Your mother always taught you that procrastination was the root of all evil.  Better to tackle those sometimes annoying, pesky challenges head on as they come, rather than waiting for them to mount.  Like a bag of popcorn that has been left a little too long in the microwave, tasks left unattended often times explode right before our eyes, and the spoils left behind are far worse than we could have imagined.

It is no different in the world of IT security updates.  While the Microsoft product teams work hard to deliver highly secure products they are not perfect and security updates are a fact of life.  OK, we know  they can be a right pain in the a$$.  No one likes orchestrating system restarts across numerous workstations or servers, and of course there’s always the fear that mission critical or heavily used applications are going to be adversely affected.  All understandable reasons to put off deploying security updates indeed, but all too often we don’t stop to look at the big picture and see what kind of a sticky situation we are setting ourselves up for:

-Ignoring security updates leaves your systems vulnerable to attack and when that happens, there is surely a lot more headache in store when it comes to repairing the damage-

In fact, if you embrace the change process you will find that you will end up with a much healthier environment all round as you will get good at change. Getting a monthly, recurring, maintenance process in place for desktops and servers will serve you well in the long run and make all change, not just security updates, much easier to do.

One of the biggest challenges you face when tackling security updates is finding a way to test whether the update will work on your desktops and servers without issue. The standard approach is to simply deploy the update to a group of test machines and get someone to test the applications installed on it. This can be time consuming and a bit hit and miss.

What if there was a tool to make test security updates seem a bit less daunting, and made it easier to deploy the updates your systems need?  If there were less pain involved with the process, would you put a stop to your update procrastination? Enter ACT (Application Compatibility Testing) Tookit and the Update Compatibility Evaluator.

Try this out:

1. Set up a test rig with:
   - A couple of PCs
   - Standard desktop builds
   - Install all customers’ custom applications
2. Install ACT
   - Build ACT Database of applications
3. Now run UCE – Update Compatibility Evaluator
   - Analyse the results in ACT

(What is UCE? - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766043(WS.10).aspx)

While it will take a bit of up front investment to master the tool, the benefits of this approach are as follows:

1.     It reduces any uncertainty about the deployment of Windows updates. UCE provides compatibility information, enabling you to successfully test your high-risk applications and to fix any issues before deploying the update within your organization.

2.     It increases the adoption rate of Windows updates. Because you do not have to be concerned about potential compatibility issues, you can deploy the updates more quickly, providing greater security to your organization.

3.     It reduces your workload and cost. After you determine which applications are at risk, you can organize and focus your testing, making sure the applications are stable upon deployment of the update.

Take advantage of this tool, and help yourself get back on track by proactively managing your update processes.  Stop procrastination right in its tracks, and don’t let those critical updates simmer any longer.  After all, no one likes eating a bag full of burnt popcorn.

Resources:

ACT Download Page: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=24da89e9-b581-47b0-b45e-492dd6da2971&displaylang=en

Information on the Update Compatibility Evaluator: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749197.aspx

Deployment Guidance: http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/3/d33a8f5d-a7e1-4bbe-b04d-7a688785a229/ACT5_Deployment_Guide.zip

Release Notes for ACT 5.5: http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/3/3/d33a8f5d-a7e1-4bbe-b04d-7a688785a229/ACT55_ReadMe.zip

This message is for YOU.  Yes YOU.  We know who YOU are. 

Your team is overworked and understaffed, and sometimes it feels like it would be a miracle to know which end is up.  Trying to prioritise attention to issues with the numerous IT projects on your plate is much like having to choose between dealing with that nagging migraine you’ve been suffering from for several months or that rusty nail you just stepped on.

You know you need some extra fire-fighters to help put out some of the bigger flames around you right now, but the thought of slowing down and taking time to call in for help sounds…impossible.

We have the answer.  We have what YOU need:

Your very own EASY button!

“Fix it Center Pro Beta ushers in a new level of support for Enterprise customers. It is a standalone web application that helps IT Professionals research and find support-related content more effectively so that they can quickly diagnose and resolve break-fix issues. Fix it Center Pro Beta provides flexible yet seamless end-to-end support experiences—from self-help troubleshooting to assisted support with Microsoft—that help save customers time and money”

(source http://bit.ly/9tq3eZ)

It’s as easy as logging into the Microsoft Premier Online Portal with your normal credentials, and clicking the Fix It Center Pro button link! 

Watch this cool video to learn more!

For IT pros using the Microsoft Premier Online (MPO) website, Fix it Center Pro Beta provides options for identifying and resolving issues. You can:

• Resolve issues on their own by manually browsing content using Bing-scoped searches and finding key solution assets recommended by support engineers through Support Entity Association Management (SEAM) web services;
• Direct Fix it Center Pro to automatically analyze the data collected from the computer via Unified Diagnostic Ecosystem (UDE), report back the analysis results, and provide recommended solutions for any problem found;
• Submit a support request directly from a self-help diagnostic, which is automatically passed to a support professional.


So now YOU have what you were looking for all along.  EASY.

Ever wonder if it's worth the bother to invest time in learning Powershell? 

