Month: October 2024
What is the best way to convert heic to png on Windows 11 for large amount?
I’ve recently upgraded to Windows 11 and find myself in need of converting a large number of HEIC images to PNG format so I can edit and share with others. These images (around 600) are copied from my iPhone 14 Pro Max.
I’m looking for an efficient and reliable method that can handle bulk conversions without compromising the quality of the images. It’s important that the process is streamlined and doesn’t require extensive manual intervention, as I’m dealing with hundreds of photos.
Could anyone suggest the best approach for converting .heic to .png on Windows 11? Ideally, I’m looking for a solution that balances ease of use with functionality, and it would be great if it’s something that won’t be too heavy on system resources. Any tips or personal experiences with specific tools would be greatly appreciated!
I’ve recently upgraded to Windows 11 and find myself in need of converting a large number of HEIC images to PNG format so I can edit and share with others. These images (around 600) are copied from my iPhone 14 Pro Max. I’m looking for an efficient and reliable method that can handle bulk conversions without compromising the quality of the images. It’s important that the process is streamlined and doesn’t require extensive manual intervention, as I’m dealing with hundreds of photos. Could anyone suggest the best approach for converting .heic to .png on Windows 11? Ideally, I’m looking for a solution that balances ease of use with functionality, and it would be great if it’s something that won’t be too heavy on system resources. Any tips or personal experiences with specific tools would be greatly appreciated! Read More
Random Question Selection Feature for Testing in MS Forms
MS Forms lacks a random question selection feature for testing. This would allow, for example, selecting 60 random questions out of a pool of 100, enhancing test variability and simplifying administration. It would also enable automatic generation of unique test versions for different groups, prevent answer memorization, and save time on creating new test versions.
MS Forms lacks a random question selection feature for testing. This would allow, for example, selecting 60 random questions out of a pool of 100, enhancing test variability and simplifying administration. It would also enable automatic generation of unique test versions for different groups, prevent answer memorization, and save time on creating new test versions. Read More
Newest Office365 word update damages tables
In newest Office365 Word table (one column) in table (many columns) with fixed width does not work. It works as “Adjust by content” even if I enforce fixed width. If document was correct, and you open with a new Word and save it – document becomes damaged.
If you open with old word – it opens and saves as expected. Problem is that all Office365 became updated this week, and we can not fid how to revert to old version.
This is critical issue – all words templates becomes damaged after saving. Is there any workaround to fix this issue?
In newest Office365 Word table (one column) in table (many columns) with fixed width does not work. It works as “Adjust by content” even if I enforce fixed width. If document was correct, and you open with a new Word and save it – document becomes damaged. If you open with old word – it opens and saves as expected. Problem is that all Office365 became updated this week, and we can not fid how to revert to old version. This is critical issue – all words templates becomes damaged after saving. Is there any workaround to fix this issue? Read More
Issues with clipboard history pinned elements
Hi! My clipboard history is showing some issues lately (it’s not happening after an update but “randomly”). All my pinned items are now blank, as showed in the below picture:
I’ve done some research and it appears that pinned items are saved in the path C:UsersuserAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsClipboardPinned . The items are still there , but they’re encrypted. Any idea of how I can decrypt them (I am the owner of the PC, files, etc.)?
Hi! My clipboard history is showing some issues lately (it’s not happening after an update but “randomly”). All my pinned items are now blank, as showed in the below picture:I’ve done some research and it appears that pinned items are saved in the path C:UsersuserAppDataLocalMicrosoftWindowsClipboardPinned . The items are still there , but they’re encrypted. Any idea of how I can decrypt them (I am the owner of the PC, files, etc.)? Read More
Disabling certain MFA methods
Hi,
I am new to M365. Some of our users have set up MFA already. One method they use is “email OTP”. When in Entra Admin Center I see the Authentication methods. Trying to disable EMail OTP is not possible, because the save button is greyed out. What is the reason for that? Could it be that because some users already using this method? What do I need to do to resolv this?
Hi,I am new to M365. Some of our users have set up MFA already. One method they use is “email OTP”. When in Entra Admin Center I see the Authentication methods. Trying to disable EMail OTP is not possible, because the save button is greyed out. What is the reason for that? Could it be that because some users already using this method? What do I need to do to resolv this? Read More
Multiple dropdowns using shared terms
Hi,
I’m trying to create an interview form in Excel with multiple dropdowns. Essentially, if a certain role type is selected, I need the form to bring up a set of questions related to a particular competency. The issue is that the competencies are the same regardless of the role type but the questions within the competency change depending on the role type. There are ten total competencies.
For example, if the role “Director” is selected and the competency “Accountability” is then selected, a specific set of questions will appear in the dropdown. If the role is “Manager” and the competency is “Accountability”, a different set of questions will appear in the dropdown.
