Information about SharePoint, Microsoft 365, Azure, Mobility and Productivity from the Computer Information Agency
As a follow on from my recent post about all the additions to Microsoft 365 Business:
Microsoft 365 Business get serious
I went in and had a look at one of my tenants with Microsoft 365 Business and, as you can see from the above, the additional items (like Stream) are already available in the tenant!
The benefits of the cloud.
Recently Microsoft announced that Microsoft 365 Business had added a number of new features. You can read the announcement here:
Now, I was super impressed with what they added. Things like Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) are amazing add ons. However, when I went and looked at the actual Services Descriptions for what has been added I was blown away with what has in fact been added. Here’s the complete list:
1. Microsoft 365 Business includes Exchange Online Archiving subscription. This effectively turns an Exchange Online Plan 1 mailbox into a Plan 2 mailbox. This means that it effectively makes the mailbox unlimited in capacity. This was previously only available on E3 plans or better!
2. Azure Information Protection (AIP) Plan 1 is included in Microsoft 365 Business. This includes even more features that are part of Office 365 E3! For example, AIP Plan 1 includes the following items above and beyond what you get with Office 365 E3:
– Manual, default, and mandatory document classification and consumption of classified documents
– Azure Information Protection connector with on-premises Windows Server file shares by using the File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) connector
– Document tracking and revocation
3. Data Loss Prevention features will be available in Microsoft 365 Business in Summer 2018. Normally this required a minimum of Office 365 E3.
4. Enterprise State Roaming for Windows 10 with Azure AD join. This is a feature of Azure AD Premium 1 but is now in Microsoft 365 Business.
5. Full Intune capabilities for iOS, Android, MacOS, and other cross-platform device management built into Azure console, also licensed for use with Microsoft 365 Business. Now this is the REALLY interesting one. It says FULL Intune!
6. In-Place Hold and Litigation Hold. This used to require a minimum of Office 365 E3.
7. Microsoft Stream. This used to require a minimum of Office 365 E1.
Interestingly, there now seems to more flexibility when it comes to integration with local Active directory per:
8. Azure AD Connect tool for enabling directory synchronization is supported in Office 365 Business Premium, which is a component of Microsoft 365 Business. However, when Windows Management components are enabled for Microsoft 365 Business, an Azure AD-join is required. If you have an on-premises Active Directory environment and you want to join your domain-joined devices to Azure AD, you can accomplish this by configuring hybrid Azure AD joined devices.
9. Advanced Threat Protection (ATP). This used to only be included in Office 365 E5 or as an addon SKU.
Some things Microsoft 365 Business still doesn’t include:
A. Conditional access (based on group, location, device state, sign-in, or user risk).
B. Device objects two-way synchronization between on-premises directories and Azure AD (device write-back).
C. Dynamic Groups.
D. Group Naming Policy. I am going to assume this one as I can’t find information that say it is included. However, fingers crossed.
E. Advanced eDiscovery.
If you want to check out all the details see:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt846681.aspx
This really changes the whole Microsoft 365 Business conversation. These additional features I believe make Microsoft 365 Business the hero SKU for SMB, especially considering that that the price has not been increased (as far as I am aware). That is a huge amount of added value for no additional price.
The two big ones for me are the inclusion of Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and Intune. If you then go and add everything else, wow, simply wow, is all I can say. This puts Microsoft 365 Business into the must have for most small businesses.
If you haven’t looked at Microsoft 365 Business, you really, really should!
I’m joined my Microsoft MVP Mark O’Shea to talk Microsoft 365, what it is, why it is important and how to implement it. Mark shares his experiences and thoughts on the product and why it so important going forward. There is of course our usual cloud news and updates from Microsoft so sit back and enjoy this deep dive episode into Microsoft 365.
Take a listen and let us know what you think –feedback@needtoknow.cloud
You can listen directly to this episode at
https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-179-mark-oshea/
Subscribe via iTunes at:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2
The podcast is also available on Stitcher at:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ciaops/need-to-know-podcast?refid=stpr
Don’t forget to give the show a rating as well as send us any feedback or suggestions you may have for the show.
Resources
New Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business admin center
Schooling a sea of phishing part 3
SharePoint Migration tool beta
View Planner tasks in your Outlook
There is a small town in northern France called Villers-Bretonneux. In the local school the following sign stands.
