Office 365 Weekly Digest | Week of October 16 - 22, 2016

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

 

New Feature: Focused Inbox

Posted: October 17, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Stay Informed | Action: Awareness | Focused Inbox is a new feature coming to Office 365. Focused Inbox helps you take control of your inbox and focus on the emails that matter most. This is coming to all versions of Outlook that receive updates, to give you one consistent view of the important items in your inbox. Office 365 Administrators have robust controls to manage this feature within their organization. We'll be gradually rolling this out to First Release customers beginning the end of October, and completing mid-December. We’ll begin rolling this out to the rest of our customers beginning mid-November, and completing by the end of the year. Focused Inbox provides two filtered views of your inbox; Focused and Other. Emails that matter most to you are viewed in the Focused tab while the rest remain easily accessible, but out of the way, in the Other tab. You’ll be informed about new emails appearing in the “Other” tab filtered view, and you can switch between tabs (views) at any time to take a quick look. However, all emails remain in your inbox; no emails are moved. Focused Inbox is a refinement and improvement of a previous feature called Clutter. Active Clutter users will have to opt-in to Focused Inbox, and will be able to do so from an in-app prompt in Outlook. Users can keep using the existing Clutter experience through the transition. We will communicate again via Message Center when this change happens. Focused Inbox also has admin controls to help manage within your organization.  Learn more at https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/exchange/2016/10/14/managing-focused-inbox-in-office-365-and-outlook.

 

New Feature: SharePoint Online Team News

Posted: October 17, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Plan for Change | Action: Awareness | Team news for SharePoint Online is a new feature within Office 365 team sites. Rollout is planned for First Release customers through the month of October 2016 with worldwide rollout expected to complete by the end of November 2016. Team news will allow you to quickly create beautiful posts that are showcased on your team site home page – status updates, trip reports, or even just a highlight of an important document with some additional context provided to the team. Team news will appear in both the SharePoint Online web experience for team sites and also the native SharePoint mobile app for iOS, making it simple for your team members to stay up-to-date with what's important for the team and stakeholders anytime and anywhere. Additionally, team news will be added to additional platforms in the future. Please visit https://blogs.office.com/2016/09/26/enriching-the-mobile-and-intelligent-intranet-with-team-news-apps-for-android-and-windows-and-more/ for additional information.

 

Feature Update: Modern experience of document libraries inside sites associated with Office 365 Groups

Posted: October 17, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Stay Informed | Action: Awareness | Beginning October 24, we are changing the experience of document libraries in SharePoint Online sites associated with Office 365 Groups. This change will be noticeable in two ways. First, we are changing the existing default document libraries (those named Shared Documents) inside group sites to use the modern experience unless the modern experience has been explicitly turned off previously inside those libraries. Second, we are changing the default setting for new sites associated with Office 365 Groups to use the modern experience. If you are not yet ready for this change, your library can be reverted to the classic experience by going to library settings and selecting “Classic experience” under “List Experience” in Advanced Settings, or by clicking “Back to Classic” in the lower left. More details are available at https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Switch-the-default-experience-for-lists-or-document-libraries-from-new-or-classic-66dac24b-4177-4775-bf50-3d267318caa9.

 

Updated Feature: Office 365 Deferred Channel for Office 2016

Posted: October 18, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Stay Informed | Action: Awareness | The October release of the Office 365 Deferred Channel for Office 2016 is now available. The Admin Center gives you the ability to choose which update channel is available for new installations from the user’s Home Page and Software Download Page. Your users will see Office update options on the Home and Software Downloads page, with this release. There is nothing you need to do to prepare for this change. The Deferred Channel updates for Office 2016 will automatically be available to users configured for Deferred Channel updates. To learn more about the Deferred Channel updates for Office 365 ProPlus, please visit https://technet.microsoft.com/office/mt465751.

