365 Explained

What is Power Automate, really, and why should an IT Pro care when it’s usually pitched at citizen developers? In episode eleven of 365 Explained, Ben and Zach look at Power Automate from the admin’s side of the fence. We cover: How triggers, actions and connectors fit together Cloud flows, desktop flows and generative flows When a personal flow should probably become an Azure Logic App Power Plat...

Recorded live at CommsvNext in Denver, Colorado. Ben and Zach are joined by Oli Lifely from Luware to talk about what happens when native Teams call queues aren't enough and you need a full contact center. In this episode, we cover: The three Microsoft certification models for contact center integration: Connect, Extend, and the newly renamed Unify How each model handles the call differently —...

How does Microsoft actually roll out updates across M365 — and how much control do you really have? Ben and Zach break down the update lifecycle across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem in episode seven of 365 Explained. In this episode, we explore: The "rings" model — from dev teams to dogfooding to your tenant Targeted release vs standard release — and where to find the settings Office...

Microsoft has announced Microsoft 365 E7, "The Frontier Suite", the first new enterprise tier above E5 since 2015. It goes GA on May 1st at $99/user/month, wrapping E5, Copilot, Agent 365 and the full Entra Suite into one SKU. In this episode, Ben and Zach break down what's inside E7, how the enterprise licensing ladder has evolved from E1 through to E7, and whether the pricing math ad...

Copilot Frontier keeps showing up across M365 admin centres, but it's not well explained and the documentation doesn't make it much easier. In this episode, Ben and Zach dig into what Frontier actually is, why it exists as a separate thing from targeted release, and what's in it right now. From Researcher and Analyst agents through to the Opal computer use agent. We talk through the ad...

Ever wondered if the Teams Queues App could save you from a full contact centre deployment? Ben and Zach get into Microsoft's Contact Center Lite experience in episode six of 365 Explained. In this episode, we explore: What the Queues App actually is (and what it isn't) 🔹The Teams Premium licensing question—who needs it? Monitor, whisper, barge, and takeover functionality explained Real-t...

Don’t worry if you don’t know your IaC from your elbow, neither did Ben or Zach when they started recording! Thankfully, Elliott Woodruff, Principal Architect at Synextra, was onboard to help make sense of it all for us! In this episode, we explore: What Infrastructure as Code actually means in Azure and M365 The differences between Bicep, ARM, and Terraform (and when to use each) Real-world use c...

In this episode, Ben and Zach explore what it’s really like to use M365 Copilot in practice. They break down how it compares to Copilot Chat, where it fits into daily workflows, and what you actually get for your $30 per month. They cover: The difference between M365 Copilot and Copilot Chat Licensing, data protection, and value for money How Copilot works across Teams, Word, Excel, Outlook, and L...

In this episode, Ben and Zach dive into the world of Microsoft Teams Voice Apps: the unsung heroes behind call routing, Auto Attendants, and Call Queues. Whether you're new to Teams Phone or knee-deep in deployment, this episode breaks down: What Voice Apps are and where they fit in the Teams Phone ecosystem How Auto Attendants and Call Queues work (and when to use each) The role of Resource A...

Zach and Ben are back, and this time we’re diving into one of my favourite new Copilot features: Copilot Notebooks. If you’ve been wondering: • What are Copilot Notebooks, really? • How are they different from Loop or OneNote? • Can they actually help with real-world work? • Why can’t I share them yet? (Yes, we go there…) Then this episode is for you

Welcome to first exciting episode of 365 Explained! In this episode, we dive deep into Microsoft Loop, the innovative new tool designed to enhance collaboration and productivity. Join us as we explore the features, benefits, and real-world applications of Microsoft Loop. Don't miss out on this comprehensive guide to one of the most promising tools in the Microsoft ecosystem. Tune in, subscribe...