Wanting to do Projects with New Technologies? It sounds exciting, but does have an element of risk.

Why does one want to be an Early-Adopter of new Technology?

Generally, new technologies have new, and marked improvements in features. In most cases, real-world problems and requirements are solved by a new version of software, and sometimes things are just easier and faster than in the past.

How and we (Microsoft) help you?

The IT Pro Momentum Program was designed with that in mind. By Invite, you get access the the Project Portal where you can profile your projects, and have access to Exclusive Information, Training, Product Downloads and Support.


Is such a program for me?

It depends on how many of the following questions you can answer to your satisfaction:

• Does new Technology Interest me?
• Do I want, and need Support during the Evaluation of the various Products?
• Am I not scared to try out the Products and Solutions (in a test environment at least) with Beta Products?
• Do I want to give feedback about the Products to the Development Teams (bugs, features and new ideas), and also my experiences in deploying the product?

Target Audience

Targeted with this program are Small and Medium Sized Business (SME) and Microsoft Partners that do not have regular and dedicated contact/support from Microsoft. For Large Enterprises, other programs like TAP (Technology Adoption Program) and RDP (Rapid Deployment Program) are more suitable, but do not exclude you from IT Pro Momentum.

What will I as a participant get?

It depends on the stage of you Project.

• Evaluation Phase
  You get access to technical content and dedicated forums. You also have access to Online Trainings.
• Planning Phase
  You receive a 1 year subscription to TechNet Plus and access to the product setups.
• Pilot Phase
  You have the opportunity to request free help from Microsoft Support up to a a maximum of 1 year for the product you are Piloting to help you quickly solve issues that you have.
• Deployment Phase
  You project is virtually complete and here comes our ask of you.

What do we (Microsoft) gain from this?

Firstly, we want to hear from and about you and your Projects you are planning to, or currently working on, and help you where possible. For some, it may be very interesting to be profiled, either on a Blog or a Case Study, to show the world and your colleagues what you achieved. At the same time, share your experiences with the community and prove your competency.
Secondly, we have customers who have deployed, and are happily using our Products!

Products and Technologies for the Year 2009 in IT Pro Momentum (Not product shipping dates and is subject to change)

How do I get invited (or have questions)?

Contact Michael Epprecht, IT Pro Evangelist, Microsoft Switzerland via e-mail or the Contact Form.
If you are not based in Switzerland or Lichtenstein, we will pass your request onto the responsible IT Pro Evangelist in your region if IT Pro Momentum is offered in your region.

Windows 7 RC and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC (builds 7100) will be made available for download to TechNet and MSDN subscribers on 30 April 2009 and on 5 May 2009, will be available for general download.

Just remember, unless you download it from Microsoft, you can’t be guaranteed that it is the actual RC, and that nothing “extra” is included. Be safe, don’t download software from un-trusted sources.

Hosted services have always been a favorite for Companies and Individuals. The trend of "Services On Demand" has been growing consistently for Internet Based Services and will grow exponentially in the next few years.

Microsoft is committed to it’s Software + Services (SaaS) strategy, for example http://www.officelive.com or http://www.microsoft.ch/online. Both solutions are based on Windows Technologies and have proven Availability and Performance. For many customers in Switzerland these 2 solutions may be a limitation as the data centers are currently not based in Switzerland.

There is a solution: Heidi Hosts. Modern Microsoft Technologies (Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V), Swiss Location, solutions for Students, Companies and also Developers all in one place. Interesting is that the lady used in the advertising can be added as a Friend on Facebook  :)

http://blogs.technet.com/chitpro-de/archive/2009/04/23/heidihosts-ch-modernste-hostingl-sung-mit-microsoft-technologien.aspx

We have been getting a few questions from Customers and Partners about BPOS. One of the questions is "Will BPOS support Outlook 2003?".

It is expected that from June 2009, Outlook 2003 will be supported, but there are clear limitations. See this extract from a MS Field Blog:

Outlook 2003 WILL BE supported in Exchange Online Standard by June 2009.  However, there are two very critical caveats:

No Free-Busy:  While Exchange Online Standard will support Outlook 2003, the Free-Busy functionality in Outlook 2003 will be completely disabled when connected to Exchange Online.  In other words, there will be NO Free-Busy support or capability in Outlook 2003 when used with Exchange Online.  We are investigating possible mitigations for this issue, but we cannot commit a date for  Free-Busy support in Outlook 2003 when used with Exchange Online.

Possible Workaround:  Free-Busy WILL work in OWA.  So an end-user could switch to OWA to schedule a meeting when they need to see Free-Busy info for another Online user (note that Exchange Online still will NOT expose Free-Busy information in a co-existence scenario to on-premises users -- this limitation still exists and will not be fixed until Wave 14 - see F/B Coexist Topic)

Outlook 2003 Not Supported By Exchange Online 2010 Version (Wave 14):  Be aware that Outlook 2003 support for Exchange Online will end at Wave 14 when Exchange Online moves onto Exchange Server 2010.

Possible Mitigation:  Customers have 12 months to opt into platform upgrade of BPOS.  So a customer who is on BPOS Standard who needs Outlook 2003 support could have it for up to 12 months after Wave 14 platform upgrade if customer chooses to stay on the current platform.  But it does mean they will not get the benefits of Wave 14 capabilities.  So customer will have to weigh Outlook 2003 support against Wave 14 benefits.

We will provide more information about exactly what this support will look like shortly.  (I.e. will the Sign-In Tool configure Outlook 2003 as it does Outlook 2007, etc.)

Refer to Outlook 2003 WIKI Topic page for subsequent updates.

UPDATE:  A third caveat to consider - just added this to the WIKI topic:  Outlook 2003 Mainstream Support Ended 4/14/2009:  Be aware that mainstream support ended for Outlook 2003 on 4/14/2009.  So Outlook 2003 is now in Extended Support phase.  Customers currently running Outlook 2003 should be reminded of this when considering to stay with Outlook 2003 versus moving to Office 2007.

Original post from Schweizer IT Professional und TechNet Blog by Stefan Hagenbuch.

Windows and Security are definitively not unknown word-pairs

With the Forefront Product family and Windows 7, you are fully armed to provide a secure Windows Desktop. This TechTalk will give the the information you need to be successful, without a lot of work, to develop and deploy you Business Security Policy and keep your desktops secure.

The focus will be on the following products:

• Forefront Codename "Stirling"
• Forefront Client Security v2
• Forefront Threat Management Gateway
• Intelligent Application Gateway 2007 SP2
• Windows 7
• Windows Server 2008 R2
• Internet Explorer 8

Naturally, many demos will be shown

Date: Wednesday, 13 May 2009, 9:00 – 16:00
Venue: Microsoft Schweiz GmbH, Richtistrasse 3, 8304 Wallisellen
Language: German
Target Audience: IT Specialists
Presenters: Dominik Zemp, Markus Erlacher

Registration and Agenda: www.microsoft.ch/it-events