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What a Conference! Microsoft Ignite was a huge one this year, and we’re thrilled to bring you the highlights. As expected, this year’s event was once again headlined by artificial intelligence, with Microsoft Copilot stepping up its game to help you work smarter. But that’s not all - there were exciting improvements across other core areas too, from Windows 365 to Azure and Intune.
If you’re eager to get up to speed with the latest innovations and see how they can benefit your organisation, keep reading. We’ve got all the details right here. We hope you enjoyed the conference as much as we did!
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Artificial Intelligence
Copilot Agents
Have you ever wished your daily grind could magically handle itself? Enter Microsoft 365 Copilot’s new out-of-the-box agents! These aren’t your typical digital tools - they’re purpose-built, proactive helpers designed to tackle anything from the most mundane tasks to the trickiest workflows. Meet your new digital dream team: -
SharePoint: Meet the SharePoint Agent, your go-to for making sense of your SharePoint content. Need instant insights? Done. Want to build a custom agent to comb through specific files or sites? Easy. Plus, you can personalise it with a quirky name and fine-tune its behaviours. Whether you’re in a meeting, writing an email, or deep in a chat, this agent delivers real-time responses grounded in SharePoint’s security settings. It’s like having a super-smart librarian who never sleeps - and it’s available now!
Employee Self-Service: Say hello to the Employee Self-Service Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot Business Chat (BizChat). This clever companion is the answer wizard for your workplace questions. Want to check your payroll details? Done. Need to book leave? Handled. Eyeing a shiny new laptop? Consider it requested. This agent even dabbles in IT support for Microsoft 365 products. It’s still in private preview, but once it’s live, it’ll be your HR and IT bestie all rolled into one.
Facilitator: Meetings can be a drag, but not with the Facilitator Agent in your corner. During Teams meetings, this multitasking marvel takes real-time notes and lets attendees co-author and collaborate on them - live. In chats, it keeps everyone on the same page by summarising key points as the discussion unfolds. It’s your personal assistant for smarter, faster teamwork, and it’s currently in preview.
Interpreter: Breaking language barriers? Piece of cake for the Interpreter Agent. This brainy bot brings real-time interpretation to Teams meetings in up to nine languages. Want it to speak in your voice? Done - it even nails your tone. Coming early next year, this agent is set to make global collaboration more inclusive and seamless than ever.
Project: Finally, meet the Project Manager Agent. Got a project to manage? This agent’s got you. It can create detailed plans from scratch or use pre-built templates, assign tasks, track progress, send reminders, and even generate status updates. Need it to write content or complete tasks? It can do that too! Currently in preview, this agent is your ticket to effortless project management.
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Microsoft 365 Copilot continues to innovate, introducing game-changing tools to boost productivity, streamline workflows, and enable smarter decision-making. Here’s a quick roundup of what’s new: -
Simplify Workflows with Copilot Actions: Automate routine tasks like gathering status updates, compiling reports, or scheduling emails. These customisable prompt templates can help save time and adapt to your needs. Currently in private preview.
Smarter Teams Meetings: Copilot can now analyse content shared on-screen during Teams meetings for insights, helping users catch every detail. Available in early 2025.
Instant File Summaries in Teams: Quickly understand shared files in chats without opening them, while respecting security policies. Preview available early 2025.
PowerPoint Enhancements: From translating slides into 40+ languages to integrating branded designs, Copilot now builds polished presentations in minutes. Features roll out between December and early 2025.
Excel Made Easy: With a new start experience, simply describe your needs, and Copilot will create a tailored spreadsheet complete with headers, formulas, and visuals. Available by year’s end.
Outlook Upgrades: Schedule meetings, focus time, or even draft agendas with ease. Features will arrive by November’s end.
Enhanced IT Admin Tools: Copilot in Microsoft 365 Administration Centers simplifies admin tasks with insights, reports, and troubleshooting support. Features roll out in early 2025.
Copilot Analytics: Measure Copilot’s business impact with dashboards, Viva Insights, and advanced reporting to track KPIs like productivity and adoption. Tools begin rolling out in early 2025. Whether you're streamlining tasks, enhancing collaboration, or driving smarter decisions, these updates bring Copilot closer to transforming your workday.
Copilot Studio
Imagine if creating your own digital assistant was as easy as building a playlist. That’s exactly what Microsoft Copilot Studio offers - a sandbox for crafting agents that work your way. Copilot Studio is evolving with powerful new features to make agents even more capable. Here’s what’s coming: -
Autonomous agentic capabilities: Ever wished your digital assistant could just do the thing without waiting for instructions? With autonomous agentic capabilities, that wish is granted. These agents don’t need constant handholding - they’ll respond to triggers like emails or uploaded files and act on your behalf. No nudges, no prompts - just seamless, behind-the-scenes action. It’s like having a super-reliable sidekick who already knows what you need.
