Node4 News
The latest insights, updates and innovations from Node4.
Microsoft's AI announcements: The bigger story
If you've been following Microsoft's latest AI updates, it's easy to get caught up in the headlines. New models, better image generation, Copilot Notebooks, more agents... there's certainly no shortage of new features.
But the real story is that Microsoft is shifting from AI as an assistant to AI as a co-worker.
Instead of simply answering questions or summarising meetings, AI is increasingly being designed to take on tasks, follow workflows and help get work done. The conversation is quickly moving from "How do I use Copilot?" to "What can I hand over to Copilot?"
Why Copilot Notebooks stand out
Among all the announcements, Copilot Notebooks could be one of the most impactful.
Most businesses have information spread across emails, Teams chats, SharePoint and countless documents. Copilot Notebooks are designed to bring that knowledge together, giving AI the context it needs to produce more useful, relevant outputs.
It's less about taking notes and more about creating a central workspace where knowledge can be organised, reused and turned into action.
More choice, more flexibility
Microsoft is also moving towards a multi-model approach, meaning Copilot won't rely on just one AI model behind the scenes.
For businesses, that's good news. It offers greater flexibility, reduces reliance on a single provider and helps future-proof AI investments as the technology continues to evolve.
Trust is becoming just as important as capability
As AI becomes more embedded in day-to-day work, organisations are asking different questions.
It's no longer "Can AI do this?" but "Can we trust it to do this securely?"
That's why Microsoft's continued investment in governance, compliance and security features is just as important as the headline-grabbing AI capabilities.
Technology isn't the biggest hurdle
One thing we're seeing time and again is that the technology isn't what's holding organisations back.
The biggest challenges are usually around data quality, governance, business processes and adoption. AI can make good processes even better, but it won't fix broken ones.
That's why getting the right foundations in place is so important before scaling AI across the business.
Looking ahead
Taken together, these updates show where Microsoft is heading. AI is becoming part of how organisations operate, not just another tool employees use.
The businesses that will see the biggest benefits won't necessarily be those adopting every new feature first. They'll be the ones that take the time to prepare their data, refine their processes and build AI into the way they work.
What would you want from a Hackathon?
We're planning a series of hands-on Node4 Hackathons designed to help you explore new ideas, tackle real business challenges and build solutions with Microsoft technology.
Before we get started, we'd love your input. Complete our quick survey to help shape the sessions.
Calling our Service Desk? Things just got easier.
We are continuing to invest in the modernisation of our Managed Services capabilities, helping customers access support more quickly, consistently, and efficiently.
As part of our ongoing Service Desk modernisation programme, we have recently introduced AI-powered call handling into our 24x7 Service Desk through our Webex Contact Centre platform.
This marks an important milestone in our journey towards a more intelligent, digitally enabled support experience.
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Your cloud could be costing more than it should...
Give Andrew Slater 30 seconds to tell you why organisations could be wasting up to 30% of their cloud and infrastructure spend.
If it gets you thinking differently about your own estate, our Cloud Assessment will help you uncover your biggest optimisation opportunities and where you could save the most.
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CTO Corner
Why flexibility has become a technology strategy
If you spend enough time talking to technology leaders, a pattern begins to emerge. The conversation is becoming less about technology itself and more about the choices it enables
A few years ago, many organisations were focused on cloud migration. Today, the discussion is broader. The questions I hear are about cost, resilience, security, AI readiness and how quickly the business can respond when priorities change.
The traditional response to complexity has been to reduce it.
Consolidate, standardise and move towards a smaller number of strategic platforms. And there are still good reasons for doing that: simplicity has real value. The difference today is that most organisations are balancing a much broader range of requirements, which means the answer is not always to force everything into the same environment.
Different workloads have different needs. Some benefit from the scale and pace of hyperscale cloud platforms. Others demand predictable performance, specific compliance controls or closer integration with legacy systems. New acquisitions bring additional complexity. Regulatory requirements evolve. Business priorities change.
As a result, many organisations now operate across a broader mix of platforms and environments than they did a decade ago.
The organisations making the most progress aren't trying to make every workload fit the same model. Instead, they are creating platforms that give them options. They are building environments that allow them to take advantage of public cloud services where they deliver value, make use of private or sovereign infrastructure where greater control is needed, and combine those capabilities with managed services that reduce operational burden.
