Show Notes

Power BI a Leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant or Analytics and BI

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-a-leader-in-gartners-magic-quadrant-for-analytics-and-bi-platforms-for-12-consecutive-years/

Power BI Export to PDF and On-Demand Email Subscriptions Available

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/export-to-pdf-and-on-demand-e-mail-subscriptions-now-available/

PDF export in addition to PowerPoint! Also, subscription can now be trigged on-demand.

Power BI Export with Filters

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/end-user-filtered-export-capabilities-now-available/

Works with PDF and PowerPoint. Includes filters, slicers, cross-highlighting… more. Check out the post!

Power BI Admin Portal Bulk Operations

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/bulk-operations-in-the-admin-portal/

Replaces the need for repetitive admin operations that were usually solved with PowerShell. Examples: restore deleted workspaces, assign admin to orphaned workspaces.

Power BI Embedded Support for Service Principals

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/use-power-bi-api-with-service-principal-preview/

This approach replaces the previous approach of using a named Power BI Pro (and hence license) user for interacting with the Power BI API in embedded scenarios. Easier to create, cheaper, more secure!

Power BI Desktop Update for February

https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-desktop-february-2019-feature-summary/

• More formatting control of filtering pane
• Cross highlighting from points in a line chart
• Change default cross highlighting/filtering behavior in a report
• Rounded corners!
• Key influencers visual
• Insights questions in Q&A and autogenerated Q&A question suggestions
• A BUNCH of cool custom visuals!
• A BUNCH of data connectors!
• Better error messages for DQ/live connections

Flow Updates!

https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/build-more-powerful-conditions-in-flows-and-more/

• Flow now has the advanced condition capabilities that have been in Logic Apps.
• SharePoint “Remind Me” feature based on a date in metadata
• Code peek
• New connectors: Microsoft Security Graph, XooaDB

Autopilot Remote Wipe for EDU

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Enterprise-Mobility-Security/Introducing-Remote-Autopilot-Reset-in-Intune-for-Education/ba-p/332539?lightbox-message-images-332539=72251i821F49D3CCD3399F

Great for end of year!

Feb Teams Roundup

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/What-s-new-in-Microsoft-Teams-February-round-up/ba-p/330566

• Teams rooms
• Usage Reporting
• Templates and Bots
• 3rd Party – MindMeister, Jira and more!

Teams Healthcare Announcements

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Empower-healthcare-organizations-with-NEW-capabilities-in/ba-p/334445

• Urgent messages
• FHIR-EHR integration – https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Integrate-electronic-health-records-into-Microsoft-Teams-care/ba-p/334042
• Secure image sharing
• Shifts, and more!

ICYMI: O365 Privacy – new features review

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2019/01/29/introducing-new-features-in-microsoft-365-to-help-prepare-for-the-next-wave-of-privacy-regulations/

• Specialized Compliance workspace
• Consistent labeling across Win, Mac, iOS, Droid
• New analytics capabilities
• Better support for comms review – important to regulated industries

SharePoint – Lots to catch up on!!

• Page enhancements – https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-SharePoint-Blog/SharePoint-page-enhancements/ba-p/334735
• SP Migration tool gets Web Part support – https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-SharePoint-Blog/Microsoft-365-migration-on-your-terms-with-new-improvements-to/ba-p/332986
• ICYMI: Jan pitstop review – https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-SharePoint-Blog/SharePoint-Roadmap-Pitstop-January-2019/ba-p/328804

If you want a bit of fun content, check out the new Office 2019 vs. Office 365 video.  Think they are the same?  We think not! 🙂   https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2019/02/06/the-twins-challenge-office-365-crushes-office-2019/

Have a great week all!

– DS/TK

Show Notes

Flow DLP Enhancements
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-http-and-custom-connector-support-for-data-loss-prevention-policies/

* HTTP connectors now subject to DLP
* Custom connectors are as well
* Right now, you can do this with a Flow template or PowerShell. GUI coming soon.

Send a Flow as a Copy
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/send-a-flow-as-a-copy/

This is like creating a Flow template for the people you choose. Note the recommendations about private/personal data!

Power BI Email Subscription Time-Based Scheduling Available
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/e-mail-subscription-time-based-scheduling-now-available/

You now have much more and granular control over when your email subscriptions are sent.

Discover PowerApps and Flows Using Specific Features
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/powershell-scripts-to-discover-powerapps-and-flows-with-specific-features/

Leverage PowerShell to find PowerApps or Flows that are doing things like using custom connectors, premium connectors, on-prem connectors, HTTP actions.

