Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Microsoft is delivering instructor-led end-user training classes for “Copilot for Microsoft 365” for SPECIFIC ROLES:

• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Executives
• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Sales
• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for IT Professionals
• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Marketing Professionals
• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for HR Professionals
• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Finance Professionals
• Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Operations

All training sessions come at no cost & take place in May 2024.  For dates, times & registration links for these trainings as well as a synopsis of what will be covered, please see below.

Please share with potentially interested students in your organization.

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Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Executives
Learn how Copilot can synthesize communication history in Teams and create speeches and presentations with Word and PowerPoint.

Join us at Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Executives to learn how to use Microsoft Copilot to summarize the countless emails, meetings, and chats for a project you were involved in. When Microsoft Copilot synthesizes your data in this manner, it reaches across your Microsoft 365 tenant to gather this information. During this 30 minute free event, discover how Microsoft Copilot in Teams is the perfect tool to synthesize all your communication history and provide a concise recap of all activity.  You’ll be able to:

• Use Microsoft Copilot to synthesize your emails and chats from the past week involving a specific topic.
• Use Copilot in Teams to generate a list of key points made by participants involved in chats and emails involving a specific topic over the past 30 days.
• Use Copilot in Word to create a speech you plan to deliver to company shareholders based on your company’s annual income statement.
• Use Copilot in PowerPoint to create a PowerPoint presentation for your speech to company shareholders regarding your annual income statement.

Available dates/times:

• 06/11/2024 | 08:00 – 09:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=1221716020
• 06/25/2024 | 08:00 – 09:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=2962582547
• 06/26/2024 | 19:00 – 20:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=802606840

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Sales
Learn how Copilot helps with market research, reports, and recommendations. Use it for sales deals, contracts, and more.

Join us for the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Sales, where you will learn how to utilize Copilot in Loop to conduct market research for a potential new sales market for your company’s products. You will learn how to create a market research report, change its format by placing the content in a table, and make a final recommendation on whether your company should enter the new market.    During this free 30 minute event, discover how Microsoft Copilot can enhance your productivity by automating tasks, providing valuable insights, and facilitating more effective collaboration   You’ll be able to:

• Use Copilot in Loop to create and update a market research report for a potential new sales market.
• Use Copilot in PowerPoint to create and customize a sales presentation based on a market trend report for a new beverage product.
• Use Microsoft Copilot to summarize your emails, meetings, and chats for a specific project over the past 30 days, and then generate a list of actions items, and action items involving a specific – person or topic.
• Use Copilot in Word to compare three supplier agreements, identify the differences, and provide recommended actions. 

Available dates/times:

• 06/11/2024 | 10:00 – 11:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=4240507745
• 06/25/2024 | 10:00 – 11:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=3408897313

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for IT Professionals
Learn how to use Copilot to summarize a product spec document, create a project plan and business presentation, and draft an email with highlights for a network security product.

Join us for the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for IT Professionals, where you will learn how with Copilot, you can seamlessly manage IT operations, troubleshoot technical issues, ensure system security, and apply data-driven insights for strategic decision-making. During this free 30 minute event, discover how Microsoft Copilot can enhance your efficiency, simplify complex tasks, and optimize technical workflows.  You’ll be able to:  

• Use Microsoft Copilot to summarize the information in a product spec document for a network security product and create a project plan to implement the product.
• Use Copilot in PowerPoint to create and customize a business presentation based on the product plan that you created for the new network security product.
• Use Copilot in Word to modify a technical implementation report for a customer who is planning to install your new network security product.
• Use Copilot in Outlook to draft an email that provides highlights from the technical implementation report that you created for the customer who is installing your new network security product.

Available dates/times:

• 06/11/2024 | 14:00 – 15:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=961666234
• 06/12/2024 | 08:00 – 09:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=3335561698
• 06/25/2024 | 14:00 – 15:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=2116116405
• 06/26/2024 | 08:00 – 09:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=3034055341

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Marketing Professionals
Learn how to use Copilot to analyze market trends, forecast sales, generate campaign ideas, analyze market trends, and consolidate reports.

Join us for the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Marketing Professionals, where you will learn how with Copilot, you can generate content for campaigns, improve productivity, provide insights into campaigns, and collaborate more effectively. During this free 30 minute event, discover how Microsoft Copilot can analyze market trends, provide sales forecasts, and identify new sales opportunities. You’ll be able to:

• Use Microsoft Copilot to analyze market trends, provide sales forecasts, and identify new sales opportunities.
• Use Copilot in Loop to generate marketing campaign ideas for a new product line.
• Use Copilot in Word to consolidate three product marketing reports into a single Market Analysis report.
• Use Copilot in Excel to analyze market trends in a spreadsheet.

