Windows Phone for IT Professionals

Windows Phone app news at Mobile World Congress

2012-02-28T23:12:00Z

Good for Enterprise, a solution that provides secure, encrypted email, will soon be released to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Good for Enterprise complements the secure Windows Phone architecture through the use of the Good enterprise encrypted container, which securely houses data and applications on devices and encrypts all data with strong AES 192-bit encryption.

The Good solution also encrypts any data that’s in transit between devices and servers that reside behind firewalls. This approach extends data protection all the way from the firewall to provisioned devices – regardless of whether the devices are owned by the company or employees. Setup and configuration is straightforward and requires no significant infrastructure changes.

Good for Enterprise uses powerful authentication and encryption technologies, including a FIPS 140-2 certified cryptographic module to protect data-at-rest and data-in-transit. Good Technology implements rigorous internal penetration testing to validate its security design.

For organizations that are currently using Good for Enterprise on other smartphone platforms, support for Windows Phone is a welcome addition. With the Good for Enterprise solution, busy professionals can now choose the innovative experience delivered by Windows Phone and the added security layer offered by the Good solution for secure, encrypted email. To learn more, visit www.good.com

Also, the much anticipated Skype for Windows Phone beta app is now available for download. Windows Phone users can make and receive voice and video calls and instant messages with anyone else using Skype, whether they are on a Windows Phone or Windows PC or any of the other platforms supported by Skype. It is in beta today and a full-featured version is due later this year. You can download the beta version of the app from Marketplace.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Team

Windows Phone announcements at CES

2012-01-10T04:25:00Z

The annual Consumer Electronics Show opened today in Las Vegas, with Steve Ballmer once again providing the keynote. Ballmer’s speech included demonstrations of the first LTE-based Windows Phones, announced by Microsoft partners Nokia and HTC and available exclusively from AT&T in North America.

The Nokia Lumina 900 features a gorgeous 4.3-inch screen, sharp 8 megapixel camera with exclusive Carl Zeiss optics, and a front facing camera for video chats—all set in a sleek polycarbinate unibody.

The HTC Titan II features the biggest touchscreen of any Windows Phone (4.7-inch WVGA). It’s fast, with a 1.5 gigahertz Snapdragon processor, and delivers a great front-facing camera for video chat and a 16-megapixel rear camera with a fast wide-angle lens.

For more information and photos of these new phones, see the Windows Phone blog at http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/

Windows Phone info and answers

2012-01-05T23:43:00Z

This is a great day to give you an update on what is happening with Windows Phone – I am excited since I just updated the design of the blog to be aligned with the Windows Phone branding. I hpe you like it.

Also, the rollout of Windows Phone 7.5 (code-named “Mango”) is complete, and there are many enhancements and improvements – I’ve fielded a fair number of questions in the last couple of months. So I thought it might be good to provide some links to usefull resources.

Articles for IT professionals

Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals has articles available for download that focus on different topics, including features, security, using Windows Phone devices with other applications such as Microsoft SharePoint, and the Windows Phone architecture. A newer site, Windows Phone 7.5 Guides for IT Professionals, provides updated articles on these topics and descriptions of new functionality in Windows Phone 7.5.

Exchange-related information

The article “Understanding Mobile Device Management” on Microsoft TechNet provides information on configuring Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (SP1) and the Exchange ActiveSync protocol. The Mobility page of the Exchange Team Blog includes information about different Windows Phone announcements and capabilities.

SharePoint-related information

Microsoft SharePoint Workspace Mobile is included with Office Mobile on Windows Phone, and provides the ability to download and synchronize Office documents with SharePoint servers. More information is available in the article “Use Microsoft SharePoint Workspace Mobile” on the Windows Phone site. Other helpful articles on using Windows Phone with SharePoint Workspace Mobile include “Configure external access for mobile devices” and “Building Windows Phone 7 applications with SharePoint 2010 Products and Unified Access
Gateway (UAG)” on TechNet.

A virtual private network (VPN) connection is required to enable access users to connect to internal SharePoint sites from outside the firewall. The only VPN server that is supported by Windows Phone is the Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG). Forefront UAG with Service Pack 1 (SP1) is recommended. For more information about Forefront UAG Sharepoint Publishing, see the “SharePoint Publishing Guide” and “Publishing SharePoint sites for SharePoint Workspace Mobile.”

System Center-related information

With Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager you can manage a wide range of mobile devices with a single administrative console. The article “System Center: Managing Mobile Devices” in TechNet magazine discusses the importance of having a solid strategy for secure device management. And “Windows Phone 7: Enterprises Go with Windows Phone 7” describes how consolidating personal and professional functions into a single mobile device made Windows Phone a compelling platform.

Third-party management solutions

Some third-party companies that offer mobile device management solutions for enterprise organizations include, Odyssey Software, Inc., and AirWatch.

