Category: Business

My software and services 2024

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Here’s last year’s post for comparison:

My software and services – 2023

My PC’s are either running the latest version of Windows 10 (22H2) or Windows 11 (22H2) without any issues. Some machines cannot be upgraded to Windows 11 and some I have left at Windows 10 for the time being to verify their operation. I no longer run any Windows 10 Insider builds as I had trouble backing out of these when I needed to. I still have Office Insider builds happening in my environment.

All Windows machines are directly joined to Entra ID and managed via Intune and Microsoft Endpoint Manager, except for one that remains stand alone for use with my IoT projects.  The Azure AD connected configurations are based on the Windows MDM security baseline settings. All machines only use  Windows Defender for local security monitoring and management. Thanks to Microsoft E5 on my production tenant, I am also using Microsoft Defender For Endpoint at the back end for monitoring and investigation of endpoint threats.

My two main tenants are Microsoft 365 E5 demo and Microsoft 365 E5 production environments. A mix of Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise machines are all Entra ID joined to the Microsoft 365 production domain. The production Microsoft 365 tenant has Microsoft 365 Business for all users except myself. I have a Microsoft 365 E5 license on which I have configured all the services including integrated PSTN calling via Switch Connect.

I use Microsoft Sentinel to monitor threats across my environments via a single pane of glass. I have also now added Defender EASM.

I use the following major browsers:

– Edge – my primary browser across all my devices including iOS and Android. I have it locked down with baseline policies via Microsoft Endpoint Manager.

– Brave – I have become increasingly concerned about the surreptitious tracking that many sites perform, especially when it comes to social media sites. I therefore now do all my ‘random browsing’, searching and viewing of social media sites. I also like that Brave allow me easy access to Tor browsing for anonymous security work.

– Firefox – I now only use this on my Surface Pro X because Brave doesn’t offer an ARM version.

I have now cranked Edge up to the maximum security level but wanted to isolate the most likely tracking culprits into another browser that was security focused. After some evaluation, I have chosen Brave to be this browser. This is now where I do all the stuff that is more likely to be tracked and now hopefully blocked or at least minimised. I have also set this browser up to use Brave Search as the default search engine (which used to be Duck Duck Go, otherwise I use Bing for my production Edge browser. I have completely eliminated Google Chrome off all my machines without any issues and recommend those who are becoming more concerned about their privacy, like me, do the same.

Services like SharePoint Online and OneDrive I use regularly both in the demo and production tenant. I have the OneDrive sync client installed, running and connected to various locations on my production and demo tenants. I can now sync across all my different tenants as well as my consumer OneDrive storage. I have common places pinned to my Windows Explorer Quick access, which I find to be a real time saver.

I regularly use Microsoft Teams which is now my main messaging application and I’m using the new Teams client. All the CIAOPS Patron resources like the intranet, team, etc all reside in the Microsoft 365 E5 demo tenant but I connect to it on my desktop normally via an Azure B2B guest account from my production tenant. Thus, I can admin the Patron resources in a browser if need be but I get the same experience on my desktop as any Patron would. Handy to know what works and doesn’t work with Microsoft Teams guest access. Thanks to Microsoft E5 and Switch Connect, I also have Teams connected as a phone.

I use Lastpass to keep my passwords and private information secure. It allows me to do things like generate and store unique passwords for each website that I sign up for. It is also available across all browsers on my machine (including Microsoft Edge). I also now also use Lastpass to store secure notes. I accept recent security breaches with Lastpass generate concerns but after some investigations I believe the risk for myself is minimal and as yet don’t feela  need to switch. If I am going to change at any point I think I’d be going with Bitwarden.

The extensions I run in all my browsers are:

– LastPass

– GetPocket

– Duck Duck Go Privacy Essentials

I use Microsoft Power Automate for automation as well as Azure Functions.

For my email newsletters I use Mailchimp.

My preferred public social networks for business, in order are:

1. X

2. Linkedin

Mastodon has failed to garner enough usage to make it a viable alternative to X. So for now, that where I’m putting my energies for broadcasting information.

I consume a lot of content from YouTube both for business and personal interest. I also also use YouTube extensively for my publicly available training video training.