The issue is that I can only have one group named “Accountability” to reference via indirect Data Validation. I realize that I can technically create variations of the group name “Accountability” for each role type, but I only want the end user to see the “Accountability” in the dropdown menu.
What is the best way to do this?
Additionally, if the competency has a space, e.g. “Learning Agility”, how do I make it appear that way in the dropdown considering no spaces are allowed for group names?
Thanks!
Hi, I’m trying to create an interview form in Excel with multiple dropdowns. Essentially, if a certain role type is selected, I need the form to bring up a set of questions related to a particular competency. The issue is that the competencies are the same regardless of the role type but the questions within the competency change depending on the role type. There are ten total competencies. For example, if the role “Director” is selected and the competency “Accountability” is then selected, a specific set of questions will appear in the dropdown. If the role is “Manager” and the competency is “Accountability”, a different set of questions will appear in the dropdown. The issue is that I can only have one group named “Accountability” to reference via indirect Data Validation. I realize that I can technically create variations of the group name “Accountability” for each role type, but I only want the end user to see the “Accountability” in the dropdown menu. What is the best way to do this? Additionally, if the competency has a space, e.g. “Learning Agility”, how do I make it appear that way in the dropdown considering no spaces are allowed for group names? Thanks! Read More
How often does Defender (MDC) refresh its reports?
How often does MDC refresh its reports? Lets say i get a recommendation and i implement it, how soon will this change reflect on a new MDC recommendation report?
How often does MDC refresh its reports? Lets say i get a recommendation and i implement it, how soon will this change reflect on a new MDC recommendation report? Read More
Support can’t help: I am using an IMAGE field in a SharePoint list and it shows only a guid…
Hello
I am using the IMAGE field and if I save I am getting only a GUID or Name with link.
Which is showing very weird code.
If I disable the Attachment capability on that list I can save the image and see a link with the name.
Using the link it will open up the image in a separated tap.
But if I save again an image, I need to go again to the setting and need to disable the tick on:
“Add attachment column to default view” and save again. See below:
After that done, I can see the new image.
The column format setting is default to:
{
“$schema”: “https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json“
}
I did open up a ticket by Microsoft but I have still not really a qualified answer yet.
But is urgent, so if anybody has a working solution it would be most appreciated 😉
Thanks in advance.
Kind regards
Michael
HelloI am using the IMAGE field and if I save I am getting only a GUID or Name with link.Which is showing very weird code.If I disable the Attachment capability on that list I can save the image and see a link with the name.Using the link it will open up the image in a separated tap.But if I save again an image, I need to go again to the setting and need to disable the tick on:”Add attachment column to default view” and save again. See below: After that done, I can see the new image.The column format setting is default to:{“$schema”: “https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json”}I did open up a ticket by Microsoft but I have still not really a qualified answer yet.But is urgent, so if anybody has a working solution it would be most appreciated 😉Thanks in advance.Kind regardsMichael Read More
how to completely wipe usb drive on Windows 11 or Windows 10 PC?
Hi all,
I have dozens of important and sensitive files stored on my USB drive, and I’d like to ensure they’re permanently deleted so they can’t be recovered. I know that simply deleting files from the USB might not actually erase them, as recovery software can sometimes bring these files back. I’m looking for a reliable way to completely wipe usb drive on a Windows 11/10 PC.
Ideally, I’d like a solution that’s straightforward and doesn’t require any specialized hardware. I’ve heard of some software options but am not sure which would be most effective and secure. Are there any recommended methods that can help securely erase USB drive?
Regards,
Rica
Hi all, I have dozens of important and sensitive files stored on my USB drive, and I’d like to ensure they’re permanently deleted so they can’t be recovered. I know that simply deleting files from the USB might not actually erase them, as recovery software can sometimes bring these files back. I’m looking for a reliable way to completely wipe usb drive on a Windows 11/10 PC. Ideally, I’d like a solution that’s straightforward and doesn’t require any specialized hardware. I’ve heard of some software options but am not sure which would be most effective and secure. Are there any recommended methods that can help securely erase USB drive? Regards,Rica Read More
Azure Synapse: A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide
Azure Synapse Analytics architecture diagram
Azure Synapse: A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide
Introduction
Hi, I am Khalid Abdelaty a Microsoft Learn Student Ambassador, studying Computer Science Student @ Tanta University in Egypt. I am fancisanted by the opportunity of AI and the ability to analyze and interpret data.
As we continue to amass large volumes of data from various sources, the real challenge lies in transforming this data into actionable insights that drive decision-making and growth. It’s not just about data collection; it’s about finding the most efficient way to manage, analyze, and leverage this data at scale.
As organizations explore solutions to these challenges, several platforms rise to the forefront. In 2024, Databricks, Azure Synapse, Google BigQuery, and Snowflake are among the top choices in the industry.
Azure Synapse Analytics has distinguished itself from other players by offering a comprehensive platform comprising data integration, big data analytics, and enterprise data warehousing into a unified solution.