IT professional-oriented apps for Windows Phone

Remote Desktop 7 by the Yalla Apps developer community is a native RDP client for Windows Phone that you can use to control remote computers over your LAN or the Internet, listen to remote audio, share your phone storage with remote computers, and more.

Another app that allows you to remotely monitor and manage PCs is PC Monitor by MMSoft Design.

And for comprehensive information, Springboard for Windows on TechNet provides recommended videos, white papers, how tos, FAQs, webcasts, and step-by-step guidance for discovering, deploying and managing Windows.

Support for users

One popular resource is the Windows Phone help and how to page, where help information is provided for people who are new to Windows Phone as well as existing Windows Phone users. Topics range from getting started instructions to deciphering status icons, using the Speech features in Windows Phone, taking pictures, and troubleshooting. There’s also a special What’s new in Windows Phone 7.5 section.

Another great resource is Microsoft Answers, which includes a Windows Phone section. I recently used it to help a colleague who thought he had noticed some poorly designed functionality. Ever since he upgraded to Mango, his calendar was filling up with all the Facebook events to which he was invited – even though he hadn’t accepted most of them.

So I went to the Windows Phone section of Microsoft Answers, searched for “facebook events” and quickly learned there’s a configuration option in Windows Phone calendar to “Only show Facebook events I’ve responded to.” (My colleague now points out this handy feature to others as if he invented it.)

Support for developers

For developers, there are two informative and interesting App Hub forums. The Windows Phone 7 forum has numerous ongoing discussions on a variety of topics, mostly about specific aspects of app development. The Account Management forum focuses on registering with and using App Hub.

Microsoft Zune software available for download

You can download Microsoft Zune software to your PC and turn your Windows Phone into a player for all your music, videos, and podcasts. You can also use Zune to listen to FM radio and go to Marketplace to search for apps. To learn more about Zune, see Get to know the Zune software. Mac users can install the Windows Phone 7 Connector to sync media files with Windows Phone.

Case studies

North Rhine-Westphalia Police delivers mobile innovation to its employees and residents on the Windows Phone. North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) Police is the largest police force in Germany, with ~50,000 police officers serving about 19 million people. NRW Police added Windows Phone to their IT-approved list of smartphones for their employees because it met their security requirements and works with their existing infrastructure. Then they worked with a Microsoft partner to build an app that delivers breaking news, search warrant, and police
station information to their employees and users.

Major car insurer sees 60 percent faster time-to-market on Windows Phone 7. Geico needed to develop its GloveBox app for Windows Phone quickly, but it wanted full feature parity with its version for the iPhone. Geico met these goals and more through its use of the familiar Microsoft .NET development environment, the distinctive “Metro” interface of Windows Phone, and a close and supportive relationship with Microsoft. Geico produced its app for Windows Phone—using prerelease code—40 percent faster than it had developed the iPhone version and believes development would have been significantly faster had mature code been available.

How Microsoft Deployed Windows Phone to Employees isn’t really a case study, but it describes how Microsoft distributed more than 50,000 Windows Phones to employees around the globe. It’s an interesting read.

Windows Phone reviews

Windows Phone 7.5 Review by Paul Thurott on SuperSite for Windows There’s a New Windows Phone! Why you should be overjoyed about Microsoft’s latest entry in the smartphone derby by Farhad Manjoo on Slate.

Happy New Year, now is a good time to upgrade to Windows Phone.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Team

Lync 2010 Mobile for Windows Phone available from Windows Phone Marketplace

2011-12-12T20:10:00Z

This is a great day to give you an update on what is happening with Windows Phone – we’re excited to let you know Microsoft released the Lync 2010 mobile client for Windows Phone to the Windows Phone Marketplace today.
This app combines instant messaging, conferencing, and calling features in a single application that’s familiar to Lync users and also optimized for mobile productivity. The Lync 2010 mobile client makes Windows Phone even more desirable for employees who want to communicate and contribute to the conversation from anywhere. More detailed information for IT Professional is available via the Lync Team Blog.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Team

Windows Phone 7.5 and IRM

2011-11-09T02:28:00Z

A significant enhancement in Windows Phone 7.5 (code-named “Mango”) is users’ ability to engage in confidential message threads and to read rights-managed Office documents that are sent as email attachments.

Most organizations work with sensitive information as part of doing business, whether dealing with confidential client information or with Intellectual Property. Information Rights Management (IRM) is a Windows Server-based technology that provides the ability to control who within the organization can view email messages and documents and what they can do with them, such as whether they can be forwarded to others and printed.

Windows Phone 7.5 was designed to fit in with existing infrastructure, and so we made Windows Phone work with IRM.

In Windows Phone 7.5, rights-managed email messages are decrypted by the Exchange Server that hosts the mailboxes of message recipients, this requires Exchange Server 2010. Rights-managed Office documents that are sent as email attachments or downloaded from SharePoint are decrypted by the Office Mobile apps on Windows Phone. Accordingly, the ability to read and repeatedly open rights-managed Office documents requires connectivity so that users’ credentials can be verified.