Teams-Skype Roadmap Update
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Microsoft-Teams-meetings-and-calling-news-roundup-The-latest/ba-p/327006

* Allllmost theeeere!!!
* Most net new/fwd-looking are over in the Teams Roadmap at this point

Teams Call Qual Dash – Potential false bad trend explained
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/The-Rise-of-Drop-Failure-Rate-and-Unclassified-Streams-Explained/ba-p/327015

* Issue seems to be driven from non-audio modalities impacting the data
* Change coming to address the issue

Teams – Updates IT Pro Docs/Guidance
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Updated-IT-Pro-and-Admin-documentation/ba-p/326674

As the service evolves, so do the docs!

Show Notes

EDU customers – Intune for Education update
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Enterprise-Mobility-Security/Simplifying-device-management-for-schools-with-Microsoft-Intune/ba-p/324726

* Autopilot reset
* Better iOS support
* Assignment rename and dynamic grouping

M365 CIS Foundation Benchmark now available!
https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2019/01/10/best-practices-for-securely-using-microsoft-365-the-cis-microsoft-365-foundations-benchmark-now-available/

* Hot Off The Press from Jon Trull and the ECG team!
* CIS guide

Windows Defender ATP integration with Microsoft Information Protection
https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2019/01/17/windows-defender-atp-integrates-with-microsoft-information-protection-to-discover-protect-and-monitor-sensitive-data-on-windows-devices/

Dynamic content protection integration

O365 for Mac on the Mac App Store
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2019/01/24/office-365-for-mac-is-available-in-the-mac-app-store/

Get Office form the Mac store, and stay current!

Reminder: Cloud App Discovery – E3 vs E5 entitlement

* Discovery in MCAS (EMS E5) – The full blown Shadow IT Discovery solution. Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-app-security/set-up-cloud-discovery
* Discovery in AAD (EMS E3) – known as CAD. This is similar functionally to MCAS but does NOT include risk assessment and anomaly detection in discovered usage. Documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/cloudappdiscovery-get-started
* You can review the comparison between Discovery in AAD CAD and MCAS here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-app-security/editions-cloud-app-security-aad

Ignite BRK 2182 – Building Custom Connectors for PA/Flow
https://myignite.techcommunity.microsoft.com/sessions/65837#ignite-html-anchor

* Don’t be afraid – more config than code!
* Example: Yelp API exposure to PA/Flow!

Teams Bot Builder v4
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Introducing-the-Preview-Release-of-Net-Teams-Bot-Builder-v4-SDK/ba-p/324571

* It is more capable, but the layer model can take some getting used to
* Get you Geek hat on and check it out

Introducing Teams Room
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Introducing-Microsoft-Teams-Rooms/ba-p/323848

* SRS-style functions, grounded in Teams
* Proximity detection (coming soon), makes it easy to discover and add nearby, available Microsoft Teams Rooms to any meeting.
* Companion experiences with mobile, to join your devices in content-only mode.
* Support for dual screen rooms.

Updated guidance for upgrading from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Updated-guidance-for-upgrading-from-Skype-for-Business-to/ba-p/324055

* A streamlined end-to-end approach, making it easier to navigate our proven success framework for implementing change
* A “Get started” FAQ to highlight quickly the value of upgrading to Teams as well as when and how to take the next step in your journey
* A sample upgrade timeline that takes you from the pre-upgrade phase where you will plan and prepare for your upgrade, through the upgrade and into the post-upgrade phase, designed to sustain and amplify your outcomes.
* A summary of key considerations when preparing to upgrade your tenant and users to Teams Only mode.
* Supplemental deep dive technical resources around coexistence, interoperability, and migration.

Power BI Service Personal Bookmarks
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-personal-bookmarks-in-the-power-bi-service/

Create your own bookmarks to capture relevant views to you. Includes page, filters, slicers, visual selection state, sorting, drill state, item visibility.

No sharing yet, but coming soon!

Power BI Dataflows Updates for January 2019
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-dataflows-january-updates/

* 47 connectors supported at present! New: MySQL, Teradata, Azure Data Explorer, Active Directory, Smartsheet, Sybase… more supported behind the scenes (just not in the UI yet).
* Web connector now supports basic auth
* Support for native SQL queries (BYOS[QL])
* Advanced Power Query transformations via M.

Monetization of Power BI Custom Visuals
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-monetization-option-for-power-bi-custom-visuals-through-appsource/

There are hundreds of visuals available in AppSource. Downloading is free, but some visuals may have in-app purchases for advanced features.

Power BI Report Server January 2019 Update
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-report-server-update-january-2019/

* Row-level security!
* Many new reporting features
* Improved DAX editor
* Accessibility improvements

Management of Data Gateways in the Power Platform Admin Center
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/on-premises-data-gateway-management-in-the-power-platform-admin-center/

Public preview.

