Getting Started with Azure course now available

As I detailed back in January I have now made available my Getting Started with Azure training product. You can find it on my publications page at:

www.ciaops.com/publications

The product is not designed a comprehensive deep dive but as a way for those with little knowledge about Azure to get up and running quickly. The course contains:

– 12 video tutorials

– A 70 page manual that includes material not covered in the videos

– A number of free Azure publications

– Links to other material, documentation and training

and us available for only AU$120

I have pulled together information from many different sources and distilled the essentials of what you need to get started using Azure.

You can download the table of contents that includes a listing of video lessons to see what the product covers.

This product will continue to be updated over time and your single purchase will provide you will all the updates at no additional cost.

I think this produce will provide the short cut many are looking to understand how they can start using Azure and what it is capable of.

Connect SharePoint to MS Access

You can consider SharePoint as an extension of the Office applications you have on your desktop. One of these that provides a huge amount of power but gets used infrequently is Microsoft Access.

Many don’t appreciate that you can easily connect a SharePoint list to Microsoft Access on the desktop. Doing so allows you to use SharePoint as the data repository and Access as the analytical front end, allowing to create complex structures and queries as well as producing mind blowing reports and data analysis quickly and easily.

This tutorial will show you the basic steps of connecting SharePoint to your desktop version of Access. You see how that when you do it establishes an bi-directional link that means data is updated no matter where it is changed.

This is only the beginning of what is possible when you combine Access and SharePoint, however it is a very good place to start. Watch out for more content on this topic very soon.

New Azure training product coming

I have been working hard on developing an introductory Azure training course that people can download and view in their own time. The tentative course outline is:

1. Introduction to Azure
2. Creating a Virtual machine
3. Creating an Azure availability set
4. Creating an Azure Load Balanced Server set
5. Attaching a disk to an Azure Virtual Machine
6. Creating a custom VM image in Azure
7. Connecting to Azure using PowerShell
8. Creating an Azure Point to Site VPN
9. Azure backups
10. Introduction to Azure SQL
11. Introduction to Azure Web Sites

and more.

The course is aimed at those who have little or no knowledge of Azure and want to get up to speed quickly. It will include a single download package that includes videos, course notes, references and more.

Now, to give me a kick in the pants to get the course out the door as soon as possible I am offering a pre-order special of AU$59 from today until the course is launched. At that point I will be raising the price to at least AU$99.

You can pre-order for the once off price of AU$59 here:

http://www.e-junkie.com/ciaops/product/503070.php

If you have any suggestions for what topics you’d like to see covered please let me know (director@ciaops.com) so I can incorporate it.

So, if you are at all interested in getting up to speed on Azure I urge you to subscribe and give me a hurry up to get the material out!

Free SharePoint Online Email course

I am very happy to announce the availability of my new FREE 23 lesson Getting Started With SharePoint Online training email course that is based on my SharePoint template training publication.

To receive a lesson every day via email visit:

http://www.ciaops.com/templates

and scroll down the page. After all the template details, you will find the option to submit your email address to subscribe to the course.

Once you have submitted your email address you will be sent a confirmation email which you will need click on to confirm you wish to receive the course. Once you have done that you should receive the introductory email giving your details about the course.

From then on you’ll receive an email a day typically containing a video tutorial to watch (only around 7 – 10 minutes on average) as well a set of lesson notes you can download for reference.

By subscribing to this course you will also be subscribed to my upcoming monthly Office 365 and SharePoint newsletter where you’ll get load of information and news about these products.

The content in the email course is exactly the same that is contained in the Getting Started With SharePoint Online Team Site template. Hopefully, once you see the value via email you will purchase the template and install it on your Office 365 tenant so everyone in your business can use it.

The last incentive I have for you to sign up is that when you do you’ll receive a special discount code for a major discount when purchasing the Getting Started With SharePoint Online Team Site template.

Watch out for new SharePoint Online training courses coming soon!

Free SharePoint documentation

Around 2006 I started to document everything I could about SharePoint on Small Business Server, simply due to a lack of information from other sources. This grew into documentation about Windows SharePoint Services v 3.0, SharePoint Foundation 2010 as well as most SharePoint versions. The focus remained on the Foundation product rather than the full server versions and especially how SharePoint integrated with Small Business Server (SBS).

In 2007 I started to offer my document via a subscription known as as the Windows SharePoint Services Operations Guide or WSSOPS for short.

In 2014 I announced that I would no longer be taking new subscribers and in 12 months would be shutting down the Guide completely. The reasons for this are many but mainly I saw the fact that less and less people were working with SharePoint on premise and even fewer where utilising SharePoint Foundation 2013. The focus was now Office 365.

