Kurt Shintaku's Blog

We are acquiring FSLogix, a company that reduces the computation required to execute applications within virtual desktops.  It will specifically speed up Microsoft’s Office 365 ProPlus in multi user situations leveraging virtual desktops & deliver faster load times.

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To help extend our virtualization capabilities and provide an even richer experience for Microsoft 365 customers, we are excited to announce the acquisition of FSLogix.

FSLogix is a next-generation app-provisioning platform that reduces the resources, time and labor required to support virtualization. From small businesses to very large global enterprises across numerous industries, FSLogix solutions enhance customer experience and productivity, while reducing support requirements for IT departments.

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Read the entire announcement here:

• BLOG: Microsoft acquires FSLogix to enhance the Office 365 virtualization experience
  https://blogs.microsoft.com/blog/2018/11/19/microsoft-acquires-fslogix-to-enhance-the-office-365-virtualization-experience/

New security baseline for our OSs was released:

Microsoft is pleased to announce the final release of the security configuration baseline settings for Windows 10 October 2018 Update (a.k.a., version 1809, “Redstone 5” or “RS5”), and for Windows Server 2019.

For now, download the content here: Windows-10-1809-Security-Baseline-FINAL. It will be posted to the Security Compliance Toolkit download site very soon.

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Read the entire blog announcement here:

• RELEASE: Security baseline (FINAL) for Windows 10 v1809 and Windows Server 2019
  https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/secguide/2018/11/20/security-baseline-final-for-windows-10-v1809-and-windows-server-2019/

Register for this webinar to learn how to quickly migrate all your on-premises apps, data, and infrastructure to Azure in a single motion. Find out why Azure is the right choice for your assets, providing you with free tools that automate the cloud migration journey while minimizing downtime.

You’ll also learn how to:

• Save money with a cost-effective migration experience.
• Migrate assets at your own pace and receive hybrid support.
• Use free Azure tools to simplify the migration process.

Read the entire article here:

• TRAINING: “Why Azure Is the Right Choice Over AWS for Cloud Migration” – On-demand
  https://info.microsoft.com/ww-ondemand-why-azure-is-the-right-choice-over-aws.html?wt.mc_id=AID723304_QSG_SCL_285419

This document will help you get a more secure posture using the capabilities of Azure Active Directory by using a five-step checklist to inoculate your organization against cyber-attacks.

This checklist will help you quickly deploy critical recommended actions to protect your organization immediately by explaining how to:

• Strengthen your credentials.
• Reduce your attack surface area.
• Automate threat response.
• Increase your awareness of auditing and monitoring.
• Enable more predictable and complete end-user security with self-help.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/azure-ad-secure-steps

Learn about Azure IoT solutions, platform services and industry-leading edge technologies.

See how you can connect devices to create powerful IoT applications on the flexible Azure IoT platform. See how Azure IoT simplifies IoT development—use your preferred language, tools and existing developer SDKs to start building IoT right away.

Get started quickly with solution accelerators such as Remote Monitoring, Predictive Maintenance and Connected Factory for common IoT scenarios.

Learn how to use Azure IoT Hub to easily create, customize, and manage all aspects of your IoT application, and IoT Edge to deploy cloud apps on the edge—creating more intelligent solutions, whether in the cloud or on-premises.

Create visualizations of IoT time-series data and create insights from your IoT application with other Azure platform services.

• TRAINING: “IoT School” – Learn about Azure IoT for free!
  https://iotschool.microsoft.com/learning-paths

Cloud-based advanced services, like machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, open new opportunities for technical teams to drive business value. Find inspiration and guidance about what kind of transformational changes are possible and how you can achieve them. Download this free e-book, Designed to Disrupt: Reimagine Your Apps and Transform Your Industry, to help you:

• Use cloud technology to give your company a competitive edge by accessing new markets, enhancing your customers’ experience, and increasing operational efficiency.
• Learn from companies who have successfully used innovative technologies—such as cognitive services, Internet of Things (IoT) and bots—to grow their businesses. 
• Create a digital journey roadmap, with envisioning sessions to reimagine your company’s goals and practical tools to bring your visions to life.

Get the ebook here:

• DOWNLOAD: Free eBook, “Designed to Disrupt: Reimagine Your Apps and Transform Your Industry”
  https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/resources/designed-to-disrupt-reimagine-your-apps-and-transform-your-industry/

We released a tool a few months ago via “The Garage” that I was recently made aware of called “Fast Data Transfer” for customers looking for a tool to accelerate the uploading of large amounts of data.

Fast Data Transfer is a tool for fast upload of data into Azure – up to 4 terabytes per hour from a single client machine. It moves data from your premises to Blob Storage, to a clustered file system, or direct to an Azure VM. It can also move data between Azure regions.

The tool works by maximizing utilization of the network link. It efficiently uses all available bandwidth, even over long-distance links. On a 10 Gbps link, it reaches around 4 TB per hour, which makes it about 3 to 10 times faster than competing tools we’ve tested. On slower links, Fast Data Transfer typically achieves over 90% of the link’s theoretical maximum, while other tools may achieve substantially less.

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For more information, visit:

• DOWNLOAD: “Fast Data Transfer” – a high-speed data loader for Azure
  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/garage/profiles/fast-data-transfer/

The Microsoft Exchange Server 2019 AMA is coming up on November 29th at 9AM PT.

Check it out here:
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Exchange-AMA/Announcing-a-Microsoft-Exchange-Server-2019-AMA/m-p/286928#M1

Wow.  Big news!

Soon-to-be introduced Microsoft sync technology will replace the current proprietary APIs & translator component currently used & enable Outlook for iOS and Android to take advantage of native Office 365 features it does not support today, such as S/MIME, Microsoft Information Protection labeling, and shared mailboxes. These and more Office 365 features will roll out soon after the architecture update.

Today, the vast majority of accounts using Outlook for iOS and Android connect via a Stateless Protocol Translator component that is built and run in Azure. This component routes data and translates commands, but it doesn’t cache user data. The app is coded with the Outlook device API, a proprietary API that syncs commands and data to and from the app. Exchange Online data is accessed via the publicly available REST APIs. The protocol translator enables communication between Outlook and Exchange Online.

Beginning in December 2018, Microsoft will migrate customers to a native Microsoft sync technology that removes the Stateless Protocol Translator component from the Office 365-based architecture. With the native Microsoft sync technology, Outlook for iOS and Android connects directly to Office 365 for data connections ensuring the data is protected by an HTTP TLS-secured connection end-to-end.

Read more about the transition here:

• Outlook for iOS and Android in Exchange Online
  https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/exchange/clients-and-mobile-in-exchange-online/outlook-for-ios-and-android/outlook-for-ios-and-android

Here’s a great resource that aggregates a ton of Microsoft Azure information, announcements, and other resources from official Microsoft sources.

Introducing the Azure InfoHub:

There are 5 tabs at the top that provide you with additional information regarding:

Azure Services:

Free eBooks

Whitepapers:

Tools:

Checkout the site here:

• INFO: Azure InfoHub–News, Docs, Videos, Online Training about Microsoft Azure
  https://azureinfohub.azurewebsites.net/

Also, if you’re looking to subscribe to the official Microsoft Azure Newsletter, visit:

• INFO: Subscribe to the Microsoft Azure Newsletter
  https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/community/newsletter/subscribe/