Category: News
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Instant File Initialization for the transaction log | SQL Server 2022 Hidden Gems | Data Exposed
Next in the SQL Server 2022 hidden gems series you’ll learn about Instant file Initialization (IFI) behavior for Log file growth even with TDE enabled (does not require special privilege).
Resources:
What’s new in SQL Server 2022 – SQL Server | Microsoft Learn
View/share our latest episodes on Microsoft Learn and YouTube!
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Your path to value with Copilot for Microsoft 365
Today, we are releasing updated guidance for Copilot for Microsoft 365 deployment and adoption to speed your time to value. We’re excited to announce the new Copilot Success Kit, which integrates many new and existing resources and is based on our engagement with customers around the world. It covers the three core elements of AI enablement – the leadership journey, user enablement and technical readiness – with real world guidance and tools to support your implementation. We’ve also updated the Copilot Lab and Copilot Adoption site experiences to help our customers at every stage of their AI journey. Let’s take a closer look at the new updates we’re sharing with you today:
Introducing the Copilot Success Kit
Discovering Copilot for Daily Work
Accelerating Copilot value from the top down
Getting step-by-step guidance for implementing Copilot
Supporting everyone’s AI learning journey with Copilot Lab
Creating a clear path to rapid Copilot value
Introducing the Copilot Success Kit
The Copilot Success Kit includes guides and resources to enable organizations to get started with Copilot for Microsoft 365 quickly. Download the full kit or just the resources you need based on your phase of implementation. Today’s launch of the Copilot Success Kit includes some well-known assets, as well as brand new resources:
Implementation Summary Guide for Leaders (new)
User Enablement Guide (new)
Technical Readiness Guide (new)
Business Leaders Guide to AI Adoption (new)
Accelerate Copilot enablement with Microsoft Viva Guide (new)
Scenario Library (new)
Top 10 to try in Copilot for Microsoft 365 handout (new)
User onboarding tool kit
In the coming months, we’ll continue to augment the Copilot Success Kit with prioritized resources for Works Council engagement, guidance for creating an AI Council, and a full implementation plan template.
Discovering Copilot for daily work
Now you can discover top use cases and day-in-the-life scenarios for using Copilot in departments across your organization. The Copilot Scenario Library lets people view scenarios by role (e.g. HR Recruiter, Operations Analyst, Brand Manager, Financial Advisor) or by use case (e.g. respond to an RFP, improve hiring processes) to discover quick ways they can get started using Copilot in their daily work. In addition, business leaders can review key performance indicators that can be impacted by Copilot innovation. There are two ways to explore these scenarios. You can choose a business or end user view and download your customized Scenario Library deck or explore the Scenario Library in a web experience. We’ll continue to add new scenarios and industry content to help you drive deeper engagement with Copilot.
You can also learn new ways to realize value in Copilot with the new Learning Paths: Empower your workforce with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Use Cases and Craft Effective Prompts for Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Accelerating Copilot value from the top down
When it comes to driving value with new technologies, business leaders often lead the way. We’ve created the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Adoption Playbook for business leaders to learn actionable steps to become an AI-powered organization quickly. Informed by insights from our Copilot for Microsoft 365 Early Access Program, this step-by-step playbook can help leaders understand how to assign seats, choose Copilot Champions, how to get employees up and running, build early momentum, and measure impact.
Getting step-by-step guidance for implementing Copilot
Our updated implementation framework for Copilot and Microsoft 365 services is segmented into four phases and covers the critical user enablement and technical readiness workstreams, which go hand in hand to deliver rapid AI value across your organization.
User Enablement journey
“Change management” and “adoption” nomenclature have evolved to user enablement, which refers to the strategies, activities and skills required to deliver user satisfaction along a progressive skilling and engagement journey. The Copilot for Microsoft 365 user enablement guide provides step-by-step guidance to support user enablement leaders through:
Selecting initial departments, scenarios, and success measures for rollout with the Scenario Library
Targeting a critical mass of users for rapid impact
Laying the foundation for an intelligent progression of AI skills
Reviewing success metrics and understanding impact
Expanding to new scenarios to transform and streamline business processes
The guide also helps you understand how to use tools like Copilot Lab, Microsoft Learn, Viva Learning, Learning Pathways and more to empower everyone across the organization to use Copilot in their jobs.
Technical Readiness journey
The Copilot for Microsoft 365 technical readiness guide provides step-by-step guidance to help Microsoft 365 admins implement Copilot for Microsoft 365. We introduce the steps to prepare your organization for Copilot with a Baseline, Core, and Best-in-class security and governance posture. The guide walks Microsoft 365 admins through:
Performing the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Optimization Assessment and building an implementation plan
Preparing with a Baseline, Core and Best-in-class security and governance posture
Onboarding users by assigning licenses and permissions
Measuring impact by monitoring usage reports and establishing a service management plan
Extending and optimizing Copilot by designing, building, and publishing custom copilot experiences
The technical readiness guide provides steps for customers to get started quickly while optimizing data security along the way. Additionally, for customers who are particularly concerned about unintentional oversharing of content, they can maintain their Copilot momentum by leveraging Restricted SharePoint Search while they implement Microsoft Purview and SharePoint Advanced Management.
Supporting everyone’s AI learning journey with Copilot Lab
We built Copilot Lab to help organizations with Copilot onboarding and enablement, and get people started with the art of prompting. Now, we’re transforming the prompt library into a comprehensive learning resource that can help everyone begin their Copilot journey with confidence. We’ve consolidated our best resources, training videos, ready-made prompts, and inspiration to make Copilot Lab the single resource to help people use Copilot in their daily work.
Each suggested prompt in the prompt library includes additional information about how to personalize it and ways to extend the prompt for even more value. You can access Copilot Lab today at copilot.cloud.microsoft/prompts or directly in app by selecting the notebook icon next to the Copilot prompt window.
Creating a clear path to rapid Copilot value
To accelerate our customers’ success with Copilot for Microsoft 365, we have rearchitected the Copilot Adoption Hub to reflect the four implementation pillars: get ready, onboard and engage, deliver impact, and extend and optimize. Microsoft 365 admins, business leaders, and adoption and change management champions can download the full Copilot Success Kit, visit our communities to connect with Microsoft or other customers using Copilot, or find other relevant Copilot for Microsoft 365 content on Microsoft Learn, Tech Community blogs, or events.
