Posted by: kurtsh | November 17, 2024

NEWS: Mandatory MFA for Microsoft 365 Admin Center coming February 3rd, 2025

Microsoft 365 Admin Center will start mandating the use of Multifactor Authentication (MFA) when anyone tries to access the Microsoft 365 admin center – beginning February 3rd, 2025.

If you haven’t already mandated the use of Multifactor Authentication for your Microsoft 365 Administrators, you have roughly 2 months to set them up.

Next steps

Read more about this requirement here:

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Posted by: kurtsh | November 14, 2024

INFO: Techniques for reducing your Azure costs

imageWe did an Microsoft Mechanics video last year on “Quick ways to reduce your Azure costs” that was quite thorough and I’m constantly referring customers to it, so to make sure it’s on everyone’s radar, here’s a quick link to it:

  • 00:54 – Savings with Azure Hybrid Benefit
  • 02:18 – Constrained vCPU options
  • 03:30 – Commitment-based savings plans
  • 05:03 – Savings plans and reserved instances
  • 06:12 – Microsoft Cost Management
  • 06:44 – Budget limits and automation runbooks
  • 08:57 – Azure VM Scale Sets
  • 11:24 – Storage cost management

References:

Here’s the main video link:

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Posted by: kurtsh | November 13, 2024

EVENT: Microsoft Ignite 2024 product group session summaries for November 18-22, 2024

Whether you’re attending in person in Chicago or simply watching online FOR FREE as a “Digital Attendee” on November 18-22, Ignite 2024 promises to be the biggest conference Microsoft delivers all year.  IT Professionals, Architects, Developers, Security Professionals… no matter who you are, there is going to be something for everyone with a WHOPPING 350+ Technical Sessions to join either in-person or online. 

Attendees will get to take a certification exam for free.  And there’s also “the HUB” a massive expo for in-person attendees to visit with close to ~1000 of Microsoft partners & live booth presentations running every 20 minutes.

To also help you know what’s coming, I’ve collected all the product groups that have published curated “blog posts” announcing the sessions that they’re delivering.  Not every product group published a curated post but this should provide some insight as to who’s doing what come November 18th:

Also:

And don’t forget, for those of you attending Ignite 2024 in person, here’s my party list for the entire week while you’re in Chicago. 😊

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Posted by: kurtsh | November 13, 2024

INFO: Party list for Microsoft Ignite 2024 (Chicago) – November 18-23, 2024

Attending Microsoft Ignite 2024 in Chicago?

Here’s a list of parties & receptions going on throughout week. If you want to go to one, be sure to register at the sites below.

Monday – November 18, 2024

  • 6-9PM – Microsoft Windows & Intune – “Windows & Intune at Microsoft Ignite Reception” (Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!)
    Please join us at Microsoft Ignite for a customer and partner reception with Windows and Intune on Monday, 18 November. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! is located 8 miles from McCormick Place. Please leave enough time to get to the venue as traffic can be heavy. Beverages & heavy appetizers will be served.
  • 6–9PM – Nasuni – “Night at the Museum – Presented by Nasuni” (The Field Museum)
    Nasuni, in partnership with Microsoft, invite you to an exclusive VIP event! Kick off your Microsoft Ignite 2024 experience with a night to remember at one of Chicago’s great landmarks: Field Museum. Join us after hours in the main Stanley Field Hall for an evening of sophistication, networking, and inspiration!

Tuesday – November 19, 2024

  • 8-11PM – Avepoint – “#AvePointRED Party” (TAO Chicago)
    As our way of saying thank you, we’re hosting our legendary customer and partner appreciation event — the #AvePointRED Party — at Microsoft Ignite! Get ready for an unforgettable evening of fun, networking, and excitement. Whether you’ve conquered data challenges with us before, or are just starting your adventure with us, we invite you to join us for a night filled with delicious food, drinks, and entertainment.
  • 7–9PM – Slalom, NVIDIA & Microsoft – “Ignite the Night” (VU Rooftop)
    After a packed day at Microsoft Ignite, it’s time to kick back and turn things up! Join Slalom and NVIDIA for Ignite the Night—a rooftop happy hour where the drinks are cold, the views are stunning, and the conversation’s anything but boring. Sip, chat, and enjoy the perfect blend of business and pleasure as we relax, have fun, and chat about the latest in security and Copilots!
  • 7–9PM – Docusign – “After-Hours Hangout With Docusign” (Highline Pizza Bar)
    Join the Docusign Community for an evening at the Highline Pizza Bar in Chicago. This is your chance to connect with other Docusign customers, partners, and developers as well as Microsoft Ignite conference attendees. Good vibes, great food, raffle prizes, and some nostalgic arcade fun await.

