Step 1: Install Required Modules

To get started with Microsoft 365 PowerShell, you need to install the following module:

• Microsoft 365 Usage Analytics PowerShell Module

You can download this module from the Microsoft website or install it using the PowerShell Gallery.

To install the Microsoft 365 Usage Analytics PowerShell module, run the following command in PowerShell:

1. Install-Module-Name Microsoft365UsageAnalytics

Step 2: Connect to your Microsoft 365 Tenant

To connect to your Microsoft 365 tenant, run the following command in PowerShell:

1. Connect-M365UsageAnalytics -Credential (Get-Credential)

This will prompt you to enter your Microsoft 365 admin credentials. Once you have authenticated, you can start using PowerShell to retrieve and analyze Microsoft 365 usage data.

Step 3: Retrieve Microsoft 365 Usage Data

There are many types of usage data that you can retrieve from Microsoft 365 using PowerShell. Here are some examples:

1. Retrieve User Activity Data

You can retrieve user activity data from Microsoft 365 to see how users are interacting with Microsoft 365 services. To retrieve user activity data using PowerShell, run the following command:

1. Get-M365UserActivity -StartDate "2022-01-01" -EndDate "2022-03-31" -GroupBy UserPrincipalName

This command retrieves user activity data for the period between January 1, 2022, and March 31, 2022, and groups the data by user principal name.

2. Retrieve Tenant Activity Data

You can retrieve tenant activity data from Microsoft 365 to see how your organization is using Microsoft 365 services as a whole. To retrieve tenant activity data using PowerShell, run the following command:

1. Get-M365TenantActivity -StartDate "2022-01-01" -EndDate "2022-03-31" -GroupBy Service

This command retrieves tenant activity data for the period between January 1, 2022, and March 31, 2022, and groups the data by service.

Step 4: Analyze Microsoft 365 Usage Data

Once you have retrieved Microsoft 365 usage data using PowerShell, you can use various data analysis tools and techniques to gain insights and identify trends. Here are some examples:

1. Use Excel to Create Pivot Tables

You can use Excel to create pivot tables that summarize and visualize Microsoft 365 usage data. To do this, export the data retrieved from PowerShell to a CSV file using the following command:

1. Get-M365UserActivity -StartDate "2022-01-01" -EndDate "2022-03-31" -GroupBy UserPrincipalName | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Temp\UserActivity.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Then, open the CSV file in Excel and create a pivot table that summarizes the data by user principal name, service, or activity type.

2. Use Power BI to Create Dashboards

You can use Power BI to create dashboards that provide real-time insights into Microsoft 365 usage data. To do this, export the data retrieved from PowerShell to a CSV file using the following command:

1. Get-M365TenantActivity -StartDate "2022-01-01" -EndDate "2022-03-31" -GroupBy Service | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Temp\TenantActivity.csv" -NoTypeInformation

Then, import the CSV file into Power BI and create visualizations and dashboards that provide a comprehensive view of Microsoft 365 usage data. You can use various chart types, such as bar charts, line charts, and pie charts, to display usage data by service, user, or activity type.

3. Use PowerShell to Automate Analysis Tasks

You can use PowerShell to automate analysis tasks and generate reports that provide insights into Microsoft 365 usage data. For example, you can create a PowerShell script that retrieves user activity data for the past month, calculates the total number of activities for each user, and sends an email report to the IT team.

To do this, use the following PowerShell commands:

1. $StartDate = (Get-Date).AddMonths(-1).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
2. $EndDate = (Get-Date).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
3. $UserActivity = Get-M365UserActivity -StartDate $StartDate -EndDate $EndDate -GroupBy UserPrincipalName
4. $UserActivity | Select-Object UserPrincipalName, Total | Sort-Object -Descending Total | ConvertTo-Html | Out-File C:\Temp\UserActivityReport.html
5. Send-MailMessage -To"ITTeam@example.com" -From"Admin@example.com" -Subject "Monthly User Activity Report" -Body (Get-Content C:\Temp\UserActivityReport.html -Raw) -BodyAsHtml -SmtpServer "SMTPServer.example.com"

This script retrieves user activity data for the past month, calculates the total number of activities for each user, creates an HTML report, and sends it to the IT team via email.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, retrieving and analyzing Microsoft 365 usage data with PowerShell can provide valuable insights into how your organization is using Microsoft 365 services. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can use PowerShell to retrieve usage data, analyze it using various data analysis tools, and automate analysis tasks to gain insights and optimize your Microsoft 365 environment.