Posted by: kurtsh | March 10, 2026

EVENT: “Microsoft Azure Summit: Migrate and Modernize with Agentic AI” – Virtual – April 23, 2026

Accelerate innovation and successful cloud adoption

Accelerate your path to becoming an AI-powered organization. Learn how intelligent databases, applications, infrastructure, and agentic tooling can turn your AI ideas into real business impact. See how Microsoft Azure Copilot and GitHub Copilot help organizations of all sizes reduce complexity and implement AI solutions more efficiently. Explore new product announcements, watch demos, hear real-world customer examples, and get guidance directly from Microsoft experts. 

Join us to learn how to:  

  • Save on licensing costs by migrating VMware to cloud-native solutions on Azure. 
  • Scale efficiently and prepare for AI innovation with managed SQL and PostgreSQL solutions. 
  • Become AI-ready with modernized .NET and Java applications on Azure. 
  • Stay resilient, compliant, and align with your company’s sovereignty requirements. 
  • Secure, observe, and optimize your workloads with purpose-built agents for IT and DevOps. 

Agenda:

  • Global Keynote
    AI is reshaping how businesses imagine their future—and how they modernize to reach it. Microsoft is redefining modernization by embedding AI agents directly into the journey, helping you eliminate technical debt and unlock AI readiness. Join us to hear real world customer successes and see demos of our latest innovations with Azure Copilot and GitHub Copilot.
  • Regional Keynote: Database Modernization for AI: Trends & Best Practices
    Join this interactive conversation with Sales and Customer Success leaders across the Americas as they share what they’re seeing firsthand with customers modernizing their database estates. The discussion will explore cross‑industry trends, common challenges, and proven best practices for migrating and modernizing data platforms to support AI, analytics, and cloud innovation. Learn how organizations are moving beyond lift‑and‑shift, where customers are finding the most value in PaaS modernization, and how teams are positioning data as the foundation for AI readiness, operational agility, and long‑term business impact.
  • Breakout: Reimagine application and database modernization with agentic tools  
    Agentic AI is drastically saving developers time on their modernization projects. Join us to learn how to modernize legacy apps at scale, update and migrate mission critical databases, and remediate security vulnerabilities with agentic developer tools.   
  • Breakout: Accelerate & simplify planning, migration, and operations using AI agents:
    Discover how AI agents transform your cloud journey, from automated discovery and large-scale execution to post-migration optimization. See how Azure Copilot accelerates modernization of infrastructure, databases, and apps with less.

Date/Time:
Thursday, April 23, 2026, 9:00 AM – 11:15 AM PT (GMT-07:00)

Location:
Virtual

Registration:
https://info.microsoft.com/GT-PRODUCT-DIGLE-FY26-03Mar-10-Migrate-and-Modernize-Summit-Americas-EN_LP01-Registration—Form-in-Body.html  

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Posted by: kurtsh | March 8, 2026

EVENT: “Microsoft Build 2026” Conference – San Francisco, CA – June 2-3, 2026

Microsoft Build 2026, the premier Enterprise conference for Developers, Data & AI Builders, & Solutions Architects is back… this year in San Francisco, CA! 

If you are interested in attending in-person in San Francisco OR if you’d simply like to join the FREE virtual/digital streaming experience, please take the time to register ASAP!

Over two days, you’ll get hands-on with cutting-edge tools, dig into real code, and connect with the engineers shaping the future of AI. Request to attend for a chance to: 

  • Get trusted guidance for secure, reliable deployments. 
  • Explore real-world customer stories. 
  • Take part in deep-dive technical sessions and hands-on labs. 
  • Engage with product and engineering leadership. 
  • Network with your peers and technology leaders. 

Plus, hear from:

  • Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO  
  • Jared Palmer, VP of CoreAI, SVP of GitHub, 
  • Scott Hanselman, VP, Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft/GitHub 
  • Simon Willison, AI Researcher and Creator, Datasette
  • Chip Huyen, Building at Stealth
  • Priyanka Sharma, CXO, Thiink Inc.

Spots are limited. Act fast!

