Tom Arbuthnot's Microsoft 365 Perspective

Many thanks to Landis, this month's community Benefactor. Their Contact Center now supports WhatsApp, SMS, and RCS alongside web chat. All channels run through queues in the same way as voice. Find out more here.

Microsoft 365 and AI Workplace Update Video

You can check out my January update video briefing to get all the news in under 15 minutes on YouTube, LinkedIn and on the podcast.

What is Coming in Places in 2026?

Microsoft Places completed its first full year in GA in 2025. 10,000 customers have "started the Places journey" in year one.

In a new briefing, Brennan McReynolds shared how the product has evolved. With many organisations shifting from 1:1.25 employee-to-desk ratios to 2:1 or even 5:1, Brennan says there's a genuine need for tools that help people feel confident their commute will be worthwhile, and they'll actually sit near the colleagues who matter to them.

The Places API and partnership story has matured. Brennan outlined three integration patterns: spatial data in/out of the Places directory (working with mapping partners and systems of record like Planon and ServiceNow), signal-based integrations for occupancy and check-in (including new APIs coming for third-party sensors to trigger room releases), and extensible experiences for things like visitor management and digital signage.

WiFi-based location auto-detection is being added back to the roadmap. This uses corporate network BSSIDs to automatically check people in as they move between buildings on a campus—tying into existing E911 configurations. Four desk modes provide more flexibility than simple booking: Bookable (reserve in advance), Assigned (permanent desk showing as "Matt's desk" in search), Offline (under maintenance), and Drop-in (classic hot desk, first come first serve).

M365 Copilot - Anthropic models and Agent mode in Office Apps

February is shaping up to be a big month for new Microsoft 365 Copilot features. Agent mode is coming to the Office Apps, meaning Copilot will engage with the active document, even with free Copilot Chat.

We will also see model selectors coming in Office Apps, so you can access those Anthropic/Claude models if your organisation has enabled them.

I'm really excited for the Anthropic models coming to Copilot. It's interesting that Microsoft gets complete access to all of OpenAI's IP and models, yet still chooses to pay for Anthropic models as an option in Copilot. Great for customers to have that choice. I've been really impressed with the Anthropic models.

Anthropic has also shaken things up with Cowork, a new feature they apparently developed and shipped in just 10 days. Essentially a version of the Claude code, but for knowledge workers. Preview and Mac only right now. It allows the Claude app to access the user's local hard drive and create and edit files directly. I wonder if we will see a similar option in Microsoft 365 Copilot?

Teams News

Be sure to check whether your Teams Direct Routing requires updated certificates to avoid service outages. Details are in MC1213773. Help a friend who is using Direct Routing and let them know about this, too.

Teams Rooms and Devices

Jabra have just revealed their new Evolve3 75 and 85 headsets. I talked to Calum MacDougall, President, Enterprise Division at Jabra, about the new headsets and got an early hands-on.

Logi has some exciting news coming; I've had a sneak peek, and it's pretty impressive. Online announcement on the 22nd here. Look out for a podcast with Henry Levak, VP of Product at Logitech for Business, going into the details soon.

The first Android 15 Teams Certified MDEP device, Yealink MP55 E2 IP Phone. Expect more MDEP news at ISE.

If you have Teams displays, a problematic firmware was briefly made available, it would be worth checking if any of your units got it, if so, you might need to factory reset them. MC1217989.

Microsoft at ISE 2026

If you're lucky enough to be going to ISE in Barcelona, Microsoft will be at Hall 2 - 2Q400 with booth talks from February 3rd to February 5th, 2026.

I will be there covering all the news. Expect lots of LinkedIn videos to keep you updated, and a full recap in the next Teams fireside chat with Michel Bouman, AI Powered Workplace Lead EMEA, India and SEA - Teams Engineering at Microsoft.

