Apply sensitivity labels with custom permissions in Office for the web
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.Your guide to the Microsoft 365 Community Conference
Register now and save your spot for the chance to ask questions and share feedback with hundreds of Microsoft executives, engineers, and product leaders. By making your voice heard, your feedback will help shape the technologies that you and countless others use every day. Plus, you’ll hear from icons of Intelligent Work during inspiring keynotes, sessions, and AMAs, including: Jeff Teper, President, Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps & Platforms, Microsoft Ryan Cunningham, Corporate Vice President, Power Platform Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security Rohan Kumar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security, Purview & Trust Dr. Jaime Teevan, Chief Scientist & Technical Fellow, Microsoft View full speaker list > What: Microsoft 365 Community Conference 2025 Register today | Note: Use the SAVE150 discount code to save $150 USD. Content snapshot: 5 Microsoft keynotes + 1 Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA) | 200+ overall sessions Microsoft-led sessions | 21 full-day workshops (pre-day and post) Microsoft is sending over 150+ product makers to present and engage. Review all sessions, workshops, and speakers. When & where: April 21-23, 2026 In-person: Loews Sapphire Falls and Loews Royal Pacific Resorts in Orlando, Florida Pre-day workshops on Sunday, April 19 and Monday, April 20. Details: Twitter & hashtag: @M365CONF | #M365Con Follow us on LinkedIn: M365Community Conference LinkedIn Company Page Cost: $1,850- full conference (Includes 3 continental breakfasts, 3 lunches, a T-shirt, and backpack (additional costs for full-day workshops). Please visit the M365 Community Conference for full pricing. Microsoft Customer Discount: Use CODE: SAVE150 for $150 USD off registration. Why attend? Stay Ahead of Innovation: Gain exclusive insights into the latest advancements in AI and Microsoft’s Product Roadmap. Empowering you to drive transformation within your organization and stay at the forefront of technology. Hands-On Learning: Participate in practical sessions and workshops that provide actionable strategies and skills to optimize workflows, enhance productivity, and achieve business success. Connect with Experts: Build invaluable connections with Microsoft product makers, MVPs, industry leaders, and a global community of like-minded professionals who share your passion for technology. Transform Your Impact: Leave with a deeper understanding of Microsoft tools, clear strategies for leveraging AI in your work, and a roadmap for achieving your goals and enhancing your team's success. Build Community: Build community by connecting with others, sharing experiences, and forming meaningful relationships. Check out Jeff Teper's awesome statement on The ultimate Microsoft 365 community event is back| Microsoft 365 Blog. FUN: Join us in our community lounge for networking, hanging out, meet and greets with Microsoft and Community All-Stars, surprise and delight treats, stickers and raffles to win grand prizes! Are you in? Register today! Don't miss your chance to join the largest M365 focused conference of the year. Ways to save: Use CODE: SAVE150 for $150 USD off registration. M365CON26 Grant Program (For Non-profits & Small Business) See if you qualify for a deep discount or free pass for Microsoft 365 Community Conference. Small Businesses & Non-profits are eligible to apply for a free pass grant (government organizations do not quality). Read on for more details about what to expect, and we hope to see you there! High-level conference schedule *subject to change – check back for updates Sunday, April 19, 2026 – Workshop Day 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM Workshops Monday, April 20, 2026 – Workshop Day 9:00 AM- 4:00 PM Workshops Tuesday, April 21, 2026 –Conference Session Day 7:00 AM- 8:15 AM Continental Breakfast 8:30 AM- 5:00 PM Keynotes and Sessions 5:00 PM- 6:30 PM Conference Opening Recep7on Wednesday, April 22, 2026 – Conference Session Day 7:00 AM- 8:00 AM Continental Breakfast 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Keynotes and Sessions 5:00 PM - 6:15 PM Networking and T-shirt pick up in Expo Hall 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Attendee Party Universal Islands of Adventure Thursday April 23, 2026 – Conference Session Day 7:30 AM– 8:45 AM Continental Breakfast 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM Keynotes and Sessions Friday April 24, 2026 – Workshop Day 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM Workshops Check out the keynotes and speakers Catch the speakers and sessions that matter most to you, and your customers. Keynote: Building for the Future: Microsoft 365, Agents and AI, What's New and What's Next Jeff Teper, President, Collaborative Apps and Platforms, Microsoft Tuesday, April 21, 8:30-9:30 AM Keynote: Business Apps and Agents Ryan Cunningham, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Tuesday, April 21, 9:30-10:20 AM Keynote: Securing AI: Building Trust in the Era of AI Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security Business Rohan Kumar, Corporate Vice President, Security Purview and Trust, Microsoft Wednesday, April 22, 8:00-9:15 AM Keynote: The Future of Work Fireside Keynote Jamie Teevan, Ph.D., Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow, Microsoft Thursday, April 23, 2:15-3:15 PM Keynote: From Momentum to Movement: Where Community Goes Next Karuana Gatimu, Director of Customer Advocacy, AI and Collaboration, Microsoft Heather Cook, Principal PM Manager, Global Community Evangelism and Events Customer Advocacy Group, Microsoft 365 Thursday, April 23, 3:15-4:15 PM Full session list 200+ sessions and workshops If you’re interested in learning how Microsoft is shaping the future of work—there’s a session for you. Join Microsoft experts, MVPs, and community leaders as you find out about the latest product innovations and AI-powered tools. Discover what’s new with Microsoft 365 Copilot, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot Studio, and much more. Check out the full catalog > Explore sessions by day: Tuesday, April 21, 2026 – Conference Session Day 10:55 AM - 11:15 AM | Building AI Agents for Communities: How Viva Engage + Copilot Supercharge Organizational Insight Speaker: Spencer Perry and Ramya Rajasekhar 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Featured Session: Your Guide What’s New in Teams: Collaboration, Communication, and Copilot Speaker: Chandra Chivukula and Ilya Bukshteyn 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Breaking In, Leveling Up: Navigating Tech Careers with Community Speaker: Heather Cook and Nisaini Rexach (CELA) 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | OneDrive: Your Hub for Productivity and Collaboration Excellence Speaker: Carter Green and Arvind Mishra 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Chaos to AI-Ready in 30 Days: Meet the SharePoint Admin Agent Speaker: Dieter Jansen and Dave Minasyan 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Leveraging SQL database in Fabric to implement RAG patterns using Vector search Speaker: Sukhwant Kaur 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | How Microsoft Actually Builds Copilot Agents Speaker: Kristina Marko and Clint Williams 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Copilot