Microsoft Teams Insider

Brett Johnson, Copilot Global Black Belt at Microsoft, returns for a second discussion to decode some of the biggest developments in the Microsoft 365 Copilot ecosystem.

• What the Frontier Program is, how it differs from public preview, and how organisations can get early access to the latest AI innovations on a per-user basis

• How Anthropic models are now integrated into Microsoft 365 Copilot, including data sovereignty considerations and the path to EU availability

• Work IQ explained: the intelligence layer combining Microsoft Graph, memory and real-time inference to supercharge Copilot experiences

• Cowork in action: how the Anthropic-powered agent creates documents, manages calendars and processes complex multi-step tasks in a secure cloud container

• Brett's vibe coding journey, building an astrophotography automation tool with Claude and VS Code, and why personal AI projects accelerate workplace adoption

• Agent 365 goes GA: what it means for governing, managing and securing the growing number of AI agents across organisations, including third-party integration via the Agent 365 SDK

Thanks to Luware, this episode's sponsor, for their continued support of Empowering.Cloud

Bas Brekelmans, Software Engineer at Microsoft, focused on Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork, explains its architecture and use cases.

• How Copilot Cowork runs entirely in the Cloud, unlike local machine-based alternatives, enabling enterprise-grade security, audit and compliance

• The multi-model approach using Anthropic's Sonnet and Opus, with the flexibility to switch to the best available model

• Built-in and personal skills for calendar management, document generation and automated workflows

• Extensibility through MCP servers, enabling integration with third-party and line-of-business applications

• Scheduled tasks and autonomous email handling that save hours of manual work each day

• Enterprise compliance features including Purview integration, eDiscovery support and rich audit logs

Thanks to Crestron, this episode's sponsor, for their continued support of Empowering.Cloud

Damian Lewis, Digital Workplace Specialist at BSI, shares the story of designing and deploying Microsoft Teams Rooms across BSI's new London headquarters, the Acre.

• Moving from an antiquated AV setup to a fully cable-free, Microsoft Teams-centric environment

• The spectrum of room types: from Jabra PanaCast BYOD “hot offices” to Neat Board Pro casual spaces, and full multi-camera divisible Q-SYS rooms with presenter tracking

• How proof-of-concept testing in the old office helped shape vendor selection for Jabra, Neat, and Q-SYS

• Room booking with Matrix integrated into Microsoft 365, including scheduling panels across hot offices, parenting spaces, and multi-faith rooms

• User adoption lessons: building champions, online inductions, and fortnightly AV "ask me anything" sessions to bring colleagues up to speed

• Managing a global Microsoft Teams Rooms footprint from Sydney to San Jose using Jabra Pro Portal and OEM tooling

• Replicating the adoption playbook at BSI's North America office and planning for smaller-scale rollouts at existing sites

Thanks to Jabra, this episode's sponsor, for their continued support of Empowering.Cloud

MVP Tom Arbuthnot shares all the latest Microsoft Teams and Copilot news and announcements in less than 15 minutes for April 2026.
Many thanks to AudioCodes for their continued support.
PowerPoint Deck
Places Insider Live​
Microsoft 365 Copilot Cowork Updates​
Anthropic Models for Copilot​
AI Flex Routing in EU and EFTA​
New SharePoint Experience​
Microsoft Teams & AI Powered Workplace News and Roadmap​
Teams Devices News & New Devices​
Upcoming Events​

Useful Links:
Briefings
NEW Neat Board 32 & Neat Pad Pro: Full Product Walkthrough & Key Features with Darin Worthington
Microsoft Places Deep Dive with Microsoft - Customer Feedback, Deployment, Licensing with Chris Fitzsimmons, Brennan McReynolds & Craig McClellan​
Enterprise Voice Infrastructure Options On-Prem. Private Cloud and Cloud-Native with Ribbon and AWS with Gordon Eddy (Ribbon Communications)
Multi-Platform UCaaS at Scale with NUWAVE iPILOT with Tony at NWN

Teams Insider Podcasts
Frontline Workers: Market Opportunity and Enterprise Mobility with Patrick Watson (Cavell) & Stewart Wright (Spectralink)​
Teams Queues App Explained — Shared Call History, Copilot, and What's Next with Sean Gilmour (Microsoft)
Novo Nordisk's Microsoft Teams Rooms Journey — Thousands of Rooms with Christopher Amdi Mark (Novo Nordisk)
Work IQ, Agent Types and the Road to the Frontier Firm with Alev Tamer & Chris Wheeler

Patrick Watson, Director of Research at Cavell, and Stewart Wright, Business Development Director for Spectralink EMEA, discuss the untapped opportunity in enabling frontline workers with Microsoft Teams.

• 80% of the global workforce is classified as frontline, yet many organisations neglect these workers in their Microsoft Teams migrations.

• Frontline workers are often forgotten, given devices not fit for purpose, or left on legacy on-premises systems running in parallel with Microsoft Teams.

• Spectralink's DECT and Wi-Fi solutions, including the Versity smartphone and 8440 feature phone, are designed for challenging environments like healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.

• Unique features include Man Down alerts, pull cord alarms, hot-swappable batteries, disinfectant-resistant builds, and the AMIE cloud management platform.

• Market research highlights massive potential: nearly 2 million frontline workers in UK healthcare, 2.6 million in UK manufacturing, and 7.5 million in German manufacturing.

Thanks to Spectralink, this episode's sponsor, for their continued support of Empowering.Cloud.