New Office 365 for IT Pros Edition Now Available

The Office 365 for IT Pros team is delighted to announce the publication of the twelfth edition of the Office 365 for IT Pros eBook, including the second edition of the Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell eBook (released yesterday). This edition represents the outcome of an end-to-end review of the 2025 edition, including a completely new eDiscovery chapter (due to the big changes Microsoft is rolling out in this area). The new book is available in PDF and EPUB versions from Gumroad.com. If you subscribe to Office 365 for IT Pros, you do not need to buy the PowerShell book separately because it’s included in the Office 365 for IT Pros bundle.

As always, we are making a discounted subscription available to previous subscribers. An email with a code to secure the discount has been sent to subscribers of the 2025 edition from [email protected]. If you had a subscription for the 2025 edition and did not receive the code, please contact [email protected] and we will fix the problem.

Unfortunately, we have had to increase the price of the book from $49.95 to $59.95. We maintained the original price since 2015 for as long as we could, but inflation, increased processing costs (credit cards, PayPal, etc.), and other costs meant that we couldn’t hold the line any longer. We asked Microsoft Copilot what the value of $49.95 in 2015 dollars is today. Today’s answer is $64.30 (Figure 1).

A week ago when I published our release plan, the suggested price was $67.73. I guess it’s the way you ask a question of AI. In either case, I’m happy that we continue to deliver good value at approximately the equivalent of 12 cups of coffee (the value of the book lasts longer than the value of the caffeine).

Remaining Focused on Practicalities

We remain utterly focused on explaining how Microsoft 365 really works in a very practical sense. Some question the value of books in a world where an AI chatbot spits out an answer to any question in less than a minute. My answer is context and experience. AI chatbots don’t necessarily (or at all) appreciate the context of how something works inside Microsoft 365. Generative AI depends on what’s been published in the past and included in its LLMs. But if that information is outdated, inaccurate, or doesn’t apply to your situation, the response will be wrong. Experience helps understand context. Based on technical skills acquired over years, experience cuts through fluff in a way that AI cannot. AI doesn’t have Microsoft 365 skills, nor does it have experience. All it can do is regurgitate, albeit in a highly proficient and (at times) useful manner.

This doesn’t deny the value of AI in many situations or the important of adapting new technologies like AI where appropriate and cost-effective. Given Microsoft’s massive investment to build out hardware and software capabilities for AI, there is no doubt that AI is a big part of our future. We’ve just got to use the tool in the best way, just like any other tool. For instance, using a Copilot agent to interrogate the contents of Office 365 for IT Pros and Automating Microsoft 365 with PowerShell.

Remember, AI cannot clean up a mess. To be successful with Microsoft 365 Copilot, you need a Microsoft 365 tenant that’s well managed and without a legacy of failed collaboration projects. The knowledge contained in Office 365 for IT Pros helps administrators manage tenants better, even if we can’t do much about the legacy of failed projects.

Additions to the Office 365 for IT Pros Author Team

We welcome two new authors for the 2026 edition. Leah Theil now looks after the Teams Basics chapter (11) while Tony Sterling oversees the Teams management chapter (12). Given the success of Teams within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, these are important chapters, and I am delighted to have two such experienced professionals take on their care.

Keepit: Our New Sponsor

Keepit A/S, a company specializing in delivering resilience against data loss, is our new sponsor. I’m sure many of you know Keepit from technology conferences where they always serve high-grade coffee on their stand. Making sure that production data is protected is a critical success factor for Microsoft 365 deployments, and Keepit has solid products to protect Entra ID, Microsoft 365 (Exchange Online, SharePoint Online/OneDrive for Business, and Teams), and the Power Platform. We thank Keepit for their support and look forward to working with them over the coming year.

Thanks to Our Subscribers

We couldn’t do any of our work without the support of the people who subscribe to Office 365 for IT Pros, read our articles, and provide feedback. Despite what it might seem like at times, we like to receive notes telling us where we can do better, so thanks a lot to all of you who have helped us improve the books over the years. It’s been an incredibly fulfilling journey since the release of the first edition in 2015. Onward to the next edition!