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.
Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com
you can listen directly to this episode at:
https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-373-effectiveness/
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
CIAOPS Need to Know podcast – CIAOPS – Need to Know podcasts | CIAOPS
X – https://www.twitter.com/directorcia
director@ciaops.com
Join my Teams Shared Channel – CIAOPS
CIAOPS Merch store – CIAOPS
Become a CIAOPS Patron
CIAOPS weekly news update – CIA Brief – CIAOPS
CIAOPS Labs – The Special Activities Division of the CIAOPS
Get your M365 questions answered via email
A special thanks to the CIAOPS Patron community for making this podcast possible. You can find the benefits of a subscription to the community and become a member at https://www.ciaopspatron.com
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