Rob Quickenden

Cisco Partner Summit 2025: The Infrastructure Behind the Digital and AI Era Last night I tuned into aspects of the Global Cisco Partner Summit on demand, (the live event taking part in San Diago this week). Day one messaging to partners was firmly on monetising AI and driving the next wave of digital transformation with Cisco. Cisco were not just talking about AI as a buzzword - they were clearly (re)positioning themselves as the backbone of this revolution with…

I Tuned into Day 1 of Cisco Partner Summit 2025 yesterday "online"., where they spotlighted Secure AI infrastructure as the backbone of transformation. From Unified Edge to zero-trust security and full-stack observability. My review is below :-)

Copilot Researcher Agent gets “Computer Use” Yes, the Copilot Researcher Agent, once focused purely on gathering and summarising information, can now take action on your device through a capability called Computer Use.  This provides secure interaction with both public and gated web content through a virtual computer which allows human and Copilot control. It requires a Microsoft 365 Copilot license, supports advanced content creation. It can be disabled by IT admins, but comes enabled by default.

Copilot Researcher Agent gets “Computer Use”

Yes, the Copilot Researcher Agent, once focused purely on gathering and summarising information, can now take action on your device through a capability called Computer Use.  This provides secure interaction with both public and gated web content…

Windows 11 bringing new “Ask Copilot” to the taskbar Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels can start testing a new Copilot search experience which is available through the Windows Search bar. To get started go to Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Ask Copilot to enable the experience. You can also manage whether the Copilot app launches automatically at sign-in using the “Auto start on log in” toggle in the Copilot app settings.

Windows 11 bringing new “Ask Copilot” to the taskbar

Windows Insiders in the Dev and Beta channels can start testing a new Copilot search experience which is available through the Windows Search bar. To get started go to Settings > Personalisation > Taskbar > Ask Copilot to enable the experience.…

No Agenda? No Excuse. Copilot can now help with agenda creation. Let’s talk about one of my biggest pet peeves: the agenda-less meeting invite. You know the type. A calendar ping lands in your inbox with a vague title like “Catch-up” or “Project Sync,” zero context, and no prep materials. You’re left guessing: Is this strategic? Tactical? A therapy session? Should I bring data, decisions, or just make a coffee, sit back and relax!?

No Agenda? No Excuse. Copilot can now help with agenda creation.

Let’s talk about one of my biggest pet peeves: the agenda-less meeting invite. You know the type. A calendar ping lands in your inbox with a vague title like “Catch-up” or “Project Sync,” zero context, and no prep materials. You’re…

Microsoft “App Builder” & “Workflow” Agents Microsoft is expanding its Copilot Frontier Programme with two powerful new agents. These are the App Builder and Workflows Agents. These put "app creation" and automation directly into the hands of everyday users, with zero coding needed just an idea and an ask. These new agents are designed to further democratise innovation across every person in every organisations, making it possible to build "apps" and streamline processes using nothing more than natural language.

Microsoft “App Builder” & “Workflow” Agents

Microsoft is expanding its Copilot Frontier Programme with two powerful new agents. These are the App Builder and Workflows Agents. These put "app creation" and automation directly into the hands of everyday users, with zero coding needed just an idea…

Teams gets Copilot “Group Chat”

Microsoft Teams continues to evolve at a rapid pace. This month Copilot is coming to Teams Group Chat as a participant in Teams Chat and Channels. This is an example of how quickly new features are landing, and why organisations need to stay on top of change…

I have a very bad feeling about this...

Happy #BackToTheFutureDay. 40 years since Oct 26 1985

Cyber Resilience – the new Trust Currency

TL;DR - UK Cyber Threats Surge The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published its annual threat review, and the numbers are staggering but not surprising as we have seen a platora of high profile attacks this year, impacting manufacturing,…

Microsoft introduces Mico – Copilot’s new face and voice In a live YouTube stream today, Microsoft unveiled a wave of new consumer features for Copilot - headlined by the official debut of Mico, a new visual character designed for Copilot’s voice (and face) mode.  Mico has been in testing for a while, but from today it’s rolling out by default in voice interactions. If you prefer the simpler “bouncing orb” interface, you’ll still have the option to switch it off. 

