As Windows 365 settles well into its forth year, there have been huge advancements in capability, connection methods, endpoint innovation, and licensing options - with even more expected as Microsoft Ignite approaches next week In my role, I spend a lot of time talking with clients about Modern Work solutions and where Windows 365 fits within their organisation: how it can be adopted and leveraged for simplicity, security, governance, access & management, contractors, and frontline staff.

Artificial intelligence, whilst a phrase used in most of our daily lives, can feel huge, strange, unknown, scary, exciting and sometimes even intimidating. In this post I decided I would strip back the noise and waffle and share nine crisp, usable concepts. I've aimed to provide clarity over jargon and give some practical examples over theory. Before I start, many and to put into familiar brands, here are a few AI tools and brands you will of already know or at least of have heard of:

This blog summarises the key updates from Cisco Partner Summit 2025 regarding the Cisco 360 Partner Program and its impact on partner profitability, customer value, cross-selling, AI specialisations, and new pathways. This new partner programme takes much inspiration from the Microsoft AI Cloud Partner Programme, which has successfully aligned partner incentives with their strategic priorities like AI Adoption, Cloud Transformation and Customer Success (through growth of usage and adoption).

Last night I tuned into aspects of the Global Cisco Partner Summit on demand, (the live event taking part in San Diago this week). Day one messaging to partners was firmly on monetising AI and driving the next wave of digital transformation with Cisco. Cisco were not just talking about AI as a buzzword - they were clearly (re)positioning themselves as the backbone of this revolution with…

Yes, the Copilot Researcher Agent, once focused purely on gathering and summarising information, can now take action on your device through a capability called Computer Use.  This provides secure interaction with both public and gated web content through a virtual computer which allows human and Copilot control. It requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, supports advanced content creation. It can be disabled by IT admins, but comes enabled by default.

Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels can start testing a new Copilot search experience which is available through the Windows Search bar. To get started go to Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Ask Copilot to enable the experience. You can also manage whether the Copilot app launches automatically at sign-in using the “Auto start on log in” toggle in the Copilot app settings.

Let’s talk about one of my biggest pet peeves: the agenda-less meeting invite. You know the type. A calendar ping lands in your inbox with a vague title like “Catch-up” or “Project Sync,” zero context, and no prep materials. You’re left guessing: Is this strategic? Tactical? A therapy session? Should I bring data, decisions, or just make a coffee, sit back and relax!?

Microsoft is expanding its Copilot Frontier Programme with two powerful new agents. These are the App Builder and Workflows Agents. These put "app creation" and automation directly into the hands of everyday users, with zero coding needed just an idea and an ask. These new agents are designed to further democratise innovation across every person in every organisations, making it possible to build "apps" and streamline processes using nothing more than natural language.

Microsoft Teams continues to evolve at a rapid pace. This month Copilot is coming to Teams Group Chat as a participant in Teams Chat and Channels. This is an example of how quickly new features are landing, and why organisations need to stay on top of change management and user awareness. This latest feature is rolling out to Frontier firms (early adopters) now and to everyone else over the next month or so.  

TL;DR - UK Cyber Threats Surge The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published its annual threat review, and the numbers are staggering but not surprising as we have seen a platora of high profile attacks this year, impacting manufacturing, retain and public sector! The report unveils: 📊 64% increase in cyber incidents reported to the NCSC over the past 12 months.

In a live YouTube stream today, Microsoft unveiled a wave of new consumer features for Copilot - headlined by the official debut of Mico, a new visual character designed for Copilot’s voice (and face) mode.  Mico has been in testing for a while, but from today it’s rolling out by default in voice interactions. If you prefer the simpler “bouncing orb” interface, you’ll still have the option to switch it off. 

TL:DR As a Cisco and Microsoft leading partner, it's great to see that, yet again, both Microsoft and Cisco remain Leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for collaboration platforms with Microsoft taking the overlap top spot and with Zoom and Ring Central still hot on their heels! The decision between them is no longer about feature lists alone; it’s about which vendor best maps to the customer’s identity, networking, device, compliance, and investment across the rest of the technology stack.

On October 14th 2025, Windows 10 officially reached end of support. If you still have a PC/Laptop running Windows 10, it will not suddenly stop working - but unless you have enabled (consumer) or purchased (commercial) extended security updates, there will be no more security updates, no more feature improvements, and no AI innovation. If your device can support Windows 11…

YouTube video by Rob Quickenden

Cisco has again been recognised as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Enterprise Wireless LAN - with Cisco "helping organisations rise to this moment by delivering smarter, more secure networks in this era of AI". For any of us who work closely with Cisco technologies or who are involved in infrastrcuture deployments, I'm sure you'll agree that this recognition isn’t surprising.

As of yesterday, 14 October 2025, Windows 10 has officially reached its end of support. Of course, Windows 10 will not just stop working, but after yesterdays monthly security updates, there will be no more unless.... Commercial Organisations pay for Extended Security Updates (ESU) or Home/Consumers, agree to "cloud back-up" which will give them 12 more months or Security updates until October 2026.

Spotify video

AI tools being used in the workplace is no longer a question of if but how and what. The question is what if you could allow this in a safe and controlled way without compromising security and compliance and without leaking copirate data.? What is BYO-Copilot to Work? Whether your organisation invests and has deployed AI tools for employees or not, your people are already experimenting or using daily AI tools to boost their productivity, search and get things done at home but also at work, often outside the guardrails of IT.

Microsoft Copilot development just doesn't sleep... This time they have just announced "agent mode" which they claim could be game changer in the way we (humans) work with AI agents (Copilot). Called "Agent Mode" this latest update marks is not just about new features, but a significant shift in how we interact with Office apps through Copilot.

Why agents need a new foundation Over the last year, developers have been experimenting with AI agents in every imaginable form. Agents are not just chatbots or copilots — they are autonomous software components that can reason about goals, call tools and APIs, collaborate with other agents, and adapt dynamically. Whether it’s a retrieval agent […]

Warching this year from the sofa, #Cisco #WebexOne showcased just how far their open ecosystem, agentic AI and plarform integrarion has come. This is my short reflection from the Webex One 2025 keynote.

The responses and workflows you get back from AI is only as good as the content it can reason over or leverage. If your content (data) is not in good shape and healthy (relevant, up-to-date etc) then it "isn’t ready" meaning your experience of AI will be "sub optimal" at best. This is where Microsoft's upcoming SharePoint’s Knowledge Agent comes it.