Missing Lync

If you aren’t aware, Microsoft has recent released its Lync client for MAC machines. I was configuring this recently as part of an Office 365 installation and seemed unable to connect. It turns out that Microsoft has recently added to the requirements for DNS records for Lync online. You need, in fact, to add 2 new CNAME records. They have documented this in the following article:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2566790

I didn’t have time to allow the DNS records to update the local name servers so you can also insert the following URL in both the internal and external server fields in the Lync MAC client:

sipdir.online.lync.com:443

Once I had done that the Lync client connected.

Microsoft also recently released Lync for Windows Phone 7. You will also note that Lync clients for iDevices (iPhone and iPad) as well as Android are coming soon, before 2012 if you believe the rumours.

Being a Windows Phone 7 user I eagerly downloaded the app and installed in on my phone but again I couldn’t seem to connect to Lync online. Same issue as before, you need to update your DNS records as detailed the above KB article. However, again, I couldn’t wait that long so once more I needed to make some manual settings.

To do this on a Windows Phone 7 toggle the “Auto-detect services” and enter the following as the “External Discovery URL”https://meet.lync.com/Autodiscover/autodiscoverservice.svc/Root. Chances are you’ll never be “internal” to the Office 365 network so leave the internal one clear for now.

Again, once I made these changes I could connect my Windows Phone 7 to Lync Online. Cool stuff.

I can’t wait to see the Lync client emerge for the iPhone and iPad devices as this will really open up the market for Lync. As I have said previously, Lync is one of the real selling points of Office 365 and the more places it can be used the better I say.

Microsoft apps come to iDevices

In the past few days there has been a flood of Microsoft apps making an appearance in the Apple Apps store.
Skydrive
The first of these is SkyDrive. Microsoft will give you 25GB of free ‘cloud’ storage space (limit of 100MB per file though). With the new app you can access all that information directly from your idevice (iPhone and iPad) as well as Windows Phone 7. This makes Skydrive a very compelling offering when compared to other ‘cloud’ storage offerings like Dropbox and box.net.

More information about Skydrive for idevices:
http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_live/b/windowslive/archive/2011/12/13/introducing-skydrive-for-iphone-and-windows-phone.aspx

OneNote
Microsoft has had a OneNote application for the iPhone for a while but it has now released dedicated OneNote app for the iPad. The difference is quite marked and OneNote on the iPad takes full advantage of the additional screen real estate. It is again a free app but at this point in time you can only work with OneNote notebooks saved on Skydrive rather than something like SharePoint. However, the expectation is that this will change in the near future opening OneNote up to access notebooks on any shared medium.

More information about OneNote for the iPad:
http://appscout.pcmag.com/apple-ios-iphone-ipad-ipod/291719-microsoft-onenote-arrives-on-ipad

Lync
Lync is Microsoft’s ‘unified communications’ solution. Basically, it allows people to install client software and then communicate with each other via chat, video and voice. It also provides the ability to share things like desktops, whiteboards, PowerPoint presentations and more.
Microsoft has recently released Lync clients for the Mac as well as for Windows Phone 7. It is also expected that Lync clients will be available for most other mobile platforms by the end of December 2011.

More information on Lync for Mac:
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/enterprise/lync

More information on Lync for Windows Phone 7:
http://lync.microsoft.com/en-us/Product/UserInterfaces/Pages/lync-2010-mobile.aspx

Xbox
Microsoft has recently updated the interface on the Xbox device but it has also released apps for the iPad and Windows Phone 7. The iPad app again makes great use of the medium and allows you to perform a number of control functions on your Xbox (provided it is on). Although in its infancy it isn’t hard to see where this develop is heading. It is not hard to imagine a not too distant future in which you can login to your Xbox remotely and ask it to download movies, save TV shows, etc.

More information on Xbox for iPad:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/245653/microsoft_releases_xbox_live_app_for_iphone_and_ipad.html

Office
There are also very strong rumours that Microsoft will release its Office suite onto the iPad very shortly. There is still apparently a battle going inside Microsoft as to whether delivering Microsoft’s most profitable product to a competitive device like the iPad is such a good idea given that holding it back may drive sales of the ‘proposed’ Windows 8 tablets or whether without Office on the iPad Microsoft Office is losing sales. Personally I’m in the second camp. To me Microsoft is a software company and the more platforms it can makes it software available on the better I say. Time will tell on this score.