 

Reminder: Removing the Office 2013 version of Office 365 ProPlus

Posted: October 19, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Plan for Change | Action: Awareness | Office 2016 is the recommended version of Office 365 ProPlus and includes all the latest upgrades and new features. As we announced in September 2015, when we released Office 2016, beginning March 1, 2017, the Office 2013 version of Office 365 ProPlus will no longer be available for installation from the Office 365 portal. Beginning March 1, 2017, your users will no longer see Office 2013 as an option for download through the Office 365 portal, and admins will no longer have the option under Software download settings in the admin portal to choose to enable Office 2013. In addition, we will no longer provide feature updates for this version, nor provide support. We recommend you install Office 2016 as soon as possible to have the latest and greatest features and support. Additional information is available at https://support.microsoft.com/kb/3199744.

 

New Feature: SharePoint mobile apps for Windows 10 Mobile and Android

Posted: October 19, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Stay Informed | Action: Awareness | The SharePoint apps for Windows 10 Mobile and Android are becoming available for Office 365 customers. Users will be able to install them from their respective app stores, first with the SharePoint app for Windows 10 Mobile in the Windows Store today (Wednesday | Oct.19th, 2016), and second with the SharePoint app for Android in Google Play Store a week later (Monday | Oct. 24th, 2016). SharePoint mobile apps for Android and Windows 10 Mobile enable quick access to users' team sites, organizational portals and people they work with throughout Office 365 - plus enable search for content and people across your organization. Your intranet in your pocket. Starting today, we are filling more pockets by introducing the SharePoint mobile app for both Android and Windows 10 Mobile. There, too, is already a SharePoint app for iOS in the App Store. Encourage your users to install the SharePoint apps to their devices (Android: https://aka.ms/spappandroid | Windows 10 Mobile: https://aka.ms/spappwindows | iOS: https://aka.ms/spappios). Please visit https://blogs.office.com/2016/09/26/enriching-the-mobile-and-intelligent-intranet-with-team-news-apps-for-android-and-windows-and-more/ for more information.

 

New Feature: Visio Online Public Preview

Posted: October 20, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Stay Informed | Action: Awareness | Visio Online Public Preview is a new Office 365 feature that allows users to view and share their Visio diagrams using a web browser. Users will be able to easily share their processes, floor plans, organizational structure, and more with anyone across the organization, as long as their Visio(.vsdx) files are stored in OneDrive for Business or SharePoint Online. For IWs who do not have Visio desktop client installed, they can also view the diagrams in high fidelity from nearly anywhere. We'll be gradually rolling this out to all customers beginning next week, and the roll out will be completed by the end of October. This update will be automatically available to you if you do not have access to Visio Services (Visio Web Access). More details are available at https://support.office.com/article/Visio-Online-Frequently-Asked-Questions-e6647040-2fca-42ec-9fa5-d16a4e39e0ee.

 

New profile edit experience for the Office 365 profile page within Delve

Posted: October 20, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Stay Informed | Action: Awareness | We have begun rolling out a new edit experience for the Office 365 profile page within Delve to Office 365 First Release customers. Users will now be able to more easily list projects, skills and education history to their profile. The updated profile editing experience makes it easier to keep information fresh and updated with a few clicks and keystrokes. Users will now see an “Update profile” button on their profile page. Clicking this button takes them into an immersive edit experience where they can add additional information about themselves that will be viewable on their Office 365 profile. More information is available at https://blogs.office.com/2016/09/26/connect-to-expertise-and-content-with-new-people-experiences-throughout-office-365.

 

Project Online and Project for Office 365 subscriptions are changing

Posted: October 21, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Plan for Change | Action: Awareness | On August 15, 2016, we introduced new plans for Project Online and Project for Office 365 customers. The new plans are similar but not identical to your current plan. Our records indicate you are on one of the following plans which are affected: Project Lite, Project Online, Project for Office 365 or Project Online with Project for Office 365. Between now and December 31st, 2016, you don’t need to do anything. You can continue to add seats, get updates, and renew your existing plan until then. On your first renewal date following December 31st, 2016, you’ll need to select a different Project Online plan. To find out more about the new Project Online plans and how they’ll affect your organization, visit https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=823228.

