Category: Microsoft
Category Archives: Microsoft
Partner Case Study Series | SB Soft: From cold calls to consistent leads with Microsoft
SB Soft brings Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement to retailers
Founded in 2005, SB Soft is a premier applications company and Dynamics 365 partner that specializes in the delivery of Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement for the retail, fashion, and luxury markets.
SB Soft’s CRM4Retail solution, published on Microsoft AppSource, utilizes Microsoft Power BI Pro for reports, Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement for data collection, and Microsoft Power Apps for data integration. It also employs Microsoft Azure, using Azure Virtual Machines for server hosting, Azure SQL Database for customer data, Azure Machine Learning for predictive analytics, and Azure SQL Data Warehouse for its analytics engine. CRM4Retail gives companies a 360-degree view of their customers. It does this by importing sales data from third-party applications, through API exposure, and by executing calculation algorithms to create clusters, obtain predictive recommendations on marketing actions, enhance upselling and cross-selling, and cleanse customer master data.
Continue reading here
**Explore all case studies or submit your own**
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Microsoft SharePoint Roadmap Update – May 2024
This year at the Microsoft 365 Community Conference we had the special opportunity to update our customers on our journey to making SharePoint the best platform for compelling and engaging intranet sites. The core themes of our journey are the same: simpler authoring, compelling content, deeper engagement, and a flexible platform. Following our last update in the Fall, you’ll find below some of the most exciting updates to our roadmap yet.
Simpler authoring
SharePoint has consistently made web content creation easier and simpler, with fewer barriers to producing professional looking content on the intranet. In the last year we released improvements to page sharing to help multiple editors to come together to produce beautiful pages. This May, we’re rolling out Copilot in SharePoint to help authors write their most compelling content. Also in May we’re introducing a new SharePoint start experience to make it easy for authors to create personal pages. And, in June, we’ll begin the rollout of real-time coauthoring in SharePoint pages to make authoring great content more collaborative than ever before. And later this year we’ll add section-level inline commenting so editors have the collaborative experience they need to produce their best content, and section design ideas will launch to give every page author beautiful layout and design suggestions that work with their content.
What’s coming soon:
Page Coauthoring: Collaborate in real-time with others while creating and editing SharePoint pages.
Copilot in SharePoint: Copilot combines the power of AI and your data in the Microsoft Graph to help you author sites and pages.
New Start Experience: A place for your personal pages that’s filled with inspiration about what you can create.
Coming later this year:
Author Inline commenting: Collaborators can make comments anchored in the page canvas for one another, providing feedback and tracking issues within a page or news post.
Section design ideas: Get suggested visual layout options that works with your content to make it look great.
Text formatting updates: Enhancements to text styling/formatting, table formatting and bulleted lists, as well as copy and paste enhancements.
Microsoft 365 Roadmap Links: SharePoint: New SharePoint Start experience, SharePoint: Collaborate on pages and news with co-authoring, SharePoint Pages – Design Ideas, SharePoint: Enhancements to Text web part, SharePoint: Pages – Author inline comments
Compelling content
Great looking sites are foundational to a modern intranet and employees expect the same high standards of design internally as they see across the web today. Today we’re continuing our journey to increase SharePoint’s visual design capabilities to help you make stunning web content in the intranet.
Rolling out now in public preview, the SharePoint Brand Center enables you to customize fonts within your sites and pages to match your organization’s identity. Coming later, the Brand Center will expand to support colors, logos, and other design elements to create a comprehensive brand experience within the intranet. Section backgrounds have recently launched bringing the ability for you to choose from a set of curated background visuals for your page sections, and later this summer we’re expanding that to allow you to upload your own images. Image shapes, also rolling out now, allows you to creatively crop your images easily. Coming in June, the content pane will help you find and layout great content for your pages, such as images, video, webparts and sections.
Microsoft Stream and Clipchamp are the best tools in Microsoft 365 for managing, editing, and viewing videos. Today we’re announcing the availability of Video Pages in SharePoint; a set of beautiful new templates that make it easier than ever for video content to shine. Rolling out now for Stream, Trim is a top requested feature for trimming the length of videos directly in the Stream app. Stream is also adding the ability to make your videos interactive with text and hyperlink callouts at specific video timestamps. And Microsoft Clipchamp, the video editor for Microsoft 365, recently brought subtitle generator and AI voiceover generator to enterprise and business premium plan customers.
What’s shipped:
Brand Center in SharePoint (preview): This initial release includes the ability to upload fonts centrally and create font packages to be used in your sites.
Section backgrounds: Bring life to sections by adding an image or gradient color to sections on a page from a new set of curated options, including settings to ensure readability.
Image shapes: Enhance your pages with image shapes that add visual interest and complement your content seamlessly
Video Pages: Create video centric page content, like highlighting meeting content or executive messages with the new video pages templates.
Microsoft Clipchamp – subtitle generator: Create engaging and accessible videos with subtitles in any language.
Microsoft Clipchamp – AI voiceover generator: Create lifelike voiceovers to suit any video with the AI text to speech generator
Microsoft Stream – Trim: Stream’s trimming feature is instant, eliminating the need to render a new video. Plus, you have the flexibility to undo or adjust what’s hidden anytime.
Microsoft Stream – Interactivity: Add a Microsoft Form or callout with text and hyperlink at specific points in your videos.
What’s coming:
Content pane: The content pane surfaces relevant authoring tools that help authors quickly browse and add content to SharePoint pages. With this new feature, authors can easily drag and drop web parts, media, and section templates for creating rich and engaging pages.
Themes in Brand Center: We’re bringing a new theme creation experience into the brand center, allowing you to easily create and manage themes for your sites and related experiences.
Brand Center in sites: We’re bringing font customization to your SharePoint and Viva Connections experiences with the brand center. Express your personality, style, and brand by adding custom fonts to your sites and related experiences.
Flexible layout section: Empower authors to design more dynamic layouts with the ability to freely adjust and relocate web parts.
Reimagined Hero webpart: Introduces a new carousel layout and a selection of new styles, creating an eye-catching and engaging experience at the top of the page.
Title area updates with new Banner web part: Control the top of page experience by removing the title area or leveraging the banner web part with new layouts
Copilot in Stream: Copilot in Microsoft Stream lets you quickly and effectively catch up on videos in your organization, whether it’s the latest Teams meeting recording, town hall, product demo, how-to, or onsite videos from front line workers. Copilot helps you get what you need from your videos in seconds.
