MVP ComCamp events next week

Microsoft MVPs are a community of skilled IT Professionals who share their knowledge and experience of Microsoft products. Next week MVPs around the world are coming together for a week of deep dive presentation culminating in an in person event on Saturday the 22nd of March.
During the week there is a range of webinar that you can attend and the details are here:
http://mvp.microsoft.com/en-us/ComCamp2014.aspx
The week culminates on Saturday the 22nd of March with in person events in every major Australian capital city (and around the world). It is not too late to register for these events which you can do via:

Adelaide	http://bit.ly/1ceIFHt
Brisbane	http://bit.ly/1cG5xDh
Melbourne	http://bit.ly/1ceJmR0
Perth	http://bit.ly/Nq6O7W
Sydney	http://bit.ly/1gv7EsD
Auckland	http://bit.ly/1k4iR8Z

You’ll also find out more about the agenda and logistics of the day.
These events are not only a great way to get a deep dive into Microsoft products, they are also a great opportunity to network with other IT Professionals. I would encourage you all to attend and to let everyone else who maybe interested also know about these events.
I look forward to seeing you on the day.

Lync Online external meeting attendees

Lync Online allows you to invite anyone to a meeting you schedule. All you need to do is schedule a meeting as you would in either Outlook or the Lync Web Scheduler and send them the URL for that meeting.

When they receive this link and click on it they will gain access to the meeting. If they already have a Lync Online account and Lync client software (either from Office 2013 or Lync Basic) on their desktop, the meeting will be launched in these applications. If they don’t have a Lync Online account with Lync desktop software, a browser will launch and they can use the Lync Web App to connect to the meeting.

Here’s a video from Office 365 MVP Darrel Webster that steps you through the experience of connecting using a web browser:

The Lync Web App is a fully featured Lync client that runs through a browser. This also means you can run the Lync Web App on a Macintosh.

Here are some handy links on the Lync Web App:

Join a Lync Meeting form Lync Web App

Quickstart: participate in online meetings with Lync Web App

There are some slightly different limits on what Lync can do across the plans and you’ll find that information here:

Lync Meetings

Lync Online Service Descriptions

You can have up to 250 meeting participants and here a good guide on the best practices when it comes to a Lync Meeting:

Best Practices for a Lync Meeting

This makes Lync Online a really compelling tool for smaller businesses because it can:

1. Reduce the amount of email people have to deal with since they can now quickly chat

2. Allow them to host full blown webinars that can be recorded and used later

3. Provide the ability to see what every one is doing via their presence in Lync

4. Have the same Lync experience on their mobile device and where ever they are.

5. Allow them to remain in contact with their team no matter where they connect from.

So remember, Lync is for all users, even those without Office 365 whom you wish to involve in a meeting. For them access is as simple as using a web browser.

Security for your mobile devices

The IT landscape today is filled with hackers, malicious software and disasters. Most businesses have these under control for traditional servers and desktops within their business and perhaps somewhat in their homes but when it comes to mobile devices many have adopted the ‘Macintosh fallacy’. That is, it won’t happen to me.
The bad news is that mobile devices are now more than ever the target of the bad guys and are more likely to sustain some sort of disaster (like falling into the toilet). My question is, what are YOU doing about it? Yes YOU.
The first app that I’d be looking at installing on your devices is Lookout.

It will protect your device from malware, scan every app that you download to ensure that it is safe as well as block malicious web sites. It will also backup your contacts, photos and other data allowing you to easily transfer it to a new device. Lookout even allows you to find your device and remotely wipe it if you need to.

Much like the Secunia desktop software, a version now available for Android devices allows you to ensure that all the apps on your device are up to date. This greatly reduces the chance of them being exploited as any desktop user knows.
Both of these are FREE so there is no excuse not to have them running on your device. Both also offer commercial products that provide greater amounts of control for businesses with lots of devices to manage so if you have a fleet of devices you need to manage you should also look at how these products can allow you to create your own BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) strategy.
If you don’t protect your device then you have no one to blame if something goes wrong. Reduce the risk and use these two free apps. I do!

More from Simon Sinek

YouTube is a great thing. Not only does it have some really fantastic stuff that you’d probably never see (of course along with stuff you probably don’t want to see) but it learns what you watch and suggest more of the same. Chances are that will be appealing, you watch that and it will again learn and suggest more stuff like that. So the circle goes on.

Following on from the video I recently posted by Simon Sinek is another that has popped up. This one covers a some of the same material but there are some more great insights. The great thing about this video is that it includes a questions and answer session at the end. So make sure you watch it all the way through.

OneDrive for business now available

Microsoft has just announced the availability of OneDrive for Business which is a replacement for the SkyDrive Pro client.

OneDrive for Business for Windows 8 and Windows RT
OneDrive for Business Desktop App for Windows
OneDrive for Business for iOS
Also interestingly it was announced in the OneDrive blog that:
Starting April 1, 2014, OneDrive for Business with Office Online will be available also as a standalone service.
It is worth reading the OneDrive blog to also get an idea of what is coming down the track. Things like more storage and security for OneDrive are very exciting.
So, I’m off to update all my apps and learn about the new benefits of OneDrive for Business.

Comparing Lync Online client software

You can connect to Lync Online via a number of different clients. You can use a web browser all the way up to the full client that comes with Office 2013 Professional Plus but what happens if you are using an Office 365 plan that DOESN’T include Office 2013 Professional Plus as a desktop download (like say a stand alone Lync plan)?

In that case you’ll be able to download and install just the Lync client software but beware, because in this case what you’ll get as a download is Lync Basic NOT the full Lync client.

If you refer to this document:

Clients for Lync Online

You will note that it says in the foot note under the Client features for stand alone plans [my emphasis added]:

The Lync 2013 client is supported for use with these subscription options, but it is not included. To access multiparty video (gallery view), OneNote meeting notes, recording, and calendar delegation features, users must have rights to the full Lync 2013 client. You can obtain the full Lync 2013 client by purchasing Office 2013 Professional Plus.

So what doesn’t Lync Basic provide then? Here’s the list:

Advanced call features: team ring, call forwarding, simultaneous ring, voice mail, call park, call delegation, response groups, and remote call control (not available with all Office 365 subscriptions)
Calendar delegation
Gallery video view
OneNote sharing
Recording
Skill search (not available with Office 365)
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) (not available with Office 365)

These items are probably not an issue for most people but the big one that is missing from Lync Basic for me is the ability to record a meeting.

So if you have Lync Online and you DON’T have Office 2013 Professional Plus on the desktop make sure you understand the limits of what your chosen Lync client software can and can’t do. Just for reference here is a table of exactly what each Lync client can and can’t do:

Lync Client comparison tables