New publication–Selling & Delivering Microsoft 365 Copilot with AI Governance for SMBs

https://directorcia.gumroad.com/l/governance

Governance Playbook for MSPs: Selling & Delivering Microsoft 365 Copilot with AI Governance for SMBs

Unlock the full potential of Microsoft 365 Copilot—safely and securely—with this comprehensive Governance Playbook, designed specifically for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) serving small and midsize businesses (SMBs).

Why Purchase This Playbook?

Become the Trusted AI Advisor: Position your MSP as the go-to expert for responsible AI adoption. This playbook empowers you to guide clients through every step of deploying Copilot, from policy creation to technical configuration and ongoing compliance monitoring.
Mitigate AI Risks: Protect your clients from data leaks, compliance violations, and costly mistakes. The playbook provides actionable strategies to ensure Copilot respects permissions, sensitivity labels, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies—reducing risk and maximizing ROI.
Accelerate Secure Productivity: Help clients harness Copilot’s productivity benefits without compromising security. Align AI use with business goals and build lasting trust through robust governance.

What’s Inside?

Step-by-Step Guidance: Detailed instructions for drafting AI usage policies, configuring compliance settings, auditing Copilot activity, implementing sensitivity labels, and training users.
Ready-to-Use Templates: Includes editable AI Usage Policy templates, Sensitivity Labeling Guides, Compliance Checklists, Training Decks, FAQs, and Incident Response Plans—client-branded for ongoing use.
Technical Controls: Learn how to validate and enhance Microsoft 365 security, set up Purview audit logs, restrict SharePoint/Teams access, and manage retention policies.
Pricing Models & Packaging: Explore hourly consulting, fixed-price projects, and ongoing managed service options (Bronze/Silver/Gold tiers) to monetize your governance expertise.
Deliverables: Receive a toolkit of compliance reports, governance logs, controls test documentation, and user training materials to showcase your thoroughness and value.

Key Benefits

Reduce risk and ensure compliance with proven governance strategies.
Enhance client confidence and MSP revenue by delivering end-to-end Copilot solutions.
Save time with ready-made templates and checklists for rapid deployment.
Position your MSP for future strategic projects in cloud, security, and AI readiness.

Investing in this playbook means preventing costly breaches and compliance fines, enabling safe productivity gains, and cementing your role as a strategic technology partner.

Perfect for MSPs looking to differentiate their offerings and deliver a complete, secure, and effective Microsoft 365 Copilot solution. Purchase now to elevate your service and become the trusted advisor your clients need!

Now included with MSP AI Playbook bundle – https://directorcia.gumroad.com/l/mspaipb

See all the titles available at – https://directorcia.gumroad.com/

CIA Brief 20260209

Exchange Online EWS, Your Time is Almost Up –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/exchange-online-ews-your-time-is-almost-up/4492361

What’s New in Microsoft Intune – January 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/whats-new-in-microsoft-intune-%E2%80%9…

New Clickfix variant ‘CrashFix’ deploying Python Remote Access Trojan –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/02/05/clickfix-variant-crashfix-deploying-python…

From runtime risk to real‑time defense: Securing AI agents –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/01/23/runtime-risk-realtime-defense-securing-ai-…

Detecting backdoored language models at scale –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/02/04/detecting-backdoored-language-models-at-sc…

The Microsoft Copilot Data Connector for Microsoft Sentinel is Now in Public Preview –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsentinelblog/the-microsoft-copilot-data-connector…

Admin tasks in Microsoft Intune: Centralized control today, AI-ready for tomorrow –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/admin-tasks-in-microsoft-intune-centra…

Microsoft Defender | Threat Intelligence Briefing Agent –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86nfFsaBSfk

Microsoft Purview Data Security Investigations is now generally available –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/microsoft-purview-data-security-in…

Secure Boot playbook for certificates expiring in 2026 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/secure-boot-playbook-for-certificates-e…

Case study: Securing AI application supply chains –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2026/01/30/case-study-securing-ai-application-supply-…

After hours

Why One-Person Companies ar ethe future of work – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGdG-04TkDs

Editorial

If you found this valuable, the I’d appreciate a ‘like’ or perhaps a donation at https://ko-fi.com/ciaops. This helps me know that people enjoy what I have created and provides resources to allow me to create more content. If you have any feedback or suggestions around this, I’m all ears. You can also find me via email director@ciaops.com and on X (Twitter) at https://www.twitter.com/directorcia.

