Office365 Ignite training – Day 2

So the focus of today’s training was all around Microsoft hosted Exchange. It can get pretty complex for people who want to maintain a hybrid configuration. Unfortunately, it seems that SBS configurations are going to be difficult.

Why? Well, most SMB customers have some very large email boxes. This makes a migration completely to the cloud tricky over Australian broadband links. Don’t forget that the ‘A’ in ADSL stands for asynchronous – meaning the speed up to the Internet is generally MUCH slower than the speed down from the Internet. If the email is going to the cloud (i.e. during a migration) it is going UP at the slower speed. Given gigabyte sized mailboxes this could take quite a while.

The problem is that most of the tools don’t allow you to do a staged migration. You can’t generally nominate which mailboxes you wish to transfer, you can’t pause the migration (you can stop and rerun from where it left off I believe), you can’t elect to prioritize current messages and so on. Thus, if you want to move all the mailboxes totally to the cloud (a la SBS 2011 Essentials) you need to be very mindful of the mailboxes sizes and bandwidth limitations.

If you decide on a hybrid strategy (i.e. Exchange on site sync’ed to hosted Exchange) well you’re in for another whole world of pain. Firstly, this rules out SBS 2011 Essentials as there is no on site Exchange. Secondly, you need to install the Dirsync tool to synchronise your AD user details to the cloud. Problem is Dirsync is currently only a 32 bit app (64 bit is coming) AND isn’t supported on a domain controller. This rules out a network with a single SBS 2008 or SBS 2011 Standard server since they are both 64 bit and domain controllers. Thus, you’ll need another members server in your network (hello SBS 2011 Add on pack) on which to run this. Oh yes, Dirsync doesn’t sync passwords from onsite to the cloud. Shall I go on?

Another option with the hybrid strategy is to use federation services via ADFS v2. Although this does provide more benefits over simple Dirsync (i.e. allows AD security groups to replicate) it again requires client software on a non-member server. Oh yes, it also requires Exchange 2010 on site which rules out SBS 2008 and most existing SBS installs since SBS 2011 Standard (which includes Exchange 2010 onsite) has only just become available.

So it would seem that SBS 2011 Essentials is going to be the only domain controller on which cloud syncing tools will be supported on. However, don’t forget that SBS 2011 Essentials is limited to 25 users in total and doesn’t have an upgrade path to SBS 2011 Standard (which would need another member server anyway if was to sync to the cloud). So you are going to have to think real hard about which Windows Server version to use for clients who want to go Office365. But hey, this is no different from in the past right? This is the reason you are the IT Professional, right? This IS the reason your business and skills are not going away with the cloud! Your clients will still need you to advise them. The question I have however is, do YOU have ‘cloud’ skills? Hmmm…?

Confused and frustrated? Me too. The cloud stuff ain’t going to be easy on SBS networks. It would seem that the path of least resistance and cost is going to be complete mailbox migration to the cloud. However, you’ll need to probably trim the existing mailbox sizes before migration and keep an eye on bandwidth issues. In this case also you aren’t going to need SBS 2011 Standard unless the customer has more than 25 users or a third party on site app.

There are, however, some nice features. Depending on what online license you get, you are entitled to ‘unlimited’ email archiving. There are plenty of powershell commands available to allow you to script and automate processes. Also there is far more granular control over mailboxes and ability to implement retention and archiving policies (depending if your license allows that). You’ll also get Microsoft Forefront security protection on your email which has an improved web interface allowing you to things like white list domains, release trapped emails, troubleshoot issues, and more although we didn’t see that today.

There is still lots of stuff I need to digest, research and check here, especially in light of SBS, which I will do, however I’m now looking forward to the SharePoint stuff tomorrow. Another update tomorrow.

Office365 Ignite training – Day 1

I’ve just completed the first of three full days of Office365 training.

So here’s a few titbits I learnt today during Office365 Ignite training:

1. All Office365 users will get read only access to SharePoint docs via Office Web Apps. If they want to edit then they need the appropriate SKU.

