The Cloud + Enterprise News Bytes Blog regularly provides posts that consolidate all the announcements from the two groups. The December post has lots of information about new capabilities we've added. Check back monthly to see if you can keep up!
Read the full blog entry for more details on each item.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/stbnewsbytes/archive/2014/12/11/cloud-enterprise-release-announcements-for-december-11-2014.aspx
Want to make sure the data on your PC or laptop is backed up regularly? Microsoft just announced the ability to protect Windows client devices with Azure Backup. Don't backup to a USB drive and then sit that drive on a shelf in your office! This is a fast, cost-efficient solution for backing up your data. Read more on the Azure Blog - http://azure.microsoft.com/blog/2014/12/16/azure-backup-announcing-support-for-windows-client-operating-system/
We've been talking about this for a while, but this "Office Garage Series" episode covers the DLP and mail encryption capabilities of Office 365. We're consolidating all compliance policies in one place and letting you define a single policy that can apply across multiple services. We're giving users the ability to encrypt emails to outside users easily and efficiently. Finally, we're adding tools so iOS and Android devices can consume RMS protected content. If you have 13 minutes to spare, this would be a great use of your time!
http://blogs.office.com/2014/12/17/garage-series-bringing-data-loss-prevention-sharepoint-first-look-new-office-365-message-encryption-viewers-ios-android/
A great blog post from the CIO of Texas discussing the success her state is having with Microsoft's cloud solutions. It's a quick read, but covers some of the important things that sets Microsoft apart from other cloud solution providers.
http://blogs.office.com/2014/12/12/serving-26-million-texans-secure-cloud-based-computing-leap-forward-state-government-agencies/
If you are watching, you have really seen Microsoft Intune grow up in the last year. If you think it's just for managing Windows devices, you're missing the big picture. Intune is a cloud-based, cross-platform management solution that can solve your mobile device management (MDM) headaches. And now we've added some capabilities around application management as well. Check out the latest info at the Microsoft Intune Blog:
http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoftintune/archive/2014/12/09/new-mobile-application-management-capabilities-coming-to-microsoft-intune-this-week.aspx
"Building upon the Intune announcements made at TechEd Europe and the recent November service update, we will be rolling out the next Microsoft Intune service update between December 9, 2014 and December 12, 2014. This service update introduces new mobile application management (MAM) capabilities, protecting Office 365 data and much more."
We've talked about this for a while, and it's finally here! You have been able to do IM and audio between Lync and Skype, but now you can also do video! Imagine how this capability will give organizations, especially government, to connect directly with customers and citizens in a simple way. Potential cost savings could be amazing! Since we announced that the next version of Lync will be re-branded as Skype for Business, the timing could not be better.
Take a look at the announcement blog post: http://blogs.office.com/2014/12/05/video-calling-skype-lync-available-now/
While I have been mainly focusing on cloud related items in this blog, I thought it would be good to post about a great video on Microsoft's Channel 9 about the next version of Windows Server. After all, Windows Server is part of Microsoft's Cloud OS strategy which allows customers to deploy and leverage cloud technologies in their own datacenters in order to deliver IT as a service in a scalable, cost effective manner. Jeff Woolsey is one of the smartest guys at MS when it comes to talking about Windows Server and Hyper-V, so getting a chance to see him present is something not to be missed. It's just over an hour long, perfect for lunch time viewing!!
http://channel9.msdn.com/events/microsoft-techncial-summit/Microsoft-Technical-Summit-2014/Optimizing-Your-Datacenter-with-Windows-Server-vNext
As the first part of Microsoft's effort to provide more detailed service information about the Office 365 Government Community Cloud (GCC), a new service description page has been added to Service Description pages on TechNet. At some point in the near future, we are also expecting a separate page describing the roadmap and timelines that are specific to the O365 GCC.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/office-365-government.aspx
On December 10 and 11, Jeremy Young, Sr. Service Engineer in the Manageability Team of Microsoft IT, will dive into and answer questions around the process and tools used by Microsoft IT for managing the configuration of servers in the datacenter, focusing on System Center Configuration Manager and patch management disciplines.
Microsoft IT Live Online is a free monthly event series that provides IT professionals with insight and will help answer questions around some of the industry’s hottest topics. Join each month to hear Microsoft IT subject matter dive deep into real-world best practices, strategies, tactics and lessons learned that can be used for deploying and operating Microsoft products and services in your organization.
Register today by clicking on your preferred time. Register and add the event to your calendar
Wednesday, December 10 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM Pacific Time
Thursday, December 11 8:00PM – 9:00 PM Pacific Time
I've been sharing this list of resources with my customers lately, so thought it would be good to post it here as well.
At TechEd Europe, we announced that new features would be coming soon to Microsoft Intune.
New Intune standalone features that will be released as part of this service update include:
Also, as part of this service update, you’ll notice that all references to Windows Intune have been updated to Microsoft Intune. This name more accurately represents Intune’s cloud-based mobile device management (MDM) and mobile application management (MAM) capabilities across iOS and Android platforms, as well as Windows. You can read more about the rebrand on Intune blog here.
The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report is the most comprehensive threat intelligence report in the industry. It provides data and insights on malware, exploits and vulnerabilities based on data from more than a billion systems worldwide and some of the busiest online services. It also includes actionable guidance to help IT Professionals manage risk. The latest report, Volume 17, focuses on the first half of 2014, with trend data for the last several quarters. Download the report at http://www.microsoft.com/sir