New SharePoint Online features in Office 365

Now that the new version of Office 365 has been released and I have had a chance to look through what is on offer I thought I’d do quick round up of what I’ve found so far when it comes to the new SharePoint Online.
1. The first major point is that from what I can see EVERY new SharePoint Online plan includes SkyDrive Pro. This means that EVERY SharePoint Online users will receive 7GB of personal storage space.
There is still plenty of confusion about what SkyDrive Pro actually is. If you haven’t already I’d suggest you take a look at my previous blog post about SkyDrive Pro for clarification. Also remember that SkyDrive Pro space DOES NOT count against other shared space in SharePoint.
2. The default amount of SharePoint storage remains the same. All plans basically get 10GB of shared storage with an additional 500MB of shared space per user. This have 2 users your shared space = 10 + 2 x 0.5 = 11GB.
3. On the storage side, one thing that has changed is that ALL SharePoint Online plans can now purchase additional space! Yes, even P plans can purchase additional space (previously, they couldn’t).
4. P plans (P1 and P2) limited to one private site collection and one public web site. This is the same as the old P plan.
5. The new M plan has a limit of 20 site collections and one public web site.
6. The E plans have a limit of 3,000 site collections and one public web site.
7. Public website storage limit on all plans is 5GB.
8. The file upload limit is still 250MB per file for all plans.
9. The P plans (P1 and P2) allow 500 unique external users per month. The M plan allows 10,000 and the E plans allow 10,000.
10. Limits on syncing content in SkyDrive Pro and other SharePoint libraries. Note the following limitations related to syncing libraries to your computer with SkyDrive Pro:
• You can sync up to 20,000 items in your SkyDrive Pro library, including folders and files.
• You can sync up to 5,000 items in other SharePoint libraries, including folders and files.

• In any library, you can download files up to 2 GB.
So basically happy days!

References:
SharePoint Online: Software boundaries and limits – http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/sharepoint-online-software-boundaries-and-limits-HA102694293.aspx
Sync a library to your computer – http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/sync-a-library-to-your-computer-HA102832401.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HA102822076

Microsoft acquires two factor provider

One of the criticisms levelled at Office 365 is that it doesn’t easily support two factor authentication. Basically this means that when you log into a system with an id and password you require another form of identification to gain access. This second factor is normally provided by a token that generates a number you enter during login.
Two factor provides an much greater level of security because it means that anyone trying to access your system need more than just a password (which could be captured by a key logged on a PC you are using). A good example of this is the PayPal security key that I have blogged about previously.

When you access PayPal you are asked for the security key number that appears when you press the key. So without this physical key you can’t gain access to PayPal services.
Now this is all well and good if you always remember to have your security key with you. But what happens if you don’t and you need to access your system? The solution is to use a software token. That is a piece of software on a device you have with you (a tablet or mobile for example) that allows you to generate the required key. A great example of this is Google Authenticator which I use with all my Google accounts as well as Lastpass. If I need to access my Google information or retrieve a password from Lastpass I simply run the Google Authenticator program on my iPad and enter the number it provides (along with my password and id) to gain access.
Even something as simple as Google Authenticator can prove technically challenging for some, so a final option is to use an SMS text message to provide the required key. As I mentioned, Microsoft has been a little late to the game but that should all change now that they have acquired Phonefactor.

Hopefully we’ll soon be able to use two factor authentication with Office 365 to provide additional security and overcome the tendency for users to implement poor passwords. It also looks like you’ll be able to use these with on premise Microsoft software but I reckon it’ll come to the cloud first.
I’ll keep my eyes peeled for when it becomes available and let you know.

More free reseller Windows 8 and Office 365 exam cram training

I am please to announced that Microsoft Australia has extended the full 2 day exam cram training session on the following exams:
Day 1 – 74-324: Administering Office 365 for Small Business
Day 2 – 70-687: Configuring Windows 8
to:
Brisbane

Day 1 – Tuesday 14th May (74-324: Administering Office 365 for Small Business)
Day 2 – Wednesday 15th May (70-687: Configuring Windows 8)

You can register here –
https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032549551&Culture=en-AU&community=0
It is important to note that this training in not like my normal bootcamps. These days are specifically focused on helping attendees pass the appropriate Microsoft certification exams so they are eligible to attain the Microsoft Small Business Competency. Thus, to get the most from this training you should be at least familiar with Windows 8 and Office 365.
I hope you are able to attend and I look forward to meeting you on the day but remember to book early as there is only a limited number of places available at each venue.

