M365 Roundup, May 2021: Lighthouse Slips Into Business Premium
TL;DR
- In early June 2021, Microsoft adds the Microsoft 365 Lighthouse service plan 2 to the Business Premium SKU, the licensing groundwork for its multi-tenant MSP portal at lighthouse.microsoft.com.
- External group chat in Teams reached general availability in May 2021, supporting up to 250 participants across multiple organizations with Azure AD identity required.
- Exchange Online reply-all storm protection became customizable in May 2021, and the default trigger dropped from 5,000 recipients to 2,500 while default block duration rose from 4 to 6 hours.
- Open federation is the Teams default, so MSPs that want to limit external group chat must manage allowed and blocked domain lists in the Teams Admin Center.
- A new Dropbox migration service entered public preview in late May 2021, mapping Dropbox for Business users to OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams automatically.
The most consequential line in May 2021's announcements is the quietest one: a new Lighthouse service plan appearing inside the Business Premium SKU, the plumbing for Microsoft's multi-tenant MSP portal. Around it, Teams pushed external group chat to GA, Exchange finally let admins tune reply-all storm protection, and SharePoint shipped two features aimed at intranet launches and Dropbox refugees. The full MSP-relevant list from May, by product.
Admin: the Lighthouse groundwork
Microsoft 365 Lighthouse service plan 2 added to Business Premium
This new service plan is part of the upcoming rollout of Microsoft 365 Lighthouse (opens in new tab), a new service for Microsoft CSP partners supporting Microsoft 365 customers. Adding the plan does not impact administrators, the user experience, or any Microsoft 365 services or apps. Lighthouse brings multi-tenant management capabilities for device compliance, threat management, and user access management.
Rollout: starting early June 2021.
To prepare: go to lighthouse.microsoft.com and log in with your Partner Center credentials to start exploring the portal in early June.
Teams: external chat grows up
Group chat with external users reaches GA (new feature)
Users can initiate and participate in group Teams chats with people outside the organization, Azure AD identity required. This expands the existing 1:1 external chat, call, and meeting setup capability: external group chat supports up to 250 participants across multiple organizations in a single chat, rolling out on desktop, web, and mobile.
- External group chat is part of Microsoft Teams Connect. Azure AD is required, and the organizations must use the open federation policy or be on each other's allow lists.
Rollout: mid-May 2021, completing late July.
To prepare: open federation is the Teams default. To limit which organizations your users can contact or be contacted by, and which groups and users can participate, manage the allowed and blocked domains and users lists in the Teams Admin Center.
Annotations arrive in PowerPoint Live (new feature)
The active "in control" presenter gets annotation tools for drawing attention to sections of the slide show and engaging the audience.
- Only the active in-control presenter can see and make annotations via the annotation toolbar.
- Annotations last only for the duration of the meeting.
- Attendees joining late still see annotations made earlier.
- Nothing is saved to the PowerPoint file.
- Annotations are not visible on mobile platforms.
Rollout: late May 2021, completing early June.
Lower all raised hands (new feature)
Meeting organizers and presenters can lower all raised hands at once during a Teams meeting. Only organizers and presenters can manage raised hands.
Rollout: early June 2021, completing mid-June.
App security and compliance details inside Teams Admin Center (admin impact)
The Teams Admin Center is adding an App Security & Compliance feature for all Microsoft 365 Certified apps, letting admins view security, compliance, and other details about third-party apps directly in TAC. Previously that meant hunting through the Microsoft Cloud App Security portal, the Microsoft 365 App Compliance Program docs, or independent websites to evaluate an app's profile.
Rollout: mid-June 2021, completing end of June.
Profile menu moves house (impacts end users)
The Me Menu refocuses on account management, letting users switch accounts or tenants from its first level. These links move out of the Me Menu into a new menu in the title bar:
- Zoom controls
- Keyboard shortcuts
- About
- Check for updates
Rollout: late May 2021, completing early June.
Exchange: storm protection you can finally tune
Reply-all storm protection gets customizable (admin impact)
Tenant admins can now customize nearly all of the Reply-all Storm Protection settings within these parameters:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Enabled/disabled | Enabled or Disabled |
| Minimum number of recipients | 1000 to 5000 |
| Minimum number of reply-alls | 5 to 20 |
| Detection time (sliding window) | 60 minutes (not customizable) |
| Block duration | 1 to 12 hours |
Most defaults stay the same, but two changed:
| Setting | Previous default | New default |
|---|---|---|
| Enabled/disabled | Enabled | Enabled |
| Minimum number of recipients | 5000 | 2500 |
| Minimum number of reply-alls | 10 | 10 |
| Detection time (sliding window) | 60 minutes | 60 minutes (not customizable) |
| Block duration | 4 hours | 6 hours |
Rollout: early May 2021, completing by early June.
Floor plans for workspace booking on mobile (new feature)
Adding floor plans to reserved workspaces lets users see exactly where a bookable workspace sits. To add them: Microsoft 365 admin center > All Admin Centers > Search and Intelligence > Answers, then select Floor plans. More information here (opens in new tab).
Rollout: early May 2021, completing mid-May.
SharePoint: staged launches and a Dropbox exit ramp
Portal launch scheduler (new feature)
For portals expecting heavy traffic, company-wide sites, HR portals, the Portal launch scheduler lets site owners batch users into waves. During each wave you can gather feedback, monitor portal performance, and pause the launch to fix issues before the next wave, with an automatic redirect for existing sites when needed.
Rollout: late May 2021, completing mid-June.
To prepare: the launch scheduler documentation is here (opens in new tab).
Migrate content from Dropbox (new feature)
A new migration service moves Dropbox folders, files, and users to OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. Connect a Dropbox for Business account and the service discovers users and their files, automatically mapping to individual OneDrive accounts, with manual mapping available to a specific OneDrive account, SharePoint site, or Teams channel.
Rollout: public preview in late May 2021, completing by early June.
Frequently asked questions
What do users need for external group chat in Teams?
An Azure AD identity, and the organizations involved must either use the open federation policy or appear on each other's allow lists. It works on Teams desktop, web, and mobile.
Which reply-all storm protection settings can admins now tune?
Enabled or disabled, minimum recipients from 1,000 to 5,000, minimum reply-alls from 5 to 20, and block duration from 1 to 12 hours. The 60-minute detection window is not customizable.
Do PowerPoint Live annotations persist after the meeting?
No. Annotations last only for the duration of the Teams meeting and are never saved to the PowerPoint file. Late joiners can see earlier annotations, but mobile users cannot see them at all.
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Written by
Nick Ross
CEO · Microsoft MVP · Founder, T-Minus 365
Nick is not just a CEO, he's a respected thought leader and influencer in the MSP space. Tens of thousands of MSPs learn through his YouTube channel, T-Minus365. Nick has been honored as a three-time Microsoft MVP for his educational content; his expertise and influence are the backbone of our mission, ensuring that you are in the best hands when it comes to security.
Nick joined Pax8 in 2017, where he would ultimately oversee product management for PSA and Microsoft integrations. Following his tenure at Pax8, Nick has continued to demonstrate his leadership prowess as an executive at various MSPs, culminating in his most recent role at Sourcepass.
Nick holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Management from Florida State University, as well as a Minor Degree in Entrepreneurship. In his free time, Nick is an avid hiker, reader, and fitness-junkie.