Studio Governance for Public Sector Speaker: William McLendon and Richie Wallace 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | AI-Powered Collaboration: Unlocking Your Employee Knowledge Base in Engage Speaker: Allison Michels and Ramya Rajasekhar 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Data to Decisions: How Copilot in VS Code Empowers Research and Enterprise Teams Speaker: Semir Sarajlic and Olesya Sarajlic, PhD 1:40 PM - 2:00 PM | Deep dive into Agent insights and content governance across SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Speaker: Nikita Bandyopadhyay 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Agent Lifecycle Management and Governance leveraging FastTrack Speaker: Pratik Bhusal and Azharullah Meer 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Evolving channels to be the hub for collaboration in M365 Speakers: Roshin Lal Ramesan and Derek Snook 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Employee Voice Reinvented: Gathering Insights with Next-Gen Feedback Agents Speaker: Caribay Garcia and Alisa Liddle 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Fireside Chat: Being an Effective Leader with AI Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Inside Microsoft: Reclaiming Engineering Time with AI in Azure DevOps Speaker: Apoorv Gupta and Gopal Panigrahy 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Featured Session: OneDrive in Action: Transforming Industries, Empowering Success Speaker: Vishal Lodha, Arwa Tyebkhan, and Jason Moore 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Demystifying Copilot and AI experiences on Windows Speaker: Anupam Pattnaik 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Work IQ fundamentals Speaker: Ben Summers 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Copilot "Employee Agents" Speaker: Kyle Von Haden 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM | FastTrack your M365 Deployment Speaker: Pratik Bhusal and Jeffrey Manning 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Protect and govern agents with Microsoft Purview Speaker: Nishan DeSilva and Shilpa Ranganathan 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Mission Readiness - Cybersecurity and Copilot in the Public Sector Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | A New Way of Building! Child Agents, Instructions, and Descriptions Speaker: Dewain Robinson and Grant Gieszler 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Start your adoption journey with adoption.microsoft.com Speaker: Jessie Hwang 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Copilot readiness & resiliency with M365 Backup & Archive Speaker: Sree Lakshmi and Eshita Priyadarshini 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Protection in Teams as Modern Threats Evolve Speaker: Srisudha Mahadevan and Harshal Gautam 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Meet AI in SharePoint Speaker: Cory Newton-Smith and Julie Seto 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Featured Session: Engage everywhere: communities, events, and storylines in Teams, powered by AI Speaker: Jeanette Vikbacka Castaing, Jason Mayans, Steve Nguyen, and Murali Sitaram 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM | From Slack to Teams: What’s New and How We Make the Move Easy Speaker: Roshin Lal Ramesan and Arun Das 3:55 PM - 4:15 PM | How Microsoft Digital adopted Baseline Security Mode to improve Microsoft's security posture Speaker: Adriana Wood 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Featured Session: Agent 365: The control plane for all Agents Speaker: Nikita Bandyopadhyay and Sesha Mani 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Customer/Partner spotlight: Microsoft 365 Backup Speaker: Saumitra Bhide and Brad Gussin 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Demystifying Multiagent (Child / Connected) and Component Collection Speaker: Bobby Chang and Dewain Robinson 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Turning AI Potential into High-Impact AI Business Cases and ROI Speaker: April Delsing and Olga Gordon 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Leading Workforce Transformation: The Art and Science of Skilling Your People Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Seamless External Collaboration for all customer engagements Speaker: Nitesh Golchha 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Leading Workforce Transformation: The Art and Science of Skilling Your People Speaker: Jessie Hwang 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Community in the Age of AI—Humans at the Center of Copilot Adoption Speaker: Sarah Lundy, Allison Michels, and Alex Snyder 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | What's new with Copilot and Office: Word, Excel, Power Point Agent Mode and Agents Speakers: Trevor O'Brien and Dan Parish 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Understanding Work IQ API Speaker: Paolo Pialorsi Wednesday, April 22, 2026 – Conference Session Day 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM | Building for the future: Microsoft 365, Agents and AI, what's new and what's next Speaker: Jeff Teper 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM | Business Apps & Agents Keynote Speaker: Ryan Cunningham 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | Empowering Community Builders: Join MGCI & CommunityDays.org Speaker: Heather Cook, Bryan Hart and Emily Hove 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | The Communicator’s Guide to Viva Engage: Making Comms Relevant in Your AI Transformation Speaker: Najla Dadmand, Sarah Lundy, and Dan Mulcahey 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | Top Wins - Copilot and Agents for Non Profit Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | Empowering Community Builders: Join MGCI & CommunityDays.org Speaker: Heather Cook, Bryan Hart and Emily Hove 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | The Communicator’s Guide to Viva Engage: Making Comms Relevant in Your AI Transformation Speaker: Najla Dadmand, Sarah Lundy, and Dan Mulcahey 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | From Chaos to Clarity: Hyper automation That Actually Works Speaker: Danielle Moon 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | The Communicator’s Guide to Viva Engage: Making Comms Relevant in Your AI Transformation Speaker: Najla Dadmand, Sarah Lundy, and Dan Mulcahey 10:15 AM - 11:00 AM | Supercharge Your Agents with Computer Use in Copilot Studio Speaker: Sravani Seethi and Phi-Lay Nguyen 10:55 AM - 11:15 AM | Building AI Agents for Communities: How Viva Engage + Copilot Supercharge Organizational Insight Speaker: Spencer Perry and Ramya Rajasekhar 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Featured Session: Your Guide What’s New in Teams: Collaboration, Communication, and Copilot Speaker: Chandra Chivukula and Ilya Bukshteyn 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Breaking In, Leveling Up: Navigating Tech Careers with Community Speaker: Heather Cook and Nisaini Rexach (CELA) 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | OneDrive: Your Hub for Productivity and Collaboration Excellence Speaker: Carter Green and Arvind Mishra 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Chaos to AI-Ready in 30 Days: Meet the SharePoint Admin Agent Speaker: Dieter Jansen and Dave Minasyan 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Leveraging SQL database in Fabric to implement