Microsoft Office desktop software is still part of my everyday workday via applications such as Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. I use the desktop version of Outlook on my Surface Pro 7 which lives on my desk but I only use Outlook Web App on my travelling Surface Pro 9 device. I could happily not use Outlook on the desktop any more I believe but I still use so I understand the experience for most users. However, I do see the day when Outlook on the desktop begins to lose its appeal.

The key application from the suite for me is OneNote. OneNote is my go to Swiss Army knife for just about everything digital. I use it to capture all sort of data. I even use it as a diary as I have detailed previous here:

One of the ways I use OneNote

The reason OneNote is key is because:

1. Just about everything I put in there us searchable

2. It is freely available across all platforms.

3. All my information is synced and accessible on all devices.

4. It is available on the web or offline if needed.

I am a big user of OneNote on my mobile devices. This combination has allowed me to totally eliminate my paper notebooks for things such as journaling.

I am now a big Microsoft To-Do user. I use it to keep many tasks and items that I need to follow up. I love how it is available on all my devices and syncs across them all as well.

I use Windows terminal now for things like PowerShell execution and Microsoft Whiteboard for demonstrations and training.

Another key service I use everyday along with Microsoft 365 and OneNote is Azure. Typically, I use it for running up virtual machines that I test various things with but I also use it with my IoT projects.

I use Microsoft Sentinel to monitor all my services and machines in one single console and tell me about any incidents now along with Defender EASM to search out vulnerabilities.

There is just so much that can be done with Azure and I pretty much use it everyday.

All of my data now lives in Microsoft 365 protected with things like Windows Information Protection and other Microsoft information protection options. All my Windows machines run with full disk encryption thanks to Bitlocker.

I have implemented Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) to provide application control to improve security in my environment.

To capture my desktop for my online training academy or my YouTube channel I use Camtasia. I use SnagIt to capture screen shots and add highlights and emphasis to these. Snagit allows me to capture complete screens or specific areas quickly and easily. There have been challenges with both of these utilities when it comes to Windows Defender Application Control (WDAC) that I’m yet to fully debug.

I use Microsoft Teams to record my podcasts, which I then produce with Camtasia. These are uploaded to Podbean where they syndicated across various network.

To compose and publish blog articles I use Open Live Writer. My blog lives on WordPress.com.

My web site and Battlefields site live on Squarespace.

The majority of images I get, like the one at the top of this article, I get from Pexels. Pickit is also another great option. I have also been using Microsoft Designer a lot lately.

For improved meeting management productivity I use Microsoft FindTime.

My Surface Duo 2 device is connected to my Surface Pro 7 using the Microsoft Your Phone app making it super easy to interact with the phone while on the desktop. I also use this now with my iPhone as it is super handy to deal with messages, especially SMS. I still haven’t fully worked out how to use the audio on my desktop instead of the phone at time, but I’ll work it out when I have some spare time.

I use Visual Studio Code in which I do most of my PowerShell editing and publishing. I also use it now for my IoT projects. The end result typically is my GitHub repository where you will find a range of scripts and other resources that I maintain regularly. With Visual Studio Code I can edit publish and sync all my machines and my GitHub repository no matter where I am. Very handy.

Here are also a few of the other items I use regularly that are not for business:

Amazon Prime Video – only place to the latest The Grand Tour action. I also liked the Jack Ryan series and well as the Gymkana Files but most of this viewing is now on my iPad mini.

NetFlix – Seen a lot of great stuff this give all the time in lock down but most of this viewing is now on my iPad mini.

XBox Live Gold – access to all the online Xbox goodness.

Duolingo – language, maths and music learning, Japanese and Italian at the moment but most of this access is now on my iPad mini.

Kindle app – for typically reading books on my iPad

I try and keep my production machines as ‘clean’ and free of unused software as possible. I ensure that they are updated regularly. Any software testing that I need to do is typically done on a virtual machine in Azure.

So there you have it, the major software and services that I use regularly. I continue to search out additional software that will improve my productivity. If you use something that you’ve found really handy, please let me know and I always keen to explore what works for others.

My Gear 2024

You can take a look back at last year’s gear here:

My Gear 2023

there were/are some major changes happening with my assortment.