Windows Phone 7.5 is the only smartphone in market that includes built-in functionality for handling rights-managed messages and Office documents.

For detailed information, see the “Rights-managed email and Office documents in Windows Phone 7.5” article on the Windows Phone 7.5 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Team

New Windows Phone 7.5 Enterprise Security and Policy Management paper

2011-10-21T00:39:00Z

Security and data protection in Windows Phone is a key design priority. Today I published a new paper titled “Windows Phone Enterprise Security and Policy Management” that discusses the Windows Phone team’s holistic approach to security, including new features in Windows Phone 7.5, the latest update to the Windows Phone OS.

The article provides an overview of the Windows Phone security model and how Windows Phone was designed to protect information. It describes the Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) security–related policies that can be managed by IT departments and discusses how apps are isolated from each other to help protect the operating system. In addition, the article provides information on how Windows Phone helps protect against malware and how IT departments can provide secure access to corporate resources.

Windows Phone 7.5 also adds a number of new productivity features. This paper will help you understand that, in addition to the rich end user capabilities, Windows Phone is a flexible and secure phone that you can support with confidence. To see recent case studies of companies and IT departments that now support Windows Phone, visit Microsoft Case Studies.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Team

Windows Phone 7.5 is arriving!

2011-10-20T22:06:00Z

Windows Phone 7.5 (code-named “Mango”) is here and ready for delivery. Most Windows Phone users have received the Mango update and Mobile Operators are preparing to launch their new Windows Phone 7.5 devices soon. And if there’s any question about whether a cool people-centric design can also be a smart business choice, we think the answer is “Yes.”

Windows Phone was designed with productivity in mind, and it achieves this design goal in a number of ways. For one, users and reviewers agree that the UI is intuitive and a pleasure to work with. But communication and collaboration involves more than just a cool UI – it requires mobile devices that are secure, and that can be integrated with existing infrastructure. So we made sure that Windows Phone 7.5 addresses these requirements in ways that enhance and complement the original design.

Windows Phone 7.5 includes the latest version of Internet Explorer Mobile, a sleek and speedy browser with full HTML5 support– but one that cannot be used to download or install malware from the web. It also includes Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) protocol 14.1, which supports complex (alphanumeric) passwords. In addition, Windows Phone 7.5 supports server search, task/to-do list synchronization, and Information Rights Management (IRM) for email and Office documents.

And for organizations that have made the move to cloud-based computing and Office 365, Windows Phone 7.5 configures pretty much everything automatically – all workers need is their ID and password.

Soon employees will also be able to stay in touch through Lync Server 2010 and the Lync Mobile app.

We’re pleased that Windows Phone is being acknowledged as an innovative smartphone. Some have even said that it’s upped the ante for smartphone design, which is quite a compliment. The Windows Phone design team appreciates all the positive comments, but there’s a lot left to do. We appreciate your feedback on this blog and what you think needs to be done to make Windows phone even better for business users. Why not submit your best Windows Phone ideas in the Suggestion Box?

We will continue working to enhance Windows Phone, but we’ve worked hard to ensure that Windows Phone 7.5 addresses the needs of users as well as IT pros. We think it’s the smart business choice, but see for yourself – we think you’ll find that it withstands scrutiny quite well. We are starting a new series of papers on Windows Phone 7.5 with updated information to reflect the new functionality in Windows Phone 7.5. We will keep the Windows Phone 7 guide for IT professionals up for a while, in case you need them.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Team

Windows Phone Root Certificate Information

2011-06-16T21:09:00Z

There’s a new online location for all the certification authorities (CAs) and corresponding root certificates that come pre-installed on Windows Phone devices. CAs vouch for the identity of users who hold certificates, which enable secure communications with websites and services. This information is available on MSDN at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg521150(v=VS.92).aspx

MSDN will continue to host this information in the future. For an interim period, it will also remain available in the “Windows Phone 7 root certificates” article on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center.

Overview of New Business Capabilities for Windows Phone Mango announced at TechEd 2011

2011-05-19T19:32:00Z

What a great week in Atlanta at TechEd 2011. As you made have heard, we disclosed a number of new capabilities this week that will become available in next version of Windows Phone, codenamed Mango. Of the new capabilities and enhancements that were announced, I think the integration with Microsoft cloud platforms and services, specifically Office 365, is important news. If you have not considered Office 365, I encourage you to sign up for a beta account and give it a try at www.office365.com.

Here is an overview of what we disclosed at TechEd. I will be updating the technical articles on the Download Center in the next month to reflect some of the new functionality.