RAG patterns using Vector search Speaker: Sukhwant Kaur 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | How Microsoft Actually Builds Copilot Agents Speaker: Kristina Marko and Clint Williams 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Copilot Studio Governance for Public Sector Speaker: William McLendon and Richie Wallace 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | AI-Powered Collaboration: Unlocking Your Employee Knowledge Base in Engage Speaker: Ramya Rajasekhar and Allison Michels 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Chaos to AI-Ready in 30 Days: Meet the SharePoint Admin Agent Speaker: Dieter Jansen and Dave Minasyan 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | AI-Powered Collaboration: Unlocking Your Employee Knowledge Base in Engage Speaker: Ramya Rajasekhar and Allison Michels 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Data to Decisions: How Copilot in VS Code Empowers Research and Enterprise Teams Speaker: Semir Sarajlic and Olesya Sarajlic, PhD 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | How Microsoft Actually Builds Copilot Agents Speaker: Kristina Marko and Clint Williams 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | An AI Powered Communication and Operational Efficiency Blueprint for Frontline Teams Speaker: Vishal Anil and Amarjit Prasad 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | Connected Collaboration: The Future of Sharing in M365 Speaker: Miceile Barrett and Phaneendra Sai Sristi 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | Use data, insights, and employee listening to build your comms strategy Speaker: Amy Morris, Paula Wellings, and John Cirone 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | The Power Apps Builder’s Guide for Choosing the Right Path Speaker: April Dunnam 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | What's new in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app: Your starting place for AI at work Speaker: Andrea Lum and Constance Gervais 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | The Future of SharePoint Extensibility: What's New, What's Next Speaker: Alex Terentiev and Vesa Juvonen 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | Using SharePoint AI to solve Business Processes Speaker: Kristen Kamath, Nate Tennant, and Alexander Spitsyn 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | The Future of SharePoint: AI ready to discover, publish and build. Speaker: Kripal Kavi and Sarah Mathurin 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | Secure and Govern Microsoft 365 Copilot - What Every IT Pro Needs to Know Speaker: Sophie Ke 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | What's new in the Microsoft 365 Copilot app: Your starting place for AI at work Speaker: Andrea Lum and Constance Gervais 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | An AI Powered Communication and Operational Efficiency Blueprint for Frontline Teams Speaker: Vishal Anil and Amarjit Prasad 1:30 PM - 2:15 PM | The Future of SharePoint Extensibility: What's New, What's Next Speaker: Alex Terentiev and Vesa Juvonen 1:35 PM - 1:55 PM | Modernizing Federal Security for the AI Era: Deploying Copilot in GCC High and DoW Speaker: William McLendon and Richie Wallace 1:40 PM - 2:00 PM | Deep dive into Agent insights and content governance across SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Speaker: Nikita Bandyopadhyay 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Agent Lifecycle Management and Governance leveraging FastTrack Speaker: Pratik Bhusal and Azharullah Meer 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Evolving channels to be the hub for collaboration in M365 Speaker: Chandra Chivukula, Roshin Lal Ramesan, and Chandrika Duggirala 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Employee Voice Reinvented: Gathering Insights with Next-Gen Feedback Agents Speaker: Caribay Garcia and Alisa Liddle 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Fireside Chat: Being an Effective Leader with AI Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Inside Microsoft: Reclaiming Engineering Time with AI in Azure DevOps Speaker: Apoorv Gupta and Gopal Panigrahy 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Featured Session: OneDrive in Action: Transforming Industries, Empowering Success Speaker: Vishal Lodha, Jason Moore, and Arwa Tyebkhan 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Work IQ fundamentals Speaker: Ben Summers 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Copilot "Employee Agents" Speaker: Kyle Von Haden 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM | FastTrack your M365 Deployment Speaker: Pratik Bhusal and Jeffrey Manning 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Protect and govern agents with Microsoft Purview Speaker: Nishan DeSilva, Shilpa Ranganathan 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Mission Readiness - Cybersecurity and Copilot in the Public Sector Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | A New Way of Building! Child Agents, Instructions, and Descriptions Speaker: Dewain Robinson and Grant Gieszler 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Start your adoption journey with adoption.microsoft.com Speaker: Jessie Hwang 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Copilot readiness & resiliency with M365 Backup & Archive Speaker: Sree Lakshmi and Eshita Priyadarshini 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Protection in Teams as Modern Threats Evolve Speaker: Srisudha Mahadevan and Harshal Hautam 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Featured Session: Engage everywhere: communities, events, and storylines in Teams, powered by AI Speaker: Jeanette Vikbacka Castaing, Jason Mayans, Steve Nguyen, and Murali Sitaram 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Meet AI in SharePoint Speaker: Cory Newton-Smith and Julie Seto 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM | From Slack to Teams: What’s New and How We Make the Move Easy Speaker: R Roshin Lal Ramesan and Arun Das 3:55 PM - 4:15 PM | How Microsoft Digital adopted Baseline Security Mode to improve Microsoft's security posture Speaker: Adriana Wood 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Featured Session: Agent 365: The control plane for all Agents Speaker: Nikita Bandyopadhyay and Sesha Mani 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Demystifying Multiagent (Child / Connected) and Component Collection Speaker: Bobby Chang and Dewain Robinson 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Turning AI Potential into High-Impact AI Business Cases and ROI Speaker: April Delsing and Olga Gordon 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Leading Workforce Transformation: The Art and Science of Skilling Your People Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Seamless External Collaboration for all customer engagements Speaker: Nitesh Golchha 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Customer/Partner spotlight: Microsoft 365 Backup Speaker: Brad Gussin and Saumitra Bhide 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Leading Workforce Transformation: The Art and Science of Skilling Your People Speaker: Jessie Hwang 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Community in the Age of AI—Humans at the Center of Copilot Adoption Speaker: Sarah Lundy, Allison Michels, and Alex Snyder 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | What's