If you want to be part of a dedicated Microsoft Cloud community with information and interactions daily, then consider becoming a CIAOPS Patron – www.ciaopspatron.com.

Watch out for the next CIA Brief next week

Unlocking AI Power: My first attempt at a Multi-Model Prompting App with Azure AI Foundry

Video = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8nh2sbO-Go

Join me as I walk you through the innovative AI app I’ve been developing! In this video, I demonstrate how you can send prompts to a variety of large language models—or even leverage an agent with grounded data—for smarter, more accurate responses. You’ll see how the model router selects the best LLM for your needs, compare outputs from different models like GPT OSS120B and DeepSeek-R1, and discover the advantages of using agents with real data sources. Plus, I showcase user-friendly features like exporting results, saving prompts, and customizing your workspace. Whether you’re an AI enthusiast or just curious about the latest in prompt engineering, this demo will inspire you to explore new possibilities with Azure AI Foundry!

I’m looking for feedback on whether this type of app has value and what additional features and functionality could be added? Let me know in the comments.

Need to Know podcast–Episode 360

In this episode I’m joined by Shervin Shaffie from Microsoft to do a deep dive into Copilot Studio. That’s the service from Microsoft that allows you to create agents in a ‘low-code’ manner right inside the M365 environment. Shervin has some great Youtube content I highly recommend and provides some great insights and tips and tricks in this episode when working with agents in Microsoft 365. I’ll also brin you up to date with the latest Microsoft Cloud news. Listen along.

Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com

you can listen directly to this episode at:

https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-360-shervin-shaffie/

Subscribe via iTunes at:

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2

or Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/7ejj00cOuw8977GnnE2lPb

Don’t forget to give the show a rating as well as send me any feedback or suggestions you may have for the show.

Resources

Explore the tools, communities, and content mentioned in this episode:

CIAOPS Need to Know Podcast: https://ciaops.podbean.com/
CIAOPS Blog: https://blog.ciaops.com/
CIAOPS Labs: https://blog.ciaopslabs.com/
CIAOPS Brief: https://blog.ciaops.com/tag/cia-brief/
Join the Teams Shared Channel: https://blog.ciaops.com/2022/07/29/join-my-teams-shared-channel/
CIAOPS Merch Store: https://my-store-c5d877-2.creator-spring.com/
CIAOPS Publications: https://directorcia.gumroad.com
Become a Patron: https://www.ciaopspatron.com/
Direct Support: https://ko-fi.com/ciaops
Get Your M365 Questions Answered: https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/06/11/get-your-m365-questions-answered-via-email-2/
Test Your Microsoft 365 Speed: https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/07/21/test-your-microsoft-365-speed-in-seconds-for-free/
CIAOPS Email list – https://bit.ly/cia-email

Show Notes

Shervin Shaffie – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherv/
Principal Copilot Engineer at Microsoft
Collaboration Simplified YouTube: https://youtube.com/@collaborationsimplified
All About AI Podcast: https://cosi.pro/aipodcast

FY26 Q2 – Press Releases – Investor Relations – Microsoft

The Microsoft Copilot Data Connector for Microsoft Sentinel is Now in Public Preview | Microsoft Community Hub

Secure Boot playbook for certificates expiring in 2026

SharePoint Showcase highlights: Copilot and agents governance and security essentials for admins

What’s New in Microsoft 365 Copilot | January 2026 | Microsoft Community Hub

Upcoming Conditional Access change: Improved enforcement for policies with resource exclusions

CIAOPS Need to Know Microsoft 365 Webinar – February

laptop-eyes-technology-computer_thumb

Now in our tenth year!

Join me for the free monthly CIAOPS Need to Know webinar. Along with all the Microsoft Cloud news we’ll be taking a look at the new Baseline Security Mode.

Shortly after registering you should receive an automated email from Microsoft Teams confirming your registration, including all the event details as well as a calendar invite.

You can register for the regular monthly webinar here:

February Registrations

(If you are having issues with the above link copy and paste – https://bit.ly/n2k2602 )

The details are:

CIAOPS Need to Know Webinar – February 2026
Friday 20th of February 2026
11.00am – 12.00am Sydney Time

All sessions are recorded and posted to the CIAOPS Youtube channel.