Microsoft 365 Roadmap Links: SharePoint: Video Pages, SharePoint: Pages – Image shapes, SharePoint: Centrally manage branding for your organization, SharePoint: Content Pane for SharePoint Pages and News, SharePoint: Pages Custom image as Section Background, SharePoint Pages: Page design Ideas, SharePoint: New Banner web part (updated title area) in SharePoint Pages and News, SharePoint: Pages Flexible Layouts, SharePoint: Pages – Updated Hero web part with new layout & styles, SharePoint Pages: New section level content align, Microsoft Stream: Copilot in Stream
Deeper engagement
SharePoint has always been at the forefront of helping you reach your audience with your most important content. Last year’s launch of Viva Amplify further helps corporate communicators transform the way their organizations reach and engage their employees, and Viva Connections continues to be the destination for employee experiences in Microsoft 365.
News in Outlook helps your SharePoint news posts reach their audience in email and we’re expanding its capability by making email-ready news the default experience for all SharePoint news posts. We’re also integrating video page templates so that your video content can be played seamlessly in email. In early April, we released a Copilot deployment kit as a pre-built campaign for Viva Amplify that communicators can use to drive awareness and usage of AI and Copilot. This has also been an exciting year for Viva Connections with the rollout to support company branding and dark mode, as well as the capability for personalized views in the Viva Connections dashboard.
Publish messages to Outlook, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Viva Connections, and Viva Engage
What’s shipped:
Refreshed Viva Connections Landing Experience: This updated look and feel that can be customized to your brand with a dedicated hero section to highlight organizational news. It also revamps the Dashboard and Resources sections and introduces a new place for announcements and curated and individually managed links that supports icons.
Connections theming: Viva Connections will offer a new set of theming options to reflect brand colors consistently across desktop, tablet and mobile experiences. With this new functionality customers will have the choice of applying existing SharePoint themes or a custom theme to their Connections experience as well as the SharePoint home site hosting the Connections experience.
Viva Amplify publish to Viva Engage: Corporate communicators can use Amplify to draft, preview, and publish messages to Viva Engage
Up to 50 Viva Connections Experiences: Customers with Viva suite or Viva Communications and Communities license can create up to 50 distinct Connections experiences for their audience groups.
Viva Connections Teams Channel Announcements: If a Frontline worker (FLW) licensed user is @mentioned in a Teams channel announcement, the announcement will be displayed in Viva Connections so that the user can find all their important updates in a single place.
Viva Connections mobile search: Adding a search entry point and a new tailored experience for Viva connections users on mobile in Android and iOS.
What’s coming:
News in Outlook as the new default: Expanding news in Outlook capability by making it the default experience for all SharePoint news posts.
Microsoft 365 Roadmap Links: Microsoft Viva: New landing experience for Viva Connections desktop, Microsoft Viva: Viva Amplify – Publish to Viva Engage, SharePoint: Updating News Posts to “Made for Email”
Flexible platform
Organizations need intranet solutions customized to their unique situations, and SharePoint’s UX extensibility and the SPFx framework represent best-in-class tooling to meet those needs.
The recently released Graph API for SharePoint Pages allows developers to programmatically interact with SharePoint Pages and News posts, offering capabilities such as listing, getting, creating, editing, publishing, and deleting pages. We also added Bot Framework powered Viva Connections extensibility to enable you to easily extend existing Microsoft Teams bot framework integrations into Viva Connections. And of course we continue to keep our platform up to date with updates to support Typescript 4.7 and Node.js 18.
Last year, we released the Figma SharePoint Web UI Kit to customers worldwide and have provided multiple updates since then. This kit delivers a set of web parts, style options, templates, and detailed guidance so you can quickly design engaging sites and pages in Figma, a subscription-based application that is the industry standard tool for web design. The Web UI Kit is a resource in your intranet life cycle with your design team or others familiar with Figma. You can access the Figma Community file at https://aka.ms/SPWebUIkit, and watch our demo here.
Screenshot of the new UI toolkit
Announced in November, SharePoint Embedded is a headless, API only way of building file and document centric applications that deliver great Microsoft 365 experiences as part of your app. SharePoint Embedded introduces a new concept, File Storage Containers, that are logically isolated from your main SharePoint Online content, but still include the SharePoint features you know and love in their own dedicated partition. Learn more https://aka.ms/start-spe
What’s shipped:
Graph API for SharePoint Pages: The new API allows developers to programmatically interact with SharePoint Pages and News posts, offering capabilities such as listing, getting, creating, editing, publishing, and deleting pages.
Bot Framework powered Viva Connections extensibility: Enables to extend easily existing Microsoft Teams bot framework implementations also to be used in Viva Connections.
Viva Connections Card Designer with Microsoft Graph support: Powers end users to create Viva Connections card experiences which connect to Microsoft Graph APIs or even customer custom APIs.
Page Toolbar Extensibility Support: Enables embedding custom experiences on the SharePoint page toolbar.
More flexibility with the Viva Connections extensibility: Enables more powerful and engaging experiences for the Viva Connections powered by SharePoint Framework.
SharePoint Web UI Kit v2.2: Added support for new webparts and page components. Reorganized templates section and shared components.
What’s coming:
SPFx and Copilot integration scenarios: SharePoint Framework and AI integrated scenarios.
Aligning to Teams packaging model: Aligns the SharePoint Framework packaging model to the Microsoft Teams packaging model.
Improved experience for blocked 3rd party cookies: Better handling of different browser settings for more secure experience.
Tooling improvements: Continuous improvements on the tooling to streamline the onboarding and development experiences.
Here’s the updated look at our developer and extensibility focused roadmap.
And here is an updated look at our product roadmap as we move halfway into 2024.
SharePoint Premium
Of course, SharePoint continues to be the world’s largest and most flexible cloud content management platform. Announced last November, SharePoint Premium delivers new ways to engage with your most critical content, managing and protecting it through its lifecycle. Check out the latest updates to our SharePoint Advanced Management and Agreements Solutions, as well as our updates to our eSignature 3P integrations.
