James Akrigg .:. Out of Office : Microsoft Office System

Microsoft Technologies - Today > Tomorrow > Futures Pt.4

James Akrigg — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:59:41 GMT

.: Presentation notes :.

SharePoint, SharePoint, SharePoint... That's all you would hear me talk about during my first six years at Microsoft. Now in it's third version it has become the fastest growth product in Microsoft's product history reaching $1bn faster than any other product. I put this down to several key attributes. First the capabilities of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 (MOSS 2007) are now vast spanning collaboration, content management, portal, search, business intelligence and business process management and this makes SharePoint the ideal 'information platform' for business. Secondly I would say that the extensibility of this platform has enabled the solutions our partners have been creating to address a wide and varied set of business problems across business functions and company boundaries. Having a technology that can be used for Intranet, Extranet and Internet solutions is of great strategic value when considering skills needed to support and drive your information platform.

The slide is hard to see in the scaled down image, but it basically puts SharePoint in the centre and illustrates that it requires Windows Server 2008 (or Windows Server 2003) and stores data in SQL Server. To the right (as you look at the slide) it shows how you may protect your information platform using ForeFront for SharePoint and Data Protection Manager (part of System Centre) to help with disaster recovery. To the left we have SharePoint Designer. This is a design tool to make it easier to customize the look and feel of SharePoint sites and more easily create solutions based on SharePoint. Finally at the top of the slide we have 'user experience'. Tight integration with Office 2007 and Office Communication Server really brings the solution to life as users can use familiar tools to interact with SharePoint. (slide 1)

We have been using Office Communications Server 2007 (OCS 2007) at Microsoft for sometime now and it is transforming the way we do business. Using Office Communicator 2007 client application to see presence information for anybody in the organization I may wish to contact is fantastic but it becomes amazing when I add contacts in partners that I work with so that we can communicate and collaborate more effectively. Applications that contain contact information (e.g. Outlook, SharePoint etc) light up with presence information when signed into Office Communicator so that I can communicate in context. So that's my business strength presence and instant messaging taken care of and you would think that was good. Well in the tradition of going from good to great let's throw in PBX integration to voice enable Office Communications Server. In a recent trip to Los Angeles I was able to make calls from my Vista Laptop via the Wireless Internet connection in the hotel and conference centre and significantly reduce my mobile roaming charges. More recently I have been testing using a Netbook with a small bluetooth headset to make calls. Those that attended the event should remember the demo :)

Piloting unified communications using Office Communications Server 2007 and perhaps collaboration with SharePoint is a great way to see the immediate benefits you can get in using these technologies. Many partners are doing this today and sharing their real world experiences with customers looking at ways to reduce costs and improve communication and collaboration capabilities. If you are not seriously looking at SharePoint and Office Communications Server you should and with the release of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 in the first half of next year there will be even more solution possibilities. (slide 2)

.: Resources :.

SharePoint Server 2007 Homepage

Windows Server 2008

SharePoint Solution Templates

Office Communications Server 2007

Technical Resources for SharePoint Server 2007

Using the latest SQL Server 2008 features with SharePoint Server 2007

Using SharePoint Products and Technologies with Hyper-V

SharePoint Server 2007 Evaluation resources

Early information on Office Communications Server 2007 R2 and Launch Event Registration Link

I have SharePoint 2007, but am I managing it correctly?

James Akrigg — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 18:30:00 GMT

I had the pleasure of presenting at a couple of events last week that covered Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. One of the most common questions was from customers who had installed SharePoint to evaluate it, but were not sure if it was setup correctly or if they were managing it correctly.

I was asked to recommend any books that could help. Well you are in luck you can go to your traditional book shop or your favorite online reseller and get 'Office SharePoint Server 2007 - Administrator's Companion' TODAY.

Yes I know it's a Microsoft Press book and yes I work for Microsoft, but believe me I did look for other titles and this is currently the best available to buy today. If you are having problems finding it then I have included a link to it on Amazon UK.

Regards

James Akrigg

Hey! Great tips!!

James Akrigg — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 19:05:00 GMT

Are you getting the most from your recent upgrade to the 2007 Microsoft Office System? It's a good question to ask. Are you using this latest release in exactly the same way you have used previous version of Office? Would you like to change and get more from your software?

Well now you can with 'Tips & Tricks 2007'.