Outlook Mobile will support conversation views and the ability to organize email automatically by conversation, using the real conversation ID from Exchange Server. Doing it this way, and not just simply sorting on the subject line, has the advantage that conversation rules in Outlook on the PC also apply to Outlook Mobile on Windows Phone. You cannot set them on the phone, though; you need a version of Exchange Server that supports this, either Exchange 2010 or Exchange Online in Office 365. This capability will make reading and managing conversations a lot easier.
Individual Outlook folders will be pinnable to the Start screen for quick access. So if you have a folder for a specific project that stores all email related to that project, you can easily access it directly from the Start screen. If new email arrives, the Start screen tile will let you know at a glance. :-)
Server search will also be available so users will be able to search in the server for email messages that are no longer in their phones.
There will be Information Rights Management (IRM) support for both email and documents in Outlook Mobile and Office Mobile. This is a big subject, so I will write a separate blog on this and an article, too.
We have added complex password support, with associated Exchange ActiveSync policies, so organizations can implement this if they choose to.
We’ve also added built-in Office 365 auto discovery and auto provisioning capabilities, which will make it simple and easy to connect to Office 365 Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync services. We demonstrated Lync Mobile for Windows Phone for the first time. This Lync client will enhance Unified Communications with instant messaging and presence on the phone later this year. And did you know you can manage all the EAS policies in Office 365?

There were lots of Windows Phone activities at the conference. The Windows Phone booth in the expo received a lot of traffic, and there were demos and all the latest Windows Phone devices so attendees could give them a try. The Windows Phone educational sessions were well attended, and there were also many developer workshops. If you wanted to give app development a try, “From 0 to a Windows Phone App in Two Hours” was the best option. Windows Phone session information can be downloaded from the Microsoft TechEd North America website.

On the application platform side of Mango we also introduced “targeted distribution,” which will allow a developer to submit a Windows Phone app as “hidden.” As a result, the app will not be discoverable in Windows Phone Marketplace. The developer can then distribute a deep link to a targeted group of users, say employees of a company, and have them install the app using the deep link. This approach will give organizations the option to upload business-focused apps and get them to their employees.

Windows Phone is the smart choice for businesses. It integrates with existing Windows infrastructures and Office 365, apps can be developed quickly, and the most recent announcements lay a foundation for new productivity and collaboration possibilities powered by Office 365.

For more information, check out the following links:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/why-windows-phone-in-the-enterprise

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2011/05/16/productivity-takes-a-big-step-forward-in-mango.aspx

Windows Phone Mango and Microsoft Office 365

2011-05-17T19:58:00Z

Even if you’re not a tech geek like me, you’ve certainly heard about cloud computing. Being able to access your documents from anywhere has been feasible for a while, but the phenomenal growth of smartphones and the availability of bandwidth is really making things interesting. Imagine what you could do if you had access to colleagues and business information through the cloud with your smartphone. It will be possible with the upcoming version of Windows Phone (code-named Mango) and Microsoft Office 365!

For anyone who isn’t aware, Office 365 is a Microsoft cloud subscription service currently in beta release that includes the following services accessible via a browser:

Email and calendar services powered by Microsoft Exchange Online
Instant messaging and presence of coworkers powered by Lync Online
Websites, collaboration services, and Office Web Apps powered by Microsoft SharePoint Online

Windows Phone is the only phone with Outlook Mobile and Office Mobile built in, and when Mango is available it will work seamlessly with the Exchange Online, Lync Online, and SharePoint Online services in Office 365. The combination will allow you to stay organized and connected to your email, colleagues, and content while on the go. And you will abe ble to act on the latest information because your phone is synced to a team site in Office 365 while you’re out and about.

Here’s how quick and easy it will be to connect to Office 365 with Windows Phone Mango: you will enter a Office 365 login and password, and Outlook Mobile will configure your email, contacts, calendars, and team site right on the Windows Phone.

After setup, you can stay on top of emails by grouping them by conversation for easy viewing and following. And let’s say there’s a really useful email folder that you access frequently; you can pin it to the Start screen for glance-and-go viewing. These and other new features that are coming in the next version of Windows Phone are designed to help you stay organized and connected to your business.

With the SharePoint Team site in Office 365, colleagues will be able to share the latest documents with you even when you’re on the go. The latest versions are automatically synced to your Windows Phone when you open SharePoint Workspace Mobile, which makes version control much easier. If you’re going offline, like getting on an airplane, you can save a copy on your phone to edit and upload it back to the cloud when you’re online again. Best of all, you can open, edit, or comment on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents and see them in the same formatting that you’d expect on a PC. That’s the power of Office Mobile built in. Again. these are just glimpses of the new capabilities. I hope you’re as excited as I am about the potential of Windows Phone and Office 365.

For more info on Windows Phone, visit www.windowsphone.com, and for more info on Microsoft Office 365, visit www.office365.com.

New Windows Phone Mango details at TechEd!

2011-05-15T14:55:00Z

I am at Microsoft TechEd today in Atlanta. It’s an exiting time, and the Windows Phone team is disclosing some new business capabilities that will be available in the next release of Windows Phone code name Mango. If you want to know what the team has in store for you, have a look at the Windows Phone Team blog.

