Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 11)

This week’s Pulse looks a little different. Microsoft wrapped up the second SharePoint Hackathon, and instead of just watching from the sidelines, I decided to participate. This time with my wife. She is a former Microsoft employee and now a Copilot Microsoft MVP, so yes, we genuinely live and breathe Microsoft at home.

We joined forces to push the boundaries of what SharePoint can do using mostly out of the box capabilities. If you remember the days when the goal was to make SharePoint not look like SharePoint, this one is for you. If you want to catch up on the latest SharePoint updates and see where the platform is heading, take a look and let us know what you think.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Mar 17, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 10)

Microsoft 365 had a slow start to the year. January and February felt unusually quiet. March changed that completely. With the Copilot Wave 3 announcements made yesterday, it is clear Microsoft has shifted gears. The pace picked up fast, and the scope of what was announced signals another major change in how we work.

Agents are at the center of that shift. This is no longer about experimentation or shiny demos. They are reaching a level of maturity where they become genuinely useful, dependable, and close to everyday work. More support than feature. More right arm than assistant. That is why my highlights this week focus on two updates that really matter: Anthropic Claude Sonnet now available in Microsoft 365 Copilot, and Microsoft Agent 365 now generally available, finally giving admins a place to set boundaries and control in this new agent-driven world.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Mar 10, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 9)

Today, SharePoint turns 25. I couldn’t let this moment pass without sharing what the platform has meant to my own career, and how deeply it shaped the way I work, write, and share what I learn with all of you.

February is already in the rear‑view mirror, which means one thing: another February blog post marathon is done. This year, that resulted in 28 new posts, published one per day, covering everything from SharePoint and Microsoft Teams to Lists, Copilot, and Microsoft Places. Places deserves a special mention, it’s an area I hadn’t really explored on the blog before, and February gave me the excuse to finally change that.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Mar 2, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 8)

The past week brought two SharePoint updates that are worth paying attention to. The first is the arrival of Ground Chat in SharePoint Lists, powered by Context IQ, which starts to change how people interact with structured data inside Microsoft 365. The second is the announcement of a new SharePoint experience, timed neatly with the product’s 25th anniversary and clearly signalling where Microsoft wants the platform to go next.

On a more personal note, the blog post marathon got tougher toward the end of last week. I was sick, keeping up with the daily publishing cadence took more effort than expected, and promotion fell by the wayside. The posts still went out, just a little more quietly than usual. If you’ve been following the marathon, below is everything I’ve published since the last Microsoft 365 Pulse update. I hope you find something useful in there.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Feb 23, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 7)

For the second week in a row, Microsoft Teams leads the pack with the most updates in Microsoft 365. Among all the announcements, I’m particularly excited about the Simplified Teams app bar that promises a cleaner and more focused experience.

The past week also brought a red flag alert: SharePoint Designer 2013 will no longer work after July 14, 2026. If you haven’t migrated your workflows yet, now is the time to do it!

I’ve passed the halfway point of my February blog post marathon! This week, I’m sharing a selection of the 4 articles I published last week. You can follow all the updates on my blog, where I guarantee to publish something new every day until the end of the month.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Feb 16, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 6)

This past week was surprisingly busy for Microsoft Teams, with updates landing across several areas. My highlight goes straight to the new digital signage support for Microsoft Teams Rooms on Android — finally a simple, native way to bring content to the room screens. Another small but very welcome win: dark mode for the SharePoint admin center. My eyes will definitely appreciate that one.

Meanwhile, my February blog post marathon is still going strong. Last week I was in Barcelona for ISE, showcasing some of the Microsoft Places work I’ve been building at Appspace, so a few of the articles naturally leaned in that direction.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Feb 9, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 4)

Two updates stood out for me this week because they fit perfectly with how we work today.

First, the SharePoint Knowledge Agent now includes an AI Audio Overview, with support for more languages. In a world of constant meetings and information overload, being able to listen to SharePoint news instead of reading it makes communication more accessible, more inclusive, and easier to fit into busy days.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Jan 26, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 3)

Microsoft 365 continues to accelerate into 2026 with updates designed to bring people closer and make work feel more connected. Viva Engage communities are coming directly into Microsoft Teams by March–April, giving organizations a seamless space for asynchronous conversations, without extra licenses or setup.

If you use the Researcher agent on Microsoft 365 Copilot to create deep, research-driven content, it is becoming even more versatile. You’ll now be able to export your reports into PowerPoint, PDF, Infographic, or even an Audio Overview, unlocking new ways to present insights and share knowledge across your organization.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Jan 19, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 2)

Welcome to the first Pulse update of 2026! You might still be stretching your muscles after a well-deserved break, but Microsoft 365 is already at full speed delivering update after update. And leading the charge this year is Microsoft Teams, which kicked off January with major improvements to private channels.

Private channels now align with shared channels for compliance, making governance simpler and more consistent. Teams also scales up with higher channel and member limits plus the ability to schedule meetings in private channels—bringing more flexibility and better collaboration to your organization.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Jan 11, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments

Hands-On Microsoft 365 Pulse – Weekly Updates (Week 52)

The last week of 2025 was pretty quiet for Microsoft 365 updates, but it still managed to deliver one of my favorite features of the year, the new SharePoint and Microsoft Lists agent for Copilot. I’ve been waiting
for something like this, and it’s great to see it finally land.

I took a few weeks off to enjoy the holidays with my family. This year, we decided to escape the cold up north and headed to Uruguay for some summer sun. Even while I was away, I couldn’t resist putting together my early recap of the top 5 features of the year.

(more…)

By João Ferreira Jan 2, 2026 Pulse 0 Comments