2. Office365 is ‘highly configurable not customizable’. This means there are limits to what can be done on the admin side.

3. If you purchase a license that includes Office Pro Plus on the desktop you can install that on 5 devices. Very generous. Beware, though this is a special SKU more like retail than volume licensing. There are also NO downgrade rights with this version of Office.

4. Dirsync runs every 3 hours by default but can be manually run if needed, however it is a one way sync from local AD to cloud and the application MUST NOT run on a domain controller. It is also still a 32 bit app (64 bit is coming).

I’m looking forward to more technical in depth training tomorrow as today was billed as more of an ‘overview’. After the third day I feel I’ll be very much up to speed with Office365. Best of all we get our own full beta version for testing. I have an SBS 2011 Essentials RC machine here that is just crying out for Office365 integration.

More updates tomorrow. Follow me on Twitter (@directorcia) as I’ll be posting interesting info from the training day there.

Why Office365

I thought I do a series of posts on why Office365 is such a great option, especially for small businesses. So let’s start with my favourite – SharePoint.

In the current Microsoft Online offering (BPOS) SharePoint is effectively only Windows SharePoint Services v3.0 but in Office365 it is upgraded to SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise. That is a HUGE step up in functionality for effectively the same price. SharePoint Server 2010 Enterprise costs big bucks and is normally only seen in use with very large corporations, but now with Office365 even a single man business can access these Enterprise tools.

One of the first big bonuses with SharePoint Server over SharePoint Services is the inclusion of My Sites. Think of it like Facebook for the Enterprise (functionality-wise I mean. Perhaps Linkedin is a better analogy for those that know Linkedin). You access it from the top right of the SharePoint screen under then menu for your name as shown above.

My Sites is actually a full blown SharePoint site dedicated individually to each user. In here people can track others, save documents, share documents, keep track of what they are working on in the main SharePoint Portal, and so much more. As you can see from the above screen shot you can keep track of your Colleagues, Interest and Newsfeed (very ‘Facebookie’).

As you can see from the above shot your My Site is a fully blown SharePoint site that you control. Each Office365 user has the full power of SharePoint Server 2010 at their disposal in their own personal area.

The above screen shot gives you and idea of the information you can aggregate in you My Site. Here we are looking at all my Tags and Notes across the portal sites I have access to. I can easily set information about myself that helps others in my business understand what skills I have. Likewise, I can easily find others with the right skills to help me with my job. I can select and track the work that other individuals in my team. In this way you can see exactly what other have been working on across SharePoint quickly and easily.

Here’s some example of what Newsfeed Activities I can elect to follow. As you can see it is pretty extensive and would be exceptionally beneficial to any team. It makes tracking what changes in SharePoint quick and easy which can be important as SharePoint grows.

So the first major benefit of SharePoint in Office365 is the My Sites functionality. I’ll be detailing more in coming post so you can understand why it is such a major upgrade and one that should seriously be considered by ALL organizations.

Early Xmas present

All of my Christmas’s have come early. Why? Look at this screen shot:

Office365 Beta baby! Hosted SharePoint Server 2010 baby!

More updates from the cloud soon.

Customer logic Part II

After my post yesterday on a major reason why customers will look at Office365, I received a very valid comment on the post about how if you multiply the amount out it ends up being more than the cost of Office if you simply purchased it over 1 – 2 years.

Yes, some customers will multiple that out but let me give you another example of where this ‘rational logic’ fails the customer test. Firstly, what about the way most people purchase mobile phones? They don’t buy them outright they buy them on a plan and end up generally paying many more times the value of purchasing the handset outright. Example two, many business people don’t purchase a car, they lease it. This is typically more expensive than buying it outright but they do it to receive other deductions.

I certainly agree there will be rational customers who will simply multiply the cost out but most I feel have become accustom to paying per month for many ‘business’ expenses. And here’s another reason customers will go with a subscription offering for Office. When a new version becomes available they are entitled to that version (provided their subscription is current). This is basically like volume licensing but now available to users of any size.