More information on Office for the iPad:
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/260910/20111205/ipad-ms-office.htm

Viewing Exchange archive folders

One of the options available to Exchange 2010, whether online or on site, is the ability to create an archive folder and store emails there. It is possible to apply policies to automatically have items archived to these folders if desired. For most Office 365 plans users receive a 25 GB mailbox which can be shared between the normal inbox and this archived location (when enabled). With the Exchange Plan 2 and E 3 Suite in Office 365 this archive has an ‘unlimited’ capacity. Thus, on these plans you effectively receive an unlimited email box.

Have a look at these two screen shots.

In this second one, note there is an additional item Archive – admin@ciaops365.com.

The issue is that these are shots of a connection to the SAME Exchange Online mailbox using Outlook 2010. The first screen shot was with Outlook 2010 from Office 2010 Standard and the second (where the archive mailbox appears) was from Outlook 2010 from Outlook 2010 Professional Plus.

It turns out that you need Outlook 2010 from Office 2010 Professional Plus to see the Exchange Archive folder. Now this problem is not unique to Exchange Online via Office 365. Turns out it is a factor of Exchange 2010 Server whether onsite or in the cloud. Here a few links worth looking at to confirm this behaviour:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/f/160/t/7510.aspx

http://www.msoutlook.info/question/523

It all has to do with the licensing for Exchange server Enterprise. Information about that can be found at:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/license-requirements-for-personal-archive-and-retention-policies-HA102576659.aspx

You can always view the archive folder using Outlook Web Access but it is a bit of a constraint if you can’t see your mailbox archive via Outlook. The issue is that traditionally only large enterprises used Exchange Archiving and thus they normally had access to Office 2010 Professional Plus. Problem now with Office 365 is that every business utilizing it has access to Exchange Archiving.

So how is this going to affect the different plans?

No issues

E3 suites – because Office 2010 Professional Plus is included as part of the license.

Major issues

Exchange Plan 2 – if sold to a business that doesn’t already have Office 2010 Professional Plus installed. They won’t be able to see their archived email folder (when enabled).

Minor problems

Remaining plans – unlikely they will have email archiving enabled as they are limited to 25GB in total spread between inbox and archive (i.e. why do you need archiving when you can put it all in your inbox?).

The place it will be an issue is when archiving is enabled. Why would people do that if they can safely store everything in their inboxes as mentioned previously? A good reason that they might want to enable an archive (even on the 25GB max inbox plans) is that they are looking to limit the amount of email that gets synced with the local Outlook via the OST files as archived emails are not cached locally.

Now those audiences with the major and minor problems above are probably small but they are still important. Why? For those on Exchange Plan 2 (with the potentially major problem) it is because this is the plan that many will opt for when they start to dip their toes into the ‘cloud’. They will pick Exchange Plan 2 because it provides an unlimited email box size and allows them to attach other products such as SharePoint and Lync as they become more familiar with the ‘cloud’ in the future. Those with the minor problems (most of the other plans with a limited 25GB mailbox) still need to have the ability to configure and utilize archiving, especially to reduce the amount of information they sync with the cloud.

In some ways I feel this is something that Microsoft overlooked when it brought the enterprise version of Exchange down to small business. I also don’t believe that it impacts a great audience at this stage but still it is something that Microsoft should address to prevent it being used as ammunition against them and Office 365. Maybe some additional update would be available for installations of Outlook 2010 that connect to Exchange online so they can view the archived emails not matter what version of Outlook 2010 they have on their desktop. Doesn’t seem that hard to do. At worst, maybe a separate version of Outlook for those using Exchange Plan 2 so they can take advantage of the feature?

For now it is something to be aware of when working with Exchange and archiving. It is also something to remember affects on site Exchange Enterprise 2010 as well as Exchange Online via Office 365. Is it a big issue? Probably not at the moment but should be rectified as soon as possible to ensure Office 365 continues to grow in acceptance across all businesses, large and small.