Agent library: Not sure where to start? The Agent Library has your back. It’s packed with templates for common tasks like leave management or speeding up sales deals. Think of it as a treasure chest of pre-built brilliance - you can pick a template, tweak it to fit your needs, and voilà! You’ve got a custom agent ready to handle the heavy lifting.
Image Upload: Upload images to Copilot for analysis and Q&A, powered by GPT-4o. This feature adds rich context to your data without manual effort and is currently in preview.
Voice-Enabled Agents: Build agents with voice capabilities for apps and websites, enabling faster, more personal interactions. This feature is in private preview.
Advanced Knowledge Tuning: Address knowledge gaps by refining agents with specific instructions and new data sources, like documents and databases. This feature is also in preview.
Copilot Studio & Azure AI
Microsoft Copilot Studio is levelling up with exciting updates designed for makers and developers. Here’s what’s new: -
Microsoft 365 Agents SDK: Build scalable, enterprise-ready agents with code that works seamlessly across Copilot, Teams, and more. It bridges no-code and code-first solutions, leveraging AI services from Azure AI Foundry, Semantic Kernel, or third-party providers. Available now in preview.
Azure AI Foundry Integrations: Supercharging Intelligence: Bring custom search indices or use fine-tuned models from the Azure AI catalogue of over 1,800 options. Perfect for large enterprises or industry-specific needs. Knowledge integrations are in preview; custom models are in private preview.
Security Copilot
Microsoft’s Security Copilot just got a major upgrade, making AI-powered security tools available to everyone in your organisation - from IT admins to security analysts. Here’s a quick breakdown of the latest advancements:
Boost Security Across the Board: GenAI powers Microsoft’s security tools, giving admins and analysts more visibility and control to strengthen your security posture.
AI-Driven Insights for Identity Admins: Get smarter access control with instant insights on sign-ins, user behaviour, and app risks with a more embedded Security Copilot in the Microsoft Entra ID admin center.
Faster IT Troubleshooting: AI-powered Kusto Query Language (KQL) helps IT teams troubleshoot endpoints, manage patches, and resolve policy conflicts faster.
SOC Analysts: More Efficiency: The new side panel in Security Copilot provides deeper insights into identity misconfigurations and threats for quicker responses.
Broader Threat Intelligence: The new Threat Intelligence plugin unifies data sources for a complete view of threats, with simplified workflows using out-of-box promptbooks.
Automate Routine Security Tasks: Use the new Logic Apps connector to automate tasks and enrich workflows with GenAI insights.
Leverage Third-Party Plugins: Over 15 new plugins integrate with existing tools, boosting device management, threat intelligence, and data security.
Enterprise-Ready: Audit logs, role-based access control, and a usage dashboard ensure Security Copilot scales with your needs.
Security Copilot in Intune
Managing devices, ensuring security, and boosting productivity across your organisation can feel like a never-ending juggling act. But with the Security Copilot in Intune, Microsoft’s generative AI tool, things just got a whole lot easier for IT admins. Here’s how:
AI-Powered Endpoint Management: Embedded in the Intune admin center, Security Copilot helps IT admins manage devices and security faster and smarter.
Expanded Functionality: Now integrated across the Intune Suite and Windows Autopatch, offering broader AI insights to handle everyday challenges.
Boost Productivity & Security: Ensures workers stay productive across devices while keeping the digital estate secure from evolving cyber threats.
Real-Time AI Guidance: Provides actionable insights for quicker decision-making, faster troubleshooting, and more effective device management.
Streamlined Workflows: Simplifies routine IT tasks, reduces security risks, and frees up time for strategic initiatives instead of day-to-day troubleshooting.
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Microsoft 365
Microsoft Teams
Teams is rolling out exciting new features to make global collaboration smoother than ever before. These enhancements, now in private preview, will help break down language barriers for international teams.
Multilingual Meeting Transcription: Transcripts will capture discussions across 51 spoken languages, and translation support will be available in 31 languages.
Live Translated Captions & Transcripts: Real-time translations during meetings will be available next year in Teams desktop, web, and mobile apps.
Intelligent Meeting Recap Translation: Automatically translated meeting recaps, with the option to change translation language, will also be coming next year.
Intune
Managing devices, ensuring security, and boosting productivity across your organisation can feel like a never-ending juggling act. But with the latest updates to Microsoft Intune, things just got a whole lot easier for IT admins: -
Expanded Hardware Inventory: Intune is extending its advanced hardware inventory capabilities beyond Windows to now include iOS, Android, macOS, and Linux, giving you a complete picture of your device landscape.
Comprehensive Device Data: Access detailed device properties like CPU info and TPM data, helping you make informed business decisions, such as determining device upgrade eligibility.
Advanced Analytics: Using Kusto Query Language (KQL), admins can analyse device data across multiple endpoints, providing real-time insights and helping to troubleshoot issues faster.
