Your monthly roundup of the latest tools and improvements coming to your Microsoft workspace.

Security That Works Behind the Scenes

Automated Security Assessments

For IT teams managing multiple clients, there’s a new tool called CloudCapsule designed specifically for managed service providers. It scans your Microsoft 365 setup in about a minute, checking over 200 security settings, and now lets you fix issues directly from its dashboard instead of jumping between multiple admin panels.

Microsoft Entra: Smarter Device and Identity Protection

Conditional Access now covers more login methods. If your company requires extra verification steps when people sign in, those rules now also apply when employees set up Windows Hello (fingerprint/face login) or sign into Macs through your company system. Previously, these setup steps had fewer protections—now they’re fully covered.

• Self-service password reset is getting stricter (in a good way).

Starting September 7, 2026, if someone forgets their password and tries to reset it themselves, they’ll need to have already registered a backup method like an authenticator app or phone number. Microsoft will start reminding people to set these up beginning July 6. This closes a loophole where passwords could be reset using basic contact info stored in the company directory.

• Deleted devices can be recovered for 30 days.

Accidentally removed a computer or phone from your company device list? It now goes into a “soft delete” state for 30 days instead of vanishing immediately, giving IT teams a safety net to restore access without reconfiguring everything from scratch.

Microsoft Teams: Better Calling and Collaboration

1. Use Multiple Phone Lines on Your Mobile

If you have several work phone numbers—perhaps for different roles or regions—you can now manage and call from all of them directly in the Teams mobile app. No more carrying multiple phones or switching between apps.

Rolling out mid-June through late June 2026.

2. Guest Invitations Look More Personal

When you invite someone outside your company to a Teams meeting, the email will now come from your address instead of a generic “no-reply” sender. Guests can reply directly to you with questions, making the whole process feel more human.

Starting late June 2026.

3. Executive Assistants Can Schedule on Behalf of Others

Teams now supports scheduling meetings through shared or delegated mailboxes. If you’re an assistant organizing a meeting for your manager, the invitation comes from the shared account—so recipients see a familiar, trusted sender rather than your personal address.

Expected early July 2026.

4. Link Meetings to Existing Project Plans

Currently, every Teams meeting creates its own separate task list in Planner, scattering related work across multiple places. Soon, you’ll be able to connect a meeting to an existing plan, keeping all tasks for one project in a single, organized view.

Arriving late July 2026.

5. Automatic Call Recording for Support Teams

For businesses using Teams Phone with call queues (like customer support lines), administrators can now automatically record and transcribe incoming calls. This helps with training new staff and maintaining quality standards. Note: you’ll need a Teams Premium license to access the recordings.

Expected early August 2026.

Microsoft Outlook: Less Noise, More Focus

Grouped Notifications

If you get several emails within a few seconds of each other, Outlook will now bundle them into a single notification instead of buzzing your phone for each one. It’s a small change that should make a big difference in reducing distraction.

Rolling out late June through late July 2026.

OneDrive and SharePoint: Smarter Storage

1. A Dedicated Folder for Your Shortcuts

When you create shortcuts to shared files, OneDrive will soon offer to put them in a specific “Shortcuts” folder instead of dumping them in your main file list. Less clutter, easier browsing.

Mid-July 2026.

2. OneDrive Is Moving to a New Web Address

OneDrive is transitioning to the cloud.microsoft domain. Your existing links will continue to work indefinitely—both old and new addresses will run side by side—so there’s nothing you need to do.

Starting early July 2026, continuing through June 2027.

3. Pay Only for the Extra Storage You Use

Instead of buying SharePoint storage in fixed blocks, organizations can now opt for a pay-as-you-go model for overages. You pay for what you actually consume, making it easier to handle growth without overcommitting to unused space.

Available September 2026.

4. Archive Individual Files (Not Just Entire Sites)

Microsoft 365 Archive now lets you move specific files into cold storage while keeping them searchable. This is perfect for old project files you rarely need but can’t delete for compliance reasons.

Early July 2026.

Microsoft Copilot: Your AI Assistant Gets More Capable

1. Show Copilot Your Screen During Voice Calls

Copilot can now see what you’re looking at. During a voice session, you can share your desktop or point your phone camera at something, and Copilot will analyze it in real time—answering questions about charts, documents, or anything else on your screen while also pulling in relevant info from your work files.