SharePoint at M365 Community Conference
We’ll be in Orlando at M365 Community Conference showcasing all of this great innovation, and best of all meeting with customers and partners to learn about how their needs can be met with Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. It’s a great event to learn from experts and network with peers, and discover new technology to help you achieve more. You can find out more information about the conference here: Microsoft 365 Community Conference (m365conf.com)
The full list of sessions is available at the link above, and here are some highlights:
Keynote: The Age of Copilots with Jeff Teper
General Session: Content Management and Collaboration for the AI Era with Zach Rosenfield, Melissa Torres, Lincoln DeMaris, Ashu Rawat, Sesha Mani
General Session: What’s new and next for Microsoft Viva and the Employee Experience with Kirk Gregersen, Kristi Kelly, Nick DeFalco
Branding SharePoint sites, Clipchamp videos, Teams meetings, and more with Cathy Dew
Getting started with Viva Amplify with Naomi Moneypenny, Michael Holste
Planning a corporate communications strategy with SharePoint News and Viva Amplify with Naomi Moneypenny, Maeneka Grewal, Dave Cohen
The Intranet of tomorrow: beautiful, flexible and AI ready with Denise Trabona, Dave Cohen
Thank you!
The SharePoint Product Team
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Partner Manager
I need to find out who our Partner Manager is and if we do not have one I need to find out how to get one. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.
I need to find out who our Partner Manager is and if we do not have one I need to find out how to get one. Any help would be appreciated.Thanks. Read More
Newbie – Import CSV and manupulate data and export
We have a raw csv file that has a potential of having a debit and credit in the same line. It has a total field as well, which is accurate, however, I need to process each line of the file and determine if the total is great than or equal to 0, it goes to Debit, else it goes to Credit.
here is what i am starting with
This is what I am trying to get to:
here is the code
$data = Import-Csv -Path $csvFile.FullName | Select GL, vAcctDescription, Debit, Credit, Total
$data | foreach-object { $_ | if ($data.Total -gt 0)
{
[double]$data.Crebit = [double]$data.Total
}
else {
{
[double]$data.Credit = [double]$data.Total
[double]$data.Credit * 1
}
}
}
We have a raw csv file that has a potential of having a debit and credit in the same line. It has a total field as well, which is accurate, however, I need to process each line of the file and determine if the total is great than or equal to 0, it goes to Debit, else it goes to Credit. here is what i am starting with This is what I am trying to get to: here is the code $data = Import-Csv -Path $csvFile.FullName | Select GL, vAcctDescription, Debit, Credit, Total
$data | foreach-object { $_ | if ($data.Total -gt 0)
{
[double]$data.Crebit = [double]$data.Total
}
else {
{
[double]$data.Credit = [double]$data.Total
[double]$data.Credit * 1
}
}
} Read More
Top Stories: April 30, 2024
Check out this week’s top stories for Americas partners.
English Top Stories: April 30, 2024 | Microsoft
Français À la une : 30 avril 2024 | Microsoft
Español Novedades más relevantes: 30 de abril de 2024 | Microsoft
Português Notícias principais: 30 de abril de 2024 | Microsoft
Check out this week’s top stories for Americas partners.
English Top Stories: April 30, 2024 | Microsoft
Français À la une : 30 avril 2024 | Microsoft
Español Novedades más relevantes: 30 de abril de 2024 | Microsoft
Português Notícias principais: 30 de abril de 2024 | Microsoft Read More
Azure Routing Cross-Region?
Hi there! My company has our services on US East, however we have a large block of contractors using Cloud PCs based out of India. Recently we became aware of an issue where a vendor was blocking their access to their website based upon the region of their IP.
We’re looking for a way to restore that connectivity in a fairly quick and non-disruptive manner. Thoughts of VPN, proxy, or other alternate solutions come to mind, but what about say, a custom routing assigned to the vNet? Or possible vWAN?
Sadly, I do not profess to be an azure sexpert, just looking for opinions on a solid path forward. Thanks!
Hi there! My company has our services on US East, however we have a large block of contractors using Cloud PCs based out of India. Recently we became aware of an issue where a vendor was blocking their access to their website based upon the region of their IP. We’re looking for a way to restore that connectivity in a fairly quick and non-disruptive manner. Thoughts of VPN, proxy, or other alternate solutions come to mind, but what about say, a custom routing assigned to the vNet? Or possible vWAN? Sadly, I do not profess to be an azure sexpert, just looking for opinions on a solid path forward. Thanks! Read More
MDTI Achieves PCI DSS Certification: Elevating Security Standards
We are excited to announce that MDTI has successfully obtained the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) certification, representing a significant milestone in our continuous pursuit of security excellence. This accomplishment follows closely after our ISO certification, highlighting our unwavering commitment to upholding the highest standards of data protection and our dedication to safeguarding information and proactively combating fraud.
This certification not only strengthens our security measures but also reaffirms the trust our customers have in us to handle their most sensitive data with the utmost care and diligence.
Why the PCI DSS certification matters
PCI DSS is a renowned global standard for securing credit card data and preventing fraud. For organizations that handle sensitive payment information, compliance with PCI DSS is not just a requirement – it’s a cornerstone of our promise to safeguard customer data.
Advantages for our customers
Our customers are central to our operations, and our PCI DSS certification offers numerous benefits, including:
Enhanced Security: The rigorous security measures of PCI DSS significantly reduce the risk of data breaches and credit card fraud, ensuring that our customers’ sensitive payment card data is well-protected.
Compliance Ease: With MDTI’s PCI DSS certification, our customers can save on the effort and costs of obtaining their own PCI DSS validation, as they can confidently build or host their services on our validated platform.
Trust and Confidence: This certification reinforces the trust our customers place in us, enhancing their confidence in our ability to handle their most sensitive data with the utmost care and diligence.
Shared Responsibility: The Azure PCI DSS Responsibility Matrix we provide clarifies the areas of responsibility for each PCI DSS requirement, ensuring a clear partnership in maintaining security standards.
Guidance and Support: Our Azure Security and Compliance PCI DSS Blueprint offers a roadmap for deploying a PCI DSS-compliant environment, enabling our customers to manage payment card data with confidence.
Our commitment to continuous improvement
Achieving PCI DSS certification is more than just meeting a standard; it’s a reflection of our commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in security. It’s about providing our customers with the assurance they need to operate confidently in today’s digital landscape.
Join us on this journey
We invite you to join us in celebrating this achievement and to learn more about how MDTI’s PCI DSS certification can benefit your organization by engaging us via our fast-growing community of security pros and experts to provide product feedback and suggestions and start conversations about how MDTI is helping your team stay on top of threats.
