Office

Microsoft now supports the migration of modern public folders to Exchange Online. ISV solutions allow you to migrate public folders to other places, like Office 365 Groups and shared mailboxes, which seems like a lot more interesting.

The IT world often focuses on big changes and announcements instead of looking at how small changes can really make a difference. One example is how Microsoft has changed what happens when users recover deleted items to allow items go back to where they came. It’s a great change, even if it is seven years overdue.

Backup solutions for Office 365 are available from many ISVs. However, six years after the Office 365 launch, no product exists that takes a comprehensive and integrated approach to Office 365 applications.

Microsoft has announced that they will be closing Docs.com; an online service used to share Office content and track its performance.

Microsoft has updated Yammer so that new groups use the Office 365 Groups service to manage the identity and membership of the groups. There are far too many “groups” in that last sentence, which kind of illustrates how a surplus of groups might be building up within Office 365.

In today’s Ask the Admin, Russell Smith shows you how to create and use conference rooms in Office 365.

Outlook desktop includes Task and Contacts functionality that has not changed in years, which is why many users probably don’t use these client features. Mobile apps exploit Tasks and Contacts and make them much more usable.

Russell Smith shows you how to set up email rules in the Office 365 web portal.

Office 365 Groups now support the addition of Exchange Online mail contacts as external group members. The new feature solves a problem for many tenants but it does not help you to convert old DLs that contain mail contacts.

Microsoft is very keen that Office 365 tenants should move away from email distribution groups to embrace the world of Office 365 Groups. There is lots to like about Groups, but I have some doubts about the way Microsoft is cajoling people to move.