Polaris Pathways - a Synozur podcast

Back in the (Intra) Zone - Mark Kashman

Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is a production of Synozur [https://www.synozur.com] – the transformation company. Synozur reimagines business for our clients, navigating the complexities of transformation and strategy with ease. Former Intrazone co-hosts Chris McNulty and Mark Kashman reunite on Polaris to unpack the biggest news from the Microsoft 365 Community Conference—AI skills, Copilot's evolution, SharePoint's 25th anniversary—and reflect on the enduring power of community in the modern workplace. Takeaways * AI adoption vs. readiness gap. Chris cites industry research showing 91% of organizations now use at least one AI technology and an average of 5.4 hours saved per employee, drawn from a study of 443 million work hours across over 1,000 companies1. Yet at the recent AIIM Summit in Baltimore, Chris polled a room of roughly 50 professionals on daily AI use—and was the only hand up2. The ActivTrak "2026 State of the Workplace" report confirms that while 80% of employees now use AI tools (up from 53% two years ago), only 3% spend the optimal 7–10% of their work hours in AI, and 57% spend less than 1%3. Leaders should focus on practical readiness—not headline adoption numbers. * Content structure is critical for AI. Modern enterprise content management platforms now use AI for auto-classification, document summarization, and contextual Q&A4. But Mark stresses that the underlying metadata, lifecycle management, and information structure must be sound first: "If the form that nobody ever filled out gets filled out and is valid and truthful…you will have a system that works better"5. Organizations should prioritize content readiness before scaling AI. * SharePoint Skills — no-code AI instructions. Microsoft unveiled SharePoint Skills in public preview, allowing teams to encode best practices and process rules as Markdown (.md) files stored within SharePoint sites6. These skills give Copilot and AI in SharePoint persistent context—tone guidelines, product terminology, workflow steps—so results are on-brand and site-specific without any coding7. According to the buckleyPLANET conference recap, Skills are included in existing Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Copilot licensing with no additional procurement step8. * Copilot CoWork and Skills convergence. Chris explains that Copilot CoWork, based on Anthropic technology, lets individual users build personal AI skills stored as Markdown files in OneDrive9. Meanwhile, SharePoint Skills operate at the site/group level10. The expectation is that these two streams will converge, allowing a skill perfected by one person to be shared organization-wide11. * Agent 365 & governance at scale. Microsoft's Agent 365 gives organizations a single pane of glass to manage AI agents—whether built in Copilot Studio, SharePoint, Visual Studio Code, or Foundry—across the entire tenant12. Mark describes agents as "kind of being a little bit more like people…an entity that you can assign things to"13. The buckleyPLANET recap notes Agent 365 went GA on May 1 at $15 per user per month, and that Microsoft internally manages over 500,000 agents across roughly 228,000 employees14. * Purview's evolving AI oversight. Purview is consolidating classic DSPM and DSPM for AI into a unified engine that monitors how people interact with content and AI15. Chris gives a practical example: Purview can now block queries like "tell me the top 10 salaries" from reaching Copilot, even if the underlying content is unprotected16. For leaders, this signals that security, compliance, and AI governance are converging into a single policy surface. * Community as a leadership accelerator. As SharePoint marks its 25th anniversary, both hosts reflect on the enduring importance of the Microsoft 365 community. Mark notes the product "really is stronger and more connected than ever"17, while Chris sees the community as "an opportunity to meet and reconnect with people from all over the world"18. Getting your team engaged in industry communities—whether global conferences or local CollabDays—keeps them educated, connected, and ahead of the curve Sound Bites Mark Kashman "Has SharePoint died? Twenty-five years later, it's stronger and more connected than ever. "Technology at scale, especially in the enterprise, still takes a while. You've got to clean house and organize before AI can really deliver." "Does it always need another brand name to tell you what it is? A lot of people would argue no." "SharePoint Skills are a 'very particular set of skills' - the next level of how you make AI more usable for what you're trying to do." References Spotlight Mark Kashman — Sympraxis Consulting (Principal Microsoft 365 Consultant, ex-Microsoft). https://www.sympraxisconsulting.com/ [https://www.sympraxisconsulting.com/] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/markkashman/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/markkashman/] | https://kashbox.substack.com/ [https://kashbox.substack.com/] Microsoft 365 Community Conference (Apr 21–23, 2026, Orlando, FL) — The premier community-driven Microsoft 365 event, with keynotes from Jeff Teper and Ryan Cunningham and over 200 sessions on Copilot, SharePoint, Teams, security, and agentic AI. Approximately 3,000 attendees gathered at the Loews Sapphire Falls and Royal Pacific Resorts. https://m365conf.com/ [https://m365conf.com/] | https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/your-guide-to-the-microsoft-365-community-conference/4505384 [https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/blog/microsoft_365blog/your-guide-to-the-microsoft-365-community-conference/4505384] AIIM AI+IM Global Summit 2026 (Apr 28–30, 2026, Baltimore, MD) — Information management conference hosted by AIIM (the Association for Intelligent Information Management), focusing on AI readiness, content governance, and digital transformation. Chris attended as a cohort team lead and shared observations about the gap between AI hype and real-world adoption. https://www.aiim.org/aiim-global-summit-2026 [https://www.aiim.org/aiim-global-summit-2026] People Jeff Teper — President, Microsoft 365 Collaborative Apps & Platforms, who delivered the opening conference keynote on AI skills, Copilot, and the intelligent intranet. https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffteper/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffteper/] Zach Rosenfield — Microsoft engineer known for SharePoint and OneDrive back-end systems, now building a growing YouTube channel with demos of SharePoint AI features including Skills. Mark notes, "His demos are not only really good, but they're in numbers