In this blog, we’ll explore why Azure Synapse has become a compelling choice in 2024 for organizations aiming to streamline their data operations and how you can leverage it to solve some of your organization’s complex data analysis challenges.
What is Azure Synapse?
Azure Synapse is a powerful, end-to-end analytics service from Microsoft that unifies data integration, big data, and data warehousing into a single cohesive platform.
Unlike traditional analytics services that often require multiple tools for different stages of data processing, Azure Synapse brings these capabilities together, enabling organizations to streamline their data workflows.
Whether ingesting large datasets, preparing data for analysis, or running complex queries, Azure Synapse provides a unified experience that simplifies the entire process.
One of Azure Synapse’s key strengths is its flexibility. Users can query data on their terms, choosing between serverless options for on-demand queries or dedicated resources for more intensive workloads. This adaptability allows businesses to tailor their analytics environment to meet specific needs, whether scaling up for high-performance scenarios or optimizing costs for less demanding tasks.
Azure Synapse integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, such as Power BI and Azure Machine Learning, enabling a holistic approach to data analytics and fostering collaboration across data teams.
If you want to learn about the power of Microsoft Azure and cloud computing and how they can help companies improve their data analytics, data science, and engineering workload, check out this amazing free Introduction to Azure .
Features of Azure Synapse:
Unified experience: Azure Synapse offers a unified platform for data integration, data warehousing, and big data analytics, enabling users to work with their data seamlessly and efficiently.
Serverless and provisioned compute: Azure Synapse provides serverless and provisioned compute options, allowing users to choose the most appropriate resource for their workloads.
Integration with Power BI and Azure Machine Learning: Azure Synapse integrates seamlessly with Power BI and Azure Machine Learning, enabling users to create data visualizations and leverage advanced analytics capabilities easily.
Advanced security and compliance: Azure Synapse boasts comprehensive security and compliance features, ensuring that data is protected and organizations can meet regulatory requirements.
Seamless integration with Azure Data Lake Storage: Azure Synapse’s tight integration with Azure Data Lake Storage allows users to access and analyze data stored in the data lake easily.
Benefits of Using Azure Synapse
Here are some of the benefits of using Azure Synapse Analytics:
Scalability and flexibility: Azure Synapse’s on-demand scaling capabilities allow users to quickly adjust their compute and storage resources to meet changing business needs.
Unified analytics platform: By combining data integration, data warehousing, and big data analytics, Azure Synapse provides a comprehensive and streamlined analytics solution.
Enhanced productivity: Azure Synapse’s integrated tools and seamless user experience help users be more productive and efficient in their data-driven tasks.
Cost-efficiency: Azure Synapse’s on-demand scaling and pay-per-use pricing model can help organizations optimize costs and reduce overall data analytics expenditure.
Comprehensive security and compliance: Azure Synapse’s robust security features and compliance certifications ensure that data is protected and that organizations can meet regulatory requirements.
Kickstart your cloud journey with the Azure Fundamentals Certification.
Use Cases for Azure Synapse
Azure Synapse is a versatile platform that can be applied to a broad range of data analytics use cases, making it a powerful tool for businesses seeking to unlock the full potential of their data.
Some of the most common use cases include:
Use case
Description
Data warehousing and ETL processes
Azure Synapse consolidates data from various sources into a centralized data warehouse. It offers robust ETL capabilities to efficiently transform raw data into structured, usable formats. This centralized data repository is the backbone for enterprise reporting, ensuring decision-makers can access consistent and reliable data.
Real-time data analytics
Azure Synapse supports real-time data processing, enabling organizations to capture and analyze data as it’s generated. This capability is crucial for monitoring live events, detecting anomalies, or making instant decisions based on up-to-the-minute information.
Predictive analytics and machine learning
By integrating seamlessly with Azure Machine Learning, Azure Synapse allows businesses to perform advanced predictive analytics. Organizations can combine historical data with machine learning models to forecast trends, predict outcomes, and make data-driven decisions more accurately.
Business intelligence reporting
Azure Synapse integrates with Power BI to create rich, interactive data visualizations and reports. This integration helps organizations turn raw data into compelling dashboards and reports that provide actionable insights.
Azure Synapse vs. Databricks
Azure Synapse and Databricks are potent large-scale data processing and analytics platforms, but they excel in different areas.
Azure Synapse is an all-in-one solution that unifies data integration, warehousing, and big data analytics, as mentioned before. It is ideal for organizations needing a comprehensive platform to handle diverse workloads, from structured data to massive datasets.
Databricks, built on Apache Spark, specializes in collaborative data science, data engineering, and machine learning. It’s known for its strength in large-scale data processing and model deployment and offers a collaborative environment for data teams.
Differences and similarities
Azure Synapse
Databricks
Platform focus
An all-in-one solution combining data integration, warehousing, and big data analytics. Ideal for holistic solutions.
