Welcome to the Copilot Studio Podcast, where today's episode promises an illuminating conversation with Karuana Gatimu, a visionary leader from Microsoft focusing on collaborative apps and platforms, particularly Microsoft 365 and Copilot.

Join me Daniel Anderson (Microsoft MVP), as I delve into Karuana's insights on the significance of user enablement, the evolution of technology adoption, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence in today's business landscape.

From her role in hosting "Mondays at Microsoft" to her proactive approach to community engagement and her strategic viewpoints on copilot governance, Karuana shares her journey and strategies to foster an inclusive and tech-empowered community.

This episode will explore how these technologies are not just reshaping businesses but also how individuals at all levels can adapt to leverage these tools for growth and productivity. Whether you're an executive, a marketer, or an IT professional, tune in to gain valuable perspectives on making the most out of technological advancements in your role.

Time Stamps:

00:00 20 years of user enablement and change.

04:02 Customer success kit emphasizes user enablement teamwork.

08:50 Understanding diverse copilot experiences for specific roles.

10:48 Understanding key Copilot functions critical for individual use.

13:07 Community of practice critical for ongoing learning.

18:49 Too many unorganized information needs improvement.

21:59 10 years teaching Microsoft 365 governance, career progression.

26:21 Advocating for employees' needs and vision.

30:20 Utilizing AI for efficient, confident decision-making.

32:03 Understanding user needs, not just technology.

35:17 Microsoft Viva Copilot Academy enhances team experience.

41:04 Challenges of identity and belonging in society.

43:47 Empowering Microsoft community to join and thrive.

45:52 Grateful for the conversation and insightful stories.

Connect with Karuana on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karuanagatimu

Microsoft Adoption Site: https://adoption.microsoft.com

In this episode of the Copilot Studio Podcast we dive into the latest advancements in AI-powered collaboration and process automation with Jeff Teper of Microsoft. Discover how companies are transforming their workflows and the pressures of innovating in a tech-driven market.

- Jeff Teper shares insights on how Copilot, including Microsoft Teams bots built with Copilot Studio, can and are revolutionizing team workflows and chat channels.

- Learn about the powerful features of SharePoint premium and the importance of tailored SharePoint architecture for different organizational needs.

- Explore the significant productivity boosts reported from GitHub Copilot in code writing and Copilot for M365 in various business processes.

- Hear about the rapid adoption of Microsoft Teams during the pandemic and the enthusiastic reception of the new AI feature, Copilot.

- Gain perspective on the importance of security in AI innovation and the role customer and partner feedback play in shaping Microsoft's success.

Timestamps:

00:00 SharePoint's evolution and importance in collaboration.
05:53 SharePoint usage growing, OneDrive now part.
07:11 Rapid growth in website creation, new SharePoint features.
11:34 Leveraging Microsoft 365 for content apps integration.
15:26 Promote knowledge sharing by simplifying template choices.
19:19 SharePoint advanced management for large data volumes.
23:07 Individual and organizational focus on growth metrics.
26:54 Advises caution on industry's ongoing technological changes.
29:27 Quick shift to distributed collaboration, major adaptation.
31:07 Create adoption guides; leverage AI without jargon.
37:05 Ask Copilot questions to expand knowledge and confidence.
38:37 AI-driven workflow automation and customer service bots.
41:12 AI transforms collaboration and business processes powerfully.
44:44 Shifted to cloud, faced tech challenges, improved.
49:04 Balancing family and work pressure for success.

Tom Arbuthnot, a Microsoft MVP and founder of Empowering Cloud, discusses the use of AI copilot in Microsoft Teams and other applications.

He emphasizes the importance of training and understanding different use cases for copilot to be effective. Tom also highlights the need for users to consciously change their habits and expectations when using AI tools. He shares his personal experiences with copilot, including using it to catch up with his team and summarize meetings. Tom also discusses the benefits of AI in content generation and the challenges of teaching AI style and tone.

The conversation covers topics such as the potential use of AI in generating content, the challenges of keeping up with the pace of change in Microsoft 365, the importance of user adoption and change management, and the measurement of the impact of change.

Tom emphasizes the need for organizations to focus on the value and relevance of new features and to invest in user adoption to maximize the benefits of Microsoft 365.

Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction and Background
02:18 Different Experiences with Copilot in Microsoft Teams
06:08 Importance of Scenario-Based Adoption for Copilot
08:03 The Habit Change of Using AI Tools
09:27 Personal Benefits of Copilot and AI in Content Generation
11:19 The Challenges of Teaching AI Style and Expectations
13:09 The Role of Prompt Engineering in AI
22:44 Focusing on Key Changes and Measuring Impact
25:38 Maturity of Organizations and Readiness for New Features
28:19 Continuous Change and the Importance of Change Management
32:36 Measuring the Impact of Change and Adoption
34:35 Conclusion

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomarbuthnot

Andy Huneycutt, an enterprise collaboration specialist, discusses the benefits and use cases of Copilot, a generative AI tool by Microsoft.

He explains that Copilot is a semantic search engine tied to a large language model that can assist with content generation, summarization, and research. Andy shares examples of how Copilot can be used in Microsoft Teams meetings, email threads, and document creation. He emphasizes the importance of user education and data privacy and security when implementing Copilot in businesses.

