As is usually the case at the end of every month, Microsoft has published a summary of updates made to Microsoft 365 over the course of this month. Notably, similar to last year"s first round-up, the tech giant has aimed to reaffirm its commitment to firstline workers through a set of new tools. Updates to improve content presentation have also been highlighted, alongside the introduction of streamlined IT management processes and more.
For starters, a number of steps that have been taken to help empower firstline workers. The Walkie Talkie feature was announced earlier this month as a way for them to communicate more easily with each other. One-time SMS codes for sign-in and shared device sign-outs have been brought to Microsoft 365 as a whole as well. Finally, in regard to Teams, Tasks have been revamped to offer new capabilities, and off-shift access controls have also been introduced for more control over user management.
As far as the delivering of more "impactful" content is concerned, Microsoft 365 now showcases a number of new features. In concise form, these have been described as follows:
- Connect with your audience during presentations with Live Presentations
- See why the new Microsoft Edge is the browser for business
- Find what you need quickly with Microsoft Search
- Create and share data-driven Visio diagrams directly in Excel
- Model systems and processes using Unified Modeling Language (UML) shapes in Visio for the web
- Access company branded templates from within Office apps
Focus has also been laid upon IT management aspects specifically, given that support for Windows 7 ended earlier this month. A migration path for relevant users has been highlighted, with Microsoft touting the "power of the cloud" to make purchasing Windows 10 with Microsoft 365 a more attractive prospect. On a similar note, Microsoft also introduced new datacenters in Switzerland to help organizations fulfill data residency obligations.
Other updates in January include Lenovo"s ThinkSmart View that integrates with Teams, general availability for XLOOKUP in Excel, and updated Microsoft Online Service Terms. You can learn about all this in more detail here, and read up on the previous monthly round-up here.