Microsoft introduces Mico – Copilot’s new face and voice

In a live YouTube stream today, Microsoft unveiled a wave of new consumer features for Copilot - headlined by the official debut of Mico, a new visual character designed for Copilot’s voice (and face) mode.  Mico has been in testing for a…

Cisco and Microsoft top 2025 UC Gartner Magic Quadrant TL:DR As a Cisco and Microsoft leading partner, it's great to see that, yet again, both Microsoft and Cisco remain Leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for collaboration platforms with Microsoft taking the overlap top spot and with Zoom and Ring Central still hot on their heels! The decision between them is no longer about feature lists alone; it’s about which vendor best maps to the customer’s identity, networking, device, compliance, and investment across the rest of the technology stack.

Cisco and Microsoft top 2025 UC Gartner Magic Quadrant

TL:DR As a Cisco and Microsoft leading partner, it's great to see that, yet again, both Microsoft and Cisco remain Leaders in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for collaboration platforms with Microsoft taking the overlap top spot and with Zoom and…

MAKING EVERY WINDOWS PC AN AI PC On October 14th 2025, Windows 10 officially reached end of support. If you still have a PC/Laptop running Windows 10, it will not suddenly stop working - but unless you have enabled (consumer) or purchased (commercial) extended security updates, there will be no more security updates, no more feature improvements, and no AI innovation. If your device can support Windows 11…

MAKING EVERY WINDOWS PC AN AI PC

On October 14th 2025, Windows 10 officially reached end of support. If you still have a PC/Laptop running Windows 10, it will not suddenly stop working - but unless you have enabled (consumer) or purchased (commercial) extended security updates, there will be no…

I'm so sorry for your loss @jenmsft.bsky.social . These pets are family and their loss is so hard. Thinking of you x

YouTube video by Rob Quickenden How to Use Copilot Vision to learn how to use an app.

Added a couple of videos showcasing Copilot Vision and Actions today - let me know if these are useful. youtu.be/OatHYSzCHB8

The consumer version of @copilot #Copilot can now read your OneDrive, Outlook and even Gmail and Google Calendar content if you allow it..

IDC – Cisco lead in Enterprise Wireless LAN technology. Cisco has again been recognised as a Leader in the IDC MarketScape for Enterprise Wireless LAN - with Cisco "helping organisations rise to this moment by delivering smarter, more secure networks in this era of AI". For any of us who work closely with Cisco technologies or who are involved in infrastrcuture deployments, I'm sure you'll agree that this recognition isn’t surprising.

Being a Cisco partner isn’t just about reselling their tech - it’s about co-creating outcomes with our customers using technologies best positioned to power their digital and AI transformation.
Cisco’s recognition reinforces the confidence we have when recommending wireless solutions.

Windows 10 End of Support – What it means for Office Apps As of yesterday, 14 October 2025, Windows 10 has officially reached its end of support. Of course, Windows 10 will not just stop working, but after yesterdays monthly security updates, there will be no more unless.... Commercial Organisations pay for Extended Security Updates (ESU) or Home/Consumers, agree to "cloud back-up" which will give them 12 more months or Security updates until October 2026.

Windows 10 End of Support – What it means for Office Apps

As of yesterday, 14 October 2025, Windows 10 has officially reached its end of support. Of course, Windows 10 will not just stop working, but after yesterdays monthly security updates, there will be no more unless.... Commercial…

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Microsoft Copilot: Looking at how far we have come Spotify video

My latest podcast with @Microsoft Manesh Minstry is out about Copilot recent developments and the fast pace of evolution and enhancements.

Would love your feedback and subs if you find it interesting

open.spotify.com/episode/1K1E...

What is ‘Bring Your Own Copilot’ to Work (BYO-Copilot) ?

AI tools being used in the workplace is no longer a question of if but how and what. The question is what if you could allow this in a safe and controlled way without compromising security and compliance and without leaking copirate data.?…

It’s Agent Mode the new way to do human-agent collaboration?

Microsoft Copilot development just doesn't sleep... This time they have just announced "agent mode" which they claim could be game changer in the way we (humans) work with AI agents (Copilot). Called "Agent Mode" this latest update marks…

Introducing Microsoft Agent Framework: The Open-Source Engine for Agentic AI Apps | Azure AI Foundry Blog Why agents need a new foundation Over the last year, developers have been experimenting with AI agents in every imaginable form. Agents are not just chatbots or copilots — they are autonomous software components that can reason about goals, call tools and APIs, collaborate with other agents, and adapt dynamically. Whether it’s a retrieval agent […]

Microsoft Agent Framework has just been announced! It's like Semantic Kernel, but even better, with added AutoGen. It provides a unified standards-compliant open-source SDK and runtime for building #AI solutions.