and growing." https://www.youtube.com/@zrosenfield [https://www.youtube.com/@zrosenfield] Vlad Catrinescu — "How to Build SharePoint Skills" (Vlad Talks Tech) — Microsoft MVP Vlad Catrinescu published a comprehensive 60-minute walkthrough on SharePoint Skills, covering skill file structure, best practices, Anthropic's guidance, and live demos. Both Chris and Mark recommend it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_86-7kkpzwWatch [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_86-7kkpzwWatch] on YouTube | https://vladtalkstech.com [https://vladtalkstech.com/] Paul Thurrott — Technology journalist known for Windows commentary. Mark references Thurrott's stance on Notepad: "He always says, I just want Notepad to be dumb." Mentioned in the context of Markdown support expanding in Notepad. https://www.thurrott.com/ [https://www.thurrott.com/] Joanne Klein — Microsoft governance and Purview expert. Mark credits Klein as a key source for Purview insights: "I only kind of get what I know about Purview from our friend Joanne Klein." Media The Intrazone Podcast — A Microsoft 365 intelligent intranet podcast (2017–2025) co-hosted by Mark Kashman and Chris McNulty during their Microsoft careers, featuring expert interviews and product news across over 220 episodes. All episodes remain available. https://intrazone.libsyn.com [https://intrazone.libsyn.com/] "More Than Code" — SharePoint 25th Anniversary Short Film — Released April 2026, this short film celebrates 25 years of SharePoint through community voices including Mark Kashman. Available at aka.ms/SPat25/MoreThanCode. https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/birthday/ [https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/birthday/] | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWEddU_x0zI [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWEddU_x0zI] News and Data Points ActivTrak "2026 State of the Workplace" Report — ActivTrak's 5th annual study analyzing behavioral data from 443 million work hours across 1,111 companies and 163,638 employees. Key findings: 80% AI tool adoption (up from 53% two years prior), 92% monthly usage retention, and a "sweet spot" of 7–10% AI time yielding the highest productivity (95%), though only 3% of employees fall in that range. https://www.activtrak.com/blog/2026-state-of-the-workplace/ [https://www.activtrak.com/blog/2026-state-of-the-workplace/] AI Workplace Adoption Statistics (91%, 75%) — Chris referenced a figure of 91% of organizations using at least one AI technology. Industry compilations such as Azumo's "AI in the Workplace Statistics 2026" cite this statistic, attributing it to broad survey data. The same compilation references the World Economic Forum projection that approximately 75% of companies globally will adopt AI by 2027. Technology Microsoft Viva Connections → SharePoint Rebrand — Microsoft announced that Viva Connections is being rebranded as the "SharePoint" app in Teams, fully leveraging SharePoint Home Sites. Viva Amplify is also returning under the SharePoint brand. https://buckleyplanet.com/2026/05/m365-community-conference-highlights-and-copilot-updates/Conference [https://buckleyplanet.com/2026/05/m365-community-conference-highlights-and-copilot-updates/Conference] Highlights (buckleyPLANET) Agent 365 — Microsoft centralized agent management tool (GA May 1, 2026; $15/user/month standalone or included in M365 E7). Provides governance, registration, and policy enforcement for AI agents across first-party and third-party platforms. https://buckleyplanet.com/2026/05/m365-community-conference-highlights-and-copilot-updates/ [https://buckleyplanet.com/2026/05/m365-community-conference-highlights-and-copilot-updates/] Microsoft Purview — Microsoft's unified data governance and compliance platform. Recent updates merge classic DSPM and DSPM for AI into one engine, adding AI interaction safeguards such as blocking sensitive queries and monitoring data flows through Copilot. Roberto Yglesias delivered the Purview session at the conference. SharePoint 25th Anniversary — SharePoint was first released in 2001. Microsoft celebrated the milestone with a live event on March 2, 2026, announcing new features and community initiatives. Chris notes, "If you go back to SharePoint 2001…you have a browser where someone can upload a document for collaboration—that's an enduring pattern." https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/birthday/ [https://adoption.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/birthday/] Pop Culture "Taken" (2008 film) — Action thriller starring Liam Neeson, famous for the "I have a very particular set of skills" monologue. Referenced by Mark when introducing SharePoint Skills: "To put the joke in there that everybody hopefully is already thinking about, these are a very particular set of skills." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0936501/] "Project Hail Mary" — 2021 sci-fi novel by Andy Weir and 2026 film adaptation (released March 20, 2026) starring Ryan Gosling, directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. The film has grossed $641.4 million worldwide. Mark recommends both the book and the film: "Book was great. Movie was great." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hail_Mary_(film) [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hail_Mary_(film)] "Catterslug" and Other Children's Books — Mark Kashman is a recognized children's book author. Chris introduces this during the episode: "Mark is a recognized children's book author, creating works like Catterslug and many others." "The Wizard of Oz" Reference — Mark closes the episode with a playful allusion: "Click your heels three times and say SharePoint, SharePoint, SharePoint, and I'll be there." Events European Collaboration Summit (ECS 2026) — May 5–7, 2026 at Confex Cologne, Germany. Europe's largest Microsoft partner event, with approximately 3,000 attendees, three keynotes, and hundreds of speakers. Mark notes he is "literally days away from hopping on a plane." https://collabsummit.eu [https://collabsummit.eu/] TechCon 365 Chicago 2026 — June 15–19, 2026 at McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. Microsoft 365, Power Platform & AI conference with 130+ sessions. Synozur, Sympraxis, and Microsoft will attend. https://techcon365.com/ [https://techcon365.com/] TechCon 365 Seattle 2026 — August 24–28, 2026 at the Seattle Convention Center. Co-located with PWRCON & DATACON, covering Microsoft 365, Power Platform, data, and AI topics. https://www.techcon365.com/seattle [https://www.techcon365.com/seattle] CollabDays New England 2026 — October 16, 2026 at the Microsoft Technology Center, Burlington, MA. Community-run M365 event organized by Sympraxis Consulting, offering free sessions and networking during peak New England foliage season. https://newengland.collabdays.org/ [https://newengland.collabdays.org/] Production Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is produced with help from Riverside.fm [https://www.riverside.fm]. Our theme song, "Alternative Dream" is provided courtesy of Adobe [https://www.adobe.com]. Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley. Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is available on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/polaris-pathways-a-synozur-podcast/id1773172041], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1cEtlJsybYcFFGTiKU1pX6?si=6faafd668eb44d5b], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/db9939ac-8343-420e-97c3-ee09eae50c74/polaris-pathways---a-synozur-podcast], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@SynozurVideos] or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Microsoft 365 Community Conference 02:38 Reflections on the Intrazone Podcast 05:53 The Rise of AI in Enterprise Content Management 08:01 AI Workplace Adoption and Its Implications 11:57 Insights from the Microsoft 365 Community Conference 18:17 Skills and AI Integration in SharePoint 21:05 Integrating Copilot and Co-work 25:02 The Evolution of SharePoint Branding 28:37 Understanding Agent 365 and Its Implications 31:26 The Role of Purview in AI Governance 35:01 Celebrating 25 Years of SharePoint and Community Engagement 38:40 Mark's Pop Culture Moment 42:08 Next on Polaris 42:35 Thanks and Closing

Andrew Connell - Good (AI Coding) Vibrations

Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is a production of Synozur [https://www.synozur.com] – the transformation company. Synozur reimagines business for our clients, navigating the complexities of transformation and strategy with ease. Chris McNulty and Microsoft MVP Andrew Connell explore the explosive rise of "vibe coding" — AI-assisted development from natural-language prompts — and debate the real-world risks, rewards, and strategic implications for today's business and technology leaders. Takeaways Vibe Coding Has Gone Mainstream. AI-assisted coding is no longer experimental. A GitHub survey found 92% of U.S. developers use AI coding tools at work, and Gartner projected that 60% of new code would be AI-generated by 2026. The global market for AI code-generation platforms has reached $4.7 billion, with projections of $12.3 billion by 2027. Collins English Dictionary cemented the trend by naming "vibe coding" its 2025 Word of the Year. [secondtalent.com] [https://www.secondtalent.com/resources/vibe-coding-statistics/] [strayspark.studio] [https://www.strayspark.studio/blog/60-percent-ai-generated-code-2026-game-development-quality] [ndtv.com] [https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/collins-dictionary-picks-vibe-coding-as-word-of-the-year-2025-9585221] Speed Gains Come with a Comprehension Tax. A January 2026 Anthropic randomized controlled trial of 52 junior engineers found that developers using AI code assistants scored 17% lower on comprehension tests than those coding manually — averaging 50% versus 67% on quizzes — with the largest gap appearing in debugging questions. Productivity gains did not reach statistical significance. This confirms what Andrew warns: rapid output without understanding creates fragile systems. [infoq.com] [https://www.infoq.com/news/2026/02/ai-coding-skill-formation/] Microsoft's Copilot Strategy Is Fragmented. Andrew contends that Microsoft is "flailing" and "shipping the org chart," with multiple disconnected Copilot products that confuse customers. A Recon Analytics study of more than 150,000 respondents (July 2025–January 2026) found Microsoft Copilot's share as paid users' primary AI tool fell from 18.8% to 11.5% — a 39% contraction — while Google Gemini climbed from 12.8% to 15.7% and ChatGPT held roughly 55.2%. When all three platforms were available, only 8% of workers chose Copilot versus 70% for ChatGPT and 18% for Gemini.[reconanalytics.com] [https://www.reconanalytics.com/ai-choice-2026-why-licenses-dont-equal-adoption/] "Agentic Engineering" Is the Mature Alternative to Naive Vibe Coding. Andrew initially "hated" the term vibe coding but came to distinguish between undisciplined prompt-and-ship and a professional practice he calls agentic engineering, a term he credits to technologist Simon Willison. In agentic engineering, the developer still reviews AI output, plans architectures, and catches errors — using AI as a force-multiplier for experienced judgment, not a replacement for it. Developers Are Becoming AI Orchestrators. Chris and Andrew agree that the most effective AI-era developers act like development managers: delegating tasks to specialized AI agents (ideation, UX, debugging, documentation) and then integrating and verifying results. Andrew recommends organizations build an internal Center of Excellence — a handful of people who deeply understand AI tooling and can guide the broader team. Entry-Level Talent Still Matters — IBM Proved It. Despite predictions that AI would replace junior roles, IBM announced in February 2026 that it is tripling its entry-level hiring, including for software developers. IBM CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux stated: "We are tripling our entry-level hiring, and yes, that is for software developers and all these jobs we're being told AI can do". IBM's rationale: cutting junior talent creates future shortages of mid-level managers and senior experts, and outside hires cost more and adapt more slowly. [finance.yahoo.com] [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ibm-tripling-number-gen-z-164332214.html] Quality and Security Demand "Vibe Checks." A December 2025 CodeRabbit analysis found AI co-authored code contained approximately 1.7× more bugs and issues and 1.4× more critical issues than human-written code. Meanwhile, a Fastly survey of 791 professional developers found that nearly 30% of senior developers report that editing and auditing AI output offsets most of their initial time savings. Code review must become a continuous, front-of-cycle discipline, not a final checkbox. [coderabbit.ai] [https://www.coderabbit.ai/blog/a-semantic-history-how-the-term-vibe-coding-went-from-a-tweet-to-prod] Quick Quotes Andrew Connell — Founder, Voitanos "I think Microsoft is flailing a good bit… They seem to be reacting to what other people are doing, and there's no real cohesive story across all of their M365 Copilot story." "The one fear that I have with this is what is it going to do to the entry-level jobs? I have a very significant concern." "I don't disagree too much with the statements coming out of the senior