Blog Writing with AI – Productive or Waste of Time?

I have today submitted a blog to a customer (link to follow upon publication).

I thought I’d take the opportunity to test out a couple of AI tools and see how they compared. Prompted by the recent Tech Community article I decided to use the Typeface AI app in Microsoft Teams and Bing Chat Enterprise.

In the interests of transparency, please note that I wrote my blog entirely from scratch after reading the suggestions without any AI, except proofing tools. I did find the AI generated articles helped me plan my own article and get me started and it prompted me to write this article too. So AI did make me more productive!

I used the same prompt in both

Generate a blog post about storage for academic organisations in Microsoft 365

I fully expected to need to refine my request, but I was surprised at how well the prompt worked. The images below give a snippet of the results and the full text of the answers are included at the end of this article. The most interesting thing about the results for me, was the different approach. Whilst Typeface AI went for a factual definition of storage in Microsoft 365, Bing Chat Enterprise results are obviously heavily influenced by current news and trends in searches on the topic.

I especially liked the little warning at the end of the Typeface AI result, which we should all bear in mind when using these tools.

Bing Chat Enterprise Response in Full

Here is a possible blog post about storage for academic organisations in Microsoft 365:

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How Microsoft 365 is changing the way schools store and manage their data

Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based suite of productivity and collaboration tools that empowers educators and students to create, communicate, and learn in innovative ways. One of the key benefits of Microsoft 365 is the ability to store and access files and data from anywhere, on any device, with robust security and compliance features.

However, with the increasing amount of data generated and stored by schools, there are also some challenges and risks that need to be addressed. For example, how can schools ensure that their data is well-organised, secure, and compliant with data protection regulations? How can schools reduce the environmental impact of storing large amounts of data that may not be needed or used? How can schools optimise their storage costs and usage without compromising their performance and functionality?

To help schools overcome these challenges and make the most of their cloud storage, Microsoft is introducing some changes to the storage offerings across Microsoft 365 Education. These changes are designed to provide schools with more flexibility, control, and visibility over their storage allocation and usage, as well as to encourage schools to adopt best practices for data governance and management.

What are the changes?

Beginning at a school’s next contract renewal, but no sooner than August 1, 2024, all school tenants will receive 100TB of free pooled storage across OneDrive, SharePoint, and Exchange, with additional pooled storage per paid user, depending on your subscription * (see the FAQ for details)¹². This means that the total amount of storage available for your school will depend on the number and type of licenses you have purchased, as well as any additional storage you may have bought.

For example, if your school has 500 A3 paid users and 500 A5 paid users, your total pooled storage limit will be:

100TB + (500 x 50GB) + (500 x 100GB) = 125TB

This pooled storage limit is the maximum amount of storage that can be used across your combined users. You can assign different storage quotas to different users or groups within your school, depending on their needs and roles. For instance, you can give more storage space to teachers or researchers who need to store large files or datasets, and less storage space to students or staff who only need to store basic documents or emails.

If your school needs more than the pooled storage limit, you can purchase additional storage in 10TB increments ($300 USD estimated retail per month) based on your needs¹². You can also monitor your storage usage and trends with the free tools provided by Microsoft in the M365 Admin Center¹².

Effective February 2024, users of Office 365 A1 (free subscription) will be limited to a maximum of 100GB for OneDrive storage, within the 100TB of pooled storage for the school tenant¹². IT Admins have the flexibility to set a lower limit for A1 users if they wish.

Why are these changes happening?

These changes are part of Microsoft’s commitment to both the security and privacy of school and student data as well as reducing our collective carbon footprint. By providing schools with more visibility and control over their storage allocation and usage, Microsoft aims to help schools reduce some of the security risks associated with legacy storage and data sprawl, as well as minimise the environmental impact of storing large amounts of data that may not be needed or used.

According to a recent report by IDC³, over half of all data stored by organisations is not serving a useful purpose. This “dark” data takes up space on servers and results in increased electricity consumption, generating 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2020 alone³. By deleting or archiving unused or outdated files and data, schools can free up valuable storage space, improve their performance and functionality, and lower their carbon footprint.

