Hello again from the Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 Team

The Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 continues to evolve—and so does our community.

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Next Session: Security Competency

This month, we’re diving into the long‑awaited Security Competency, led by Mats, Clement, and the team. If your organization has been wondering what security maturity looks like in the Copilot era, this is the session you don’t want to miss.

🎥 Turn your camera on—we’re doing another Together Mode snapshot!
📎 Don’t miss the session—link to join is below.

📅Register now and join the discussion!​
🔗https://aka.ms/mm4m365/invite​

Recap of last session: AMA – February 17, 2026

Key Takeaways from the Session

February’s session was a full Ask Me Anything, giving the community space to surface real‑world challenges and compare experiences. Here are the major themes from the conversation — distilled into what matters most.

⭐ Major Theme: AI & Governance Readiness in Real Organizations

The dominant topic in the AMA was how organizations can practically prepare for AI and Copilot — especially when governance, data quality, and processes aren’t fully mature yet.

Key insights from the discussion:

1. Copilot readiness = organizational maturity, not individual skill

The group agreed: the important question isn’t who is a “Level 1” or “Level 5” user — it’s whether the business has the maturity to safely and effectively adopt AI. This includes:

• Security posture
• Information architecture
• ROT cleanup
• Content governance
• Manager engagement (especially for departments adopting agents)

Organizational change must come before individual optimization.

2. Bad data = bad AI output (and sometimes real business risk)

A strong example was shared about a Swedish company whose AI generated proposals based on the wrong country’s pricing structure, costing real revenue.
The message was clear:
AI amplifies whatever you feed it — including your mess.
Clean data and consistent processes matter more than ever.

3. Governance for Power Platform & Agents is still a real challenge

Participants raised concerns about:

• Lack of visibility into personal Power BI workspaces
• Automations that accidentally move sensitive data
• Limited insight into agent behavior without proper design
• Tension between sensitivity labels and usability

The core takeaway:
You can’t govern what you can’t see — and you’ll only see what people are willing to share.
Internal user groups, culture, and conversations remain essential. Technical controls alone won’t solve this.

4. AI can support you — but only if you know enough to validate the answers

A recurring theme:
People struggle not with answers, but with knowing what to ask.

The advice:

• Ask AI what questions you should ask
• Use recursive prompting
• But always validate results with your own judgment
• Never offload critical thinking to an LLM

AI can expand your capability — but not replace your accountability.

5. Culture drives maturity more than tooling

Governance only works when:

• Managers understand their role as system owners
• HR participates in competency groups
• IT guides but doesn’t dictate
• People feel safe asking questions
• Policies begin with monitoring, not blocking

Ultimately:
Culture is the true maturity model. Technology just reveals it

Missed it? Don’t worry—we’ve got the recording and slides ready for you below.

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MM4M365 Articles & Resources

Looking for practical guidance? Explore MM4M365 content, including:
✅ Competency models​
✅ Real-world scenarios & templates​
✅ Practitioner Call invites​
✅ Community insights & best practices

🔗 Find it all on Microsoft Learn: https://aka.ms/m365-community-docs​

Upcoming Sessions

We meet every third Thursday of the month (except for summer and winter holidays). Add the full schedule to your calendar:
🔗 https://aka.ms/mm4m365/invite​

🗓️ March 17, 2026 – Security Competency with ⭐ Mats Warnolf & Clement Betacorne ⭐

🗓️ April 21, 2026 – Revisit Staff and Training Competency with ⭐Emily Mancini⭐

🗓️ May 19, 2026 – Modern Compliance in Microsoft 365: A Maturity Model Perspective with ⭐Joanne Klein⭐

🗓️ June 16, 2026 – Revisit the People and Communities Competency with ⭐Tracy van der Schyff⭐

🗓️ July – Summer Break

🗓️ August – Summer Break

🗓️ September 15, 2026 – Revisit the Governance, Risk and Compliance Competency with ⭐ Nikki Chapple⭐

🗓️ October 20, 2026 – Revisit the Loop and the Maturity Model with ⭐ Nikki Darrell Webster⭐

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🌐 Stay Connected

• Watch Recorded Sessions: https://symp.info/MM4M365Videos​
• Get the Slides: https://symp.info/MM4M365Slides​
• Join the Discussion LinkedIn: Maturity Model for Microsoft 365 Community​
• Follow us on X (Twitter): @M365Maturity) / X​
• Email Us: info@mm4m365.org​
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We hope to see you at our next session! 🚀

– The MM4M365 Team

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