We hope this new Microsoft 365 Copilot guidance will help you and your organization get the most out of Copilot and achieve your business goals. We welcome your feedback and suggestions on how we can make it more useful for you.
Continue the conversation by joining us in the Copilot for Microsoft 365 community! Want to share best practices or join community events? Become a member by “Joining” the Microsoft 365 community. For tips & tricks or to stay up to date on the latest news and announcements directly from the product teams, make sure to Follow or Subscribe to the Copilot for Microsoft 365 Blog space!
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
MGDC for SharePoint FAQ: How do I process Deltas?
This is a follow up on the blog about delta datasets. If you haven’t read it yet, take a look at MGDC for SharePoint FAQ: How can I use Delta State Datasets?
Our team got some follow-up questions on this, so I thought it would make sense to write a little more and make things clear.
First of all, from some conversations with CoPilot, the basic SQL code for merging a delta would be something like this:
— Start a transaction
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
— Assuming the Users table has a primary key constraint on user_id
— and the UserChanges table has a foreign key constraint on user_id referencing Users
— First, delete the users that have operation = ‘Deleted’ in UserChanges
DELETE FROM Users
WHERE user_id IN
(SELECT user_id
FROM UserChanges
WHERE operation = ‘Deleted’);
— Next, update the users that have operation = ‘Updated’ in UserChanges
UPDATE Users
SET user_name = UC.user_name,
user_age = UC.user_age
FROM Users U
JOIN UserChanges UC ON U.user_id = UC.user_id
WHERE UC.operation = ‘Updated’;
— Finally, insert the users that have operation = ‘Created’ in UserChanges
INSERT INTO Users (user_id, user_name, user_age)
SELECT user_id, user_name, user_age
FROM UserChanges
WHERE operation = ‘Created’;
— Commit the transaction
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
Note that the column names used (shown here as user_id, user_name and user_age) need to be updated for each dataset, but the structure will be the same.
I also asked CoPilot to translate this SQL code to PySpark and it suggested the code below (with a few minor manual touches):
# Import SparkSession and functions
from pyspark.sql import SparkSession
from pyspark.sql import functions as F
# Create SparkSession
spark = SparkSession.builder.appName(“Delta dataset”).getOrCreate()
# Assuming the Users and UserChanges tables are already loaded as DataFrames
users = spark.table(“Users”)
user_changes = spark.table(“UserChanges”)
# First, delete the users that have operation = ‘Deleted’ in UserChanges
users = users.join(user_changes.filter(user_changes.operation == “Deleted”), “user_id”, “left_anti”)
# Next, update the users that have operation = ‘Updated’ in UserChanges
users = users.join(user_changes.filter(user_changes.operation == “Updated”), “user_id”, “left_outer”)
.select(F.coalesce(user_changes.user_name, users.user_name).alias(“user_name”),
F.coalesce(user_changes.user_age, users.user_age).alias(“user_age”),
users.user_id)
# Finally, insert the users that have operation = ‘Created’ in UserChanges
users = users.union(user_changes.filter(user_changes.operation == “Created”)
.select(“user_name”, “user_age”, “user_id”))
After that, there’s the question of how to run this in Azure Data Factory or Azure Synapse.
I would suggest going with Azure Synapse. You could get some inspiration from the template that we published https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2207816. This includes examples of how to get the data and run a notebook to produce a new dataset.
Another good resource is this guide on “How to transform data by running a Synapse Notebook”. The link is at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-factory/transform-data-synapse-notebook.
The more notable part missing from the code above is how to read the data from ADLS v2. For that, here is a link to stack overflow article on how to bring the data in and out of ADLS v2 using Linked Services. There is an article specifically on that at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/spark/tutorial-spark-pool-filesystem-spec.
That’s it! For more general information MGDC for SharePoint, visit the main blog at Links about SharePoint on MGDC.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
New Outlook for Windows: A Guide to Product Availability
As we bring new Outlook for Windows to more customers, we’ve received many questions about product availability and timing, especially: “How long do organizations have to prepare for these changes, and what will be the future availability of classic Outlook for Windows?”
Currently, for commercial customers, new Outlook for Windows is available for preview and is getting closer to readiness for General Availability. With this blog post, we would like to outline answers to these questions and share resources that can help your organization learn more about new Outlook for Windows. The information below applies to the commercial versions of Outlook and not the Windows Mail and Calendar apps.
Learning from successful migration
In recent years, Outlook used a staged approach to deliver new app experiences in Outlook on the web, classic Outlook for Windows, and Outlook for Mac that are informing our approach to delivering new Outlook for Windows to commercial customers. In early 2022, we released our newest version of Outlook for Mac. This was a big step on the journey to improve the legacy Mac experience, building in better performance, a beautiful user experience, and positioning it for the future. This journey has lasted over three years, and today most users are now fully moved to the new Outlook for Mac. Our approach focused on 3 stages, informed by feedback and readiness, that gave customers enough time to evaluate, prepare, and finally migrate their entire organizations to new Outlook for Mac: “opt in”, “opt out”, and “cutover.”
Figure 1: Outlook migration stages
We are utilizing the same staged approach for new Outlook for Windows. The migration will be a multi-year journey delivering more capabilities in new Outlook, working with customers assessing feedback and readiness, and providing admin guides and tools to ensure customers have what they need to prepare accordingly.
Stage 1: Opt in
In addition to currently being designated as available for preview for use with commercial accounts, new Outlook is currently in Stage 1: Opt in. In this stage, customers see the “Try the new Outlook” toggle on the top right side of the classic Outlook experience. New Outlook is “Off by default”, and users can toggle into the new Outlook to try the experience. If there are features or workflows that are not available yet, users can toggle back to classic Outlook for Windows. Toggling is designed to be quick, making it easy to move back and forth as needed. In this stage, we will maintain the ability for users to run both classic and new Outlook side by side, allowing them to compare their experiences while working seamlessly across both products. Feedback is a critical part of this stage. Each time a user toggles back to classic Outlook, they are asked to provide feedback on their experience. This feedback, along with many other sources, is helping drive the development of features, and is informing our readiness for the next stage.