Proactive Device Monitoring: Stay ahead of performance issues by monitoring near real-time data on device health and performance, enabling fixes before users even notice.
Actionable Insights: Based on KQL query results, admins can take immediate action, like restarting devices or running remediation scripts, helping to improve security and reduce downtime.
Streamlined Endpoint Management: With expanded functionality, Intune now offers an even more efficient way to manage, secure, and optimise devices across your organisation.
Windows App MAM Support for iOS and Android (Preview): Enables organisations to set device security standards and customise access controls, offering enhanced management for personal devices in BYOD environments.
Entra SSE
Microsoft Entra Suite just levelled up your network security with some exciting updates in their Security Service Edge (SSE) solution.
Simplified Zero Trust Migration: Microsoft Entra Private Access now makes migrating from traditional VPNs to Zero Trust Network Access a breeze, with quick access policies for private app onboarding and App Discovery in preview to find all your private apps easily.
Private DNS Access: Access resources with single-label names or hostnames, thanks to Private DNS in preview.
Easier Connector Deployment: Private network connectors are now available in preview for Azure and AWS Marketplaces, with Google Cloud Platform coming soon.
Enhanced Access Control: Microsoft Entra Internet Access takes adaptive access controls to the next level with universal continuous access evaluation (CAE) in preview, revoking access in real-time when conditions change.
Encrypted Traffic Visibility: TLS inspection (in private preview) enhances Internet Access threat protection with the ability to inspect encrypted traffic and improve URL web category filtering based on full URLs.
Optimised Branch Connectivity: Microsoft is accelerating the journey to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) with partnerships from HPE Aruba, Versa Networks, Cisco, and more, all working together to improve secure access.
Expanding Network Security: Microsoft is enhancing its SSE solution with new integrations, starting with Netskope Advanced Threat Protection and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) now in private preview.
Storyline
Microsoft Teams is adding Storyline, a feature designed to improve communication across your organisation and boost employee engagement.
Centralised Updates: Employees can follow leadership updates, discover relevant content, and contribute ideas - all in one place.
Enhanced Engagement: Storyline allows employees to share their perspectives and express themselves, reducing the frustration of scattered communication channels.
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Windows
Windows 365
Microsoft is introducing powerful new updates to Windows 365, designed to enhance productivity, security, and flexibility for modern work environments: -
Windows 365 Frontline Shared Mode: A new way to access Windows 365 Cloud PCs for brief, secure tasks. User data is deleted upon sign-off, ensuring a clean slate for each session. Now in preview.
Windows in Mixed Reality: Bringing the full Windows 11 experience to Meta Quest headsets for virtual meetings, shared spaces, and enhanced collaboration. Preview launches in December.
Customer Lockbox for Windows 365: Now generally available, this feature enhances data protection by involving users in approval workflows for access requests to sensitive data stored on their Cloud PC's, even restricting access to Microsoft, unless specifically approved otherwise.
Enhanced Security Defaults: Port 3389 for RDP access is disabled by default on new and re-provisioned Windows 365 Cloud PCs, reinforcing security.
Strengthened Cloud Security and Management: New advanced features will enhance security protocols, improve authentication processes, and simplify management for Windows environments hosted in the cloud.
Windows App MAM Support for iOS and Android (Preview): Enables organisations to set device security criteria and customise access controls, supporting bring-your-own-device (BYOD) scenarios for enhanced flexibility and security.
Windows 365 Link
Windows 365 Link is a compact, secure device designed for seamless connection to Windows 365 Cloud PCs, offering high-fidelity experiences with fast boot times and low maintenance. It allows users to work securely from the cloud with responsive performance for apps like Microsoft Teams and Webex.
Preview Availability: Available in select markets starting April 2025.
Device Features:
Fanless, lightweight, and easy to ship.
Dual 4K monitor support, USB ports, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3.
Local processing for smooth, high-quality experiences.
Security:
No local data or apps; corporate data stays in the cloud.
Built-in security policies and passwordless authentication (Microsoft Entra ID, Authenticator, USB keys).
Management:
Easy to manage with Microsoft Intune and minimal configuration required.
Quick setup, remote factory reset, and automatic updates.
Sustainability:
Made with 90% post-consumer recycled aluminium and 100% recycled copper on the motherboard.
ENERGY STAR® certified, energy-efficient compared to most desktops.
Hotpatch
Hotpatch for Windows, now in preview, offers a new and seamless Windows patch experience with several key benefits: -
No restart required: Updates are applied in the background and take effect immediately, allowing uninterrupted productivity.
Faster updates: Works with Windows Autopatch to reduce update deployment time by up to 95%.
Supports Windows 365 Cloud PCs: Ensures quick and efficient updates for Cloud PC environments, maintaining system security without downtime.
