Microsoft Ignite Recap 2023

Microsoft Ignite was held this year November 15-17th. In this recap, we’ll delve into key highlights, updates, and renames discussed. However, there is one overarching theme we must emphasize, which is the significance of grounding security, governance, and structure of your Microsoft 365 content in preparation for the much-anticipated arrival of Copilot.

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365

The spotlight was undoubtedly on Microsoft Copilot, which claimed its place in the Book of News a staggering 289 times. Although labeled as generally available, the catch lies in the necessity for organizations to commit to a substantial subscription fee. For those aspiring to develop with Copilot but do not possess the means to subscribe, you can submit a specific solution for consideration.

SharePoint Premium 2024

SharePoint Premium in 2024 will be combining SharePoint Syntax and SharePoint Advanced Management. Additionally, in the pipeline for SharePoint Premium is Microsoft 365 Archive, currently in paid public preview, which addresses site archiving for organizations nearing storage limits. The end of 2023 will also see Microsoft 365 Backup enter paid public preview. Content processing enhancements, featuring autofilling columns, Personal Identifiable Information (PII) detection, multilabel classifiers, and redaction, are scheduled for the first half of 2024.

Azure AI and the Copilots

Azure Artificial Intelligence (AI) takes center stage with plans to expand the Large Language Model (LLM) model catalog. This catalog, a treasure trove of AI models runnable in Azure, will now include more open AI models. The discussion also touched on the variations of Copilots. There are distinctions between uppercase and lowercase ‘C’ Copilots as well as where you can access them.

Microsoft Designer

Microsoft Designer, previously available for personal accounts, is now making its way to business and enterprise accounts. This AI-driven design tool is set to join Copilot in Word, PowerPoint, and Whiteboard by the end of 2023. Although this is an exciting update, we highly encourage you focus on editing and auditing your AI generated content. The AI lacks considerations for diversity, inclusion, and/or accessibility.

Microsoft Planner

Microsoft Planner underwent naming transformations, with Tasks by Planner and To Do in Microsoft Teams now unified under the name “Planner.” Notably, Microsoft Project for the Web will also adopt the Planner moniker, accompanied by new capabilities.

As we reflect on the insights from Microsoft Ignite 2023, it’s evident that the future of collaboration and AI is not only promising but rapidly approaching. Keep an eye on these evolving capabilities. If you have questions or are interested in a dedicated Ask Sympraxis session spotlighting any of these transformative changes, do not hesitate to contact our team!

All Resources

• Copilot for Work | Microsoft 365
• Introducing SharePoint Premium - the future of AI powered content management and experiences
• New! Create videos and images at work with Clipchamp and Designer - Microsoft Community Hub
• The new Microsoft Planner: A unified experience bringing together to-dos, tasks, plans and projects

Do you have any questions for us? Continue the conversation on Twitter with the hashtag #AskSympraxis and mention @SympraxisC.