Milestone: General Availability (GA)
With this milestone, new Outlook for Windows will move out of preview and into General Availability. Customers with relevant licensing will be able to obtain regular and assisted technical support through their respective Microsoft support programs. At this milestone, feature development is still ongoing, and we will continue to receive feedback on what features to prioritize for further release. While there are organizations waiting for certain features to be available, other organizations that are ready to move to new Outlook can expect it to be fully supported. For more information about support and feedback, see the article Contact support and provide feedback in the new Outlook for Windows.
Stage 2: Opt Out
Once a period for feature capability development and quality assessment has passed, we will move to the opt out stage. In this stage, new Outlook is “on by default”, bringing users into the new Outlook experience automatically. We will determine readiness for this stage in collaboration with customers, and will provide at least 12 months’ notice before moving to this stage in Production rings. If needed, IT administrators can decide to move their organizations to this stage earlier than our production timeline. To facilitate this process, we will provide IT administrators with instructions and tools to deploy this stage. During this stage, users will still have the option to go back to classic Outlook.
Stage 3: Cutover
In the cutover stage, the ability to switch back to classic Outlook will no longer be available to users. New deployments of Outlook from Microsoft 365 subscriptions will feature new Outlook for Windows. We will determine readiness for this stage in collaboration with customers, and will provide at least 12 months’ notice before moving to this stage in Production rings. If needed, IT administrators can decide to move their organizations to this stage earlier than our production timeline.
Existing installations of classic Outlook for Windows through perpetual licensing will continue to be supported.
Please note that the cutover stage does not signify the end of support for classic Outlook for Windows. We will continue to honor published support timelines for existing version of classic Outlook for Windows until at least 2029.
Communication between stages
The journey described above is represented in Figure 2 below. The duration of the Opt in stage lasts from Opt in to Opt out, and the duration of the Opt out stage lasts from Opt out to Cutover.
After general availability, we will use our existing channels to provide a “notice of disruptive change.” This unique message signals that new Outlook for Windows is expected to meet most of the customer needs for readiness for Opt-out, and will move to that stage in production rings in 12 months. Similarly, this message will be provided 12 months before moving to the cutover stage in production rings.
Figure 2: Timeline of availability
What this means for you
The new Outlook for Windows is now available for your organization to experience, provide feedback, and begin preparations for migration and deployment. There are a few things to prepare your organization to migrate:
Reach out to stakeholders. These include end-users, power users like executive and administrative support, and teams with specific capability requirements to audit and complete a thorough evaluation of the new Outlook experience.
Define your scope of testing and review. Beginning to scope what these workflows look like and how they are affected by the new Outlook for Windows will be important to assess how ready your organization is to switch over. A recent post on feature availability and what we’re working on can be found here.
Begin readiness planning. Regardless of the size of your team, readiness planning is critical for ensuring that your organization is ready for the new Outlook for Windows. We encourage you to start as soon as possible to ensure your organization is well prepared.
We are developing more content to help guide you and your organization to prepare for the new Outlook for Windows, so please stay tuned! As always, we welcome your feedback (in the comments below as well as in-app feedback) to help us make the newest version of Outlook for Windows our best one yet.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
MGDC for SharePoint FAQ: How do I process Deltas?
This is a follow up on the blog about delta datasets. If you haven’t read it yet, take a look at MGDC for SharePoint FAQ: How can I use Delta State Datasets?
Our team got some follow-up questions on this, so I thought it would make sense to write a little more and make things clear.
First of all, from some conversations with CoPilot, the basic SQL code for merging a delta would be something like this:
— Start a transaction
BEGIN TRANSACTION;
— Assuming the Users table has a primary key constraint on user_id
— and the UserChanges table has a foreign key constraint on user_id referencing Users
— First, delete the users that have operation = ‘Deleted’ in UserChanges
DELETE FROM Users
WHERE user_id IN
(SELECT user_id
FROM UserChanges
WHERE operation = ‘Deleted’);
— Next, update the users that have operation = ‘Updated’ in UserChanges
UPDATE Users
SET user_name = UC.user_name,
user_age = UC.user_age
FROM Users U
JOIN UserChanges UC ON U.user_id = UC.user_id
WHERE UC.operation = ‘Updated’;
— Finally, insert the users that have operation = ‘Created’ in UserChanges
INSERT INTO Users (user_id, user_name, user_age)
SELECT user_id, user_name, user_age
FROM UserChanges
WHERE operation = ‘Created’;
— Commit the transaction
COMMIT TRANSACTION;
Note that the column names used (shown here as user_id, user_name and user_age) need to be updated for each dataset, but the structure will be the same.
I also asked CoPilot to translate this SQL code to PySpark and it suggested the code below (with a few minor manual touches):
# Import SparkSession and functions
from pyspark.sql import SparkSession
from pyspark.sql import functions as F
# Create SparkSession
spark = SparkSession.builder.appName(“Delta dataset”).getOrCreate()
# Assuming the Users and UserChanges tables are already loaded as DataFrames
users = spark.table(“Users”)
user_changes = spark.table(“UserChanges”)
# First, delete the users that have operation = ‘Deleted’ in UserChanges
users = users.join(user_changes.filter(user_changes.operation == “Deleted”), “user_id”, “left_anti”)
# Next, update the users that have operation = ‘Updated’ in UserChanges
users = users.join(user_changes.filter(user_changes.operation == “Updated”), “user_id”, “left_outer”)
.select(F.coalesce(user_changes.user_name, users.user_name).alias(“user_name”),
F.coalesce(user_changes.user_age, users.user_age).alias(“user_age”),
users.user_id)
# Finally, insert the users that have operation = ‘Created’ in UserChanges
users = users.union(user_changes.filter(user_changes.operation == “Created”)
.select(“user_name”, “user_age”, “user_id”))
After that, there’s the question of how to run this in Azure Data Factory or Azure Synapse.
I would suggest going with Azure Synapse. You could get some inspiration from the template that we published https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2207816. This includes examples of how to get the data and run a notebook to produce a new dataset.
Another good resource is this guide on “How to transform data by running a Synapse Notebook”. The link is at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/data-factory/transform-data-synapse-notebook.
The more notable part missing from the code above is how to read the data from ADLS v2. For that, here is a link to stack overflow article on how to bring the data in and out of ADLS v2 using Linked Services. There is an article specifically on that at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/synapse-analytics/spark/tutorial-spark-pool-filesystem-spec.
