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Hey! It’s Jack.
It’s been an extremely busy week on the service desk, due to a Draytek update that broke literally hundreds of thousands of broadband connections worldwide. I hope you weren’t affected, but if you were and haven’t got your internet working yet, check out the Favourite Finds section — I’ve included steps that has fixed the issue for our clients.
Anyway, onto the focus of this week’s edition. In a hybrid setup, most meetings happen online — and it’s easy for them to become messy, unfocused, or just a waste of time. But with a few simple tools and habits, you can make meetings clearer, shorter, and more productive.
This week, we’re looking at the best ways to use Microsoft 365 — especially Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive — to improve meetings and streamline collaboration.
In this edition of On The Pulse:
Using Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive to ensure more productive meetings
How to fix your Draytek router if you’re still having issues
Copilot’s new “deep reasoning” features
People and File Search — new Microsoft apps perfect for people who care about productivity and efficiency
Table of Contents
Let’s get started!
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🔍 FAVOURITE FINDS
📰 News
A number of ISPs, including AAISP and ICUK, have reported widespread disconnections among customers using DrayTek routers, due to what appears to be an attack exploiting known firmware vulnerabilities. The issue began on Saturday night (23 March) and continues to affect users, even those with patched devices. DrayTek hasn’t directly confirmed the cause but has issued advice: disable remote management and SSL VPN (via System Maintenance > Remote Management and VPN and Remote Access > Remote Access Control), update firmware, and reboot the router. ISPs are urging users to patch or replace affected routers, and disable VPN features as a workaround if needed. Frankly, while these routers are popular for small businesses and home offices, DrayTek’s vague response isn’t doing much to reassure users.
Microsoft is adding advanced “deep reasoning” AI tools to its 365 Copilot suite, including Researcher for multi-step research and Analyst for high-level data analysis using OpenAI’s models — features set to roll out from April. These upgrades promise to automate complex tasks across tools like Salesforce and Excel, with minimal coding required. While potentially a huge productivity boost for businesses, Microsoft will need to prove this isn’t just AI hype; if it delivers, it could make Copilot genuinely indispensable for knowledge workers.
🧐 Interesting
Microsoft is launching two new mini productivity apps — People and File Search— for Windows 11 users in the M365 Insiders Beta channel. People helps you quickly learn about colleagues through profile cards, org charts, and smart search by role or department, while File Search lets you find, preview, and share files without needing the exact name. These tools aim to reduce context-switching and boost efficiency by integrating tightly with Teams and OneDrive. It’s a smart move — simple but meaningful upgrades that could genuinely streamline daily workflows, especially in large organisations.
✨ DEEP DIVE
💯 RUN BETTER MEETINGS AND COLLABORATE MORE SMOOTHLY
Before the meeting: set up for success
📅 Schedule through Outlook + Teams
Create your meeting in Outlook and Teams will be added automatically (and vice versa). Use the invite to include a clear agenda and any prep work. This helps attendees know what to expect and keeps the meeting on track.
📁 Share files ahead of time
Upload important documents to Teams or OneDrive, then link them in the calendar invite. That way, people can review before joining and you avoid wasting time explaining from scratch.
During the meeting: stay focused
💬 Use the meeting chat for links and comments
Don’t interrupt the speaker — drop links, questions, and notes in the chat. It keeps the flow going and creates a handy record for later.
🎥 Record and transcribe the meeting
Click Record in Teams and turn on Live Transcript. This is useful for anyone who can’t attend and means no one needs to take full notes manually. You can search the transcript later to find what was said.
🧠 Use breakout rooms for group work
Breakout rooms are great for brainstorming or small group tasks during workshops or training. Let people explore ideas in smaller groups, then come back to share highlights.
After the meeting: keep the momentum going
📨 Send a quick follow-up with actions
Teams will generate a meeting recap with notes, recording, transcript, and chat. Share this in the relevant Teams channel or group chat.
✅ Track tasks in Planner or To Do
Turn action points into assigned tasks. Use Planner for team-wide follow-up and To Do for personal reminders. Tag people in Teams so nothing gets missed.
Collaboration tips (that don’t need another meeting)
💬 Use Teams channels for project work
Ongoing work is better kept out of your inbox. Share files, updates, and questions in a dedicated Teams channel, so everything stays visible and easy to find.
📌 Tag instead of email
Use @mentions in Teams to ask quick questions or give updates — no need to start a full thread or call.
📄 Use shared documents, not attachments
Instead of emailing files back and forth, use shared Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files in OneDrive or SharePoint. Everyone can edit the same version in real time.
Make your meetings count
Good meetings don’t need to be long or complex. With the right setup and simple habits, you can cut down on confusion, avoid duplicated work, and actually move things forward.
📢 Next week: We’ll look at ways to bring structure and focus to your workday—even when you’re switching between devices and locations.
What’s your number one meeting or collaboration pain point? Reply and let us know!
✅ WRAPPING UP!
That’s all for this edition of On The Pulse.
Thanks for reading and see you soon! 👋