Focuses on Apache Spark-based big data processing and machine learning. Strong in collaborative data science, engineering, and model deployment.
Data storage integration
Seamless integration with Azure Data Lake and Blob Storage.
Strong integration with cloud storage services like Azure Data Lake and Amazon S3.
SQL support
Native SQL support for data warehousing.
It uses Apache Spark SQL and is optimized for big data scenarios.
Ecosystem integration
Close integration with other Azure services.
Aligns more with the open-source Apache Spark ecosystem.
After a comprehensive overview of Azure Synapse, let’s get hands-on!
Setting Up Azure Synapse
To get started with Azure Synapse, you’ll need to have an active Azure account. Once your account is set up, you can create a new Synapse workspace and configure your data sources and connections.
1. Start Azure free trial
If you’re new to Azure, the first step is to create a subscription. Click the “Start” button under “Start with an Azure free trial.”
During the signup process, you’ll need to verify your account using a phone number and provide credit card information for verification purposes.
Start with an Azure free trial.
2. Prerequisite: Create Data Lake Storage Gen2
Before proceeding with Azure Synapse, you must create a Data Lake Storage Gen2 account to store and manage your data.
Start by navigating to the Azure portal and selecting “Create a resource.” Choose “Storage account” and fill in the required details, such as the resource group, storage account name, and region.
Ensure that “Azure Blob Storage or Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2” is selected as the primary service, and configure other settings like performance and redundancy as per your use-case.
Create an Azure storage account.
Create an Azure storage account.
After filling in the details, click “Review + create” to deploy the storage account. It can take several minutes before the storage deployment is complete.
Storage account deployment completed.
Once the deployment is complete, your new Data Lake Storage Gen2 account will be listed under the Storage Accounts section and will be ready for use with Azure Synapse.
3. Create Synapse workspace
Azure Synapse workspace is the foundational environment where you can set up, organize, and manage all the resources and services needed for data integration, analytics, and storage within Azure Synapse. It acts as the central hub for configuring and accessing various tools and data assets in your Synapse project.
Create Azure Synapse workspace by clicking the “Create Synapse Workspace” button.
Creating Synapse workspace.
In the next step, you’ll need to fill out the form to create your Azure Synapse workspace.
Start by selecting your subscription and resource group, then enter a name for your workspace and choose the appropriate region.
Creating a Synapse workspace – filling in details.
Review the details on the final tab before clicking the “Create” button.
Validating the Synapse workspace.
It can take several minutes before the Azure Synapse workspace is deployed.
Azure Synapse Analytics deployment in progress.
Azure Synapse Analytics workspace “demotest3212” created.
Once the workspace is deployed, click on its name to open it.
4. Open Synapse Studio
Azure Synapse Studio is the web-based interface for managing and interacting with your Azure Synapse workspace. It provides a unified workspace where you can perform data integration, big data analytics, and data warehousing tasks all in one place.
Synapse Studio is essential because it lets you quickly develop, manage, and monitor your data pipelines, SQL scripts, Spark jobs, and more without switching between different tools or environments.
Synapse Studio.
Importing a Dataset
In Synapse Studio, you can import the data from several different sources. You can import it from a Gen2 storage account linked to the Synapse workspace (see step 2 above), from a SQL server database, or external sources.
For this tutorial, we will use one of the sample datasets, “Bing COVID-19 Data,” available in the Synapse Gallery.
To import, click on “Dataset” on the left-hand side navigation menu and then click on “+ sign” → “Gallery.”
Dataset Gallery in Synapse Studio.
You can review the metadata and sample rows from the data before clicking the “Add dataset” button to import this data.
Review dataset in Synapse Studio.
Once the import is successful, you will be able to see the dataset under “Data.”
Data tab in Synapse Studio.
Writing and Running Queries
Azure Synapse Studio provides a user-friendly interface for writing and running queries. You can use SQL to perform a wide range of data analysis tasks, from simple data retrieval to more complex analytics.
Synapse Studio also allows you to save and manage your queries and view and handle the results of your queries.
You can analyze this dataset using an SQL script or by creating a Notebook. In a Notebook, you can load the dataset as a Spark DataFrame and use Spark for data manipulation and analysis.
To run SQL queries on this dataset, click the three dots next to the dataset name.
Analyzing Data in Synapse Studio with SQL.
Clicking “Select TOP 100 rows” will open an SQL editor where you can write SQL queries and execute them to view the results.
SQL editor in Synapse Studio.
If you want to visualize the output instead of a table view, click “Chart” under “Results”.
Viewing query results as Chart in Synapse Studio.
Those changes are initially saved as drafts when you create or modify a SQL script. Publishing the script by clicking the “Publish” button on top commits those changes, ensuring the latest version is stored in the workspace.
Publishing an SQL script in Synapse Studio means saving your script to the Synapse workspace, making it available for future use, collaboration, and version control.