Microsoft Keynote - Al and the Next Era of Collaboration in Teams, Tues, Feb 3rd | 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM CET, Level +1 | Room CC5.3 - Ilya Bukshteyn

Microsoft Booth sessions:

Tuesday, February 3rd — Teams Sessions at ISE 2026 (Booth #2Q400)

• 11:00 AM CET — Teams device showcase: Finding the right Certified for Teams devices for the space and purpose — Jimmy Vaughan & Michel Bouman
• 1:00 PM CET — Make flexible workspaces and return to office easy and engaging with Places, M365 & Teams — Brennan McReynolds
• 2:00 PM CET — Intelligent meeting space innovations in Teams Rooms — Irena Andonova
• 3:00 PM CET — Teams + Copilot: The smart way to work and collaborate — Kerry Heffernan
• 4:30 PM CET — Teams announcements at ISE 2026 — Ilya Bukshteyn

Wednesday, February 4th — Teams Sessions at ISE 2026 (Booth #2Q400)

• 11:00 AM CET — Best-in-class meeting experiences in any size space: Easy, affordable ways to update to Teams Rooms — Jimmy Vaughan & Andrew Higgs
• 1:00 PM CET — Get recognised, get the most from Copilot and Teams with voice and face profiles — Kyle Spiess
• 2:00 PM CET — Keeping devices and data secure - from platform to the Pro Management portal — Matt Slomka
• 3:00 PM CET — Next level meeting & event experiences with Teams — Drew Blundell
• 5:00 PM CET — Smart workspace management and planning with the Pro Management portal — Kim Matlock

Thursday, February 5th — Teams Sessions at ISE 2026 (Booth #2Q400)

• 11:00 AM CET — Putting AI agents to work to enhance meetings and collaboration — Michel Bouman
• 1:00 PM CET — Making Android devices enterprise-ready with Microsoft Device Ecosystem Platform (MDEP) — Yoav Barzilay
• 2:00 PM CET — Create AI-powered workplace solutions with Microsoft Places integrations — Brennan McReynolds
• 3:00 PM CET — Reflections and looking to the future: Fireside chat with Ilya Bukshteyn — Ilya Bukshteyn
• 5:00 PM CET — Deploy more Teams Rooms for less: Express install methods, Autopilot, and the Pro Management portal — Matt Slomka

New on Empowering.Cloud

• Microsoft Places in 2026: APIs, Desk Booking, and Copilot Context with Brennan McReynolds, Product Strategy Lead for Microsoft Places, at Microsoft
• Pure IP's Platform Strategy that Simplifies Enterprise Communications with Adnon Dow, Chief Strategy Officer, at Pure IP
• Microsoft 365 AI Workplace Update January 2026 - video, links and PowerPoint
• AI Voice Agents with Azure Communication Services with Sean Keegan, Developer Evangelist for Azure Communication Services at Microsoft

Teams Insider Podcast

• Microsoft Teams Rooms and Phone Journey at Toyota Financial Services with JT Elliott, Unified Communications and Collaboration Manager, at Toyota Financial Services
• Scaling Microsoft Copilot Adoption 22,000 Diverse Users at Centrica with Bill Compton, Head of Digital Adoption at Centrica
• Copilot and Agent Adoption in the Big Four Professional Services Firms with Mo Khalifa, Workforce AI Specialist for the big 4 at Microsoft.
• From PBX to Microsoft Teams and Voca Contact Centre at the Chartered Institute of Housing with Richard Sewell, Client IT manager at ADECS.

Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and YouTube

Events

Online events:

• M365 Change Community Round Up - January 2026 with MVPs Darrell Webster, Daniel Glenn from the M365 Message Center show, and Tom Arbuthnot
• Microsoft Places - Public Demo Day
• Copilot Fireside Chat January 2026 with Adam Harmetz, VP of Product at Microsoft
• The AI-Powered Workplace Experts Series - ISE Recap & MDEP Device Deployment and Management
• Teams Fireside Chat February - Michel Bouman, EMEA Sr. Solution Specialist Lead for Teams Rooms at Microsoft
• MTDAMA February 2026 - ISE News and Announcements
• M365 Change Community Round Up February 2026 with MVPs Darrell Webster, Daniel Glenn from the M365 Message Center show, and Tom Arbuthnot
  

In-Person events:

• Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 - February 3 to Friday, February 6, 2026, I will be there covering all the news
• Manchester M365 User Group - 11th February - Second meeting of this new user group!
• Microsoft UC User Group London - 26th February - covering all the latest Microsoft Teams and AI Workplace news and key insights from ISE, with Adam Jacobs at Microsoft and MVPs Graham Walsh and Tom Arbuthnot

More on our events page.

As always, if you have any questions, corrections, thoughts, or feedback, please reply.

I read all the replies. I really do want to hear your thoughts.

Thanks

Tom

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