Need to Know podcast–Episode 357

Welcome to another podcast episode where I aim to bring you up to date with the latest in the Microsoft Cloud as well as share my knowledge and insights. In this episode I dig into how you need to focus and avoid distractions as well as building your knowledge with products and automations you already have.

Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com

you can listen directly to this episode at:

https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-357-less-is-more/

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:

Announcements

Show Notes

Advancing Microsoft 365: New capabilities and pricing update | Microsoft 365 Blog

Available today: GPT-5.2 in Microsoft 365 Copilot | Microsoft 365 Blog

Meet Agents in OneDrive : Your AI assistant built with your own content | Microsoft Community Hub

What’s New in Copilot Studio: November 2025 Updates and Features

View or restore previous versions of Microsoft 365 Copilot Pages

Security and governance innovations for Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents from Ignite 2025 | Microsoft Community Hub

New! Centralized Agent Dashboard and Enhanced Reporting | Microsoft Community Hub

Security and governance innovations for Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents from Ignite 2025 | Microsoft Community Hub

What’s new in Microsoft Intune: December 2025 – Microsoft Intune Blog

Microsoft 365 adds advanced Microsoft Intune solutions at scale – Microsoft Intune Blog

What’s New in Microsoft Sentinel: December 2025 | Microsoft Community Hub

What’s new in Microsoft Entra – November 2025

Microsoft Ignite 2025: Top Security Innovations You Need to Know | Microsoft Community Huba

CIA Brief 20251214

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What’s new in Microsoft Intune: December 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/whats-new-in-microsoft-intune-december…

Breaking down security silos: Microsoft Defender for Cloud Expands into the Defender Portal –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefendercloudblog/breaking-down-security-silos-mi…

Imposter for hire: How fake people can gain very real access –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/12/11/imposter-for-hire-how-fake-people-can-gain…

What’s New in Microsoft Sentinel: December 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsentinelblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-sent…

Available today: GPT-5.2 in Microsoft 365 Copilot –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/12/11/available-today-gpt-5-2-in-microsoft-…

From awareness to action: Building a security-first culture for the agentic AI era –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-cloud/blog/2025/12/10/from-awareness-to-action-building-a…

What’s new in Microsoft Entra – November 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-entra-blog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-entra…

Native macOS screen sharing in Teams meetings –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/native-macos-screen-sharing-in-tea…

Now generally available: Modernizing Microsoft Entra ID auth flows with WebView2 in Windows 11 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/now-generally-available-modernizing-mic…

Microsoft 365 adds advanced Microsoft Intune solutions at scale –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/microsoft-365-adds-advanced-microsoft-…

New! Centralized Agent Dashboard and Enhanced Reporting –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/new-centralized-agent-dashboard-an…

Transforming mining: How Frontier Firms lead with AI and agentic innovation –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/industry/blog/energy-and-resources/mining/2025/12/08/transforming-m…

Security and governance innovations for Microsoft 365 Copilot and agents from Ignite 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/security-and-governance-innovation…

Secure Boot playbook for certificates expiring in 2026 –

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

Multi-agentic AI: Unlocking the next wave of business transformation –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-cloud/blog/2025/12/04/multi-agentic-ai-unlocking-the-next…

Microsoft Defender: Smart Containment Stops Exposed Privileged AD Domain Accounts –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/microsoft-defender-smart-containme…

After hours

[HOONIGAN] Gymkhana 2025: Aussie Shred — Travis Pastrana Does the IMPOSSIBLE in a Subaru Brat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daYgg2YSA2g

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

CIA Brief 20251206

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Microsoft Ignite 2025: Top Security Innovations You Need to Know –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/microsoft-ignite-2025-top-security…

Microsoft 365 adds advanced Microsoft Intune solutions at scale –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/microsoft-365-adds-advanced-microsoft-…

Advancing Microsoft 365: New capabilities and pricing update –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/12/04/advancing-microsoft-365-new-capabilit…