Example: Analyzing daily growth in COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide
Let’s run an SQL query on this dataset to analyze the daily increase in COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide.
The query retrieves data from the “Bing COVID-19 dataset”, calculates the number of new cases reported each day by comparing the current day’s confirmed cases to the previous day’s count, and orders the results by date.
SQL query in Synapse Studio SQL editor.
Analyzing Data in Notebooks
In Synapse Studio, you can analyze data using notebooks, which provide an interactive environment for running code, visualizing results, and conducting data analysis.
Notebooks in Synapse Studio support multiple languages, including PySpark, which is particularly powerful for big data processing.
To run a Notebook in Synapse Studio, attach it to an Apache Spark pool, which provides the necessary distributed computing resources to process large datasets efficiently.
An Apache Spark pool is a collection of compute nodes that are dynamically allocated to run your Spark jobs. If you don’t already have a Spark pool, you can create one by navigating to the “Manage pools” section in Synapse Studio, where you can specify the number of nodes, their size, and other configurations.
Once your Spark pool is set up and attached to the notebook, you can execute code cells within the notebook to load, manipulate, and analyze data, as shown in the screenshot below.
This setup enables you to leverage the full power of Spark for large-scale data analysis directly within Azure Synapse.
Analyze data using Notebooks in Synapse Studio.
Integrating Azure Synapse with Other Azure Services
Azure Synapse integrates seamlessly with other Azure services, enabling you to build comprehensive data analytics solutions.
Some key integrations include:
Azure Data Factory: Utilize Azure Data Factory to orchestrate complex data workflows and automate ETL (Extract, Transform, Load) or ELT (Extract, Load, Transform) processes. By integrating Azure Synapse with Data Factory, you can easily move and transform data from various sources into your Synapse workspace, ensuring your data is always ready for analysis.
Power BI: Azure Synapse integrates smoothly with Power BI, allowing you to create advanced data visualizations and interactive dashboards. This integration enables businesses to transform raw data into insightful, visually compelling reports that can be shared across teams, fostering data-driven decision-making and enhancing business intelligence capabilities.
Azure Machine Learning: Combine the data processing power of Azure Synapse with Azure Machine Learning to unlock advanced predictive analytics capabilities. This integration allows you to train, deploy, and manage machine learning models directly within your Synapse environment, enabling more accurate predictions and smarter data-driven strategies.
Azure Databricks: For organizations focused on collaborative data science and machine learning, integrating Azure Synapse with Azure Databricks provides a powerful solution. This integration facilitates seamless collaboration among data scientists, engineers, and analysts, allowing them to build and scale data pipelines, develop models, and conduct advanced analytics in a unified, collaborative environment.
Best Practices for Using Azure Synapse
To get the most out of Azure Synapse, it’s important to follow best practices, such as:
Optimizing data storage formats: Selecting the right data storage formats, such as Parquet or ORC, is crucial for ensuring optimal query performance and efficient data processing. These formats are designed for big data analytics and can significantly reduce query execution times and storage costs by supporting columnar storage and compression.
Managing compute resources efficiently: Efficiently managing compute resources is key to balancing performance and cost-effectiveness. By scaling resources up or down based on workload demands and using serverless options where appropriate, you can ensure that you are not overspending on unused compute power while still meeting performance requirements.
Implementing security best practices: Security should be a top priority when using Azure Synapse. To protect sensitive information, implement robust security measures, such as data encryption, role-based access control, and network isolation.
Monitoring and troubleshooting workloads: Continuous monitoring of your Azure Synapse workloads is essential for maintaining optimal performance and identifying potential issues before they impact operations. Utilize built-in monitoring tools to track resource usage, query performance, and data pipeline efficiency, and be proactive in troubleshooting any anomalies to minimize disruptions.
Conclusion
Azure Synapse Analytics stands as a powerful and versatile solution for organizations seeking to harness the full potential of their data. By unifying data integration, big data analytics, and enterprise data warehousing into a single, comprehensive platform, Azure Synapse empowers businesses to streamline their data operations and extract valuable insights with unprecedented efficiency.
The platform’s flexibility, scalability, and seamless integration with other Azure services make it ideal for various data-driven tasks, from real-time analytics to complex machine learning projects. As data grows in volume and importance, Azure Synapse positions itself as a crucial tool for organizations looking to stay competitive in an increasingly data-centric world.
By adopting Azure Synapse, businesses can optimize their current data processes and pave the way for future innovations in data analytics. As we move forward, the ability to quickly and effectively turn data into actionable insights will be a key differentiator for successful organizations. Azure Synapse provides the robust foundation needed to meet this challenge head-on, enabling businesses to unlock new opportunities and drive growth through the power of data.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Microsoft Says SMEs Can Benefit from Microsoft 365 Copilot
Take the Results Presented with a Pinch of Salt
What are we to make of Microsoft’s release of a new study into the effect of Microsoft 365 Copilot for Small to Medium businesses? The blog post on the topic appeared on October 17 and highlights some results reported by Forrester Consulting, who Microsoft commissioned “to study the potential return on investment (ROI) of Microsoft 365 Copilot for SMBs.”
