Weekly Update 7 July 2025 – The One With No News

This week’s update is a bit different – there are no new links or technical deep-dives to share, and there’s a good reason for that. It marks the start of Microsoft’s new fiscal year, a time marked by transitions in funding and direction. Many internal initiatives and content programs typically pause during this period as teams await renewed budgets and project scopes.

I also took time to acknowledge and reflect on the recent layoffs, which have affected some incredibly talented individuals. It’s a sobering moment that highlights the duality of supporting those impacted while understanding that business decisions are often made with long-term strategy and shareholder responsibility in mind.

You can also listen to the audio-only version here: Thoughtstuff Podcast – Tom Morgan on Teams Dev: Weekly Update 7 July 2025.

Find all my videos at thoughtstuff.co.uk/videos. You can also subscribe to the audio-only version of these videos, either via iTunes, Spotify or your own podcasting tool.

Transcript (AI-Generated):

Hello and welcome to another weekly update. Hope you’re doing well.

This week’s update is going to be a little different to the normal ones. I couldn’t find any links that I really wanted to talk about, and I think that’s because we’re in the transition between fiscal years at Microsoft.

The new fiscal year started on July 1st. This is a time when a lot of content production—like blog posts, updates to Microsoft Learn, and tech community activity—slows down. These types of programs are usually tied to budgets, and when the fiscal year ends, projects either get renewed or they don’t. When funding pauses or ends, those activities pause or end as well.

I also wanted to address the recent layoffs. There’s no official statement from Microsoft and no great journalism on the issue, but it’s something worth talking about. It’s possible to feel deep sadness for those affected and still understand that Microsoft, at its core, is a business. Many are in shock – people who were planning long-term careers, engaged in meaningful projects. To those people: I see you, and if I can help in some way, please let me know.

Simultaneously, companies have to make tough calls. As outsiders, we don’t have access to all the data Satya and the leadership team have. We have to assume they’re making the best calls for the company. Microsoft’s long-term performance suggests they’ve generally made good decisions over time.

This state of flux also impacts the feature development and news cycles. Just like blog content pauses, work on features on product teams might slow while plans for the new fiscal year are established. The result is a lull in announcements and updates.

That doesn’t mean everything stops – engineering often operates on longer timelines than marketing. But many communication updates do come from marketing teams, and their cycles are greatly affected by fiscal planning.

This lull will pass. We might see new blogs, podcasts, or other programs. Or some content streams may simply fade away if they don’t receive renewed support.

I won’t be doing a weekly update next week – just taking a short holiday (not funding-related – there was never any funding!). I’ll be back in two weeks, and hopefully by then the news pipes will be flowing again.

Until then: if your funding is still active, go make some news. And if you were affected by the layoffs – you have my full support, and please reach out if I can help in any way.

Thanks for watching. Have a great week.