Office 365 Weekly Digest | Week of February 21 - 27, 2016

  • Article

MESSAGE CENTER

Note: The information below may not be posted to your Office 365 tenant as not all notifications apply to all tenants.

 

Feature Update: Office 365 Admin App

Posted: February 23, 2016 | Action: Awareness | We’ve updated the Office 365 Admin app. You’ll begin seeing this change with the current version in your mobile app store. The Admin app updates will include: Push notifications for 'Plan for change’ Message Center posts, read/unread status for messages and dismiss capability for messages. If you are already using the Office 365 Admin app, there is no action. You will automatically receive these updates. Log in and explore. If you aren’t using this app, download today. Go to settings and ensure notifications are enabled. Learn more at https://aka.ms/Office365AdminApp.

 

Known Issue: Localization settings in Skype for Business

Posted: February 24, 2016 | Action: Awareness | We have identified an issue with localization settings within Skype for Business. If you attempt to change your localization settings within the Skype for Business service to a language other than English, or have previously adjusted your settings to another language, only English text will be displayed. There is no action at this time. We are aware of this issue, and are deploying an update to the Skype for Business service infrastructure to remediate impact. This issue is expected to be resolved within the next 30 days.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Azure Active Directory Webinars for March

Are you looking to deploy Azure Active Directory quickly and easily? We are offering free webinar briefings on key Azure Active Directory deployment topics! Sessions include: Pre-requisites, SSPR, MFA, SaaS Application Integration and Reporting. Each 1-hour briefing is designed to support IT Pros in quickly rolling out Azure Active Directory features to their organization. All webinars are free of cost and will be followed by Q&A with our Engineering Team. Capacity is limited. Sign up for one or all of the sessions today!

 

YamJam: Office 365 Admin

When: March 2, 2016 @ 9:00am PT | Join us for an Office 365 Admin YamJam next Wednesday, March 2, 2016 from 9:00am - 10:00am PST in the Office 365 IT Pro group. We encourage you to ask questions and share feedback during the hour of live Q&A. We will focus on how we communicate with Office 365 admins. We'll be asking the questions, so bring your feedback! We look forward to seeing you there!

 

SME Roundtable on Cloud at Microsoft

When: March 3, 2016 @ 10:00am PT | IT subject matter experts from our Cloud at Microsoft IT Showcase course will answer your questions on how Microsoft IT designs, develops, implements, monitors, and supports cloud solutions at Microsoft. Get candid answers from our experts as they share their insights and best practices.

 

FastTrack Webinars: Learn how to do more, together

The best productivity experience? It’s already in your Office.  Ask questions, learn shortcuts and find out how Office 365 can make you and your team more productive. Each webinar is a live, instructor-led session offered at multiple dates and times. Facilitated discussion follows each session, with opportunities to ask questions and discuss specific scenarios to you. Direct registration links for each webinar are provided below.

 

Microsoft Technology Centers: Drive Business Results with Intelligent Tools Series

When: Thursdays, February 11 – March 31, 2016 @ 10:00am PT | Join us for a virtual event series, live from a Microsoft Technology Center, covering sales and cloud productivity solutions. We are thrilled to announce that in partnership with MTC studio our live events during the months of February and March will revolve around Driving Business Results with Intelligent Tools. Covering both Office and Dynamics solutions this event proves to be exciting, as organizations can increase customer satisfaction by creating intelligent workplace by utilizing intelligent tools. With a great line up of speakers, this eight-part MTC webcast series will allow customers to see how innovations can help them drive maximum impact across multiple teams, impacting customer loyalty, agent efficiency, employee satisfaction, and cost savings to their organization. Join us on Thursdays in February and March, and we’ll show you how to do more with less using new solutions that increase customer loyalty, boost employee satisfaction, and cut costs.