As the post says, the “results of the study are eye-opening” with big claims for projected ROI of up to 353% and $1.2 million of projected benefits. Projected is the important word here because it means that the ROI and benefits are potential and not achieved, even if they make good headlines. The report of 6% increase in net revenue and 20% reduction in operating costs seem more attainable.
Doubts About Any Technology Report
Doubts surface every time that I read a report about the gains that companies can make if they would only deploy some new technology. I ask myself if the authors of the report understand the technology they’re writing about as deeply as they should. I ask if the companies covered in the report are hand-picked to make the technology look as good as it can be. I ask what direction Microsoft gave Forrester Consulting when they commissioned the report and how independent Forrester can be in what they write about. And I ask if the results gathered from the over 200 companies surveyed for the report are massaged in any way. All nagging doubts honed from years of experience as a consultant.
I’ve no doubt that Microsoft 365 Copilot can do a good job for some SMEs, especially for companies who are backed up by a partner who knows the Copilot technology and understand where the potholes are. For instance, the assertion that 50% of time can be saved by legal firms in contract reviews is believable because many contracts cover the same ground, and a Copilot agent built for the purpose can reason over a corpus of contracts when reviewing text for problems.
It’s also true that Copilot’s ability to summarize text in email, Teams chats, and documents is of great help to people returning to work after a vacation. Catching up by wading through a full inbox or hundreds of Teams chats is never fun, and Copilot absolutely can help by summarizing information and presenting what happened while people were away in a very digestible format.
No Mention of Microsoft 365 Copilot Flaws
But I worry that the report ignores the flaws we know to exist in Microsoft 365 Copilot. Some SMEs are great at organizing their information; others are not, and they succumb to the same kind of group/teams sprawl and accumulation of digital debris that happens in enterprise tenants. SMEs might not have the same training capabilities as exist in larger organizations, which can lead to bad habits like oversharing through sloppy site permissions.
As you might imagine, none of this is covered by the Forrester report. No mention is present about why an SME might need to deploy Restricted SharePoint Search (or the newer but not yet available Restricted Content Discoverability capability), or deploy sensitivity labels to protect their most confidential documents from being reused by Copilot. There’s no comment about the way that errors can creep into user documents from Copilot responses and end up by corroding the reliability of stored documents. These are real issues surrounding the introduction of generative AI to Microsoft 365.
Just a Marketing Tool to Sell Microsoft 365 Copilot Licenses to SMEs
Then I remember that the Forrester report is no more than a marketing tool designed to encourage SMEs with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Standard, or Microsoft 365 Business Premium pay for $360/user/year Microsoft 365 Copilot subscriptions. The companies covered in the report had up top 300 employees. At list price, Copilot licenses cost $108,000 annually for 300 employees. That’s a big investment for any SME.
But someone’s got to pay for the billions of dollars Microsoft is currently investing in AI, and a large percentage of the 400-million plus Office 365 installed base comes from the SME sector. If you work for an SME and are interested in Microsoft 365 Copilot, take the time to read the report, but do so with a large pinch of salt close at hand. Investing a large chunk of change in expensive software licenses without knowing exactly how you’ll achieve an ROI has never been a good business tactic.
Support the work of the Office 365 for IT Pros team by subscribing to the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook. Your support pays for the time we need to track, analyze, and document the changing world of Microsoft 365 and Office 365.
SharePoint Page Template – Title issue with prefilled values
Hi all,
we noticed a change in the creation of SP Pages with a custom template.
We have a template e.g. “Custom News”. In the past the page with the template was created and the title was empty (Add title).
Now the title is already prefilled with “Custom News”. This also leads to issues while creating news.
The user adds directly some text -> Draft auto saved -> URL generated
This results in news like:
“Custom News (1).aspx”
“Custom News (2).aspx”
…
Is this really by design? Is it a bug? Can we avoid that behaviour? Clearing the Title in the template is not an option and is also not working.
Hi all, we noticed a change in the creation of SP Pages with a custom template. We have a template e.g. “Custom News”. In the past the page with the template was created and the title was empty (Add title). Now the title is already prefilled with “Custom News”. This also leads to issues while creating news. The user adds directly some text -> Draft auto saved -> URL generated This results in news like:”Custom News (1).aspx””Custom News (2).aspx”… Is this really by design? Is it a bug? Can we avoid that behaviour? Clearing the Title in the template is not an option and is also not working. Read More
Function App Service
Hi,
I’m having trouble deploying my Python script to an Azure Function App. Can someone help me troubleshoot the deployment process and ensure the function works correctly?