Available dates/times:

• 06/11/2024 | 12:00 – 13:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=2956901406
• 06/25/2024 | 12:00 – 13:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=1803187182

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for HR Professionals
Learn how to use Copilot to create a job description, analyze multiple resumes, create interview questions and a candidate report, and compose an offer letter to a candidate.

Join us for the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for HR Professionals, where you will learn how to use Copilot to assist with tasks such as creating job descriptions, screening resumes, scheduling interviews, creating onboarding plans, providing training materials, setting goals, tracking progress, providing feedback, creating surveys, analyzing results, suggesting ways to improve engagement, creating policies, tracking compliance, and providing training material. During this free 30 minute event, discover how Microsoft Copilot can help HR professionals streamline the recruitment process, onboard new employees, manage employee performance, improve employee engagement, and ensure compliance with regulations. You’ll be able to: 

• Use Copilot in Word to create a job description based on an HR job responsibility document.
• Use Microsoft Copilot to analyze multiple resumes for a job role, create a report comparing the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate, and make a final recommendation.
• Use Copilot in Loop to create a set of interview questions for a new job role.
• Use Copilot in Word to compose an email offer letter to a candidate for a new job role.

Available dates/times:

• 06/04/2024 | 08:00 – 09:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=1989403389
• 06/18/2024 | 08:00 – 09:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=4013455612

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Finance Professionals
Learn how to use Copilot to analyze a spreadsheet with projected revenue, create a marketing campaign report, and summarize your company’s financial statement results.

Join us for the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Finance Professionals, where you will learn how to use Copilot to automate repetitive financial tasks, gain insights into their financial data, save time by automating manual tasks, and collaborate more effectively. During this free 30 minute event, discover how Microsoft Copilot can assist with tasks such as budgeting, forecasting, tax preparation, analyzing financial statements, identifying trends, predicting future outcomes, data entry, report generation, proofreading, project management, team communication, and document sharing. You’ll be able to:

• Use Copilot in Outlook to draft an email to your insurance company that requests a meeting to discuss the increases in your company’s medical insurance premiums.
• Use Copilot in Excel to analyze a spreadsheet containing projected revenue and user engagements for your company’s Q1 marketing campaigns, then add new calculations and charts to visualize the data.
• Use Copilot in Word to create a marketing campaign report based on the financial results from your company’s Q1 marketing campaigns.
• Use Copilot in Word to summarize your company’s financial statement results for the past five years, including trends, growth patterns, profitability analysis, and areas of concern.

Available dates/times:

• 06/04/2024 | 10:00 – 11:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=705563815
• 06/18/2024 | 10:00 – 11:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=2853964170

Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Operations
Learn how to use Copilot to brainstorm a project plan, locate and summarize email threads, troubleshoot equipment issues, and create customer discovery questions

Join us for the Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training for Operations, where you will learn how to use Copilot to manage projects more efficiently, automate repetitive tasks, collaborate more effectively, and customize the tool to meet your unique needs. During this free 30 minute event, discover how Microsoft Copilot can assist with task assignment, scheduling, data entry, report generation, team communication, document sharing, inventory management, supply chain optimization, and more You’ll be able to: 

• Use Copilot in Whiteboard to brainstorm project plan ideas for installing a new network security product, and then categorize the ideas.
• Use Copilot in Outlook to locate an actual email thread, summarize the thread, and then generate a reply.
• Use Copilot in Word to locate information on troubleshooting current production equipment and identify how to reset the processor.
• Use Copilot in Loop to create a set of questions for a customer discovery session with the consulting firm who will be installing a VPN in your corporate network.

Available dates/times:

• 06/04/2024 | 12:00 – 13:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=1553154607
• 06/18/2024 | 12:00 – 13:00 (PDT) – https://msevents.microsoft.com/event?id=2514062538

(All Copilot for Microsoft 365 Training events are listed at the site below:
https://events.microsoft.com/en-us/allevents/?search=Microsoft%20Copilot%20for%20Microsoft%20365%20Training&language=English&clientTimeZone=1&startTime=06:59&endTime=19:00

We recently published a FREE special 14-module on-demand video training course, “AZ-120 Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course teaches IT Professionals experienced in SAP solutions how to leverage Azure resources that include deployment and configuration of virtual machines, virtual networks, storage accounts, and Azure AD that includes implementing and managing hybrid identities. Students of this course will learn through concepts, scenarios, procedures, and hands-on labs how to best plan and implement migration and operation of an SAP solution on Azure. Your will receive guidance on subscriptions, create and scale virtual machines, implement storage solutions, configure virtual networking, back up and share data, connect Azure and on-premises sites, manage network traffic, implement Azure Active Directory, secure identities, and monitor your solution.

