Monday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM · Room 203AB

Best Practices for Intranet Information Architecture: the key to unlocking AI’s full potential

In this workshop, we will explore the basics of Information Architecture (IA) and its role in creating effective intranets using Microsoft 365, SharePoint, and Viva Connections. We’ll talk about why IA is so important to AI – and how you can ensure that your intranet content can act as a valuable partner in your AI solutions. Whether you are just starting out or looking to improve your current intranet design, this workshop will provide you with the necessary tools and techniques to make the most of new and upcoming features, capabilities, and best practices. We'll cover key topics including creating and organizing content, building site structures, creating metadata, and leveraging search functionality.

You will take away: • Approaches for planning navigation across the entire intranet and on individual sites • Tips and best practices for audiences, hubs, and home sites • Page design guidance that supports accessibility and great user experiences • Effective use of metadata on pages and documents – and whether it is OK to use folders to organize your content. • How to leverage Viva Connections to bring your intranet to your users in the flow of work – and how to plan audiences to ensure that the right tools and information gets to the right groups. • How Copilot can help your information architecture and vice versa.

You'll leave with a clear understanding of what IA is, why it matters, and how to get started with creating effective intranets that meet your organization's needs.

Tuesday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM · Room 202A

Elevate Your Intranet: Unleash the potential of Artificial Intelligence with Copilot and Viva

An intranet can support your organization’s ability to communicate and collaborate effectively, make information easy to find, automate business processes, and help cut administrative costs… but where do you start? In this all-day workshop, we will focus on the mechanics of building the basic structure of an intranet. We will then explore how Artificial Intelligence and Microsoft Copilot can elevate your intranet past content surfaced in SharePoint Online, Microsoft Teams, and the Viva suite.

At the end of the tutorial, you will understand common solutions like decentralized content management with centralized content experiences, branding capabilities across Microsoft 365, and how to create personalized content experiences. You will leave with a clear understanding of how you can best leverage Copilot and Viva to create an incredible employee experience.

During the workshop, we will demo creating a/an: -Intuitive global and site navigation -Branded experience with recommended page layouts -Scalable enterprise information architecture -Custom search experiences to surface the right information, at the right time -Artificial Intelligence assisted development of learning and onboarding content -A seamless connection between your intranet and where people are working

Join us to gain a deeper understanding of the out of the box technical capabilities using only Business Premium licenses so you can focus on identifying your desired business outcomes, defining your overall content strategy and governance, and driving the adoption of your intranet at your organization without navigating additional costs.

Tuesday 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM · Room 204C

Taking Ownership: Microsoft 365 for Site and Team Owners

This intermediate full-day workshop, tailored for Microsoft 365 site and team owners, delves into the intricacies of group and site roles, focusing on exclusive capabilities and strategies essential for effective management of SharePoint sites and Microsoft Teams.

In SharePoint, elevate your skills with advanced techniques in page and news scheduling, audience targeting, as well as in-depth list and library settings and permissions management. In Teams, master channel optimization for greater usability and member productivity.

Engage in practical, real-world scenarios to apply your knowledge in solving organizational challenges with Microsoft 365. Understand when and how to integrate Planner, Forms, and the Power Platform to broaden your site's or team's capabilities and meet business requirements.

Gain a better understanding of permissions management, learn when to responsibly break inheritance, and apply item-level permissions when appropriate. This workshop emphasizes security, privacy, and workflow efficiency, enhancing your skills in user access management when solution planning.

This hands-on workshop is ideal for those eager to explore Microsoft 365's behind-the-scenes workings, boost team collaboration, and innovate with out-of-the-box solutions. Uncover the full potential of Microsoft 365 and revolutionize your work approach.

Tuesday 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM · Room 203AB

How to Maximize Your Intranet Potential with Out-of-the-Box Features in Microsoft 365 and SharePoint

Microsoft 365 is packed with powerful tools and features for building an effective intranet. But with so many options, it can be overwhelming to know where to start. In this presentation, we'll take a deep dive into the "out-of-the-box" features of SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365 and show you how to leverage them to build an intranet that meets your organization's unique needs. From creating and organizing content with SharePoint to enhancing communication with Teams and Viva Engage, we'll cover everything you need to get started, including newer capabilities like the Brand Center and Copilot for SharePoint. By the end of the workshop, you'll have a solid understanding of the key features of SharePoint Online and how to use them to build an intranet that helps your organization communicate, collaborate, and succeed. You will also understand what is possible “in the box” and where you may want to invest in third party solutions or custom development.

Wednesday 9:50 AM - 11:00 AM · Room 208AB

The Future of Your Intranet: Beautiful, flexible and AI ready powered by SharePoint

What is the intranet of the future all about? We'll cover industry trends around content presentation, more robust authoring experiences, and what the era of AI means for your intranet. Learn about the future of SharePoint Portals. This is the SharePoint session you don't want to miss.

Wednesday 2:20 PM - 3:30 PM · Room 201

Prepare the Organization for Self-Service in Microsoft 365

Rapidly growing companies must balance multiple strategic objectives with a seemingly endless list of action items while maintaining a focus on creating scalable solutions. Often this is all done by a team of one. How can you meet the needs of the business and avoid shadow IT with limited resources? Enter self-service.