Surface Duo 2 – My ‘Google’ phone. This as a ‘secondary’ or backup phone. It has all the Microsoft apps installed on it and is connected to my Microsoft 365 production account. Most importantly, it has the Microsoft Authenticator app for MFA access for certain apps.  I also have the latest Microsoft Surface pen which I really like. It is probably the best ‘electronic scribing’ device I have used.

i have to admit that I haven’t used this device that much since I bought it. Some of the reasons for that were that I planned to use it as a writing device (i.e. notepad) but storing the pen with the device has proved problematic. Yes, it does have a magnetic area to hold the pen but you can’t just throw the device in a bag and expect the pen to be still connected. The pen really needs some form of pouch in which the pen lives so it can always be with the device. The other thing is the large camera bump prevents the device from laying completely flat. This makes it very hard to use as a replacement notebook on a desk. I’d really like to use this device more but not being my primary device (aka phone) and not having a screen as large as my iPad mini kind of relegates this to something I rarely use unfortunately. Too many gadgets I suppose. However, it will remain important as my Android device for testing.

iPhone 12 Pro Max – Is my main mobile device. Unfortunately, there are growing cracks on the screen that I believe was initiated by the Surface Duo 2 camera bump, when the devices where in my laptop bag together. The phone still works and the crack is off to one side of the screen but I can see the crack growing and full expect one day to have to replace the device. I want to delay this as long as possible since I have invested in a Quad Lock case and multiple holders (car, desktop, etc) for this case. A new phone will mean a new case, which isn’t the end of the world, just additional hassle. However, an upgrade to the latest iPhone will mean using a USB C connector for charging and connection to my PC, and that would be a good thing. However, the cost of the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max at $2,200 is a lot to pay for a phone.

One thing that I have configured my iPhone for is default grey scale display. I do this for two major reasons, firstly to prevent the phone from grabbing and holding my attention and secondly to save power. With the colours disabled on your phone it is amazing at how les tempting it is to play with it and use it as a crux when you are bored.

The great thing I will say about about iDevices is their battery life. My experience is that this allows them to work for years and years, providing great value.

Surface Pro 9 – This is my travelling and demo machine and replaces the Surface Pro 6. Having a dedicated travel machine makes it easy to grab and also to only have the software on it that I need. By that I mean I’m not installing random stuff on it to test.

I like the size and also the fact that it comes with with a Surface pen, which is handy as I discovered that the Surface Pen also works on Surface Hubs! (Great when the Surface Hub pens don’t work).

I do most of my demos on this machine as well as Teams webinar work as it is nice and quick. This machine runs Windows 11 Enterprise. 

Surface Pro 7 – This is my main desktop machine. Being the same form factor as the Surface Pro 6, it just slotted directly into my Kensington SD7000 Surface Pro Docking Station I already have in place. This machine runs Windows 11 Enterprise.

A problem has developed with this device where the screen goes blank below where the mouse cursor is. That makes using the device really, really annoying. I have multiple monitors connected to this device but being unable to use one screen intermittently is a productivity killer. It doesn’t happen all the time but it happens often enough that I think I really should replace it.

The downside of going to another Surface device is that it won’t fit in my Kensington SD7000 Surface Pro Docking Station which I really love. So if I upgrade this machine, I need to do away with the docking station as well.

Surface Pro 6 – My backup machine. I use it pretty much every day as an adjunct to my main machine. It lives on my secondary Kensington SD3500v docking station connected to a full screen and acts as my backup in case my main machine fails or is unavailable for some reason. This machine run Windows 10 but could run Windows 11. I haven’t upgraded as yet because I want to maintain at least one production machine on Windows 10.

This machine is becoming noticeably slower to work with and takes much longer to boot up and run applications. Once these are all ‘fired up’ it is fine, but it is noticeably slower than the more modern Surface machines I have.

Surface Pro X – I use this machine as a ‘lite’ travelling desktop as well as a whiteboarding machine for demos and training. Give that it comes with the Surface Pen and has a nice large screen and will lie flat it makes the prefect device for scribing. I also use this device for writing note into places like OneNote. Perhaps not the most effective use of the device but it beats the iPad when it comes to scribing hands down in my books. This machine runs Windows 11.

This is another machine that I haven’t used as much as I want to, however it is fit for purpose in the role that it plays for me now.