new with Copilot and Office: Word, Excel, Power Point Agent Mode and Agents Speaker: Trevor O'Brien and Dan Parish 4:15 PM - 5:00 PM | Understanding Work IQ API Speaker: Paolo Pialorsi Thursday April 23, 2026 – Conference Session Day 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Microsoft Lists Speaker: Mitalee Mulpuru and Arjun Tomar 10:55 AM - 11:15 AM | Building AI Agents for Communities: How Viva Engage + Copilot Supercharge Organizational Insight Speakers: Spencer Perry and Ramya Rajasekhar 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Featured Session: Your Guide What’s New in Teams: Collaboration, Communication, and Copilot Speakers: Ilya Bukshteyn and Chandra Chivukula 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Breaking In, Leveling Up: Navigating Tech Careers with Community Speaker: Heather Cook 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | OneDrive: Your Hub for Productivity and Collaboration Excellence Speaker: Carter Green and Arvind Mishra 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Chaos to AI-Ready in 30 Days: Meet the SharePoint Admin Agent Speaker: Dieter Jansen and Dave Minasyan 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Leveraging SQL database in Fabric to implement RAG patterns using Vector search Speaker: Sukhwant Kaur 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | How Microsoft Actually Builds Copilot Agents Speaker: Kristina Marko and Clint Williams 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | AI-Powered Collaboration: Unlocking Your Employee Knowledge Base in Engage Speaker: Ramya Rajasekhar and Allison Michels 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Chaos to AI-Ready in 30 Days: Meet the SharePoint Admin Agent Speaker: Dieter Jansen and Dave Minasyan 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | From Data to Decisions: How Copilot in VS Code Empowers Research and Enterprise Teams Speaker: Semir Sarajlic and Olesya Sarajlic, PhD 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM | Copilot Studio Governance for Public Sector Speaker: William McLendon and Richie Wallace 1:40 PM - 2:00 PM | Deep dive into Agent insights and content governance across SharePoint and Microsoft 365 Speaker: Nikita Bandyopadhyay 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Agent Lifecycle Management and Governance leveraging FastTrack Speaker: Pratik Bhusal and Azharullah Meer 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Evolving channels to be the hub for collaboration in M365 Speakers: Roshin Lal Ramesan and Derek Snook 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Employee Voice Reinvented: Gathering Insights with Next-Gen Feedback Agents Speaker: Caribay Garcia and Alisa Liddle 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Fireside Chat: Being an Effective Leader with AI Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Inside Microsoft: Reclaiming Engineering Time with AI in Azure DevOps Speaker: Apoorv Gupta and Gopal Panigrahy 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Featured Session: OneDrive in Action: Transforming Industries, Empowering Success Speaker: Vishal Lodha, Jason Moore, and Arwa Tyebkhan 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Work IQ fundamentals Speaker: Ben Summers 1:45 PM - 2:30 PM | Copilot "Employee Agents" Speaker: Kyle Von Haden 2:30 PM - 2:50 PM | FastTrack your M365 Deployment Speaker: Pratik Bhusal and Jeffrey Manning 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Protect and govern agents with Microsoft Purview Speaker: Nishan DeSilva and Shilpa Ranganathan 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Mission Readiness - Cybersecurity and Copilot in the Public Sector Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | A New Way of Building! Child Agents, Instructions, and Descriptions Speaker: Dewain Robinson and Grant Gieszler 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Start your adoption journey with adoption.microsoft.com Speaker: Jessie Hwang 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Copilot readiness & resiliency with M365 Backup & Archive Speaker: Sree Lakshmi and Eshita Priyadarshini 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Protection in Teams as Modern Threats Evolve Speaker: Srisudha Mahadevan and Harshal Gautam 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Meet AI in SharePoint Speaker: Cory Newton-Smith and Julie Seto 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM | Featured Session: Engage everywhere: communities, events, and storylines in Teams, powered by AI Speaker: Jeanette Vikbacka Castaing, Jason Mayans, Steve Nguyen, and Murali Sitaram 3:30 PM - 4:15 PM | Keynote: From Momentum to Movement: Where Community Goes Next Speakers: Heather Cook and Karuana Gatimu Friday, April 24, 2026 – Workshop Day 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Deepening customer connections for your SMB through Teams Speakers: Angela Chin and Prem Mathiyalagan 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Cultivating Trust and Leadership Excellence: Strategies for Respect and Empathy in the Workplace Speaker: Heather Cook 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Planner, Copilot and Agents: AI Assisted Projects with Work IQ Speakers: Howard Crow and Robyn Guarriello 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Microsoft 365 Mergers & Acquisitions Speaker: Vaibhav Gaddam and Subham Dang 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Top Wins - Copilot and Agents for Retail Speaker: Karuana Gatimu 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Agents are joining the team - build collaborative agents for Microsoft Teams Speaker: Carter Gilliam and Saira Shariff 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Prompt to Profit: How Finance Teams Win with M365 Copilot & AI Agents Speaker: Melanie Mayo 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Top Wins - Copilot and Agents for Retail Speaker: Danielle Moon and Karuana Gatimu 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM | Microsoft Purview: AI‑-Powered Data Security for Microsoft 365 Speaker: Aashish Ramdas Level up your AI skills and shape the future of your business with Featured Sessions Develop the skills needed to thrive as a Frontier Firm through sessions led by innovators, builders, designers, Microsoft product teams, and MVPs shaping collaboration. Featured Session: Engage everywhere: communities, events, and storylines in Teams, powered by AI with Murali Sitaram, Steve Nguyen, Jason Mayans, and Jeanette Vikbacka Castaing Featured Session: Your Guide What’s New in Teams: Collaboration, Communication, and Copilot with Ilya Bukshteyn and Chandra Chivukula Planner, Copilot and Agents: AI Assisted Projects with WorkIQ with Howard Crow and Robyn Guarriello Lightning Talks: Lightning Talks are fast‑paced, 15‑minute sessions happening live at the Microsoft Booth that are designed to deliver practical insights, real‑world tips, and quick wins you can take back to your team right away. Stop by throughout the day to learn something new, get inspired, and catch a few surprises along the way. You can check the event agenda for session details. Onsite experiences Demo Stations: Visit the demo stations in the Microsoft Booth for guided, live walkthroughs led by Microsoft experts who can answer your questions in real time. Each station is designed to support scenario‑based conversations and hands‑on exploration, so you can dive deeper into the tools and solutions that