Microsoft Office Online delivers a huge selection of inspiration through Webcasts covering all aspects of your favorite product within the Office System.

Get more from Microsoft Office and do more today!

James Akrigg

Geek Gland Training: Swimming

James Akrigg — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 22:32:01 GMT

The interest in the new 2007 release of Office is getting bigger and bigger. Yet there are concerns about learning the new features in the Office applications. Do you feel like you are drowning in all the information that is being pushed out there? Don't panic!!! We are going to start off in the shallow end of the Office System Pool (of applications). Take a look at these simple online overviews that will guide you through the new features so that you can feel confident in creating compelling solutions with the Office System. The courses start off with an overview of the much anticipated refresh of the Office User Interface. This is one of the most significant design changes from previous versions of Office and having used I don't want to go back to menus and toolbars. You have to take a look at this. Then we take a look at each of the desktop applications that most businesses will be running. There are some exceptions here such as Project, Publisher and Outlook Contact Manager, but if I can find something on these I'll be sure to let you know.

•	Course 4697: Introduction to the New Microsoft Office User Interface In this course, you will learn about the changes to the user interface and how to use the new customization tools. Additionally, you will gain new skills to immediately perform and improve everyday tasks.
•	Course 4622: What's New in Microsoft Office Access 2007 In this course, you will learn to create, populate, and analyze data in an Access 2007 database.

•	Course 4623: What's New in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 In this course, you will learn about new features, such as conditional formatting and enhanced business intelligence analysis tools. These tools enable you to easily organize and analyze business information.
•	Course 4624: What's New in Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 In this course, you will learn about the new features that enable you to convert existing Microsoft Word and Excel forms into InfoPath 2007 forms.

•	Course 4625: What's New in Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 In this course, you will learn how to manage your text, voice, and Tablet PC-based notes in one application. You'll also learn how to use the power of this application to share your notes with others to create a collaborative work environment.
•	Course 4626: What's New in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 In this course, you will learn what's new with the user interface for creating messages and appointments. You'll also learn about enhanced task-management capabilities.

•	Course 4627: What's New in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 In this course, you will learn how to use the new tools in PowerPoint 2007 that are designed to empower you so that you can easily create dynamic and engaging presentations.
•	Course 4628: What's New in Microsoft Office Word 2007 In this course, you will learn about the more intuitive user interface and easy navigation that brings the most popular tools to your fingertips. This enables you to create professional-looking documents.

•	Course 4629: What's New in Microsoft Office Visio 2007 In this course, you will learn how to start to use this business and technical diagramming program. Take advantage of the latest features to quickly create flowcharts, process diagrams and organizational charts and analyze business intelligence data with new Pivot Diagrams.
•	Course 4698: What's New in Microsoft Office Groove 2007 In this course, you will learn how to create and how to manage Workspaces, how to share files and project information by using the Workspace, and how to enable effective team communication and collect information using forms.

I'd be interested on your feedback on this content. Did you get the information you need? Is there something more that we can provide to help? Your comments are greatly received.

p.s. I don't want to see any of our partners wearing inflatable arm bands. Learn to swim now!

James Akrigg

Don’t be Evil! Blah, blah, blah! Get Ready to be EVOL!

James Akrigg — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 00:10:41 GMT

New Products! New Thinking! New Opportunities! New dates for your calendar to meet Microsoft and learn all about Exchange, Vista, Office and Live. I've been in the office this week working through the details with Steve and Ben as we put the final touches to what I hope will be a great demonstration of just some of the possibilities this new wave of software will mean to businesses in the UK.

The Business EVOLution Roadshow will be all over the UK so I hope you can find a suitable date and location to join us. It's hard to believe that the last public beta of Office 2007 (Beta 2 Technical Refresh) and Vista RC2 (Build 5744) are out the door and we are just counting the days now until RTM (Release to Manufacture). Why not make time to ensure you have the information you need to help customers evolve into the New World of Work and deliver positive business impact.

If you are a Microsoft Partner then click here to register today.

If you don't think you are going to be able to make any of the dates we have. Then you don't have to miss out. Take a look at this sneak peak recorded at a recent Microsoft conference.