Office 365 updates

There have been some quiet improvements to Office 365 recently. Probably the best place to visit on a regular basis to see what these updates are on a month by month basis are:

Service updates for Office 365 for enterprises – http://community.office365.com/en-us/w/office_365_service_updates/service-updates-for-office-365-for-enterprises.aspx

Service updates for Office 365 for professionals and small business – http://community.office365.com/en-us/w/office_365_service_updates/service-updates-for-office-365-for-professionals-and-small-businesses.aspx

Some of the highlights include:

– Lync client for MAC

– Official support for a wider range of browsers including IE9 and Chrome

– 64 bit version of Directory Sync

– Access to SharePoint site for external users via Windows Live IDs

Another improvement is the provision of Self Service Password resets for administrators. Full details of this can be found at:

http://community.office365.com/en-us/b/office_365_technical_blog/archive/2011/11/30/office-365-self-service-password-reset-for-administrators-grid-user-post.aspx

What excites me the most are the improvements to SharePoint and these are covered in this blog post:

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/blog/Pages/BlogPost.aspx?pID=1002

The biggie here I reckon is the provision of Business Connectivity Services (BCS). This will allow SharePoint online to easily start connecting to external data sources. This should start to open up the flood gates for third party apps to hook into SharePoint.

Most interestingly of all is that most of these update have come under the radar, with little fanfare. What it does importantly illustrate is that Office 365 continues to improve and I’ll bet will continue to do so at an even more rapid pace.

SharePoint Guide breakout

The CIAOPS SharePoint Guide is now going into its fourth year and continues to add content and information. Here is some subscriber feedback:

“The Computer Information Agency and their Windows SharePoint Operations Guide has made a considerable difference in the way we deploy and integrate SharePoint Services within our client sites. CIAOPS regular testing of new software releases and associated updates gives us the confidence to go to our clients with the best advice”

Part of the Guide has been the inclusion of information around Office 365 since SharePoint Online was part of the Microsoft offering. However, from January 1 2012 things will be changing.

From the first of the New Year the Office 365 information in the Guide will be broken out into a new product with a different subscription model and a different offering. More information about this will be announced soon. However, all existing SharePoint Guide subscribers will continue to receive access to the new product as part of their existing subscription as long as they stay subscribed to the SharePoint Guide.

This means, that if you have ever thought about being a CIAOPS SharePoint Guide subscriber and if you sign up before December 31, 2011 you will not only receive the SharePoint Guide but also the new Office 365 Guide for the duration of your subscription. After that date you’ll have to purchase each separately. Thus, for $ 299 ex GST up to the end of year you will also get the Office 365 Guide for free.

If you want the best information on SharePoint and Office 365, including documents, videos, tutorials, support, etc then you have until the end of the month to sign up for the existing CIAOPS SharePoint Guide. Come January, the Office 365 information produced will only be available with an additional subscription (details to be announced).

For all the information about the CIAOPS SharePoint Guide visit – www.wssops.com.

Big Picture Experience – Customer Day

So it was back to Darling Harbour in Sydney for the second day of the Microsoft Big Picture Experience. Today is the day for customers.

As expected there was certainly a rush in the morning but far more than I expected. I’d start off doing a SharePoint and Lync demo to a few people at the desk and look up a few minutes later a find over 30 people all crowded round watching intently. There were also plenty of questions from the crowd which really kept me busy most of the morning with demo after demo.

The early afternoon was a little slower but still a constant stream of demos and speaking with customers but in this case they seemed to have more specific questions. The customers came from a range of businesses both large and small, which was great to see. Many where interested in Office 365 and specifically Lync which most were not aware of. Easy to present some real ‘WOW’ features when they haven’t seen the product.

I thought the day was going to wind down by early afternoon as the number of attendees started to thin out, however I found myself still talking to customers even as they were turning the lights out and ushering people out.