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Posted by: kurtsh | March 8, 2026

TRAINING: Agent Academy “Recruit” & “Operative” courses – Learn to build Copilot Studio Agents free!

The Power Platform & Copilot Studio Advocacy team has released 2 comprehensive “Agent Development” training courses for Copilot Studio with both instructional content & videos for free!

  • Agent Academy: Recruit
    A foundational learning path designed to help makers and developers get started with building agents in Copilot Studio. 
    https://aka.ms/agent-academy-recruit
  • Agent Academy: Operative
    The next level of training for people who already understand the basics of Copilot Studio and want to go deeper. It walks through building a complex multi-agent hiring process agent.
    https://aka.ms/agent-academy-operative

If you’re ready to get started learning Copilot Studio Agents, proceed to either the “Recruit” section for beginners or the “Operative” section for folks that know the basics.

(Psst. Coming soon for experts: Copilot Studio Agent Academy: “Commander”)

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Posted by: kurtsh | March 5, 2026

INFO: 10-year audit log retention for Microsoft 365 GCC

Your organization’s Microsoft 365 unified audit log captures, records, and retains thousands of user and admin operations performed in dozens of Microsoft services and solutions.

Security ops, IT admins, insider risk teams, and compliance and legal investigators in your organization can search audit records for these events. This capability provides visibility into the activities performed across your organization.

For Microsoft 365 GCC customers, there are 2 audit logging retention durations available, depending on the license subscribed to:

  • Microsoft 365 G3 (GCC) licensed customers are entitled to 180 days of audit logging by virtue of their entitlement to Purview Audit Standard.
  • Microsoft 365 G5 (GCC) licensed customers are entitled to 1 year of audit logging by virtue of their entitlements to Purview Audit Premium.

Reference:

Audit Standard
180-day audit log retention. When a user or admin performs an audited activity, the system generates an audit record and stores it in the audit log for your organization. In Audit (Standard), the system retains records for 180 days, which means you can search for activities that occurred within the past six months.

Audit Premium
…Up to 1-year audit log retention…

“Default audit log retention policy in Audit (Premium)”:
“The default retention period for Audit (Standard) changed from 90 days to 180 days. Audit (Standard) logs generated before October 17, 2023 are retained for 90 days. Audit (Standard) logs generated on or after October 17, 2023 follow the new default retention of 180 days.”

“Before you create an audit log retention policy“:
“To retain an audit log for longer than 180 days (and up to 1 year), the user who generates the audit log (by performing an audited activity) must have an Office 365 E5 or Microsoft 365 E5 license or a Microsoft Purview Suite (formerly known as Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance) or E5 eDiscovery and Audit add-on license.”

Audit Log Retention beyond 1 year
For government customers licensed for Microsoft 365 GCC that require audit log retention for longer than 1 year, customers are required to have, for the user that requires auditing for longer than 1 year:

  • Microsoft 365 G5 license
  • Advanced Audit 10 Year GCC license

Reference:

“Before you create an audit log retention policy“:
“To retain audit logs for 10 years, the user who generates the audit log must also have a 10-year audit log retention add-on license in addition to an E5 license.“

Licensing SKU
The licensing SKU for government customers to request from their LAR for the “10 year Purview Audit GCC license” is:

  • 8LF-00001 Advanced Audit 10 Year GCC Sub Add-on (Licensed per user, per month)

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Posted by: kurtsh | March 3, 2026

INFO: Opt-out transition phase from ‘classic’ to ‘new’ Outlook for Windows beginning March 2027 (M365 Commercial, GCC)

“Classic Outlook for Windows” is being phased out for the “New Outlook for Windows”. The opt-out phase is slated to begin for Commercial & GCC customers March 2027. (This date was postponed from a previous date of April 2026 – see below)

This means that organizations need to plan for a gradual transition of their users to the new edition. Enterprise users of Microsoft 365 will find the following provides a timeline for the 3 phases of the migration.

  • Stages of migration to new Outlook for Windows
    This article provides a detailed timeline and roadmap for migrating to new Outlook for Windows and outlines the three progressive stages of migration: opt in, opt out, and cutover. The information is designed to help administrators prepare for the migration to new Outlook by understanding expected communications and the necessary preparations for each stage.

