March brings a broad set of Microsoft 365 changes. From retirement deadlines you must prepare for, to new AI powered capabilities in Teams and Copilot, to enhanced security, identity, and governance tooling, the latest updates give organisations both opportunities and critical actions to prioritise.
In this update, we’ve grouped the most important changes by product area so you have a clear, actionable view of what’s new and what requires your attention.
Copilot & AIAI Watermarking Policy Description: Microsoft is introducing a tenant-wide policy that allows organisations to embed visual or audio watermarks into AI‑generated or AI‑altered video and audio content. This provides transparency when Copilot or other Microsoft 365 AI tools have been used, supporting compliance, auditability and ethical AI use. Preview Date: February 2026 Rollout Date: Late February 2026 Why it matters: Helps organisations meet transparency expectations for AI‑generated content. Actions to take:
|
Microsoft TeamsDefender URL Click Alerts in Teams Description: Defender for Office 365 now generates alerts when users click potentially malicious or suspicious URLs within Teams chats and channels. Extending the existing email‑based protection, this change gives security teams unified visibility across communication platforms, helping identify phishing and social‑engineering attempts at an earlier stage. Preview Date: February 2026 Rollout Date: Late February - late March 2026 Why it matters: Improves early threat detection across collaboration channels. Actions to take:
Description: Teams will now surface all unsent drafts in a dedicated view, making it easier for users to spot incomplete messages. This improvement helps prevent accidental non‑delivery of important updates, particularly useful for users who manage long or multi‑part communications across channels and chats. Preview Date: March 2026 Rollout Date: March-April 2026 Why it matters: Reduces missed or forgotten communications. Actions to take:
|
Microsoft SharePointInfoPath Retirement Description: Microsoft is ending support for InfoPath 2013 and associated SharePoint form services on 14 July 2026. As the legacy technology underpinning many older workflows, InfoPath will no longer function beyond this date, requiring organisations to transition business‑critical forms to modern solutions such as Power Apps and Power Automate. Preview Date: Legacy Retirement Rollout Date: 14 July 2026 Why it matters: Critical forms may stop working without remediation. Actions to take:
Description: Microsoft is retiring the legacy SharePoint in‑place records and Information Management features in April 2026. These older compliance capabilities will be replaced by Microsoft Purview retention, requiring organisations to shift from document‑centric to policy‑centric lifecycle management across SharePoint and Microsoft 365. Preview Date: April 2026 Rollout Date: April 2026 Why it matters: Legacy record centres will cease functioning reliably. Actions to take:
Description: Microsoft is fully retiring SharePoint Add‑ins by 2 April 2026, replacing them with SharePoint Framework (SPFx) solutions. Add‑ins will progressively lose functionality, and their temporary PowerShell “keep alive” mechanism will soon be removed, making migration essential for organisations relying on custom classic‑site components or older integrations. Preview Date: April 2026 Rollout Date: 2 April 2026 Why it matters: Legacy add-ins will break without action. Actions to take:
|
Microsoft EntraEntra Identity & Security - Passkey Description: Entra ID is introducing automatic enablement of passkey profiles across tenants, improving passwordless authentication flexibility. While existing settings remain unchanged, the update gives organisations new configuration options for how passkeys are used, supporting stronger authentication while reducing reliance on password‑based sign‑ins. Preview Date: March 2026 Rollout Date: End March – late June 2026 Why it matters: Supports more secure, phishing-resistant authentication. Actions to take:
|
Microsoft 365 E7Description: Microsoft 365 E7, The Frontier Suite, is Microsoft’s first new enterprise tier in a decade. It brings together Microsoft 365 E5, Copilot, the full Entra Suite, and the new Agent 365 control plane into a single, AI‑driven platform. Launching 1st May, E7 is designed for organisations moving beyond AI pilots toward autonomous AI agents operating safely at enterprise scale. It introduces unified governance for AI agents, deeper security and compliance integration, and an end‑to‑end model that embeds intelligence directly into everyday workflows. Why it matters: E7 marks a shift from AI “assistance” to AI‑powered operations, enabling automation across onboarding, IT, finance, customer service and more. Actions to take:
|
This month’s Evergreen updates highlight key shifts across AI transparency, automation, compliance retirements and identity security. With richer detail and actionable guidance, this article supports organisations in prioritising changes, planning mitigations, and maximising value from new Microsoft 365 capabilities.
Many organisations are underutilising their Microsoft licenses and are therefore wasting valuable income. If you need help utilising these latest developments or want to discuss your Microsoft licenses more widely, get in touch with us.
Kind regards,
|
|
Mhairi Nisbet
|
| Follow Core on LinkedIn and stay up to date on all things M365. |