 

Updated Feature: Project Online OData service

Posted: October 21, 2016 | Urgency: Normal | Category: Plan for Change | Action: Awareness | To improve the Project Online OData service, we’re adding modify dates to the several entities. These changes will begin rolling out by the end of 2016.  We’re adding modify dates to the following entities:

  • AssignmentBaseline
  • AssignmentBaselineTimephasedData
  • AssignmentTimephasedData
  • Engagement
  • EngagementsTimephasedData
  • ProjectBaseline
  • TaskBaseline
  • TaskBaselineTimephasedData
  • TaskTimephasedData
  • TimesheetLineActualData
  • ResourceDemandTimephasedData
  • ResourceTimephasedData

These properties can be used to better understand when an entity is updated. This is helpful for organizations that are replicating Project Online reporting data to a SQL Server database using the OData protocol. If you have an app that queries all the properties without specifying the property names, it may be impacted by this change. We recommend that apps query for specific properties so that apps are not impacted by the addition of properties. Please visit https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/office/jj163048.aspx for more details about the Project Online OData service.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS Azure Active Directory Webinars for October

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: Getting Ready for Azure AD, Manage Your Enterprise Applications with Azure AD, Secure Your Identities with Azure AD Multi-Factor Authentication, Securing Your Enterprise Office 365 Applications with Azure AD and more. Each 1-hour or 75-minute webinar 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 include an anonymous Q&A session with our Engineering Team. Capacity is limited so sign up for one or all of the sessions today!

 

Online Immersion Experience: Improve your organization’s ability to react quickly to new data and information using Office 2016 and Windows 10

When: October 26, 2016 at 10:00am and 12:00pm PT | Boost your productivity with Office 365 and Windows 10. An online immersion session is not your typical online event. These 90-minute interactive sessions start with an online roundtable discussing your business challenges and then launch into a live environment in the cloud. A skilled facilitator guides you through simulated business scenarios that are customized to your interests. We will send you a link to connect your own device to a remote desktop loaded with our latest and greatest technology, so you can experience first-hand how Microsoft tools can solve your biggest challenges in a collaborative, fun environment. Please note: Each session is only open to 20 participants. Reserve your seat now and learn how you can be more productive anywhere, anytime with Office 365.

 

FastTrack Webinars: Learn how to do more, together

When: Multiple sessions currently scheduled through October 31, 2016 | 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.

 

BLOG ROUNDUP One-stop shop for enterprise/IT pro content about Office 365

Are you in charge of getting your enterprise organization onto Office 365? We have the information you need to plan, deploy and manage Office 365 and hybrid environments. Find content about core Office 365, Office client deployment and Office 365 services (including Exchange Online, Skype for Business Online, SharePoint Online and more) all in one place at https://aka.ms/O365ITPro. We consolidate trusted, authoritative content from multiple Microsoft content sources into one convenient experience so that you can browse to the information you need...

 

Guide to inbox management

With hundreds (or thousands) of messages coming and going from your inbox each month, it can quickly get unruly. Outlook helps you take control and stay on top of what’s important. Here are seven Outlook tips and tools to help you overcome business email overload, including Focused Inbox, @Mentions and more.

 

4 ways OneDrive can help you eliminate the version control headache

Successfully working on a team requires seamless collaboration—no matter where you are. You need to communicate effectively with all your team members and keep everyone on the same page. This can get chaotic during busy workdays, even for the most organized employees. The rise of remote workers has presented even more challenges for the modern-day workforce. Businesses rely heavily on digital communication to collaborate beyond office walls, which poses new challenges for your team—especially without the right technical infrastructure in place. For smoother workflows across your company, it’s important to keep collaboration tight and file versioning to a minimum. | Free eBook: The End of Versioning as We Know It

 

The Hybrid Mesh

During the recent Microsoft Ignite conference we heard questions related to hybrid and partner free/busy relationships quite often, so we wanted to write about it. This scenario applies to companies with one or more external free busy relationships configured. For instance, you could have two or more companies on-premises sharing free/busy between each other. Then one fine day, one of the companies deploys a hybrid configuration and moves mailboxes to Office 365; in our example, it is Tailspin Toys. Suddenly, Contoso and Fabrikam users find availability information is not showing for the Tailspin mailboxes moved to Exchange Online. This blog post discusses why free/busy is broken and what you can do about it.