I have followed all the articles available on the internet, I am not able to figure out , where is actual issue?
Hi, I’m having trouble deploying my Python script to an Azure Function App. Can someone help me troubleshoot the deployment process and ensure the function works correctly?I have followed all the articles available on the internet, I am not able to figure out , where is actual issue? Read More
How do I permanently wipe my hard drive in Windows 10 computer?
I want to ensure that all my personal data is completely unrecoverable before I sell or dispose of my computer. So now, I’m looking for guidance on how to permanently wipe hard drive in Windows 10 computer. I’ve heard of various methods, but I’m unsure which one is the most effective and reliable for securely erasing all files, including those that might be hidden or deleted.
Additionally, I’m concerned about the potential risks involved in the process, such as accidentally wiping the wrong drive or not achieving complete data destruction. I am looking forward to your suggestions.
I want to ensure that all my personal data is completely unrecoverable before I sell or dispose of my computer. So now, I’m looking for guidance on how to permanently wipe hard drive in Windows 10 computer. I’ve heard of various methods, but I’m unsure which one is the most effective and reliable for securely erasing all files, including those that might be hidden or deleted. Additionally, I’m concerned about the potential risks involved in the process, such as accidentally wiping the wrong drive or not achieving complete data destruction. I am looking forward to your suggestions. Read More
MCAS requirements for Log Collector
Hi all,
this is my first question in the Microsoft Community. I have been reviewing the requisites for MCAS log collector and I wanted to understand why does the machine hosting the log collector needs at least 250 GB disk, as this appliance sends every 40KB to MCAS and stores up to 20 backup files.
Thanks in advance,
Benjamin
Hi all, this is my first question in the Microsoft Community. I have been reviewing the requisites for MCAS log collector and I wanted to understand why does the machine hosting the log collector needs at least 250 GB disk, as this appliance sends every 40KB to MCAS and stores up to 20 backup files. Thanks in advance,Benjamin Read More
Kumppanijohdon M365 Copilot Roundtable 9.12. klo 12 Espoo
VARAA PÄIVÄ!
Kumppanijohdon Microsoft 365 Copilot Roundtable Wave 2 – 9.12. klo 12 Espoo
Tervetuloa Keilaniemeen Microsoft Talolle kumppaneiden johdolle suunnattuun Microsoft 365 Copilot Roundtableen kuulemaan asiakas- ja kumppanitarinoita Copilotin jalkauttamisesta organisaatioissa. Iltapäivän tapahtumassa on luvassa kova kattaus sekä asiakas- että kumppanipuheenvuoroja, joissa jaetaan kokemuksia viimeisen vuoden ajalta siitä mikä toimii ja mikä ei.
Lisäksi Microsoftin myyntijohto avaa näkemyksiä nykyisestä Copilot-markkinatilanteesta Suomessa. Tule kuulemaan avaintekijöistä onnistuneisiin Copilot-käyttöönottoihin ja -laajennuksiin niin asiakkailla kuin kumppaneillakin. Lisäksi lopussa on yhteinen roundtable-keskustelu siitä, mihin suuntaan markkina on menossa ja mitkä ovat tärkeimpiä menestystekijöitä tekoälyn hyödyntämisessä organisaatiossa.
Tapahtuma on suunnattu kumppaneiden myynnin ja palvelukehityksen johdolle, sekä niille henkilöille, jotka vastaavat tekoälyratkaisujen käyttöönotoista kumppaniorganisaatiossa. Roundtable on jatkumoa kevään 2024 huippusuositulle kumppanijohdon Copilot-tapahtumalle.
VARAA PÄIVÄ! Rekisteröidy tästä. Rekisteröityminen avautuu marraskuun alussa.
Aika: 9.12. klo 12-16
Paikka: Microsoft Talo, Keilalahdentie 2-4, Espoo
Tapahtuman alustava ohjelma
Kumppanijohdon Microsoft 365 Copilot Roundtable Wave 2
12:00 Saapuminen Talolle ja kahvi ja pikku suolainen
12:30 Tervetuloa ja Microsoft 365 Copilot -terveiset Ignitesta
Vesa-Matti Paananen, teknologiajohtaja, Microsoft
Kalle Saarikannas, Copilot GTM-johtaja, Microsoft
12:50 Copilot markkinakatsaus Suomessa
Tuomas Norrbacka, ratkaisumyynnin johtaja, Microsoft
13:10 Asiakas-case: Gasum
13:40 Kahvitauko ja verkottumista
14:00 Kumppani-case: Digital Neighborhood/Sulava
Aki Antman, President, Digital Neighborhood
14:20 Kumppani-case: Meltlake
Timo Hyväoja, CEO, Meltlake
14:40 Asiakas-case: Vaisala
15:00 Roundtable-keskustelu: Miten jalkauttaa tehokkaasti Copilot omassa ja asiakkaan organisaatiossa?
