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What’s new for Microsoft Viva – April 2024
With the latest updates, Viva applications are now integrating support for Copilots, enhancing organizational adoption of Microsoft’s AI assistant. April marked a significant milestone as Viva applications expanded beyond Microsoft Teams, becoming accessible directly in the browser with dedicated URLs. Additionally, Viva Connections has evolved to allow for deeper personalization, enabling custom fonts that align with the branding customizations of the SharePoint home site. This move not only streamlines the user experience but also reinforces brand identity within organizations.
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Microsoft Copilot academy in Viva Learning
Viva Learning
Microsoft Viva Learning is launching Microsoft Copilot academy for tenants with a Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 license. The Copilot academy provides structured educational content in Viva Learning to help users learn about, discover, and use Copilot for Microsoft 365 quickly and effectively. The academy will be available to users who meet two criteria and will be enabled by default. Admins can disable the academy. The rollout will begin early April 2024 and expect to complete by early April 2024. No action is needed to prepare for this rollout.
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Admins and delegates in Viva Engage con close conversations on behalf of others
Viva Engage
Admins and delegates in Viva Engage con close conversations on behalf of others. Delegates are only allowed to close conversations on behalf of the delegator.
APR
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Viva Engage content in Workplace Search
Viva Engage
As users search in office.com, sharepoint.com, bing at work they will find content from Viva Engage in the search results. We will first start with question posts and then roll out discussion posts from Engage.
APR
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Viva Engage – Copilot Adoption Community
Viva Engage
Microsoft is introducing new capabilities in Engage that will help organizations with their M365 Copilot rollout and adoption journey by bringing together employees in a community of practice. This community will provide a place for employees to ask questions, seek support from both their peers and IT admins, share best practices, and learn more from articles and quick tips on how best to use Copilot. This templatized Copilot adoption community will take away much of the work from the community manager with a set-up checklist, suggested content, suggested members (based on Copilot license assignment), and other features like conversation starters and top Q&As to help with community member engagement.
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Copilot deployment kits in Viva Amplify
Viva Amplify
Prepare for and launch Copilot in your organization using our new deployment kit in Viva Amplify. This is a set of pre-written and formatted publications that will educate users on how to use Copilot, all of the M365 endpoints, and develop their AI skills. This is a tested set of communications that the Microsoft team used internally to ensure the right messages are reaching your end users and preparing them for Copilot.
Viva Engage Admins/Global admins do not require license to manage Viva Engage
Viva Engage
Provide Engage admins and Global admins the ability to manage Viva Engage without a licensed account.
APR
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Viva Learning: Recommend courses to user groups
Viva Learning
Microsoft Viva Learning will soon allow recommending courses to user groups. This feature is expected to roll out in April 2024 and will be available to users with Viva Learning licenses. No admin action is required before the rollout.
Viva Goals: Custom check-In templates for new teams
Viva Goals
Microsoft Viva Goals will soon introduce custom check-in templates for new teams, with automatic application for goal owners. The feature will be available worldwide by late April 2024, and it will be enabled by default for new teams, but not for existing ones.
APR
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Viva Engage: Delegates and admins can close conversations in Storylines and Communities
Viva Engage
Microsoft Viva Engage will soon allow delegates and admins to close conversations in Storylines and Communities. This update, linked to Roadmap ID 382930, will roll out in early April 2024. The new feature supports psychological safety goals and includes the ability to reopen conversations. No preparation is needed for this rollout.
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Viva Goals: Add images to check-In notes and review dashboards
Viva Goals
Viva Goals will allow users to attach images to check-in notes and dashboard updates. This feature will be generally available in early May 2024, with no other functionality changes for users with existing permissions. Documentation will be updated before the rollout. No admin action is required.
Manage spotlight settings in Viva Connections
Viva Connections
Elevate your Connections experience with more control over what appears in the spotlight section. Operators will have the ability to pin items, including hyperlinks from any source, onto the spotlight section and select SharePoint sites as additional content sources to dynamically populate the spotlight section.
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Viva Connections: Manage your organization’s brand in the new brand center preview
Viva Connections
Microsoft is introducing a new SharePoint brand center to manage brand assets across sites and pages, with a preview rollout starting in mid-April 2024 and completion expected by June 2024. The brand center requires activation by a global administrator and the use of Public CDN.
Introducing custom fonts for SharePoint and Viva Connections Desktop preview
Viva Connections
Microsoft Viva introduces custom fonts for SharePoint and Viva Connections Desktop, available in preview from mid-April to June 2024. The SharePoint brand center allows brand managers to upload and manage custom fonts, which can be applied across various elements within SharePoint and Viva Connections Desktop. Eight Microsoft-provided font packages are also available. Custom fonts are supported in multi-geo environments with specific configurations.
APR
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Managing Microsoft Viva Engage no longer requires the assignment of a Microsoft 365 license seat
Viva Engage
Global and Engage admins can manage Microsoft Viva Engage without a dedicated service plan after a change in May 2024. Other admin roles still require a “Viva Engage Core” plan. Admins should adjust licenses accordingly and update documentation. Rollout is automatic.
APR
24
Viva Engage: New adoption community for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365
Viva Engage
Microsoft Viva Engage will soon introduce a new community to support the adoption of Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365, offering features like one-click community creation and a setup checklist. Rollout begins late May 2024, with completion expected by early June 2024. No action is required from admins before the rollout.
Viva Learning: Add links to content in featured set
Viva Learning
Global administrators/knowledge administrators can now add links to content sets in Viva Learning. These links can direct users to content stored internally with services like SharePoint and Stream or found online through YouTube, Vimeo, and other sources. The capability to add links to content allows admins to add content found online to featured sets, in addition to formal learning courses from connected providers.
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Viva Connections now available on web
Viva Connections
Viva Connections is now available directly on the browser. All the same functionalities that exist in Teams now also surface directly in the browser, providing a consistent experience with other Viva Modules.
APR
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New content updates in Viva Learning and Copilot Academy
Viva Learning
Viva Learning is adding new content and Copilot Academy will be available in seven new languages. Admins can enable/disable these features in the Manage Academies and Manage providers sections. Rollout starts mid-May 2024, with completion by late May 2024. Users can access new resources and language options in Copilot Academy and discover new courses in Viva Learning.
Viva Pulse: Integration into Viva Connections Dashboard
Viva Pulse
Viva Connections will support Viva Pulse cards where admins can add Pulse cards to the Connections Dashboard. Users of the Connections Dashboard will get notified about Pulse surveys they send and receive, as well as Pulse reports shared with them. Users can also create a Pulse survey from the Connections Dashboard.
Multi-tenant Events and AMA in Viva Engage
Viva Engage
Enable hosting of Cross-tenant AMAs and Events with Viva Engage
APR
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Multi-tenant communities and campaigns in Viva Engage
Viva Engage
Microsoft Viva Engage is bringing support to enable multi-tenant organizations to have a seamless experience with Campaigns and Communities.
APR
30
Improved copy + paste link experience in Viva Engage web/browser
Viva Insights
Microsoft Viva’s Copilot Dashboard now shows tenant-level metrics without a minimum group size requirement and user-level metrics with a reduced minimum group size threshold, which can be configured by the Viva Insights administrator. These changes are available now and affect data visualization and privacy settings.
Product transitions to the cloud.microsoft domain – April 2024
Microsoft Viva
Microsoft products Viva Engage, Viva Goals, and Viva Pulse are now available on the cloud.microsoft domain, with a full transition expected by April 2024. Users will be redirected automatically, and no action is required if Microsoft network guidance is followed. Organizations should update materials and ensure network access to cloud.microsoft.
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