people at Anthropic that the title 'software engineer' could be gone by the end of 2026, probably by 2027. As much as I'm using it, I can see that." "Right now the [Microsoft] plan just feels very reactionary. And that's frustrating to me." Chris McNulty — Polaris Host "Client after client we run into — they have a negative impression of Copilot because their belief is that the entirety of Copilot is the free little thing in the corner of the Edge browser." "What you get is still proportional to the attention you put into it." — Chris McNulty, on AI-generated prototypes versus production-ready software "Being successful with vibe coding or agentic AI software engineering… helps even more if you've come from a development manager background — I personally use different AI agents for different things." References · Andrej Karpathy's "Vibe Coding" Coinage (February 2025) — OpenAI co-founder and former head of AI at Tesla, Andrej Karpathy, tweeted about "a new way of programming where you fully give in to the vibes, embrace exponentials, and forget that the code even exists." This sparked a global conversation about AI-driven development. Covered in depth by https://www.coderabbit.ai/blog/a-semantic-history-how-the-term-vibe-coding-went-from-a-tweet-to-prodCodeRabbit [https://www.coderabbit.ai/blog/a-semantic-history-how-the-term-vibe-coding-went-from-a-tweet-to-prodCodeRabbit]: "A Semantic History of Vibe Coding". · Reid Hoffman's LinkedIn Clone Experiment (April 2025) — LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman asked Replit's AI agent to "clone LinkedIn" using a single prompt. The result was a surprisingly functional prototype. Hoffman wrote: "It's a powerful reminder: with the right framing, today's AI tools can turn a single idea into working software." Reported by https://www.ndtv.com/feature/linkedin-co-founder-asked-ai-to-clone-his-company-the-result-surprised-him-8105339NDTV [https://www.ndtv.com/feature/linkedin-co-founder-asked-ai-to-clone-his-company-the-result-surprised-him-8105339NDTV]. · Collins English Dictionary — "Vibe Coding" Named 2025 Word of the Year — In November 2025, Collins crowned "vibe coding" as its Word of the Year, beating "clanker," "biohacking," and "aura farming." Managing Director Alex Beecroft said the term "perfectly captures how language is evolving alongside technology." Reported by https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/collins-dictionary-picks-vibe-coding-as-word-of-the-year-2025-9585221 [https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/collins-dictionary-picks-vibe-coding-as-word-of-the-year-2025-9585221] and https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/vibe-coding-clanker-word-of-the-year-collins-5HjdGQy_2/ [https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/vibe-coding-clanker-word-of-the-year-collins-5HjdGQy_2/]. · GitHub Developer Survey — 92% of U.S. Developers Using AI Tools — A GitHub survey of 500 U.S.-based developers at companies with 1,000+ employees found 92% were using AI-powered coding tools at work. Reported by https://venturebeat.com/programming-development/92-of-us-based-developers-already-using-ai-powered-coding-tools-at-work-github/VentureBeat [https://venturebeat.com/programming-development/92-of-us-based-developers-already-using-ai-powered-coding-tools-at-work-github/VentureBeat] and aggregated in https://www.secondtalent.com/resources/vibe-coding-statistics/Second [https://www.secondtalent.com/resources/vibe-coding-statistics/Second] Talent's Vibe Coding Statistics 2026. · Gartner Forecast — 60% of New Code AI-Generated by 2026 — Gartner predicted that 60% of newly created code would be AI-generated by 2026, a figure now largely confirmed through adoption data. Referenced in https://www.strayspark.studio/blog/60-percent-ai-generated-code-2026-game-development-quality [https://www.strayspark.studio/blog/60-percent-ai-generated-code-2026-game-development-quality]. · $4.7 Billion Vibe Coding Market — The global market for vibe coding platforms reached $4.7 billion, projected to hit $12.3 billion by 2027. 87% of Fortune 500 companies have adopted at least one vibe coding platform, and 21% of Y Combinator Winter 2025 startups had codebases that were 91% AI-generated. Source: https://www.secondtalent.com/resources/vibe-coding-statistics/ [https://www.secondtalent.com/resources/vibe-coding-statistics/]. · Anthropic Randomized Controlled Trial — AI Coding and Skill Formation (January 2026) — Anthropic published a peer-reviewed study of 52 junior engineers showing developers using AI code assistants scored 17% lower on comprehension tests (averaging 50% vs. 67% for manual coders). The AI group finished tasks approximately two minutes faster, but the difference was not statistically significant. Developers who used AI only for conceptual questions scored 65%+, while those who delegated code generation scored below 40%. Published January 29, 2026. Source: https://www.anthropic.comAnthropic [https://www.anthropic.comanthropic/]; reported by https://www.infoq.com/news/2026/02/ai-coding-skill-formation/ [https://www.infoq.com/news/2026/02/ai-coding-skill-formation/]. · Recon Analytics / Wall Street Journal — Copilot vs. ChatGPT vs. Gemini Study (February 2026) — A Recon Analytics study of more than 150,000 U.S. paid AI subscribers (July 2025–January 2026) found Copilot's primary-platform share fell from 18.8% to 11.5% while Gemini rose from 12.8% to 15.7% and ChatGPT held at ~55.2%. Among workers with access to all three, only 8% chose Copilot. Covered by Wall Street Journal reporter Sebastian Herrera. Source: https://www.reconanalytics.com/ai-choice-2026-why-licenses-dont-equal-adoption/ [https://www.reconanalytics.com/ai-choice-2026-why-licenses-dont-equal-adoption/]. · IBM Triples Entry-Level Hiring (February 2026) — IBM announced it is tripling entry-level hiring in the U.S., including for software developers. CHRO Nickle LaMoreaux stated companies that "doubled down on entry-level hiring in this environment" will be the most successful in three to five years. IBM plans approximately 12,000 new entry-level positions over 12 months. Originally reported by Fortune; available via https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ibm-tripling-number-gen-z-164332214.html [https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ibm-tripling-number-gen-z-164332214.html]. · CodeRabbit Analysis — AI vs. Human Code Quality (December 2025) — An analysis of 470 open-source GitHub pull requests found AI co-authored code contained approximately 1.7× more bugs and issues and 1.4× more critical issues than human-written code. A separate Fastly survey of 791 professional developers found nearly 30% of senior devs report editing AI output