matter most to your organization. The Microsoft Booth will be open anytime the expo hall is open. Mini LEGO figurines: Build a mini-LEGO figurine as a takeaway after walking through a demo scenario. It is a quick hands-on moment that adds some play and personality to your conference experience and lets you take some fun swag home. Celebrate 25 years of SharePoint Tuesday, April 21, 12:30PM – 1:30PM Celebrate the SharePoint community with the premiere of a new documentary short film at the conference, complete with a true movie‑premiere experience. Designed to honor the impact of SharePoint and Microsoft 365, this special event brings the community together to capture and celebrate the moment in person. Tuesday, April 21, 5PM – 6:30PM Microsoft Booth Join a live panel celebrating 25 years of SharePoint and what is next for the platform and community. Expect reflections, stories, and forward-looking conversations tied to the broader SharePoint at 25 celebration. Surface + Global Skilling Bar: Get hands on with Surface devices while exploring skilling resources designed to help you level up. This activation is being built to connect Surface experiences with AI skilling guidance, including the AI Skills Navigator. Attendees can experience this hands-on learning in the Microsoft booth during expo hall hours. Surface giveaways from raffle: Enter the raffle for a chance to win Surface giveaways and other prizes during the event. Winners are selected as part of the community giveaway experience, so check posted instructions onsite and make sure you enter. Each raffle will take place at the close of expo hall hours at the Microsoft Booth Bring your spirit wear game! We’re bringing the fun to the show floor with themed Costume Spirit Days all week long! Come by the booth in your best look, show off your costume, and score an extra raffle ticket for our daily prize drawing. Product Roundtable Discussions Microsoft wants to hear from you! The Microsoft User Experience Research team is hosting a series of interactive sessions focused on AI-powered experiences across Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, SharePoint, Planner, and Viva Engage. We invite you to join us to share your perspectives, explore emerging ideas, and influence what’s next. Customer feedback is at the heart of our innovation process. Your participation helps ensure that the experiences we are building are useful, intuitive, and grounded in real organizational needs. “At Microsoft, learning from our customers is a privilege and a vital part of our customer-driven innovation process. By sharing your perspectives, you enable us to create solutions that truly meet your needs and enhance your overall experience with Microsoft products.” – Marcella Silva, Partner Director of User Experience Research What you can expect: Interactive Sessions: Participate in hands-on activities and guided discussions with the Microsoft User Experience Research and Product teams. Expert Insights: Learn directly from the teams shaping the experiences you use every day. Exclusive Previews: Get early visibility into current explorations and future directions. Meaningful Connections: Engage with peers and Microsoft teams in a collaborative environment. Community meetups Community meetups are informal, connection‑first gatherings where attendees can meet others who share a role, interest, or identity. Whether you're looking to exchange ideas, grow your network, or find your people within the Microsoft 365 community, these sessions create space for meaningful conversations and authentic connection beyond the conference sessions. How to sign up: Please use this signup sheet to reserve a social meetup with your community. Women in Tech and Allies Lunch Discussion Grab your lunch and network with peers, discuss progress, and focus on how we can continue to make the Microsoft ecosystem the best in the world for supporting women. All individuals are welcome regardless of gender for an open and compassionate conversation on allyship and inclusiveness. The discussion will be hosted by Heather Cook, Principal Customer Experience PM and distinguished panelists including: Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security Business Jaime Teevan, Chief Scientist & Technical Fellow Lan Ye, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Teams Sumi Singh, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Teams Karuana Gatimu, Director, Customer Advocacy - AI & Collaboration, Microsoft Kate Faaland, Program Manager of Data and AI, AvePoint Reservable podcast room Microsoft FTEs, MVPs, and community leaders can reserve time in the on-site Podcast Room at Microsoft 365 Community Conference to record interviews, podcast episodes, or social content. The space will be equipped with branded backdrops along with professional video and audio equipment to support high quality content creation. Complete the reservation form to request a time slot. Calendar invites will be sent once confirmed. Questions can be directed to Jonathan Jones. Celebrity Meet-n-greet Stop by the Microsoft Community News Desk on Tuesday from 2pm-4pm for a special photo meet and greet. Meet surprise celebrity guests and snap a photo with them at our on site photobooth Get the MVP experience—and don’t forget the photo op! Microsoft MVPs will be on hand throughout the event to share their real-world experience and practitioner insight directly to you. During sessions, our MVPs will share thoughts and brainstorm solutions to challenges as they share practical, scenario‑driven guidance drawn from hands‑on work with Microsoft 365. And of course, the program isn’t over without the annual MVP photo! This will take place at the Innovation Hub (Microsoft Booth) on Tuesday, April 21, at 5:00 PM. Register Today! You’ll find all this and more at Microsoft 365 Community Conference, April 21–23 in Orlando. Register today and don't miss your chance for the largest M365 focused conference of the year. and don't miss your chance for the largest M365 focused conference of the year. Ways to save: Use CODE: SAVE150 for $150 USD off registration. M365CON26 Grant Program (For Non-profits & Small Business) See if you qualify for a deep discount or free pass for Microsoft 365 Community Conference. Small Businesses & Non-profits are eligible to apply for a free pass grant at www.change3e.com/grants (government organizations do not quality). Learn more Visit M365Conf.com and follow the action on: X/Twitter: @M365Conf / #M365Con, @Microsoft365, @MSFTCopilot, @SharePoint, @OneDrive, @MicrosoftTeams, @MSPowerPlat, @Microsoft365Dev, and @MSFTAdoption. And on our Microsoft Community LinkedIn and Learning YouTube channel. Want more information? Check out our library of blogs on topics, speakers, community activities and more: The ultimate Microsoft 365 community event returns with Jeff Teper 5 reasons to attend this year’s event What’s new in Microsoft Teams What to expect from the Copilot & AI sessions MVP experiences Get your company engagement up with Viva Engage Women in Tech at M365 Community Conference Level up your data security Keynotes highlight We hope you will join us in Orlando for an unforgettable week of innovation, inspiration, and community! Get ready to dive into the action with passionate MVPs, Microsoft product leaders, and an incredible lineup of tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot Studio, Power Platform, Planner, and so much more. Let us make memories and shape the future together!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.Top 5 Reasons to Attend the Microsoft 365 Community Conference