Windows Phone 7 at TechEd North America 2011 – Lessons Learned

2011-04-11T21:05:00Z

This year’s TechEd North America conference (in Atlanta, GA from May 16-19) will include many sessions that focus on Windows Phone 7; click here for a listing.

One focus of this year’s sessions will be to discuss lessons learned from real life deployment and development projects since we introduced Windows Phone 7 last year.

Here are some details on what promise to be some of the more interesting sessions at TechEd North America 2011:

Windows Phone @ Microsoft, by Mark Riley. Mark is the Mobility lead in Microsoft IT and will talk about the deployment of more than 40,000 Windows Phones at Microsoft. Mark will cover lessons learned and how to overcome hurdles when deploying Windows Phone 7 in an enterprise environment.

Understanding Windows Phone Marketplace, with Todd Biggs. Todd is one of the leaders on the Windows Phone team and focuses on Windows Phone Marketplace. If you want to hear how it works and how to get your app to market quickly and painlessly, this is a good session to attend. Todd will also hold an interactive session to answer all your questions and listen to your feedback.

Deploying Windows Phone 7 in the Enterprise, with Darren Hall. Darren is a consultant in the Mobility Center of Excellence in Microsoft Consulting Services, and has been involved in many deployment and development projects over the last year. Darren will cover all technologies and issues an IT organization needs to know about when deploying Windows Phone 7.

Understanding the Windows Phone Development Tools, with Maarten Struys. Maarten is a regular at TechEd and works closely with the Windows Phone developer team. He has consulted on many development projects for Windows Phone apps, and has developed some himself. If you want to learn what works well, this is a good session to attend. Maarten will also hold an interactive session to answer all those hard-core questions from developers.

Connecting Windows Phone 7 to Windows Azure, with Rob Tiffany. Rob is another TechEd regular, and our resident expert on integrating Windows Phone 7 with cloud services. He has been involved in the development of many cloud-connected applications for Windows Phone, and will share his expertise with you. Watch for an interactive session with Rob, too. Great stuff.

Lessons Learned about Application Performance on Windows Phone, with Maarten Struys. Yes, Maarten again - this time focusing on how to make your Windows Phone app fly. Showing real life examples, Maarten will discuss common performance bottlenecks and how to optimize the performance of your app.

And don’t forget the pre-conference seminar, Mastering Silverlight for Windows Phone 7 on Sunday, May 15. Charles Petzold, writer of the book “Programming Windows Phone 7” (also available as a free downloadable eBook) will teach this seminar which is intended for existing Silverlight programmers who want to code for the phone.

We hope that the Windows Phone track at TechEd North America 2011 will help you successfully integrate Windows Phone 7 in your environment. To register, visit the TechEd Portal; I would love to meet you there. If you can’t make it, you can still participate in the conversation by registering for MyTechEd and participating virtually.

Microsoft SharePoint Workspace Mobile on Windows Phone 7

2011-03-12T20:39:00Z

Windows Phone 7 is a great productivity tool because it includes Office Mobile. SharePoint Workspace Mobile is part of Office Mobile and allows users to download and synchronize Office documents with SharePoint servers, whether they reside on-premises or in the cloud.

For more information about SharePoint Workspace Mobile, see the article “Use Microsoft SharePoint Workspace Mobile” on Microsoft.com.

SharePoint versions supported

SharePoint Workspace Mobile on Windows Phone supports SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Foundation 2010, and is also compatible with SharePoint Online in Microsoft Office 365. SharePoint Workspace Mobile cannot connect to sites that are on earlier versions of SharePoint.

Additional information about configuring SharePoint sites for external access is available in “Configure external access for mobile devices (SharePoint Server 2010)” on Microsoft TechNet.

Access to SharePoint sites

A virtual private network (VPN) connection is required to enable access users to connect to internal SharePoint sites from outside the firewall . The only VPN server that is supported by Windows Phone 7 is the Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway (UAG). Forefront UAG with Service Pack 1 (SP1) is recommended. For more information about Forefront UAG Sharepoint Publishing, see the “SharePoint Publishing Guide” and “Publishing SharePoint sites for SharePoint Workspace Mobile.”

Keep an eye on the SharePoint team blog for updates to resources on how to connect Windows Phone 7 with SharePoint sites.

Interested to know more about Windows Phone 7? Check out the Windows Phone Guides 7 for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center for articles written with the IT pro in mind.

Windows Phone 7 @ TechEd North America

2011-03-03T00:22:00Z

Microsoft TechEd North America will take place in Atlanta from May 16-19, 2011, and Windows Phone 7 will be the focus of numerous sessions.

Windows Phone 7 is a different kind of phone, one that brings together what users care about most. It was designed to accommodate users’ needs for mobility and cloud technologies. And it can tie in to your existing Windows infrastructure and take advantage of the rich functionality available in products such as Microsoft Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint Server.