That’s it! For more general information MGDC for SharePoint, visit the main blog at Links about SharePoint on MGDC.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Advancing Trust, Transparency, and Control with Copilot for Microsoft 365
Hello, Microsoft Tech Community! I’m excited to share some important updates about Copilot for Microsoft 365. As you may recall from TJ’s blog post on February 29, we’ve been working hard to enhance your experience with Copilot. Today, I’d like to highlight some key updates that will benefit our customers, as outlined in Paul Lorimer’s blog: Announcing the expansion of Microsoft’s data residency capabilities | Microsoft 365 Blog
Paul’s post delves into the expansion of our data residency capabilities. We understand that data control is paramount in today’s digital landscape. That’s why we’re ensuring that your interaction data with Copilot for Microsoft 365 (for eligible customers) will be stored in the location specified by your Microsoft 365 data residency settings. This is a significant step forward in our commitment to providing a secure and compliant environment for our enterprise and highlight regulated customers that have data particularly stringent requirements for how their data is stored.
But we’re not stopping there. Our vision is to democratize AI, making it accessible and beneficial for everyone. As we continue to innovate and enhance Copilot, our guiding principles remain the same: Trust, Transparency, and Control. These principles have always been at the heart of Microsoft 365, and they continue to shape our approach to Copilot. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to evolve Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Please reply with your questions and share your experiences and needs as you explore your Copilot and our Data Residency options.
More resources to get support your Copilot and AI journey:
Five tips for prompting AI: How we’re communicating better at Microsoft with Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft 365 – How Microsoft 365 Delivers Trustworthy AI (2024-01).docx
Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot Privacy and Protections
Apply principles of Zero Trust to Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Learn about retention for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Copilot Use Cases for HR: Copilot for Microsoft 365 Starter Series
Copilot Use Cases for HR: Copilot for Microsoft 365 Starter Series
Session 1 of 8
iCal calendar invite Copilot Use Cases for HR
Copilot for Microsoft 365 is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of Human Resources (HR) professionals in Healthcare and Life Sciences organizations. Here are some ways it can be beneficial:
Streamlined Recruitment:
Copilot automates resume screening, making it easier to identify top talent.
It assists in creating job descriptions, ensuring clarity and alignment with organizational needs.
Efficient Onboarding:
Simplifies document management during the onboarding process.
Provides personalized onboarding plans for new hires, ensuring a smooth transition.
Enhanced Employee Engagement:
Analyzes employee feedback to provide valuable insights.
Recommends tailored training programs to boost engagement and productivity.
Data-Driven Decision-Making:
Leverages Copilot’s big data platform to make informed HR decisions.
Enables evidence-based strategies for workforce management.
In the healthcare and life sciences sectors, Copilot can address specific use cases such as optimizing recruitment workflows, improving employee satisfaction, and ensuring compliance with industry regulations. By leveraging artificial intelligence and automation, Copilot empowers HR professionals to work smarter and achieve more with fewer resources.
Learn more by attending the Copilot for HR webinar, March 11, at 12 noon eastern. iCal calendar invite here Copilot Use Cases for HR
This session will be run by Microsoft’s Jaspreet Dhamija and Helen Guan.
You can see the entire upcoming Copilot for Microsoft 365 Starter series here.
Thanks for visiting – Michael Gannotti LinkedIn
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Celebrating Women’s History Month, with Cherie Griffith-Dunn
As part of the Microsoft #BuildFor2030 Initiative, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, we’re continuing to highlight solutions that are enabling broader societal impact, and our partners’ journeys growing their business on the marketplace. To honor International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month this year, I sat down with Cherie Griffith-Dunn, Founder and President of CYPROTECK Inc., to hear her story and partner journey.
About Cherie: Cherie Griffith-Dunn, Founder/CEO/CISSP, and proud graduate of an HBCU, stands as a distinguished member of the AKA Sorority and the visionary force behind CYPROTECK Cybersecurity Solutions Inc. Her relentless pursuit to revolutionize cybersecurity within the healthcare industry and with her unwavering dedication to reshaping the digital landscape, has uncovered a critical gap in the market and a pressing need for a new security model – one that effectively addresses the complexities of healthcare’s modern work, embraces mobile workforces, and protects staff, devices, applications, and data across all locations. This is how CYPROTECK was born.
[JR]: Tell us about CYPROTEK and your mission. What inspired the founding?
[CGD]: CRYPTOTECK was born with the goal to provide a cutting-edge cybersecurity system engineered with the latest in technology, endpoint detection response using generative AI and machine large learning bots to educate, predict, prevent, and protect your data, networks, and critical infrastructure from cyber threats and cyber espionage. CYPROTECK was founded to address these critical needs within the healthcare industry. Our mission is to streamline and secure data across all points within the healthcare industry, empowering organizations to navigate the complex landscape of limited IT resources, integrate new technologies with confidence, and mitigate the evolving threat landscape—all while adhering to strict regulatory standards.
[JR]: Can you tell us a bit about the application you have available on the marketplace? How does it work?
[CGD]: Our healthcare cybersecurity solution, available on the Azure marketplace, offers a comprehensive approach to safeguarding sensitive patient data and critical systems. Leveraging Azure’s secure cloud infrastructure, our application aggregates and analyzes data from various healthcare sources. By integrating with existing systems, our solution collects and analyzes data, applying advanced algorithms to detect and prevent cyber threats in real-time. Microsoft’s security platform allows us to fortify endpoints, creating a robust security architecture. Our predictive, preventive, and protective measures operate seamlessly, requiring no additional effort from healthcare organizations. Our AI/ML technology creates a real-time dashboard that precisely identifies the source of risk, providing detailed insights into why it occurs. Additionally, our behavioral component offers targeted training to employees to address and correct risky behaviors promptly.
[JR]: AI is top of mind for all of us. How is CYPROTECK leveraging or planning to leverage AI in app development?