Microsoft Sentinel platform — Unified, Graph-enabled, and AI-ready Security –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftmechanicsblog/microsoft-sentinel-platform-%E2%80%…

View or restore previous versions of Microsoft 365 Copilot Pages –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/view-or-restore-previous-versions-…

How to build forward-thinking cybersecurity teams for tomorrow –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/12/02/how-to-build-forward-thinking-cybersecurit…

Microsoft Defender Experts – S.T.A.R. Series –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsecurityexperts/microsoft-defender-experts—s-t-…

Key findings from product telemetry: top storage security alerts across industries –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefendercloudblog/key-findings-from-product-telem…

SharePoint Showcase highlights: Biggest news from Microsoft Ignite 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/sharepoint-showcase-highlights-big…

After hours

Following Max Verstappen’s Race Day Like NEVER BEFORE | Behind The Charge– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjjQI9W5JkY

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

CIAOPS Need to Know Microsoft 365 Webinar – December

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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 Copilot Notebooks.

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:

December Registrations

(If you are having issues with the above link copy and paste – https://bit.ly/n2k2512)

The details are:

CIAOPS Need to Know Webinar – December 2025
Tuesday 30th of December 2025
11.00am – 12.00am Sydney Time

All sessions are recorded and posted to the CIAOPS Academy.

The CIAOPS Need to Know Webinars are free to attend but if you want to receive the recording of the session you need to sign up as a CIAOPS patron which you can do here:

http://www.ciaopspatron.com

or purchase them individually at:

http://www.ciaopsacademy.com/

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 007

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What’s the session about?

This month we will be focusing on new Copilot features and updates.

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: Tuesday the 30th of December 2025

Time: 9:30 AM Sydney AU time

Location: Online (link will be provided upon registration)

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

Register Now

Need to Know podcast–Episode 356

I am joined once again by Phil Meyer to review the most important and relevant announcements from Microsoft Ignite. Plenty around AI but also a few other gems you may have overlooked, so sit back and listen in as we focus on what you should be paying attention to.

Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com

you can listen directly to this episode at:

https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-356-philme-is-back/

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:

Announcements

Flight School: Mastering Copilot for IT Pros – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/14/flight-school-mastering-copilot-for-it-pros/
CIAOPS Academy deprecation notification – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/10/ciaops-academy-deprecation-notification/

Show Notes

Microsoft 365 powered by Work IQ: Built to Support How You Work –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve66gLVYaRw

Synced Passkeys in Microsoft Entra for Phishing-resistant MFA –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36nIaSBJ7_U

Ignite’25 Spotlight: Announcing Microsoft Baseline security mode –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/ignite%E2%80%9925-spotlight-announcing-m…

Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot Business: Empowering Small and Medium Businesses with AI –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-…

Future-Proofing Your Channel Business: Strategies for Asia Partners – Future-Proofing Your Channel Business: Strategies for Asia Partners | PBRK440 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvwZYUbVW08

Question – https://youtu.be/xvwZYUbVW08?t=2604

CIA Brief 20251123

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Microsoft 365 powered by Work IQ: Built to Support How You Work –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ve66gLVYaRw

Ignite 2025: What’s new in Microsoft Defender? –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/MicrosoftThreatProtectionBlog/ignite-2025-whats-new-in-mic…

Sensitivity labels preservation and SharePoint ACLs in Azure AI Search –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azure-ai-foundry-blog/sensitivity-labels-preservation-and-…

Get a jump start on employee service delivery with Employee Self-Service Agent in M365 Copilot –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/get-a-jump-start-on-employee-servi…

Scale with Ease: Simplified Setup and Management for Connectors –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/scale-with-ease-simplified-setup-a…

Copilot Notebooks Now Available for Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, and Premium Accounts –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/copilot-notebooks-now-available-for-micr…

Introducing new Microsoft 365 Copilot agents to drive workforce transformation –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-new-microsoft-365-copi…

Microsoft Ignite – Opening Keynote –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUeET4zY95c