offsets most of their time savings. Source: https://www.coderabbit.ai/blog/a-semantic-history-how-the-term-vibe-coding-went-from-a-tweet-to-prodCodeRabbit [https://www.coderabbit.ai/blog/a-semantic-history-how-the-term-vibe-coding-went-from-a-tweet-to-prodCodeRabbit] Blog. · Simon Willison and "Agentic Engineering" — British technologist Simon Willison articulated the distinction between naive vibe coding and agentic engineering, defining the latter as prompt-driven development with full human oversight, review, and testing. Referenced by Andrew Connell in the episode. · NASA Artemis II Mission (April 2026) — NASA's Artemis II crew launched April 1, 2026, from Kennedy Space Center and splashed down April 10, 2026, completing a nearly 10-day lunar flyby — the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years. The crew traveled 694,481 miles total. Andrew discussed the mission's cultural impact and the 4K Earthrise imagery that resulted. Source: https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth/ [https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-welcomes-record-setting-artemis-ii-moonfarers-back-to-earth/]. · Guest Links: https://www.voitanos.io [https://www.voitanos.io/] | https://www.andrewconnell.com [https://www.andrewconnell.com/] | https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewconnell [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewconnell] · Podcast: Andrew co-hosts the Code. Deploy. Go Live. [https://codedeploygo.live/] podcast with fellow Microsoft MVP Julie Turner. Events M365 Community Conference [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/m365-community-conference-2026] | April 21-23 at the Loews Saphire Falls in Orlando Florida AI+IM Summit [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/ai-im-global-summit] | April 28-30 Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD TechCon 365 Chicago [https://techcon365.com/Chicago/] | June 15-19 McCormack Place I Chicago IL keywords AI, vibe coding, software development, Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude, enterprise AI, AI tools, developer productivity, future of AI Production Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is produced with help from Riverside.fm [https://www.riverside.fm]. Our theme song, "Alternative Dream" is provided courtesy of Adobe [https://www.adobe.com]. Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley. Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is available on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/polaris-pathways-a-synozur-podcast/id1773172041], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1cEtlJsybYcFFGTiKU1pX6?si=6faafd668eb44d5b], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/db9939ac-8343-420e-97c3-ee09eae50c74/polaris-pathways---a-synozur-podcast], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@SynozurVideos] or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Andrew Connell 05:06 Andrew's Journey into SharePoint Development 06:44 Evolution of SharePoint and Microsoft Ecosystem 09:46 Microsoft's AI Challenges and Copilot Insights 19:08 Understanding Vibe Coding and Its Implications 27:00 The Importance of SEO in Content Creation 30:17 Leveraging AI for Content Optimization 35:00 Vibe Coding vs. Agentic Engineering 37:04 The Impact of AI on Software Development 41:40 Cultural Reflections and Personal Insights 44:57 Upcoming Events in 2026 45:45 Innovations in AI-Assisted Software Development

Inside Microsoft 365 E7, Or, How Four Equals Seven

Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is a production of Synozur [https://www.synozur.com] – the transformation company. Synozur reimagines business for our clients, navigating the complexities of transformation and strategy with ease. In this episode of Polaris, we explore Microsoft's game-changing March 2026 announcements – including the Microsoft 365 E7 "Frontier Suite," Agent 365 for AI governance, and the new Copilot Cowork capability – and unpack what these innovations mean for business and technology leaders navigating the AI-powered future. Key Takeaways * Microsoft 365 E7 ("Frontier Suite"): Microsoft introduced Microsoft 365 E7, the first new top-tier enterprise plan since 2015. Branded the Frontier Suite, E7 bundles all of E5 with Microsoft 365 Copilot, the new Agent 365 platform, the full Entra ID identity suite, and advanced security (Defender, Intune, Purview). This $99/user/month plan (GA May 1, 2026) signals that AI capabilities and enterprise trust are now inseparable – AI and security/governance come as one package. * Agent 365 – Tackling "Agent Sprawl": Agent 365 is Microsoft's response to uncontrolled AI "agent sprawl," the proliferation of chatbots and Copilots across organizations. It provides a single control plane for all AI agents (including third-party bots), giving each agent a unique Entra ID and allowing IT to observe, govern, permission, audit, and if needed, shut down agents. CIOs and CISOs get the ability to say "yes" to AI innovation without losing control, as Agent 365 ensures compliance with security and data policies for every bot. Agent 365 goes generally available May 1, priced at $15/user (and is included in E7). * Copilot "Cowork" – The Next Evolution of AI at Work: Microsoft announced Copilot Cowork, a new capability transforming Copilot from a one-off Q&A assistant into a persistent digital coworker that can engage in long-running, multi-step collaboration across documents, apps, and time. Instead of just answering a single prompt, Copilot with Cowork can carry context over multiple interactions and proactively check in as tasks progress. Copilot Cowork is in private preview (via Microsoft's Frontier program) – not broadly available yet – but it offers a glimpse into how AI will work alongside people continuously, not just reactively. Microsoft also disclosed that Copilot is now model-diverse, dynamically choosing between OpenAI's GPT and Anthropic's Claude models depending on the task, giving organizations greater resilience and flexibility. * "Intelligence + Trust" – Microsoft's Strategy Shift: A core theme is that AI at scale demands equal investment in security, identity, and compliance. Microsoft is bundling AI innovations with governance tools by design. For example, E7's introduction pairs M365 Copilot and Agent 365 together, and new governance features are rolling out: Purview Data Loss Prevention now covers Copilot prompts and outputs, sensitivity labels apply to content generated in tools like Viva Engage, and upcoming AI security posture enhancements are in preview. Microsoft's clear message: "Security is not a luxury when it comes to AI" – future enterprise AI solutions must bake in compliance and trust