365 Explained

Ben & Zach

365 Explained is a podcast where two nerdy friends, Zach and Ben, pick apart the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, one topic at a time. Each episode, we take a practical look at a specific tool, feature, or concept from the M365 world. We explore what it is, how it works, and where it fits in the broader picture. Expect real-world context, occasional rants, and the odd tangent. Whether you're an IT pro, a power user, or just trying to keep up with the pace of change, we’re here to help you make sense of it all. No hype. No fluff. Just two people trying to explain the thing behind the thing based on their years in the Microsoft technology front-lines.

Episodes

  1. 15h ago

    012 – Teams Phone: the phone system you might already own

    What actually is Teams Phone? After episodes on voice apps, the Queues app and full contact centres, Ben and Zach finally go back to the beginning. In episode twelve of 365 Explained, Zach takes the lead and covers Teams Phone from the ground up: ◆ What a PBX is, and why Teams Phone is one living in the cloud ◆ The four ways to get phone lines into Teams — Calling Plans, Direct Routing, Operator Connect and Teams Phone Mobile — and how to pick between them ◆ Emergency calling and the regulatory side, plus where to check country coverage ◆ Licensing: Teams Phone Standard, the bit you might already own in E5, and Shared Calling ◆ The PBX table stakes — hold, transfers, forwarding, multi-line, presence-based routing and cloud voicemail ◆ SIP Gateway for keeping older handsets (and the phone on the warehouse wall) working ◆ What happens when the internet goes down: SBAs, redundant ISPs and satellite backups ◆ Copilot in Teams Phone — Teams Phone agent, Copilot call delegation, mid-call Copilot and AI transfer summaries Whether you've inherited a Teams Phone estate or you're staring at a PBX contract renewal wondering if there's a better way, this is the grounding episode. We say 101, but naturally it gets complicated fairly quickly. What's carrying your calls today: Calling Plans, Operator Connect, Direct Routing, or a PBX that refuses to die? Let us know. #TeamsPhone #MicrosoftTeams #Microsoft365 #Copilot #365Explained

  2. Jun 25

    011 – Power Automate for IT pros: it's not just for citizen developers

    What is Power Automate, really, and why should an IT Pro care when it’s usually pitched at citizen developers? In episode eleven of 365 Explained, Ben and Zach look at Power Automate from the admin’s side of the fence. We cover: How triggers, actions and connectors fit togetherCloud flows, desktop flows and generative flowsWhen a personal flow should probably become an Azure Logic AppPower Platform environments and why they matterStandard and premium connectorsThe Workflows app in Teams and its slightly confusing AI workflowsHow Power Automate supports parts of Copilot Studio and agent flowsWhether you’re new to Power Automate or you’ve been using flows without looking too closely at what sits underneath them, this is our attempt at a 101. We say 101, but naturally it gets complicated fairly quickly. What are you automating with Power Automate, and where do you draw the line between a personal flow and a proper business process? Let us know. #PowerAutomate #PowerPlatform #Microsoft365 #CopilotStudio #365Explained

  3. May 28

    010 – Teams call queues vs a full contact centre: where's the line?

    Recorded live at CommsvNext in Denver, Colorado. Ben and Zach are joined by Oli Lifely from Luware to talk about what happens when native Teams call queues aren't enough and you need a full contact center. In this episode, we cover: The three Microsoft certification models for contact center integration: Connect, Extend, and the newly renamed UnifyHow each model handles the call differently — from SIP trunk hairpinning to Graph API signallingWhat a contact center adds beyond Queues App: skills-based routing, cradle-to-grave reporting, omni-channel, and outboundWhere AI fits beyond chatbots — proactive SLA monitoring, natural language workflow configuration, and automated remediationThe biggest mistakes organisations make when migrating off legacy PBXs to TeamsWhether you're hitting the limits of Queues App or planning a move off Avaya, Mitel, or Cisco, this one's for you.