Administrator Protection
Windows is taking a major step to improve system security with the introduction of local administrator protection, now in preview. This feature ensures local administrative privileges are only granted temporarily and securely: -
Standard Permissions by Default: Users operate with the security of standard user permissions while still having the flexibility to make system changes when required.
Secure Authorisation: For system changes needing admin rights, users are prompted to authorise using Windows Hello.
Temporary Admin Tokens: After authorisation, a temporary, isolated admin token is created to perform the task, ensuring privileges do not persist beyond the specific action.
Enhanced Security: This approach minimises the risk of accidental or malicious misuse of administrative privileges, aligning with modern security best practices.
Security & Resiliency
Windows continues to evolve as a secure, adaptable platform, balancing an open ecosystem with advanced protections to meet the needs of a changing threat landscape. Here’s how Microsoft is strengthening Windows security: -
Enhanced Partner Standards: The updated Microsoft Virus Initiative (MVI) introduces stricter security and compatibility testing for integrated components, including drivers, ensuring issues are identified early and resolved proactively.
Safe Deployment Practices: MVI partners are aligning with Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) recommendations, adopting phased updates and monitoring to minimise potential disruptions.
Streamlined Incident Response: Collaboration with MVI partners includes stronger processes for faster and more effective incident handling.
New Recovery Capabilities: A targeted recovery solution will enable fixes for compromised Windows machines, even those unable to boot. Launching to the Windows Insiders Program in early 2025, it will roll out broadly in subsequent releases.
Tackling Core Security Challenges: Microsoft is addressing critical issues like overprivileged users and apps, unverified drivers, and insecure credentials with its most significant advancements in Windows security to date.
Credentials & Authentication
As organisations face increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, securing credentials and authentication processes has become more crucial than ever. Windows offers advanced solutions to protect sensitive data and streamline authentication.
Windows Hello with Passkeys: Now a premium multifactor authentication (MFA) solution, Windows Hello has been enhanced to support P-asskeys, allowing users to enjoy both ease of use and high security. It also protects Recall and Personal Data Encryption, ensuring a seamless and secure sign-in experience.
Delegated Managed Service Accounts (DMSA): With more users enabling MFA, attackers are turning their attention to service accounts. To combat this, DMSA is being introduced to automate credential management and rotation for these accounts. This feature, which requires Windows 24H2 or Windows Server 2025, helps protect against attacks targeting service account passwords.
Trusted Apps & Drivers
For teams managing device security and software deployment, ensuring that only trusted apps and drivers are used is critical for preventing malicious attacks and maintaining smooth operations.
Smart App Control and App Control for Business: Ensure only verified apps can run on devices, protecting against threats like malicious attachments and social engineering malware.
AI-Powered Deployment: Administrators can enable a Microsoft cloud policy that allows millions of known safe apps to run, regardless of deployment source.
Customisable Policies: Line-of-business apps not recognised by Microsoft can be added easily through policy updates or Microsoft Intune-managed deployments.
Windows Protected Print: This feature works seamlessly with Mopria-certified devices, providing secure printing without requiring third-party drivers, streamlining the user experience while maintaining robust protection.
Data Encryption
In today's flexible work environments, safeguarding sensitive data is more crucial than ever. Microsoft’s Personal Data Encryption, now generally available for Windows Enterprise, takes file security to the next level. Here’s how it helps: -
User-Specific Encryption: Individual files are encrypted with a second layer of protection, accessible only when the user signs in with Windows Hello.
Continuous Protection: Keeps files secure even while the device is running or in standby mode, adding robust defence against unauthorised access.
Seamless Collaboration: Integrates with OneDrive and SharePoint on Microsoft 365, ensuring secure file sharing and teamwork.
Admin-Friendly Management: Easily enabled by IT admins using Microsoft Intune or other management tools, providing streamlined deployment and control.
Managing Windows
To support organisations in managing Windows at scale, Microsoft has introduced several advancements, particularly for businesses using modern device management (MDM) services like Microsoft Intune.
Zero Trust DNS: Managing outbound network traffic can be complex when domain names are involved. Zero Trust DNS simplifies enforcement by restricting Windows devices to approved domains, blocking all IPv4 and IPv6 traffic unless it’s resolved by a Protected DNS server or allowed by an IT admin. This enhances security by ensuring that only trusted domains are accessible.
Configuration Refresh: A solution to combat configuration drift, which happens when users or apps alter system settings unintentionally. Now in general availability, configuration Refresh helps restore PCs to MDM-defined security policies, even when offline. This feature is now generally available and ensures devices maintain their intended configuration without requiring a constant connection to the MDM system.
Windows Backup in Entra ID: This feature allows organisations to back up settings on Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices that are Hybrid or Entra ID joined. It enables seamless restoration of settings on reimaged or new Windows 11 Entra ID joined devices, simplifying the process of restoring user preferences across devices.