Also, be sure to explore our services, engage with our experts, and discover the peace of mind that comes with partnering with a leader in security by contacting our sales team.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Microsoft Defender for Cloud extends support to enable increased API security testing visibility
Expanded API Security Testing Collaboration and Environment Support
At Microsoft Ignite 2023, Microsoft Defender for Cloud announced the support of API security testing integration, enabling Defender for Cloud to provide full lifecycle API protection from code to cloud, which makes Microsoft the only cloud provider that enables organizations to assess risk and address API threats across the entire cloud application lifecycle. Today, we’re happy to announce this support has been extended to two additional API security testing solutions and is currently in public preview. Additionally, we’re thrilled to share that support of Azure DevOps environments is in public preview.
Customers can now choose from a variety of API security testing solutions in the Azure Marketplace and integrate the solutions within their DevOps pipelines, allowing security teams to have centralized visibility of the assessed API security posture within Defender for Cloud. Supported solutions now include 42Crunch, Bright Security, and StackHawk. Supported DevOps environments includes both GitHub and Azure DevOps, allowing customers to upload their scan results from both DevOps environments into Defender for Cloud.
Embracing a ‘shift-left’ security approach is crucial for modern organizations. By integrating API security measures earlier in the software development lifecycle, developers can proactively identify and mitigate API vulnerabilities that might otherwise go undetected, ensuring robust protection against top OWASP API related risks, business logic abuse, and more.
By empowering developers to code and configure APIs securely early in the development lifecycle, Defender for Cloud helps organizations deliver cloud applications that are secure-by-design from the start of development to continuous security throughout production. Security teams can leverage the rich reporting capabilities of Defender for Cloud to gain unified visibility into the health of their API estate during development time, ensuring insecure applications do not make it to production.
The support for API security testing via these solutions complements the existing runtime security capabilities from Defender for APIs. By enabling Defender for APIs alongside the API testing solutions, Defender for Cloud customers gain a robust security governance framework and clear visibility into their APIs throughout the entire lifecycle, from design to runtime. Microservices-based application architectures, and multi-cloud application footprints have amplified the magnitude of APIs drastically, which further adds complexity to API security. There is rarely a single access point at which API security can be enforced. This approach ensures that APIs are secure and monitored at every stage.
Visibility of API security testing scan results within Defender for Cloud recommendation
Ability to query for source code repositories with unhealthy API security testing results within the Cloud Security Explorer
Meet the API security testing solutions
42Crunch enables a standardized approach to securing APIs that automates the enforcement of API security compliance across distributed development and security teams. Unlike traditional DAST tools that are used to scan web and mobile applications, 42Crunch runs a set of tests that are precisely crafted and targeted against each API based on their specific design. As a result, 42Crunch provides complete coverage for the top OWASP API risks while eliminating false positives.
Jacques Declas, CEO of 42Crunch, welcomed the announcement saying, “This partnership between Microsoft and 42Crunch validates our common vision of providing customers globally with a true DevSecOps solution to protect their digital assets from an ever-growing array of attacks.” “It is well recognized that an effective API security strategy must start early in the software development lifecycle. This partnership between 42Crunch and Microsoft will enable customers to define, implement, and enforce API security compliance and governance across their API estate at scale,” added Declas.
Bright Security’s dev-centric DAST platform empowers both developers and AppSec professionals with enterprise grade security testing capabilities for web applications, APIs, and GenAI and LLM applications. Bright knows how to deliver the right tests, at the right time in the SDLC, in developers and AppSec tools and stacks of choice with minimal false positives and alert fatigue.
Gadi Bashvitz, CEO of Bright Security said, “Collaborating with Microsoft to bring together Bright’s DAST security testing capabilities for APIs with Microsoft Defender for Cloud is a game changer for enterprises aiming to accelerate their SDLC without compromising on security because Bright scans applications and APIs from the outside-in, mimicking how hackers could attack and compromise their business. With Bright, enterprises get verified attack vectors, not guesses. This relationship is in the forefront of collaboration between AppSec and CNAPP providers to improve security for enterprises”.
StackHawk is making API and application security testing part of software delivery. The StackHawk platform offers engineering teams the ability to find and fix application bugs at any stage of software development and gives Security teams insight into the security posture of applications and APIs being developed. Built by a strong founding team with deep experience in security and DevOps, and funded by some of the best venture investors in the business, StackHawk is leading the shift left movement by putting API and application security testing into the hands of engineers the moment they build code.
“StackHawk’s integration with Microsoft Defender for Cloud Microsoft Defender for APIs extends the ability to assess the API security posture of an application beyond what’s happening in production,” said Joni Klippert, CEO and co-founder at StackHawk. “The StackHawk platform is designed to support teams in identifying and fixing API security vulnerabilities earlier in the development process while delivering secure code prior to production. This collaboration with Microsoft will enable customers to seamlessly pinpoint API security risks across their entire API ecosystem, strengthening their security posture.”
How to get started
To learn more and view steps to onboard, see: Partner applications in Microsoft Defender for Cloud for API security testing (preview)
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Generate demand and nurture leads with these 8 new Azure and Modern Work campaigns-in-a-Box
Microsoft Global Through Partner Marketing has eight new Azure and Modern Work Campaign in a Box (CiaB) offerings—localized in 11 languages—to help our partners generate demand and nurture leads in the coming fiscal year. If your business is in banking, retail, manufacturing, healthcare, or sustainability, there are ready-to-launch go-to-market resources available to help you seize opportunities in your rapidly evolving sector.
The campaigns are focused on three types of solution plays:
Power Business Decisions with Cloud Scale Analytics: By embracing innovation and data-driven strategies at scale, companies are better able to acquire meaningful business insights. These campaigns are customized for banking and retail customers. A third campaign provides resources for applying scale analytics to managing and reporting sustainability impacts as required by stakeholders, regulators and customers.
Empower and Connect Your Frontline Workers: For the companies that employ the more than 2 billion frontline workers globally, adapting to the growth of AI and adopting more nimble communication and collaboration is an urgent need. These three campaigns, designed for customers in retail, healthcare, and manufacturing, address a massive opportunity for transforming operational efficiency and scaling up capabilities.
Secure Productivity: Microsoft 365 helps your customers prepare for the AI-driven future, eliminate redundant solutions, and reduce costs. A comprehensive execution guide for messaging, target audiences, customer acquisition journey, and execution guidance is available to help customers in healthcare and retail.
View and download these and other Industry campaigns here:
Retail Marketing Campaigns
Manufacturing Marketing Campaigns
Healthcare Marketing Campaigns
Banking Marketing Campaigns
Sustainability Marketing Campaigns
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Windows news you can use: April 2024
This April, your job managing Windows 11 is made easier with continuous improvements. Watch out for these new monthly recaps—tailored to your needs as an IT admin or decision maker. Our goal? To help you quickly catch up so you can start using and benefiting from the latest features, capabilities, services, and tools.
