Microsoft 365 has an abundance of features! Feature updates can come through thick and fast, and it’s easy to loose track of what’s been added and how to use them in your organisation.
Here’s our pick of the Microsoft 365 Feature Updates (September – December 2024), and some ideas of they could look in your workplace:
1. Outlook: Always-On Office Presence.
Microsoft is introducing an “always on” feature in Outlook that allows you to see who’s in the office based on Work Hours and Location. This information will be pinned to the top-right corner of the Calendar surface in the new Outlook for Windows and web.
Imagine you’re planning an impromptu workshop with a teammate. With a quick glance at your Outlook calendar, you will instantly see which team members are in the office, allowing you to set up a face-to-face meeting without the back-and-forth of checking availabilities.
Expected release October 2024.
2. Microsoft Lists: Scheduled Form Responses
List form owners and collaborators will be able to schedule specific dates and times to start and stop accepting responses. The form will be active during the designated period and will automatically stop accepting responses once the scheduled end time is reached.
So, you might be running a time-sensitive survey for the next product launch. Set the form to activate on Monday at 9 AM and deactivate on Friday at 5 PM. The form will automatically open and close, ensuring you capture responses only within your specified timeframe.
Expected release September 2024
3. Microsoft Lists: Form Response Notifications
Lists form users will be able to subscribe to be notified of new responses on their forms. This feature is off by default, but form collaborators will be able to toggle it on to receive an email notification for every new response.
Now imagine that you’ve created a form for event registrations. By turning on notifications, you’ll receive an email each time someone signs up, allowing you to stay on top of attendance numbers and plan in real-time.
Expected release September 2024
4. SharePoint: Content AI Rules for Security and Retention
SharePoint is introducing two new Content AI rules that can be triggered by changes in column data or the addition of a file to a SharePoint library. These rules will automatically apply retention policies and sensitivity labels as predefined in Purview.
You will see this in action in such instances as when your team uploads a new financial report to SharePoint. Based on keywords in the document, the Content AI automatically applies a “Confidential” sensitivity label and sets a 7-year retention policy, ensuring compliance without manual intervention.
Expected release September 2024
5. Viva Engage: Questions in Copilot Results
Questions from Viva Engage communities, storyline, and Answers will now surface in Copilot results, broadening the AI’s knowledge base with your organisation’s collective wisdom.
For example, you might ask Copilot about best practices for remote team management. In addition to the general advice, Copilot surfaces relevant discussions from your company’s Viva Engage community, providing context-specific insights from your colleagues’ experiences.
Expected release December 2024
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