Category: Microsoft
Category Archives: Microsoft
Changing task type in PWA Enterprise EPT
Hi,
Can anyone tell me if there is a way to change, in PWA, the default Task Type in for the Microsoft ‘Enterprise Project’ EPT. Because we have this ‘Enterprise Project’ EPT set to be our default EPT, we cannot assign a Project Plan Template to it. It is defaulting to a ‘Take Type’ of ‘Fixed Unit’ currently but we would like to set is to a default or ‘Fixed Duration’ at the task level.
Thank you.
Hi, Can anyone tell me if there is a way to change, in PWA, the default Task Type in for the Microsoft ‘Enterprise Project’ EPT. Because we have this ‘Enterprise Project’ EPT set to be our default EPT, we cannot assign a Project Plan Template to it. It is defaulting to a ‘Take Type’ of ‘Fixed Unit’ currently but we would like to set is to a default or ‘Fixed Duration’ at the task level. Thank you. Read More
how to search in only sites that contain a certain keyword
In google a search like ‘keyword inurl:forums’ would turn only results that have the word forums in them. What is the equivalent in bing? Is there any way to only search forums?
In google a search like ‘keyword inurl:forums’ would turn only results that have the word forums in them. What is the equivalent in bing? Is there any way to only search forums? Read More
percentages
How do I enter a formula using percentages?
Example:
column e2= .9% of column c2
How do I enter a formula using percentages? Example:column e2= .9% of column c2 Read More
Is it possible to make flow based on an existing flow by simply copy and pasting the flow or saving
Is it possible to make flow based on an existing flow by simply copy and pasting the flow or saving it under another name? I suppose I could crate a new flow from scratch but the only difference is tha the database table that is fed the information is a new table and a slightly improved design.
Is it possible to make flow based on an existing flow by simply copy and pasting the flow or saving it under another name? I suppose I could crate a new flow from scratch but the only difference is tha the database table that is fed the information is a new table and a slightly improved design. Read More
Logic Apps Aviators Community Day 2024
On September 26, 2024 (Pacific Time) the Logic Apps Product Group will host a full day of learning where you will be the star! The Logic Apps Aviators Day is a free event driven by Microsoft, for anyone who wants to learn more about Logic Apps and how it can help to solve real life integration problems. In this full-day event, we will deep-dive into many aspects of Logic Apps with sessions from both Microsoft team and community. And we are looking for sessions of all types and lengths, from beginning to advance, from short demos to full sessions, and from patterns and practices to real life scenarios.
Call for Speakers
We want you to be the star of this show. We are opening this to anyone, from seasoned to first-time speakers and looking for all types of sessions, from patterns and practices to real life scenarios.
To guarantee that the event stream works smoothly, Sessions will be pre-recorded and should be no longer than 28 minutes long. But fret you not! Our team will help you record the session, so no experience recording sessions before is required.
Call for speakers are open from Wednesday May 15, 2024, to Sunday June 23, 2024
Speakers will be announced by email on July 1st, 2024.
Session recording will be organized between our team and the selected Speakers between Monday August 5, 2024 and Friday August 30, 2024.
If you are not able to record during that time, we reserve the right to find a replacement speaker.
Speakers are expected to be available during their session for answer for open questions, via chat. Our host and moderators will also be available to help answer questions during that time.
If you are keen to submit a session, please fill in our Call for Speakers form.
Code of Conduct
Our community is a diverse community of people from many backgrounds, industries, countries, and cultures who choose to spend their time sharing their experiences with using Microsoft’s products and services. It is a central destination for education and thought leadership on best practices, product news, live events, and roadmap.
We aim to make the Microsoft Azure Logic Apps Aviators Day a safe and welcoming environment for everyone to join and engage in. To achieve this goal, Microsoft does not tolerate the following in any aspect of the event:
Behavior that is disruptive, disrespectful, or degrading to others, including any messages, images, or interactions by anyone, in any form, regardless of location.
Harassment or discrimination based on age, ancestry, color, gender identity or expression, national origin, physical or mental disability, religion, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations, and ordinances.