PowerApps Audit Events now in Office 365 Security and Compliance Center
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-powerapps-audit-events-now-available-in-office-365-security-compliance-center/

Events: Created app, Edited app, Deleted app, Launched app, Published app, Marked app as hero, Market app as featured, Edited app permissions, Deleted app permission, Restored app version

Flow/PowerApps Connector Updates for January
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/january-connector-improvements-and-new-releases/

* User assignment support for Planner connector – great use case for Flow!
* Get categories for Office 365 calendar events
* New connectors: Ally and TxtSync

Flow Word (Business) Connector
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/generate-word-documents-in-your-flows/

* Generate PDFs from Word docs
* Populate a Microsoft Word template

Show Notes

GITHUB – FREE PRIVATE REPOS!
https://github.blog/changelog/2019-01-07-pricing-changes/

* GitHub Free gives you unlimited private repositories with up to three collaborators per repository at no cost—and continued access to unlimited public repositories with unlimited collaborators.
* GitHub Developer is now called GitHub Pro. It includes everything in GitHub Free, unlimited collaborators for private repositories, and advanced code review tools for private and public repositories.
* GitHub Enterprise is the new unified product for Enterprise Cloud (formerly GitHub Business Cloud) and Enterprise Server (formerly GitHub Enterprise). Organizations that want the flexibility to use GitHub in a cloud or self-hosted configuration can now access both at one per-seat price.

JAN 14 2020 – GOODBYE, WINDOWS 7…SO GET READY FOR WIN 10/OFFICE AS A SERVICE!!
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2019/01/14/2019-is-the-year-to-make-the-shift-to-a-modern-desktop/

* Desktop App Assure
* O365 Pro Plus
* Co-management

TEAM – MINDMEISTER MIND MAP INTEGRATION UPDATE
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-Teams-Blog/Create-and-Manage-All-Your-Mind-Maps-in-Microsoft-Teams/ba-p/320597

Check out the new integration!

SHAREPOINT CLOUD MIGRATION TOOL UPDATE
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-SharePoint-Blog/Kick-start-the-new-year-and-your-cloud-migration-with-new/ba-p/309312

* New UI
* Improved settings management

SHAREPOINT 2018 CLOSEOUT ROADMAP PITSTOP UPDATE
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-SharePoint-Blog/SharePoint-Roadmap-Pitstop-December-2018/ba-p/307754

Lots to review – check it out!

SHAREPOINT MODERN SHIFT – APRIL 1, 2019 (NO JOKE!)
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-SharePoint-Blog/Delivering-SharePoint-modern-experiences/ba-p/315023

* Time to make the shift to Modern!
* Starting April 1, 2019, it will no longer be possible to restrict an entire organization (tenant) to classic mode for lists and libraries
* Check out the Scanner to understand impact: https://aka.ms/sppnp-modernizationscanner

SHAREPOINT FRAMEWORK DEV TRAINING PACKAGE NOW AVAIL!
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/blogs/updated-sharepoint-framework-developer-training-package-now-available-2019/

* GET STARTED PEOPLE!!
* Recorded video on the module topic presented by a professional trainer
* Presentation slides on the topic
* Hands-on lab for the module
* Demo materials used in the recorded videos

Show Notes

Power BI Desktop 2018 Recap
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/happy-new-year-from-power-bi-desktop-2/

Over 150 substantive features added to Power BI Desktop in 2018; almost 3 a week!

Easy Embedding of Power BI Reports Internally
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/easily-embed-secure-power-bi-reports-in-your-internal-portals-or-websites/

This gives you a nice middle option that was previously missing for embedding of
corporate reports.

Power BI On-premises Data Gateway December Update
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/on-premises-data-gateway-december-2018-update-is-now-available/

* SAP BW SSO enhancements
* December Mashup Engine Update

Flow Conference Sessions Available On-demand
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/catch-all-the-microsoft-flow-conference-sessions-on-demand/

Find out what 300,000 people already did.

Flow Updates
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/filter-resources-in-the-flow-portal-and-two-new-connectors/

* Filter your Flows – yes please!
* SharePoint Page Approvals with Flow
* New connectors (Acumatica, Plumsail HelpDesk)

MyAnalytics More Broadly Available
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2019/01/02/myanalytics-the-fitness-tracker-for-work-is-now-more-broadly-available/

If you have a plan with Exchange Online (Business Essentials, Business Premium E1, E3, and E5 plans), you will now have MyAnalytics.

TEAMS FIRST LINE WORKER EXPERIENCES
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2019/01/09/3-new-ways-microsoft-teams-empowers-firstline-workers-to-achieve-more/

* Shifts, location sharing, new smart camera
* Check out the GraphAPI for Shifts!
* https://products.office.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/staff-scheduling-software

AUTOMATING SECURITY WORKFLOWS WITH MCAS + MS FLOW!
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Enterprise-Mobility-Security/Automating-Security-workflows-with-Microsoft-s-CASB-and-MS-Flow/ba-p/308575

Monitoring, ticket generation, etc.

