74-324 Exam Cram notes available for purchase

Because every little bit of information helps you pass those Microsoft Certification exams, I am happy to announce that the training notes from my recent 74-324 Administering Office 365 for SMB Exam Cram sessions are now available for purchase.
In the download you will find:
– 4 x PowerPoint presentations covering each session
– 1 x OneNote 2007 course notes
You will need PowerPoint 2007 and OneNote 2007 or better to view these files.
The material contains over 60 exam questions and answers to help you prepare for the test as well as explanations and other links on Office 365.
You can purchase this product directly from:
http://www.e-junkie.com/ciaops/product/487843.php
or from the CIAOPS Publications page:
http://www.ciaops.com/publications
Remember, these notes are aimed at helping you pass the current 74-324 exam. Here are some testimonials:
“I sat the exam last night and passed. Roberts Exam cram and links helped tremendously.” – Doug Wilson
“I just passed the O365 exam, I highly recommend that if you are thinking of taking the exam to review all questions in the OneNote that was provided by Robert at the cram exam session and you’ll be guaranteed a high pass” – Gregg Mimmo
“I found the Exam Cram training with Robert, further study of his course notes and url references in the notes to be excellent.” – Darren Webb
“Passed 74-324 today thanks to Rob’s detailed notes and my brain, but mainly Roberts notes. I use O365 everyday and have done since its release but i still got a lot out of the training” – Damian Wiseman
“Robert’s focus on the things you need to know coupled with extensive relevant reference points are a sure formula for success.” – Boris Britbart
As always current subscribers to my SharePoint and Office 365 Guide receive these free as part of their subscription.

Clever Windows Phone ad

Go the Windows Phone

This is a clever ad for the Nokia Windows Phone. It is an interesting commentary on the current state of affairs around technology these days. I am still of the opinion that a Windows Phone is a better overall device but I fully accept that others can make their own choice based on their own preferences.

Perhaps what it signals most is the fact that mobile technology is moving so fast. People are turning over their devices at least every 2 years. That means that manufacturer’s need to come out with new models incessantly. That is pretty demanding.

It will be interesting to see whether this growth levels off or continues to accelerate. If history is any judge we’ll continue to see rapid growth until we reach a point whether only small incremental changes are made. Most modern devices are probably powerful enough for what people need to do these days. What we really need is more bandwidth to overcome the choke point to cloud services.

So sit back and enjoy the video, I’m sure it won’t be the last in this vain.

Office 2013 bulk deployments from Office 365

I wrote a post a while back on doing bulk deployments of Office 2013 from Office 365. since then Microsoft has released an Office Deployment Tool for Click to Run which you can find at:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36778

Once you have downloaded and installed the tool you can run the setup executable with a number of parameters like:

C:\download>setup /?

Usage:
SETUP mode [path to configuration file]

SETUP /DOWNLOAD [path to configuration file]
SETUP /CONFIGURE [path to configuration file]
SETUP /PACKAGER [path to configuration file] [output path]
/DOWNLOAD Downloads files to create an Office15 installation source
/CONFIGURE Adds, removes, or configures an Office15 installation
/PACKAGER Produces an Office App-V package from an Office installation source

This allows you to download a complete copy of Office 2013 that can then be deployed across a network. Here’s an article on how to do just that:

Download click-to-run for Office 365 products by using the Office Deployment tool – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219424

You can even go further than this by using the configuration.xml file to customize both downloads and deployments. The reference for this file is at:

Click to run configuration.xml reference – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj219426

It is great to see Microsoft making the bulk deployment of Office 2013 from Office 365 easier for IT Professionals.