Let’s kick off this new series of “news you can use” with a look at what’s new in the world of Windows to help you and your organization stay protected and productive!
New in policies and information access
[GRAPH] Use the Microsoft Graph API to access and import Windows known issues and product lifecycle information when and where you need it. See how at Windows known issues and product lifecycle in Graph API.
[POLICY] To manage the Snipping Tool’s recording capabilities, use the new policy “AllowScreenRecorder.”
[GCC] If you’re in the public sector and use the U.S. Government Community Cloud (GCC), you can now use Remote Help in Microsoft Intune to facilitate secure help desk connections with both Windows and Android devices.
New in cloud management
[AUTOPATCH] Windows Autopatch and the Windows Update for Business deployment service are coming together in a unified solution!
[COPILOT] A public preview of Copilot in Intune is now available in the Microsoft Intune admin center. Get tips on settings, summarize policies, get device details in your Windows ecosystem. Moreover, troubleshoot faster with a new error code analyzer. Read What’s new in Microsoft Intune for more details.
[INTUNE] You can now Expedite non-security updates as you would any latest security update in Windows 11. Start in the Devices blade in the Microsoft Intune admin center. Create an expedite profile, then a deployment policy, and watch the success from the Reports space! If you’ve never expedited updates before, read up and follow the steps in Use Intune to expedite Windows quality updates.
New in Windows Server
[SERVER] Enroll into the Windows Insider Program for Windows Server to try out Windows Server 2025! Curious about the improvements, enhancements, and new capabilities? See What’s new in Windows Server 2025 so that you’re ready to go when it becomes generally available in the second half of this year.
[HOTPATCH] Did you know that you can get all Patch Tuesday security fixes on Windows Server 2022 AE and only reboot once a quarter? To enable hotpatching today, see Hotpatch for Windows Server Azure Edition!
New in Windows security
[COPILOT] Now generally available, Microsoft Copilot for Security is seamlessly integrated with products in the Microsoft Security portfolio to help you keep your Windows estate protected and productive. You can use it standalone or as an embedded experience. It provides a natural language assisted copilot experience for incident response, threat hunting, intelligence gathering, and posture management. Copilot for Security supports custom prompts, knowledge base integrations, multi-language support, third-party integrations, Microsoft Entra audit and diagnostic logs, and even usage reporting.
Get started today with recommendations and sample prompts at Use Copilot for Security to get device and policy information.
If interested, join the new Copilot for Security Customer Connection Program (CCP). It’s meant for customers, partners, and MVPs to foster community engagement and readiness efforts.
Which of these highlights do you care most about? Technology evolves faster than ever, and we’re here to set you up for success with the right information and resources! Check back every fourth week of the month for the next installment of “Windows news you can use.”
Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Bookmark the Windows Tech Community, then follow us @MSWindowsITPro on X/Twitter. Looking for support? Visit Windows on Microsoft Q&A.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Unveiling the Newest OneDrive Capabilities
Last October, we unveiled the next generation of OneDrive which makes files easier to access with personalization, search, and new views – organized around people, meetings and shared files. At this year’s Microsoft 365 Community Conference, we are introducing new enhancements to the OneDrive experience for work and school that brings Copilot magic to OneDrive, accelerates teamwork and productivity, and helps you to work the way YOU like!
Copilot: Magic at your fingertips
As announced in February, Copilot is coming to OneDrive this summer! It helps you quickly retrieve information from your files and is accessible from OneDrive for web.
Catch up on the files you care about by generating summaries for your Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files, all with Copiloted in OneDrive.
Use Copilot in OneDrive to generate summaries of your docs and PDFs.
And why stop at summaries? You can also ask questions and get answers from the contents of your files without even opening them.
With Copilot in OneDrive, you can ask questions about the contents of files and get smart answers.
Copilot is also great at helping you with tasks like comparing documents, generating FAQs, getting suggestions on improving docs, and much more!
Use Copilot in OneDrive to compare files, create FAQs and more.
And it gives you the ability to generate document summaries when you share Word files with others. The people you share with will receive the summary in their email notification.
With Copilot you can share Word files with auto-generated summaries.
The sharing summaries feature is now available for customers with a Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license and is accessible when sharing from Microsoft Word online!
This is just the start of the Copilot in OneDrive release. We will have more exciting updates in the coming months.
Updated, faster file viewer
We’ve recently updated the file viewer for Microsoft 365 which can preview more than 300 file types in OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, and other apps. The updated file viewer is up to 2X faster than the previous version, plus it’s more intuitive and functional. For example, you can edit PDFs and images, annotate eBooks, favorite files, and request electronic signatures securely.
Additionally, you’ll be able to access Copilot in OneDrive right in file viewer to summarize a document, ask questions about its content, and even create a frequently asked questions form based on the file’s information. This update is currently available for customers in Targeted Release and will be rolling out globally this summer.
The file viewer in Microsoft 365 can display over 300 different file types.
Accelerate teamwork and productivity
OneDrive helps you and your team work smarter and faster. We want to make it easy for you to find and track your work, and to access the files when you need them. And with safe sharing options, you can work together without worries, knowing your data is secure.
Enhanced search in OneDrive for web
OneDrive for web now lets you find your files faster than ever with its new and improved search functionality. Whether the file is in your OneDrive, shared folders, or document libraries, our improved search feature allows you to seamlessly sift through your entire digital workspace from one centralized location. The enhanced search features include:
• New filters: Added filters for different file types to help you find exactly what you need.
• Date filter: Narrow down your search results by files created or modified within a specific timeframe.
• Scoping options: Easily conduct precise searches within specific folders, sites, or document libraries.
• Updated interface: Visual enhancements and more metadata help you locate your files more quickly.
We expect these search enhancements to begin rolling out in August.
Enhanced search capabilities make it easier than ever for you to find files in OneDrive.
Simple, smart, and secure collaboration
Sharing is one of the most widely used features across Microsoft 365. Our goal is to make collaboration quick and seamless. We’ve streamlined the sharing dialog, making it faster and easier to use. When you open the share experience across Microsoft 365 applications, you can now focus more easily on the core sharing tasks by sending an email invite or copying a link for others to start collaborating on your files.
We have now updated the send flow to send an email invitation that only works for the people you specify, and helps you share confidently with your coworkers in the most secure ways!
With your files in OneDrive, you can share them easily with coworkers.
