🚨 11 new M365 updates reviewed for you from last week

Hi Reader,

Last week, Microsoft dropped 11 new updates in the Microsoft Message Center (week ending Sunday 10 May 2026).

SharePoint Online: Viva Connections renamed to SharePoint app as home site experience gains new capabilities

Risk: Medium | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Medium

The Viva Connections app in Teams will be renamed to the SharePoint app in Teams from early June 2026, with existing custom branding preserved for tenants that have configured it. SharePoint home sites gain three new web parts Resources, Announcements, and News and admins will be able to configure home sites directly from the SharePoint admin centre. A new customisation experience for the SharePoint app in Teams is also introduced for desktop and mobile. Data storage, permissions, and access controls are unchanged.

Action: Communicate to users

Key dates: Targeted Release late May 2026, GA late June 2026 | ID: MC1304293 | Published: 8 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Apps: Lock-free coauthoring enables simultaneous paragraph editing in Word

Risk: Low | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Low

Word will automatically enable lock-free coauthoring from mid-May 2026, allowing multiple users to edit the same paragraph at the same time without conflicts. The feature requires no admin configuration and activates only when all conditions are met older clients or unsupported content types will fall back to the existing coauthoring experience. No changes to storage, permissions, or access workflows.

Action: Communicate to users

Key dates: Mid-May 2026 (rollout), early June 2026 (complete) | ID: MC1304289 | Published: 8 May 2026

SharePoint Online: News web part gains Filmstrip layout and multi-site news aggregation

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Two new capabilities are being added to the SharePoint News web part: a Filmstrip layout that displays news posts in a large, visually prominent format, and the ability to select multiple SharePoint sites as news sources in a single web part view. Both are optional and available by default. Existing permissions, publishing workflows, and news configurations are unchanged. Multi-site aggregation was previously Worldwide only and now extends to GCC, GCC High, and DoD.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Early May 2026 (Targeted Release), Late June 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1303716 | Published: 7 May 2026

Microsoft Entra: Federated token validation will enforce stricter cross-domain sign-in rules by default

Risk: Medium | User Impact: Medium | Admin Impact: Medium

Microsoft Entra will apply stricter federated token validation by default from mid-August 2026, blocking sign-ins where the internalDomainFederation does not match the user's UPN domain. This behaviour already applies to federated domains added since December 2025 and will now extend to all existing federated domains. Most organisations are unaffected, but any tenant relying on cross-domain federated sign-ins should audit federation configurations before rollout. Affected sign-ins will fail with error AADSTS5000820. Identity and helpdesk teams should be briefed.

Action Required: Admin action needed

Key dates: Mid-August 2026 | ID: MC1303719 | Published: 7 May 2026

Outlook Mobile: Admins can now allow users to change the default compose font on iOS and Android

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

A new pair of Intune app configuration keys will let administrators optionally allow users to change the default compose font name and size in Outlook for iOS and Android. Both keys default to false, preserving existing locked-font behaviour with no change unless explicitly enabled. Admins should note that once a user changes their font, the administrator-configured default no longer applies and future admin updates will not override it.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Early June 2026 (rollout start), Late June 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1303717 | Published: 7 May 2026

Power Automate: Flow version comparison now available for desktop flows

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Power Automate users will be able to view two versions of a desktop flow side by side, with colour indicators highlighting added, modified, and deleted actions. The comparison also surfaces differences in variables, UI elements, and images, with expandable steps for detailed review. Useful for troubleshooting, pre-publish review, and auditing how flows have changed over time. No configuration required.

Action Required: No action required

Key dates: 15 May 2026 (GA) | ID: MC1303745 | Published: 8 May 2026

Microsoft Teams: New independent controls to enable or disable Viva Engage Communities and Storylines in Teams

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Medium

Two new separate controls will be available in Teams messaging policies to independently enable or disable Viva Engage Communities and Storylines within Teams. Both are on by default. Disabling either hides it in Teams only both remain available in Viva Engage directly. Admins who previously disabled Viva Engage experiences in Teams should note that Communities will be enabled by default after this update. Review and configure messaging policies before Communities reaches GA in June.

Action Required: Admin action needed

Key dates: 18 May 2026 (controls available) | ID: MC1302904 | Published: 6 May 2026

Viva Insights: Admins can enable additional attributes as filters in Copilot Power BI reports

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Viva Insights administrators will be able to enable reserved and custom organisational attributes as filters in Power BI reports, allowing report viewers to slice Copilot insights by business-specific dimensions. The configuration is available to admins by default in the Viva Insights web app. Requires Microsoft 365 Copilot (Premium) licensing. Admins should identify which attributes would add value before enabling and plan internal governance for filter usage.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Late May 2026 (rollout start), Early June 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1302902 | Published: 6 May 2026

Microsoft Purview: Data Security Investigations adds OCR to detect sensitive information in images

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

Data Security Investigations will automatically extract and analyse text from image-based content including screenshots and embedded visuals using optical character recognition. The capability is enabled by default and requires no changes to existing investigation workflows. Security and compliance teams should be aware that investigation datasets will now include text derived from visual content, which may surface sensitive information that previously went undetected.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Late May 2026 (preview start), Late July 2026 (GA complete) | ID: MC1301831 | Published: 5 May 2026

Viva Engage: Storyline Announcements gain real-time notification delivery tracking

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

A new Notifications Delivery Tracker will be available on the Conversation Analytics page for Storyline Announcements in Viva Engage, showing communicators and leaders the real-time delivery status of their announcement notifications across email, Teams, Viva Engage, and mobile push. No change to publishing workflows. Communicators and leaders should be made aware this visibility is now available.

Action Required: Review

Key dates: Mid-May 2026 (rollout start), Late May 2026 (rollout complete) | ID: MC1301833 | Published: 5 May 2026

Microsoft 365 Apps: Current Channel update released (5 May 2026)

Risk: Low | User Impact: Low | Admin Impact: Low

A new Current Channel update for Microsoft 365 Apps began rolling out on 5 May 2026. Organisations with automatic updates configured via the Office CDN require no action. Organisations managing updates manually can download and deploy the update now. Full release notes are available in the Current Channel release notes documentation.

Action Required: No action required

Key dates: 5 May 2026 | ID: MC1301824 | Published: 5 May 2026

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Thank you and go well, Anthony

Disclaimer: Everything here is shared to help you understand your options and make informed decisions. It's informational only, not prescriptive. Your organization's unique context, existing configuration and processes, risk appetite, and team capabilities always matter most when deciding what's right for you and your organization.