Office 365 and SharePoint Guide turns five

I am proud to announce that the CIAOPS Office 365 and SharePoint Guide has reached it fifth birthday!
So what is it? The Guide is a collection of technical and training material on all aspects Office 365 and SharePoint. It contains, documents, videos, OneNote notebooks, links and more all accessed via a SharePoint portal. At last count there was over 9 hours of videos and 1,500 pages of documentation, all of which is updated monthly with new and additional content.
In the Guide you will find things like:
– Study and preparation material for the 74-324 Administering Office 365 for SMB exam.
– Every CIAOPS publication
– Learning tracks to help you get up to speed on the products
– so much more
Guide subscribers also receive discounts on other CIAOPS items such as:
– Bootcamps / Training
– Consultation
So what do some of subscribers say?
I just thought I’d add my accolades to Robert Crane’s guide and remind all our members that Robert’s wealth of knowledge in all things cloud, experience and willingness to help is unmeasurable. All the useful tips in one place. Why wouldn’t you spend the $299 to subscribe to the guide? – Mike Hatfield (HIT)
“I can truly credit Robert for his training day and his SharePoint Guide (which includes Office 365 notes and information on the exams we require to continue or certification with Microsoft). I managed to pass with the highest score I have ever achieved in a Microsoft exam (900+)” – ( Rod Arthur, LAN Creation )
I also take this opportunity to thank every single subscriber for their support of my business but I’d especially like to thank my foundation subscribers who have been with me from the start. Without your faith in me this product would not be what it is today.
Special Birthday offer
Therefore to celebrate the Guide reaching the five year milestone I am going to make the following offer to every new subscriber during May 2013:
– Receive 10% off the normal purchase price of AU$299. Use the offer code 5YEARSNOW at checkout.
– Receive up to 1 hours remote consultation/training session free in a single session available until 30 June 2013 (Valued at > AU$200).
For ANY existing Guide subscriber, in recognition of their continued support, I will offer during May 2013:
– Up to 1 hours remote consultation/training session free in a single session available until 30 June 2013 (Valued at > AU$200).
Finally to ANYONE who recommends my Guide to someone who takes up a new subscription during May 2013 I will offer:
– 10% commission of the retail price (i.e. AU$29.90) for every converted referral. Thus, if you make 2 converted referrals you’ll receive AU$59.80, 3 referrals AU$89.70, etc, etc.
This applies ONLY until the end of May 2013 and don’t forget that the Guide is undated every month and includes all existing CIAOPS publications.
For more information about the Guide and to subscribe visit:

http://www.wssops.com

Once again, I thank all subscribers for their support of my business and I look forward to adding even more content in the coming year.

CIAOPS Podcast–Episode 51

In this podcast Ryan Phillips, a Technical Account Manager (TAM) in the Microsoft Online Services Division, will discuss how Office 365 can be used, in concert with certain applications, components, etc. to properly scope, plan, deploy and use Synchronization and Single Sign-On (SSO) services to provide end-users with the best login and usage experience. Ryan will discuss specifics around Directory Synchronization, Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS), differences between Online (Managed) users versus Federated Users and how end-users will experience sign-on into Office 365 services, such as the Microsoft Online Portal (MPO), SharePoint Online (SPO), Exchange Online (EXO) and other services.
You’ll also learn about the new version of DirSync coming soon that will allow password synchronization from a local network to Office 365!
You can listen to this podcast and subscribe to the series at:
http://ciaops.podbean.com/2013/04/30/episode-51-ryan-phillips/
You can support this podcast via http://donation.ciaops.com
Don’t forget all the other previous podcasts at
http://ciaops.podbean.com
and appreciate a like over at
http://www.facebook.com/n2kpodcast.
Remember if you want to be a guest please contact me (director@ciaops.com).

May their memory live on

On every April 25 Australians and New Zealanders pause to remember those who have served their country. Some have paid the ultimate price, while others continue to bear the scars. To them and those that continue to serve our nations and put their themselves in harms ways we simply say – Thank You.

For anyone interested in the history of the ANZAC soldiers after their Gallipoli campaign I commend my site:

www.anzacsinfrance.com

as a great way to appreciate the major contribution these troops made to the war on the western front.

Additional SharePoint space for M and P plans not available yet

One of the really great additions to Wave 15 Office 365 SharePoint for all plans was the ability to add more SharePoint space beyond what you receive allocated per user. Where did I get that from? Here:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-au/office365-sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/sharepoint-online-software-boundaries-and-limits-HA102694293.aspx

Having just revisited that page after speaking with another reseller who had issues attempting to add space I note the above page says the following for P plans:

Additional storage for Small Business plans is not yet available.

and M plans:

Additional storage for Midsize Business plans is not yet available.

Problem for the reseller is that their customer needed greater space than the default and being told that it could be added went down the M plan route for the customer because of the cost savings over an E3 plan. Trouble is now that they need the additional SharePoint space and it can’t be added ‘yet’. That didn’t sit well with the customer or the reseller as the only option available with the space is an E3 plan and migrating from an M plan is not a simple upgrade of plans.

I am seeing a lot of confusion around what each plan does and doesn’t include. My recommendation is always E plans due to their flexibility. I would also recommend that if you go with either P or M plans check VERY carefully as to whether it exactly fits your needs now and into the future. Don’t rely on someone else, check it for yourself to avoid situation like the above.