All video recorded modules for “AZ-120 Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloads” are available below:

• AZ-120 Course Introduction (1 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore Azure for SAP workloads (2 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore Azure for SAP compute (3 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore Azure for SAP networking (4 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore Azure for SAP Storage (5 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore Azure for SAP databases (6 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore identity services and remote management for SAP on Azure (7 of 14)
• AZ-120 Explore governance and manageeability for SAP on Azure (8 of 14)
• AZ-120 Deploy single-instance implementations of SAP on Azure (2-tier and 3-tier) and Implement high availability in SAPNetWeaver with AnyDB on Azure virtual (9 of 14)
• AZ-120 Implement high availability for SAP workloads in Azure (10 of 14)
• AZ-120 Implement disaster recovery and perform backups and restores for SAP workloads in Azure (11 of 14)
• AZ-120 Use the planning and deployment checklist and explore migration options for SAP on Azure (12 of 14)
• AZ-120 Migrate very large databases(VLDB) to Azure for SAP (13 of 14)
• AZ-120 Monitor and troubleshoot Azure for SAP workloads (14 of 14)

Additionally, you may find written versions of this course located at: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/courses/az-120t00

We recently published a FREE special 10-module on-demand video training course, “DMS-4004 Empower your workforce with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Use Cases”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

This course enables students to perform a series of Use Case exercises that build their Copilot for Microsoft 365 skills in various business-related scenarios. Use cases include Executives, Sales, Marketing, Finance, IT, HR, and Operations.

All video recorded modules for “MS-4004 Empower your workforce with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Use Cases” are available below:

Playlist: MS-4004 Empower your workforce with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Use Cases

• MS-4004 Introduction (1 of 13)
• MS-4004 Copilot Introduction (2 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Executive-Business 1 (3 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Executive-Business 2 (4 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Sales (5 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario IT (6 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Marketing (7 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Finance (8 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario HR 1 (9 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario HR 2 (10 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Operations (11 of 13)
• MS-4004 Use Case Scenario Challenge Overview (12 of 13)
• MS-4004 Course Close (13 of 13)

Additionally, you may find written versions of this course located at:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/paths/empower-workforce-copilot-use-cases/

People continue to want flexibility at work—our research shows that nearly half (48%) of global employees are likely to ask their direct manager for a more flexible work schedule or location in the next year.¹ 

But maintaining connection in flexible work takes work. Organizations that don’t actively bring people together for moments that matter put connection at risk: 43% of employees feel disconnected from their company.¹ 

The tension between flexibility and connection at work isn’t new and therefore requires an innovative solution. AI innovation is already improving how you work; improving where you work is the next opportunity.

With Microsoft Places, an app that reimagines flexible work, AI can make coordinating in-office time and connecting with coworkers even easier.

In addition to fostering improved coordination and connection, Places optimizes the effectiveness and engagement of the workplace. Importantly, Places features are accessible across surfaces you regularly use for coordination and collaboration, like Outlook and Microsoft Teams, so flexible work coordination and connection can happen within your normal flow of work.   

…

Read more at the announcement blog below:

• ANNOUNCEMENT: AI brings new life to flexible work with Microsoft Places
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2024/05/13/ai-brings-new-life-to-flexible-work-with-microsoft-places

¹May 2024 Work Trend Index survey, Microsoft.

Copilot in Planner (preview) is rolling out now!

Now that the new Microsoft Planner has fully rolled out to Microsoft Teams, we are excited to announce that starting this week Copilot in Planner (preview) is rolling out to users with a Project Plan 3 or Project Plan 5 license.

With the power of generative AI, Copilot in Planner streamlines the planning, management, and execution of your work, keeping you informed as you achieve your goals. Copilot in Planner helps teams transform the way they work and collaborate on projects together. Learn more and try it today:

• Copilot in Planner (preview) begins roll out to the new Microsoft Planner in Teams
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/planner-blog/copilot-in-planner-preview-begins-roll-out-to-the-new-microsoft/ba-p/4119094

We recently published a FREE special 20-module on-demand video training course, “DP-100 Designing and Implementing a Data Science solution on Azure”, where instructors were video-recorded for all modules.