Surface Pro 3 – Continues to work fine and function as a test machine in my production environment. This machine has now been removed from my production network and operates stand alone. It does this so it can run my IoT project work. I found that with the security I have on my production network that I could not easily operate the IoT software I needed so the simple solution was to remove it from the production network and use it stand alone. This machine is slow and clunky, but for now it is doing the job it needs to. This machine is not suitable for Windows 11 and thus still happily runs Windows 10.

Surface – I have had an original Surface version 1 for many years now. The keyboard has long since broken by the system still works fine, although somewhat under powered with only 4GB of RAM. This machine is now a dedicated device on a separate test tenant. This allows me to test Autopilot and other settings on it regularly. This machine is not suitable for Windows 11.

iPad mini 5th Gen – I decided I wanted a smaller ‘notebook’ size table to use like a paper diary, amoungst other things, so I went out and bought an iPad mini.

I also now use this iPad mini with the Apple pencil, which generally works well, although the Apple pencil battery is pretty much knackered. The secret is to get a good case for both the iPad mini and the pencil. My choice was:

Finite Case with Pencil holder

which I’d certainly recommend as it is flexible, tough and cheap.

The only major downside of the iPad mini is that battery life is a lot less than the full size iPad, which is understandable. I have however never run out of juice but you do notice the power levels fall away quickly when compared to the full size version. I like that the iPad mini comfortable fits on my desk, works will with the Apple pencil and is much more transportable than the larger version. I was a little concerned that the screen size would be too small to enjoy movies and read web pages, etc but that hasn’t proved to be the case. I happy use it lying back on the couch to watch a variety of programs and read web sites.

After a number of years the Apple Pencil doesn’t really hold a charge any more. That is disappointing, although I appreciate it doesn’t have a huge battery. This has again increased the friction with me finding a suitable replacement for a paper notebook because every time I want to write something down, I need to charge the pencil up which takes ages. I may look at getting a new and updated Apple pencil but unsure as to whether I can really justify that in line with the plan to use the Surface Duo more.

D-Link Wireless N300 Model Router DSLG225 – to allow connect to the NBN broadband network.

Ubiquiti – I have a variety of Ubiquiti equipment in place including a  Security Gateway. All these have worked flawlessly and I can’t recommend this gear highly enough.

Docking station – I still love my Kensington SD7000 Surface Pro Docking Station. It is a really neat device, that suits most modern Surface Pro devices. It is slim, compact and now allows me to have 3 external monitors off the one Surface devices (as you can never have enough screen now can you eh?). I can plug in all my devices, microphones, phones, etc to it and all the cables are hidden at the back. I also like that you can adjust the screen up and down, a bit like a Surface Studio.

The original Kensington SD3500v has now moved to work with the Surface Pro 6 and that is also working well

Amazon Kindle – Still have this but it has now largely been superseded by the iPad mini for reading books. I still love my Kindle but if I can have one less device then I’m going to take that option. so for now, the Kindle has been relegated as a backup.

Xbox One S – Still use it to watch YouTube, Netflix and Amazon video but now playing more games thanks to Minecraft Dungeons and Call of Duty game.

The new item from last year was the Surface Pro 9 as my new travelling and demo laptop. I can see the day in the not to distant future where my iPhone 12’s screen will finally break and the Surface Pro 7 screen will give up the ghost. Both of these will mean a significant outlay for new devices and at the moment I don’t see the value in upgrading either unless I have to.

My other major hardware investment was a Snapmaker Artisan 3 in 1 printer but information about that now lives with CIAOPSLabs.

CIAOPSLabs is open for business

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After some careful consideration, I’ve decided to start a new blog over at:

https://blog.ciaopslabs.com

Over time you may have seen me post articles like IoT here, which aren’t probably strictly on topic for this blog. I also now have a growing business around design and solving problems using tools like 3D printers and CAD design. Lumping all of that in here with the existing content I feel would be a distraction I’ve decided, and thus, all of that is better in its own unique area.

The stuff in the CIAOPSLabs is going to be more about me working through ideas, design, and decision processes, rather than showing what the end results is, which is what I kind of do more here in this blog. So the topics in CIAOPSLabs are going to be far more random as I see it as a ‘catch all’ for everything that doesn’t make sense in this blog.

