External Sharing in SharePoint and OneDrive is changing: What You Need to Know

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In an ongoing effort to create a more secure environment by default, Microsoft is introducing an important security update that will affect how external users access content shared through SharePoint and OneDrive. Starting July 1, 2025, any links shared with external users before your organization enabled Microsoft Entra B2B integration will no longer work. This change applies to all organizations that have already enabled or will enable SharePoint and OneDrive integration with Microsoft Entra B2B (Most organizations I have looked into so far). External users trying to use old links will see an error message saying the organization has updated its guest access settings. To regain access, the content must be reshared. Highlights of how the change affects organizations who have enabled B2B: All external sharing will require guest registration. External users must be added as guests in your Microsoft Entra directory. Access will be managed through Microsoft Entra B2B Invitation Manager. T...

Copilot: Self-Service Purchase coming soon

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According to the message center Microsoft will roll out the new license request feature and self-service purchase option for Microsoft 365 Copilot by the end of March. These features will be available to users with various Microsoft 365 plans, including E1, E3, E5, and standalone products. Both features will be integrated within Microsoft 365 apps, such as Copilot Chat.

The License Request feature I find quite beneficial, as it empowers end-users to justify their usage and request access. At least as long as the organization is already rolling out Copilot to their employees. However, the Self-Service Purchase option may raise concerns for organizations that are not yet prepared to deploy Copilot. It is advisable for all organizations to review their self-purchase settings and make decisions to allow or deny access based on their readiness state.

License Request: This feature allows users to request a Microsoft 365 Copilot license directly from their admin. It helps efficiently assign unused licenses or purchase additional ones based on user requests. Global admins, license admins, and user admins can manage these requests seamlessly in the Microsoft 365 admin center, with options for standard or custom messaging.

Self-Service Purchase: Users can purchase Microsoft 365 Copilot licenses directly with their credit cards. If your organization has previously disabled self-service purchase for Microsoft 365 Copilot, those settings will be honored. To check the org status, sign into the Microsoft 365 admin center as a global admin, go to "Settings" > "Org settings" > "Self-service trials and purchases". From here you select the product you want to control.