Episode 373 - Effectiveness

In this episode, I look ahead to Microsoft Ignite and the continuing evolution of Copilot, Work IQ, AI agents and cybersecurity, before exploring a bigger question: is AI actually making businesses better, or simply helping them do more things faster? AI isn’t magic pixie dust that can fix broken processes. Before automating, businesses need to identify bottlenecks, simplify and document processes, establish measurable outcomes and decide where AI genuinely adds value. The real opportunity isn’t generating more emails, documents and automation, but using AI to create better outcomes, reclaim valuable time and continuously improve the way the business operates.

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Copilot & AI

• What’s New in Microsoft Copilot | October 2026
• Introducing SharePoint tools in Work IQ
• How AI agents run insurance's back office
• Elon Musk throttles Grok Bot limits due to ‘unsustainably high’ costs

Security

• AI supercharges cyberattacks on Australia, with superannuation savings in the firing line
• Threat actors use agentic AI tooling to find and abuse exposed secrets
• Inside a malicious Claude Code-branded extension and its persistent SSH backdoor
• Email threat landscape: Q3 2026 trends and insights
• What exploited vulnerabilities have in common: A data-driven analysis of real-world attacks
• What’s new in Microsoft Security: November 2026
• From help desk impersonation to AD CS abuse: Investigating ESC1 and ESC8 intrusion paths

Microsoft 365 & Partners

• How Outlook Search is changing: ranking, resilience, and the feedback loop
• Make each Microsoft 365 Business Premium opportunity a security conversation

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• How Grok Bot Can Resolve Help Desk Issues Through Remote Desktop
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