[CGD]: CYPROTECK is dedicated to leveraging cutting-edge technologies, particularly AI and machine learning, to enhance our app development processes. We are focused on harnessing AI algorithms to predict, prevent, and protect against emerging cyber threats with unparalleled precision. Specifically, we have integrated Microsoft Azure AI functionality into our solutions. Azure offers us comprehensive suite of AI tools and services, including Azure Machine Learning, Azure Cognitive Services, and Azure AI Platform, which empower us to continue to develop intelligent cybersecurity solutions. Additionally, we begun the use of GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding assistant, to streamline our app development workflow. Copilot allows us to quickly leverage machine learning models trained on vast amounts of code to provide intelligent code suggestions and automate repetitive tasks, allowing our development team to work more efficiently and effectively.
By leveraging these advanced AI tools and capabilities from Microsoft, CYPROTECK has the power to revolutionize cybersecurity app development. Our solutions are more intelligent, proactive, and effective at detecting and mitigating cyber threats, ultimately ensuring the security and integrity of our clients’ digital assets.
[JR]: What Microsoft cloud products did you use in your app development? What value is this enabling with your customers?
[CGD]: In our app development, we strategically leverage multiple Microsoft cloud products to deliver exceptional value to our customers in the healthcare sector. Our primary foundation is Microsoft Azure, renowned for its scalability, reliability, and stringent security protocols. Azure provides us with the robust infrastructure needed to host and manage our cybersecurity solutions, ensuring seamless performance and data protection. Additionally, we integrate Microsoft Defender for Endpoint into our applications to bolster endpoint security. This powerful tool equips our customers with advanced threat detection capabilities, helping them identify and respond to potential security breaches in real-time. By leveraging Defender for Endpoint, our customers can proactively safeguard their endpoints against a wide range of cyber threats, including malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks. Furthermore, we harness the capabilities of Microsoft Sentinel to enhance our threat intelligence and security analytics. Sentinel allows us to aggregate and analyze vast amounts of security data from various sources, providing our customers with actionable insights into their cybersecurity posture. With Sentinel, our customers can detect and investigate security incidents more effectively, enabling them to respond promptly and mitigate risks before they escalate. By integrating these Microsoft cloud products into our cybersecurity solutions, we provide our customers with a comprehensive and proactive approach to cybersecurity.
[JR]: Can you talk about your experience in building an app for the commercial marketplace through ISV Success? How has Microsoft supported you along your journey?
[CGD]: Building our app for the commercial marketplace through the ISV Success team has been an incredible journey. Without their unwavering support and expertise, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have today. From the outset, we encountered various challenges and complexities while navigating through the Azure ecosystem. However, thanks to the dedicated guidance and assistance provided by the ISV Success team, we were able to overcome these hurdles with ease. Their invaluable insights and personalized support not only helped us to navigate through the intricacies of Azure but also empowered us to become proficient in leveraging its capabilities effectively.
The best part about the ISV Success program is the personalized support we receive from a dedicated team at Microsoft. We have been working with one team over the past 6 months. and they truly understand our product and how to best support us in bringing it to market. This personalized approach has been invaluable, as it ensures that we receive tailored guidance and resources every step of the way. Microsoft has been instrumental in providing technical expertise, market insights, and strategic advice, empowering us to navigate the complexities of the marketplace with confidence.
[JR]: Can you talk about your experience publishing a transactable app on the marketplace? What benefits did publishing transactable provide for you?
[CGD]: First and foremost, embracing transactable features significantly enhanced the accessibility of my app. By allowing users to seamlessly make transactions within the app itself, I removed barriers to entry and streamlined our user experience. This streamlining help attract new users and also allows us to bring existing customers to the platform and provide them with premium features. Furthermore, publishing a transactable app empowered me to monetize more effectively. By offering in-app purchases or subscriptions, I created multiple revenue streams that supplemented traditional one-time purchases. This diversified revenue model not only increased my app’s profitability but also ensured a more stable income over time.
Beyond financial gains, the transactable model also fostered deeper engagement and loyalty among users. The ability to unlock premium content or features through in-app transactions incentivized users to invest more time and resources into the app. This heightened engagement improved user satisfaction and boosted retention rates.
Publishing a transactable app also provided invaluable insights into user behavior and preferences. Through analytics and data gathered from in-app transactions, I gained a deeper understanding of my user base, allowing me to better tailor future updates and offerings. This data-driven approach improved the overall user experience and optimized monetization strategies for maximum impact.
In essence, publishing a transactable app not only enhanced accessibility, monetization, and user engagement, but also provided valuable insights that continue to shape the evolution of my product.
[JR]: Prioritizing cybersecurity helps protect critical infrastructure all communities rely on. How does CYPROTECK align its business to enabling positive impact for your customers and communities?
[CGD]: At CYPROTECK, we understand that cybersecurity isn’t just about protecting data; it’s about safeguarding the very foundation of our communities. Our commitment to positive impact extends beyond our client relationships to collaborations with community organizations, public sectors, nonprofits, and educational institutions.
One impactful example of our work lies in our partnership with a healthcare-focused nonprofit in the Florida area. Through comprehensive risk assessments, tailored security solutions, and robust training programs, we fortified their systems against cyber threats, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of patient data. As a result, our partner experienced a significant reduction in security incidents, bolstering trust among patients and stakeholders while allowing them to focus more resources on their core mission of delivering quality care. Additionally, our engagement with a public sector agency exemplifies our dedication to enabling positive impact. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and best practices, we helped modernize their cybersecurity infrastructure, enhancing resilience against evolving threats. This not only safeguarded critical government services but also bolstered public trust in the integrity of their operations.
Whether working with nonprofits, public sectors, or educational institutions, our focus remains on equipping organizations with the tools and knowledge they need to navigate the digital landscape securely. By focusing on enabling positive impact, we strive to build stronger, more resilient communities where cybersecurity is not just a priority but a shared responsibility.
[JR]: What advice do you have for women founders and leaders who are considering or want to grow their skills and careers in cybersecurity?
[CGD]: As a black woman-owned cybersecurity firm, I am deeply passionate about fostering diversity and inclusion in the tech industry.
To women founders and leaders considering a career in cybersecurity, I offer the following advice:
Firstly, embrace your unique perspective and experiences. Diversity in cybersecurity is crucial for tackling complex challenges from different angles and developing innovative solutions. Your voice and insights can bring valuable contributions to the field.
