September 2026 SharePoint Online continues to evolve rapidly, particularly around administration, governance, security, AI, and content management. Over the past four months, Microsoft has introduced several changes that are important for SharePoint and Microsoft 365 administrators to understand. From the new SharePoint Admin Agent and Authoritative Sites to changes in sharing, version history, home-site management, and the eventual retirement of classic SharePoint experiences, these updates point toward a more automated, governed, and AI-ready SharePoint environment. Here are the key administrative changes that have occurred over the past four months that all administrators should know about. 1. SharePoint Admin Agent Brings AI to SharePoint Administration One of the most significant developments… Read More
Continue ReadingNavigating the Shift: Microsoft MS-102 Is Retiring—Should You Switch to the New AB-650?
The landscape of Microsoft 365 administration is undergoing its most significant shift in years. For a long time, the pinnacle of the modern workplace track was the Microsoft 365 Certified: Administrator Expert credential, achieved by conquering the comprehensive Exam MS-102. However, Microsoft recently shocked the IT community by announcing that Exam MS-102 will officially retire on November 30, 2026. In its place comes the next generation of cloud administration: Exam AB-650: Administering Microsoft 365 and AI Services. This is not merely a minor refresh or a change of a few exam questions. It is a complete structural overhaul that fundamentally redefines what it means to be an enterprise administrator in… Read More
Continue ReadingMicrosoft 365 Agents: Deployment, Management, and Advanced Concepts
I have written a three-part series of blog posts on Microsoft 365 Agents. You should read, understand, and practice the following three Microsoft 365 Agents blog posts in this order: Microsoft 365 Agents: Introduction and Understanding Microsoft 365 Agents: Agent Types, Creation of Agents Microsoft 365 Agents: Deployment, Management, and Advanced Concepts 1. Deploying an Agent Creating an agent and deploying an agent are different activities. Creation The maker/developer creates and tests the agent. Publishing The maker publishes a usable version. Deployment The organization makes the agent available to users. Assignment The administrator determines who receives it. Microsoft’s current deployment model allows administrators to deploy agents to: The entire organization… Read More
Continue ReadingMicrosoft 365 Agents: Agent Types, Creation of Agents
I have written a three-part series of blog posts on Microsoft 365 Agents. You should read, understand, and practice the following three Microsoft 365 Agents blog posts in this order: Microsoft 365 Agents: Introduction and Understanding Microsoft 365 Agents: Agent Types, Creation of Agents Microsoft 365 Agents: Deployment, Management, and Advanced Concepts What Is a Microsoft 365 Agent? A Microsoft 365 agent is an AI-powered assistant designed to perform a specific business function rather than simply provide general-purpose chat. An agent can: Understand natural-language requests Search organizational knowledge Reason over information Summarize and analyze documents Answer questions Retrieve information from Microsoft 365 Execute actions Call business systems and APIs Trigger… Read More
Continue ReadingMicrosoft 365 Agents: Introduction and Understanding
I have written a three-part series of blog posts on Microsoft 365 Agents. You should read, understand, and practice the following three Microsoft 365 Agents blog posts in this order: Microsoft 365 Agents: Introduction and Understanding Microsoft 365 Agents: Agent Types, Creation of Agents Microsoft 365 Agents: Deployment, Management, and Advanced Concepts Introduction to Microsoft 365 Agents Artificial intelligence is becoming an increasingly important part of Microsoft 365, and agents are one of the most significant developments in this area. Microsoft 365 agents are AI-powered assistants designed to help users find information, answer questions, complete tasks, and automate business processes. Unlike a traditional chatbot that primarily answers questions, an agent… Read More
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The Top 10 SharePoint‑/Admin‑Focused Ignite 2025 Announcements
Here’s a summary of top 10 announcements from Microsoft Ignite 2025 that are most relevant for SharePoint / SharePoint‑admins — especially those handling governance, Copilot adoption, and enterprise content management. I picked items that impact admin workflows, governance, automation, and new AI‑powered capabilities in SharePoint. SharePoint Admin Agent (Public Preview) New AI‑powered agent that helps automatically govern content: monitors inactive or ownerless sites, detects permission sprawl / oversharing, and can apply policies (e.g. archiving or adjusting access) to improve security and compliance. Designed to reduce manual admin overhead — increasingly important as Copilot/agent usage scales. Knowledge Agent for SharePoint (Public Preview / Expanding) AI‑powered knowledge management: automatically fills metadata, surfaces… Read More
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Top 10 Microsoft Ignite 2025 Highlights Every Microsoft 365 Administrator Should Know
Microsoft Ignite 2025 delivered one of the most transformative sets of announcements we’ve seen in years — especially for Microsoft 365 administrators responsible for productivity, security, governance, and now AI-driven operations. The shift toward agent-based workflows, deeper intelligence layers, and unified governance means the admin role is rapidly evolving from “systems operator” to “AI orchestrator.” If you’re a Microsoft 365 admin, consultant, architect, or IT decision-maker, here are the top 10 Ignite highlights that will shape how you manage and secure your environment in 2025 and beyond. Agent 365: A Unified Governance Platform for AI Agents The star of Ignite was Agent 365, Microsoft’s new central control plane for managing… Read More
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SharePoint Online Premium: Admin Cheat Sheet
Here’s a SharePoint Online Premium Admin-Focused Cheat Sheet designed for quick reference. It’s organized by feature area with actions admins can take. Storage & File Management Feature Admin Actions Large files (up to 250 GB) Configure libraries to accept large uploads; educate users on optimal file formats. Increased site storage (up to 25 TB/site) Monitor storage usage; adjust quotas per site collection; archive old content if needed. Versioning Enable major/minor versioning; set retention limits for versions. Search & Discovery Feature Admin Actions Managed search schema Map metadata to search properties; customize refiners and results. Custom search verticals Create search experiences for departments or projects. Promoted search results Highlight key documents/pages… Read More
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Understanding SharePoint Online Premium Features and Usage
Here’s a detailed breakdown of SharePoint Online Premium (now generally included in Microsoft 365 E3/E5 plans or SharePoint Online Plan 2) features and how a SharePoint administrator can leverage them: Large File and Storage Support Feature: Increased storage per tenant and site collection. Supports larger file uploads (up to 250 GB per file). Administrator Use: Allocate storage for high-demand team sites or department sites. Ensure that document libraries can handle large media files, datasets, or high-resolution documents without performance issues. Monitor site storage quotas to prevent overruns. Advanced Search and Content Discovery Feature: Enhanced search experience, including refiners, custom search verticals, and promoted results. Content can be surfaced using AI-powered… Read More
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Using the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT) to Migrate SharePoint Sites to Microsoft 365
Microsoft provides a free and simple migration tool, the SharePoint Migration Tool (SPMT), to assist in the migration process from SharePoint sites to Microsoft 365. SPMT can perform SharePoint-related migrations to SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Teams from the following: SharePoint Server 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2019 SharePoint Foundation 2010 and 2013 SharePoint Server 2010 out-of-box (OOB) workflows to Power Automate SharePoint Designer 2010 and 2013 workflows to Power Automate Note: If you are proficient with Windows PowerShell, SPMT contains all the functionality available in PowerShell to complete your migration. Understanding SPMT It is important to prepare for and understand SPMT, including supported authentication methods, migrated content permission behavior, migration assessment,… Read More
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