Kurt Shintaku's Blog

If you aren’t a member yet of the Microsoft 365 Champions program for your organization, please read the following below from their latest newsletter:

• The next Microsoft 365 Champions Community Call is coming up May 27^th.
  (They will be going over all the new May 2025 Microsoft 365 Adoption updates – including for Microsoft 365 Copilot)
  • Microsoft 365 Champions community call | May 2025 | AM – Powered by Teams (Microsoft 365 Champions Program membership required)
• Invite series for 2024-2025
  If you don’t already have it, visit our Champion Resources page to download the calendar invite series through the first half of 2025.
• Previous monthly call
  Our last monthly call on April 22 covered the new Microsoft Teams accessibility updates with Brett Humphrey, Principal Product Manager and Chris Sano, Accessibility Architect, from the Teams product group. In addition, we saw an exciting demo of the Copilot Business Case Builder with Gabe Ho, Senior Product Marketing Manager. If you missed this or any previous calls, you can access the recordings and download the presentations from our Champion Resources page.
• Save the date! Microsoft 365 Community Conference 2026
  Microsoft 365 Community Conference returns April 21-23, 2026, in Orlando, Florida. Visit m365conf.com to keep up to date, register, and discover more about the event!

Joining the Microsoft 365 Champions program:

• If you aren’t a member of the Microsoft 365 Champions program, join by enrolling at: https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/become-a-champion/

Be sure to join us for our next Government Microsoft 365 Copilot Community meeting, where we will be joined by Rima Reyes, Principal Product Manager in Copilot Engineering!

“Build Your First Agent in GCC” hosted by Copilot Engineering – Tuesday, May 27, 10:00AM-11:00AM

In this session, Rima will walk you through everything you need to know to get your first Copilot Agent up and running in GCC. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to sharpen your skills, this is the perfect place to begin.

🗓️ Agenda

• Introduction to Agents
• Tools for Building Agents in GCC
• Let’s Build Our First Agent (Step-by-Step!)
• What to Do Next
• Live Q&A

[You must be a Government Microsoft 365 Copilot Community member to receive the meeting invitation]

Not a Government Microsoft 365 Copilot Community member?  Join today!
Want to stay connected and continue learning? Join the Government Microsoft 365 Copilot Community — a dedicated space for government professionals to share insights, best practices, and real-world experiences with Microsoft 365 Copilot.

Community Details

• Name: Government Microsoft 365 Copilot Community
• Meets: Last Tuesday of each month
• Time: 10 AM PST / 1 PM EST
• Where: Hosted Microsoft Team (invitation sent upon registration)
• Click here to join the community

We can’t wait to see you at the webinar — and we hope you’ll join the community to keep the Microsoft Copilot in GCC momentum going!

UPDATE 4/9/2025:
To be clear, if you purchase ONE LICENSE of Microsoft 365 Copilot… you are entitled to SharePoint Advanced Management for your entire Microsoft 365 cloud instance. (aka “tenant”)

Read the following:

Licensing for SharePoint Advanced Management – SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft LearnLicensi…
“If your organization has a Microsoft 365 Copilot license and at least one user is assigned to a Copilot license, SharePoint administrators automatically receive access to the SharePoint Advanced Management features required for Copilot deployment.”

ORIGINAL 5/22/2025:
SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) FEATURES should be available NOW or if not, very soon to Microsoft 365 GCC cloud instances.

You’ll noticed I said “FEATURES” – not “licenses” – because the way SAM FEATURES has (or will) materialize for your organization is the SAM features will show up in the M365 Admin Portal UI (under the SharePoint menu), as a benefit of your M365 Copilot licensing in the ATC M365 cloud instance.  In other words, no actual SAM licenses will be necessary & you should not expect any SAM licenses to appear in your M365 cloud instance.  The features will just be there in the “SharePoint Admin” UI in the M365 Admin Portal (courtesy of your M365 Copilot licenses), similar to how they might be there as a result of having SAM trial licenses. (Getting SAM Trial licenses was our past guidance)

Note:  You may find that there is one SAM feature not available when switching from the “SAM Trial Licenses” to the “M365 Copilot license” feature: “Site Ownership Policy“. It’s been delayed for inclusion in the M365 Copilot license however it’s coming soon. You will find the list of SAM FEATURES available specifically through your Microsoft 365 Copilot licensing below.

• SharePoint Advanced Management features in Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/advanced-management#sharepoint-advanced-management-features-in-microsoft-365-copilot-licenses

We are pleased to announce that all Microsoft 365 users can now access Microsoft Copilot Academy to improve their AI and Copilot skills. This academy – curated by Microsoft experts – provides a comprehensive, structured learning experience designed to help users master the use of Copilot through hands-on learning activities and experiences. Click here to learn more about what Copilot Academy includes.

