Microsoft Roadmap, messagecenter en blogs updates van 19-12-2024

Updated December 17, 2024: We have updated the content. Thank you for your patience.

Earlier this year, the new Microsoft device ecosystem platform built on the Android Open-Source Project (AOSP) was announced delivering state-of-the art security, reliability, and manageability with Microsoft Intune. Microsoft Teams Android devices will be migrating to this platform. The first step in the migration is a firmware update to Microsoft Teams Android devices in 2024. The firmware update will move devices from Android device administrator to Android AOSP management.

[When this will happen:]

A Preview program for select Microsoft Teams Android devices is targeted for Q2 of calendar year 2024. General release of the firmware update with the Android AOSP management stack will happen later in Q4 of calendar year 2024 for all eligible Microsoft Teams Android devices.

Eligible Microsoft Teams Android devices will initially receive a manual firmware update in Teams Admin Center so IT admins can manually verify the migration on their own schedule on select devices of their choosing.

Eventually, the firmware update for migration will be scheduled as an automatic firmware update in Teams Admin Center. This automatic firmware update can be deferred for up to 90 days from first availability based upon the admin configured stages in Teams Admin Center.

[How this will affect your organization:]

The firmware upgrade, including the support for Intune management of Android (AOSP) devices must be accepted. It can be deferred for up to 90 days after it is first available. This can be done in the same way as other firmware upgrades in Teams Admin Center.

Devices will continue to remain signed in after the firmware upgrade.

Certain legacy devices will not receive the firmware upgrade for Android (AOSP) management in Intune. These devices will continue using Device Administrator.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Policies will not be migrated automatically between Android device administrator and Android (AOSP) platforms. IT admins will need to create the appropriate new policies under the Intune Android (AOSP) platform to support their Microsoft Teams Android Devices.

This will need to be done before taking the firmware update for a successful migration.

More details on enabling support and creating enrollment profiles and policies for Intune AOSP will follow closer to the start of Preview.

Updated July 10, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Whiteboard previously stored whiteboard files in Azure storage. In 2022, Whiteboard switched to OneDrive as the storage location for most newly created boards. We are making a client-based migration available for your organization soon. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 117394

[When this will happen] 

The client-based migration experience will begin in December 2024 (previously July). We will provide an additional update as we get closer.

[How this will affect your organization] 

Any user who launches an eligible Whiteboard client (Whiteboard on Windows, Whiteboard in Teams desktop/web) will automatically kick off a non-blocking migration of all their whiteboards. Depending on how many whiteboards they have, on average the process will take between a few seconds to a few minutes. 

The migration will provide many benefits for your organization and users on the migrated boards, including: 

• Features unique to whiteboards stored in OneDrive, such as Follow, Commenting, and more. 
• Improved performance on whiteboards now stored in OneDrive. 
• Improved compliance and security associated with whiteboard being stored in OneDrive. 

There is no possibility to delay the migration. 

[What you need to do to prepare] 

The migration will happen naturally and automatically for most users in your organization with no disruption, but please ensure that users are aware they need to launch Whiteboard in one of the previously mentioned clients in order to keep their content prior to the conclusion of migration (date to be announced) 

In the unlikely case that a user’s whiteboards fail to migrate, they will see an error banner. We will attempt to migrate the board again in 30 days. If the board contains important information, we recommend the user copy the content to a new whiteboard.  

Users will be able to see which boards have not migrated in a dedicated section on the board picker. Admins will be able to verify what whiteboard content remains in Azure and obtain the userIDs via our PSH cmdlets, if you wish to proactively notify users to get their content. 

As we get closer to the release of the client-based migration experience we will provide additional information via Message center.

Updated December 17, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

A new feature for Microsoft OneDrive enables bulk export of device status, including username, sync app version, known folders, last sync date, and sync errors. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 88870.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out early July 2024 and expect to complete by early January 2025. 

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out early February 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late March 2025 (previously January).

[How this will affect your organization:]

You will be able to export OneDrive sync report data through Microsoft Graph Data Connect. The data is transferred to a Microsoft Azure account owned by the tenant, where you can use tools like Azure Synapse and Power BI to transform this into insightful reports and dashboards.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Make sure that OneDrive sync reports are enabled on your organization’s devices so that the data is available for export.

Updated December 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon for Microsoft Purview | Data Loss Prevention: Support for seven new conditions that you can use in your policies for Mac endpoint devices.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 410523.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out late December 2024 (previously mid-November) and expect to complete by mid-January 2025 (previously late November).