My approach to any blog has always been primarily about creating a location for me to document things I might need to remember as well as creating an audit trail of what I did when. I’ve already started posting things up there and you’ll also find an account on X as well as YouTube. I like to make my experiences public so that they in turn help someone else. I also see it as a kind of ‘pay it forward’ to all those who have created content that I have consumed in my journey.

Please note that the content across the CIAOPSLabs resources is still a work in progress and will expand out overtime. It simply comes down to the time available for me, but at least I now have somewhere to document a range of topics I have been holding off on for a while. It needs a lot more polish I’ll admit, but at east now it has started!

If you are interested in problem solving and things like 3D printing, IoT, creating real world stuff and generally trying to be more productive then add the CIAOPSLabs to your follows. If you are mainly focused on the Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft 365, Azure, Defender, Power Platform and so on, then you are already in the right place and I thank you for following my content here.

Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to subscribe to this blog and I hope to see some of you over at CIAOPSLabs as well as the journey there begins.

My Stuff 2024

This post is my annual post aimed at bringing the links to everything I have out there on the Internet together into a single place. Here we go.

About me

Social Media

Free Stuff

Regular technical and business information, tutorials, walk throughs, learnings, upcoming courses and more.

Here you’ll find currently almost 200 videos full of tutorials on SharePoint, Office 365, Azure and technology.

Presentations and whitepapers for free download.

Documentation for older versions of SharePoint on premises, especially the free versions and those that came with SBS.

Cloud lecture series is a set of free tutorials, training session and so on that I have provided over the years:

I have number of free GitHub repositories that include things like PowerShell scripts, pricing calculators, reference documents, helpful links and more. You will find all these at:

With over 300 episodes and now in it’s 14th year my podcast focuses on providing you news and updates from the Microsoft Cloud around Microsoft 365 and Azure.

You can subscribe using iTunes or Google. If you’d like to be a guest or know someone who would, please let me know.

Need to Know webinars are held monthly and announced on my blog. These are conducted using Microsoft Teams on a topic around the Microsoft Cloud.

and subscribe to previous and upcoming webinar recordings and resources here:

My free Teams shared channel you are welcome to join. To do so follow the instruction here:

here you’ll find a forum on the Microsoft Cloud.

I publish a weekly round up of Microsoft Cloud news in my CIA Brief:

Commercial stuff

This stuff helps pay for free stuff above so I appreciate your support for my paid work.

Access to the CIAOPS community for technical support, product discounts and access to the best Office 365 and Azure information

General Interest

I’m a big believer in supporting those who want to build their own business but just need a leg up to get started. Kiva is simply and easy way to provide this and I recommend this to everyone.

In 2023 I read over 30 books. That means I do a lot of reading on a variety of topics and with Goodreads you can follow along with the books I’m reading as well as those that I add to my bookshelf. I’ll have an upcoming post on my recommended reads, so watch out for that post coming soon.

  • Xbox gamer tag = director cia

I don’t play a whole lot these days, but when I do I typically play:

– Minecraft Dungeons

– Call of Duty

– Minecraft

If you ever need to send me stuff you can do so via the following address:

PO Box 5
Beecroft NSW 2119
Australia

My Bitcoin address is – bitcoin:bc1qwgcr296c7rtjvlpkv9yy5033qjgwwrvttxhtm7

My Ethereum address is – ethereum:0xD7cc991E1f84B625C3723D2965C9948238F5DFe8

Don’t over look a good naming convention

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If there is one piece of advice I can given when it comes to setting up policies in Microsoft 365, it is to have a good and consistent naming convention.

Microsoft 365 is full of policies, from Conditional Access, to Exchange Online to Intune and more. Having a naming convention worked about before you start creating policies is going to save you a lot of time down the track when you need to modify or troubleshoot your policies.

If you using something like Microsoft 365 Lighthouse to manage multiple tenants, then some additional thought will also need to be invested because if every tenant you manage has identically named policies then when these are rolled up into Microsoft 365 Lighthouse it is going to get confusing.

