The Biggest News from Microsoft Inspire 2023
It has been a busy Inspire this year, including for significant Copilot news.
Microsoft revealed that Copilot will cost organisations $30 per user per month. The generative AI tool will be available for users with Microsoft 365 E3, E5, Business Standard and Business Premium users when it hits general availability.
In other Copilot news, Microsoft announced a raft of new Copilot capabilities for Teams Phone and Chat. Copilot introduced generative AI to phone calls for Teams Phone. With this new function, users could make and receive calls from their Teams app on any device and get real-time summarisation and insights.
"Today, at the Microsoft Inspire conference, we announced the next wave of generative AI for Teams, with the introduction of Microsoft 365 Copilot in Teams Phone and Teams chat" Pete Daderko, Director, Microsoft Teams Product Marketing, wrote in a blog post. "Incorporating advanced AI capabilities into unscheduled phone calls and written chat conversations, Copilot will now help you stay on top of your discussions, capture important information, and follow up on action items.”
For Teams chat, users could rapidly synthesise critical information from their chat threads, enabling them to ask specific questions to catch up on the conversation so far, manage key discussion points, and summarise data relevant to their workflows.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has launched Bing Chat Enterprise, bringing its generative AI chat tool to businesses. Bing Chat was previously available in Microsoft Edge for consumers. Microsoft focused on security when launching the tool.
Lastly, Microsoft and Meta have expanded their AI partnership by announcing support for the Llama 2 family of large language models (LLMs) on Azure and Windows. Llama 2 aims to empower developers and businesses to build generative AI-powered tools and experiences. Meta and Microsoft have articulated a shared commitment to democratising AI and its benefits, as illustrated by Meta’s open and commercial approach with Llama 2.
In other Teams news, Microsoft is introducing the capability to join meetings set up by third-party services, including Zoom and Google Meet, directly through their Teams calendar.
The solution streamlines the process of joining meetings organised across multiple conferencing platforms, with Teams potentially serving as a hub application from which to join other vendors’ services.
The update will roll out in general availability this August and will be usable via Desktop or Mac.
- Read more about Microsoft Inspire 2023
- Read more about Teams enabling the direct joining of Google Meet and Zoom meetings
Mitel Secures Fourth Successive Sourcewell Contract
Mitel has announced it has secured a fourth successive contract with Sourcewell, extending its business relationship to 14 years.
The contract means that Sourcewell, a trusted service cooperative — and the 50,000 government, education, and nonprofit organisations it represents through member agencies — will be granted access to a range of Mitel’s UC offerings through ready-to-use contracts that enhance the purchasing process.
Sue Anders, Public Sector and SLED General Manager at Mitel, said:
We are honoured Sourcewell continues to trust Mitel as a preferred provider, and we look forward to continuing to support its members with the modern communications and collaboration solutions they need to deliver important work in their communities. As we have seen over the past decade, cooperative purchasing is such a beneficial tool for public organizations of all sizes as it saves time by streamlining the RFP process while ensuring great value."
Mitel provides businesses, nonprofits and public sector organisations with flexibility and choice through a portfolio encompassing private cloud and on-site comms systems, contact centre, collaboration, mass notification applications, business phones, devices, and accessories.