Between the inspiring keynotes and sessions, connection opportunities, and the chance to deepen your skills there are lots of reasons to attend the Microsoft 365 Community Conference in Orlando on April 21–23, 2026. This gathering of makers and inventors will illuminate the people, stories, and breakthroughs that are propelling our ecosystem forward. To help break down everything that’s happening, we put together our top five reasons to attend. 1. 200+ sessions, workshops, and AMAs If you’re interested in learning how Microsoft is shaping the future of work—there’s a session for you. Join Microsoft experts, MVPs, and community leaders as you find out about the latest product innovations and AI-powered tools. Discover what’s new with Microsoft 365 Copilot, Teams, SharePoint, OneDrive, Copilot Studio, and much more. Check out the full catalog. 2. Unprecedented access Ask the questions you’ve always wanted to ask. Find solutions tailored to your needs by working with Microsoft experts. Immerse yourself in the best community in tech as you talk to and learn from the people building the apps and AI capabilities you use every day. Find the full list of speakers here. 3. A jam-packed keynote lineup Make sure you've got a great seat to watch: Building for the future: Microsoft 365, Agents and AI, what's new and what's next with Jeff Teper, Executive Vice President – Microsoft Collaborative Apps and Platforms Securing AI: Building Trust in the Era of AI with Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security and Rohan Kumar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security Future of work fireside keynote with Jaime Teevan Ph.D. | Chief Scientist and Technical Fellow, Microsoft and more! These keynotes will leave you ready to learn, grow, innovate, and get hands-on with the technology shaping the next era of work. After each keynote, you’ll also hear from some of the brightest minds in tech in our breakout sessions where they’ll share insights, best practices, and strategies that you can use in your workplace. 4. Deep-dive workshops Get hands on with AI-powered tech as you elevate your skills in our workshops. Go beyond product demos as you learn how the latest technology works in real-world scenarios. Work with Microsoft experts who can help you find solutions that work for your organization, your team, and you. 5. Exclusive parties and networking events Perhaps the most important reason to attend the conference is to be a part of the Microsoft 365 community. Where else can you connect with peers and icons in the tech community all in one place? This is an opportunity to meet with hundreds of Microsoft executives, engineers, product leaders, and friends. Ask questions, share feedback, learn from each other, and help shape the roadmap of technologies you rely on. No matter what reason interests you most, we hope you’ll join us in Orlando on April 21–23, 2026. Register now and use SAVE150 for $150 USD off registration.Level up your data security at Microsoft 365 Community Conference
Technology is evolving at a startling rate, and it’s no longer enough for an organization to maintain their security measures, they must evolve along with it. Don’t let your data, employees, or clients become another headline. Join us in Orlando on April 21–23 for the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, where you’ll learn how to safeguard your most valuable data during expert-led discussions and hands-on sessions . Chart your course forward with Microsoft’s security roadmap Do you ever wish you had a crystal ball that could show you how the changing tech landscape is going to affect your data protection needs? We can give you the next-best thing, an inside look at where the future of work is taking security solutions and what that means for you, straight from the experts leading the way. Register now, and you’ll be in the room as Vasu Jakkal, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security and Rohan Kumar, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Security unveil Microsoft’s vision for securing the new frontier of AI. They’ll discuss the ways frontier firms are protecting their data, identities, and models amid rapid AI adoption and Agents. Microsoft is helping IT and security teams adapt to AI driven work with security built in, not bolted on, gain practical guidance on how organizations are modernizing security controls, reducing data exposure, and supporting AI adoption at scale, without adding complexity for admins or end users. And that’s not all; we have a full schedule of innovators and trailblazers scheduled throughout the program. You’ll discover exclusive insights, best practices, and strategies that will redefine your organization’s data security. Check out the speaker directory on the Microsoft 365 Community Conference homepage and then register to save your seat today. Attend a session for every security need We all know that securing our data is important, but it can be hard to know where to start when different sectors require different security measures. That’s why we’ve designed the sessions at Microsoft 365 Community Conference to provide attendees with both a comprehensive overview and a deep dive into specific critical topics. • Agent 365: The control plane for all Agents with Nikita Bandyopadhyay and Sesha Mani • Agent Lifecycle Management and Governance leveraging FastTrack with Azharullah Meer and Pratik Bhusal • Copilot readiness & resiliency with M365 Backup & Archive with Sree Lakshmi and Aditi Gangwar • Copilot Studio Governance for Public Sector with Richie Wallace and William McLendon • Deep dive into Agent insights and content governance across SharePoint and Microsoft 365 with Nikita Bandyopadhyay • Extending Microsoft Purview with APIs & SDK: Governance-by-Design for AI Apps and Agents with Martin Gagne • How Microsoft Digital adopted Baseline Security Mode to improve Microsoft's security posture with Adriana Wood • How Microsoft Does IT: Managing and governing Agents - empower with risk aligned oversight with David Johnson, Naveen Jangir, and Mike Powers • How Microsoft Does IT: Microsoft 365 Governance in the age of Copilot & agents with David Johnson • Microsoft Baseline Security Mode: Simplify, secure, succeed with Adriana Wood and Sesha Mani • Microsoft Purview: AI-Powered Data Security for Microsoft 365 with Aashish Ramdas • Mission Readiness - Cybersecurity and Copilot in the Public Sector with Karuana Gatimu • Protect and govern agents with Microsoft Purview with Shilpa Ranganathan • Protect your data from oversharing to AI with Microsoft Purview with Roberto Yglesias • Public Sector Roadmap Review with Karuana Gatimu and Tuwanda Perez • Securing AI with Microsoft Purview: From Visibility to Action with Shilpa Ranganathan • Tracing the Truth: Accelerate Insider Risk Investigations with Microsoft Purview with Rod Trent • What's new in Security & Compliance for SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams with Sanjoyan Mustafi, Vithalprasad Gaitonde No matter your security needs, we have a can’t-miss session waiting for you at Microsoft 365 Community Conference. Explore all Security, Compliance, and Governance sessions here. You can’t halt the march of progress, but by attending the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, you can make sure you're in a position to take advantage of it. Register now, and we’ll see you April 21–23 in Orlando.Microsoft 365 E5 Security is now available as an add-on to Microsoft 365 Business Premium
