exchange Microsoft SharePoint Microsoft Teams Here’s how IT pros can access the Core advanced deployment guides by clicking the purple hammer link in the below tile: & assistance section of the Microsoft 365 admin center. Once there, Core advanced deployment guides are found in the Identity and authentication section. Completing the deployment steps outlined in the Core advanced deployment guides creates a strong foundation upon which additional Microsoft 365 cloud services can be deployed successfully and with confidence. Helpful resources Learn about all deployment guides and setup wizards: Microsoft 365 Deployment Guides and Setup Wizards Microsoft 365 Teams deployment guide Microsoft 365 SharePoint deployment guide Microsoft 365 Exchange deployment guide Microsoft 365 Azure deployment guide Access advanced deployment guides without signing in: Go to https://setup.microsoft.com Getting started with advanced deployment guides within the Microsoft 365 admin center: Go to https://admin.microsoft.com/ and log in Once logged in, go to the Home page and look for the Training, guides, & assistance card Select Advanced deployment guides & assistance
Simplify your Windows 365 Enterprise deployment with the updated Windows 365 deployment checklist
We’re excited to announce that we’ve just released an updated Windows 365 deployment checklist in the Microsoft 365 admin center (MAC). What is Windows 365? Windows 365 is a cloud-based Desktop as a service (DaaS) solution that automatically creates a new type of Windows virtual machine for your customer, known as a Cloud PC. A Cloud PC is a highly available, optimized, and scalable virtual machine that provides customers with a rich Windows desktop experience. Cloud PCs are hosted in the Windows 365 service and is accessible from anywhere, on any device (Learn more about Windows 365). Windows 365 deployment is made to be simple (to see an end-to-end deployment overview, visit Overview of Windows 365 deployment). However, we understand that our customers have unique and complex environments. What is the Windows 365 deployment checklist? To help you integrate Windows 365 with your existing enterprise environment, we've compiled learnings and best practices from the Microsoft 365 FastTrack Team, which has worked with hundreds of enterprise customers. We're excited to offer these in an updated Windows 365 deployment checklist experience as part of the Advanced Deployment Guides in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. This checklist will guide you as you plan, deploy, and scale Windows 365 in your environment. The Windows 365 deployment checklist guides admins through the considerations around Azure basics, identity, networking, licensing, management, security, applications, and end user experiences that are applicable to their deployment configuration. Admins can assign tasks for each area to the responsible stakeholders and define a target date of completion. Admins can also see a summary view with an overall status to track progress against their timelines. How can I access the Windows 365 deployment checklist? To access the Windows Enterprise 365 checklist, visit this link or directly at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2251210. Additional Resources: Product Info: Windows 365 Enterprise on Microsoft.com Microsoft Learn: What is Windows 365 Enterprise? Microsoft Learn: Requirements for Windows 365 Access all Microsoft 365 Advanced Deployment GuidesDriving adoption and measuring impact with the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard
Since 2023, nearly 70% of Fortune 500 companies have integrated Microsoft 365 Copilot’s advanced AI into their daily workflows, unlocking new efficiencies and streamlining collaboration—and they’re seeing measurable business impact. For example, Vodafone discovered employees who use Copilot save an average of 3 hours per week, reclaiming 10% of their workweek. Lumen Technologies estimates that using Copilot will help their sales teams save $50 million per year. These are game-changing outcomes. But how do these companies know their numbers are accurate? And how did they achieve them? The key to maximizing the value of AI-driven productivity tools is more than simply licensing your end users and waiting for them to make the most of it. In fact, the key lies in measuring its impact. To drive meaningful adoption and maximize ROI with Microsoft 365 Copilot, organizational leaders need clear visibility into how their workforces are using it. This means understanding: Who’s adopting AI with Copilot. How effectively is Copilot supporting workflows. What measurable productivity gains are users achieving. In this article, business leaders and IT can learn more about the Microsoft 365 Copilot dashboard, including its key features and core metrics. We'll also go over IT's tasks for configuring the dashboard and granting access to business leaders so they can analyze Copilot usage patterns themselves, refine their Copilot engagement strategies, and help drive productivity gains in their teams and throughout the organization. What is the Copilot Dashboard? The Microsoft Copilot Dashboard is a tool in Viva Insights that helps IT, business leaders, change managers, and other non-technical stakeholders track usage of Microsoft 365 Copilot with practical insights they can use to: Prepare users to work effectively with AI Drive Copilot adoption across teams Measure impact on workplace behavior Key features and core metrics of the Copilot Dashboard With a Viva Insights license, your