If Logic Apps Aviators Day organizers determines that your behavior doesn’t comply with these requirements, Microsoft has the sole discretion and the remove you from the event.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Evaluate Small Language Models for RAG using Azure Prompt Flow (LLama3 vs Phi3)
Introduction:
Recently, small language models have made significant progress in terms of quality and context size. These advancements have enabled new possibilities, making it increasingly viable to leverage these models for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) use cases. Particularly in scenarios where cost sensitivity is a key consideration, small language models offer an attractive alternative.
This post demonstrates how to use Azure ML Prompt Flow to create a Q&A solution using Small Language Models (SLMs) with your own data. It also compares the performance of two small language models: Phi3-mini-128K and Llama3-8B.
What is RAG? RAG stands for Retrieval Augmented Generation. It means adding context to the LLM input prompt by retrieving information from a corpus of data, hence grounding the model with your information. RAG helps to avoid the problems of the LLM making up facts or using outdated knowledge. With the new capabilities of SLM’s, like a context window of up to 128K tokens, using SLM’s for RAG solution is becoming more feasible.
Small language models (SLM’s) are more streamlined versions of LLMs, with fewer parameters and simpler architectures. SLM’s can be designed to process data locally and can be deployed on mobile devices. They can be trained with relatively small datasets and are more explainable which means RAG techniques can greatly enhance the performance and experience of an SLM.
– The Benefits of Small Language Model:
Less complex and more computationally efficient models like SLMs can excel at simple tasks such as:
Offline settings, on-device or on-prem, where local inference may be required.
Scenarios with latency constraints where quick response times are essential.
Tasks/use cases with cost limitations, especially those with simpler tasks.
Environments with limited resources.
Specific tasks can be achieved better through fine-tuning SLMs (vs. large model out-of-box)
– Benchmarking and evaluation:
Before deploying any solution to production, it’s recommended to assess and compare all the possible alternatives to address the use case, including small language models. This way, you can decide based on the balance between accuracy and cost.
Implementation:
Prepare the evaluation dataset:
We will use subset of Mini Wiki dataset as an evaluation dataset which includes:
– Source docs: Each Wiki article can be saved in a text file to make the indexing and vectorization easy.
– Q&A: In this blog we will use a subset of 50 questions and answers and save them as jsonl file. Here is the format:
{“question”:”The Celsius crater on the Moon is what?”,”answer”:”named after him”,”id”:148}
{“question”:”Is the Celsius crater on the Moon named after him ?”,”answer”:”Yes”,”id”:149}
….
Azure AI Search – Build the index:
You can use the integrated vectorization feature in Azure AI Search to index the source docs prepared in the first step: Announcing the Public Preview of Integrated Vectorization in Azure AI Search – Microsoft Community Hub
Model Catalog in Azure ML Studio – Deploy SLM Inferencing Endpoints:
From the model catalog in Azure ML Studio, deploy two inferencing endpoints for both “Phi3-mini-128k-instruct” and “Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct”. It may take up to 20 min to get the endpoint up and running.
Prompt flow – “Custom” connections: create 2 Custom connections to the end points created in the previous step:
When creating Custom connections, the required keys to set are:
– endpoint_url
This value can be found at the previously created Inferencing endpoint.
– endpoint_api_key
Ensure to set it as a secret value.
This value can be found at the previously created Inferencing endpoint.
– model_family
Supported values: LLAMA, DOLLY, GPT2, or FALCON
This value is dependent on the type of deployment you’re targeting. In our case it’s LLAMA for both models.
5. Prompt flow – Create Q&A on your data flow: clone the prompt flow “Q&A on your own data” template and start the runtime. you need to start the runtime before completing the next steps.
6. Prompt flow – Update “Lookup”: Connect “Lookup” which retrieves the source docs from the index created in step 2.
7. Prompt flow – Add “Open Model LLM” connector: you can find it from “More tools” button:
By default, the Prompt flow Q&A on your own data template uses “LLM” component to call Azure-Open-AI inferencing endpoint. Since we are using SLMs (MaaP) endpoint, we need to replace the template’s default “LLM” with “Open Model LLM” component to connect to the language models.
In the new “Open Model LLM” component, use the “Custom connections” created in an earlier step to connect to Llama3 then add another variant to connect to Phi3. This is how the final flow should look like.
8. Prompt flow – Tune the prompt: Here is the prompt we used to make the answer as short as possible which aligns with the ground_truth answers we are using.
system:
You are an AI assistant that helps users answer questions based on a specific context.