The threat landscape continues to evolve creating ongoing challenges for small and medium businesses (SMBs) that are faced with increased regulations and cyberinsurance requirements. Today, Microsoft 365 Business Premium delivers core security solutions to SMBs that help safeguard data, defend against cyberthreats, and manage access and devices. With the growing volume of attacks and increased sophistication of threats, there are SMBs that want enhanced cybersecurity protection for their business. We are pleased to announce that Business Premium customers are now able to purchase Microsoft 365 E5 Security as an add-on to further enhance their security. E5 Security brings new security value on top of Business Premium with Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2, Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps. (ENHANCED) Identity and access controls Business Premium includes Microsoft Entra ID P1, which provides single sign-on, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and conditional access to help SMBs manage user identities and enable access to applications and resources from trusted users, devices, and locations. Microsoft Entra ID P2 offers advanced security and governance features including Microsoft Entra ID Protection and Microsoft Entra ID Governance. Microsoft Entra ID protection offers risk-based conditional access that helps block identity attacks in real time using behavioral analytics and signals from both user risk and sign-in risk. It also enables SMBs to detect, investigate, and remediate potential identity-based risks using sophisticated machine learning and anomaly detection capabilities. With detailed reports and alerts, your business is notified of suspicious user activities and sign-in attempts, including scenarios like a password-spray where attackers try to gain unauthorized access to company employee accounts by trying a small number of commonly used passwords across many different accounts. ID Governance capabilities are also included to help automate workflows and processes that give users access to resources. For example, IT admins historically manage the onboarding process manually and generate repetitive user access requests for Managers to review which is time consuming and inefficient. With ID Governance capabilities, pre-configured workflows facilitate the automation of employee onboarding, user access, and lifecycle management throughout their employment, streamlining the process and reducing onboarding time. (NEW) Extended Detection and Response (XDR) Microsoft Defender XDR delivers a unified and efficient approach to incident-level visibility across the attack lifecycle. Together XDR and exposure management (XSPM) consolidate multiple siloed security solutions to provide best-of-breed capabilities across identities, endpoints, apps, and email. (NEW) Identity threat detection and response (ITDR) Identities are one of the most common attack vectors making identity-specific threat detection and response a critical element to secure your business. Microsoft Defender for Identity includes dedicated sensors and connectors for common identity elements that offer visibility into your unique identity landscape and provide detailed posture recommendations, robust detections and response actions. These powerful detections are then automatically enriched and correlated with data from other domains across Defender XDR for true incident-level visibility. (ENHANCED) Device security Microsoft Defender for Business (MDB) already brings enterprise-grade device protection capabilities to Business Premium customers across Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android devices. It includes vulnerability management, next-generation antivirus protection, AI-powered endpoint detection and response with automatic attack disruption, and automated investigation and remediation. With streaming APIs, customers and partners can build Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services with Defender for Business. For customers who need advanced hunting, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2 adds advanced hunting, and 6 months of data retention on the device, along with endpoint security for IoT devices. (ENHANCED) Email and Collaboration security Microsoft Defender for Office 365 P1 in Business Premium includes SafeLinks with time of click URL filtering, safe attachments with real-time attachment scanning in sandbox, and phishing and malware defense across email, Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. It also has AI-powered LLM-based threat protection with 99.995% attacker intent detection accuracy. With Defender for Office 365 P2, you gain access to cyber-attack simulation training, which provides SMBs with a safe and controlled environment to simulate real-world cyber-attacks, helping to train employees in recognizing phishing attempts. Additionally automated response capabilities and post-breach investigations help reduce the time and resources required to identify and remediate potential security breaches. Detailed reports are also available that capture information on employees’ URL clicks, internal and external email distribution, and more. (NEW) Software-as-a-service (SaaS) security Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps is a comprehensive, AI-powered software-as-a-service (SaaS) security solution that enables IT teams to identify and manage shadow IT and ensure that only approved applications are used. It protects against sophisticated SaaS-based attacks, OAuth attacks, and risky interactions with GenAI apps by combing SaaS app discovery, security posture management, app-to-app protection, and integrated threat protection. IT teams can gain full visibility into their SaaS app landscape, understand the risks and set up controls to manage the apps. SaaS security posture management quickly identifies app misconfigurations and provides remediation actions to reduce the attack surface. E5 Security delivers added protection to meet the growing needs of SMBs in a package that is cost-effective. Purchasing E5 Security has 57% savings when compared to the cost of separately purchasing the individual products that are included. FAQ When will E5 Security be available for purchase? E5 Security is available for purchase as an add-on to Business Premium starting today, 3/6. How can I purchase E5 Security? You can purchase E5 Security as an add-on to Business Premium through Microsoft Security for SMBs website or through your Partner. Does Microsoft 365 Business Premium plus Microsoft 365 E5 Security allow mixed licensing for endpoint security solutions? Microsoft Defender for Business does not support mixed licensing so a tenant with Defender for Business (included in Microsoft 365 Business Premium) along with Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (included in Microsoft 365 Security) will default to Defender for Business. For example, if you have 80 users licensed for Microsoft 365 Business Premium and you’ve added Microsoft 365 E5 Security for 30 of those users, the experience for all users will default to Defender for Business. If you would like to change that to the Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 experience, you should license all users for Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 (either through standalone or Microsoft 365 E5 Security) and then contact Microsoft Support