Late June 2026, fully available by late July.

2. On-Brand Presentations in PowerPoint

When creating slides with Copilot, you can now select your company’s brand kit. Copilot will generate presentations using your approved colors, fonts, and logos—no more manually reformatting AI-generated slides to match your brand.

Mid-June 2026.

3. Share Curated Prompts Across Your Organization

IT administrators can now create and publish a library of pre-written Copilot prompts tailored to your company’s terminology and workflows. Instead of every employee figuring out the best way to ask Copilot for help, they can start with tested, organization-approved prompts.

Early July 2026.

4. Copilot Cowork Is Now Generally Available

Copilot Cowork—Microsoft’s tool for AI-assisted collaboration—moved to general availability on June 16, 2026. Usage-based billing begins July 1, so you pay for what you use rather than a flat fee.

5. Work IQ API for Developers

For technical teams building custom apps, the Work IQ API is now production-ready. It gives your custom tools access to the same intelligence that powers Copilot, helping your apps understand work context and make smarter suggestions.

Available now.

6. Meet Microsoft Scout: Your Always-On Agent

Microsoft is introducing a new category of AI called “Autopilots”—agents that work continuously on your behalf within the boundaries you set. Scout is the first one. It monitors your priorities across Teams, Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint, proactively moving work forward and alerting you to what matters. Think of it as a digital assistant that doesn’t wait for you to ask—it watches, learns, and acts.

Currently available in preview for Windows and Mac through Microsoft’s Frontier early access program.

7. Copilot Notebooks for More Users

Copilot Notebooks (which let you compile and reference multiple sources in one place) are expanding beyond paid Copilot subscribers to include users with the basic Copilot Chat experience.

Mid-June 2026.

8. Copilot in Word Handles Complex Edits Better

Copilot now works more naturally with Word’s native features—tracked changes, comments, headers, footers, and formatting. It preserves your document’s structure and collaboration history instead of overwriting it.

Early June through early July 2026.

9. Add Emails to Your Copilot Notebooks

You can now include Outlook emails as references in Copilot Notebooks, alongside files and web pages. This means Copilot can synthesize information from your inbox, documents, and other sources all in one place.

July 2026.

10. Better Data Analysis in Excel

Excel’s AI agent can now process files you upload directly, grounding its analysis in your actual data rather than making assumptions. This supports larger datasets, multiple file combinations, and more file types.

Rolling out through late June 2026.

Microsoft Admin Center: Security and Licensing Updates

1. Better Oversight of Automated Apps

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps now monitors all automated service accounts (not just those with special permissions). IT teams get clearer visibility into what non-human accounts are doing and what access they have, improving security governance.

Late June through early July 2026.

2. Defender Updates Move to Microsoft Update

Microsoft Defender’s endpoint security updates will now arrive through Microsoft Update instead of being bundled with monthly Windows updates. This means security patches can reach your devices faster, without waiting for the next operating system patch cycle.

Expected completion by fall 2026.

3. Advanced Intune Features Come to E3 and E5 Plans

Starting July 1, 2026, advanced device management capabilities from the Intune Suite are being included in Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 subscriptions. If you’re on one of these plans, expect the new features to appear in your tenant by August.

4. New Business Plans with Built-In Copilot

Starting July 1, Microsoft 365 Business Standard and Business Premium will offer permanent Copilot bundles: - Business Standard with Copilot: $23.50/user/month - Business Premium with Copilot: $32/user/month

These replace the promotional pricing with predictable, ongoing subscriptions.

5. Agent 365 Now Requires E5 Licensing

As of June 1, 2026, new purchases of Agent 365 (Microsoft’s platform for building custom AI agents) require a Microsoft 365 E5 license. This ensures organizations have the necessary security, identity, and compliance foundations before deploying AI agents.

June 2026 brings meaningful improvements across the board: smarter AI that works proactively, cleaner interfaces, more flexible storage pricing, and tighter security. The standout features are Microsoft Scout (a glimpse into the future of autonomous AI assistance) and the Copilot enhancements that make AI feel less like a tool you use and more like a teammate that understands your work context.

Questions about how these updates affect your setup? Book your consultation with Ctelecoms’ experts.