Universal Print
The latest enhancements to Universal Print introduce the highly requested "Universal Print anywhere" feature, allowing users to securely print and release jobs from any device to any printer in the organisation, all while ensuring secure authentication and reducing waste.
Universal Print anywhere (Pull Print): Users can print from any device with web connectivity and securely release their print jobs to any printer within the organisation.
Secure Release with QR Code: Users authenticate and retrieve print jobs at their chosen printer, preventing unauthorised viewing and reducing waste.
Admin Configurations: Admins can set print options for shared Universal Print anywhere printers, limiting user access to specified settings.
Windows Search
Finding files on Windows PCs is about to get smarter and more intuitive with the latest updates to Windows search: -
AI-Powered Search: Leverages the neural processing unit (NPU) on Copilot+ PCs to let users find files by describing their content or using synonyms, making it easier to locate documents and images without exact details.
Offline Capability: Powered by the 40+ TOPS NPU on Copilot+ PCs, the improved search will work even without an internet connection for seamless file discovery.
OneDrive for Business Integration: Enhanced search will include active OneDrive files, providing a unified experience across local and cloud storage.
Expanded Availability: Launching for Windows Insider Program on Snapdragon Copilot+ PCs in early 2025, and expanding to Windows 365 Cloud PCs by spring 2025.
Surface Hub 3
Managing Teams Rooms on Windows devices is about to get even more flexible with upcoming updates for touch boards.
Console Support for Touch Boards: Launching in 2025, this feature will enable users to control the Teams Rooms app on devices like the Surface Hub 3 via a certified console, eliminating the need for touchscreen-only interactions.
Maxhub OEM Partnership: Maxhub will be the first OEM partner to build a certified console for this functionality, paving the way for enhanced usability and flexibility in Teams Rooms setups.
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Microsoft Edge
Edge Management
Microsoft Edge’s new features in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center make browser management easier and more secure.
Secure Password Deployment: IT admins can deploy encrypted passwords to users, ensuring secure access without revealing passwords. (Coming soon in preview for Microsoft 365 Business Premium, E3, and E5 users.)
Intune Integration: Edge management now works with Intune to streamline browser policies and enhance security. (Currently in preview.)
Scareware Blocker
Stay safe from online scammers with Edge's new Scareware Blocker, designed to catch deceptive warnings like “Your computer is infected!” and prevent them from tricking you into revealing sensitive data.
AI Protection: Detects and blocks aggressive scam tactics.
Improves Over Time: Continuously learns from user feedback to boost detection capabilities.
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Microsoft Purview
Insider Risk Management
Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management (IRM) is rolling out powerful updates to address the growing security concerns around generative AI (GenAI) usage in organisations. These new features, now in preview, include: -
GenAI Activity Detections: Track risky prompts and responses that contain sensitive data or harmful intent, helping to safeguard your organisation against unintentional and intentional insider risks.
Enhanced Communication Compliance Metrics: Introducing GenAI-specific metrics like "jailbreak" and "hallucinations," providing more context for assessing AI-related data security risks.
Integrated Defender XDR Alerts: IRM alerts are now integrated into the Microsoft Defender XDR incident page, offering a clearer and more comprehensive view of potential insider threats for SOC teams.
Compromised User Context Integration: Adding Microsoft Entra’s compromised user context to IRM alerts, making it easier to spot threats from attackers posing as insiders.
New Copilot Controls
Microsoft is introducing new generative AI controls, now in preview, to bolster data security and mitigate risks associated with Microsoft 365 Copilot. These updates offer enhanced protection and control over the data used by Copilot, including: -
Data Oversharing Prevention: With Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP), admins can configure policies to stop Copilot from processing files marked with sensitive labels, reducing accidental oversharing and limiting data access to only what’s necessary for user roles.
Sensitive Information Detection: New controls will alert organisations when prompts or responses in Microsoft 365 Copilot contain sensitive data or risky intent, helping to mitigate both inadvertent and malicious misuse of AI.
Risky Usage Indicators: Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management is introducing new indicators to detect risky activities, like prompt injection, aimed at exploiting the AI model. These indicators help prevent unauthorised behaviour and ensure that Copilot’s usage remains secure.
New DLP Capabilities
Microsoft is rolling out new features in Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) to help security teams protect sensitive data, particularly in the context of AI-driven tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot. These new capabilities, now in preview, include: -
DLP for Microsoft 365 Copilot: This feature helps prevent sensitive content from being processed or summarised by Microsoft 365 Copilot, ensuring that sensitive documents remain secure when using AI tools. It’s designed to support the safe adoption of Copilot across enterprises by adding an extra layer of data protection.
Expanded File Type Coverage for Endpoint DLP: Endpoint DLP now supports a broader range of file types, offering more consistent protection across diverse workloads.
Power Automate Integration: Admins can now integrate custom workflows, like alert triage and investigation, into their DLP policies through Power Automate, making incident management more efficient.