unlock advanced dashboard features, including: Comprehensive Metrics A 28-day aggregated view of Copilot usage, adoption, readiness, and impact, to help you understand engagement and Copilot business value. Readiness tracking Based on Microsoft 365 app usage patterns, these metrics can help you identify which teams are ready to adopt AI into their daily workflows and which may need additional support, training or upskilling. Adoption insights With adoption insights, dashboard users can track active Copilot usage patterns within each Microsoft 365 app to measure how effectively teams are integrating Copilot into workflows. They can also pinpoint areas where Copilot users may need training or support to maximize productivity. By default, the dashboard’s Adoption trendline shows the prior six-month trend for all users in the organization. You can adjust filters at the top of the page for specific groups. Impact analysis This insight allows you to analyze how often employees in your organization use Copilot during a specified time period. Leaders can also measure productivity gains through metrics like meeting efficiency, email usage, and document collaboration. Advanced tools, such as before-and-after behavioral data and employee surveys, can reveal early and even deeper insights into Copilot’s organizational impact. Learning opportunities Use qualitative feedback data from Copilot impact pulse surveys to identify Copilot satisfaction levels, challenges, and areas for improvement. For example, you can compare high-adoption teams with low-adoption ones to uncover training or awareness gaps. Managing the Copilot Dashboard: Key admin responsibilities Global admins play a critical role in configuring and managing the Copilot Dashboard. Their roles include: Setting up and configuring the Copilot Dashboard. Granting access and supporting business stakeholders. Integrating data. 1. Setting up and configuring the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard Global IT admins are responsible for setting up and configuring the Copilot Dashboard to align with organizational goals and requirements. This includes managing settings and turning features on and off as needed. 2. Granting access and supporting business stakeholders Admins, you'll also need to assign permissions to specific leaders, stakeholders, or groups through the Microsoft 365 admin center or PowerShell. Make sure stakeholders in different roles have the correct permissions. You'll also play a critical role in supporting and troubleshooting issues that users might encounter, such as technical problems and related assistance. Who should have access to the Copilot Dashboard? Business leaders You can view engagement and adoption metrics directly and make informed decisions about how best to guide users on adopting Copilot. Department heads You'll want to monitor how your teams are using Copilot and identify areas for improvement. IT managers You'll need to oversee the technical aspects of Copilot deployment and ensure smooth operations. HR Managers Track employee sentiment and impact metrics for workforce planning and development. How do admins grant access to the Copilot Dashboard? You can delegate and manage access for individuals or groups to the dashboard in two different ways: 1. The Microsoft 365 admin center Access the Copilot Dashboard here or Sign in to Microsoft 365 admin center Navigate to the Settings tab Select Setup Go to the Copilot Dashboard to Manage access settings. From there you can search for and select users to grant or revoke access. Manage access for groups by selecting the Groups option, searching for Entra ID groups, and adding or removing users as needed. 2. PowerShell Viva Insights admins can delegate access to organizational insights and the Copilot Dashboard using PowerShell. Set policies to enable or disable access to the dashboard at the tenant level using PowerShell cmdlets. This method gives you more granular control. Use it to manage access for larger groups or the entire organization. Note: You can only delegate access to users with a Viva Insights license. Viva Insights is available as part of the Microsoft Viva Suite or as a standalone add-on to Microsoft 365 enterprise plans. How do business stakeholders access the Copilot Dashboard? Business stakeholders, you can access the Microsoft 365 Copilot Dashboard through your Teams Viva Insights app. 3. Integrating organizational data into the dashboard Admins will upload organizational data directly through the admin center and configure it for analysis. If both the Viva Insights admin and the Global admin upload data, the dashboard will merge these uploads and display insights based on the most recent data. Empowering business stakeholders with insights they can act on Microsoft 365 Copilot is transforming productivity, and metrics powered by Viva Insights are proving its impact to the world. Access the Copilot Dashboard today for yourself and unlock Copilot’s full potential for driving organizational success. Learn more For more information on connecting to the Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers, watch our recent video, AI Transformation: Maximize the value of Copilot with Copilot Dashboard and check out our article: Connect to the Microsoft Copilot Dashboard for Microsoft 365 customers | Microsoft Learn. Need more assistance? FastTrack is here to help! FastTrack is available to support customers with eligible licenses. Request assistance from FastTrack today or contact your assigned FastTrack Architect (FTA).