So add all the benefits of Office365 with the subscription to Office Professional Plus on the desktop and I still think it will ring most customers bells.

Customer logic

I’ve been pondering what the appeal might be of Office365 for customers and you know what I reckon will be the number one draw card? I reckon it’ll be that they’ll see it as a way to get Office cheap.

Office365 will offer the ability to install Office Professional Plus 2010 on the desktop (depending on which license is chosen). You can read more about this here:

http://office365.microsoft.com/en-US/office-web-apps.aspx

A few technical people I have spoken to about this have scoffed at my notion (which isn’t uncommon for one of my notions), yet I still think it may be the case. Why? May be because customers still don’t understand all this cloud stuff but they understand Office on their desktop and getting that cheaper is better in their minds.

You gotta stop thinking like a technician and start thinking like a customer I reckon if you want to sell this cloud stuff. I shouldn’t be telling you that because I plan to sell the cloud to your customers so I’d better shut up now eh?

Your Office365 business model

Chris Knight left a comment on my recent post about why I am positive on Office365. His major points are that firstly, here in Australia, BPOS (and Office365) is sold through our largest Telco (Telstra). They are aggressively going after service business including your clients. No arguments there. Secondly, there is virtually no margin in BPOS for resellers. Again, no argument. This is EXACTLY why I love resellers when it comes to BPOS, they have a restricted business model when it comes to online services.

Here in Australia we know that Telstra is the 600 pound gorilla when it comes to BPOS. So many resellers I see are hell bent on opposing the gorilla. My approach is, they are the only game in town and I have to deal with that. In my books it is better to ride the gorilla than try and fight it. Sure, I might get some bruises and scratches but it is going to be a hell of lot less than if I tried to fight it. Wouldn’t a smarter thing be to team up with Telstra and offer skills and services they lack? Wouldn’t be smarter to leverage their sales teams to do the lead generation for you? Telcos are good at selling phones and are looking for IT people to help them sell technology to customers. If you were a smart operator you’d seek out these relationships to help build your online business. I know I am. The interesting to note here is that there is only a limited amount of these relationships available so those that choose to ride the gorilla are going to reap the benefits I believe.

By far the biggest sticking point for resellers is the lack of margin on BPOS. Couldn’t agree more. Can you change that? Nope. So why focus on it? I believe the major revenue stream with BPOS and ‘cloud computing’ is what it has always been – SERVICES. Customers still need IT Professionals to set up, configure, architect and support technology solutions no matter where they ultimately reside. The only way that your business will make money from selling product is to sell lots and lots of it no matter whether it is infrastructure or online services. I know that is a game I can’t play so that’s why I focus on SERVICES.

For many, including myself, this means a change of business model but in this game if you don’t change you die. The resistance of most traditional resellers to move to some form of cloud strategy is creating a gap in the market that is allowing competitors to enter and potentially steal business. These new competitors probably don’t have the experience, knowledge or professionalism that existing resellers have but guess what? They are still going to win business. Why? Rightly or wrongly customers want ‘cloud’ computing because it is being portrayed as saving them money. No matter whether that is correct it is what the customer perceives that matters.

Let me give you an example of a service opportunity in relation of Office365 I see. From my understanding the small business edition of Office365 will come with 3 web sites, an intranet, an extranet and a public facing website. Guess what? They’ll all be provided on SharePoint 2010. Most customers will probably need these to be configured, customized and managed because they won’t have the time or the knowledge. To me that means SERVICES revenue and I’m sure the same applies across all the other Office365 products.

As I have said before, it warms the cockles of my heart to hear resellers focus on dealing with telcos and how little margin there is in selling online services for I know they still don’t ‘get it’. You can’t expect to go into the world of online services with the same business model (no matter how well it worked previously). You have to change, adapt and overcome. This will mean making hard decisions, that in the short term may be quite painful. However, as a business person I encourage you NOT to take these, keep doing business the way you have been doing things and leave this ‘cloud stuff’ to me.