Secondly, never stop learning. Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field, so staying updated on the latest technologies, trends, and best practices is essential. Take advantage of resources such as online courses, workshops, and industry certifications to continuously enhance your skills and knowledge.
Thirdly, seek out mentorship and networking opportunities. Connect with other women in cybersecurity who can provide guidance, support, and inspiration as you navigate your career path. Mentorship programs, professional associations, and networking events are valuable platforms for building relationships and expanding your professional network.
Finally, don’t be afraid to take risks and advocate for yourself. Women are often underrepresented in tech leadership roles, but by seizing opportunities, demonstrating your capabilities, and advocating for your worth, you can break barriers and pave the way for future generations of women in cybersecurity.
[JR]: Have you collaborated with other partners in the Microsoft ecosystem? How has this collaboration been beneficial?
[CGD]: Collaborating with other partners in the Microsoft ecosystem has been instrumental in enhancing the value and depth of offerings to our customers. These partnerships have not only expanded our reach but have also enriched the solutions and services we provide. By joining forces with fellow Microsoft partners, we’ve been able to leverage complementary expertise, technologies, and resources to deliver more comprehensive and innovative solutions to our customers. Whether it’s integrating our products seamlessly with Microsoft’s suite of tools or tapping into the expertise of other partners to address specific customer needs, these collaborations have allowed us to offer tailored solutions that meet and exceed our customers’ expectations. Moreover, partnering within the Microsoft ecosystem has provided access to a vast network of resources, including training, support, and marketing opportunities. This has enabled us to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, expand our capabilities, and better serve our customers in an ever-evolving digital landscape.
Furthermore, these collaborations have fostered a culture of knowledge-sharing and mutual growth. By engaging with other partners, we’ve had the opportunity to learn from their experiences, exchange best practices, and collectively innovate to drive positive outcomes for our customers.
[JR]: What are you most proud of in your journey building/leading CYPROTECK? What’s next?
[CGD]: What I’m most proud of in my journey of building and leading CYPROTECK is the transformative impact we’ve had in the realm of cybersecurity. What sets CYPROTECK apart is our relentless pursuit of innovation and our focus on empowering our clients with cutting-edge cybersecurity strategies. We’ve built a team of passionate experts who continuously push the boundaries of what’s possible, staying ahead of emerging threats and evolving technologies to safeguard our clients’ digital assets effectively.
But our journey doesn’t end here. What’s next for CYPROTECK is to continue leading the charge in shaping the future of cybersecurity. We’re poised to further expand our offerings, leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to deliver even more sophisticated and proactive security solutions. Additionally, we remain committed to investing in cybersecurity certification programs, ensuring that our team is equipped with the latest skills and expertise to address the evolving challenges of cybersecurity effectively.
We’ll also continue to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organization, ensuring that we have a team that reflects the diverse perspectives and experiences of the communities we serve.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Resources:
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Copilot Use Cases for Finance: Copilot for Microsoft 365 Starter Series
Copilot Use Cases for Finance: Copilot for Microsoft 365 Starter Series
Session 2 of 8
iCal calendar invite Copilot Use Cases for Finance
Copilot for Microsoft 365: A Smart Solution for Finance in Healthcare and Life Sciences
Finance departments in healthcare and life sciences (HLS) organizations face many challenges in today’s dynamic and complex environment. They need to manage multiple sources of data, ensure compliance with regulations, optimize costs and revenues, and support strategic decision-making. To achieve these goals, they need tools that can help them automate workflows, streamline processes, and enhance collaboration across teams and stakeholders.
That’s where Copilot for Microsoft 365 comes in. Copilot is a cloud-based solution that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) to provide smart assistance for finance professionals. Copilot integrates seamlessly with Microsoft 365 applications, such as Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Teams, and augments their capabilities with advanced features, such as data extraction, analysis, visualization, summarization, and generation.
With Copilot, finance teams in HLS organizations can benefit from the following use cases:
Data extraction and analysis: Copilot can automatically extract relevant data from various sources, such as invoices, receipts, contracts, reports, and emails, and convert them into structured formats that can be easily analyzed in Excel or Power BI. Copilot can also perform calculations, apply formulas, create charts and dashboards, and generate insights from the data.
Document creation and summarization: Copilot can help finance professionals create and edit documents, such as financial statements, budgets, forecasts, and presentations, using natural language commands or templates. Copilot can also summarize long and complex documents, such as contracts, policies, and regulations, and highlight the key points and action items.
Communication and collaboration: Copilot can enhance communication and collaboration among finance teams and other stakeholders, such as managers, auditors, regulators, and customers, by enabling seamless sharing of data and documents through Outlook, Teams, or SharePoint. Copilot can also generate email responses, meeting notes, and follow-up tasks, and provide reminders and notifications.
By using Copilot, finance teams in HLS organizations can save time, reduce errors, improve productivity, and deliver better results. Copilot can also help them stay ahead of the curve and adapt to the changing needs and expectations of their industry.
If you want to learn more about how Copilot can help your finance department, join us for our next webinar, Copilot Use Cases for HR, on March 18th, where we will showcase how Copilot can assist human resources professionals in HLS organizations. Register now and get ready to experience the power of Copilot for Microsoft 365.
iCal calendar invite here Copilot Use Cases for Finance
This session will be presented by Microsoft’s Nicholas Aquino and Christina Tillbrook
You can see the entire upcoming Copilot for Microsoft 365 Starter series here.
Thanks for visiting – Michael Gannotti LinkedIn
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Advancing Trust, Transparency, and Control with Copilot for Microsoft 365
Hello, Microsoft Tech Community! I’m excited to share some important updates about Copilot for Microsoft 365. As you may recall from TJ’s blog post on February 29, we’ve been working hard to enhance your experience with Copilot. Today, I’d like to highlight some key updates that will benefit our customers, as outlined in Paul Lorimer’s blog: Announcing the expansion of Microsoft’s data residency capabilities | Microsoft 365 Blog
Paul’s post delves into the expansion of our data residency capabilities. We understand that data control is paramount in today’s digital landscape. That’s why we’re ensuring that your interaction data with Copilot for Microsoft 365 (for eligible customers) will be stored in the location specified by your Microsoft 365 data residency settings. This is a significant step forward in our commitment to providing a secure and compliant environment for our enterprise and highlight regulated customers that have data particularly stringent requirements for how their data is stored.