Moreover, education is the industry most impacted by cybercrime⁴, with K12 receiving over 80% of workplace malware attacks alone⁴. By implementing policies and practices for data governance and management, schools can ensure that their data is well-organised, secure, and compliant with data protection regulations. For example, schools can use retention policies to automatically delete or preserve files after a certain period of time⁵, or use sensitivity labels to classify and protect files based on their level of confidentiality.

How can schools prepare for these changes?

Microsoft is providing free tools in the M365 Admin Center to help schools visualise and manage their current storage allocation and usage across OneDrive, SharePoint and Exchange¹². These tools will help schools identify how much storage they are using, how much storage they have left, how their storage is distributed across different users or groups, and how their storage usage is changing over time. These tools will also help schools to more easily manage stored data and end-of-life stored files that are no longer needed.

Microsoft also offers a range of resources and guidance to help schools adopt best practices for data governance and management, such as the Microsoft 365 Education Data Governance Toolkit, the Microsoft 365 Compliance Center, and the Microsoft 365 Security Center. These resources will help schools to understand their data protection obligations, assess their data risks, and implement policies and controls to protect their data.

Microsoft encourages schools to start reviewing their storage usage and needs, and to take advantage of the free tools and resources available to them. By doing so, schools can ensure that they are ready for the upcoming changes, and that they are making the most of their cloud storage in Microsoft 365.

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I hope you found this blog post helpful. If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to leave a comment below. Thank you for reading! 😊

Typeface AI Response in Full

As academic organizations increasingly move to digital platforms, the need for storage space becomes paramount to facilitate efficient and effective collaboration. Microsoft 365 offers a variety of storage solutions that cater to the unique needs of academic institutions, making it an ideal choice for organizations seeking to optimize their cloud storage.

Let’s explore some of the key storage options available in Microsoft 365 for academic organizations.

1. OneDrive for Business OneDrive for Business is one of the most commonly used storage solutions in Microsoft 365. It offers 1TB of storage per user, which is more than enough for most academic files, documents, and media such as research papers, presentations, and lecture recordings. OneDrive also allows for easy collaboration, as multiple users can access and edit files simultaneously. Users can also share files with external parties, such as researchers or students, while retaining control over who can view and edit the content.

2. SharePoint SharePoint is a collaborative platform that allows academic organizations to create and manage team sites, lists, and libraries. It offers storage solutions that enable users to store, organize, and share important documents within an organization. SharePoint stores data centrally, making it easy to find and access information. It also provides security features that ensure the safety and confidentiality of sensitive academic information. SharePoint is ideal for academic institutions with multiple teams or departments that need to collaborate and share documents.

3. Microsoft Teams Microsoft Teams is a chat-based workspace that provides a platform for collaboration, communication, and file sharing among teams. Teams offer a variety of storage solutions that allow academic organizations to store files and collaborate securely on projects. Users can create channels within teams to organize content and make it easier to find. They can also share files, folders, and tabs within Microsoft Teams, eliminating the need for additional storage solutions.

4. Exchange Online Exchange Online is a business-class email system that provides academic organizations with cloud-based email, calendars, and contacts. It offers email archiving capabilities, allowing institutions to store and retrieve emails for future reference. Exchange Online also provides legal hold and electronic discovery features that ensure data retention and compliance with regulatory requirements.

In conclusion, Microsoft 365 is an excellent choice for academic institutions seeking storage solutions that cater to their unique needs. With a variety of options such as OneDrive for Business, SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Exchange Online, academic organizations can optimize their cloud storage solutions and improve collaboration and efficiency. The possibilities are endless with Microsoft 365.

The Final Result

Here’s the opening to my article – link to follow.

Changes to Storage Offerings

Digital storage presents a big challenge to Cloud service providers including Microsoft.  The ever-growing volume of data retained in cloud storage is having unwanted impacts, such as:

• The environmental impact of unused or ‘dark’ data is estimated to be generating up to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Unused data and accounts pose a significant security risk, with the education sector disproportionately impacted in current attacks.

Education organisations are first to see changes to storage licensing in Microsoft 365 against this backdrop.  Though it seems sensible to assume that other Microsoft 365 plans will follow suit.  Especially considering the wide reaching impact of the issues alongside the ever increasing technical integration between the Microsoft 365 products and services within the suite.