Information about SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Azure, Mobility and Productivity from the Computer Information Agency
I was lucky enough to present on Office 365 ‘stuff’ at the recent Infrastructure Saturday event in Brisbane.
You can download a PDF copy of the deck from:
The session was pretty interactive so there aren’t many slides, but if you wanted a copy you can now download it.
A while back I wrote a post about an interview I did with Bigger MSP around the future of the managed services business in the cloud era.
That was the first in a series of interviews with some very smart and experienced people in the SMB IT industry. So, for your viewing pleasure here they all are for you, starting with yours truly:
I thank Chip Reeves from Bigger MSP for the opportunity to be part of this fantastic project.
Let me know what you think from the panel of expert here. I particularly like what Jay McBain has to say, so be sure to watch that video!
Tas Gray from AxiomIT is back for another episode focused on Office 365. We cover a range of announcements that Microsoft recently made as well as some discussion about Office 365 adoption.
To listen to the episode visit:
http://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-62-tas-gray/
or subscribe to this and all episodes in iTunes at:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2
I am also pleased top announce that the podcast is now available on Stitcher at;
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ciaops/need-to-know-podcast?refid=stpr
If you are interested in being a guest on the show to discuss business or technical topics please contact me (director@ciaops.com).
The Garage series has done a nice summary around Office desktop applications from Office 365 on Remote Desktops. A lot of this was also contained in an earlier blog post of mine which I recommend you review:
https://blog.ciaops.com/2014/10/office-365-rds-world-changes-again.html
The major point to remember here is that they are talking about Office Pro Plus via Office 365 which is ONLY available via Enterprise plans (Office Pro Plus Stand alone, E3 and E4) per the following site:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj900171.aspx
Office via the Office 365 SMB plans (Business and Business Premium) is NOT Office Pro Plus (because it no longer includes things like Access).
The great things is that the Remote Desktop capability can be used on a variety of platforms (including Remote App from Azure) and is now much easier to install and deploy than it ever was. However, remember it is NOT available if you purchase the new Office 365 SMB plans. As I always say, this is another key reason to only go with Enterprise Office 365 plans. However, another benefit of modern Office 365 plans is that you can mix and match between SMB and Enterprise plans in the same tenant as required.
A while ago I publish a blog post entitled:
Why I don’t like the term Trusted Advisor
It turns out that this post has generate some interesting debates on other forums. Someone who was involved in those discussions, Chip Reeves from Bigger MSP, has now put together a series of interviews with myself and other thought leaders in the SMB IT space.
To get the ball rolling on this project Chip has recorded a short video interview with me that you can view above. In it I reiterate how today IT resellers should be thinking like a Chief Information Officer (CIO) rather than an provider that merely sits on the side line waiting for stuff to happen.
I also highlight some points I made in a blog post back in 2012:
in which I outlined my belief that the only two options available to SMB IT providers going forward was to get huge or get small and specialise.
I’ll post up the videos from the others than Chip interviews around this question but in the meantime, watch the interview, read my blog posts and let me know what you think. Am I on the right track or totally off base? I’d love to hear you opinions.
Microsoft keeps the new features of Office 365 rolling with the release of Clutter:
http://blogs.office.com/2014/11/11/de-clutter-inbox-office-365/
To enable Clutter you’ll need to have enabled the office 365 first release program which I details previously at:
https://blog.ciaops.com/2014/09/enabling-office-365-first-release.html
Once the first release feature is enabled you’ll need to wait for Clutter to appear. To check, go to your Outlook Web Access page in the Office 365 portal (i.e. click the Outlook at the top of the page, along the menu bar, when you login to the portal).
Then select the Cog in the top right corner. From the menu that appears select Options.
From the menu on the left expand the Automatic processing and then select Clutter from the list. Note the Clutter option won’t appear for you until it has been rolled out to your tenant. On the right select the option to Separate items identified as Clutter and then select Save. Now you are good to go with a leaner inbox, which will hopefully get leaner over time as the Clutter algorithm learns more about what is important to you.
Once you enable Clutter you’ll see an additional folder created under you inbox called Clutter. It is into here that message deemed non-essential will automatically be routed,
In essence it seems that Clutter is basically automatic mail rules. It uses machine learning to determine what is ‘important’ and re-routes what isn’t to a sub-folder.
Having used email rules for year to have a more productive email system this doesn’t appear to be a major improvement for the way I work. However, I do know it will be HUGE for almost everyone else because I rarely see others effectively use mail rules for the inbox. They simply allow email to accumulate in their inbox where they never read them. So, the whole process taking place automatically is going to really benefit the majority of users who are currently swamped with emails.
Remember, each user will have to enable Clutter for themselves, inside their own portal login using the process outlined above.
There you have it. Another features added to Office 365 to help your productivity. What do you think? is this helpful? What could be improved? Will you use it? I’d love to hear. I’m interested to see how it interacts with any existing inbox rules, which I assume will be applied PRIOR to Clutter taking over??
It seems like the battle between Lync and Skype for naming rights of Microsoft’s conferencing tool has been won by Skype as per this announcement today:
http://blogs.office.com/2014/11/11/introducing-skype-business/
which says:
In the first half of 2015, the next version of Lync will become Skype for Business with a new client experience, new server release and updates to the service in Office 365.
Seems to me like an interesting move away from the enterprise naming conventions associated with Lync to a more consumer friendly and wider know brand being Skype.
I also not so sure about the whole ‘Skype for Business’ messaging given the confusions there are in the market around ‘OneDrive’ and ‘OneDrive for Business’ presently. However, it does indicate the delineation that is occurring between the business and consumer products.
Skype is certainly a stronger, more widely used and recognised brand so I can see the reasons for moving in that direction. When you look at the new product appears to be like it still remains very much like the Lync client we know and love today, it just gets a ‘Skype’ make-over. It is also a good idea to start consolidating the product brans to avoid confusion the space, especially for end users.
If you are an existing Office 365 users you won’t have to do anything expect wait for the updates in 2015 when your Lync client will be updated. When that happens for me I’ll report back. Till then take a look at the blog post from Microsoft and let me know what you think of the new branding. Does ‘Skype for Business’ make sense?
At 11am on the 11th of November 1918 the guns fell silent on what to date had been the greatest conflict in human history, World War I. It unfortunately was never going to be the end of major human conflict as many believed. It however was the end of many young lives who gave theirs in the service of their country.
Australia played a very significant role in the conflict we have come to call the Great War. They survived the odds on the Turkish Peninsula for nine months and from there went onto fight in many of the major battles on the Western Front, serving with distinction amongst the Allied forces.
As my Anzacs of World War One web site notes:
http://www.anzacsinfrance.com/losses/
In the 4 years of War approximately 416,809 had joined up and of these 313,814 had embarked for duty overseas. 65% of these were killed or wounded compared to 51% for Britain, 50% for Canada and 59% for New Zealand. Nearly 40% of all Australian males 18 – 44 voluntarily enlisted. One in five or 63,163 died on active service during the war.
At this time of year we pause for a short period of time to remember those who did not come home. We remember those who did return but were mortally scarred by the experience. We remember that because of their sacrifice we hope to never have to face the horrors they did when called on by their country.
Many paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy today, so take a moment and remember all those who served and are still serving. Let’s say thanks and never forget the role they played in shaping our nation and what we enjoy today.
Lest We Forget
CIAOPS 