However, much of the information I have accumulated about SharePoint over the years in the Guide still is not readily available or in an easy to understand format. With the closure of WSSOPS and the migration of my documentation to Cloud Business Blueprint I have decided to make available for free a large majority of the information in WSSOPS. You can find this available for download at:

http://www.ciaops.com/wssops

and is made available under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike-4.0 Internation license. In essence means it free to distribute but can’t be resold.

Given the years of hard work invested in the Guide (over 1,000 pages is available for free download now) I’d appreciate the purchase of any of my publications or a donation if you find what I have made available helpful to you.

To join my new Cloud Business Blueprint community and gain access to all the documentation and training material I am now producing for Office 365, Azure and more please visit:

http://www.cloudbusinessblueprint.com/members-sign-up/

I am very proud of what I created with WSSOPS over the years and thank anyone who was a subscriber. I hope people continue to receive benefit from what I created for many years to come.

Sydney Office 365 Certification / Azure bootcamp

I have just opened up a kick starter project to run an Office 365 Certification and Azure bootcamp over 2 days. The proposed details are:

The special kick starter price is $275 ex GST ( $375 ex GST normally). Day 1 is round Office 365 Exam Cram and Day 2 around Azure. You can register your interest and book at:

http://www.ciaops.com/bootcamp/

*** Note – for this training to proceed a minimum of 15 attendees is required for each day ***

Proposed details are:

North Ryde RSL Club
Magdala Rd North Ryde
Friday February 20th [8.30am arrive for 9am start – 5 pm]
Saturday February 21st [8.30am arrive for 9am start – 5 pm]

If any of the attendances fails to reach 15 I will refund any contributions less credit card processing fees if applicable.

Here are some testimonials from the last bootcamp I conducted:

As a previous CIAOPS SharePoint and Office 365 bootcamp attendee… the information that you receive on this very honest, up front and personal training day is far more than you can possibly discover in a week of your own time. The practical experience and wealth of Knowledge that Robert delivers on the day tailored to SMB users and techs is in my opinion much better than the Microsoft marketing based training that is out there. – Rod Arthur, Lan Creation

The training was excellent and focused on what we need as SMB as well as identifying the bigger enterprise picture. From knowing really nothing about Azure, we have now done practical tasks and know how to move forward. – George Nade, BCSPL

I am so much more aware of where O365 and Azure, fit into the big picture. And, whilst there were times where I dropped behind in the practical exercises, the takeaway was massive. – Tony Albans A.A.Networks

I hope to see you at the event.

Some feedback from my recent Azure/Office 365 workshop

Happy to report that my recent 2 day Azure and Office 365 training workshop in Brisbane went off well and was well attended. Thanks to everyone who attended and made the sessions possible. Here’s a sample of some of the feedback received:

“I just wanted to say thank you for such an informative session on Azure. I got so much from the day it is hard to quantify yet, suffice to say I think all attendees have an advantage over those that missed out”

“Definitely worth the time and effort involved in taking the 2 days off for the training. Well done again Robert, keep up the good work.”

“The training was excellent and focused on what we need as SMB as well as identifying the bigger enterprise picture. From knowing really nothing about Azure, we have now done practical tasks and know how to move forward.”

“The content was excellent and the pace was good to keep you thinking all the way through the practical tutorials. I think the 2 days of content would be equivalent to 4 days elsewhere and the Friday and Saturday sessions worked well for me and most others. Got some great tools and tips to take away with me.”

“The Azure training was great and really complements o365 and was good to get a taste of what is, and what is to come.”

“For those that didn’t make it to the Brisbane training, it was good, very good!!! Robert delivered 2 days of focussed excellence. I am so much more aware of where O365 and Azure, fit into the big picture. And, whilst there were times where I dropped behind in the practical exercises, the takeaway was massive.”

Appreciate the feedback from people and glad to see that it hit the mark with what you where looking for.

All the content from these course will now be finding its way online via Cloud Business Blueprint, so if you aren’t a member yet may now is the time?

Brisbane workshop special surprise

As I have mentioned previously here I am conducting a 2 day workshop in Brisbane on Office 365 (Friday 7th of November 2014) and Azure (Saturday 8th of November 2014). Places are still available for the workshop and you can get all the information about the event here:

https://blog.ciaops.com/2014/10/brisbane-office-365-and-azure-training.html

I am however happy to announce that as an added bonus for attendees of this workshop VMVault will be taking us through their NextDC B1 Datacentre. The tour lasts about an hour and you’ll get to see all the facilities of a modern data centre with expert tour guides on hand to answer all your questions.

This is a fantastic opportunity not to be missed and I thank Radek from VMVault for making this available to attendees.

Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net