  4. Mar 26

    009 – How Microsoft 365 updates reach your tenant, and how much control you've got

    How does Microsoft actually roll out updates across M365 — and how much control do you really have? Ben and Zach break down the update lifecycle across the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem in episode seven of 365 Explained. In this episode, we explore: The "rings" model — from dev teams to dogfooding to your tenantTargeted release vs standard release — and where to find the settingsOffice app update channels — current, monthly enterprise, and semi-annual (spoiler: Microsoft no longer recommends semi-annual for most users)How Teams updates differently to the rest of OfficeThe OneDrive sync client and its own update ringsWhere Windows fits into the pictureMessage Centre vs the M365 Roadmap — and why you need to watch bothHow Copilot Frontier adds yet another layer to all of thisWhether you're an admin trying to get ahead of changes, or you're just tired of users asking "why don't I have that feature yet?", this one's for you. Or listen on all good & bad podcasting platforms alike

  5. Mar 11

    008 – Microsoft 365 E7: what's in the new Frontier Suite (and the $99 question)

    Microsoft has announced Microsoft 365 E7, "The Frontier Suite", the first new enterprise tier above E5 since 2015. It goes GA on May 1st at $99/user/month, wrapping E5, Copilot, Agent 365 and the full Entra Suite into one SKU. In this episode, Ben and Zach break down what's inside E7, how the enterprise licensing ladder has evolved from E1 through to E7, and whether the pricing math adds up vs buying à la carte. They also get into what's still missing from the bundle (Teams Premium, calling plans, attendee packs) and whether E7 actually solves the add-on sprawl problem. There are also questions Microsoft hasn't answered yet: is Agent 365 a tenant-level unlock or a per-user licence? Who do you actually need to licence? And what does this mean for organisations still on E3 or E5? Topics covered: History of Microsoft enterprise SKUs (E1, E3, E4, E5, E7)What E7 adds: Copilot, Agent 365, Entra Suite, advanced securityPricing breakdown: $99 bundled vs $117 à la carteWhat's NOT included: Teams Premium, calling plans, attendee packsThe Agent 365 licensing questionWho should consider E7 vs staying on E5Links: Microsoft announcement: https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intelligence-trust/Microsoft 365 blog: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/09/powering-frontier-transformation-with-copilot-and-agents/

  6. Feb 26

    007 – Copilot Frontier: what it is, and why it keeps appearing in your admin centre

    Copilot Frontier keeps showing up across M365 admin centres, but it's not well explained and the documentation doesn't make it much easier. In this episode, Ben and Zach dig into what Frontier actually is, why it exists as a separate thing from targeted release, and what's in it right now. From Researcher and Analyst agents through to the Opal computer use agent. We talk through the admin controls (and the inconsistencies across them), licensing questions nobody has answers to yet, MCP servers appearing under the Frontier banner, and whether you should turn it on for your users. We'd love to hear what you're doing with Frontier in your environments. Get in touch on LinkedIn or leave a comment on YouTube.

  7. Jan 29

    006 – Teams Queues App: do you still need a contact centre?

    Ever wondered if the Teams Queues App could save you from a full contact centre deployment? Ben and Zach get into Microsoft's Contact Center Lite experience in episode six of 365 Explained. In this episode, we explore: What the Queues App actually is (and what it isn't) 🔹The Teams Premium licensing question—who needs it?Monitor, whisper, barge, and takeover functionality explainedReal-time analytics (spoiler: it actually updates in seconds)Shared call history, the feature that finally arrivedWhen Queues App is enough vs when you need a proper contact centreWhat's still missing (hello, Copilot button?)Whether you're already running Call Queues and curious about the upgrade, or evaluating whether to skip the third-party contact centre entirely, this one's got you covered. -------- Join us on LinkedIn, we'd love to hear what you thought & any requests for future topics!