Windows 365 – New app window only mode, agent automation & reserve options –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXAEFJ2cFQ

Synced Passkeys in Microsoft Entra for Phishing-resistant MFA –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36nIaSBJ7_U

SharePoint Showcase: Announcements at Microsoft Ignite 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/spblog/sharepoint-showcase-announcements-at-microsoft-igni…

Microsoft Ignite 2025: Transforming Phishing Response with Agentic Innovation –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/MicrosoftDefenderforOffice365Blog/microsoft-ignite-2025-tr…

Introducing Project Opal: A New Way to Get Task-Based Work Done –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-project-opal-a-new-way…

Edge for Business presents: the world’s first secure enterprise AI browser –

https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2025/11/18/edge-for-business-presents-the-worlds-first-secure-e…

From idea to deployment: The complete lifecycle of AI on display at Ignite 2025 –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11/18/from-idea-to-deployment-the-complete-lifecycle-of-ai-on…

Microsoft Ignite 2025: Copilot and agents built to power the Frontier Firm –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/11/18/microsoft-ignite-2025-copilot-and-age…

Ignite 2025: Microsoft Defender now prevents threats on endpoints during an attack –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftdefenderatpblog/ignite-2025-microsoft-defender-no…

Why Microsoft Copilot Studio is the foundation for agentic business transformation –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-copilot/blog/copilot-studio/why-microsoft-copilot-studio-…

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/2025/11/18/inside-the-new-power-apps-the-future-of-app-development/

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/power-platform/blog/2025/11/18/inside-the-new-power-apps-the-future…

Ignite’25 Spotlight: Announcing Microsoft Baseline security mode –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/ignite%E2%80%9925-spotlight-announcing-m…

Copilot readiness and resiliency with Microsoft 365: Ignite 2025 Edition –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/spblog/copilot-readiness-and-resiliency-with-microsoft-365…

Introducing Microsoft 365 Copilot Business: Empowering Small and Medium Businesses with AI –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-microsoft-365-copilot-…

Agents built into your workflow: Get Security Copilot with Microsoft 365 E5 –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/11/18/agents-built-into-your-workflow-get-securi…

Preparing for what’s next: Windows security and resiliency innovations help organizations mitigate risks, recover faster and prepare for the era of AI –

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/11/18/preparing-for-whats-next-windows-security-an…

Security Copilot for SOC: bringing agentic AI to every defender –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/MicrosoftThreatProtectionBlog/security-copilot-for-soc-bri…

Available today: OpenAI’s Sora 2 in Microsoft 365 Copilot –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/available-today-openais-sora-2-in-…

Announcing Public Preview: Exchange Online Admin API –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/exchange/announcing-public-preview-exchange-online-admin-a…

New Compliance Solutions in Microsoft Sentinel: HIPAA & GDPR Reports –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsentinelblog/new-compliance-solutions-in-microsof…

Collaborative Research by Microsoft and NVIDIA on Real-Time Immunity –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/collaborative-research-by-microsof…

Inside the world’s most powerful datacenter (2025) — Satya Nadella –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aBKVrLX0Dc

After hours

How to Escape Alcatraz With Basic Engineering– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLtHyLlLt4Y

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

Need to Know podcast–Episode 355

In this episode of the Need to Know Podcast, we explore the evolving landscape of learning in the Microsoft Cloud ecosystem, with a spotlight on the SMB market. From the latest in Microsoft 365 Copilot innovations to critical cybersecurity updates and the end of CIAOPS Academy, this episode delivers essential insights for IT professionals and business leaders navigating the modern digital workplace.