A Sneak Peek at Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office System, Including Exchange 2007 Server

James Akrigg

Out of Office : Meet my new assistant

James Akrigg — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:20:00 GMT

I recently created a demo machine with Microsoft Outlook 2007 Beta 2 TR (Technical Refresh) on a server with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and was impressed with the improvements made in the new 'Out of Office' assistant. I had heard that we were making improvements and I'm pleased to see that our 'Better Together' message really delivers value to customers updating to Exchange 2007 and Outlook 2007.

There are some new options to baffle and amaze your business colleagues. Let's take a closer look.

As you can see you have much greater control on how being out-of-office is handled by Exchange.

I can now specify start and end times for when my out-of-office replies will be sent. This is great for planning ahead and not having out-of-office messages sent when you are in the office but have not got round to switching the out-of-office assistant off. Ahhh! That's much better.

Contextual out-of-office responses for internal and external emails. I can now set my out-of-office response for everyone inside my organisation to use internal phone extensions for alternative contacts, web sites and emails without disclosing this to the outside world. I can also be more descriptive as to my whereabouts without exposing company information to external contacts. For responses to non organisational colleagues I have even more control over the how these are handled. We have had rules for some time, but a simple option is now available to only send out-of-office information to my contacts so that they can be aware of possible delays in my response to email. Alternatively I could just select the option to provide this information to anyone that sends me an email. I think this is a great step forward in allowing the user greater control over the information supplied while out of the office with a greater focus on providing the right information to the right people.

If you want to see this in action then click here for a quick video and if you like what you see there are more here : Exchange Server 2007 Demos

But wait, there's more…..

You also get access to these options in the updated Outlook Web Access (OWA) on Exchange Server 2007. Click on Screen Image below for a more detailed view.

James Akrigg

SharePoint : “There’s no point if you don’t share!”

James Akrigg — Wed, 27 Sep 2006 18:47:00 GMT

I have started to receive feedback via comments on my blog and true to my word I am responding. In my previous post on 'Geek Gland Training' I posted information for training on Office 2007, Exchange 2007 and Windows Vista but I also tagged the post as being related to SharePoint. The comment I received was quick to point out that I had not included links to SharePoint 2007 training. With this post I hope to share information that will help you start to develop skills needed for this powerful product from the Office team.

The first resource is titled 'Clinic 3370: Getting Started with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007 (Beta)'. This could be the introduction to SharePoint Server that everyone has been looking for. The course will enable you to:

Describe the design goals and features of Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Describe how to manage documents and Web content using Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Describe the Office SharePoint Server 2007 features for organizing and finding data.
Describe how to implement business solutions using Office SharePoint Server 2007.

The second resource, 'Clinic 5046: Inside Look at Building and Developing Solutions with Microsoft® Office SharePoint® Server 2007', is aimed more at developers but it could also be useful if you are looking to extend SharePoint Server. The course will enable you to:

Describe the Office SharePoint Server 2007 high level features.
Describe Integration with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0
Describe how to extend, assemble and configure MOSS solutions.
Describe how to build MOSS Business solutions with MOSS.
Describe features for building Portal Solutions (Business Data Catalog, Shared Services, Profiles).
Describe features for building Business Intelligence Solutions (Excel services, reporting, dashboards).
Describe features for building Web and Enterprise Content Management Solutions (field controls, custom content converters).
Describe Single Sign on service.
Describe InfoPath forms.

To compliment the above resource we also have 'Clinic 5045: Inside Look at Developing with Microsoft® Windows® SharePoint® Services 3.0'. This covers everything you are going to need to get started creating solutions on SharePoint Services. The clinic will enable you to:

Describe Site and Workspace management and Document storage.
Describe Integration with ASP.NET and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007.
Describe Sites, Lists, Content Types and Collaborative features.
Describe Programming with WSS and using the WSS Event model.
Describe the Property Bag and Change Log.
Describe SharePoint Pages, Master Pages and Content Pages.
Describe Custom Views and Templates.
SharePoint Designer
Describe Web parts and Workflow support.
Describe the Administrative object model.
Describe how to create deployable Windows SharePoint Services-based solutions.
Describe the Feature framework.
Describe the Solution deployment model.

Each of these courses can be downloaded and run offline, so if like me you travel a lot, this could be a great way to learn on the move. Oh and if you hurry they won't cost you a thing. Well that's all for now. I hope this helps and please keep those comments coming.

James Akrigg