Last year, we announced the academy was available to all Microsoft 365 Copilot users. We have now lifted the Copilot license requirement, giving immediate access to any user with a Microsoft 365 license. No additional registration or administrative action is required to start using Copilot Academy. Please see appendix 1 for an updated table that lists the licenses that grant access to Copilot Academy.

Use Copilot Academy to train users before assigning Copilot licenses
The new licensing structure for Copilot Academy unlocks a new scenario for administrators – ensuring users commit to Copilot training through the academy before receiving a Copilot license. Administrators can now use Copilot Academy as a tool to teach users how to leverage Copilot before a license has been assigned. This allows users to see the value of Copilot and learn how it can maximize their productivity throughout the workday. Upskilling before receiving a license encourages faster time-to-value with Copilot and helps identify workstreams where Copilot will have the greatest impact.

Read about Copilot Academy from the Viva Learning blog:

• Microsoft Copilot Academy now available to all Microsoft 365 users
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/viva_learning_blog/microsoft-copilot-academy-now-available-to-all-microsoft-365-users/4408101

(Government customers: Unfortunately, Copilot Academy is not available yet for GCC cloud instances. I am talking to the Program Manager for the solution to identify a timeline for availability.)

This is a list of 2025 Microsoft conferences that I maintain for my customers, along with discount codes for ones that I have them available to our customers.

Did you miss the Windows Server Summit 2025 this past April?  Don’t worry – we recorded all the sessions for you!

Watch all the sessions on-demand at your leisure through the links below.  (Don’t miss the session on the new “Hotpatching” capability – server patching without reboots – only available with Windows Server 2025 with Azure Arc!)

Keynote

• Day1:7:00AM Welcome to Windows Server Summit 2025! (1 hour)

Upgrade & Migration

• Day1:8:00AM Upgrades made easy with Windows Server 2025
• Day1:11:00AM Assess cloud-readiness of your applications with Azure Migrate
• Day2:7:30AM Migration and modernization: From VMware to the cloud

Security & Identity

• Day1:9:00AM Harden security and build resiliency with Windows Server 2025
• Day1:9:30AM Securing Active Directory
• Day1:11:30AM AD CS enhancements, innovations, and security

Core Services

• Day1:10:00AM From on-premises to cloud with Azure File Sync
• Day1:10:30AM What’s next for advanced storage
• Day2:7:00AM Windows Server Hyper-V architecture, features, GPUs, and more!
• Day2:8:00AM SDN magic: Windows Server 2025 innovations
• Day2:8:30AM Fine-tuned host networking for Windows Server 2025
• Day2:11:30AM Highly available, always scalable: Failover clustering and S2D

Server Management

• Day1:8:30AM Modernize server management and connectivity with Azure Arc
• Day2:9:00AM Azure Arc-enabled management and pay-as-you-go for Windows Server
• Day2:9:30AM Hotpatching and update management for Windows Server with Azure Arc
• Day2:10:00AM What’s new in 2025 with Windows Admin Center

Training & Support

• Day1:12:00PM Beyond the MCSE: Windows Server training and certification
• Day2:10:30AM The support case files: Windows Server troubleshooting tips
• Day2:11:00AM The support case files: Windows Server troubleshooting tips (continued)

Windows 11 is secure by design and secure by default, with layers of defense enabled on day one to enhance your protection without the need to first configure settings. This secure-by-design approach spans the Windows edition range including Pro, Enterprise, IoT Enterprise, and Education editions. 

Support for Windows 10 is ending soon on October 14, 2025. Upgrading or replacing outdated devices before Windows 10 support ends is a critical priority for building a strong security posture. Discover why organizations of all sizes, including 90% of Fortune 500 companies, are relying on Windows 11.

The following online-only “Windows 11 Security Book” covers:

• Hardware security
• Operating System security
• Application security
• Identity protection
• Privacy
• Cloud services
• Security foundation

This edition includes updates with Windows 11, version 24H2, features and enhancements. Read at:

• Windows 11 Security Book – November 2024 Update
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/security/book/

Are you an Azure Government customer planning on using Azure Arc-enabled Windows Management services? PLEASE READ THIS POST!

If you have Software Assurance on your Windows Server core licenses & want to enable Windows Management features like Azure Update Manager, Azure Policy, Azure Change Mgmt & Inventory, etc. without getting billed for these Windows Mgmt services in Azure Government (as you are entitled to by virtue of your Software Assurance on your Windows Server cores) you must use the Powershell script written by Scott Metzel, and written about by John Kelbley on the Azure Advanced Migration blog. 

WHY?
This is because (at least as of April 2025) the Azure Portal UI in Azure Government is currently missing the “Windows Server SA attestation” checkbox that normally mitigates these Azure charges. To get by this, you need to “check the box” using Powershell instead to avoid being billed for these services.

Visit the following for more details & to download the script:

• BLOG: Azure Gov Arc is Different: Arc Software Assurance Attestation 
• SCRIPT: https://github.com/ScottMetzel/PowerShell_Scripts/tree/main/Azure_Arc