Your answer should be a one short sentence, as precise as possible and should only come from the context.
user:
<contexts>
{{contexts}}
Human:
<question>
{{question}}
AI:
9. Prompt flow – Evaluation and benchmark:
We have prepared the Q&A evaluation data from step 1 and two SLMs. To compare how well they perform, we can use the evaluation feature in Prompt flow, which makes it simple and convenient. We will use 2 built-in metrics:
– GPT Similarity: GPT4 judges how good the output is compared to the Ground truth.
– Ada similarity: Cosine similarity between the embeddings of output and GT.
So, we need Azure OpenAI GPT-4 endpoint and embedding endpoint as prerequisites to complete the evaluation setup.
To setup the evaluation, there are 4 steps:
– Evaluation Step 1- Basic settings:
– Evaluation Step 2- Upload eval data:
– Evaluation Step 3- Evaluation metrics:
– Evaluation Step 4- Configure the evaluation: important note – the Ground truth needs to be set as the answers from the evaluation data we uploaded.
Results:
With Prompt flow evaluation tool, you can inspect questions, responses and scores of different variations (prompts or models) at sample level as well as over the entire dataset. For this use case, using this evaluation dataset which consists of 50 questions, “Phi3-mini-128k-instruct” and “Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct” models achieved comparable ada-similarity and gpt-similarity score.
Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct
Phi3-mini-128k-instruct
ada-similarity
0.74
0.75
gpt-similarity (max is 5)
2.33
2.33
Screenshot of Comparing the batch runs of the 2 variants (Llama3 and Phi3) in Azure AI studio:
Conclusion:
This blog post discusses the benefits of using Small Language Models (SLMs) in certain scenarios. SLM’s are more computationally efficient than larger models. They are particularly useful in scenarios with latency constraints where quick response times are essential, in tasks/use cases with cost limitations, and in environments with limited resources. The blog post also discusses the importance of assessing and comparing all possible solutions, including SLM’s, before deploying to production. This should be an effort to balance quality and cost. Additionally, it provides a step-by-step guide of how to use Azure Prompt Flow to build a Q&A on your own data solution with SLM’s and compare the performance of different options of small language models, Meta-Llama-3-8B-Instruct and Phi3-mini-128k-instruct.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Building Connections at the M365 Community Conference
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference is an annual event that brings together thousands of forward-thinking professionals looking to build their skills in the era of AI. The conference offers unmatched learning, professional development, and networking opportunities, with over 150 sessions covering the latest breakthroughs in Microsoft 365, Copilot, Viva, Teams, and more.
This article will explore the transformative experiences and key takeaways from the conference that could inspire other MVPs, how volunteering at the conference enhanced attendees’ understanding of the latest Microsoft 365 innovations, the ways in which the conference fostered community building and networking among MVPs, and the most impactful sessions and workshops for attendees. In particular, we are highlighting three United States M365 MVPs, Heather Severino, Joy Apple, and Susan Hanley, who played key roles at the conference.
The Microsoft 365 Community Conference not only disseminated knowledge through its diverse sessions but also cemented the essence of community through in-person exchanges, exemplified by Heather well-attended workshops with over 500 attendees and the attendance and participation of Roberto Bojorquez, Microsoft Product Manager for Tasks and ToDo. These interactions underscored the unique value of face-to-face meetings in fostering deeper connections and facilitating real-time collaboration among the Microsoft 365 community.
MVP Heather Severino at the Microsoft 365 Conference
This conference not only highlighted the irreplaceable benefits of direct human interaction, as seen in Heather‘s sessions, but also put a spotlight on the transformative potential of M365 tools like Copilot and Viva, which are designed to enrich the employee experience and address real-world business needs in a holistic and people-focused manner.
For instance, Joy spoke about the importance of governance in preparing for Copilot, a sentiment echoed by the attending MVPs who agreed that governance is now a priority for CIOs, CEOs, and CTOs. With sixteen sessions addressing governance from the perspective of Copilot readiness and adoption, attendees learned the importance of having a strong governance framework in place to ensure the effective use of the technology.
