What's new in Microsoft 365 #3

Daniel Goymer • October 25, 2023

It’s October, the election is over, hopefully, and we are on the spring to the end of 2013, But there is still plenty of new in the 365 world to come this year and the odd smattering of old thrown in.


Disclaimer… Not all Microsoft 365 subscriptions are created equal and new features slowly rollout over several months. If the feature I highlight is not available but is exciting for you, feel free to reach out and we can check if/when it might become available.

What's Old


Before we crack onto What’s New, lets remember what’s old. Windows 2012 is now old… End of Support for old faithful was October 10th. Microsoft is no longer releasing security updates, hot fixes, updates, etc. On top of this, as often happens, application providers will also stop supporting the OS. If you still have Windows 2012 Servers in your business, time to get them gone.

The Countdown to Co-Pilot


Windows Co-Pilot is out, Bing Chat for Enterprise is here, we all now wait for Microsoft 365 Co-Pilot. With a official release date of November 1st, this will be the biggest technology release from Microsoft this year. Are you ready for it? Watch these videos and come to our seminar.

Microsoft Loop


Loop has landed! But what is it? In its simplest form, it’s a place for you and your team to think, plan, and create together. There is a real focus on getting things done quickly.

 

Create a “workspace” for your next big idea, start typing or add a new page based on a template (Project Brief, Team Decision, Project Plan, Meeting notes, Bad Idea Brainstorm etc).

 

Each page is a “component”, now here’s the magic, any of those components/pages can be shared across other applications, word, outlook etc. When you update the information in loop, it will also update the information in the places that you pasted the “component”.

 

For those in your team that are more visual, you can easily add icons and header images to your pages to help brighten up your work spaces.

 

Finally, the collaboration features are excellent, all edit the same page either via the website or an app that you can install on your device. @ mention team members, and control the notifications you get.

 

So if you have an idea or your working mini project together, give “Loop” a try! https://loop.microsoft.com

Don’t forget, if you find new features, e-mail me, whatsnew365@yorb.tech, and register your interest in our AI / Copilot seminar https://www.yorb.ai/

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