  • March 03, 2016 – Power to the Customer with Omni-Channel Service
  • March 10, 2016 – Security is Not a Privilege, It’s a Right
  • March 17, 2016 – Reinventing Customer Experience: Create Agent “Superheroes” via the Modern Service/Call Center
  • March 24, 2016 – What’s Next in SharePoint 2016
  • March 31, 2016 – Reinventing Customer Experience: Field Service and the Modern Dispatch Technician

 

BLOG ROUNDUP

New security management and transparency capabilities coming to Office 365

We recently announced Microsoft Cloud App Security, a comprehensive cloud access security broker (CASB) solution, based on Microsoft’s acquisition of cloud security innovator Adallom. It will also power new advanced security management capabilities for Office 365 that will improve IT visibility and control including advanced security alerts, cloud app discovery, app permissions and extending customer lockbox to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. These new capabilities will begin to roll out in the third quarter of this year and will be offered as part of the Office 365 E5 plan.

 

Accessibility in Office 365 - progress in 2015 and plans for 2016

Over the past year, we made progress in improving the accessibility of all the Office 365 applications and services, as well as our help documentation and training resources related to accessibility. A summary of the key enhancements we delivered in 2015 along with links to support material can be found later in this post. Looking forward, we are excited about 2016, as we have several accessibility improvements planned for our Office 365 customers. These will be delivered via application updates throughout 2016. An overview of our plans for this year can be found later in this post. Delivering productivity experiences that are inclusive, accessible and truly empower people of all abilities to achieve more is a priority for Microsoft. We invite all organizations and individuals who strive to create an inclusive work or classroom environment to follow our progress on Office Blogs and watch our video series showcasing the accessibility enhancements in Office 365.

 

February 2016 Office 365 Updates

February has been another busy month for releases across our Office clients on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. There are a number of exciting new capabilities in Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. In addition, we released the first cumulative feature update since the initial September release of the Office 2016 apps—otherwise known as the “Deferred Channel” build—for our commercial customers. Read on for the details.

 

Be more productive with new Office 365 training

The Office training team is developing tutorials to support five core Office 365 scenarios, including: “Get it done from anywhere,” “Content collaboration,” “Run more effective meetings,” “Email and Calendar on the go” and “Work like a network.” We are pleased to announce the availability of the first three training scenarios. Each training consists of six tutorials with over 50 videos demonstrating how to use Office 365 in “real-life” situations. Users learn how they can work more effectively using Office 365 in their daily lives, using the devices and platform of their choice, including Android phones and tablets, iPhones and iPads, Macs and PCs.

 

NOTEWORTHY

Updated: Office 365 URLs and IP Address Ranges

February 22 - 25, 2016: Updates for Office 365 endpoints, Exchange Online Protection, Skype for Business Online and Remote Connectivity Analyzer.  Details on the updates are available on the RSS feed and the complete list is located here.

 

OneDrive for Business YamJam Summary is posted!

On February 10, 2016 the OneDrive for Business team hosted a YamJam to answer questions from the community and discuss product features and updates. Couldn't make it to the YamJam? At the link above, you will find the OneDrive for Business YamJam summary. The OneDrive for Business team will continue working through the unanswered questions over the next few weeks. Keep your eyes out for updates to the summary!

 

New Microsoft Virtual Academy Course: OneDrive for Business Product Recap and Roadmap Primer

Level: 100 | Published: February 24, 2016 | Interested in the latest key innovations in OneDrive for Business, along with a detailed strategy update and roadmap? Don't miss this session. Walk through an overview of the new features delivered in the OneDrive for Business product experience, along with IT and developer tools, with lots of helpful demos. End the session with a clear view of the value that OneDrive for Business can offer your organization and a look at upcoming innovation. For a list of all available Office 365 courses for IT Professionals, please visit https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/product-training/office-365.

 

Model: Change Management for Office 365 Clients

The client applications included with Office 365 are now being released regularly with updates that provide new features and functionality along with security and other updates. Windows 10 has also adopted the new servicing model and is also releasing new functionality regularly. As an IT Professional, you need to understand this new servicing model and how you can manage the releases, while your organization takes advantage of the new functionality. This model gives you an overview of the new servicing model, and helps you understand the releases and cadence, and how to effectively manage releases of the Office 365 client applications for your organization.