The emphasis on governance at the conference not only highlighted the necessity of a robust framework for Copilot’s success but also underscored the Microsoft 365 Community Conference’s role in revitalizing a sense of unity and purpose among its participants. This synergy between governance and community engagement, as articulated by Joy and experienced by the attendees, reflects a comprehensive approach to technology adoption where learning and collaboration are as crucial as the technical aspects of implementation. As Joy stated, “the Microsoft 365 Community Conference, is a vibrant blend of education and inspiration, experienced a resurgence of its communal spark this year, reigniting connections that had waned during the pandemic.” Attendees found value in the engaging interactions and the sense of community and belonging that these events provided.
Meanwhile, MVPs played key roles, from managing information desks to leading discussions on Microsoft technologies, which were fulfilling and beneficial for personal growth and community development. Heather states “volunteering in these capacities was rewarding, offering personal interactions and aiding in career and technology advancement for many.” These contributions were pivotal in nurturing the community and sparking ideas for future events and collaborations. They not only contribute to the growth of the community but also offer learning opportunities from peers and Microsoft teams and inspire ideas for future local and conference events. This involvement is instrumental in shaping future collaborations and community initiatives.
MVP Joy Apple at the Microsoft 365 Conference
Susan also played a pivotal role at the conference, leading community tracks and adapting to Viva Topics’ deprecation. Her volunteer work led to a fortuitous connection with an education expert, resulting in mutual benefits and a new friendship. Concurrently, Heather, while volunteering as community staffer, interacted with the Microsoft Copilot team, gaining insights into the product’s features and witnessing a demonstration of a new feature for summarizing Word documents online.
Bridging the gap between individual contributions and collective enlightenment, the conference not only highlighted the personal journeys of Susan and Heather but also echoed the broader narrative of empowerment through ‘power skills’, where technology serves as a catalyst for ethical advancement and human-centric growth. Microsoft 365 Copilot sessions provided insights on governance, security, and adoption, emphasizing responsible usage and training. The workshops, particularly on communication and adoption, were impactful, drawing significant attendance and engagement over technical sessions. Joy spoke specifically about Microsoft’s commitment to these power skills, particularly through sessions on mentoring and allyship, underscores the importance of the human aspect in technology.
MVP Volunteers at the Microsoft 365 Conference
In conclusion, the Microsoft 365 Community Conference was a resounding success, bringing together professionals from all over the world to learn about the latest innovations in Microsoft 365, including Copilot and Viva. The conference offered attendees the opportunity to attend sessions on a wide range of topics, including governance, employee experience, and community building. Attendees shared transformative experiences, exchanged valuable advice, and built new connections, highlighting the value of in-person events. The conference showcased the power of Microsoft 365 to drive innovation and solve real business challenges, and left attendees inspired and ready to implement what they had learned. For an event recap, feel free to check out this article.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Outlook (2019 Desktop) with 2 accounts. does not add tasks from 2nd account to todo list
Hi,
I use Outlook 2019 with 2 email accounts from 2 domain (a + b).
My to-do list wast maintained in account a and I used it successfully for number of years to manage tasks for a and b.
Recently, the contents of the to-do list disappeared .. it seems that the todo list is maintained in account b and I can only add tasks from account b to the todo list.
Can anyone advise how to revert to the pervious scenario .. where todo list was maintained in a and I an add tasks from a and b to the to do list?
Thank you
john
Hi,I use Outlook 2019 with 2 email accounts from 2 domain (a + b).My to-do list wast maintained in account a and I used it successfully for number of years to manage tasks for a and b.Recently, the contents of the to-do list disappeared .. it seems that the todo list is maintained in account b and I can only add tasks from account b to the todo list. Can anyone advise how to revert to the pervious scenario .. where todo list was maintained in a and I an add tasks from a and b to the to do list? Thank you john Read More
AI data analysis features is not find in excel
Previously, while using Windows 10 and Excel 2019, I frequently utilized the AI data analysis features in Excel. However, since upgrading to Windows 11, I am no longer able to locate or access these features. Despite contacting Microsoft Customer Support, the issue remains unresolved.
Could you please guide me on how to restore the AI data analysis tools in Excel under the Windows 11 environment? Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Previously, while using Windows 10 and Excel 2019, I frequently utilized the AI data analysis features in Excel. However, since upgrading to Windows 11, I am no longer able to locate or access these features. Despite contacting Microsoft Customer Support, the issue remains unresolved.Could you please guide me on how to restore the AI data analysis tools in Excel under the Windows 11 environment? Your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Read More
Automated Spreadsheet
Hi people
I need some help!