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out late January 2025 (previously mid-December) and expect to complete by mid-February 2025 (previously late December).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout: These conditions only applied to Windows endpoint devices

After this rollout

As part of your DLP Policy definition, you can leverage these new conditions across Mac endpoints. For example: You can extend these new conditions (which are already available in DLP for Microsoft Exchange) to your policies and rules for your endpoint devices, to enhance protection across your digital estate. These seven conditions will be supported across Mac endpoint:

• Document is unscannable
• Document didn’t complete scanning
• Document name matches patterns
• Document size equals or is greater than
• Document Property Is
• Document name contains words or phrases
• Document is password protected.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Review your current configuration to determine the impact for your organization.

Learn more

• Get started with Data Loss Prevention in the Microsoft Purview compliance portal.
• Data Loss Prevention policy reference | Microsoft Learn

Updated December 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

As an extension to the previous communication MC757613 (Updated) Microsoft SharePoint: Add approvals to any SharePoint list (originally sent March 2024, updated August 2024), we will soon add approvals to document libraries in Microsoft SharePoint Online.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 420336.

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early January 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by early March 2025 (previously late January).

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out early March 2025 (early January) and expect to complete by late March 2025 (late January).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Before this rollout: Users are not able to add approvals to document libraries in SharePoint Online.

After this rollout, users will be able to configure approvals by going to the Automate dropdown menu from the command bar in SharePoint Online document libraries and then selecting the Configure Approvals option to enable and disable approvals on the library. Note: When editing files, any in-flight approvals will be cancelled if changes are saved. To discourage edits of in-progress approvals, files will open in view-only mode in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for the web, and the same Windows desktop applications will show that the document is Marked as final.

After approvals are enabled, a user can create a file and submit it for approval. By creating an approval request and specifying the approver, the request will appear in the Approvals app in Microsoft Teams or can be approved directly in the library in SharePoint. Once approved, the file metadata is updated.

Note: Disabling approvals will only hide the relevant columns. In-progress approvals will still be actionable in Teams. At any time, you can manually add approvals columns back into your views.

Configure approvals in SharePoint Online:

Enable configured approvals:

Approvals column:

Disable configured approvals:

This feature is on by default.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout.

Inform your users of the new Approvals functionality for libraries and lists. Share the support documentation Approvals in lists, which will be updated before this rollout begins to include library support.

Updated December 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Coming soon for Microsoft Viva Insights: Users will be able to request delegate access from a manager. This message applies to the Viva app on the web and the Viva Insights app in Teams for Windows desktop, Teams for Mac desktop, Teams on the web, and Teams for iOS/Android.

Before this rollout, Insights managers can assign delegate access to members of their organization. After this rollout, if a manager accepts the delegate access request, the requestor will have the same view of organizational insights as the manager does.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 464174

[When this will happen:]

Targeted Release: We will begin rolling out early January 2025 (previously early December) and expect to complete by late January 2025 (previously late December)

General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out early January 2025 and expect to be complete by late January 2025.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

No admin action is needed to set up this feature, which will be on by default.

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. Review your current configuration to determine the impact for your organization. You may want to notify your admins about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Learn more: Delegate access to organizational insights and Copilot Dashboard | Microsoft Learn

Updated December 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

Microsoft Forms is updating the end-to-end experience with a new appearance for the portal page, form creation, and response analysis. Users can toggle between upgraded templates as they create their form and then view insights and suggested actions when the responses come in.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 400715.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC): We will begin rolling out late October 2024 and expect to complete by mid-December 2024 (previously early December).

[How this will affect your organization:]

Employees who use Microsoft Forms will get the new UI experience after release.

In the portal page, templates are organized into four categories – Feedback, Registration, Research, and Quiz. 

As users enter the design page, they’ll find a wide selection of templates displayed in the left-side pane. They can browse and switch between different types/topics. 

In the right-hand pane, from the Style button, the users can select a style from our suggestions or personalize their own. Additionally, they can choose the layout for the cover page of the invitation.

The results page has also has a new design. Users can now quickly analyze responses with charts and graphs, making the data easier to interpret for more effective analysis.

This new feature is available by default.

Learn more: Revamped Forms experience is now available for commercial users.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

Updated December 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience.

The order of folders in Microsoft Outlook mobile will now sync to match the folder order on Outlook web, Mac, and Windows platforms. 

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 422816.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability (Worldwide, GCC, GCC High, DoD): We will begin rolling out early March 2025 (previously December) and expect to complete by early April (previously January)

Users will now see an updated folder order on their mobile devices that reflects the folder order on Outlook web and desktop platforms. If users want to re-order the folders, they must do so on Outlook for the web, Mac, and Windows devices, as folder re-ordering is currently not supported on mobile devices. 

