Webinars

Microsoft 365 Government offers compliance with U.S. government regulations, but the higher the tier, the more features are missing. This makes understanding the value you’re receiving more complicated than for commercial customers.

This webinar covers the three tiers of Microsoft 365 for U.S. Government customers, and the feature limitations of the suite for government customers.

Webinar Slides

Microsoft thinks that everything we know about application architecture will change as AI permeates every layer of the stack. And they’re putting their money where their mouth is with investments in new tools for what we’re calling “AI-native apps:” RAG, agents, fine-tuning.

What do you have to do to get ready? What does it mean for your data, for your developers, for managing your IT ecosystem? That’s what Barry Briggs will chat about – live, not a chatbot! – in our webinar.

Rob Sanfilippo discusses the pieces of Power Platform including Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, and Copilot Studio, including technical and licensing aspects.

All versions of Exchange Server and Skype for Business leave support in Oct. 2025, and Microsoft’s plans for “subscription editions” leave a small window for customers to upgrade and stay supported. Will you be ready? Rob Helm and Jim Gaynor explain Microsoft’s plans, discuss your options, and take your questions.

In this Webinar, Jim Gaynor & Greg DeMichillie discuss the latest versions of Microsoft’s on-premises server operating systems, Windows Server 2025 and Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI), and the directions in which Microsoft is taking them.

A “mass extinction” of client software and services leaving support in 2025-2026 will trigger many migrations to new Windows and Office versions. Michael Cherry and Rob Helm explain and take questions on migration and deployment options.

The Directions on Microsoft analysts assess recent changes and key trends in Microsoft’s enterprise technology roadmap. We look back at the most impactful announcements of 2024 and make predictions about what will matter in 2025.

Rob Sanfilippo updates you on the latest GitHub innovations and licensing details.

Wes Miller and Rob Sanfilippo distill the key Copilot offerings Directions has identified and highlight key features offered by each of them.

Windows 10 leaves support in Oct. 2025. Now is a good time to evaluate and optimize deployment of the Windows client OS for your organization. In this Webinar, Directions analyst Michael Cherry helps you rethink the role of the Windows client and address important questions.

Rob Horwitz reviews your options to apply your Windows Server and SQL Server core licenses, and Windows Enterprise and Office suite user/device licenses, to service provider-hosted workloads.

Barry Briggs, former CTO of Microsoft’s own IT unit, discusses the continuing evolution of Microsoft’s compliance strategy and its technologies, now under the umbrella brand of Purview. Barry describes new features and capabilities in Purview, the licensing implications, and what still missing from Microsoft’s compliance portfolio.

Rob Sanfilippo surveys Microsoft’s Copilot offerings, discussing their capabilities and differences. The services and tools for extending Microsoft’s Copilots and creating custom copilots are also covered.

Joshua Trupin looks at the licensing changes Microsoft is making now that will fundamentally transform IT budgets yet again.