I need to have a spreadsheet that has a drop down list in A1 so when an item is selected it will auto populate B1 with the corresponding part number and also in C1 the cost of the selected Item.
thanks
Jamie
Hi people I need some help! I need to have a spreadsheet that has a drop down list in A1 so when an item is selected it will auto populate B1 with the corresponding part number and also in C1 the cost of the selected Item. thanks Jamie Read More
lost gmail emails
I have just lost all emails since I switched to gmail about a month ago. This inbox sent even archive .Any help ?
I have just lost all emails since I switched to gmail about a month ago. This inbox sent even archive .Any help ? Read More
Preparing for CMMC 2.0: Build New or Fix Old?
As the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) awaits the finalization and rollout of proposed changes to the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program, there are still plenty of ways to begin preparing for CMMC 2.0 now. Some aspects of the revised model are more streamlined; for instance, CMMC 2.0 will only have three levels of certification, ranging from basic cyber hygiene to advanced practices. However, other proposed changes reflect tighter standards for supply chain cybersecurity. Depending on the type and scope of the contracts they pursue, defense contractors – and even the external service providers in their security stack – will now need to achieve a certain level of CMMC compliance by 2025.
When preparing their IT environments for CMMC compliance, defense contractors have two choices: build a new environment or try to fix their current one. Both options have pros and cons, and the decision will depend on several factors, such as the current state of the environment, the budget, the timeline, and the desired level of CMMC certification.
Build New or Fix Old: A Car Analogy
To illustrate the difference between building new and fixing old, let’s use a car analogy. Imagine you have an old car that has been serving you well for many years, but it has some problems. It consumes a lot of gas, it breaks down frequently, it has outdated features, and it doesn’t meet the latest safety standards. You know it’s time to upgrade your car, but that leaves you with two options: buy a new car or repair the old one.
Buying a new car would give you many benefits. You would get a more efficient, reliable, modern, and safe car that meets your needs and preferences. You would also save money and time in the long run, as you would avoid costly and frequent repairs. However, buying a new car also has some drawbacks. You would have to pay a large upfront cost, you would have to learn how to use the new features, and you would have to deal with the hassle of selling or disposing of the old car.
Repairing the old car would also have some advantages. You would avoid the upfront cost of buying a new car, you would keep the familiarity and comfort of the old car, and you would extend its lifespan. However, repairing the old car also has some disadvantages. You would still have to pay for the repairs, which could be expensive and frequent. You would also have to compromise on the performance, features, and safety of the car, as you would be trying to make it work with older technologies. Moreover, you would risk not meeting the latest standards and regulations, which could affect your eligibility for certain benefits or opportunities.
How Does This Apply to CMMC?
The car analogy can help us understand the trade-offs between building new and fixing old IT environments for CMMC. Building new environments would mean creating a separate and secure network for handling controlled unclassified information (CUI) and other sensitive data. This would allow defense contractors to design and implement the best practices and technologies for CMMC compliance, such as encryption, segmentation, monitoring, and backup. Building new environments would also reduce the risk of cyberattacks, data breaches, and non-compliance penalties. However, building new environments would also require a significant investment of time, money, and resources. Defense contractors would have to plan, procure, deploy, and test the new environments, as well as train their staff and migrate their data and applications.
Fixing old environments would mean trying to retrofit the existing network with the necessary security controls and processes for CMMC compliance. This would allow defense contractors to leverage their current infrastructure and avoid the disruption of building new environments. Fixing old environments would also enable defense contractors to maintain their business continuity and operations. However, fixing old environments would also pose many challenges and risks. Defense contractors would have to identify and remediate the gaps and vulnerabilities in their network, which could be complex and time-consuming. They would also have to deal with the compatibility and integration issues of adding new security solutions to their old systems. Moreover, they would risk not achieving the desired level of CMMC compliance, as they would be trying to make their old environments meet the new standards.
Considering Costs: Build New or Fix Old
The CMMC program is designed to assess an organization’s entire IT environment, and in the case of prime contractors, may soon include flow down requirements to attest to the security posture of their subcontractors’ environments as well. That means that many organizations will need to assess their CMMC readiness against a mix of cloud, hybrid, and on-premise environments.