This feature is on by default and cannot be turned off. 

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This rollout will happen automatically with no admin action required. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation as appropriate.

Updated December 18, 2024: We’ve delayed further rollouts of warning banners and blocking pages in December and intend to resume in mid-January per the schedule below. Please review for updated information and timing.

In today’s security climate, our work across the company and greater industry to keep this critical ecosystem secure is more important than ever. And while we also ship bug fixes and other new features via continuous innovation, in the end security is job one.

Keeping Microsoft Teams up to date is critical to ensure your devices are secure and compliant. By default, and as designed, Teams updates automatically which successfully updates most clients in the world without additional overhead for customers.

Microsoft Teams is governed by the Modern Lifecycle Policy which requires that the Teams desktop client be kept up to date. This is not a new policy, for instance in MC298823 (November 2021), a version that is far out of date will become incompatible with the service until it’s updated. As documented, when a client falls out of date, the user will see:

• Recurring in-app alerts, if the app is between 30d-90d out of date. Except in VDI environments, where this will occur between 60-90 days out of date.
• A blocking page in Teams, if the app is greater than 90 days out of date. At this point, the app will show options to update, to contact their IT administrator, or continue to Teams on the web.

As an example, if the Teams app is hypothetically on a version released on January 1 and the next update is fully available on January 15, an in-app alert would be shown on February 14th (30 days after the January 15th update).

For reference, link to the Teams app’s version’s release dates. Also, The Microsoft Teams desktop client usage report gives you an overview of the Teams desktop clients in use within your organization.

Classic Teams is not in scope for this post; see MC783985 for Classic Teams Timelines regarding end of support and end of availability.

[When this will happen:]

The existing policy enforcement will be visible beginning January 14th, 2025.

[How this will affect your organization:]

New Teams – Windows & Mac Versions desktop clients (not running in a VDI environment)

• Beginning January 14th, 2025, Teams desktop clients more than 30 days out of date, will present a banner or notification to users that they are on an outdated version of Teams. 
• Beginning February 18th, 2025, Teams desktop clients older than 90 days out of date, will present a blocking page. They will be shown an option to update to the latest version of Teams from this page or use Teams on the web. 

New Teams app running in a VDI environment – Windows desktop clients will follow the same policies as non-VDI environments, with enforcement starting on dates below 

• Beginning March 11th, 2025, for clients more than 60 days out of date will get a banner or notification to users that they are on an outdated version of Teams. 
• Beginning May 6th, 2025, for clients older than 90 days out of date, the Teams desktop client will present a blocking page. 

Note on Deployment of Changes: 

• Users in preview rings will experience the changes approximately 4 weeks before the specified dates (for app versions released to that ring). 
• The experiences above will not be visible to all users right away. It will take 4-8 weeks for the deployment to reach all users. 

[What you can do to prepare:]

To avoid disruption to end-users, the admins with users on Teams versions older than the currently released versions, should update their users to the most recent version.

Admins should make sure Teams is automatically updating to stay current and within the compatibility window. Common configurations to validate include:

• Teams clients on macOS have Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) configured properly. Learn More
• Customer network settings, and any device management software e.g. antivirus, are configured properly to allow automatic updates.
• Windows Policies must not block new Teams or the Webview2 updater.

Please visit this page to learn more.

Updated December 18, 2024: We have updated the rollout timeline below. Thank you for your patience

Microsoft Copilot in Microsoft Viva Insights simplifies the query-building process for analysts by recommending templates, metrics, filters, and attributes relevant to their analysis. After this rollout, analysts can view and build their reports more efficiently using Copilot’s assistive features. Licenses required: Viva Insights or Microsoft Viva Suite.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 399924.

[When this will happen:]

General Availability: We will begin rolling out early December 2024 and expect to complete by early January 2025 (previously mid-December).

[How this will affect your organization:]

This feature is available for analysts in the advanced insights app in Viva Insights. Analysts typically use pre-built templates or queries to investigate and answer specific questions about collaboration, workplace activities, and Copilot adoption and usage in your organization.

Copilot in Viva Insights can assist users in choosing relevant template, metrics, filters and attributes for their analysis. For example, if users want to understand more about how employees use Copilot in your organization, they can ask Copilot in natural language, “How does Copilot usage compare across organizations?” In response, Copilot will suggest using the Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption report or a Custom person query. Users can also use Copilot to add or modify metrics, filters, and attributes for a query.

