Ignite 2021 Fall edition is over, and I honestly needed some time to process what was announced.
This year time there was quite a lot of things around device for once, but the general “Teams Teams Teams Teams” was gone and was more “MFA MFA MFA MFA” to quote a former colleague.
I think one of the bigger things with Ignite this time was not that there were a bunch of new cool things (even though that was awesome). The biggest thing was that you could start to see the synergies and relations between several products that has felt disconnected. It was no longer “yet another collaboration tool” when they announced Microsoft Loop, it integrates to existing things like Outlook or Teams. Microsoft Loops builds on the fluid framework which was introduced a while back and has now become something! That was my biggest take away this time, that now we are starting to see a more connected range of products again. This was referred to during Ignite as digital fabric, so a new cool buzz-word to use!
There was also some sweet news in the device management area, like a remote assistance tool from Microsoft (finally) and welcomed additions to Windows 365 like Azure AD Join.
In case you missed it, here is the Book of news containing all new cool things!
I’ve gathered a list of my highlights down below.
Device stuff
My top 5 from a device perspective:
- Remote help – A remote support tool from Microsoft integrated into Microsoft Endpoint Manager
- Support for AADJ in Windows 365 – The Cloud PC will finally be all cloud if you want it to be!
- Deployment service for driver updates – Keeping drivers up to date has been a painful experience with Intune managed devices, now this will be solved! It was announced last Ignite, but now there is more information
- Linux in Microsoft Endpoint Manager – The platform support for MEM is extended to include Linux
- Test base for Microsoft 365 – Test base, which can be used to validate your applications toward Windows releases, left preview and entered general availability!
I’ll also include a link to the summary of all things MEM related, you can find it here!
Microsoft 365 stuff
My top 5 from a Microsoft 365 perspective:
- Microsoft Loop – The fluid framework has gotten a new name and practical application which integrates into other M365 services
- Teams updates – It’s not Ignite without Teams updates. I think the coolest one was the Mesh support, but also Shared Channels which improved the experience when working with external parties
- Updates to OneDrive – OneDrive for macOS will get an improved user experience and support for ARM. OneDrive will also get support for Universal Print
- ClipChamp – Okay, this was a little outside the box, but Microsoft announced ClipChamp which is a new video editing app
- Microsoft Viva – Microsoft Viva, which I found very interesting after the spring edition of Ignite, has reached General Availablity.
And of course, the overview for Microsoft 365 which you can find here!