Branded external file requests
The external file request feature allows you to collect files from others by providing them with a secure upload link. This tool is especially useful when you need to gather documents, photos, or other files from people outside your organization. Soon you’ll be able to make your brand stand out to partners, clients, or stakeholders, with a custom branding request and landing page. From the branded email requests to personalized landing pages for uploaded documents, every interaction matches your brand identity.
Display your brand and engage with your audience at every touchpoint with branded external file requests.
OneDrive experience in Document Libraries
The next generation OneDrive experience available in OneDrive for web will soon be available in SharePoint document libraries. When you go to your document libraries, you’ll see fresh new visuals, simplified navigation with filters and search, best in class performance, and your favorite features from Microsoft Lists, like board views. We can’t wait for you to try it later this summer.
The next generation OneDrive experience is coming to SharePoint document libraries.
Create new files from templates
We’ve refreshed the file creation experience in OneDrive for web which you initiate by clicking the “Add new” button. Now, clicking the “Add new” button will give you the option to create a blank file or choose from a selection of high-quality, beautifully designed Word, Excel and PowerPoint templates to jumpstart your work, including templates provided by your organization. This update is rolling out soon and is currently available for customers in Targeted Release.
Choose from a variety of beautifully designed Word, Excel, and PowerPoint templates when you create files in OneDrive.
Browse your photos and videos with Media view
We’re adding a Media view to the left navigation of OneDrive for web, for work and school users. You can use this view to easily browse and access your photo and video content in OneDrive.
Media view in OneDrive for web is now rolling out to customers.
Browse your images and videos with the new Media view in OneDrive.
Work the way YOU like
With OneDrive, you can work the way you want, wherever you are. Whether you need to access your files online or offline, on the web, or on your device, OneDrive has you covered.
Introducing offline mode
We are making OneDrive for web faster and more offline-capable with the new offline mode (formerly known as Nucleus). Once enabled, you can browse your OneDrive files in Edge, Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers, online or offline, with lightning speed and efficiency. In fact, you can expect to see up to 3X faster loading times when viewing and interacting with your files in OneDrive in your browser and in the OneDrive app in Microsoft Teams and Outlook.
There’s more! You’ll soon be able to enjoy a fast and throttle-free experience online and offline when interacting with files inside your recent Document Libraries. OneDrive offline mode is now rolling out to customers.
Browse your files without an internet connection with offline mode in OneDrive.
OneDrive next generation experience in more apps
OneDrive is more than just a file storage and collaboration app – it’s a consistent, familiar file experience across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. Last year we updated OneDrive for web with the next generation experience that makes locating and accessing files quicker than ever. We’ve recently rolled this out to the OneDrive app in Teams and Outlook. And soon, you’ll get this experience in microsoft365.com (formerly office.com). Additionally, we’re also updating the Office file picker that you use to open, share and save files in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other apps. The new file picker will offer a familiar, improved experience.
OneDrive has the same look and feel whether you use it in Teams, Outlook, Microsoft 365 or in your browser.
Colored folders in Windows File Explorer
With OneDrive for web, you can color-code your folders for more visual appeal and better organization. Now, we’re bringing this feature to Windows File Explorer. Whether you want to match your folders with your mood, your brand, or your project theme, you can easily customize them with different colors. A splash of color helps you find folders faster and makes your work more, well… more fun.
Change the colors of your folders in File Explorer.
Export Sync Admin Reports
Want to create your own custom dashboards based on the OneDrive Sync Health Dashboard data? Now you can, thanks to Microsoft Graph Data Connect.2This powerful feature allows administrators to export and join sync health data with other data sets for actionable insights into the overall sync health status of devices in your organization. It will be available in public preview in late June. Don’t miss this opportunity to take your sync health analysis to the next level.
Now you can export Sync Admin Reports for deeper insights into your organizations sync status.
We’d love to hear your feedback and suggestions on how we can improve OneDrive. Just add them to the comment below. Additionally, commercial customers are welcome to join OneDrive Office Hours, a monthly Microsoft Teams meeting where our product team will answer your questions, demo new features, and get your feedback. To get on the meeting invite list, just sign up for OneDrive Office Hours. For more information on OneDrive, download the OneDrive quick start guide, tune in to the SyncUp Podcast or sign up for the OneDrive newsletter.
1 Requires a Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license.
2Microsoft Graph Data Connect is not included with OneDrive. Once enabled consumption charges are billed monthly on a pay-as-you-go basis. Learn more.
About the author
Irfan Shahdad is a Principal Product Manager at Microsoft, leading OneDrive for work and school. He’s passionate about leveraging technology to build simple, intuitive, and collaborative products that empower individuals and organizations to become more productive and efficient.
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NCE Subscription Upgrades – old subscription still available?
Hello
After upgrading an NCE subscription using the upgrade tool in the partner portal, apparently something did not go quite right, and I believe some manual work was involved.
There are still a few users assigned to the older subscription, and it still appears to be available to assign to users. How long does this state last before the subscription is deleted?
(I think they added a few new users to the upgraded product, so they ended up having the same number of licenses as the older version with all licenses assigned to users, and a few existing users are still assigned to and using the older version.)
Thank you in advance.
Hello After upgrading an NCE subscription using the upgrade tool in the partner portal, apparently something did not go quite right, and I believe some manual work was involved. There are still a few users assigned to the older subscription, and it still appears to be available to assign to users. How long does this state last before the subscription is deleted? (I think they added a few new users to the upgraded product, so they ended up having the same number of licenses as the older version with all licenses assigned to users, and a few existing users are still assigned to and using the older version.) Thank you in advance. Read More
Using graph API to find failed mail in Exchange mail flow
I am using no-reply mails to send 2FA to email to client. How Can i use graph API or any other solution to retrieve from exchange mail flow all emails sent from email address removed for privacy reasons email address that failed ?
I am using no-reply mails to send 2FA to email to client. How Can i use graph API or any other solution to retrieve from exchange mail flow all emails sent from email address removed for privacy reasons email address that failed ? Read More
Deep link with parameters
Hello
Is it possible to configure a deeplink with parameters
I would like to use it with a parameter that unmutes or mutes the mic.
msteams://teams.microsoft.com/l/call/0/0?users=4:%2b”phone number” “Parameter”
Is this possible?
