Episodes

  • Microsoft Contract Negotiation: Escalation Dos and Don'ts

    Microsoft Contract Negotiation: Escalation Dos and Don'ts
    Sep 19 2025
    Organizations need to weigh when, how, and if it's worth escalating during their Microsoft contract negotiation process. In this episode, Directions on Microsoft Senior Consultant Steve Kelley shares his dos, don'ts, (and a few war stories) with Mary Jo Foley.
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    22 mins
  • Enterprise Copilot Adoption: Lessons from the Field

    Enterprise Copilot Adoption: Lessons from the Field
    Sep 8 2025
    PwC Principal James Farhat joins Directions analyst Barry Briggs and Mary Jo Foley to discuss early real-world wins and challenges around Microsoft 365 Copilot adoption.
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    31 mins
  • Get Ready for Microsoft's Coming Licensing Changes

    Get Ready for Microsoft's Coming Licensing Changes
    Aug 26 2025
    Starting Nov. 1, Microsoft is dropping the programmatic discounts that were baked into its volume-licensing agreements. But price hikes are just one of the resulting fallouts for which enterprises need to prepare immediately, as Directions' lead negotiator Dean Bedwell details in this episode with Mary Jo Foley.
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    19 mins
  • Is No-Code Really Dead?

    Is No-Code Really Dead?
    Aug 8 2025
    Is there still a place for no/low-code tools like those in Microsoft's Power Platform with the rise of generative AI and GitHub Copilot? The New Stack's news editor Darryl Taft joins Directions Rob Sanfilippo and Mary Jo Foley to debate the topic.
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    23 mins
  • The Human Side of Data Governance

    The Human Side of Data Governance
    Jul 16 2025
    We've all heard repeatedly about the importance of securing your data estate before implementing Copilots, agents and other AI components. Directions analyst Barry Briggs talks with Mary Jo Foley about what needs to happen among execs, IT and employees on for data governance to really work.
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    24 mins
  • SQL Server 2025 to Deliver AI Features and Lots More

    SQL Server 2025 to Deliver AI Features and Lots More
    Jun 26 2025
    Microsoft is set to release this fall SQL Server 2025, its first new version of its flagship database in three years. Special guest, Microsoft Regional Director and MVP Andrew Brust and Directions analyst Andrew Snodgrass detail the AI, performance and other top SQL Server 2025 features in this episode with Mary Jo Foley.
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    36 mins
  • Microsoft Security Copilot: What You Need to Know

    Microsoft Security Copilot: What You Need to Know
    Jun 10 2025
    Microsoft made Security Copilot generally available just over a year ago. Special guest Microsoft MVP Ru Campbell and Directions analyst Wes Miller talk with Mary Jo Foley about the ways this marquee copilot is evolving, in terms of packaging, pricing and licensing — and what customers interested in it should and shouldn't be doing.
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    32 mins
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat vs. OpenAI's ChatGPT: How to Choose

    Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat vs. OpenAI's ChatGPT: How to Choose
    May 29 2025
    So many AI chat products; so little time. Directions on Microsoft's newest analyst David Berry shares his insights with Mary Jo Foley on how enterprise customers should evaluate Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat vs. ChatGPT (and Microsoft 365 Copilot itself).
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    23 mins