Al Eardley
LightNews LightNews
aleardley.bsky.social
Al Eardley
@aleardley.bsky.social
120 followers 170 following 55 posts
I work at the Microsoft Innovation Hub in London

Community advocate and former MVP

Mission: Get stuff done quickly and easily, automating the mundane out of work and enabling everyone to be more productive in a secure, accessible way.
Posts Replies Media Videos
aleardley.bsky.social
It was always the top request when building an intranet and there was always a need to build it. Now, the Hero we part becomes even more capable of providing carousel option in SharePoint

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
Re-imagined Hero with the New Carousel Layout for SharePoint Pages and News | Microsoft Community Hub
Exciting Enhancements to the SharePoint Hero Web Part with new layout options and other configuration possibilities.
techcommunity.microsoft.com
February 5, 2025 at 5:59 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
Miracast will finally arrive on Teams Room for Windows, which will include Surface Hub
techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
New capabilities to help scale up modern meeting spaces for users and IT | Microsoft Community Hub
Modernizing the office to new ways of working is a big priority for organizations this year as they continue to optimize their workspaces post Covid....
techcommunity.microsoft.com
February 3, 2025 at 6:06 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
As always, the Microsoft 365 Copilot updates come thick and fast. Two of my favourites this month are narrative builder in PowerPoint and scoped conversations in Word.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
What’s new in Microsoft 365 Copilot | Jan 2025 | Microsoft Community Hub
Welcome to the January 2025 edition of What's new in Microsoft 365 Copilot! Every month, we highlight new features and enhancements to keep Microsoft 365...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
February 3, 2025 at 5:59 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
A new world of agents talking to agents to accomplish tasks is coming. This article has a great example of using Azure Assistants API to generate a report with responsibilities delegated to different agents.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/ai-azure-...
autogen & OpenAI Assistants API powered collaborative Report generation | Microsoft Community Hub
Sales performance reports must be generated monthly using CSV files stored in the cloud. These files contain both Product Master data and Transaction data....
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 29, 2025 at 6:02 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
Welcome to Blue Sky Steph
stephlocke.bsky.social Steph Locke @stephlocke.bsky.social · Jan 21
Hello world! I hope tomorrow is nicer than today was 🫶
January 23, 2025 at 12:55 PM
aleardley.bsky.social
Do you have experts in your organisation who share their knowledge? Are you using Viva Engage to enable them to share and answer questions in communities?

If so, these people should be elevated to Community Experts.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/viva-enga...
Introducing Community Experts in Viva Engage | Microsoft Community Hub
We’re thrilled to announce the addition of a new role within a Viva Engage community, community experts. A community expert is a member of a community who is...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 17, 2025 at 6:50 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
To complement any Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat adoption journey, this project is a fun hands on starting point

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
Unlock Your Prompting Skills with this Creative Project | Microsoft Community Hub
Dream up a destination with this skilling project for Microsoft 365 Copilot and learn prompting best practices 
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 16, 2025 at 6:13 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
There were a number of new blogs from Microsoft yesterday. One that caught my eye was on the adoption of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

It sets out a suggested six week adoption journey, with resources to help

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
The Great Microsoft 365 Copilot Journey: Empower Your Team with Copilot | Microsoft Community Hub
Discover an onboarding experience that can transform your team's productivity with Microsoft 365 Copilot. 
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 16, 2025 at 6:04 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
If you haven't already, then now is the time be updating any Power shell scripts that you have that rely on Azure Ad or MSOnline modules as they will be retired in the coming months.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
Action required: MSOnline and AzureAD PowerShell retirement - 2025 info and resources | Microsoft Community Hub
As announced in Microsoft Entra change announcements and prior blog updates, the MSOnline and Microsoft AzureAD PowerShell modules...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 14, 2025 at 5:57 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
It'll be fun to test Microsoft 365 Copilot in the Viva Insights analyst workbench

