Tag Archives: General Availability

Copilot for Security

Microsoft announce that Copilot for Security will be generally available on April 1st, 2024.

If you’re not sure how Copilot fits in with security then this video (https://bit.ly/3VBv5h5) is a good minute-long overview of AI-powered security.

Customers will be able to choose a standalone Copilot experience or an embedded one (find a good diagram on the announcement page here: https://bit.ly/3TV4Qkf) and both will be billed on a consumption model. It’s all going to work via a new Security Compute Unit (SCU) which costs $4/hour billed, as usual, against an existing or new Azure Subscription.

Microsoft Mesh is generally available

Microsoft announce that Microsoft Mesh is now generally available, allowing you to join a Teams meeting as an Avatar within a 3D space. Features are available to everyone licensed with a Microsoft 365 Business Basic/Standard/Premium, Microsoft 365 E3/E5 or Office 365 E1/E3/E5 licence, with the creation of customised 3D spaces requiring a Teams Premium licence. Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3u0k917.

Power Automate Process Mining is generally available

Microsoft announce that Power Automate Process Mining is generally available.

From a licensing perspective, you need a Power Automate Premium licence which gives you 50 MB of Process Mining Data Storage, and a further 50 MB for every additional licence that you purchase up to a maximum of 100 GB per customer.

From there, you can purchase a Power Automate Process Mining Add-on licence which gives a further 100 GB of Data Storage and costs $5,000 per month.

Find the announcement article here: https://bit.ly/47id22H, specific licensing information here: https://bit.ly/3Ks4zQO, and pricing information here: https://bit.ly/3ooVJb2.

Viva Pulse is generally available

Microsoft announce the availability of Viva Pulse to help leaders seek regular and confidential feedback about their team’s experience, and this new app is included in the existing $12 per user per month Viva Suite.

You can find the announcement article here: https://bit.ly/3DY4Bwh, and a useful Viva app comparison sheet which includes Viva Pulse here: https://bit.ly/3QqHAcz.

Microsoft Dev Box is generally available

Microsoft announce the general availability of Dev Box – think Windows 365 optimised for developer use cases and productivity.

In common with Windows 365, users need to be licensed for Windows 11 Enterprise, Intune and Azure Active Directory Premium Plan 1, and then there’s a fee for the Dev Box services each month. And this is where it’s a bit different… You need to pay a flat monthly storage fee – which differs depending on which Dev Box configuration you’ve chosen – and then you pay an hourly compute fee for each hour of active usage during the month. However, for each Dev Box type there’s a maximum monthly price and when a Dev Box’s total cost (including its monthly storage and hourly compute) reaches the level of the maximum monthly price, billing will automatically stop for that Dev Box.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3KnMHX7, pricing information here: https://bit.ly/3QknTD5, and an article with general Dev Box information here: https://bit.ly/3rYwIZ6.

Windows 365 Frontline is generally available

Microsoft announce that Windows 365 Frontline is generally available. Users need to be licensed with Windows 11 Enterprise, Microsoft Intune and Azure Active Directory Premium Plan 1, and Window 365 Frontline plans start at $42 per 3 users per month.

Get an overview of Windows 365 Frontline on our blog here: https://bit.ly/479OhFT, pricing information across the 11 different Cloud PC configurations here: https://bit.ly/44Oywm3, and the excellent announcement article with lots more useful information here: https://bit.ly/3rLf8aZ.

Centrally managed Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server

Microsoft announce that the centrally managed Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server is now generally available. This allows customers to assign eligible licences to their SQL Server resources in Azure at a whole Subscription or Billing Profile level rather than to individual resources, making it much easier to manage.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3MKf3MN, and the useful Learn documentation here: https://bit.ly/3Olhk2f.

SQL Server 2022 is generally available

Microsoft announce that SQL Server 2022 is generally available. Volume Licensing customers can download it immediately, and customers purchasing via CSP, OEM, and SPLA will be able to begin purchasing SQL Server 2022 in January 2023. This announcement article (http://bit.ly/3GmU8ww) gives lots of detail on the new features, as well as introducing a new PAYG purchasing model for SQL Server. The new licensing model is enabled by Azure Arc, and allows customers using either Standard or Enterprise edition to pay only when they use SQL Server.

Find out more about how it all works in this article: http://bit.ly/3Arq2UP.

General Availability of Virtual Machine Software Reservations

Microsoft announce the General Availability of Virtual Machine Software Reservations. These are the newest members of the Reservations family enabling customers to take advantage of discounts by making a duration-based commitment  (1 or 3 years) when they buy third-party software to run in their virtual machines.

There are a whole host of participating publishers (Canonical, Citrix, and Red Hat to name a few) with a choice of monthly or upfront payment options.

Find the announcement here: http://bit.ly/3G33q0M, an article on how to purchase them here: https://bit.ly/3EdLzmh, and specifics on how the discount is applied here: http://bit.ly/3tcTlqe.

General Availability of Teams Phone Mobile

Microsoft announce the General Availability of Teams Phone Mobile, previously known as Operator Connect Mobile, which gives users a single, business-provided number for Teams and their mobile phone.

From a licensing perspective users will need to be licensed for Teams Phone and will also need to have the $0 Teams Phone Mobile Add-on licence assigned to them.

Find the announcement here: https://bit.ly/3yO1aGi.