There is a lot for IT pros and users alike to appreciate in Windows Phone 7. Windows Phone sessions at TechEd will include topics that have been covered in this blog, and presenters will also focus on how Windows Phone 7 integrates with Exchange, SharePoint, and cloud-based productivity services. If supporting Windows Phone users is a part of your day-to-day work, or if you are planning to deploy Windows Phone 7, TechEd will be a good place to get the right information. Many of the presenters have Windows Phone deployment experience.

The Windows Phone track will also include a number of sessions for IT developers that focus on delivering business applications and how to develop compelling apps for business users. Some sessions will dive deep for an under-the-hood look at cool mobile technologies, such as using sensors and location in applications. Other sessions will cover base functionality for business applications, such as storing persistent data on the phone and integrating rich cloud-based services, including Windows Azure. Developers who attend will not be disappointed .

For those who want to get a head start, there is also a Windows Phone pre-conference seminar “Mastering Silverlight for Windows Phone 7.” This seminar is targeted at existing Silverlight programmers who want to code for the phone. Charles Petzold writer of the book “Programming Windows Phone 7” (also available as a free downloadable eBook) will teach this seminar on Sunday, May 15.

The Windows Phone track will help you learn how to successfully integrate Windows Phone 7 with your business infrastructure and application architecture. Hope to see you there.

www.microsoft.com/events/techednorthamerica/

Office Mobile on Windows Phone 7

2011-01-25T22:20:00Z

Windows Phone 7 offers numerous opportunities for making the most of work and life, while enabling best-in-class productivity through the all-new Microsoft Office Mobile.

Office Mobile offers unique capabilities on Windows Phone 7 that are not found on any other smartphone. Windows Phone 7 is the only smartphone with Microsoft Office Mobile built-in. It delivers a great finger touch experience to the powerful Office tools that your users are already familiar with. Several features help improve productivity:

The Office Hub provides a single location for easy access to documents, the ability to quickly view, edit, and create documents, and the ability to save them on the phone or email them to others.

In Word Mobile 2010, you can:

View and use rich formatting options in documents, such as bullets, highlighting and graphics.
Work with documents that automatically reflow for optimized viewing on the smartphone screen.
Take advantage of tools such as AutoCorrect, predictive text, spell check, and outline - an easy way to navigate to the most relevant information in a document.

In Excel Mobile 2010, you can:

View, edit and format entire workbooks, including high resolution charts and graphs.
Update and instantly recalculate workbooks, edit formulas and use 114 frequently used functions.
Filter and sort lists.

In PowerPoint Mobile 2010, you can:

View presentations full screen with rich pictures, charts, and improved SmartArt.
View slide transitions, builds, and animations—including motion paths.
Review and update presentation speaker notes, edit slide text, and move or hide slides.
Display Custom Shows stored within presentations.
Zoom in on slides to view details and easily pan to view different perspectives.
Attend a virtual PowerPoint broadcast—receive an invitation, tap a link, call in and instantly view the presentation.

In OneNote Mobile 2010, you can:

Use the simplified OneNote Mobile user interface to capture information.
Insert pictures or record voice clips.
Enhance notes with newly added formatting functionality and numbered lists.
Use the app bar to quickly email a OneNote file, which automatically adds note contents to the message body and enables all recipients to view key content—even if they don’t use OneNote.
Access and update notebooks that are stored on SharePoint 2010.

In SharePoint Workspace Mobile 2010, you can:

Enable users to access SharePoint 2010 files so they can collaborate with their teams while on the move and sync documents for offline use.
Use built-in SSL support for the Microsoft Forefront Unified Access Gateway.

For more information on Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 features and capabilities, see the “Microsoft Office Mobile on Windows Phone 7 Product Guide” on the Office Product Guide Download Center, and check out the Office Mobile page on TechNet, and the Office Mobile Blog on TechNet.

Note: I had some issues with this post and have reposted this to solve the display issues.

Windows Phone 7 Update

2011-01-05T21:58:00Z

The way Windows Phone 7 handles updates is different from previous versions, and solves some of the common problems from the past. As mobile devices have evolved, some vendors have learned painful lessons about the challenges involved in making ROM updates. Even when such updates worked, issues like app re-installation and reconfiguration sometimes made for a less-than-pleasant user experience.

For Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has put to good use some existing technology they’ve been fine-tuning for years. There’s no longer any need to wonder where updates can be obtained—with Windows Phone 7, the process is handled through Microsoft Update. Users see a notification on their phone when updates are available, and the actual updates are applied when they next connect their phone to their PC and use the Microsoft® Zune®–based update process.

If there is an issue with an update, it’s also possible to revert to a pre-update configuration because the update process automatically saves a snapshot of the device state before it starts the update process.

All apps are acquired through the Marketplace Hub, so Microsoft provides update notifications for all apps—regardless of who developed them. The update process doesn’t mess with data, settings, or other apps, either. App updates can be done over-the-air (OTA), but ROM updates need a PC connection.