Security Copilot-Powered DLP Insights: Security Copilot will provide admins with natural language summaries of DLP policies and gap analyses based on the organisation's needs, simplifying policy understanding and strengthening DLP strategy.
Full File Evidence for Investigations: With Microsoft-managed storage, admins can store and view full files on Windows for investigation purposes, ensuring that sensitive data is thoroughly protected during the review process.
Blanket Protections for Unsupported File Types: Users can enforce general protections for file types that endpoint DLP doesn’t currently scan, ensuring that no file is left unprotected.
Data Security Posture
Now in preview, Microsoft Purview Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) provides centralised visibility across Microsoft Purview’s data security solutions, combining insights from Information Protection, Insider Risk Management, and DLP to help organisations identify risks and strengthen their overall data security posture.
Centralised Insights: View data security across multiple solutions to spot policy gaps, unusual activities, and risks, including those related to AI usage in Microsoft Copilot, custom AI apps, and third-party tools like ChatGPT Enterprise.
Unified Analysis: Conduct analysis across data, users, and activities to discover potential risks, even before policies are applied, helping organisations understand the full scope of their data landscape.
Accelerated Investigations: Streamline investigations by centralising insights and uncovering hidden risks more efficiently, including those related to data oversharing and AI threats.
AI-Driven Insights: Gain generative AI insights and suggested investigation paths with Security Copilot, enhancing the speed and effectiveness of analysis.
AI Risk Management: Proactively discover AI-specific risks such as data oversharing, sensitive data leakage, and prompt injections. DSPM offers policy recommendations like configuring auto-labeling and DLP policies to mitigate these risks, alongside running assessments to identify and protect sensitive data accessed by AI tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot.
By unifying data security insights across multiple layers, DSPM helps organisations manage both general data risks and AI-specific threats. This ensures a more robust, comprehensive approach to data security, protecting sensitive data from unauthorised access and preventing potential leakage across both traditional and AI-driven environments.
Sensitivity Label Enhancements for SharePoint
Microsoft Purview Information Protection will allow admins to extend Azure RMS-defined sensitivity labels to Office files and PDFs at rest in SharePoint document libraries. This ensures that any files downloaded from SharePoint retain the defined protections, preventing sensitive data leakage during the download process. Currently in preview, this feature enhances data security by safeguarding content when it leaves the SharePoint environment.
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Microsoft Azure
Adaptive Cloud
Microsoft Azure is evolving its adaptive cloud approach to unify management, security, and data insights across hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge environments. Here's what's new: -
Azure Local: Now generally available, Azure Local - powered by Azure Arc - extends Azure services to distributed locations, enabling: Azure Local replaces the Azure Stack family, offering broader capabilities and automatic upgrades for Azure Stack HCI customers. Key features include Azure Virtual Desktop integration and customisable cloud-based operations and security.
Flexibility & Scalability: Run mission-critical workloads, AI, and cloud-native apps anywhere.
Integrated Hardware Solutions: Partnerships with Dell, HP, and Lenovo provide pre-validated, secure hardware for seamless deployments.
Disconnected Scenarios: Ideal for regulatory or compliance needs.
Windows Server: Additionally, Windows Server Software Assurance or subscription customers can now access Azure tools like Update Manager, Disaster Recovery, and Change Tracking at no additional cost. From on-premises to multi-cloud, Azure continues to support organisations in running resources wherever they’re needed. Learn more about Azure Local and validated partner solutions today.
Virtual Machines
New Azure's HBv5 VMs have been announced, powered by custom AMD EPYC™ processors and NVIDIA InfiniBand networking, offering up to 8x better performance than bare metal and cloud alternatives. Built for demanding high-performance computing (HPC) workloads, these VMs: -
Deliver 5x better performance than market alternatives with high-bandwidth memory (HBM).
Enable seamless scalability with NVIDIA InfiniBand networking for workloads across hundreds of thousands of cores.
Target industries like weather modelling, automotive, aerospace, and energy research.
Azure Virtual Desktop
Azure Virtual Desktop is evolving with exciting updates to streamline app delivery, enhance session management, and support hybrid environments: -
App Attach Integration: Now supports partner solutions like Liquidware, Numecent, and Omnissa, allowing admins to manage on-premises and cloud apps through a single console. In preview.
App-V Package Support: App attach now supports Microsoft Application Virtualisation (App-V) packages, simplifying the transition to MSIX and enabling streamlined cloud-based app management. In preview.
Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Local: Formerly Azure Virtual Desktop for Azure Stack HCI, offering the same features and pricing under a new name.
Enhanced Host Pool Management: Features like scalable session host deployment, ephemeral disks, and optimised session management are now in preview, giving admins greater control over virtual environments.