 

How the Office 365 U.S. Government Cloud meets the regulatory and compliance needs of the Department of Defense

As a cloud-based productivity suite that’s built to address the security and compliance needs of even the most highly regulated organizations, Office 365 is helping our customers transform the way they work. We are continually investing to deliver a complete, compliant and secure Office 365 U.S. Government Cloud. We announced the Office 365 U.S. Government Defense compliance service, which makes Security Requirements Guidelines (SRG) L5 and L4 controls available to U.S. Government defense departments and defense industry organizations holding Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). The service will help the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) continue its digital transformation and take advantage of cloud computing to deliver flexible, cost-efficient and secure productivity solutions. More details about this service will be provided on October 25th at the at the Microsoft Government Cloud Forum in Washington D.C.

 

Accessibility in the classroom—tools that impact my students

This post was written by Robin Lowell, a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, special education, science and mathematics teacher, as well as teacher of blind and visually impaired students. Creating a collaborative, inclusive classroom has many moving parts and pieces—and finding the right balance can be challenging. As a special education teacher, I am constantly on the hunt for technology and tools that give students with disabilities an environment that is personalized, differentiated and yet as close to their peers’ experience as possible. I have been an itinerant teacher, a distance education math teacher at a residential school and currently a resource room teacher—without the resource room. One goal of an inclusive classroom is to have all students working and collaborating throughout the day as much as possible, which takes planning, tools and creativity. When I work with my students and determine how to meet their needs, I think a lot about their accommodations rather than their modifications. The outcomes for a student can have a very dramatic effect on their learning. In my accompanying blog post, “Accommodations versus modifications in an inclusive classroom,” I outline the important differences between accommodations and modifications to accessibly personalizing student learning. With Windows 10 and Office 365—free for teachers and students—I have been able to find and use many of the accommodations that I have been looking for making consumption of materials, content creation, collaboration and organization possible for students using the same technology and tools as their peers. These tools help my students to consume content, create content, collaborate inclusively and stay organized.

 

NOTEWORTHY Twitter: Office 365 Status

The official Microsoft account for getting updates regarding broadly impacting service incidents.

 

Exchange Online License Removal (Change)

Previously, in Exchange Online, if you removed an EXO license the user was kept, but the mailbox user was transformed into a mail user and the mailbox was moved to the recycle bin. You could then recover the mailbox within the 30 days limit. This has now changed in Exchange Online. If you remove a user's license, the user mailbox will no longer be able to sign in and use Exchange Online or Office 365. The user mailbox will remain in Exchange Online until it is deleted, permanently removed or purged by the Office 365 admin. You can reassign a license to the user and make the mailbox active again.

 

Microsoft Tech Community: Oct 16 Update - Community Improvements and Future Roadmap

The Microsoft Tech Community has seen immense growth in the past few weeks!  We hit the 20,000 membership mark after Microsoft Ignite and expect to exceed that number further as the Community team travels with the Microsoft Tech Summits!  After hitting Taipei, the Community team is currently in Prague for the Microsoft Tech Summits and we’re excited to promote the Microsoft Tech Summit to more IT Pros around the world. This update summarizes a number of key updates that you may have noticed implemented in the last 4 weeks, as well as number of key improvements that will be made over an upcoming period of 8 weeks.

 

Yammer and Office 365 Groups

Yammer will soon integrate into the Office 365 Groups service. Once this is available in your network, you can create an Office 365 Group that uses either Outlook email or Yammer to communicate and share information. The groups experience in Yammer now includes access to a SharePoint team site and document library, a OneNote notebook, a plan in Planner and a workspace in PowerBI. Over time, your groups experience will also Include a shared Outlook calendar. Yammer's integration with Office 365 Groups will take place over time. In 2016, new public and private internal groups created in networks that enforce Office 365 identity will be enabled. When new groups are created in Yammer, they will automatically be able to take advantage of tools like SharePoint, Planner and OneNote. Subsequent phases will automatically migrate existing groups in Yammer and address remaining Office 365 tenants and deliver integration with Outlook calendar and enhancements wo SharePoint and Planner. Office 365 Groups will initially only be available for Yammer networks that are associated with one Office 365 tenant (1:1 tenant networks).