When considering whether it’s better to build a new or fix an existing environment, the most important factor to consider is cost. The cost of preparing for CMMC will vary depending on the size, complexity, and maturity of the IT environment, as well as the level of CMMC certification required. Here are the typical types of costs contractors should consider when preparing their IT environment for CMMC compliance:
Hardware: Includes the purchase of new servers, switches, routers, firewalls, and other devices for the new environment, or the upgrade of the existing devices for the old environment.
Software: Includes the purchase of new licenses, subscriptions, or updates for the security solutions, such as antivirus, firewall, encryption, backup, and monitoring software.
Services: Includes the fees of external consultants, auditors, or contractors that help with the planning, implementation, testing, and certification of the new or old environment.
Training: Includes the expenses of educating the staff on how to use, manage, and maintain the new or old environment.
Maintenance: Includes the ongoing costs of keeping the new or old environment operational, such as power, cooling, support, and updates.
Repairs: Includes the occasional costs of fixing the problems or issues that arise in the new or old environment, such as hardware failures, software bugs, or security incidents.
While specific costs vary by technology and service provider, most organizations can expect to see a higher upfront cost to build a new environment, but lower ongoing costs for its maintenance and repairs. For organizations that decide to only focus on upgrading or migrating certain parts of their IT environment, it’s also important to consider the potential cost benefits and risks to the environment’s overall performance, reliability, security, and compliance. Here are some questions to help guide that decision-making process:
Do we have the financial and technical staff resources to achieve compliance with our current environment?
Is it more cost-effective to migrate our CUI workloads to a separate government-compliant cloud enclave?
Are we better prepared to meet any other future compliance requirements with our current environment?
Where to Start?
While the path to CMMC compliance may not be simple, there are some scenarios where the decision to build new or fix old becomes quite clear. Organizations that are significantly behind on compliance standards — and lack the internal resources to address those gaps — may opt to build new right away. On the other hand, organizations that are already heavily resourced for compliance management may only need to make small adjustments to ensure new requirements are met.
Still wondering where to begin? BlueVoyant’s CMMC compliance decision tree should help get you started.
Build New or Fix Old: CMMC Compliance Decision Tree
Please keep in mind that GCC and GCCH are Microsoft environment that can meet FedRAMP requirements. For more information on the difference between different O365 environments please visit Richard Wakeman’s article on “Understanding Compliance Between Commercial, Government and DoD Offerings“
No matter which path your organization decides to take, there are several activities that every defense contractor can do now to effectively reduce cybersecurity risk and increase resilience in the long term:
Understand your FCI/CUI dataflow and prepare for CMMC readiness.
Verify compliance of cloud services used to handle CUI.
Gain deeper visibility of your supply chain.
Create scalable risk mitigation plans to address ongoing threats.
Regularly validate technical controls with continuous monitoring tools.
Establish processes to collaborate with subtractors on cyber remediation.
Conclusion
Preparing for CMMC is a critical and urgent task for defense contractors that want to stay competitive and compliant in the defense industry. They have two choices: build new environments for the or try to fix their current environment. Both options have pros and cons, and the decision will depend on several factors, such as the current state of the environment, the budget, the timeline, and the desired level of CMMC certification. Defense contractors need to evaluate their options carefully and choose the one that best meets their needs and expectations.
Interested in learning more about CMMC compliance? Check out BlueVoyant’s recent webinar here.
Appendix
Here are additional blog articles from CMMC Acceleration:
Blog Title
Aka Link
Sharing Lessons Learned from Microsoft’s Joint Surveillance Audit
Get Started with Microsoft Learn for CMMC
New! Microsoft Collaboration Framework
https://aka.ms/ND-ISAC/CollabFramework
New! ND-ISAC MSCloud – Reference Identity Architectures for the US Defense Industrial Base
https://aka.ms/ND-ISAC/IdentityWP
History of Microsoft Cloud Service Offerings leading to the US Sovereign Cloud for Government
https://aka.ms/USSovereignCloud
Gold Standard! Understanding Compliance Between Microsoft 365 Commercial, GCC, GCC-High and DoD Offerings
https://aka.ms/MSGovCompliance
The Microsoft 365 Government (GCC High) Conundrum – DIB Data Enclave vs Going All In
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – A Global Address List (GAL) Can Span Multiple Tenants
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – A Single Domain Should Not Span Multiple Tenants
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – Active Directory Does Not Require Restructuring
Microsoft US Sovereign Cloud Myth Busters – CUI Effectively Requires Data Sovereignty
Microsoft expands qualification of contractors for government cloud offerings
https://aka.ms/GovCloudEligibility
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Easily caption videos in PowerPoint for the web
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
:globe_with_meridians:Accessibility is key in today’s diverse environment, and we’re excited to introduce a new feature in PowerPoint for the web that makes it easier than ever to caption your videos. This enhancement not only supports inclusivity but also enriches the viewer’s experience by providing clear, concise captions for all video content.