Windows in the Cloud Security Enhancements: Both Windows 365 and Azure Virtual Desktop will introduce advanced security, authentication, and management features for seamless cloud-based work environments.
Windows App MAM Support for iOS and Android (Preview): Empowers organisations to set security standards and customise access rules for personal devices, improving security and control in BYOD scenarios.
Infrastructure Updates
Microsoft is optimising its cloud infrastructure to meet the demands of cloud and AI with a comprehensive approach. Key advancements include: -
Azure Integrated HSM offers robust security across global datacenters.
Azure Boost DPU, the first in-house data processing unit (DPU) silicon, optimises workloads, improving storage, networking, and acceleration.
Liquid cooling technology efficiently cools large-scale AI systems and GPUs, advancing efficiency.
These innovations, including silicon advancements, ensure Microsoft provides secure, scalable, and efficient cloud infrastructure for AI.
Microsoft Fabric
To help customers unlock the full potential of Microsoft Fabric, several exciting new features - spanning AI and beyond - are being introduced in preview: -
AI Functions in Fabric: This update will enable users to perform text-related tasks like summarisation, translation, classification, sentiment analysis, and grammar correction - all with minimal code. The new simplified API makes it easy to apply common AI enrichments in fewer lines of code.
AI Skills in Azure AI Agent Service: A standout addition, this feature enables users to seamlessly connect enterprise data, including from Microsoft SharePoint, for grounding. It integrates AI skills from Microsoft Fabric and tools for automating actions, streamlining workflows with ease.
Open Mirroring for Data Integration: Users can now bring more data into OneLake with Open Mirroring. This new capability enables apps or data providers to seamlessly write change data into a Mirrored Database in Fabric, simplifying the data replication process and ensuring the data is fully prepared for analytics. It enhances data flexibility and broadens the ecosystem of tools for enriched data processing within Fabric.
OneLake Catalog: A unified solution for managing, exploring, and governing the entire Microsoft Fabric data estate. It supports seamless collaboration on trusted data, machine learning models, and more, with new features like the Explore and Govern tabs for efficient data discovery and management.
Autonomous Fabric Databases
The new Fabric Databases, currently in preview, are set to simplify AI app development with super-fast, intuitive, and autonomous databases that are secure by default.
Instant App Building: SQL database in Fabric makes data automatically available to OneLake and Fabric’s analytical engines. Plus, native vector search and Azure AI models enable new AI patterns, like retrieval-augmented generation.
Boost Productivity: Databases auto-optimise and scale in seconds, ensuring consistent performance with smart auto-indexing.
Accelerate Innovation: Copilot assistance translates natural language to SQL, with code completion, fixes, and explanations.
CI/CD Ready: Integrate with GitHub and deploy via Visual Studio Code for seamless delivery.
Top-Notch Security: A unified data platform applies security and governance policies across all data.
SQL Server
SQL Server 2025 is introducing powerful new features to support AI applications and enhance performance across on-premises and cloud environments. Here’s what’s coming: -
AI-Powered Vector Database: SQL Server 2025 will natively store vector embeddings, enabling the generation and use of AI models with your data across on-premises and cloud environments.
Copilot in SSMS: Get real-time code suggestions, completions, and best practice recommendations with the new Copilot feature, streamlining SQL development.
Improved Security and Performance: New enhancements, like Microsoft Entra managed identities and intelligent query optimisation, will boost security, reduce vulnerabilities, and improve workload performance.
Azure Integration for SQL Server: With Microsoft Fabric database mirroring and Azure Arc, you can replicate SQL Server data to OneLake for real-time analytics and securely manage your hybrid data estate at scale.
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Power Platform
Power Apps
Exciting updates are coming to Microsoft Power Apps, set to roll out in December 2024! These new capabilities, supported by AI and Copilot, will help app makers create smarter solutions with ease and enhance user productivity. Let's take a look at what's new: -
AI-Powered Solution Building: Makers can define business problems and build solutions iteratively with Copilot, ensuring apps meet real business needs while streamlining development.
Agent Builder: Quickly create autonomous app agents to handle tasks, with users overseeing and intervening when necessary.
Generative AI Record Summaries: Enrich low-code apps with AI-generated summaries and custom prompts for better insights.
Customisable Chat for Apps: Makers can now make model-driven apps even more relevant to their users by adding new knowledge sources and skills to them, personalising Copilot for each model-driven app and user.
Improved Form Filling: Users will be able to populate form fields using files and emails as a source of data to generate form field suggestions - saving time on data entry. Form filling has been improved overall, granting further control over suggestions.
Text Generation with Custom Prompts: Canvas app users can quickly draft content with Copilot's assistance.
Snowflake Connector: Integrating Snowflake data into Power Apps’ Dataverse lets teams analyse real-time data, gaining deeper insights for sales and customer service teams.