Although there is no agreed upon standard for naming conventions I’d give you these tips as general guidance:

– Short is better. i.e. ‘HR’ is far better than ‘Human Resources’

– Have the business name as a 3 letter acronym (i.e. ‘ABC’) at the beginning of the policy name if you are using Microsoft 365 Lighthouse

– Avoid special characters like @#$%, etc as well as spaces if you can. Use a ‘-‘ instead of a space and avoid using underscores (‘_’)

– Avoid upper case as well. My experience using the Microsoft Graph is that it can be very case sensitive at times. Having everything in lower case makes it much easier when you come to automating policies and the like with code such as PowerShell.

– Don’t state the obvious like starting every Microsoft Team with the full name of the business or words like ‘Project’. The shorter the name the easier it is to read and display.

– Be mindful of the names used on things like mobile devices

– Remove unnecessary policies to avoid confusion

– Avoid using names like ‘Test’, ‘Temp’, etc. if you do, remove these items when the test is complete to again avoid confusion.

– Try and make it easy for yourself and others in the future to understand and work with the names you have chosen.

The secret is to come up with a naming convention, document it and then use it everywhere. Consistency matters, because in the end it is going to be your time that gets chewed up by trying to work out what randomly named policies actually do. Take some time up front to have a convention and you’ll be rewarded with less pain later on.

AI is simply another IT tool

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It is always interesting to see technology go through a familiar boom and bust hype cycle. The older you get, I suppose, the more you see of these. Unfortunately, I have learnt from history that when a transformational technology does appear it goes through this familiar initial hype cycle until it settles down into the background and becomes so helpful and common that we never think about it anymore.

I remember what a revelation getting hold of my first spreadsheet program and then adding a WYSIWYG editor (Lotus 1-2-3 back then). Since then, spreadsheets have become a standard tool for many things from planning to databases, to automation and even charting. They are pretty much indispensable not only for me but also to just anyone who uses any form of computer these days. Spreadsheets have truly become an integral part of most businesses today.

The challenge currently is to decipher the impact AI will have and separate reality and potential from hype. This is the confusing part for most people, even those who are in IT. Today’s landscape is dominated by fast headlines largely designed to grab attention but provide little substance or meaningful analysis. Gone are the days when something new like a spreadsheet would cause no more than a ripple in the media.

I have said previously that I don’t particularly like the way the term AI is being applied to just about everything under the sun these days. Unfortunately, that is the generic term it has been branded with and we will no doubt be stuck with. So, for now, let’s stick that. I would suggest that largely lost in all the hype today is the fact that AI is merely the latest in a long line of tools that technology has provided us. It isn’t some magical cure all product, it is simply something that needs to be wielded to reach its potential and benefit.

I think another misnomer currently doing the rounds is that AI is for everyone and that if you don’t use it regularly, you are somehow not ‘modern’. I would suggest that, yes, AI will, and actually probably already is, used by most people, but they are not even aware of that fact. It is becoming more and more baked into the services they use everyday. I think is different and more akin to people using cars without necessarily fully understanding how they operate. For most, a car is simply a transportation tool that allows them to conveniently get from one location to another. 

The current AI services that we seeing reaching market today are, I believe, largely benefit those that ‘create’ something. That is not to say those who ‘process’ information may also benefit but I believe that greater beneficiaries are those who ‘create’.

Without doubt, technology has already enabled a far greater army of ‘creators’ already. Just look to YouTube as enabler of careers that people have created just using the mechanism of video. Perhaps this is why AI is appealing to a greater audience that ever before. If you however look inside a business, AI is probably more going to benefit people who create financial report than those who do the account entry as an example.

I say all this in mind of Microsoft 365 Copilot and the recent price announcement from Microsoft of US$30 (probably AU$45) for the service. Many were surprised with that price point but I think they believed that this type of AI would be for ‘everyone’ in a business as conventional wisdom is suggesting. Instead, I would suggest, that, at least initially, Microsoft 365 Copilot is aimed at a much small population inside businesses.

This means that you should only think about Microsoft 365 Copilot as a tool for those who can benefit most from it, that is those who are largely creating information as I suggested. From my own experience as a creator, I can tell you that ChatGPT (I don’t have Microsoft 365 Copilot yet) make me far more productive. It allows me to create code. It allows me to generate content from course outlines to descriptions and marketing material. There is so many tasks that I have put it to that have saved me hours and hours. That is where the real benefit I believe lies in the here an now.

