In this special Microsoft Ignite edition of Beyond the Feature, I break down what the first two days of Ignite really mean for your organization, far beyond the headline features and shiny demos.

Instead of chasing every new Copilot button, we zoom out and look at how Microsoft’s push into agents, Work IQ, Security Copilot, and new Copilot licensing actually impacts the way you structure your tenant, govern your data, and design day-to-day work.

I share practical guidance from the front lines with clients through AuditSolv and training via Olympus Academy, focusing on how to turn Ignite announcements into a concrete roadmap and real return on your Microsoft 365 investment.

In this episode, I cover:

• How Copilot is evolving into a “work operating system,” not just an add-on

• Why Agent 365 and Windows 365 for Agents matter for governance and security

• What the Security Copilot story means for E5 customers and security teams

• How smaller and mid-sized organizations can realistically step into Copilot

• Five actionable steps to move from “feature hunting” to integrated, AI-powered workflows

If you’ve been watching Ignite and wondering, “Okay, but what do we do with all this?”—this episode is for you.

In this episode of Beyond the Feature, Patrick Jones unpacks a simple truth that quietly steers everyday behavior: defaults are destiny. Under pressure, people follow the path of least resistance: sixty-minute meetings stay sixty minutes, attachments keep spawning duplicates, and “anyone with the link can edit” invites chaos. I explain how flipping a few defaults changes outcomes without pep talks: shorter-by-default meetings with a tiny agenda seed, “links not attachments” as the cultural norm, and a visible place where decisions live. Rather than touring every feature, I show how features become support beams (templates, link settings, labels) after you set the expectation first. You’ll leave with a mental shift (“change the path, not the person”) and a small challenge to flip one default this week and watch the noise drop. Skills are still the verbs; defaults make the sentence effortless.

Set the Default meeting time

https://youtu.be/4DND0CbjzFs

Add agenda to your meeting invites

https://youtu.be/_pZPGzQ4H2Y

Change the link sharing default for security

https://youtu.be/ssP_b-NYmdw

In this episode of Beyond the Feature, I explain why most training evaporates on Monday and how to make it stick by teaching inside the real workflow. Instead of slide decks and demo tenants, we anchor skills at the exact moment of use: in the team space, in the live document, during the actual meeting. You’ll hear how context-dependent memory affects adoption, why “shared space” is the home field for behavior change, and how short, targeted moves (agenda seeds, @-mentions, decision lines) turn features into habits. Along the way, Patrick points to snackable resources (the Microsoft 365 Companion Series, Olympus Academy, and quick YouTube clips) as verbs you can drop into the sentence of real work. If you want shorter cycles, fewer “where’s the link?” pings, and decisions you can actually find, start here.

In the premiere of Beyond the Feature, Patrick Jones makes the case that technology ROI doesn’t come from learning more buttons. It comes from fixing workflows. In this episode you’ll hear why feature-first rollouts stall, how to anchor training to real work (decisions, handoffs, outputs), and a simple five-part mini-framework you can use tomorrow: Trigger → Shared Space → Short Ritual → Decision → Trace. You’ll also get a quick thought experiment to estimate “time back” and a one-week challenge (“No Attachments Week”) to prove impact without a big project. Perfect for tech leaders, HR/L&D, and curious operators. Skills matter, but only when they live inside a workflow. Resources mentioned: the Microsoft 365 Companion Series (Amazon) and Olympus Academy courses—useful for learning features, best when paired with workflow change.