The date for the “opt-out” phase is listed in the Microsoft 365 Message Center message (MC949965) below:

MC949965: (Updated) Toggle to new Outlook

Microsoft has postponed the opt-out phase for new Outlook in Enterprise from April 2026 to March 2027, giving organizations 12 months to prepare. Admins can use policies for staged migration, users can switch back temporarily, and resources are provided for smooth transition and adoption.

Updated February 20, 2026: We have updated the timeline. Thank you for your patience. 

Introduction

Microsoft is updating the opt‑out phase start date for new Outlook for Windows in Enterprise environments from April 2026 to March 2027.

When this will happen:

  • The opt‑out phase for Enterprise environments will now begin in March 2027 (previously April 2026), providing organizations with 12 months of lead time to prepare. 
  • GCC High and DoD timelines will be communicated separately at a later date.

Why is there a change to the timeline?

We’re seeing strong and accelerating adoption of new Outlook as organizations progress on timelines that match their readiness. At the same time, we continue to invest heavily in expanding capabilities and addressing feedback from customers who want to go further with new Outlook. To ensure organizations have the time they need to prepare—and to fully realize the value of ongoing innovation—we’re extending the opt-out timeline and providing 12 months of lead time as we continue delivering key features and improvements.

How this affects your organization:

Who is affected:

  • Microsoft 365 administrators managing Outlook for Windows.
  • Users of classic Outlook for Windows.
  • Organizations that previously disabled the new Outlook toggle or have not yet begun migration planning.

What will happen:

  • Migrated users will receive in‑app onboarding prompts and can switch back to classic Outlook if needed.
  • Existing policies that disable or limit access to new Outlook will remain in effect.
  • Admins can continue using Admin‑controlled migration to move users in a staged, reversible manner ahead of time.
  • Users will not be migrated if one or more of the following is true:
    • New Outlook toggle is hidden via policy
    • Perpetual license is in use
    • On premise account

What you can do to prepare:

Prepare your organization for the opt-out phase that will begin March 2027. Evaluate and use the Admin-controlled migration policy to the stage and schedule that is right for your organization.

Take preparatory steps to:

  • Assess feature and web add-in readiness.
  • Conduct any needed pilots.
  • Build a timeline that works for your organization.
  • Re-enable the toggle if previously disabled and enable the Admin-controlled migration policy to move forward.

Be sure to communicate with your users about what to expect, and leverage Microsoft’s adoption resources to make the experience smooth.

Resources and Support:

Microsoft is committed to helping you manage this transition effectively. Refer to the following resources for detailed guidance and tools:

Compliance considerations

QuestionExplanation
Does the change include an admin control?Admins can manage the change using the policy for automatic migration and existing Outlook policies.
Can the change be controlled through Entra ID group membership?Migration can be scoped to specific users or groups using Entra ID group targeting.
Does the change allow a user to enable and disable the feature themselves?Users moved to new Outlook can switch back to classic Outlook during the transition period.

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Posted by: kurtsh | February 25, 2026

EVENT: Security at Microsoft Ignite 2025

Did you miss Microsoft Ignite 2025 in San Francisco a couple months ago? The content was very important for organizations invested in the Microsoft ecosystem – even more so for people investing in Artificial Intelligence.

Covering both the current state of the art for our customers as well as the leading edge technologies used to secure & govern endpoints, applications, data, networks, cloud presence & artificial intelligence, security leaders, architects & engineers will learn from over a hundred different breakout sessions about security for their role, on their terms.

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Posted by: kurtsh | February 25, 2026

EVENT: Microsoft Pre-day at RSAC™ 2026 Conference – March 22-26th, 2026

Join Microsoft Security at RSAC™ 2026 for a week of expert-led sessions and networking. Explore solutions in threat protection, identity and access management, data security, governance, cloud security, security operations, and securing AI.