So the day started out with more general sessions, demonstrating to groups of people and as the day wore on those discussions became more and more specific as people sought answers to specific questions. This to a great extent I think was the success of the overall event. You could come, walk around and see the latest from Microsoft but if you have specific questions you could find someone to chat with to help you better understand how to make it all work for you business.

Judging from the outside I’d say these events have been very successful and kudos to Microsoft for trying something a little different with the format. I think it worked well for everyone. My big take away was how well all the Microsoft technologies such as Exchange, Office, Lync, SharePoint etc. work together. They are simply so much more powerful when implemented together rather than piece meal. This event was a perfect opportunity to see and experience that.

Finally, thanks to all who attended and spent some time with me, I hope I helped you. Thanks to Microsoft for the opportunity to represent them at the event I hope I lived up to expectations. Now all I need is a good lie down!

Big Picture Experience – Partner Day

So the first day of the Microsoft Big Picture Experience here in Sydney and an opportunity for me to be on the other side of ledger for a change. This means that I donned the Microsoft shirt, badge and was tasked with helping to explain technologies such as SharePoint, Lync, Office 365, Windows InTune, etc to those in attendance.

The day started early and I was kinda of expecting to be bowled over in the rush when the doors opened at 8am, that was to come later. There was steady traffic up till about 9am when the keynote started. I took a wander to see how many attendees were in attendance and was surprised at the number so early.

Once the keynote was over then things started to really hot up as people came through each location seeking information. I have to say that all this Microsoft technology is pretty impressive when you see it all tied together and working. Making Lync video calls, connecting to complex SharePoint sites, received voice mail in Outlook, etc. Sure, at the moment all of this is not available in Office 365 yet, but that is the key thing to remember – YET! When you see it all working together in a single integrated environment you begin to appreciate the power that Microsoft can bring to desktops with their suite of products. Imagine what it will be like when all of this is available through Office 365 down a business as small as one person? Very, very powerful.

I also have to congratulate Microsoft on trying a different format where employees (and moi) are out there giving people hands on, one to one, demonstrations of the products and answering questions. Very different from simply having people sit and look at demos on stage. Now sure, there maybe times when certain locations get busy and individuals may not get the attention they want but hey there are plenty of other things to see. So, circle around and come back in a little while. All in all I think the themed ‘zones’ at the front and ‘lecture halls’ at the back worked well. I didn’t get a chance to attend the lecture session but they were well attended from what I saw.

I was very pleased to ‘run into’ a number of other resellers taking in the technology. I find it interesting how many simply see this even as something to come and look at only. To me, this is a fantastic opportunity to come and meet local Microsoft people face to face, press the flesh and make a connection. Not only that, the hall is also filled with other resellers with whom you can network. Too many simply never ‘make the time’ to attend, seeing it as low priority to their business. I’d be saying the exact opposite, make time, attend the sessions, talk to people, hand out business cards and generally make good opportunity of this rare occurrence.

All in all a very successful day for those that attended and I hope I was able to help people who I spoke with. I thank those people who made time and came up for a chat. The scary thing now is that TWICE as many people are registered for the customer day tomorrow. It is going to be busy.

Out and about

I’m going to be busy for the remainder of the week and thought I’d let people know where I would be in case they wanted to catch up.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 29th) and Thursday (Thursday 30th) I’ll be at the Microsoft Big Picture Experience event at Darling Harbour helping Microsoft explain their technologies, including Office 365 and Windows InTune to partners and customers. I’ll be very interested to see how this event pans out as it seems like a bit of change from Microsoft normally does.

On Saturday (3rd of December) I’ll be presenting at Infrastructure Saturday in Brisbane. My topic is –

Integrating Office 365 with AD and Exchange

Identity in Office 365 is an interesting and often confused topic. Everyone wants to know their options, including how to manage Office 365 customer and partner accounts, domain controller configuration, active directory synchronization, as well as creating a federation trust between a on-premise and Office 365. This session will compare the pros and cons of the approaches as well as guidance on how to set up the requirements. Additionally, the session will cover general information about available Office 365 options and plans.

So if you are in the neighbourhood during either of these event please let me know and we’ll catch up. Otherwise follow along on my Twitter feed (@directorcia) to see what happens.