Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #177
I made some people nauseous this week, but I think that is indicative of an opportunity.
This week, I gave a presentation at the Oxygen Forensics Legacy and Logic User Conference. Their head of training and I go back to our days training at AccessData, and he thought it would be interesting to have someone from outside the digital forensics world come in and talk about collecting data from M365 using eDiscovery tools.
He was not wrong; it was interesting. Traveling also meant a chance to meet up with family and hit a concert, while still working in between everything, so the newsletter is a little lighter than normal. Don’t worry, I’ll be back with more in two weeks!
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. For each issue, I will share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and key insights into privacy, security, and legal technology.
You can learn more about me here: Mike McBride Online.
If you’ve followed me online over the last few years, nothing I showed them would shock you. If you’re not living in the M365 universe, it can be pretty shocking to see charts that illustrate how confusing Microsoft licensing can be, where Teams and Copilot data can be located, and concrete examples of the complications that come from collecting in a collaborative, ever-changing environment.
More than one person told me afterward that it made them nauseous. I don’t really blame them. It can be overwhelming. That is also the opportunity.
M365 isn’t going away. Organizations are not going to leave Exchange en masse any time soon. It’s too difficult to switch. The forensic and eDiscovery industries will be living with this for a long time to come. The investigators and eDiscovery vendors who can master it, teach their clients about it, and communicate with clients about changes and how to adapt their workflows will start to stand out.
It is a massive opportunity to partner with clients truly. To be their expert when they can’t afford one on staff.
I suggested at the end of my talk that the solution lay in community. None of us will ever be able to keep up, but finding a community of knowledge is the way forward.
Who are your experts? Who do you suggest others follow and learn from? Who’s sharing the best stuff on M365 Purview, data sources, eDiscovery, etc.?
I have mine, and you see many of them in the M365 news roundups in that newsletter. But I know there are more.
Let hear ‘em!
Careers and the Workplace
Worth Reading - Managing a remote team of engineers
You may notice how frequently the words “intentional” or “on purpose” appear. With remote teams, nothing is left to chance encounters, because there aren’t chance encounters. You communicate effectively, even when it feels like over-communication, and you set clear expectations that are well-documented. Additionally, you create transparent processes to track progress and create transparency. You do all of this on purpose, which I would argue is how you should be leading, regardless of where your team is located.
Worth Reading - Americans Are Overworked. Could AI Change That?
Juliet has written an entire book on the subject, so you should at least read the full article above. As mentioned in the paragraph I quoted above, though, what you’ll find are the things that would allow the American workplace to allow for translating the increased productivity in to fewer hours worked; universal healthcare, overtime pay, loss of unions, and income ineqaulity, are the same things that powerful corporate interests will convince politicians, and voters, are bad for society.
Yeah, I know it, too —You Know, In-Person Networking Can Help Advance Your Career. But You’re Still Not Doing It.
Oh no.
Artificial Intelligence
How many people are sharing confidential data with shadow AI tools?
Do your users understand the risks and how to use AI safely?
Struggling with knowing how to use AI? Maybe there’s an idea here:
1,001 real-world gen AI use cases from the world’s leading organizations
I’ve noticed this, too - AI’s Sameness Problem
I’m going to go with “no.” - Do you want Windows Copilot to send emails for you?
Training and Development
More of this - Training Your Workforce Against AI-Driven Social Engineering Attack
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
This is an excellent question for eDiscovery. How do we handle data generated by AI? How should we treat it as evidence? - Taming Modern Data Challenges: Generative AI Created Content.
They’ve got to make that money somehow, privacy be damned! - Companies at Risk of an Earnings Miss Allow More Third-Party Trackers on Their Websites
Ouch. - Google pitches Workspace tools for “when, not if” Microsoft 365 fails
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put into sharing this with you each week.