In our latest blog, Peter Wu, Principal Engineer on the PowerPoint team, delves into the simple steps you can take to add captions to your videos directly from within PowerPoint, ensuring your message is accessible to everyone. Whether for educational purposes, training, or international audiences, this feature is designed to meet the needs of every PowerPoint user.
Blog: Easily caption videos in PowerPoint for the web
This new feature will be coming in June!
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
:globe_with_meridians:Accessibility is key in today’s diverse environment, and we’re excited to introduce a new feature in PowerPoint for the web that makes it easier than ever to caption your videos. This enhancement not only supports inclusivity but also enriches the viewer’s experience by providing clear, concise captions for all video content.
In our latest blog, Peter Wu, Principal Engineer on the PowerPoint team, delves into the simple steps you can take to add captions to your videos directly from within PowerPoint, ensuring your message is accessible to everyone. Whether for educational purposes, training, or international audiences, this feature is designed to meet the needs of every PowerPoint user.
Blog: Easily caption videos in PowerPoint for the web
This new feature will be coming in June!
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365. Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android Read More
Azure – PowerShell script to change the Table Retention in Azure Log Analytics Workspaces
With large scale implementation of Azure, the Log Analytics Workspace volume could increase and the default value for retention is quite long if you are not changing it.
This PowerShell script will help you to reset the 2 retention values applied in Workspace Tables (Live and Total).
I applied a selection criteria based in name as we are using a naming convention with status (prod, vs nonprod), you can anyway adapt this part with your context.
#Install-Module -Name Az -Repository PSGallery -Force
Import-module Az
Connect-AzAccount
$RetentionDays = 30
$TotalRetentionDays = 30
$AzureRetentionDays = 90
$AzureTotalRetentionDays = 90
$namecriteria = “nonprod”
$All_Az_Subscriptions = Get-AzSubscription
Foreach ($Az_Subscription in $All_Az_Subscriptions)
{
###################################################
#Set the context
Write-Host “Working on subscription “”$($Az_Subscription.Name)”””
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionObject $Az_Subscription | Out-Null
$AllWorkspaces = Get-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace
foreach ($myWorkspace in $AllWorkspaces)
{
Write-Host ” —————“, $myWorkspace.Name ,”—————- ” -foregroundcolor “gray”
if ($myWorkspace.Name -match $namecriteria)
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE TO APPLY RETENTION ADJUSTMENT:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
if ($myWorkspace.retentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays)
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING DEFAULT RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Set-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -Name $myWorkspace.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays
}
$GetAllTables = Get-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $myWorkspace.Name
foreach ($MyTable in $GetAllTables)
{
if (($MyTable.Name -eq “AzureActivity”) -or ($MyTable.Name -eq “Usage”))
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $AzureRetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $AzureTotalRetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING SPECIFIC RETENTION PERIOD:”, $AzureRetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $AzureRetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $AzureTotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
else
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING NEW RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $TotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
}
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE NOT CONCERNED BY THIS CHANGE:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
}
With this script, we reduced the Workspace cost for non prod drastically maintaining only the last 30 days live without any archive.