Regards
JFM_12
HelloIs it possible to configure a deeplink with parametersI would like to use it with a parameter that unmutes or mutes the mic. msteams://teams.microsoft.com/l/call/0/0?users=4:%2b”phone number” “Parameter” Is this possible?RegardsJFM_12 Read More
Won’t update to 2024-04
My laptop keeps installing this update to 100% and then fails with error code 0x80073713
Any help with this issue?
My laptop keeps installing this update to 100% and then fails with error code 0x80073713 Any help with this issue? Read More
Creating Folders or Collections for Forms in a Group
We are creating a ton of surveys and tests in Forms, and created a couple Groups to store these Forms, but need to organize these. Is there a way yet to create Collections in Groups? I’ve seen this question and feedback from a couple years ago from others, but has no progress been made for organizing Foms in Groups?
If anyone has any ideas for organizing Forms in Groups, I’d love to hear some suggestions as well
We are creating a ton of surveys and tests in Forms, and created a couple Groups to store these Forms, but need to organize these. Is there a way yet to create Collections in Groups? I’ve seen this question and feedback from a couple years ago from others, but has no progress been made for organizing Foms in Groups?If anyone has any ideas for organizing Forms in Groups, I’d love to hear some suggestions as well Read More
Copilot course
Hello
I am looking for a Copilot course and the only one I have seen is MS-4006 but, looking at the modules, none of them is about Copilot. Instead some security and identity modules are mentioned.
Does anyone know if there is a course about Copilot?
Thanks
HelloI am looking for a Copilot course and the only one I have seen is MS-4006 but, looking at the modules, none of them is about Copilot. Instead some security and identity modules are mentioned.Does anyone know if there is a course about Copilot?Thanks Read More
What’s New in Copilot | April 2024
Welcome to the April 2024 edition of What’s New in Copilot for Microsoft 365! Every month, we highlight new features and enhancements for Copilot for Microsoft 365, so you can stay up to date with Copilot features that help you be more productive and efficient in the apps you use every day. This month, we’re excited to share information about extended language support in Copilot, features to help streamline data in Copilot in Excel, more efficient search and document creation with Copilot in Word, new training in Copilot Academy, and so much more!
And in case you missed it, be sure to catch up on our recent announcement about general availability of Microsoft Copilot Dashboard, as well as our quarterly blog series designed to help you skill up on Modern Work technologies.
Now let’s take a look at this month’s updates:
Expanded capabilities
Copilot with Graph-grounded chat now available in Outlook
Use local files to ground Copilot prompts
Create and consume Word documents more efficiently with Copilot
Generate multiple formula columns with Copilot in Excel
Fine-tune prompts with Notebook in Copilot with commercial data protection
Expanded access and management
App Assure now supports Copilot customers transitioning to monthly updates
Support for new languages in Copilot for Microsoft 365
Improve Copilot skills with Copilot Academy in Viva Learning
Manage Copilot availability in Teams meetings
Restricted SharePoint Search now in Public Preview
Copilot with Graph-grounded chat now available in Outlook
Starting in May, you can use Copilot in Outlook to connect to and reason across your enterprise data including your chats, documents, meetings, and emails. You will find the Copilot app in the left app bar in classic Microsoft Outlook for Windows, new Outlook for Windows, and Outlook on the web. Learn more about using Copilot with Graph-grounded chat.
Use local files to ground Copilot prompts
Using Copilot to reason across your work data is becoming more comprehensive and simple. Since we launched Copilot, you have been able to ground your prompts in specific files stored in One Drive or SharePoint by typing “/” and then the file name. In May, we’ll add the ability to ground your prompts in local files, too. And for files stored in the OneDrive and SharePoint, you’ll soon be able to simply copy and paste file links to ground prompts for even richer conversations with Copilot.
Create and consume Word documents more efficiently with Copilot
Now, you’ll see several new features in Copilot for Word that can help you access information quickly when you’re creating documents.
Now when you ask Copilot a question in Word chat, an answer will be generated using the rich, people-centric data and insights in the Microsoft cloud and Microsoft Graph. That way, you can stay in the app and maintain focus on creating your document.
And when you use the Rewrite feature in Copilot, now you can fine-tune a specific section of the document. This gives you more control over additional changes, re-writes, tone, and formatting with the help of Copilot .
You can use Draft with Copilot to reference files that are marked with sensitivity labels to create a new document draft, and the sensitivity label of the referenced file will be automatically applied to the new draft.
Copilot can create summaries of selected text. Simply select the text block you want summarized and ask Copilot to provide a summarized version you can share in other documents or email. This is available in Word for web now.
Beginning in May, if you are using Copilot in Word to draft a document, you can copy and paste a link of a supported file as a reference into Draft with Copilot, instead of searching for it in the file reference menu. This makes it faster for you to find any reference files you need to support your work.
Generate multiple formula columns with Copilot in Excel
Copilot in Excel now supports generating multiple formula columns from a single prompt. Ask one question, and Copilot can return two formula columns simultaneously. For instance, you can extract both the first name and last name from a single prompt, neatly separating the information into distinct columns. Additionally, now you can use Copilot to create complex formula columns that span across multiple tables, utilizing functions like XLOOKUP and SUMIF. This capability streamlines data processing and empowers you to handle more complex data analysis tasks efficiently, even when using multiple tables.
Securely access Copilot web chat in the Copilot mobile app
Now you can access AI-powered web chat on the go with the Copilot mobile app available on iOS and Android. When you sign into a work accounteligible license, Copilot (formerly Bing Chat Enterprise) automatically adds commercial data protection at no additional cost. This helps you be more productive and creative while also ensuring sensitive data is protected from being leaked into AI models. IT admins can manage the Copilot mobile app with Microsoft Intune. Learn more about Copilot on mobile.
Fine-tune prompts with Notebook in Copilot with commercial data protection
Notebook is a new way to securely interact with the generative AI models powering Copilot—beyond chat, Notebook is like an enhanced scratch pad that lets you fine-tune your prompts. Notebook allows for longer prompts and lets you iterate and refine your prompt over time to get the response you’re looking for. These capabilities make it especially useful for tasks like generating code or developing a piece of writing. It’s also a great way to experience how adding more details to your prompts can produce better responses.
Commercial data protection applies while using Copilot, just sign in with an eligible work or school account. You can access the Notebook feature at the top of copilot.microsoft.com and Copilot in Bing. If you have a Work and Web toggle at the top of the Copilot experience, set the toggle to Web to see Notebook.
App Assure now supports Copilot customers transitioning to monthly updates
Starting today Microsoft’s App Assure program now supports Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers moving to a monthly update channel, at no additional cost. As more organizations adopt Copilot, they’re moving to a monthly update channel for Microsoft 365 Apps.