But we’re not stopping there. Our vision is to democratize AI, making it accessible and beneficial for everyone. As we continue to innovate and enhance Copilot, our guiding principles remain the same: Trust, Transparency, and Control. These principles have always been at the heart of Microsoft 365, and they continue to shape our approach to Copilot. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to evolve Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Please reply with your questions and share your experiences and needs as you explore your Copilot and our Data Residency options.
More resources to get support your Copilot and AI journey:
Five tips for prompting AI: How we’re communicating better at Microsoft with Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft 365 – How Microsoft 365 Delivers Trustworthy AI (2024-01).docx
Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot Privacy and Protections
Apply principles of Zero Trust to Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Learn about retention for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Advancing Trust, Transparency, and Control with Copilot for Microsoft 365
Hello, Microsoft Tech Community! I’m excited to share some important updates about Copilot for Microsoft 365. As you may recall from TJ’s blog post on February 29, we’ve been working hard to enhance your experience with Copilot. Today, I’d like to highlight some key updates that will benefit our customers, as outlined in Paul Lorimer’s blog: Announcing the expansion of Microsoft’s data residency capabilities | Microsoft 365 Blog
Paul’s post delves into the expansion of our data residency capabilities. We understand that data control is paramount in today’s digital landscape. That’s why we’re ensuring that your interaction data with Copilot for Microsoft 365 (for eligible customers) will be stored in the location specified by your Microsoft 365 data residency settings. This is a significant step forward in our commitment to providing a secure and compliant environment for our enterprise and highlight regulated customers that have data particularly stringent requirements for how their data is stored.
But we’re not stopping there. Our vision is to democratize AI, making it accessible and beneficial for everyone. As we continue to innovate and enhance Copilot, our guiding principles remain the same: Trust, Transparency, and Control. These principles have always been at the heart of Microsoft 365, and they continue to shape our approach to Copilot. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue to evolve Copilot for Microsoft 365.
Please reply with your questions and share your experiences and needs as you explore your Copilot and our Data Residency options.
More resources to get support your Copilot and AI journey:
Five tips for prompting AI: How we’re communicating better at Microsoft with Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft 365 – How Microsoft 365 Delivers Trustworthy AI (2024-01).docx
Data, Privacy, and Security for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Purview data security and compliance protections for Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot Privacy and Protections
Apply principles of Zero Trust to Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Learn about retention for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Improved Next.js support (Preview) for Azure Static Web Apps
Next.js is a popular framework for building modern web applications with React, making it a common workload to deploy to Azure Static Web Apps’ optimized hosting of frontend web applications. We are excited to announce that we have improved our support for Next.js on Azure Static Web Apps (preview), increasing the compatibility with recent Next.js features and providing support for the newest Next.js versions, enabling you to deploy and run your Next.js applications with full feature access on Azure.
What’s new?
As we continue to iterate on our Next.js support during our preview, we’ve made fundamental improvements to ensure feature compatibility with the most recent and future versions of Next.js. Such improvements include support for the new React Server Components model in Next.js as well as hosting Next.js backend functions on dedicated App Service instances to ensure feature compatibility.
Support for Next.js 14, React Server Components, Server Actions, Server Side Rendering
With the introduction of the App Directory, React Server Components and Server Actions, it’s now possible to build full-stack components, where individual components exist server-side and have access to sensitive resources such as databases or APIs, providing a more integrated full-stack developer experience.
For instance, a single component can now contain both queries and mutations with database access, facilitating the componentization of code.
// Server Component
export default function Page() {
// handle queries, accessing databases or APIs securely here
// Server Action
async function create() {
‘use server’
// handle mutations, accessing databases or APIs securely here
// …
}
return (
// …
)
}
These features, including recent server-side developments for Next.js, are now better supported on Azure Static Web Apps. Support for the pages directory, which is still supported by Next.js 14, will also continue to work on Azure Static Web Apps.
Increased size limits of Next.js deployments
Previously, Next.js deployments were limited to 100mb due to the hosting restrictions of managed functions. Now, you can deploy Next.js applications up to 250mb in size to Azure Static Web Apps, with the Next.js statically exported sites supporting up to the regular Static Web Apps quotas now.
Partial support for staticwebapps.config.json
With the improved support for Next.js sites, the `staticwebapps.config.json` file which is used to provide configurations to the way your site is hosted by Azure Static Web Apps is now partially supported. While app-level configurations should still be completed within the `next.config.json` to configure the Next.js server, the `staticwebapps.config.json` file can still be used to limit routes to roles and other headers, routes, redirects or other configurations.
Support for Azure Static Web Apps authentication and authorization
Azure Static Web Apps provides built-in authentication and role-based authorization. You can now use this built-in authentication with Next.js sites to secure them. The client principal containing the information of the authenticated user can be accessed from the request headers and used to perform server-side operations within API routes, Server Actions or React Server Components. The following code snippet indicates how the user headers can be accessed from within a Next.js codebase.
import { headers } from ‘next/headers’
export default async function Home() {
const headersList = headers();
const clientPrincipal = JSON.parse(atob(headersList.get(‘x-ms-client-principal’) || ”))
return (
<main >
{clientPrincipal.userId}
</main>
);
}
Next.js backend functions hosted on a dedicated App Service plan
To ensure full feature compatibility with current and future Next.js releases, Next.js workloads on Azure Static Web Apps are uniquely hosted leveraging App Service. Static contents for Next.js workloads will continue to be hosted on Azure Static Web Apps globally distributed content store, and Next.js backend functions are hosted by Azure Static Web Apps with a dedicated App Service plan. This enables improved support for Next.js features, while retaining Static Web Apps’ existing pricing plans.
How can you activate these improvements?
These improvements have been rolled out to all regions of Azure Static Web Apps, and will take effect on your next deployment of a Next.js workload to your Static Web Apps resource.
Get started with Next.js on Azure Static Web Apps
We hope you find these improvements useful and helpful for your Next.js development. We are always looking for feedback and suggestions, and are actively reading and engaging in our community GitHub.
Get stated deploying Next.js sites on Azure Static Web Apps for free!