-“It’s safe to say that the single most important skill a Windows administrator will need in the coming years is proficiency with Windows PowerShell.”-

  (TechNet, October, 2009)

Windows Powershell makes task automation possible by allowing Windows Admins to to perform tasks on local as well as remote systems.  "Ok, great, but do I need it?"  you may ask.  The answer is yes.  Here's why:

1)  It ain't going anywhere.  Windows Server 2008 R2 and in Windows 7 have PowerShell version 2 enabled by default.  Why?  Because moving forward, many add-on products will be based on PowerShell.  Additionally, almost all Microsoft products can be managed through Powershell.  Imagine the Master-of-the-Universe possibilities here.

2)  You can only do the basics from the GUI.  Any fancy testing or customisation must be done through Powershell.  In fact, many of the functions you already perform through the GUI are actually built on top of PowerShell and generates Powershell code to complete the task at hand.

3)  PowerShell makes interactivity possible.  Microsoft is establishing PowerShell as a common thread in its newer releases of server products.  You need to stay ahead of the curve with this inevitable trend.  The more innovative skill set you have on your bench, the more agile and responsive your IT team can be.

(source:  http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-reasons-why-you-should-learn-to-use-powershell/1073?tag=rbxccnbtr1)

Convinced that it's time to get on the PowerShell bandwagon?  Register for our upcoming PowerShell Essentials Workshop (Premier Support Customers only) on October 6-7 in Dublin.  See the syllabus below:

Description:

PowerShell v2 Essentials

is designed to introduce IT Professionals to the world of PowerShell v2. PowerShell is an extremely powerful command shell and scripting language, which provides system administrators a consistent method of administering Microsoft products. The course introduces key PowerShell concepts and uses a mix of instructor-led delivery and interactive lab sessions. By the end of the course candidates will understand the essential features of PowerShell and have the foundation knowledge required to create their own scripts in order to dramatically reduce administrative overhead.

Topics include:

Module 1: Introduction

 Module 2: Fundamentals

 Module 3: Pipeline

 Module 4: Scripting

 Module 5: Security

 Module 6: Objects

 Module 7: Remoting

 Module 8: Errors and Debugging

 Module 9: Active Directory

How much do you REALLY know about System Center Configuration Manager? 

Take our quizzes and find out!  Test your colleagues, too, to find out who the true SCCM champ at your organisation is. 

A wide variety of subject areas within SCCM are covered, so you can assess the skill level of various teams who touch this platform.  These areas include:

Configuration Manager 2007 Client Installation Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Client Management Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Client Site Assignment Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Desired Configuration Management Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Internet-Based Client Management Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Native Mode Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Network Access Protection Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Wake On LAN Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Software Updates Operations Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 OSDeployment Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 What’s New Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Software Updates Configuration Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Mobile Device Management Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Fundamentals Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Client Roaming Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Software Updates Interop Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Setup Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Software Distribution Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 1 Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 R2 Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Discovery Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2) Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 R3 Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Active Directory Domain Services Quiz
Configuration Manager 2007 Documentation Quiz
 

Download the quiz application now and get started!

If you find an area where you might need some brushing up, let us know and we’d be happy to find a Premier training course that would fill in those gaps.

Happy quizzing!

Each day is a game of fire-fighting in your world as a systems analyst or manager in your organisation's IT department.  Whether it’s faulty hardware or monitoring that’s been shut off and failed to signal critical alerts, you spend day in, day out wondering if your organisation’s ad-hoc approach will ever improve.  You know the potential that a well-managed IT environment can provide to your company, but for you the idea of a proactively managed system –where all the little fires are kept from happening in the first place, and you can spend your time instead envisioning and creating the future-seems like a pipedream.

We Need to Stop Fire-fighting:

What we need to do is to start thinking about our IT systems as a collection of services provided to the company, rather than discrete components of technology.  What does this mean?  A good example would be looking at the service of Messaging that we provide to colleagues at our companies, rather than focusing narrowly on individual components like health of your Exchange server or security patching which support the Messaging service.  These things are obviously important, but they are meaningless if they don’t support a specific service of value to the company.  People don’t care that our Exchange server is down or doesn’t have the latest security patching.  They care that they can’t send off that time-sensitive email to a customer company exec who’s about to sign a killer sales deal. 

Why it Matters:

When we start to think of what we do in the IT department as supporting a variety of business services, then we can start to a) be more efficient in how we manage and troubleshoot problems and b) start to make more sense to the non-technical leaders in our company, by using our services offered as a means to have conversations which shape the strategy and direction of the company overall. 

A good first step is to listen to the wisdom of ITIL and start spending some time to create a Service Catalogue and a Service Map.  By listing the services your IT department provides to the company, and then outlining all of the technological dependencies that make each service possible in the first place, you’ll immediately have greater visibility of what it is that you manage.  Here’s an idea of what a Service Map might look like:

This, however, is a complex example of Messaging as a service.  It might be easier to start by looking at it like this:

With the above example, we can see all of the puzzle pieces that come together and must function properly in order for your Messaging service to go uninterrupted. Using this example, you could start grouping help desk calls recieved based on Messaging (as a service) being affected and not just the particular technology/area with the error.  We can start having conversations about where we are efficient with Messaging and where we could stand to improve and where we might need more help.  By being able to gather data in a Services dashboard each week/month/quarter, we can start to have better conversations about what is working for the company, and what is not. 

Think of all of the services your IT department provides to the company at large….Isn’t it time they start getting the visibility and proactive management they deserve?  Isn't it time you stopped being a fire-fighter?   Contact us to learn more about how Microsoft Premier Support can help you build the Service Catalogue and Service Mapping you need.