from the ground up. * Practical Updates and "Frontier" Readiness: Alongside the big announcements, Microsoft delivered smaller but significant updates to improve day-to-day productivity and readiness for this AI-driven era. Microsoft Teams Copilot's Intelligent Recap can now summarize themes across multiple meetings – threading decisions over time, not just per meeting. Copilot can also condense long Teams chat threads into tables or key insights, a boon for catching up on busy channels. Viva Engage (Yammer) received a revamped, more engaging article publishing experience, ensuring employee communications remain accessible and visually rich. On the content management side, SharePoint's 25th anniversary came with the introduction of "SharePoint skills" – essentially custom instructions or templates (written in Markdown) that organizations can use to guide Copilot on preferred styles or procedures for common tasks. This lets companies tailor AI outputs to their standards without coding. All these updates underscore the trend that AI is becoming a first-class enterprise workload, integrated deeply into how work gets done – and organizations should prepare both their tech stacks and their people for that reality. Promotional Quotes (Chris McNulty): * "AI capability and enterprise trust are no longer separable." – Chris emphasizes that advanced AI features must go hand-in-hand with security and governance. * "Agent 365 gives CIOs and CISOs the ability to say yes to AI innovation without losing control." – Highlighting Microsoft's solution for managing the new "Wild West" of proliferating AI agents in the enterprise. * "Security is not a luxury when it comes to AI." – A pointed reminder that robust security and compliance are prerequisites (not optional add-ons) to any AI deployment at scale. * "AI is now a first-class enterprise workload." – Signaling that AI isn't experimental anymore – it's becoming as mission-critical as email or databases in modern business. References * OpenAI's GPT – OpenAI's groundbreaking series of large language models that sparked the generative AI revolution (e.g., https://openai.comopenai.com [https://openai.comopenai.com/]). * ChatGPT – OpenAI's widely-used conversational AI assistant, which popularized AI chat for everyday tasks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChatGPT]). * Google "Gems" (AI Workspace assistants) – Google's Gemini Gems, customizable AI experts introduced into Google Workspace in 2025 (https://mashable.com/article/google-workspace-gems-ai [https://mashable.com/article/google-workspace-gems-ai]) * Salesforce "Agentforce" & Super Bowl Ad – Salesforce's digital agent platform Agentforce was promoted in a whimsical Super Bowl 2025 campaign featuring actors Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson (https://dailycommercials.com/salesforces-super-bowl-lix-2025-ad-mcconaughey-and-harrelson/DailyCommercials [https://dailycommercials.com/salesforces-super-bowl-lix-2025-ad-mcconaughey-and-harrelson/DailyCommercials], Feb 10 2025). * "Shadow IT" – Term for unauthorized or un-managed IT systems and apps used inside organizations. Agent sprawl is described as the AI equivalent of shadow IT ( * IDC AI Agent Forecast – Industry analyst IDC predicts 1.3 billion AI agents will be in circulation by 2028, reflecting the explosive growth of autonomous agents (https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intelligence-trust/ [https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intelligence-trust/] Official Blog, Mar 9 2026). * Microsoft 365 E7 Announcement – "Frontier Suite" top-tier M365 plan announced Mar 9 2026, bundling E5 + Copilot + Agent 365 + Entra + advanced security (https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intelligence-trust/ [https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2026/03/09/introducing-the-first-frontier-suite-built-on-intelligence-trust/] Blog by Judson Althoff). * Microsoft Agent 365 – New AI agent management and governance platform (announced Mar 2026, GA May 1 2026) that addresses AI oversight * Microsoft "Copilot Cowork" Preview – The next evolution of Microsoft 365 Copilot, enabling long-running collaborative AI assistance (revealed Mar 2026 as part of "Wave 3" Copilot updates) * SharePoint's 25th Anniversary & AI Skills – In March 2026, Microsoft celebrated 25 years of SharePoint and introduced custom "SharePoint AI skills" (markdown-based prompts to guide Copilot's behavior for org-specific tasks) (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/02/sharepoint-at-25-how-microsoft-is-putting-knowledge-to-work-in-the-ai-era/ [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2026/03/02/sharepoint-at-25-how-microsoft-is-putting-knowledge-to-work-in-the-ai-era/] 365 Blog by Jeff Teper). * "Frontier Firm" Concept – A term from Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index, describing organizations that fully embrace AI and hybrid human–agent teams. These early Frontier Firms demonstrate significantly higher productivity and optimism. * March Madness & Spring Training – Pop culture references to the NCAA basketball tournament and MLB baseball preseason, respectively, which were humorously noted but not the focus of this March 2026 tech episode * M365 Community Conference 2026 – A major Microsoft 365 community event (April 21–23, 2026, Orlando, FL) mentioned during the episode's events roundup ( * AI+IM (AI & Information Management) Summit 2026 – Industry conference by AIIM (Association for Intelligent Information Management), April 28–30, 2026 in Baltimore, MD * TechCon 365 Chicago 2026 – Microsoft 365 and Power Platform conference scheduled for June 15–19, 2026 at McCormick Place, Chicago Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is available on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/polaris-pathways-a-synozur-podcast/id1773172041], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1cEtlJsybYcFFGTiKU1pX6?si=6faafd668eb44d5b], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/db9939ac-8343-420e-97c3-ee09eae50c74/polaris-pathways---a-synozur-podcast], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@SynozurVideos] or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks. Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is produced with help from Riverside.fm [https://www.riverside.fm]. Our theme song, "Alternative Dream" is provided courtesy of Adobe [https://www.adobe.com]. Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley. Chapters 0:00 Introduction to Microsoft AI Innovations 1:37 News and Data Points 3:29 Microsoft 365 E7 11:51 Events 12:38 Personal Reflection 14:23 Next On Polaris 14:54 Closing

AI in 2026: A Trillion Dollars Is Coming. Who's Going to Win It?

Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is a production of Synozur [https://www.synozur.com] – the transformation company. Synozur reimagines business for our clients, navigating the complexities of transformation and strategy with ease. The Synozur 2026 AI Report lands with a clear verdict: the global AI market is on a path to $944 billion by 2030 — but most organizations are stuck in the middle, scoring just 260 out of 500 on AI maturity, while a small group of leaders pull decisively ahead. Takeaways * The AI market is enormous — and the range of estimates tells you everything. Global AI spend in 2026 is projected anywhere from $244 billion to $2 trillion, depending on what you count. Synozur's weighted average: $453 billion this year, growing to $944 billion by 2030. * Most organizations are stuck in the middle. Across 125+ companies assessed using Synozur's AI Maturity Model, the average score is 260 out of 500 — beyond experimentation, but far from scaled. The gap between leaders and laggards spans more than 250 points. * Small firms and professional services are winning. Agile, knowledge-centric organizations score in the 300–330 range. Mid-market companies (50–999 employees) trail at 171–225 — a "squeezed middle" that represents the biggest opportunity for intervention. * Culture and use-case integration are the weakest links. These are the two dimensions most critical to scaling AI beyond a pilot — and they consistently score the lowest across every region and sector assessed. * The pilot-to-production gap is real and costly. Per Deloitte's 2026 State of AI in the Enterprise (released at Davos), only 25% of companies have moved 40% or more of their AI pilots into production. AI maturity isn't a technology problem — it's a culture and execution problem. * Three predictions for 2026: Microsoft launches its own first-party LLM by June; a new "Agent Boss" platform category emerges to help business users manage multiple AI agents in one place; and professional associations — not governments — set the first meaningful AI standards in the U.S. * AI maturity is now a financial differentiator. Research from the Quantum Institute analyzed 847 publicly traded companies and found AI-mature organizations now achieve operating margins 47% higher than early-stage peers — up from 21% just 18 months ago. Sound Bites: "The AI market is tremendous. The gap between leaders and everyone else? Even bigger." "A trillion dollars is coming. The question is: who's going to capture it?" "On average, organizations score 260 out of 500. They've moved beyond experimentation — but they're nowhere near scaled. The spread is the real story." "If 2025 was about experimentation, 2026 will be about consolidation and governance. Knowledge is power." "Most agent management today is cut and paste. If you're jumping between Copilot, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Replit, and NotebookLM — that's a messy process. Something has to change." "Professional associations need to fill the regulatory gap. We expect legal, accounting, and healthcare associations to lead well before Washington does." References Research & Reports Deloitte AI Institute, State of AI in the Enterprise 2026: The Untapped Edge — released at Davos, January 21, 2026. Key finding: only 25% of companies have moved 40% or more of AI pilots into production; 34% report using AI to "deeply transform" their business. Read the report [https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/about/press-room/state-of-ai-report-2026.html] McKinsey & Company, The State of AI in 2025: Agents, Innovation, and Transformation — finds nearly 88% of organizations use AI, but most remain in early scaling stages. Read the report [https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai] The Quantum Institute, The AI Maturity Gap: Why Enterprise Transformation Is Accelerating in 2026 — analysis of 847 publicly traded companies shows AI-mature organizations achieve operating margins 47% higher than peers; revenue growth 2.3x faster. Published March 17, 2026. Read the research [https://blog.marketresearch.com/the-ai-maturity-gap-why-enterprise-transformation-is-accelerating-in-2026] Synozur, 2026 AI Report: The Market Is Big, the Gap Is Bigger — the full report referenced in this episode. Synozur Insights [https://www.synozur.com/post/ai-in-2026-the-market-is-big-the-gap-is-bigger] blog Download your copy at https://aka.synozur.com/AI26 [https://aka.synozur.com/AI26] Companies & Platforms Referenced ClearPeople [https://www.clearpeople.comclearpeople/] — Synozur submitted AI market predictions to ClearPeople CEO Katya Linossi, a recurring Polaris collaborator, for the 2025 Knowledge & AI Market predictions project. Orion [https://orion.synozur.comorion/] by Synozur — AI-powered digital maturity assessment platform; hosts the free AI Maturity Model. Take the free assessment at https://aka.synozur.com/aimm [https://aka.synozur.com/aimm] Frameworks & Protocols MCP (Model Control Protocol) — A unified protocol for connecting content and data sources to AI agents, cited as a 2025 Synozur prediction that came true. A2A (Agent-to-Agent Protocol) — A protocol enabling AI agents to communicate with each other; foundation for the predicted "OmniAgent" platform category. CMMI Framework — Capability Maturity Model Integration; the structural basis for Synozur's 100–500 point AI Maturity Model. Events M365 Community Conference [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/m365-community-conference-2026] | April 21-23 at the Loews Sapphire Falls in Orlando Florida AI+IM Summit [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/ai-im-global-summit] | April 28-30 Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD TechCon 365 Chicago [https://techcon365.com/Chicago/] | June 15-19 McCormack Place I Chicago IL Production Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is produced with help from Riverside.fm [https://www.riverside.fm]. Our theme song, "Alternative Dream" is provided courtesy of Adobe [https://www.adobe.com]. Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley. Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is available on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/polaris-pathways-a-synozur-podcast/id1773172041], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1cEtlJsybYcFFGTiKU1pX6?si=6faafd668eb44d5b], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/db9939ac-8343-420e-97c3-ee09eae50c74/polaris-pathways---a-synozur-podcast], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@SynozurVideos] or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks. Chapters 00:00 The State of AI in 2026 02:19 News and Data Points 04:18 2026 AI Market 05:24 AI Maturity Research 07:03 2026 AI Predictions 12:06 Events 13:15 Next On Polaris 13:52 Closing