Learn how to operate machine learning solutions at cloud scale using Azure Machine Learning. This course teaches you to leverage your existing knowledge of Python and machine learning to manage data ingestion and preparation, model training and deployment, and machine learning solution monitoring with Azure Machine Learning and MLflow.

All video recorded modules for “DP-100 Designing and Implementing a Data Science solution on Azure” are available below:

• DP-100 Course Introduction ( 1 of 20 )
• DP-100 Design a Machine Learning solution ( 2 of 20 )
• DP-100 Explore Azure Machine Learning workspace resources and assets ( 3 of 20 )
• DP-100 Explore developer tools for workspace interaction ( 4 of 20 )
• DP-100 Make data available in Azure Machine Learning ( 5 of 20 )
• DP-100 Work with compute targets in Azure Machine Learning ( 6 of 20 )
• DP-100 Work with environmnets in Azure Machine Learning ( 7 of 20 )
• DP-100 Explore data with the Azure Machine Learning Designer Train and compare models with the Azure Machine Learning Designer ( 8 of 20 )
• DP-100 Find the best classification model with Automated Machine Learning ( 9 of 20 )
• DP-100 Explore Automate Machine Learning ( 10 of 20 )
• DP-100 Track model training in Jupyter notebooks with Mlflow ( 11 of 20 )
• DP-100 Run a training script as a command job in Azure Machine Learning ( 12 of 20 )
• DP-100 Track model training with MLFlow in jobs ( 13 of 20 )
• DP-100 Run pipelines in Azure Machine Learning ( 14 of 20 )
• DP-100 Perform Hyperparameter tuning with Azure Machine Learning ( 15 of 20 )
• DP-100 Register an Mlflow model in Azure Machine Learning ( 16 of 20 )
• DP-100 Manage and compare models in Azure Machine Learning ( 17 of 20 )
• DP-100 Deploy a model to a managed online endpoint ( 18 of 20 )
• DP-100 Deploy a model to a batch endpoint ( 19 of 20 )
• DP-100 Design a machine learning (MLOps) solution ( 20 of 20 )

Additionally, you may find written versions of this course located at: Course DP-100T01-A: Designing and implementing a data science solution on Azure – Training | Microsoft Learn

We are pleased to announce that Microsoft has been recognized as a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Security Information and Event Management (SIEM).¹  We believe our position in the Leaders quadrant validates our vision and continued investments in Microsoft Sentinel making it a best-in-class, cloud-native SIEM solution.

In addition, we are honored to be recognized for our Completeness of Vision. We feel this reflects our deep commitment to listening and delivering on our customer’s security priorities, like the need to simplify operations, rapidly disrupt cyberthreats, and supercharge the security operations center (SOC). In a significant step, we have launched the unified security operations platform, a single experience across security information and event management (SIEM), extended detection and response (XDR), and Microsoft Copilot for Security.

Microsoft Sentinel is enriched by AI, automation, and Microsoft’s deep understanding of the threat landscape, empowering defenders to hunt and resolve critical threats at machine speed. Our comprehensive solution works seamlessly across multiple clouds, platforms, and security stacks offering many out-of-the-box connectors and customizable content to effectively protect the entire digital estate at scale. Leveraging our capabilities, customers have seen up to 234% return on investment (ROI) over a three-year period and have reduced costs as much as 44%by discontinuing legacy SIEM solutions.² 

Read about how Microsoft is on a mission to modernize security operations, enabling analysts to act swiftly and more efficiently with a robust, cost-optimized, and intuitive solution.

• Microsoft is a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Security Information and Event Management
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2024/05/13/microsoft-is-again-named-a-leader-in-the-2024-gartner-magic-quadrant-for-security-information-and-event-management/

Did you know if you have a “Teams Premium” add-on license, there is a new feature that enables you to apply AI-generated backgrounds depending on your preferences?

It’s a new button that should show up under “Video effects” if your account has a Teams Premium license. Simply select “Decorate” and apply any number of AI-generated effects:

• Clean up: Tidies up your surroundings, removing clutter and creating a more streamlined and minimalistic aesthetic.
• Fancy: Incorporates lavish and elegant decorative elements, like wallpaper, candles, and chandeliers.
• Greenhouse: Adds plants and greenery into your space.
• Celebration: Includes festive decorations like balloons, streamers, and lighting.
• Surprise me: Cycles through a variety of styles and themes to transform your space, including 2D animation, underwater, a block-style design reminiscent of Minecraft, and a space shuttle theme.

For more information, read the announcement blog:

• Decorate your background – How generative AI backgrounds work, and why you might want to use them
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/decorate-your-background-how-generative-ai-backgrounds-work-and/ba-p/4132806