Share feedback for Next.js in the Azure Static Web Apps GitHub repository
Follow and tag our Twitter account for Azure Static Web Apps
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Accessibility in Microsoft 365 Core Apps
“Accessibility is not a bolt on. It’s something that must be built in to every product we make so that our products work for everyone. Only then will we empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. This is the inclusive culture we aspire to create” – Satya Nadella
Our journey in accessible technology is grounded in a shared conviction at Microsoft. As product makers, we believe in the obligation to build technology that truly empowers people, fostering an inherently equitable experience.
In this pursuit, we’ve embraced a mindset we call “shift left,” incorporating accessibility at every stage and right from the inception of designing and building our products.
Reflecting on my tenure, I’ve had the privilege of contributing to some of the world’s most impactful technologies, particularly with Office and Windows. Traditionally, these products were well established with years of development and only later received our focused attention on accessibility.
However, Copilot presented a rare opportunity for us to incorporate accessibility right from the inception of the product and therefore “shift left”, the entire design and development process. And what’s more, AI technologies like Copilot brought a unique opportunity to reshape how humans interact with computers in a way that makes the experience MORE equitable and transformative for all.
Now, integrated into our Microsoft 365 Core Apps, Copilot brings forth exciting capabilities. Our goal is to bridge the gap between your interaction with technology and how you express your ideas, making the user experience more inclusive and empowering for all.
At Copilot’s core lies a commitment to equity, underscoring our ongoing dedication to fostering a technology landscape that truly serves every individual, ensuring that no one is left behind.
Equity at Copilot’s Core
We are actively shifting left in our product development by making accessibility a core part of Copilot’s design and functionality. Copilot is designed to work well with assistive technologies, such as screen readers, magnifiers, contrast themes, and voice input, and to provide a seamless and intuitive user experience.
But in addition to that, Copilot is a tool designed to be accessible itself.
In this process, we have collaborated and co-innovated with a diverse set of customers, 600+ members of Microsoft’s employee disability community, partners in research and design, and the commitment of engineers and product makers to listen and be accountable.
To illustrate how Copilot can enhance accessibility, I want to share with you some highlights from engaging with participants who had early access to Copilot:
Drafting emails: Copilot can help create 1st drafts in a matter of minutes. This can be especially helpful to those who have more limited mobility and challenges typing. You can generate different versions of the email with different levels of formality and detail and ask Copilot to check their calendar and suggest a meeting time, just with a few clicks of a button.
Using voice commands: With Copilot, you can create entire PowerPoint presentations just using your voice. Just tell Copilot about what you want to create, and Copilot can generate relevant graphics and notes for slides.
These examples demonstrate how Copilot can save users time and effort, as well as help them express their ideas and communicate their expertise more effectively. They also show how Copilot can adapt to their preferences and needs and provide them with a supportive partner that can enhance their communication and productivity.
In addition to some of these areas of feedback, we also conducted a deep dive study with those of the neurodiverse community. The neurodiverse community (which makes up 10-20% of the world) faces common challenges that we can all relate to, but their lives are disproportionately affected by them. Examples include planning, focus, procrastination, communication, reading ease and comprehension, being overly literal, and fatigue.
For the neurodiverse community, our study showed that Copilot can be a powerful ally, offering assistance in overcoming these challenges. It serves as a facilitator for thought organization, acts as a springboard for writing tasks, aids in surmounting task initiation barriers, and assists in processing extensive information found in documents, messages, or emails.
Members of the community reported Copilot helping their communication effectiveness by distilling action items from team meetings and documents, generating summaries, adjusting the tone and context of their content, and bridging communication gaps.
As one of the participants in the study said, “For me, Copilot itself is accessibility. Having Copilot is like putting on glasses after I’ve been squinting my entire career. It is equity and I think as a neurodivergent individual, I can’t imagine going back.”
Making Accessible Content with Ease
On our journey to create products that are truly inclusive, we’re also empowering document authors to shift left and build better authoring habits by catching accessibility errors early in the doc creation process. Ensuring that your content is comprehensible to all individuals, irrespective of their visual abilities or preferences, is a crucial component of accessibility. To assist you in this endeavor, we have created the Accessibility Assistant, a robust tool that can detect and resolve potential problems in your documents, emails, and presentations. You can access the Accessibility Assistant from the Review tab in Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
New Features of the Accessibility Assistant include some of the following highlights:
The in-canvas notifications for readability is a feature that notifies you of accessibility hurdles for common issues, such as text color not meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) color contrast ratio or images lacking descriptions. You can use the inclusive color picker to choose an appropriate color from the suggested options and utilize the automatically generated image descriptions to provide alt-text, making it easier to create accessible content.
Quick fix card for multiple issues: This feature allows you to fix several issues of the same type with fewer clicks. For example, you can change the color of all the text that has low contrast in your document.
Per-slide toggle for PowerPoint: This feature enables you to view and fix the accessibility issues for each slide individually, instead of seeing them by categories. This can help you focus on your own slides and collaborate with others more easily.
These capabilities are designed to help you create accessible content faster and easier, and to ensure that everyone can access and enjoy your work. The Accessibility Assistant for Word Desktop has started rolling out to Insider Beta Channel users running Version 2012 (Build 17425.2000) or later. This feature for Outlook Desktop will be available in Insider Beta Channel by April 2024, followed by release to PowerPoint Desktop this summer
Our Commitment
At Microsoft, we believe that everyone has something valuable to offer, and that diversity of perspectives and experiences can enrich our products and services. That’s why we are committed to empowering everyone to achieve more, fostering an inherently equitable experience. Copilot is one of the ways that we are fulfilling this commitment, by providing a supportive partner that can help you with common challenges, enhance your communication, and bridge the gap between your interaction with technology and how you express your ideas.
But we also know that we are not done yet. We are still on a journey of understanding how AI and LLMs will continue to evolve and make the world a more equitable place. We are constantly learning from our customers, partners, and the disability community, and we are always looking for ways to improve our accessibility features and functionality. We welcome your feedback and suggestions on how we can make Copilot better for you and for everyone.
To learn more about Copilot and how to get started, please visit the Copilot website or the Copilot support page. To learn more about accessibility at Microsoft and how to access our accessibility features, please visit the Microsoft Accessibility website or the Disability Answer Desk. And to share your feedback or suggestions on Copilot, please use the feedback button (thumbs up or down).
Together, we can make the world a more equitable place for everyone.
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