Kurt Shintaku's Blog

Here’s a fun one.  Have you ever wondered?

What’s in my Microsoft 365 subscription and how does it compare to all the other plans?

This is a downloadable chart that shows all of the modern work subscription plans available to customers in the Commercial space including:

• Microsoft 365 E3, E5, E5 Security, E5 Compliance
• Office 365 E1, E3, E5
• Enterprise Mobility & Security E3, E5
• Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise E3, Enterprise E5
• Microsoft 365 F1, F3, F5 Security, F5 Compliance, F5 Sec+Comp
• Office 365 F3

It also has the Add-on Subscriptions available to customers and what subscription plans they are eligible to be used against such as:

• Priva Privacy Risk Management
• Priva Subject Rights Requests
• Microsoft Intune Plan 2
• Microsoft Intune Remote Help
• 10-year Audit Log Retention
• Teams Premium
• SharePoint Syntex
• …and more.

Download the .PDF chat here:

• Modern Work Plan Comparison for Enterprise (9pg, PDF)
  https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=2139145

Gartner recently published a Gartner Research Note that discusses their recommendation around deploying Windows 11:

The release of the Windows 11 2022 update signals that it is time for enterprises to introduce Windows 11 into annual update processes. I&O leaders should start with new PCs being purchased early in 2023, and then upgrade existing, compatible devices running Windows 10 21H2 or 20H2.

Quick Answer

Is it time to move to Windows 11?

Yes. I&O leaders should introduce Windows 11 22H2 as part of their annual Windows feature update processes, instead of Windows 10. New PCs being purchased in early 2023 should be first to get the new OS, then upgrades to existing, compatible devices running Windows 10 should follow.

…

More detail around this recommendation is available in the fully-licensed-for-distribution Gartner Research Note available below:

• Gartner: Quick Answer: Is It Time to Move to Windows 11?
  https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-2BZJRLS9&ct=221212&st=sb

As documented on the Windows 10 Enterprise and Education and Windows 10 Home and Pro lifecycle pages, Windows 10 will reach end of support on October 14, 2025.

The current version, 22H2, will be the final version of Windows 10, and all editions will remain in support with monthly security update releases through that date. Existing LTSC releases will continue to receive updates beyond that date based on their specific lifecycles.

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Read more here:

• Windows client roadmap update – April 27, 2023
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-it-pro-blog/windows-client-roadmap-update/ba-p/3805227

Are you preparing for a Microsoft Certification exam?

We’re excited to announce Practice Assessments on Microsoft Learn, our newest free exam preparation resource that allows you to assess your knowledge and fill knowledge gaps so that you are better prepared for your certification exam.

These assessments provide you with an overview of the style, wording, and difficulty of the questions you’re likely to experience on the exam. Through these assessments, you’re able to assess your readiness, determine where additional preparation is needed, and fill knowledge gaps bringing you one step closer to the likelihood of passing your exam.

Below is a list of some of the Practice Assessments available:

• AI-900: Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals
• AZ-104: Microsoft Azure Administrator
• AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azure
• AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
• AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutions
• AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologies
• AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
• …and 13 others.

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For pointers to all exams, visit:

• Practice Assessments for Microsoft Certifications
  https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/certifications/practice-assessments-for-microsoft-certifications

Microsoft 365 customers with eligible Microsoft 365 subscriptions can request FastTrack deployment assistance (RFA) in the Microsoft admin center.

The new RFA form will automatically verify a tenant’s eligibility for FastTrack assistance and lists their eligible M365 products.  In addition, tenant admins can quickly check the status of their RFAs and view the organization’s RFA history. 

Admins can find the Request for Assistance (RFA) form here:

1. At the home page, select Advanced deployment guides & assistance.
2. Select the FastTrack Assistance tab. *
3. Select Submit a new request.

Customers, Microsoft field, and non-FRP partners can still submit RFAs at the FastTrack portal.

*It may take several days for the RFA form and the new FastTrack Assistance page to appear in all M365 tenants.

If you’ve invested in Azure Active Directory & Microsoft Intune, you’re in luck! LAPS is back… and guess what it’s using?

Introducing Windows Local Administrator Password Solution with Microsoft Entra (Azure AD)
Local Administrator Password Solution (LAPS) is a technology that’s orchestrated “password rotation” for Local Administrator accounts on Windows desktops & servers for more than a decade.

Welp, the future of LAPS has arrived and it now backs up local administrator passwords to Azure AD, while password rotations & policies are configured remotely using the Microsoft Intune portal.

And good news:  The client-side agent is already built into Windows 10, Windows 11, Window Server 2019 & above.

Read more about the new public preview of “Windows Local Administrator Password Solution” below:

• Introducing Windows Local Administrator Password Solution with Microsoft Entra (Azure AD)
  https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-entra-azure-ad-blog/introducing-windows-local-administrator-password-solution-with/ba-p/1942487

Looking for training on Power BI?  There’s absolutely no shortage of availability!