  • Visit the Microsoft Security Hub: Connect with peers, attend thought leadership sessions, and join 1:1 customer meetings.
  • Attend Sunday Pre-Day Keynote: Hear from Microsoft leaders and industry experts, followed by networking during our hosted evening reception.
  • Monday night Karaoke Party: Join peers for a night hosted by Vasu Jakkal with singing, networking, and celebration.
  • Ancillary events: Listen in on thoughtful conversations on a wide range of topics from Data Security and Threat protection, to Securing Access and all thing Agents!
  • Join us for the Post-Day Forum: Recap product innovations and tour the Microsoft Experience Center in Silicon Valley.

Register to participate here:

  • Microsoft Security Pre-day Keynote & Evening Reception – March 22, 2026 at 4:00 PM PDT
    (Palace Hotel – 2 New Montgomery St, San Francisco, CA 94105 – 4:00PM-8:30PM)
    Join us to kick off RSAC™ 2026 a little early at Microsoft Pre-Day on Sunday, March 22.  Pre-Day is an exclusive opportunity to hear firsthand from Microsoft Security leaders about how AI and agents are reshaping the threat landscape, important ways organizations should be thinking about security, and what our experts predict for the future of security and AI. 
    At Pre-Day, leaders in threat intelligence will discuss emerging trends and threat actor methodology, product leaders will share what they’re focused on and how to strengthen IT and security teams in the era of agentic AI, and Microsoft researchers will highlight some of the newest areas of security research and development. And, Vasu Jakkal will share their own insights and priorities for Microsoft Security. 
    As part of the experience, don’t miss the networking reception open to all Pre-Day attendees. Plus, if you are in a CISO role, you will be invited to our CISO Dinner with Microsoft Security executives and your peers.  

Additional events to register for below:

Visit Microsoft events at RSAC™ 2026 Conference for more information:

Request private 1:1 meeting with Microsoft Security Leadership here:

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Posted by: kurtsh | February 23, 2026

EVENT: SharePoint at 25: Digital celebration event + live AMA – March 2, 2026 at 9:00 AM PT

Join us for a global digital event that celebrates the 25th birthday of SharePoint and looks ahead to the next chapter of SharePoint, powered by AI. This event is designed to inspire, showcasing how SharePoint’s new content AI capabilities and intelligent experiences are transforming the way people create, manage, and collaborate.

The event will include a live Ask Microsoft Anything (AMA), where you can ask your questions about the new SharePoint features directly to the product team.

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Posted by: kurtsh | February 20, 2026

INFO: References for Microsoft 365 Copilot & Copilot Chat Security & Privacy

Every now and again, I receive requests for information about the security, privacy & governance of Microsoft’s Copilot technologies, including how end user conversations are protected, how customer file, emails & chats are NEVER communicated outside of the customer’s Microsoft 365 cloud instance, how Copilot respects Enterprise data classification protections & access controls, & how customer information is NOT used for AI model training.

Here’s documented references to help you validate Microsoft’s enterprise-class focus on protecting our customer’s information when using Copilot:

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Posted by: kurtsh | February 19, 2026

INFO: “RFP Response Evaluation” & “Document Compliance” with Azure AI

Q1: Does your procurement dept issue RFPs?
Are they looking for Azure AI-based solutions to help them intelligently automate the assessment, scoring & filtering of the long, RFP responses they receive? 

“The following is a turnkey, multi-agent solution accelerator for automating the evaluation of RFPs/RFTs and Vendor/Supplier Proposals. This accelerator helps procurement teams reduce manual effort, ensure compliance, analyze vendor capabilities, and generate strategic negotiation recommendations—delivered as a structured, final evaluation report; all deployed in your Azure tenant in under an hour.”

Q2: Does your legal dept have to review many legal documents?
“Whether it’s a vendor agreement that must include an arbitration clause, or a loan document requiring specific disclosures, ensuring the presence of these critical clauses is vital. Traditionally, this kind of document review is slow, manual, and subject to human error.

With artificial intelligence, we can automate much of this analysis. From classical algorithms like cosine similarity to advanced reasoning using large language models (LLMs), AI offers powerful tools to compare documents and validate their contents. In this post, I’ll show how to use both techniques to verify whether required clauses are present in a document.”

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