Also feel free at any stage to email me directly via director@ciaops.com with your webinar topic suggestions.

I’d also appreciate you sharing information about this webinar with anyone you feel may benefit from the session and I look forward to seeing you there.

CIAOPS AI Dojo 009

What’s the session about?

This month we will be focusing on new Copilot features and updates as well as optimising AI for Small Business.

Who should attend?

This session is perfect for:

IT administrators and support staff
Business owners
People looking to get more done with Microsoft 365
Anyone looking to automate their daily grind

Save the Date

Date: Friday the 20th of February 2026

Time: 9:30 AM Sydney AU time

Location: Online (link will be provided upon registration)

Cost: $80 per attendee (free for Dojo subscribers)

New publication–Monitoring and Reporting Microsoft Copilot Usage

https://directorcia.gumroad.com/l/monrepcop

Unlock the Power of Microsoft Copilot: The Ultimate Monitoring & Reporting Guide for SMBs

Are you a Managed Service Provider (MSP) or IT professional seeking to maximize your Microsoft Copilot investment for small-to-medium business tenants?

Discover the definitive resource: Copilot Monitoring and Reporting for SMB Tenants.

Why This Guide Is a Must-Have

Step-by-Step Mastery: Learn exactly how to monitor, track, and report on Copilot usage with clear, actionable instructions—no guesswork, just results.
Role-Based Security: Implement best practices for administrative roles, ensuring secure and compliant access to Copilot data.
License Optimization: Use readiness reports and user activity analytics to assign, reclaim, and optimize Copilot licenses for maximum ROI.
Adoption Insights: Leverage AI Adoption Score and advanced metrics to drive digital transformation and boost user engagement.
Comprehensive Reporting: Export usage data, build custom dashboards in Power BI, and harness Viva Insights for executive-level analytics.
Security & Compliance: Enforce MFA, apply conditional access, and utilize Purview Audit Logs to safeguard sensitive information.
Proven MSP Workflows: Follow weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual checklists to maintain peak Copilot performance and compliance.

What You’ll Achieve

Accelerate Copilot Adoption: Identify high-value users, deploy licenses strategically, and monitor real-time usage trends.
Transform Data into Decisions: Analyze prompts, agent usage, and app-specific metrics to inform training and business outcomes.
Stay Ahead of Risks: Proactively manage security, compliance, and governance with expert-recommended best practices.
Drive Business Value: Correlate Copilot usage with ROI, streamline reporting, and empower stakeholders with actionable insights.

Who Should Buy This Guide?

MSPs supporting Microsoft 365 tenants
IT administrators and consultants
Business leaders driving AI adoption
Anyone responsible for Copilot deployment, monitoring, or reporting

Don’t miss out on the essential guide trusted by professionals to unlock the full potential of Microsoft Copilot.
Purchase your copy today and transform how you manage, monitor, and report Copilot usage for your organization!

Now included with MSP AI Playbook bundle – https://directorcia.gumroad.com/l/mspaipb

See all the titles available at – https://directorcia.gumroad.com/

PowerShell script to extract Exchange Online data for your own AI analysis

A while ago I wrote a script that reads Microsoft 365 security information and exports it to a JSON data file. The idea is that you can take this data file and use it with your AI of choice. I have now developed a similar script but for Exchange Online information.

When you run the script it will connect to Exchange online and extract the information from a variety of locations

It will produce 2 output JSON files in the parent directory. The standard data file can be quite large, in the case above it is around 15MB. The other file produced is more ‘compact’ around 100 – 200KB

You can then take either of these JSON files and feed them into you AI system of choice. The above shows you the result when I fed it into Copilot Researcher.,

and I even got a nice Word document when I fed it into Claude online.

You can download the script here:

https://github.com/directorcia/Office365/blob/master/Analysis/Exchange/exo-extract.ps1

and find the documentation here:

https://github.com/directorcia/Office365/wiki/Extract-Exchange-Online-information

as well as a long prompt you can use with your Ai of choice here:

https://github.com/directorcia/Office365/blob/master/Analysis/Exchange/prompt-long.txt

Given that email systems are typically at the highest security risk, this script shoudl allow you to quickly and easily evaluate its posture as well as giving you a range of improvement suggestions.