The material used for this script is:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/logs/data-retention-archive?tabs=portal-3%2Cportal-1%2Cportal-2https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/get-azoperationalinsightsworkspace?view=azps-11.6.0https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/update-azoperationalinsightstable?view=azps-11.6.0
Fabrice Romelard
With large scale implementation of Azure, the Log Analytics Workspace volume could increase and the default value for retention is quite long if you are not changing it.This PowerShell script will help you to reset the 2 retention values applied in Workspace Tables (Live and Total).I applied a selection criteria based in name as we are using a naming convention with status (prod, vs nonprod), you can anyway adapt this part with your context. #Install-Module -Name Az -Repository PSGallery -Force
Import-module Az
Connect-AzAccount
$RetentionDays = 30
$TotalRetentionDays = 30
$AzureRetentionDays = 90
$AzureTotalRetentionDays = 90
$namecriteria = “nonprod”
$All_Az_Subscriptions = Get-AzSubscription
Foreach ($Az_Subscription in $All_Az_Subscriptions)
{
###################################################
#Set the context
Write-Host “Working on subscription “”$($Az_Subscription.Name)”””
Set-AzContext -SubscriptionObject $Az_Subscription | Out-Null
$AllWorkspaces = Get-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace
foreach ($myWorkspace in $AllWorkspaces)
{
Write-Host ” —————“, $myWorkspace.Name ,”—————- ” -foregroundcolor “gray”
if ($myWorkspace.Name -match $namecriteria)
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE TO APPLY RETENTION ADJUSTMENT:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
if ($myWorkspace.retentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays)
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING DEFAULT RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Set-AzOperationalInsightsWorkspace -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -Name $myWorkspace.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays
}
$GetAllTables = Get-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $myWorkspace.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $myWorkspace.Name
foreach ($MyTable in $GetAllTables)
{
if (($MyTable.Name -eq “AzureActivity”) -or ($MyTable.Name -eq “Usage”))
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $AzureRetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $AzureTotalRetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING SPECIFIC RETENTION PERIOD:”, $AzureRetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $AzureRetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $AzureTotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
else
{
if (($MyTable.RetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays) -or ($MyTable.TotalRetentionInDays -gt $RetentionDays))
{
Write-Host ” >>> APPLYING NEW RETENTION PERIOD:”, $RetentionDays, “- TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “yellow”
Update-AzOperationalInsightsTable -ResourceGroupName $MyTable.ResourceGroupName -WorkspaceName $MyTable.WorkspaceName -TableName $MyTable.Name -RetentionInDays $RetentionDays -TotalRetentionInDays $TotalRetentionDays
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> NO CHANGE FOR RETENTION PERIOD FOR TABLE:”, $MyTable.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
}
}
else
{
Write-Host ” >>> WORKSPACE NOT CONCERNED BY THIS CHANGE:”, $myWorkspace.Name -foregroundcolor “green”
}
}
} With this script, we reduced the Workspace cost for non prod drastically maintaining only the last 30 days live without any archive. The material used for this script is:https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-monitor/logs/data-retention-archive?tabs=portal-3%2Cportal-1%2Cportal-2https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/get-azoperationalinsightsworkspace?view=azps-11.6.0https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/az.operationalinsights/update-azoperationalinsightstable?view=azps-11.6.0Fabrice Romelard Read More
New version of excel is having permission issues with opening some files
Hello
Please i need help on this issue.
The newest version of Excel 16.85 is having permission issues with opening encrypted Excel files. Had to roll back to the older 16.84 version for it to work.
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Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
Looking to make your internal communications more engaging and effective? Look no further! Embed Stream videos directly into your Outlook emails so that recipients can play back the video inline.
Read our latest blog to learn how: Play videos in Outlook with Microsoft Stream ️
Try it out and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365.
Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android
Hi Microsoft 365 Insiders!
Looking to make your internal communications more engaging and effective? Look no further! Embed Stream videos directly into your Outlook emails so that recipients can play back the video inline.
Read our latest blog to learn how: Play videos in Outlook with Microsoft Stream ️
Try it out and let us know what you think!
Thanks,
Perry Sjogren
Microsoft 365 Insider Social Media Manager
Become a Microsoft 365 Insider and gain exclusive access to new features and help shape the future of Microsoft 365.
Join Now: Windows | Mac | iOS | Android Read More
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Hello,
My team has saved the Microsoft Stream (Classic) recordings and I am not able to access them now. I read that the videos should have been migrated to Stream by now. Could you please help in retrieving those videos, since they have many important brownbag sessions. Thank you.
Regards,
Priya.
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My team has saved the Microsoft Stream (Classic) recordings and I am not able to access them now. I read that the videos should have been migrated to Stream by now. Could you please help in retrieving those videos, since they have many important brownbag sessions. Thank you.
Regards,
Priya. Read More