Never Sit in the Lobby: Glenn Poulos on Sales, Startups, and Survival

Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is a production of Synozur [https://www.synozur.com] – the transformation company. Synozur reimagines business for our clients, navigating the complexities of transformation and strategy with ease. Glenn Poulos, co-founder of Gap Wireless and author of Never Sit in the Lobby, shares how he built and sold multiple businesses across three decades, reveals why face-to-face relationships still matter in the AI age, and explains how mid-market companies can leverage technology without losing their human touch. Takeaways Fear of poverty drives action more than fear of failure – Glenn's entrepreneurial journey started when his government boss told him he'd be better in sales, and he took the leap despite uncertainty. Every good business starts with business you didn't deserve to get – The foundation of a startup often comes from an unexpected opportunity that becomes the kernel for growth. Timing matters, but so does preparation – Gap Wireless sold in early 2022 just before the telecom market crashed in 2023, demonstrating that "luck is the residue of design." Small daily improvements compound over time – Showing up consistently and making incremental progress is more valuable than searching for a magic bullet. Process comes before people in organizational structure – Define what your business needs first, then find the right people to fill those roles rather than creating roles around existing team members. AI is a force multiplier, not a replacement for human connection – While AI can speed up proposal generation, contract evaluation, and competitive analysis, major deals still require face-to-face sales calls. Strategy must be linked to metrics and visible accountability – Weekly check-ins with clear dashboards help teams stay aligned and make strategy actionable rather than an annual exercise. Sound Bites On Entrepreneurship and Risk: "I'm more motivated by a fear of being poor than I am by a fear of failure." On Starting a Business: "Every good business starts with a piece of business that you didn't deserve to get. It would be the kernel of something to build upon." On Daily Discipline: "What really moves the needle is when you show up every day...making incremental, minute little improvements in the business, they add up over time." On AI and Authenticity: "When SAP wins a project, their integrators were on site. They did not do it virtually...anything beyond that, trust me, they're making a sales call." References Glenn Poulos * Personal Website: https://glennpoulos.com/ [https://glennpoulos.com/] * LinkedIn: Connect with Glenn Poulos [https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennpoulos] on https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennpoulos [https://www.linkedin.com/in/glennpoulos] * Book: Never Sit in the Lobby: 57 Winning Sales Factors to Grow a Business and Build a Career Selling available on Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5XYZ123] Companies Mentioned * NWS Canada [https://nwscanada.com/] (formerly Gap Wireless) – VP and General Manager * Gap Wireless Inc. – Co-founded in 2007, acquired by Network Wireless Solutions in February 2022 * SAP [https://www.sap.com/] – Referenced as example of in-person sales strategy * Netsuite [https://www.netsuite.com/] – Referenced for remote sales approach Frameworks and Systems * EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) – Older business management framework implemented at Gap Wireless in 2019 * Company Operating System (COS) [https://aka.synozur.com/cos] – Improved management framework introduced 2023 by Synozur Data Points * 65% of organizations now use Gen AI in at least one critical business function, more than double from a year prior * 98% of people have a cell phone globally * Four out of five people in the world own a mobile phone Music and Cultural References * Supertramp [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertramp] – 1970s British progressive rock band * The Police [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Police] – Late 1970s rock band * Balu Brigada [https://www.balu-brigada.com/]– New Zealand alt-pop duo, song "Backseat" from debut album Portal (2025) * Journey – Referenced as example of generational music preferences Events The New AI Frontier: Market Shifts, Maturity Gaps, and How to Lead with Copilot [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/the-new-ai-frontier-market-shifts-maturity-gaps-and-how-to-lead-with-copilot] | March 17 (Teams Webinar) AI‑Driven GTM: How to Assess, Rebuild, and Accelerate Your 2026 Plans [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/ai-driven-gtm-how-to-assess-rebuild-and-accelerate-your-2026-plans] | March 23 (Teams Webinar) M365 Community Conference [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/m365-community-conference-2026] | April 21-23 at the Loews Saphire Falls in Orlando Florida AI+IM Summit [https://www.synozur.com/event-details/ai-im-global-summit] | April 28-30 Hyatt Regency Inner Harbor, Baltimore, MD Production Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is produced with help from Riverside.fm [https://www.riverside.fm]. Our theme song, "Alternative Dream" is provided courtesy of Adobe [https://www.adobe.com]. Additional music and sound provided by IndieGuy Records. Graphic design by Josh Brantley. Polaris [https://polaris.synozur.com] is available on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/polaris-pathways-a-synozur-podcast/id1773172041], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/1cEtlJsybYcFFGTiKU1pX6?si=6faafd668eb44d5b], Amazon [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/db9939ac-8343-420e-97c3-ee09eae50c74/polaris-pathways---a-synozur-podcast], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@SynozurVideos] or wherever you get your favorite podcasts. Thanks. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Glenn Poulos 01:24 News and Data Points 02:24 Glenn Poulos Interview 03:04 From Government to Entrepreneurship 07:55 Navigating Business Growth and Exits 12:34 The Launch of 'Never Sit in the Lobby' 16:55 AI as a Force Multiplier in Business 21:21 Lessons from Recent Ventures 25:28 Leadership Attributes and the EOS System 30:56 Navigating Board Dynamics 31:59 The Impact of AI on Employment 34:10 Personal Passions: DJing and Dogs 37:23 Upcoming Events in 2026 38:20 AI Insights and Predictions 38:32 Next on Polaris 38:47 Closing Thoughts and Acknowledgments