Cisco Webex One 2025 – Chatbots to Agents Warching this year from the sofa, #Cisco #WebexOne showcased just how far their open ecosystem, agentic AI and plarform integrarion has come. This is my short reflection from the Webex One 2025 keynote.

Cisco Webex One 2025 – Chatbots to Agents

Warching this year from the sofa, #Cisco #WebexOne showcased just how far their open ecosystem, agentic AI and plarform integrarion has come. This is my short reflection from the Webex One 2025 keynote.

What is the SharePoint Knowledge and what does it do?

The responses and workflows you get back from AI is only as good as the content it can reason over or leverage. If your content (data) is not in good shape and healthy (relevant, up-to-date etc) then it "isn’t ready" meaning your experience of…

Beyond OpenAI: Microsoft Copilot flirts with Claude. Microsoft has started to broaden their AI horizons by adding their first (not Open AI) model into Copilot. Microsoft are integrating Anthropic’s Claude models into Microsoft 365 Copilot which marks a significant pivot from their exclusive OpenAI-centric approach. Microsoft are also working on their models which we already see on Copilot Plus PCs which will at some point make their way to Copilot.

Beyond OpenAI: Microsoft Copilot flirts with Claude.

Microsoft has started to broaden their AI horizons by adding their first (not Open AI) model into Copilot. Microsoft are integrating Anthropic’s Claude models into Microsoft 365 Copilot which marks a significant pivot from their exclusive…

Is Cisco’s “Sovereign Critical Infrastructure” a “New Era for European Digital Autonomy” Cisco yesterday announced what they referred to as a "significant milestone" in Europe’s journey toward digital sovereignty. Their Sovereign Critical Infrastructure portfolio is a comprehensive, air-gapped solution designed to give European organisations full control over their digital environments - from infrastructure, through collaboration, through to data. This will be available from the end of this month (September 2025…

Is Cisco’s “Sovereign Critical Infrastructure” a “New Era for European Digital Autonomy”

Cisco yesterday announced what they referred to as a "significant milestone" in Europe’s journey toward digital sovereignty. Their Sovereign Critical Infrastructure portfolio is a comprehensive, air-gapped…

Microsoft Power Platform Licensing Guide

Microsoft have made their monthly-updated Power Platform Licensing Deck publicly available. Now, you might think this is not worthy of a blog post, but for many organisations, this information has always been hidden away meaning organisations had to talk to…

Teams in Microsoft 365 is back for good (but it’s your choice) It's back!  Starting November 1, 2025, Microsoft Teams is officially "back" in the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise suites globally, but the choice to have it not sit with organisations and not Microsoft! After years of regulatory issues, stalls, conceats and negotiations as well as regional licensing inconsistencies, Microsoft has reached a landmark agreement with the European Commission…

Teams in Microsoft 365 is back for good (but it’s your choice)

It's back!  Starting November 1, 2025, Microsoft Teams is officially "back" in the Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Enterprise suites globally, but the choice to have it not sit with organisations and not Microsoft! After years of…

Microsoft Copilot Consumer brings Memory Management and Google Drive Integration

Microsoft Copilot is adding with two new major updates (this time for the consumer experience) that bring it closer to the more personalised AI experience users have been asking and waiting for. Copilot Memory…

Copilot Chat comes to Enterprise Office Apps for all Microsoft is in the process of Copilotizing Business / Enterprise versions of your Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote) even for users that don't have a Microsoft 365 Copilot License. Microsoft say that "These updates help make Copilot your true personal AI assistant for work: Whether you’re drafting a document, analyzing a spreadsheet, or catching up on email, Copilot is right there, ready to answer questions, create content, spark ideas, and automate tasks.

Copilot Chat comes to Enterprise Office Apps for all

Microsoft is in the process of Copilotizing Business / Enterprise versions of your Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote) even for users that don't have a Microsoft 365 Copilot License. Microsoft say that "These updates help…