Power Automate
Microsoft Power Automate is levelling up with new AI and governance features to help users build intuitive, efficient, and reliable automations. Whether you're into cloud automation or robotic process automation (RPA), here’s a look at the powerful updates coming soon: -
Next-Gen Document Processing with GPT-4o: Automate the processing of documents and images, improving efficiency with multimodal content handling. This feature is currently in preview.
Generative Actions: Create AI-powered actions directly from natural language input, allowing you to easily build cloud flows. Available in preview in December.
Repair with Copilot: Copilot helps repair desktop RPA flows by recommending fixes when UI controls aren’t detected. This will be available in December.
Copilot Expression Assistant: In preview, this tool helps developers create the right expressions by describing what they need and referencing dynamic data in flows.
Automation Center: Now generally available, this hub helps manage and scale automations while tracking service-level agreements.
Power Pages
Power Pages is getting some powerful updates to enhance your digital presence and streamline operations. These new features, now in preview, include: -
Agent-Enabled Workflows: Empower your website with autonomous agents, all secured with robust access controls, for more efficient operations.
Enhanced List AI Insights: Use advanced AI to gather actionable insights, optimising user experience and content engagement.
Site Copilot: Simplify website management with structured Q&A and Application Lifecycle Management support, making deployments easier and improving user interactions.
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Security
Defender for Cloud
Managing container security throughout the entire development and deployment lifecycle can be challenging. But with the latest updates to Microsoft Defender for Cloud, securing containers has become more seamless.
Comprehensive Container Security: Defender for Cloud now provides end-to-end protection for containers, from development to deployment across CI/CD pipelines, cloud platforms, third-party registries, and Kubernetes clusters.
Real-Time Monitoring and Alerting: With enhanced integration into Defender XDR, Kubernetes container data is processed in real time to detect vulnerabilities and threats more effectively.
Improved Visibility in AKS: A streamlined Defender for Cloud experience within Azure Kubernetes Service offers built-in security insights, enabling faster issue remediation and better resource management.
Binary Drift Detection: Now generally available, this feature identifies unauthorised changes to container configurations at runtime, ensuring images stay unmodified after deployment.
Custom Queries for Threat Detection: A new feature (coming soon) allows admins to create custom queries to detect suspicious activities, enabling quick containment and reducing incident resolution time.
AI-Powered Remediation: AI-driven guidance will assist SOC teams with step-by-step threat remediation, even for those with minimal expertise, streamlining incident management for containers.
API Security Posture Capabilities: Integrated into Defender Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM), this update provides visibility and tools to address API-driven app security risks. It offers API data classification, security recommendations, and end-to-end analysis of data exfiltration scenarios, enhancing API security for containerised AI models. (In preview)
SOC Enhancements
Microsoft is raising the bar with its latest updates to its unified Security Operations Center (SOC) platform. Here’s what’s new and in preview: -
Advanced Threat Detection: Microsoft Defender for Office 365 now uses large language models to identify attackers' intent, enhancing protection against threats like business email compromise.
Expanded Threat Intelligence: Microsoft Sentinel now supports new STIX objects, attack patterns, threat actors, and identities, broadening its threat intelligence capabilities.
Unified SecOps Experience: Microsoft Defender XDR now integrates insider risk information and brings together endpoint security, identity protection, and technical security under one unified agent.
Cost-Effective Recommendations: The unified SecOps platform offers actionable recommendations to help improve security and reduce log ingestion costs.
Enhanced Incident Correlation: Microsoft Sentinel now provides an embedded Security Copilot experience (additional license required), speeding up incident correlation by 50% and improving overall efficiency for customers without Microsoft Defender XDR.
Exposure Management
Microsoft Security Exposure Management is here to take your security strategy to the next level! Now generally available for Microsoft Security customers, this powerful solution helps security teams stay ahead of cyber threats with a unified platform to assess and reduce exposure to attacks. Here’s what it brings to the table: -
Attack Surface Management: Get a clear view of all your digital assets, helping teams spot vulnerabilities and safeguard critical resources before they become targets.
Attack Path Analysis: Understand potential attack paths, explore risk scenarios, and model possible threats across your hybrid, multi-cloud, and on-premises environments.
Unified Exposure Insights: Access automated security metrics from Microsoft and other vendors, allowing decision-makers to prioritise efforts and align security initiatives with business needs.
By combining these tools with Microsoft Defender XDR and the AI-driven Security Copilot, Exposure Management ensures your organisation is protected both before and after a breach. With continuous monitoring, you'll be able to identify and fix vulnerabilities proactively, keeping your data and systems secure.
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Do any of these updates spark your curiosity?
If you’re interested in any of these exciting Microsoft updates and want to see how they can improve your organisation’s security, management, productivity, or overall efficiency, don’t hesitate to Get in touch! Our Microsoft experts are here to guide you through these new features and help you make the most out of them. Let’s work together to ensure your business is ahead of the curve!
0800 640 4258