Companies that move to a monthly update channel get the latest features and custom rollout waves. In addition, monthly updates provide a secure experience that minimizes incidents and disruptions, offer better diagnostics for supportability and minimize helpdesk claims. For customers who need a predictable release schedule, we specifically recommend the Monthly Enterprise Channel.
The App Assure program underscores our commitment to delivering a seamless experience offering app compatibility assistance across line of business applications, third-party software, and Microsoft’s products: macros, add-ins, and drivers. For third-party apps, App Assure will work directly with qualified participants to resolve app compatibility issues. Register for app assure today.
Support for new languages in Copilot for Microsoft 365
We are now rolling out support for an additional 16 languages in Copilot for Microsoft 365 including Arabic, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian (Bokmal), Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Ukrainian. These join the growing list of languages in which Copilot is already supported: Chinese (Simplified), English (US, GB, AU, CA, IN), French (FR, CA), German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese (BR), and Spanish (ES, MX).
In addition, we are also making Chinese (Traditional) available on Copilot for Microsoft 365, meaning that you can now to work with Copilot using that language just as you can in free versions. We will add Chinese (Traditional) to the list of supported languages as the last few known issues are resolved. Learn more about supported languages for Microsoft Copilot here.
We are always improving. Today, Copilot for Microsoft 365 may not yet understand every colloquial expression or linguistic convention in a given language. We are continually refining Copilot’s language capabilities and encourage you to provide us with actionable feedback. We are also continuing to expand the list of supported languages and will share more in coming months.
Improve Copilot skills with Copilot Academy in Viva Learning
Earlier this month we were excited to introduce Microsoft Copilot Academy. Recognizing the need to develop a new skillset around AI tools, Copilot Academy provides structured educational content to help you learn about, discover, and use Copilot quickly and effectively. Copilot Academy is generally available now, available in your Viva Learning app in Teams or the web.
Manage Copilot availability in Teams meetings
If you’re a Microsoft 365 admin, now you can manage Copilot availability in the Teams admin center. Either select an existing policy or create a new one, and then select On or On only with retained transcript from the dropdown for the Copilot setting:
When you select On and a meeting organizer with this policy creates a meeting or event, then the Copilot option is set so it is available Only during the meeting. The meeting organizer can change this value to During and after the meeting.
When you select On only with retained transcript and a meeting organizer with this policy creates a meeting or event, then the Copilot option is locked to During and after the meeting and the meeting organizer must turn on transcription to use Copilot.
Restricted SharePoint Search now in Public Preview
Restricted SharePoint search began rolling out in public preview for Copilot for Microsoft 365 customers earlier this month. If you’re a Microsoft 365 admin, this enables you to review your content management and data governance practices without losing momentum with your Copilot deployment. You can disable organization-wide search to restrict both enterprise search and Copilot experiences in the SharePoint sites of your choice. Restricted SharePoint search will be generally available in May 2024. To follow the status of the rollout, please check the public roadmap.
Did you know? The Microsoft 365 Roadmap is where you can get the latest updates on productivity apps and intelligent cloud services. Check back regularly to see what features are in development or coming soon.
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What’s New from Viva People Science: Beyond Engagement – Measuring Productivity in the Workplace
Hi, my name is Craig Ramsay, and I am a Principal People Scientist on the Viva Research and Development team. You may be wondering what a “People Scientist” is and what we do all day. Well, People Scientists are people geeks. We are researchers on the Microsoft Viva product team who study what makes people tick at work. We seek to understand what makes humans feel happy, successful, and motivated to do their best work – identifying those particular factors and work experiences that drive organizational performance. You can learn more about our team here.
I’m hoping through this new recurring blog series, I can help you understand the science behind our approach and leave you with some practical tips that you can use to strengthen your organizational and people practices.
When I started at Glint in 2016, before we became part of the Microsoft family, we promised our customers the best employee engagement survey platform on the planet, and we succeeded — in large part due to the power of our short, focused surveys that help managers take immediate actions to improve what matters most to their employees. Over the years, this robust engagement measurement system has been used by more than 1,400 global organizations to improve happiness and success for their people.
By 2023, with over 350 million data points collected, the People Science team was able to connect engagement data with actual financial metrics across 250 customers and we found – surprise, surprise — that “happier employees = better business results”… a 25% higher stock valuation to be exact. A more recent study of the top predictors of a high performance organization found that productivity was also a critical factor in determining the overall performance and success of a business. So, what should you pay attention to… engaging employees, or helping them be more productive? Or both? And how?
To answer these questions, we took a human-centric approach to defining and operationalizing employee productivity and identifying a critical few opinions and attitudes that best characterize the experience and feeling of high productivity.
Scanning research to date, we first identified 25 distinct experience factors which contribute to people feeling highly productive. Then we examined whether a feeling of productivity could be assumed if employees also reported being engaged. We tested those factors in a panel study and received 850 global, full time employee responses from all industries, regions, and job levels.
As attitudinal outcomes, we found that engagement and productivity are related, but distinct. In this sample, they were moderately correlated and only shared 50% of their individual top 10 correlates (see in purple below, ranked in order by Pearson r-values).
Engagement was measured using eSat (How happy are you working at <COMPANY_NAME>?) and Recommend (I would recommend <COMPANY_NAME> as a great place to work), and productivity was measured using Individual Productivity (I feel like I am productive at work) and Team Productivity (I feel like my team is productive at work).
Therefore, engagement items cannot be used as a proxy for measuring productivity. Different employee experiences impact feeling engaged versus feeling productive, and both are needed to drive high-performance.
Further analyses resulted in the discovery that team and individual productivity are distinct experiences when viewed from an employee’s perspective. We identified the top eight factors that most influence a person’s sense of high productivity – and the factors that contribute to higher perceptions of team productivity differ from those contributing to higher perceptions of individual productivity.
We recommend you consider the productivity results (at the team and / or individual level) you wish to improve and use it as a guidepost for which employee experiences to focus on to best drive that outcome. An index made of the two productivity items is an alternative that can be utilized when a dual approach (capturing both team and individual productivity) is needed.
Our findings showed that measuring productivity in the workplace is crucial for understanding and improving overall performance. Beyond a focus on engagement alone, focusing on the right employee productivity experiences will help you drive higher levels of productivity and achieve better businesses outcomes.
How do you think about productivity compared to engagement? Is your organization focused on productivity? I look forward to your comments below.
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