Ohjattu keskustelu, johon osallistuvat päivän puhujat ja sekä koko yleisö
15:50 Wrap-up: Mitä opimme? Kolme tärkeintä asiaa
Vesa-Matti Paananen, Microsoft
16:00 Tilaisuus päättyy
Tervetuloa ja nähdään Microsoft Talolla!
Huom! Paikkoja on rajoitetusti (noin 100 henkeä), joten ilmoittaudu nopeasti ja ota mukaasi organisaatiosi avainhenkilöt
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Hiding tabs in excel but retain links to other sheets
Hi, I have created a workbook which has links between each sheet to navigate through the pages. I want to “force” the users to use these links rather than the tabs at the bottom.
Is there a way to hide the tabs so they have to use the links? ( The links are in the form of a button to press)
I tried hiding the tabs but then the links no longer worked.
I also looked at changing the colour of the font or the tab colour itself so that it would hide the text but cant seem to be able to do that either.
Thank you
Hi, I have created a workbook which has links between each sheet to navigate through the pages. I want to “force” the users to use these links rather than the tabs at the bottom.Is there a way to hide the tabs so they have to use the links? ( The links are in the form of a button to press)I tried hiding the tabs but then the links no longer worked.I also looked at changing the colour of the font or the tab colour itself so that it would hide the text but cant seem to be able to do that either.Thank you Read More
Business Central Device license
I thought customers must have at least one Essentials or Premium SAL when purchasing Device license, but I can’t find any description of this prerequisite in the license guide nor license term.
To purchase a Team Member license, customers must have Dynamics 365 user SLs other than the Team Members SL according to the license term according to the license term.
Is this not same for Device license or are customers allowed to purchase Device license only without other user licenses?
If customers are required to have other user licenses to purchase one Device license, can we apply a 30day-trial license (Business Central Premium) for the initial month?
I thought customers must have at least one Essentials or Premium SAL when purchasing Device license, but I can’t find any description of this prerequisite in the license guide nor license term. To purchase a Team Member license, customers must have Dynamics 365 user SLs other than the Team Members SL according to the license term according to the license term.https://www.microsoft.com/licensing/terms/en-us/productoffering/MicrosoftDynamics365Services/MCA#AddonsIs this not same for Device license or are customers allowed to purchase Device license only without other user licenses? If customers are required to have other user licenses to purchase one Device license, can we apply a 30day-trial license (Business Central Premium) for the initial month? Read More
Onboarded
I would like to know how many new devices were onboarded today. Could you please provide this information, possibly through QKL or any other available means?
I would like to know how many new devices were onboarded today. Could you please provide this information, possibly through QKL or any other available means? Read More
FILTER AND IMAGE VBA
HI, HOW TO NOT SHOW 00/01/1900 WHEN USE FILTER SEARCH?
I WISH TO SHOW BLANK OR NOTHING.
HOW TO FIX THE SEARCH OF THE IMAGE ERROR?
I HAVE A FOLDER WITH ALL PICTURES, BUT LET’S SAY THAT I DONT HAVE ONE OR THE NAME IS WRONG. SO I WANT TO SHOW 0 = BECAUSE ON THE FOLDER HAVE ONE IMAGE WITH THE NAME “NO IMAGE”.
EXCEL 365
WINDOWS 64
NOTEBOOK
HERE IS THE CODE:
Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)
On Error Resume Next
FOTO = “C:AFOTO JBA” & Range(“O1”).Value & “.JPG”
ActiveSheet.Shapes(“Imagem 1”).Fill.UserPicture (FOTO)
Exit Sub
ERRORDATO:
ActiveSheet.Shapes(“Imagem 1”).Fill.UserPicture (“C:AFOTO JBA.JPG”)
Exit Sub
End Sub
HI, HOW TO NOT SHOW 00/01/1900 WHEN USE FILTER SEARCH?I WISH TO SHOW BLANK OR NOTHING.HOW TO FIX THE SEARCH OF THE IMAGE ERROR?I HAVE A FOLDER WITH ALL PICTURES, BUT LET’S SAY THAT I DONT HAVE ONE OR THE NAME IS WRONG. SO I WANT TO SHOW 0 = BECAUSE ON THE FOLDER HAVE ONE IMAGE WITH THE NAME “NO IMAGE”. EXCEL 365WINDOWS 64NOTEBOOK HERE IS THE CODE:Private Sub Worksheet_Change(ByVal Target As Range)On Error Resume NextFOTO = “C:AFOTO JBA” & Range(“O1”).Value & “.JPG”ActiveSheet.Shapes(“Imagem 1”).Fill.UserPicture (FOTO)Exit SubERRORDATO:ActiveSheet.Shapes(“Imagem 1”).Fill.UserPicture (“C:AFOTO JBA.JPG”)Exit SubEnd Sub Read More