Now is the time to start looking at Office 365 federated identity

One of the most difficult things to implement for cloud based systems is the concept of federated identity and Single Sign On (SSO). This means that a user only needs one set of credentials to log into the cloud or the local network. It also means that when they log in somewhere they are seamlessly logged into everything else they need.
Many local network users have taken for granted the fact that when they log into their local network (say Small Business Server) they are logged into the local machine, given access to files on the server, allowed to browse the Internet and more, all from a a single login.
Now, when users information is relocated to other systems, like the cloud, single sign on becomes much more challenging because you now have two (or more) completely separate systems that must trust each other first before they can share credentials between them. In the Office 365 world this was handled by Active Directory Federated Services (ADFS). When configured, this basically allowed the local network to ‘trust’ the cloud so users information could be passed securely between them.
Problem is that ADFS is really not a small business solution. It requires additional on site hardware as well a involved configuration process which was generally beyond most SMB resellers. Don’t get me wrong, ADFS is not impossible to implement in SMB but it certainly wasn’t a few clicks of the wizard.
For that reason, we have generally not seen a lot of Single Sign On (SSO) in SMB, yet there has been growing demand for a simpler solution. Personally, I now think we are about cross the Rubicon where SSO is a requirement. In that respect I would be suggesting NOW is the time to start looking at how to implement federation and SSO with cloud based systems. Sure, there aren’t a lot of solutions out there and many are complex but I think this will all change rapidly very soon. Get in early I say to lead the pack going forward.
So, my advice to SMB resellers and IT Professionals is to put aside what you have heard about ADFS and SSO and start investigating what they can offer. Have a look at third party options and two factor authentication. Most importantly keep you ear to ground on what changes are happening in the industry and be especially watchful of what Microsoft will bring to the table in the near future to greatly ease the pain of SSO in SMB.

Check your router’s vulnerability

A recent security vulnerability has been unearthed in many routers previously though safe. Universal Plug and Play (uPNP) is a method of easily configuring a router automatically to allow traffic to flow from the Internet into the local network. It should only be accessible from devices inside the local network. However, as it turns out, the vulnerability allows devices on the Internet to potentially reconfigure a router. This is REALLY, REALLY bad to say the least.
Researchers found that more than 6,900 product models produced by 1,500 different vendors contained at least one known vulnerability, with 23 million systems housing the same remote code execution flaw
You can find out more about the specific of the issues at:
https://community.rapid7.com/community/infosec/blog/2013/01/29/security-flaws-in-universal-plug-and-play-unplug-dont-play
So advice is that you should check to ensure your router is not vulnerable. To do this visit grc.com and go to the Shields Up page like so:

Click on the GRC’s Instant UPnP Exposure test.
Hopefully you will see:

If not then you need to take steps to ensure you rectify any issues discovered.

Office 2013 transferability made clearer

There are plenty of changes around Office 2013 licensing along with questions about what happens with previous editions, what’s allowed and what’s not. Here’s a nice table that summarizes everything quite nicely.

More information is contained in the blog post:

http://blogs.office.com/b/office-news/archive/2013/02/19/office-2013-and-office-365-installations-and-transferability.aspx

Best posts from February

I have finally completed the migration of over 1,200 blog posts going back prior to 2007 onto this new platform. During the process I came across a lot of really good posts that are still very interesting and relevant. There are also plenty of interesting posts along with some funny and downright stupid ones. So, what I thought I’d start doing is spend one post a month reviewing a sampling posts from that month back in the history of this blog.
Thus, it being February here we go:
2012
Office 365 Identity options – information about the different ways that identity are handled in Office 365.
2011
No Office Web Apps on SBS 2011 standard – information about how Office Web Apps, which is an addition to SharePoint is not supported on Small Business Server.
SharePoint Foundation BLOB storage – details how Binary Large OBject storage can be used with SharePoint and why in an SMB environment you really shouldn’t use it.
2010
Productivity Part 1 – first of a three part series I wrote as a guest blogger on real productivity.
Installing SQL Server 2008 on Windows Server 2008 R2 – SQL is the basis for SharePoint storage.
2009
Productivity costs – how much poor productivity is costs businesses
Email addiction – interesting information about how many people’s lives are rules by email.
2008
It’s all going to the cloud – Yes, even back then I was saying this!