Wednesday – November 20, 2024

  • 6–10PM – Microsoft Security – “Microsoft Secure the Night” (Morgan Manufacturing)
    Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with Microsoft Security subject matter experts and peers at our “Secure the Night” party during Microsoft Ignite in Chicago, IL. Join us for an engaging evening of conversations and experiences. Drinks and heavy appetizers will be provided! We look forward to welcoming you. Reserve your spot today!
  • 6:30–9PM – Dell Technologies, Microsoft & Intel – “Elevate Reception” (Chicago Oyster House)
    Join us on Wednesday, November 20, for an exclusive program featuring intimate conversations with industry leaders and fellow attendees. Guests will enjoy delicious food and drinks in a relaxed atmosphere. Hear insights from a moderated discussion with Joseph Proia, Sr. Platform Engineer, Patagonia. With over a decade of extensive experience in IT engineering at Patagonia, Joseph has deployed numerous infrastructure environments and upgrades while significantly consolidating to and expanding Patagonia’s cloud presence. Joseph’s responsibilities encompass managing both on-site and cloud-based backup systems, ensuring robust and resilient data protection. As the principal engineer for O365 and Azure platforms, along with various SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS applications, Joseph has played a central role in optimizing Patagonia’s technological infrastructure to meet the dynamic needs of the business.
  • 7:30–10:30PM – ControlUp & Nerdio – “Party in the Clouds” (VU Rooftop)
    Come join us on the 2nd day of Ignite for food, drink, music, giveaways and good times with a host of end-user computing professionals and a special guest appearance from Christiaan Brinkhoff, Microsoft Product Leader for Windows Cloud.

Thursday – November 21, 2024

  • 7PM-Midnight – AMD & Microsoft – “Microsoft Ignite & AMD Celebration” (Navy Pier)
    Join us for the Microsoft Ignite and AMD Celebration at Navy Pier in Chicago! Experience the city’s vibrant neighborhoods, rich culture, and famous culinary treats as we bring it to life at the Navy Pier.

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Posted by: kurtsh | November 11, 2024

INFO: FREE Microsoft or GitHub Certification Exam for attendees during Microsoft Ignite 2024

If you’re attending Microsoft Ignite 2024, you’re in luck! You get to take one Microsoft or GitHub certification exam at no charge while at the Ignite conference in Chicago.

There are different procedures depending on whether you’re taking a Microsoft certification example or a GitHub certification exam but rest assured, which ever you choose will come at no cost to you!

Exams must be taken between Nov 19th-22nd. Registration to take your free certification exam already began on October 8th, so get going!

  • FREE Microsoft or GitHub Certification Exam during Microsoft Ignite
    Microsoft Ignite in-person attendees are eligible to take one Microsoft and/or one GitHub certification exam free of charge during this year’s Microsoft Ignite 2024. Registration is required. Starting October 8, you can register to take your exam onsite at Microsoft Ignite in Chicago.

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Posted by: kurtsh | November 8, 2024

TRAINING: Microsoft On-demand Video Learning Modules

Wish you could learn about a Microsoft technology but can’t dedicate the multiple days 8-5PM required to attend a training course?