When Microsoft 365 Copilot becomes available, I will be investing in a license for myself in my business but I won’t be, at least initially, investing in it for others. Thanks to ChatGPT, I can already see the huge productivity benefits it provides as well as the ability to leverage resources that make my business more competitive and allows me to do more with less. However, AI, Microsoft 365 Copilot, ChatGPT, etc is no a panacea by any means. Can a screwdriver be used as a hammer? Sure, but it really isn’t the best tool for the job? To benefit from a car not only do you have to invest in one, you need to invest in learning how to drive it. It is the same any tool, technology based or not. Maximum benefit is only derived in learning how to use it.

I have found that, unsurprisingly, most people and businesses have heard about AI but are yet to experiment with it. They don’t know where to start. Even when Microsoft 365 Copilot becomes available, that won’t change as many won’t investment initially being sceptical and seeing price as a barrier. My suggestion is that if you look at your business and can easily identify those that ‘create’ then they should be priority candidates for AI. If enhancing their productivity by saving them at least one hour a day in their work, then they are again a good candidate for AI. These people can get started today by using ChatGPT and then look a Microsoft 365 Copilot when it becomes available broadly.

As with any technology, there will be a learning curve. Likewise, there will be a first mover advantage for those that adopt early, which is the payoff for their early investment. The secret is looking beyond the hype and recognising that AI is simply another tool, like many that have come before and like than that will come in the future. In there here and now its benefits largely get over hyped by those who probably only have cursory experience with the technology. The good news here is that taking you can start using this latest tech tool for your business today. It won’t be for everyone in your business just yet, but I’d be pretty certain that it would benefit at least one person in your business right now. If AI can indeed save even a few hours every week for that person and make them more productive, then it is worth the investment.

In short, judge the benefits of AI as any other business tool. It is something for your business, just not everyone in your business right now.

Techwerks 20

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CIAOPS Techwerks returns to Melbourne CBD on Friday the 11th of August.

The course is limited to 20 people and you can sign up and reserve your place now! You reserve a place by completing this form:

http://bit.ly/ciaopsroi

or by sending me an email (director@ciaops.com) expressing your interest.

The content of these all day face to face workshops is driven by the attendees. That means we cover exactly what people want to see and focus on doing hands on, real world scenarios. Attendees can vote on topics they’d like to see covered prior to the day and we continue to target exactly what the small group of attendees wants to see. Thus, this is an excellent way to get really deep into the technology and have all the questions you’ve been dying to know answered. Typically, the event produces a number of best practice take aways for each attendee. So far, the greatest votes are for deeper dives into the Microsoft Cloud including Microsoft 365, Azure, Intune, Defender for Endpoint, security such as Azure Sentinel and PowerShell configuration and scripts, with a focus on enabling the technology in SMB businesses.

Recent testimonial – “I just wanted to say a big thank you to Robert for the Brisbane Techworks day. It is such a good format with each attendee asking what matters them and the whole interactive nature of the day. So much better than death by PowerPoint.” – Mike H.

The cost to attend is:

Gold Enterprise Patron = Free

Gold Patron = $33 inc GST

Silver Patron = $99 inc GST

Bronze Patron = $176 inc GST

Non Patron = $399 inc GST

I hope to see you there.

Microsoft 365 incident response training now on demand

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I have now made available in the CIAOPS Academy:

Microsoft 365 Incident Response

on demand training course. The aim of this training is to help you better prepare for a security incident inside the Microsoft 365 environment. You’ll learn what settings you should enable and what processes you should have in place before an incident occurs. The sessions will also take you through common examples of incidents and help you understand what needs to be done when they occur and how to minimise risk and impact to a business. The sessions will also take your through the post-incident process to build confidence with what information needs to be maintained and how to prevent similar incidents re-occurring. The final session will be a group hands on lab and discussion so you can put all the skills you have learned to the test.

A course quiz and certification of completion are also available as part of this course. Inside the course you’ll find over 8 hours of video content plus a host of resources and scripts for you to use.

Normally, this course is AU$399 but for a very limited time and for a limited number of people I am offering 33% off if you use this direct link:

https://www.ciaopsacademy.com/p/microsoft-365-incident-response?coupon_code=FIREMEUP&product_id=4576434

or use the code

FIREMEUP

at checkout.