  8. 08/18/2025

    005 – Infrastructure as Code for M365 admins, from scratch

    Don’t worry if you don’t know your IaC from your elbow, neither did Ben or Zach when they started recording! Thankfully, Elliott Woodruff, Principal Architect at Synextra, was onboard to help make sense of it all for us! In this episode, we explore: What Infrastructure as Code actually means in Azure and M365The differences between Bicep, ARM, and Terraform (and when to use each)Real-world use cases, risks, and a few horror storiesHow IaC can help standardise tenant setups and improve securityWhy AI and Copilot might soon be writing your deployment scripts Whether you're IaC-curious or already knee-deep in Terraform state files, this one’s packed with practical insights, honest takes, and a few cautionary tales. -------- Join us on LinkedIn, we'd love to hear what you thought & any requests for future topics!

  9. 07/18/2025

    004 – M365 Copilot: what $30 a month gets you

    In this episode, Ben and Zach explore what it’s really like to use M365 Copilot in practice. They break down how it compares to Copilot Chat, where it fits into daily workflows, and what you actually get for your $30 per month. They cover: The difference between M365 Copilot and Copilot ChatLicensing, data protection, and value for moneyHow Copilot works across Teams, Word, Excel, Outlook, and LoopTips for better prompts by being clear about your goal, context, and expectationsNew features like Memory and Custom InstructionsThe rise of Agents and how to build your own with Copilot StudioIntegrations with tools like Jira and ConfluenceA look at Notebooks and Pages for more persistent, project-based Copilot use It’s a grounded, honest take on what Copilot can and can’t do today, with a few wishlist items thrown in for good measure. Whether you're testing Copilot now or just trying to make sense of the hype, this episode gives you a practical lens on where it fits in the M365 ecosystem.

  10. 06/27/2025

    003 – Auto Attendants and Call Queues: how Teams voice routing fits together

    In this episode, Ben and Zach dive into the world of Microsoft Teams Voice Apps: the unsung heroes behind call routing, Auto Attendants, and Call Queues. Whether you're new to Teams Phone or knee-deep in deployment, this episode breaks down: What Voice Apps are and where they fit in the Teams Phone ecosystemHow Auto Attendants and Call Queues work (and when to use each)The role of Resource Accounts and how licensing works (spoiler: it’s not as scary as it sounds)Real-world examples like IT support lines, sales queues, and holiday routingTips for managing greetings, voice menus, and directory searchWhat’s possible with Teams Premium (and what’s not) Expect practical guidance, a few laughs, and plenty of “oh, that’s why!” moments. 🎧 Tune in to learn how to build smarter call flows and make Teams Phone work harder for your users.

  11. 06/13/2025

    002 – Copilot Notebooks: what they do, and why they're not just Loop

    Zach and Ben are back, and this time we’re diving into one of my favourite new Copilot features: Copilot Notebooks. If you’ve been wondering: • What are Copilot Notebooks, really? • How are they different from Loop or OneNote? • Can they actually help with real-world work? • Why can’t I share them yet? (Yes, we go there…) Then this episode is for you

  12. 03/31/2025

    001 – Microsoft Loop: what it's for (and where OneNote still wins)

    Welcome to first exciting episode of 365 Explained! In this episode, we dive deep into Microsoft Loop, the innovative new tool designed to enhance collaboration and productivity. Join us as we explore the features, benefits, and real-world applications of Microsoft Loop. Don't miss out on this comprehensive guide to one of the most promising tools in the Microsoft ecosystem. Tune in, subscribe, and let's get looping!

  • 12 Episodes

About

365 Explained is a podcast where two nerdy friends, Zach and Ben, pick apart the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, one topic at a time. Each episode, we take a practical look at a specific tool, feature, or concept from the M365 world. We explore what it is, how it works, and where it fits in the broader picture. Expect real-world context, occasional rants, and the odd tangent. Whether you're an IT pro, a power user, or just trying to keep up with the pace of change, we’re here to help you make sense of it all. No hype. No fluff. Just two people trying to explain the thing behind the thing based on their years in the Microsoft technology front-lines.

Information

  • Creator
    Ben & Zach
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    365 Explained