Check out the video-on-demand training we have for engineers, architects, developers, and even end users for topics including:

  • Artificial Intelligence (Fundamentals, Copilot, Azure AI, AI Engineering)
  • Copilot (Use cases, Planning, Administration End User)
  • Azure (Fundamentals, Administration, Architecture, Developer, Networking, Windows Server Hybrid, Solutions)
  • Security (Fundamentals, Cybersecurity Architect, Engineer,
  • Data (Fundamentals, Scientist, Engineer, CosmosDB, Developer, DBA, Analytics Engineer, Fabric)
  • Power Platform (Fundamentals, Power BI)
Course TitleCollection LinksNumber of VideosCreated Date
Get Started with Copilot for M365www.aka.ms/VoD-GetstartedWithCopilotForMicrosoft3655May-24
Generative AI Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-GenerativeAIFundamentals3Dec-23
AI-050: Develop Generative AI Solutions with Azure Open AI Servicewww.aka.ms/VoD-DevelopingGenAISolutions16Feb-24
AI-102: Designing and Implementing a Microsoft Azure AI Solutionwww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureAIEngineer13Mar-24
AI-900: Azure AI Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureAIFundamentals7Mar-24
AZ-104: Azure Administratorwww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureAdministrator31Dec-23
AZ-120: Planning and Administering Microsoft Azure for SAP Workloadswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureforSAP14Apr-23
AZ-204: Developing Solutions for Microsoft Azurewww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureDeveloper29May-24
AZ-305: Designing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutionswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureSolutionsArchitect11May-24
AZ-400: Designing and Implementing Microsoft DevOps Solutionswww.aka.ms/VoD-DevOpsEngineer21Jan-23
AZ-500: Microsoft Azure Security Technologieswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureSecurityEngineer17Oct-22
AZ-700: Designing and Implementing Microsoft Azure Networking Solutionswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureNetworkEngineer10May-24
AZ-800: Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructurewww.aka.ms/VoD-WindowsServerHybridCore20Apr-23
AZ-801: Configuring Windows Server Hybrid Advanced Serviceswww.aka.ms/VoD-WindowsServerHybridAdvanced15Apr-23
AZ-900: Microsoft Azure Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureFundamentals6Dec-23
DP-100: Designing and Implementing a Data Science solution on Azurewww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureDataScientist6May-24
DP-203: Data Engineering on Microsoft Azurewww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureDataEngineer12May-24
DP-300: Administering Microsoft Azure SQL Solutionswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureDBA18Jan-23
DP-420: Designing and Implementing Cloud-Native Applications Using Microsoft Azure Cosmos DBwww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureCosmosDBDeveloper20Dec-22
DP-600: Microsoft Fabric Analytics Engineer https://www.aka.ms/VoD-FabricAnalyticsEngineer19May-24
DP-900: Microsoft Azure Data Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-AzureDataFundamentals6Dec-23
MB-910: Dynamics 365 Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-DynamicsCRMFundamentals5Dec-23
MS-4004: Empower your workforce with Copilot for Microsoft 365 Use Caseswww.aka.ms/VoD-CopilotM365UseCases13Apr-24
MS-4005: Craft effective prompts for Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365www.aka.ms/VoD-CraftEffectivePromptsForCopilotForM3659May-24
MS-4006: Prepare your organization for Copilot for Microsoft 365www.aka.ms/VoD-PrepareForCopilotForM36512Mar-24
MS-4007: Copilot for Microsoft 365 User Enablement Specialist www.aka.ms/VoD-UserEnablementSpecialist6May-24
MS-900: Microsoft 365 Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-M365Fundamentals5Dec-23
PL-300: Microsoft Power BI Data Analystwww.aka.ms/VoD-PowerBIDataAnalyst10May-24
PL-900: Microsoft Power Platform Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-PowerPlatformFundamentals5May-24
SC-100: Microsoft Cybersecurity Architectwww.aka.ms/VoD-CybersecurityArchitect25May-24
SC-300: Implement an identity management solutionwww.aka.ms/VoD-IdentityAccessAdministrator25May-24
SC-900: Microsoft Security, Compliance, and Identity Fundamentalswww.aka.ms/VoD-SCIFundamentals5Dec-23

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Posted by: kurtsh | November 1, 2024

INFO: My schedule for Microsoft Ignite 2024

I don’t think I’ve ever done this before but this Microsoft Ignite 2024 promises to be such an important & information packed conference with over 350+ sessions being delivered, I thought some folks might want to see a sample of the sessions that will be available to attend. (I will be remote)

Registration as an Ignite 2024 Digital Attendee (online/remote) is FREE. If you haven’t registered for Microsoft Ignite 2024, I suggest doing so right now.