Copilot with prompts on the Create analysis page:

Copilot suggests relevant templates and custom queries in response to a user’s request:

Copilot helps build a custom query with relevant metrics, attributes, and filters:

[What you need to do to prepare:]

This feature is on by default. If you do not want the users to access Copilot, you can disable this feature from the Microsoft Admin portal. Learn more: Manage Microsoft 365 Copilot settings | Microsoft Learn

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. Review your current configuration to determine the impact for your organization. You may want to notify your users about this change and update any relevant documentation.

Learn more: Set up your queries using Copilot | Microsoft Learn (will be updated before rollout)

We are excited to announce the Public Preview of the new version of Message trace in the Microsoft Exchange admin center (EAC) in Microsoft Exchange Online. Admins will soon be able to access the new Message trace and its capabilities by default in the Exchange admin center > Mail flow > Message trace. Also, admins will be able to use the new Message trace functionality using Microsoft PowerShell cmdlet Get-MessageTraceV2 (similar to Get-MessageTrace (ExchangePowerShell) | Microsoft Learn).

The new Message trace will be toggled On by default after being deployed to your tenant. If you wish to disable the preview, you can change the toggle to Off in the Message trace flyout. To use the new Message trace functionality through the PowerShell cmdlet Get-MessageTraceV2, please ensure you are using version 3.7.0 or later of the Exchange Online PowerShell V3 module.

[When this will happen:]

Public Preview: We will begin rolling out mid-December 2024 and expect to complete by late December 2024.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Key functionality changes

• Extended query range: You can query up to 90 days of historical data for near real-time queries. However, please note that you can only query 10 days of data at a time. Please note that you will initially only have 30 days of historical data for near real-time query, and this will build over time to 90 days of historical data.
• Subject filter: You can select a subject filter for Message trace queries, such as Starts with, Ends with, and Contains functions. This filter also supports special characters.
• Delivery status filter: The delivery status filter will now support searches for Quarantined, Filtered as spam, and Getting status statuses.

Additional updates

• Customizable columns: For your search results, we’ve introduced customizable columns and added additional column options. Learn more about the new columns.
• Persistent column widths: You will be able to customize your column widths, and these changes will persist in each logged-on admin account, so you will not have to reset column widths each time you run a new Message trace query. This update is still in progress and will be made available in early-February.
• Wider flyout option: An option for a wider flyout for the Message trace detail will be available.
• Time zone consistency: Message trace will default to the time zone set in the Exchange account settings of the logged-on admin.

Key cmdlet changes in Get-MessageTraceV2 (relative to Get-MessageTrace)

• Extended query range: You can query up to 90 days of historical data. However, please note that you will only be able to query 10 days of data per query. Please note that you will initially only have 30 days of historical data for near real-time query, and this will build over time to 90 days of historical data.
• Subject parameter: You can filter by subject for more specific Message trace queries.
• No page number or page size parameter: Pagination will not be supported in Get-MessageTraceV2. This change is to ensure fair use of our resources, as pagination can create performance issues for our system.
• Result size parameter: The new Message trace will support a default value of 1000 results and a maximum of 5000 results (set through the -ResultSize parameter), which is a significant increase.
• StartingRecipientAddress parameter: This parameter’s main use is to assist in pulling subsequent data while minimizing duplication. 

As an alternative to pagination, you can set the EndDate parameter with the Received time of the last record of the previous query results and fill in the StartingRecipientAddresss parameter with the RecipientAddress of the last record of the previous result.

Known differences and ongoing updates

• Message trace V1 normalizes all recipients to lowercase, while V2 retains any capitalization in Message tracking logs.
• When displaying results, V2 will order by Received in descending order first, and then by RecipientAddress in ascending order(case-insensitive).
• In some rare cases, FromIp may be missing in V2, but we are working to fix this issue.
• For messages with over 1000 recipients, admins must include the MessageTraceId in both the EAC experience and PowerShell cmdlet queries to avoid partial results.
• For quarantine scenarios, V2 will display the latest status while V1 displayed the original status. For example, if the email is initially quarantined and then released later by the admin, Message trace v2 will show the latest status that is delivered to mailbox.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Learn more: Announcing Public Preview of the New Message Trace in Exchange Online | Microsoft Community Hub (December 16, 2014).

This rollout will happen automatically by the specified date with no admin action required before the rollout. If you face any issues, you can toggle the new Message trace Off to use the old Message trace. You may want to notify your admins about this change and update any relevant documentation.