Happy new year! Doug and Todd are still wrapping up their break, but we’ll be back next week!

However if you want to add Yammer group governance plus all O365 group coverage (as opposed to just Teams) to the Documentation Flow I’ve been working on I do have some pre-work for you.

The flow I’ll publish next week does much more than just the Teams stuff, however it requires a Yammer API key for adding in state from that service which allows reporting on Yammer enablement as well as Teams.

Want to get started? Follow the instructions on this excellent blog post https://skodvinhvammen.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/governing-yammer-groups-using-microsoft-flow/ until you get to the part where you have the AuthZ code. You DO NOT need to make the referenced flow – my upcoming Git post will have one you can just import.

Happy New Year all!

Show Notes

Flow Updates for December
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/december-2018-updates/

* New inputs for Flow buttons, can now do text yes/no, file, email, number, and dates.
* Flow button inputs can also be optional
* Less noise for Flow notification failures
* Improved help in Flow designer
* Flow APIs for management/governance
* New connectors

Power BI Premium Capacity Metrics App Update
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/power-bi-premium-capacity-metrics-app-makes-navigating-and-viewing-metrics-at-workspace-level-easier/

* Shows report refresh time
* Support for cross-highlighting and aggregation for dataset and workspaces; makes it easier to understand workspace resource consumption.
* Query Waits are now bucketed

PowerApps Delivers New WYSIWYG Model-Driven Form Designer
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-the-new-wysiwyg-model-driven-form-designer-public-preview/

* Live WYSIWYG preview
* Switch between different screen sizes
* Field searching/filtering
* Property updates are instantly reflected
* Save/Publish are now one button click

PowerApps Bar Code Scanner Update
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/new-barcode-scanner-control/

* New control now relies on native device capabilities on iOS and Android
* Can use old control if you need bar code scanning in a web browser

Power BI Workspace Management in Admin Portal
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/workspace-management-in-the-admin-portal/

Giving you a GUI option for what you could do in the Power BI Admin PowerShell
cmdlets.

PowerApps Canvas App Coding Standards and Guidelines
https://powerapps.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/powerapps-canvas-app-coding-standards-and-guidelines/

This whitepaper is designed to bring together information and best practices that might have already been available, but not necessarily in one place.

ONENOTE FOR WINDOWS CUSTOM TAGS
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Blog/Custom-tags-available-soon-in-OneNote/ba-p/302898

Mak’em, search’em, tag’em!

NEW – OFFICE APP FOR WIN 10
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/12/19/introducing-the-office-app-for-windows-10/

Show Notes

Power BI Helper Webcast
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/webinar-12-4-power-bi-helper-a-free-community-tool-for-developers-by-reza-rad/

Power BI Helper is a community developed tool to assist with documentation, model clean up, and simply understanding what’s going on in a PBIX file. Tune in on 12/4 to hear more.

Power BI Ask a Question in Detail
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/qna-december-2018-update/

A more detailed overview of how you can interrogate Power BI data with natural
language.

Power BI Quarterly Survey
https://powerbi.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/help-improve-power-bi-quarterly-survey/

Security Graph Hackathon Kickoff
https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/microsoftsecure/2018/12/03/kicking-off-the-microsoft-graph-security-hackathon/

$15K in prizes, enter before 3/1/2019.

Flow Tab in Teams and Other Integration
https://flow.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-the-flow-tab-in-teams-and-new-teams-triggers/

* New Flow Tab for teams
* Flow triggers for new Teams messages and mentions

OUTLOOK MOBILE – NEW UX
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/12/05/power-and-simplicity-new-outlook-mobile-design-helps-you-get-things-done-faster/

* Cleaner design
* Overall better use/navigation

HYBRID: OFFICE ONLINE SERVER NOV 2018 UPDATES
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Office-365-Blog/Office-Online-Server-November-2018-Update/ba-p/292500

* Many updates/improvements
* Compat w/adv PPT features, better O365 alignment

POWERPOINT CAPTIONING – UPDATE
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2018/12/03/present-more-inclusively-with-live-captions-and-subtitles-in-powerpoint/

* We’ve show it before, but work the recap!
* Enterprise customers – Make sure you understand data flow for compliancy

ICYMI: SPO PROVISIONING SERVICE
https://provisioning.sharepointpnp.com/

* Interesting resources for SPO – very dev-centric, but good
* Example – Cool potential end user self-service update to Modern; check it out
* Reminder SP Dev weekly –
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/office/blogs/sharepoint-dev-weekly-episode-16/

EDGE HEADING TO CHROMIUM ENGINE
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/12/06/microsoft-edge-making-the-web-better-through-more-open-source-collaboration/#Bsk3hhIE6qGUTAP5.97

Let’s consider that shift….