For more info, see the article Windows Phone 7 device update on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center.

Windows Phone 7 Security and Management

2011-01-05T21:56:00Z

Security features on mobile devices are important, but as workers become more mobile there is also an increasing need to manage security.

The Windows Phone 7 design provides solid security through an interesting security model—for more info, see the “Windows Phone 7 Security Model” article on the on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center. Features such as requiring managed code, application sandboxing, and app certification/verification contribute to the overall security. And even though Windows Phone 7 isolates processes from each other and prevents inter-application communications, developers can use built-in cryptography to protect app data if they want.

The latest incarnation of Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® (EAS) provides security-related mailbox policy properties, which can be used by IT departments for security management purposes. For detailed information on which EAS policies are supported on Windows Phone 7, see the “Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft Exchange Server” article, also on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page.

For information about the security controls implemented on Windows Phone 7, see the “Windows Phone 7 Security and Management” article on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page.

Windows Phone 7 and Internet Explorer Mobile

2011-01-05T21:55:00Z

The Internet Explorer Mobile browser that ships with Windows Phone 7 has some great user mobile functionality, but there are also some security-oriented design features that are very useful. Because most malware threats are introduced through web browsers, reducing the attack surface of the browser wherever possible makes good sense.

One nod to mobile user enhancements is the Windows Phone 7 on-screen keyboard. It includes a dedicated “.com” key—so users don’t need to type as many characters when entering URLs. And if users tap and hold the “.com” key, they can select .com, .net, .org, or .edu.

It also suggests websites as users type on the keyboard. It also automatically recognizes different types of information, such as street addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses—and makes them actionable. Tapping a phone number automatically calls the number, and tapping an address automatically shows the location on Bing maps and offers the user directions. The display capabilities are world-class, of course; users can pinch their fingers together or stretch them apart to zoom in or out while viewing webpages, flick the screen to scroll or pan, tap a picture to view it full-screen, or double-tap text to have it fit on the screen for easy reading.

From a security perspective, Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Phone 7 always runs at the least-privileged level and operates independently of all other phone applications. It’s designed so that it can’t access data in the phone’s file system, or access information from other applications in memory. All of this helps to minimize the risk of malicious software (also called malware) attacks.

Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Phone 7 also ensures that malicious code can’t be launched from websites. For example, installing an application through the browser is impossible. It’s also impossible to install third-party plugins; it doesn’t check or scan plugins, it simply doesn’t allow them. This might seem harsh to some, but not to any IT pro who has had to deal with malware spreading through their organization.

Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Phone 7 uses the desktop Internet Explorer 7 rendering engine with some enhancements made for mobile layout, along with some scripting capabilities from Internet Explorer 8. The combination appears to be a good one. For more info, see the “Windows Internet Explorer Mobile on Windows Phone 7” article on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center.

Windows Phone 7 Security Model

2011-01-05T21:50:00Z

Microsoft developers of the Windows Phone 7 operating system created an interesting new security model, one that relies on isolating computer processes from each other and providing privileges based on need rather than hunger.

The Windows Phone OS 7.0 security model defines four different types of virtual “chambers,” each of which has different privileges and strictly defined boundaries. All applications (apps) installed from the Marketplace Hub run in a least-privileged chamber created specifically for the app, and controlled by a policy system that assigns capabilities based on what the app needs. In other words, no one-size-fits-all set of capabilities—each app gets what it needs, and when apps run they are strictly isolated from each other. So is app data—it can’t be accessed from other apps. This is a step up for app security on smartphones.

Data communications are encrypted via Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), as one might expect, but the way apps are created and installed is another special part of the security model. First, developers use Microsoft® .NET managed language development technologies and tools, in accordance with specified standard practices. Second, all apps undergo certification tests by Microsoft. Third, all apps that are certified are code-signed. Fourth, apps can only be sold and installed through the Windows Phone Marketplace Hub. Finally, the special version of the Windows® Internet Explorer® Mobile browser cannot install programs or plugins from other websites, which greatly reduces potential exposure to malware.

Although technically not part of the security model, the security mindset of those who developed Windows Phone 7 is reflected in two other aspects of its design; the file system can’t be accessed via a tethered PC, and the phone does not support removable memory storage cards. From all appearances, it looks like this will be a tough nut to crack.

For more info, see the “Windows Phone 7 Security Model” article on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center. You might also be interested in the “Windows Phone 7 Security and Management” article, which discusses how security–related policies can be used by IT departments to manage Windows Phone 7 configurations.

Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft Exchange Server

2010-12-21T16:51:00Z

The depth of integration between Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft Exchange Server provides some really cool capabilities. Much of this integration is achieved through the Exchange ActiveSync® (EAS) protocol—version 14.0 is what ships with Windows Phone 7.