It is place that will never forget the sacrifice 100 years ago today that Australian made to liberate it from German occupation. Less than three years after entering the First World War on the shores of Gallipoli, Australian and New Zealand (ANZACs) forces had taken part in some of the most fierce fighting in history in northern France.
In one site near the town of Poziers, known as the Windmill, almost 6,600 ANZACs died in an area now covered by a single field.
Today we have little concept of the horrors that these individuals went through or the sacrifice they made for their country, but more importantly for their ‘mates’. Although unruly at times the ANZACs were some of the most effective fighting forces of the war, being used time and time again as the tip of the attacking spear.
Many went to their their deaths in the hail of bullets from defenders but they forged a unique place in our history that is only now being full appreciated and recognised. In a world of constant change we can look to the sacrifices of the past and say thanks for the benefits we now enjoy.
The legacy of the ANZACs is carried on today by those who serve in the military, police, ambulance, fire fighters, nurses and more. Rarely are these people acknowledged for their service. Rarely are they rewarded adequately for what they do, yet we all expect them to be there selflessly when called upon.
The 25th of April is a day we as Australians take to recognise the sacrifices of the heroes of yesterday and today. It is day that we say thank you for their service and recognise the contribution it has made to us as a society. Hopefully, it is also a day that we can also absorb some of that selflessness, bravery and dedication and apply it in our everyday lives. At the very least, we owe them that.
Lest we forget.
If you want to learn more about the ANZAC battlefields in northern France, visit my web site – www.anzacsinfrance.com.
Here are the slides from the April Azure webinar where we took a look at web sites in Azure.
https://www.slideshare.net/directorcia/ciaops-need-to-know-azure-webinar-april-2018
The recording is also available at:
http://www.ciaopsacademy.com.au/p/need-to-know-azure-webinars
which CIAOPS patrons get free access to as part of their subscription.
This webinar set more of the ground work for upcoming monthly webinars that will go deeper into Azure features and abilities.
So make sure you sign up for next month’s webinar.
Slide from this month’s webinar are at:
https://www.slideshare.net/directorcia/ciaops-need-to-know-office-365-webinar-april-2018
If you are not a CIAOPS patron you want to view or download a full copy of the video from the session you can do so here:
http://www.ciaopsacademy.com.au/p/need-to-know-webinars
Watch out for next month’s webinar.
We have a special interview for this episode, Doug Hazelman from Cloudberry Labs, to talk all about their backup solutions that include the ability to backup from places like Azure and Office 365 as well as from on premises. We talk about the products as well as the opportunities that Cloudberry provides for Managed Service providers. Of course Brenton and I headline the episode with some updates as to what’s happening with technology and the Cloud.
Take a listen and let us know what you think –feedback@needtoknow.cloud
You can listen directly to this episode at
https://ciaops.podbean.com/e/episode-178-cloudberry/
Subscribe via iTunes at:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/ciaops-need-to-know-podcasts/id406891445?mt=2
The podcast is also available on Stitcher at:
http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/ciaops/need-to-know-podcast?refid=stpr
Don’t forget to give the show a rating as well as send us any feedback or suggestions you may have for the show.
Resources
Cloudberry Backup for Office 365
Doug Hazelman – doug.h@cloudberrylab.com
Was your data compromised on Facebook?
Facebook admits public data of its 2.2 billion users has been compromised
View Planner tasks in your Outlook calendar
New Teams and Skype for Business Online admin center appears
I recommend that any Office 365 tenant sold these days also include Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), which costs around AU$2.50 per license.
ATP does many things but of the things that I really like is that it takes a very deep look into attachments you receive, sandboxing them to see exactly what they do when opened. You can see an example above that I received.
In this case, I have set ATP to use dynamic delivery which means I get notified of the ATP scanning process with a place marker as shown above.
When I open that place marker I see the above which informs me that the attachment is being checked by ATP.
In a short period I see the attachment as normal once ATP has completed checking it for me.
ATP is included in E5 but is an add on for other plans but as I said, I consider it a mandatory add on if you are serious about security and minimising the risk of a dodgy attachment being delivered to your business.
CIAOPS 