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/viva-insi...
Microsoft 365 Copilot now available to Viva Insights analysts | Microsoft Community Hub
We’re excited to announce the availability of Microsoft 365 Copilot within the Analyst Workbench in Viva Insights.   Copilot can help analysts choose a...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 13, 2025 at 6:29 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
There are some really interesting features coming to frontline workers over the coming months.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
Less burnout, more impact: AI continues to transform frontline efficiency | Microsoft Community Hub
Learn more about new innovations in AI and security designed specifically for the frontline.
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 13, 2025 at 6:03 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
It was a beautiful day for a walk yesterday. 3 hours of countryside and serenity to help recharge the batteries
A beautiful view of green fields leading to hills with woods lit up by the setting sun
January 12, 2025 at 1:03 PM
aleardley.bsky.social
Was 2024 the year of Entra? Based on this list of 50 highlights, it probably was.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
Microsoft Entra: Top 50 features of 2024 | Microsoft Community Hub
Do you feel like you’re still catching up with all the Microsoft Entra product innovation and security improvements from 2024? Not to worry – the team from...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 9, 2025 at 5:59 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
One of the key requirements for many organisations is a good search experience, especially when customers or custom content is the basis of the search. Azure AI Search is perfect for this and can be used as an I put for Copilot Gents and Open AI.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/ai-azure-...
Case Study: Microsoft Careers Portal – Efficient Faceted Navigation with Azure AI Search | Microsoft Community Hub
The Microsoft Careers Portal processes 10 million job applications per year. For a tailored user experience, it uses Azure AI Search for features like...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 6, 2025 at 6:14 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
Lots of updates coming for Microsoft 365 Copilot:
- Release notes
- Ability to customise Copilot Academy in Viva Learning
- New templates in Copilot Analytics

And that is just the admin updates!

techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microso...
What's New In Microsoft 365 Copilot | December 2024 | Microsoft Community Hub
Welcome to the December 2024 edition of What's new in Microsoft 365 Copilot!
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 3, 2025 at 6:23 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
What better way to start the New Year than a SharePoint Roadmap Pitstop?

Highlights from 2024 and a look forward to Jan 2025

techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/spblog/...
Microsoft SharePoint Roadmap Pitstop December 2024
December 2024 brought some great new offerings for SharePoint and related technology in Microsoft 365: Microsoft Syntex pay-as-you-go: Simple document...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
January 3, 2025 at 6:05 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
Merry Christmas
Picture of me with festive clothing
December 25, 2024 at 12:29 PM
aleardley.bsky.social
I have no idea how to write or play music but I thank everyone who does as I could not survive without listening to music
December 19, 2024 at 10:26 PM
aleardley.bsky.social
Some Christmas reading to help prepare for the New Year
December 19, 2024 at 6:09 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
This is a model we have been having discussions about when there is a curated set of content to ground requests with.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/ai-azure-...
Demo: Enriching Data in Azure AI Search Indexing Pipeline Using Azure AI LLMs/SLMs for RAG Apps | Microsoft Community Hub
Enhance your RAG applications with enriched data context using Azure AI's LLMs/SLMs. This demo shows how to integrate custom skills in the Azure AI Search...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
December 19, 2024 at 6:02 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
As many people who have worked with me know, I like an agenda for a meeting so I know what I am committing to, or not.

Now, with Copilot, it is easy to schedule a meeting based on an email chain, and an agenda will be generated.

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
Effortless scheduling with Copilot – transform email threads into productive meetings | Microsoft Community Hub
Learn how to use Copilot to quickly turn long email chains into actionable agendas, leading to more efficient meetings and effective collaboration.
techcommunity.microsoft.com
December 17, 2024 at 6:05 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
Back to basics with SharePoint Information Architecture. This knowledge is required to enable SharePoint to be designed well which in turn drives permissions which results in good information governance. And that is essential for Copilot in Microsoft 365!

techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft...
8 Components of SharePoint Information Architecture | Microsoft Community Hub
What is Information Architecture (IA)?  IA is the practice of organizing, structuring, and labelling content in an effective and sustainable way. It...
techcommunity.microsoft.com
December 16, 2024 at 6:14 AM
aleardley.bsky.social
I must have drunk too much Microsoft Cool Aid. While watching Carry-on on Netflix, all I can think of when I see Northwind is Microsoft demos 🤔
December 13, 2024 at 10:12 PM
aleardley.bsky.social
Who else is coming to Experts Live in London tonight?

I'm looking forward to great sessions focused on Microsoft 365 Copilot from Simon Owen and Chris Huntingford

www.expertslive.co.uk/nextevent
Next User Group event
🚀 Suitable for Startups, Small Business, Sass Websites, Professional Portfolios, Marketing Websites, Landing Pages & Blogs.
www.expertslive.co.uk
December 12, 2024 at 1:30 PM
aleardley.bsky.social
When a commute goes smoothly, it can be great. When it doesn't it can ruin a day, a long planned event, a customer relationship or even a job.

I have always planned contingency time into my commute which means I am always early.

Today is one of those days I am very glad I did.
December 12, 2024 at 6:39 AM