In this session, we will share how to:

• Prepare the organization for self-service solution builds in Microsoft 365
• Create a consistent user experience across solutions
• Report on activity in your environment with out of the box tools to support your governance
• Establish a global steering committee to drive right-sized solutions across the organization

Leave this session with actionable steps to begin changing the way your organization creates spaces for collaboration.

Wednesday 2:20 PM - 3:30 PM · Room 202A

Elevating Your Experience: Improving Findability & Knowledge Discovery in Microsoft 365 & SharePoint

In today's fast-paced business environment, quick and easy access to knowledge is critical for success. Unfortunately, many organizations and people struggle with finding and accessing information within their intranets.

In this session, we’ll review several different strategies to improve findability in Microsoft 365 – from simple tips to help users be more successful with search to more strategic approaches for intranet navigation and structure using home sites and hubs, information delivery with Viva Connections, improving knowledge management with Viva Topics and Viva Engage, and how Copilot can help.

You will learn practical and actionable tips and tricks that you can implement immediately as you evolve your employee experiences.

Wednesday 4:20 PM - 5:30 PM · Room 204C

Building a Policy Center with PnP Modern Search

In a modern Intranet, we generally want to store content in the site where it should be managed. We think of this as distributed content management and it's similar to the way News works in modern SharePoint. This usually means each department or organizational unit can manage their content using a process which makes sense for them.

At the same time, we may want to roll up that content in one central location for ease of access. A Policy Center is a great example of this approach and one we find ourselves building for many of our clients.

In this session, you'll see how the following components add up to make a Policy Center:

• Information architecture (IA) in the form of Site Columns and a Content Type to represent a Policy
• A Site Template which only instantiates a Policy library in the site and applies the IA
• A Policy library in each Intranet site, deployed using the Site Template, with Policies specific to that department
• Changes to the search schema to support metadata filtering
• A Policy Center page built using PnP Modern Search Web Parts to display the Policies from across the Intranet

Additionally, we'll discuss various approaches to solve the content management puzzle - before the Policy is even visible on the Intranet.

Wednesday 4:20 PM - 5:30 PM · Room 209c

Roundtable Discussion - Intranet Design & Information Architecture

Join us for an engaging and informal gathering where participants delve into topics that matter to them. Round Table Discussions is a space for sharing ideas, perspectives, and experiences with other attendees. Pull up a chair, and let’s exchange insights!

Thursday 9:00 AM - 10:10 AM · Room 201

Knowledge Management Strategies for Microsoft 365 in the Copilot World

With the deprecation of Viva Topics in February 2025, Microsoft is losing the “hero” application for Knowledge Management in Microsoft 365. But Viva Topics alone was never enough and certainly not the only app in your Knowledge Management toolkit.

In this session, we will discuss strategies for leveraging Microsoft 365 to achieve your KM goals – from both manual and automatic metadata classification in SharePoint to enhance explicit knowledge to AI-assisted tacit knowledge and expertise location experiences with Viva Engage and Answers in Viva to Copilot-assisted knowledge experiences grounded in your organizational content.

You will take away practical strategies for achieving your KM goals and a deeper understanding of how Microsoft 365 and Copilot can help you in your journey.

Thursday 10:40 AM - 11:50 AM · Room 202A

Does Information Architecture Matter Anymore?

With all the machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) available in Microsoft 365 these days, do we still need to think about information architecture? Can automation fulfil the promise of reducing the load on information architects and developers?

In this session, we’re review some of the better practices for constructing a powerful information architecture and why it still matters. We’ll look at real-world examples and talk about what automation can and can’t do for you.

Technology is evolving quickly, so expect to see a few tidbits you don't expect, as well as healthy doses of reality.

Thursday 4:20 PM - 5:30 PM · Room 201

Intranet Surgery: How Copilot and Viva Connections can give your intranet a makeover

Are you tired of your intranet looking like it’s stuck in the 90s? Do you want to give it a makeover without breaking the bank? Look no further than Copilot, Viva Connections, and some critical best practices for helping your intranet deliver ongoing value to your employees and the organization.

In this presentation, we’ll talk about how to perform intranet surgery using the latest AI-powered tools from Microsoft. With Copilot, you can generate new content for your intranet in seconds, from catchy headlines to informative articles. With Viva Connections, you can customize your intranet to match your organization’s brand and culture and provide a seamless experience for your employees in the flow of work – to connect, collaborate, and learn.

With the latest best practices for discovery and governance, you can ensure that your intranet rehab is successful and transforms your intranet powerful tool for communication, collaboration, and innovation.

Friday 12:30 PM - 1:40 PM · Room 204AB

Using Site Templates to Deploy Consistent Information Architecture

A great information architecture improves many content management scenarios, from search, to business processes, to ease of content tagging and storage.

In this session, we'll look at how Site Templates can be used to create reusable site building blocks rather than focusing on configuring the entire site. By using these specific building blocks together, you can build up your sites to have capabilities you need, in whatever combinations make the most sense for the work at hand.