to request the switch for your tenant. You can learn more here. What are the differences between Microsoft Defender for Business and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint P2? MDB includes many of the same features as MDE P2, including enterprise-grade device protection for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android devices, vulnerability management, next-generation antivirus protection, AI-powered endpoint detection and response with automatic attack disruption, and automated investigation and remediation. MDE P2 adds endpoint security for IoT devices, threat hunting, and 6 months of data retention on the device. A detailed comparison is available here. As a Partner, how do I build Managed Detection and Response (MDR) services with MDB? For partners or customers looking to build their own security operations center (SOC) with MDR, Defender for Business supports the streaming of device events (device file, registry, network, logon events and more) to Azure Event Hub, Azure Storage, and Microsoft Sentinel to support advanced hunting and attack detection. If you are using the streaming API for the first time, you can find step-by-step instructions in the Microsoft 365 Streaming API Guide on configuring the Microsoft 365 Streaming API to stream events to your Azure Event Hubs or to your Azure Storage Account. To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions for SMBs you can visit our website. Partners can access training resources, customer decks and deployment checklists from our Business Premium Partner Playbook and find additional resources for Microsoft Security for Partners.Driving Trust Through Certification: New TAC Feature Updates for IT Admins
Managing app security and compliance in Microsoft Teams just got easier! With recent updates in Teams Admin Center (TAC), IT admins can now quickly identify trusted apps and enforce organizational standards with confidence. These enhancements not only simplify governance but also underscore the value of Microsoft 365 Certification as a key trust driver. What Existed in TAC? Before the recent trust‑based enhancements, Teams Admin Center already provided foundational visibility into app trust through the Security & compliance tab in the app details experience. This surfaced key signals such as publisher information, permission scopes, data access, and links to security and compliance documentation, helping admins perform due diligence during app reviews. While these signals required manual review and cross‑checking, they established an important baseline for evaluating risk and compliance, reinforcing the role of TAC as the central place for governing apps in Microsoft Teams. What’s New in TAC? Trust Visibility Enhancements The new “Apps to Consider Allowing” tile highlights certified apps, publisher-attested apps, and those providing compliance evidence. This feature enables IT admins to quickly filter and identify apps that meet organizational standards. Security & Compliance Column and filters Amins can now view compliance attributes—such as SOC 2, FedRAMP, and penetration testing—directly in TAC. This helps admins speed up app reviews with trust-based filters and make informed choices without leaving the dashboard. Trust-based filters enable IT Administrators using Teams admin center to view and easily filter apps and agents by specific industry standards, certifications and compliance attributes such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR, and more. This will help to streamline app evaluation workflows, enabling broader access to trusted apps across the organization. Dedicated Collections Curated lists of certified apps and agents for easier discovery. Saves time by grouping trusted solutions in one place. Why It Matters For IT Admins: Streamlined governance, reduced risk, and faster compliance checks. For ISVs: Certification boosts visibility and credibility, helping apps stand out in a competitive marketplace. Call to Action Get certified to boost visibility and trust. Learn more about Microsoft 365 Certification →Microsoft 365 Certification
Why Microsoft 365 Certified Apps and Agents Matter for IT Admins As an IT Admin, you're constantly balancing innovation, security, and user productivity. With the growing ecosystem of apps/agents integrating into Microsoft 365, how do you ensure the ones your organization adopts are secure, compliant, and reliable? That’s where Microsoft 365 Certification comes in. What Is Microsoft 365 Certification? Microsoft 365 Certification is a rigorous program that evaluates third-party apps across key dimensions like security, compliance, data handling, and privacy. Certified apps/agents meet Microsoft’s highest standards and are verified through independent assessments and documentation reviews. Top Benefits for IT Admins 🔐 Enhanced Security & Compliance Certified apps/agents undergo thorough security testing, including vulnerability assessments and penetration testing. Many of the controls these apps / agents adhere to are based on established frameworks such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, and GDPR. This ensures that certified apps align with recognized industry standards, providing confidence when deploying them in enterprise settings. 🛠️ Streamlined Governance With certification, IT Admins can confidently shortlist apps or agents in their tenant, knowing they meet Microsoft’s governance criteria. This reduces the overhead of manual vetting and accelerates app adoption. 📍 Discoverability in Microsoft 365 Ecosystem Certified agents are tagged with a “Microsoft 365 Certified” badge in AppSource, Teams Store and the Microsoft 365 admin center, making them easier to find and trust. 📊 Transparency & Documentation The Microsoft Admin Center and Teams Admin Center include a Security & Compliance section under Integrated Apps where admins can view certification details for apps. This feature is designed to improve transparency and speed up app evaluation. Here’s what is available: Certification Class Publisher Verified – Confirms developer authenticity. Publisher Attested – Indicates the app’s security and compliance posture based on self-assessment. Microsoft 365 Certified – Shows that the app has passed Microsoft’s rigorous audit against security and compliance controls. These details help IT teams understand the app’s risk posture before deployment. Evidence Sharing Developers can opt to share certification evidence (e.g., policy docs, system configs, penetration test reports) directly in MAC. This evidence is uploaded during the certification process in Partner Center and, if consented, becomes visible to admins in Microsoft Admin Center and Teams Admin Center. How to Find Certified Apps Visit the Business Apps – Microsoft AppSource to explore certified apps by category, publisher, or certification level. You can also filter apps directly in AppSource or within the Microsoft 365 admin center. Join the Conversation Have you deployed a Microsoft 365 Certified agent in your organization? Share your experience in the comments below or start a thread in the Microsoft Tech Community to help others make informed decisions.The new cloud-based policy management service for Office 365 ProPlus has been released!
The Office cloud policy service allows administrators to define policies for Office 365 ProPlus and assign these policies to users via Azure Active Directory security groups. Get started today by visiting and signing into the Office cloud policy service.