AI is a good example, because many organisations are trying to understand how AI can deliver value, but success depends on much more than a model or a tool. It relies on trusted data, secure access, effective governance and infrastructure that can support changing demands. Very quickly, the conversation becomes one of integration and adaptability rather than individual technologies.
Recognised for helping customers achieve more
We're proud to be in the spotlight! insightsoftware has recognised Node4 as a Platinum Partner for the second year running.
Together, Node4 and insightsoftware are helping organisations unlock more value from their ERP investments. Combining insightsoftware's expertise in finance, accounting and operational solutions with Node4's Microsoft-powered digital platforms and managed services expertise, we're helping customers turn data into smarter decisions.
It's another example of how strong partnerships help businesses achieve more.
nHanced Mirroring for Business Central
As organisations generate more data than ever before, it is crucial to be able to bring that data together, analyse it, and turn it into meaningful insights.
Microsoft Fabric provides data engineering, rich Power BI reporting and advanced analytics with AI integration in a single unified platform, but until now, the only way to make Business Central SaaS data available to Fabric relied on building and maintaining custom integrations.
Introducing nHanced Mirroring
nHanced Mirroring has been built as a configurable framework for replicating Business Central data to external systems. It provides the interface and logic to define which companies, tables and fields should be replicated, how changes are tracked, and manages the scheduling and processing of data. New, updated and deleted records are captured automatically, and can be processed with near real-time availability.
nHanced Mirroring – Fabric connects to the Microsoft Fabric database and ensures data is packaged into the correct format and sent in the correct way. By making use of Microsoft’s Open Mirroring Framework, compute capacity and storage costs are reduced, and there is no requirement to manage a bespoke API for data replication.
Built for the future
Creating a reliable, configurable connection to Microsoft Fabric was the challenge we built nHanced Mirroring for and that is available today. But by splitting the product into two, we have created a foundation we can build upon.
Need to connect to a different external platform? nHanced Mirroring provides the framework, and we only need to build the connector. Whether it is another analytics platform or any other outbound connection, nHanced Mirroring solves the common challenge of processing incremental data loads, and the implementation can focus on getting the right data in the right format.
Microsoft EWS Deprecation: Is Your Email Integration Ready?
Microsoft is retiring Exchange Web Services (EWS) as it continues its move towards more secure, modern cloud technologies. If your organisation currently uses EWS-based email integrations, it's important to start planning your transition.
To support this change, nHanced Emailing will be including Microsoft Graph Authentication, providing a secure, future-ready alternative that ensures continued email integration with Microsoft 365 and Business Central.
Why It Matters
Microsoft Graph is Microsoft's recommended platform for accessing Microsoft 365 services and will replace EWS for many integration scenarios. Customers relying on EWS may need to take action to avoid future disruption.
How nHanced Emailing Helps
Our new Graph Authentication capability provides:
- Improved security with modern authentication
- Continued Microsoft 365 compatibility
- Alignment with Microsoft's long-term roadmap
- A straightforward path away from EWS
Next Steps
If you're currently using EWS in your system or with our nHanced solutions, we recommend reviewing your email configuration and planning your move to Microsoft Graph.
We're producing setup and migration guidance, and our team is available to support you throughout the transition.
Not sure whether you're using EWS? Contact your Account Manager or the Node4 Support Team and we'll be happy to help.
Pyramid Display Materials Ltd
Pyramid Display Materials modernised its operations by transitioning to Microsoft Business Central.
Meet the Experts
Derrick Brew
Modern Work Consultant
Toni Hamblett
Retail Delivery Director
Geoff Barlow
Product and Strategy Director
Aleisha Qasir
Business Central Support Consultant
Brianna’s achievements recognised on the industry stage
Congratulations to Brianna D’Arcy, our Head of Data Platform & Analytics, on being named a finalist for the Outstanding Returner Award at the CRN Women & Diversity in Channel Awards 2026.
Recognising those who make an impact after returning from a career break, the nomination celebrates Brianna’s achievements since stepping into her leadership role following maternity leave, as well as her commitment to championing more inclusive careers and leadership in tech.