Brought to you by www.ciaopspatron.com

you can listen directly to this episode at:

https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-355-learning-reboot/

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:

Announcements

Flight School: Mastering Copilot for IT Pros – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/14/flight-school-mastering-copilot-for-it-pros/
Disabling Office Macros via ASR to Meet Essential Eight Requirements – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/13/disabling-office-macros-via-asr-to-meet-essential-eight-requirements/
ASD OWA settings check script – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/13/asd-owa-settings-check-script/
ASD Mailflow settings check script – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/12/asd-mailflow-settings-check-sript/
CIAOPS Academy deprecation notification – https://blog.ciaops.com/2025/11/10/ciaops-academy-deprecation-notification/

Show Notes

The next chapter of the Microsoft–OpenAI partnership –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2025/10/28/the-next-chapter-of-the-microsoft-openai-partnership/

Automate with Workflows Agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot (Frontier) –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vvk1ScZT-lo

Introducing Researcher with Computer Use in Microsoft 365 Copilot –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-researcher-with-comput…

Build apps in minutes with App Builder agent in Microsoft 365 Copilot (Frontier) –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v27H_R1ltB0

Microsoft 365 Copilot now enables you to build apps and workflows –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2025/10/28/microsoft-365-copilot-now-enables-you

Introducing Teams Mode for Microsoft 365 Copilot –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365copilotblog/introducing-teams-mode-for-microso…

Introducing MAI-Image-1, debuting in the top 10 on LMArena –

https://microsoft.ai/news/introducing-mai-image-1-debuting-in-the-top-10-on-lmarena/

Building human-centric security skills for AI –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftlearnblog/building-human-centric-security-skills-…

GenAI vs Cyber Threats: Why GenAI Powered Unified SecOps Wins –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/genai-vs-cyber-threats-why-genai-p…

What’s new in Microsoft 365 Copilot | October 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/Microsoft365CopilotBlog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-36…

The 5 generative AI security threats you need to know about detailed in new e-book –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/10/30/the-5-generative-ai-security-threats-you-n…

SharePoint Showcase highlights: Smarter Copilot responses using metadata with the Knowledge Agent –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/sharepoint-showcase-highlights-sma…

Work smarter with Copilot in the People, Files, and Calendar apps –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft365insiderblog/work-smarter-with-copilot-in-the-p…

The weakest link: Stolen staff passwords now the biggest cyber threat to workplaces –

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/the-weakest-link-stolen-staff-passwords-now-the-biggest-cyb…

Cyber security priorities for boards of directors 2025-26 –

https://www.cyber.gov.au/business-government/protecting-business-leaders/cyber-security-for-busines…

Secure external attachments with Purview encryption –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/azurepurviewblog/secure-external-attachments-with-purview-…

What’s New in Microsoft Intune: October 2025 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/what%E2%80%99s-new-in-microsoft-intune…

Custom detections are now the unified experience for creating detections in Microsoft Defender –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftthreatprotectionblog/custom-detections-are-now-th…

10 ways Microsoft Intune supports a smooth upgrade to Windows 11 –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftintuneblog/10-ways-microsoft-intune-supports-a-sm…

How Windows 11 and AI are transforming the future of work –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/windows-itpro-blog/how-windows-11-and-ai-are-transforming-…

Security Copilot Agents: The New Era of AI, Driven Cyber Defense –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft-security-blog/security-copilot-agents-the-new-er…

6 truths about migrating Microsoft Sentinel to the Defender portal –

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoftsentinelblog/6-truths-about-migrating-microsoft-s…

Microsoft named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for SIEM –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/10/16/microsoft-named-a-leader-in-the-2025-gartn…

Extortion and ransomware drive over half of cyberattacks –

https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/10/16/mddr-2025/

Microsoft 365 Insider Round-Up: October 2025 –

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/microsoft-365-insider-round-up-october-2025-microsoft-365-insider-ub…

Making every Windows 11 PC an AI PC –

https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/10/16/making-every-windows-11-pc-an-ai-pc/

Microsoft raises the bar: A smarter way to measure AI for cybersecurity –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/10/14/microsoft-raises-the-bar-a-smarter-way-to-…

Building a lasting security culture at Microsoft –

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/10/13/building-a-lasting-security-culture-at-mic…

Satya – My annual letter: Thinking in decades, executing in quarters –

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-annual-letter-thinking-decades-executing-quarters-satya-nadella-7…