Why? Because individuals that do not register:

Kurt’s Schedule for Microsoft Ignite 2024:
(Note: Every session listed below in my schedule is also available online/remotely)

Tuesday, November 19th

Wednesday, November 20

Thursday, November 21

Microsoft On-Demand (Pre-recorded)

3rd party On-Demand (Pre-recorded)

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Posted by: kurtsh | October 31, 2024

RELEASE: Microsoft PC Manager 3.14 – now with internet speed monitor

Microsoft PC Manager now has the ability to monitor your internet speed directly on your desktop via the toolbar!

PC Manager is a free utility for your PC that offers features such as one-click boost, storage clean-up, file management, and protection of your default settings from unauthorized changes.

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Posted by: kurtsh | October 25, 2024

INFO: Microsoft Purview Governance & Compliance

“Purview” is Microsoft’s governance & compliance solutions family.  There are some elements of data security in the suite but for the most part, it’s about:

  • Governance – For example, “What kind of data do I have? Do I need to keep this data? Should I delete this data? How should I be protecting this data? What kind of people should have access to this data? What can they do with this data?”
  • Compliance – For example, “Is my organization adhering to the legal & government regulations on how data should be handled? Can I comply with legal & government mandates like audit reports that prove compliance? Can I respond to data discovery requests from pending litigation?”

Comparatively:

  • “Defender” is Microsoft’s security solutions family.
  • “Microsoft Sentinel”, because its application & utility spans both security & governance across both on-prem & in-cloud solutions, stands alone as its own offering and isn’t specifically part of either the “Defender” or “Purview” family.

WHAT’S IN PURVIEW
Here’s a synopsis of the solutions that are available through Microsoft Purview. You will find that while some are available “ala carte”, most Purview solutions require licensing either Microsoft 365 E5/G5 or Microsoft 365 E5/G5 Compliance for effectively use.

  1. Purview Audit Premium (E5)
    1. High bandwidth access to Office 365 API (E5)
    2. 1-year Audit Log Retention (E5)
    3. 10-year Audit Log Retention available (E5)
  2. Purview Communications Compliance (E5)
  3. Purview Compliance Manager
    1. 3x Premium Templates (E5)
  4. Purview Data Lifecycle Management
    1. Purview Adaptive Policy Scope (E5)
  5. Purview Data Loss Prevention
    1. Teams Data Loss Prevention (E5)
    2. Endpoint Data Loss Prevention (E5)
    3. Adaptive Protection
  6. Purview eDiscovery Premium (E5)
  7. Purview Information Protection
    1. IRM enabled SharePoint document libraries & lists
    2. Exact Data Match for Sensitive Information Types (E5)
    3. Trainable Classifiers (E5)
    4. Automatic Sensitivity Labelling (E5)
  8. Purview Information Barriers
  9. Purview Advanced Message Encryption (E5)
  10. Purview Insider Risk Management
    1. Purview Insider Risk Management Adaptive Protection
  11. Purview Records Management
  12. Purview Privileged Access Management (E5)
  13. Purview Customer Key (E5)
  14. Purview Customer Lockbox (E5)
  15. Purview Double Key Encryption (E5)
  16. Purview Data Connectors (E5)

References:

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Posted by: kurtsh | October 23, 2024

NEWS: Microsoft recognized as a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service for the second year in a row

The path to IT modernization involves the integration of technology to optimize processes and elevate experiences for customers and employees alike. Microsoft recognizes that customers have many tech and vendor choices on this journey to help solve their biggest workplace challenges.

That’s why it is an honor for us to be recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Desktop as a Service (DaaS)* for the second consecutive year. Gartner defines DaaS as “the provision of virtual desktops by a public cloud or service provider” and uses the term to encompass a variety of cloud solutions.

Read the full announcement below to learn about Azure Virtual Desktop & Windows 365.

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