Andy also discusses the ongoing pilot program and the role of champions in promoting Copilot adoption.

Takeaways

🔥 Copilot is a powerful generative AI tool that can assist with content generation, summarization, and research.

🔥 It can be used in various Microsoft applications, such as Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

🔥 Users should approach Copilot conversationally and be prepared to vet and refine the generated content.

🔥 Businesses should focus on data privacy and security, user education, and measuring the return on investment when implementing Copilot

I had the great opportunity to talk with Corporate Vice President, Modern Work @ Microsoft, Jared Spataro on this epsidode and we had a wide ranging chat around Modern work, thought leadership and the great re shuffle.

We also touched on the Metaverse and how that could change again the way we interact with each other moving forward.

Jared joined Microsoft more than15 years ago now and he still wakes up every day excited by Microsoft's mission to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.

He counts himself fortunate to have the opportunity to lead the Modern Work team. This includes efforts to research, predict and shape what the future of work will look like across industries, along with delivering new products and features across Microsoft 365 that enable everyone to thrive in the new era.

Here are the topics that we covered and I no will resonate with you:

• We are witnessing the evolution of hybrid and modern work - Companies are adding job titles focused on remote or hybrid work experiences as the shift to work from home becomes a lasting phenomenon
• Increase in job titles related to the future of work
• 304% spike in job titles that contain the phrase “hybrid work”
• Are we now seeing a whole new career path?
• The changing landscape of work and careers as we continue transitioning into the world of hybrid work
• Technology needs to be used in the right way to be the ultimate key to enable more innovative
• Technology alone is not the answer. It needs to be implemented in the right way
• How does Microsoft see this and how is Microsoft empowering all types of workers

Jared also shares his perspective on the key trends driving business transformation across industries: hybrid work, building hyper-connected businesses, increasing digital capabilities and end-to-end security.

It was great chat with one of the try thought leaders in this space.

Hope you enjoy.

On this weeks episode I had with me Alexander Eggers.

Some key topics we covered that I know will bring you value were:

• Best practises on Team architecture - One of the most common problems with Microsoft team introductions is the wild growth: Too many people create too many teams and channels
• When to create a new Channel vs a new Team
• Private Channel or New Team
• Group Chat or Team
• 5 biggest mistakes in Microsoft Teams adoption
• Why getting buy in from the top is so important

Alexander's vision is that he can make people work better through technology.

He loves standing on the stage and this gives so much energy to him. His passion is interacting with people and sharing knowledge.

In his role as head of an IT company with almost 50 employees, he knows procedures and processes. This helps him with the adoption of Office365 and in particular of Microsoft teams.

Alexendar has developed adoption workshops for the SMB market and can look back on many successful projects since 2017, the birth of MS Teams.

Alexander is also a speaker at various events. These include Microsoft events, cloud forums or Virtual Summits.

Since 2020 he has held the Microsoft MVP for Office Apps and Services.

Connect with Alexander:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/teams-pro/
  
• https://www.youtube.com/c/Teamsf%C3%BCralle/
• https://twitter.com/eggers_alex

Joining me on today's episode is Peter Rising....

Peter, has over 25 years’ experience in IT. He has worked for several IT solutions providers and private organisations in a variety of technical roles focusing on Microsoft technologies.

Since 2014, Peter has specialised in the Microsoft 365 platform, more recently shifting his focus to Microsoft 365 Security and Compliance.

He holds a number of Microsoft certifications, including MCSE: Productivity; MCSA: Office 365; Microsoft 365 Certified: Enterprise Administrator Expert; Microsoft 365: Security Administrator Associate; and Microsoft 365 Certified: Teams Administrator Associate.

Protecting and governing your organisation’s information is a challenging process and is more crucial than ever before.

Cybercriminals are more sophisticated and more determined to gain access to your organizations critical and sensitive information.

Securing and protecting your data for regulatory compliance is a challenge every organisation and individuals for that matter needs to address.

Where do you start?

What are the fundamental?

What simple steps can you take to secure identities and ensure compliance?

And how do you ensure continued success with your cyber security posture in the ever-changing landscape of cloud and hybrid cloud?

These are the topics that we dive into in this episode and we also touch on Peter's little project "THe Microsoft 365 alphabet".

You can follow and engage with Peter here:

www.peterrising.co.uk
https://www.youtube.com/c/CloudConversations/videos
https://www.meetup.com/en-AU/m365sandcug/
https://practical365.com/author/peter-rising/

Joining me on today's episode is a truley experienced product person and seasoned Product Manager at Microsoft. A man that only needs to go by one name:

Chakkaradeep.

What I love about how "Chakka" goes about things is that he strives to build products that customers love.

It was a great chat and some topics that we discussed were:

• The rise of video in Power Point
• 3 things that make a great product leader
• Features vs Outcomes
• Design Thinking and haveing more productive meetings
• The importance of product metrics
• Balancing expectations and delivering iterative outcomes

Contact and keep up with Chakkaradeep here:

https://twitter.com/chakkaradeep

His Twitter profile also has a link to his newsletter: Product Management Insights.