EAS emerged in the days of Exchange Server 2003, and has undergone many changes and improvements since then—and the number of EAS features has steadily increased. One noteworthy feature in EAS version 14.0 is syncing of message reply state, which makes sure that the device and the server know if any message has been forwarded or replied to from any source—Microsoft Outlook® on the desktop, Outlook Anywhere (browser), or Windows Phone 7.

Although it’s been around since the first release of EAS, Direct Push is a great example of Exchange Server integration. Direct Push keeps Windows Phone 7 devices current by communicating with the Exchange Server, protecting communications using Secure Socket Layer (SSL). If a change is made to a user’s mailbox, Exchange issues a notification to the phone to initiate synchronization. In this way, Windows Phone 7 devices are updated almost immediately—users are notified of new email messages or changes in their calendar and contacts, which means they can respond quickly when necessary. More information about Direct Push, including firewall configuration considerations, is available in the Understanding Direct Push topic on Microsoft TechNet.

Another cool feature of EAS and Exchange Server on Windows Phone 7 is Autodiscover, which makes it simple for users to set up their accounts, connect, and start being productive as quickly as possible. There’s no need to figure out cryptic server names ahead of time—connectivity is a breeze. More information about Autodiscover is available in the TechNet topic Understanding Exchange ActiveSync Autodiscover.

“Windows Phone 7 security and management” and “Windows Phone 7 and Microsoft Exchange Server,” two new technical articles for IT pros, explain security features and EAS security–related policies that are supported on Windows Phone 7. These articles are now available on the Windows Phone 7 Guides for IT Professionals page on the Microsoft Download Center.

Certificates and Windows Phone 7

2010-12-15T18:40:00Z

Organizations need an effective certificate infrastructure because certificates are essential to security. The article Windows Phone 7 and certificates discusses several ways of installing certificates on Windows Phone 7, and provides additional relevant certificate information.

Windows Phone 7 trusts most major commercial certification authorities (CAs). All of these CAs and their root certificates that are pre-installed on Windows Phone 7 phones are identified in the article Windows Phone 7 root certificates. Root certificates are included in web browser applications such as Windows® Internet Explorer® and Internet Explorer Mobile because they play a significant role in Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) communications (which are used extensively in online commerce transactions on the World Wide Web).

Certificates for authentication and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync®

In addition to using certificates for secure communications, organizations use them for authentication purposes—to verify the identity of users, as well as devices.

An increasingly common authentication use works in conjunction with the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) protocol, which provides mobile users with message and calendar synchronization services. With EAS, users can connect directly to Exchange servers without using any middleware. And the ability of Windows Phone 7 to handle multiple Exchange accounts is a real plus!

How Windows Phone 7 uses certificates to help protect against malware

Certificates play an important role in the installation and licensing of Windows Phone 7 applications, which are only available through the Marketplace Hub. All applications are validated, certified, and uniquely signed with a certificate before they are uploaded, which significantly reduces the threat of malware.

Because Microsoft is the only signing authority, malicious software developers cannot self-sign malware code, and application certificates can be revoked if malware is detected after publication. This approach enhances the integrity of the phone, increases consumer confidence, and provides benefits to developers and consumers alike.

Have a look at the articles on the Windows Phone 7 guides for IT pros download center for more details.

Windows Phone 7 for IT pros

2010-12-15T16:55:00Z

Welcome to the Windows Phone 7 for IT pros blog. This blog is designed to provide IT pros with tips and pointers to help get workers with Windows Phone 7 devices up and running as quickly as possible.

Today’s workers can’t be shoehorned or pigeonholed into a single description or generation. Workers from many different cultures need to work together and communicate through whatever means possible to get the job done. However, there is one increasingly common factor—user mobility.

According to research, mobile users will make up 73 percent of the workforce in 2012. The growing need for mobility means computing is becoming increasingly user-centric. IT departments are changing to become more flexible and to accommodate users’ needs. Smartphones are no longer nice-to-haves, but essential tools. And it’s no longer feasible to dictate what technology tools are “allowed” without taking into account what your employees need and want to have. The changes that many IT departments are dealing with today are sometimes referred to as the “Consumerization of IT.” Many workers now personally choose and purchase the technologies they bring into the workplace, and they expect IT to make them work.

Windows Phone 7 is a different kind of phone designed to bring together what users care about most—easier and faster. It was designed to accommodate their needs for mobility and web 2.0 technologies. And it can tie in to your existing Windows infrastructure and take advantage of the rich functionality available in products such as Microsoft® Exchange Server and Microsoft SharePoint® Server. The flexibility of Windows Phone 7 is compelling, and its integrated but feature-rich user interface is impressive—there is a lot for IT pros and users alike to appreciate.

Make sure to reference this blog or the Microsoft Download Center page for useful Windows Phone 7 articles when your workers bring Windows Phone 7 devices in and ask you to make them work. Let us know if you have any tips or pointers to share, or any requests that can help you successfully deploy Windows Phone 7 in your organization.

Alan Meeus, Windows Phone Product Manager