Power BI events & webinars

• Power BI "Dashboard in a Day" events – Remote partner lead events designed for those who have some data skills using Excel or a competitor tool. https://aka.ms/nextdiad
• Comprehensive “In a Day” offerings https://aka.ms/powerplatformiad
• More advanced self-paced options including Admin in a day, Advanced Data Modeling, etc. http://aka.ms/PBItraining
• Power BI Guided Learning – Online fundamentals training Power BI on Microsoft Learn | Microsoft Docs FREE (2-6 hours)
• Power BI Webinars presented by Product Teams at Microsoft Power BI webinars – Power BI | Microsoft Docs
• State and Local Power BI Community Call  State and Local Government Community Calls – Power BI in Government (powergi.blog)
• All things DAX related https://www.sqlbi.com/ including Date table template

For Unified Support customers only
We also provide more advanced workshops through Unified Proactive Offerings using pre-paid proactive hours/credits that your organization may have invested in through their Unified contract. 

Please reach out to your appropriate Customer Success Account Manager for scheduling any these offerings:

• Power BI Assessment (2-days)
• WorkshopPLUS – Data AI Business Analytics with Power BI (3-days)
• WorkshopPLUS – Data AI Advanced Data Analytics with Power BI (2-days)
• WorkshopPLUS – Data AI Reporting Services and Power BI Report Server (3-days)
• Activate Business Analytics with Power BI (3-days)
• Power BI Clinic (3-days)

Read more here:

• https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/core-infrastructure-and-security/customer-offerings-an-introduction-to-power-bi-related-offerings/ba-p/1505296

Now available!

Live & On-demand User Training
Find upcoming live training sessions or watch on demand training videos to learn how to use these top Microsoft 365 apps to work more efficiently with your team. Whether you’re a business decision maker, IT Pro or admin, or end user, you’ll find a class that’s right for you. Join us to see these apps in action, get your questions answered, and interact with our live moderators.

The site where these Microsoft 365 trainings are posted is below.

• Microsoft Adoption Learning – Live & On-demand End User Training for Microsoft 365 (English)
  https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/user-training/?filter=english

NO COST, END USER TRAINING FOR MICROSOFT 365
This is all END USER training available at no additional cost that we recently made available and will continually schedule every month. Each training is instructor-led, 1 hour long and has moderated Q&A. For example, here’s what we’ve already posted for Microsoft Teams:

• Get started with Microsoft Teams (LIVE)
• Get started with Teams Phone (LIVE)
• Tips, shortcuts, and what’s new with Microsoft Teams (LIVE)
• Cloud storage: Microsoft OneDrive for Business, Teams, and SharePoint Online (LIVE)
• Customize Microsoft Teams with apps (ON DEMAND)
• Discover insights with Microsoft Power BI in Microsoft Teams (ON DEMAND)
• Explore teams and channels in Microsoft Teams (ON DEMAND)
• Go further together with meetings in Microsoft Teams (ON DEMAND)
• Increase collaboration with Microsoft Teams (ON DEMAND)

We also have end user trainings for:

• Power BI Service
• Viva Insights Employee experience
• Power Apps
• Accessibility
• Power Automate
• SharePoint Online
• Viva Engage
• Viva Insights for Managers & leaders
• Viva Learning

We just made an announcement yesterday re: Universal Print you may be interested in.

Beginning on May 1, 2023, customers with a Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 plan will get 100 print jobs per month attached to every license. 

As an illustration, consider the following: previously, a company with 1,000 Microsoft 365 E3 licenses received 5,000 print jobs, provided with of the Windows E3 license included in Microsoft 365. This example company will receive 100,000 print jobs from its Microsoft 365 licenses, beginning May 1.

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For more information:

• “Universal Print or unlimited print?” – Microsoft Community Hub
• “License Universal Print” | Microsoft Learn

Discover how to drive business impact and unlock your team’s full potential at the first-ever Microsoft Viva Summit.

Join Corp VP Jared Spataro, Kathleen Hogan, Emily He, Kirk Koenigsbauer, Josh Bersin, Stacia Sherman Garr, Diane Schwarz on April 20th to gain insight into this new era of work and learn about the latest solutions designed to help leaders build empowered, engaged, and productive organizations.

• Hear Microsoft leaders and industry experts share the latest research insights and speak about fundamental shifts in the workplace.
• Experience a technology showcase on Microsoft Viva innovations that can provide AI-powered insights and experiences to help empower and engage your workforce.
• Attend panel discussions to discover expert insights and gain inspiration from your peers.

Register below:

• Date/Time:
  Thursday, April 20, 2023
  9:00 AM–10:30 AM Pacific Time (UTC-7)
• Registration:
  https://msvivasummit.eventcore.com/