- If it's your first time attending, you want to be sure to grab some sessions from some historically popular speakers. You can't go wrong making sure that Jeffrey Snover, Greg Shields, Mark Russinovich, Mark Minasi, Stephen Rose, Paula Januszkiewicz, J. Peter Bruzzese, and Chris Henley are on your schedule. Or at least a few of them. :-)
- Don't forget to check out the great TechEd Primer on the Springboard Series Blog
- Sometimes it can get overwhelming to sit in breakout session after breakout session. Don't overlook the smaller venue Birds-of-a-Feather topics where the conversations can be more intimate and detail oriented.
- If you are in certification mode, exams are 50% off!
- Are you a woman in technology? Do you know a woman in technology? Enjoy a sit-down lunch served while listening to a panel discussion at the Women in Technology Luncheon. Support your female colleagues and beat the lunch line - win, win!
- If it's not your first time attending and you think you have the "stuff" to present at a future TechEd, don't hesitate to participate in Speaker Idol. Hosted by Richard Campbell from RunAs Radio, you can win an all expenses paid speaking slot at the next TechEd. The only rule is that you can't have presented a TechEd breakout session in the past.
- What to make connections that last longer than a week? Don't forget about the Community Resource Zone where you learn about resources to expand your professional network beyond the reach of the conference or your office walls.
Friday, May 17, 2013
TechEd 2013 Is Just Around the Corner!
One of my most favorite IT Pro conferences is Microsoft TechEd. This year would have been my 10th TechEd to attend in a row, but alas, I have a conflict and won't be there this year. Still, I wanted to mention a few things you might want to check out if YOU are going to be there.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Your Tier 1 Support is in the Wrong Place
Lots of us started there. Depending on the size of the company you work for, you might still be doing some of it. Classic Tier 1 support calls are often things like password changes, mouse and keyboard issues, other things often resolved with the end user either rebooting their machine and logging out and back in.
And I'm almost certain that you have the wrong people handling that job, particularly if that person is you or someone one your team who is also responsible for other more technical projects. Stick with me on this for a minute.
I've always been a big advocate of the administration departments and the IT departments working closely together and I think that any administrative or executive assistant worth their salt can handle most Tier 1 Helpdesk tickets. Here's why: they already have their hand on the pulse of pretty major areas of your company and often work directly with executives and managers.
They know what guests and visitors are coming to your location - relevant IT tasks include providing WiFi passwords to guests, explaining how to use the phones and A/V systems and alerting IT ahead of time to guest that need additional resources.
They know when Execs are grumbling about IT issues that can become emergencies (noisy hard drives, problems with applications) and can let IT know ahead of time of pending maintenance issues.
They can easily be cc'd on emails regarding upcoming password expiration for key executives or managers and make sure those people complete those tasks in a timely manner. Resetting passwords and unlocking accounts is a easy activity that can be delegated out to admin staff with a quick training session. With the proper permissions, you can only give them the abilities they need and nothing more.
Opening tickets, resetting voicemail passwords for phone systems, replacing batteries in wireless mice, swapping out broken keyboards, changing printer toners, basic troubleshooting of printer jams, updating job titles in Active Directory... That's just off the top of my head.
So what good could come of this? First off, there is a big lack of women in systems admin roles. I was just on a WiT panel last week discussing how to get more women into this role. Turns out, 3 out of 4 women on the panel started in administrative roles. It's a great way for someone to get a glimpse into the "plumbing" of how systems and network administration keep businesses running.
Second, most executive assistants are great managers of time and of people, and can often see and understand the big picture of how a company runs, all characteristics that make successful sysadmins. Letting them handle some of the front facing issues can also take away some of the "mystery" of the IT department.
Integrating these two functions can provide a great cost savings to your company, can provide a pipeline of future staff to pull from when you have an opening in the IT department and as a bonus, you're doing something to help more women begin their technical careers.
So go ahead, steal the receptionist.
And I'm almost certain that you have the wrong people handling that job, particularly if that person is you or someone one your team who is also responsible for other more technical projects. Stick with me on this for a minute.
I've always been a big advocate of the administration departments and the IT departments working closely together and I think that any administrative or executive assistant worth their salt can handle most Tier 1 Helpdesk tickets. Here's why: they already have their hand on the pulse of pretty major areas of your company and often work directly with executives and managers.
They know what guests and visitors are coming to your location - relevant IT tasks include providing WiFi passwords to guests, explaining how to use the phones and A/V systems and alerting IT ahead of time to guest that need additional resources.
They know when Execs are grumbling about IT issues that can become emergencies (noisy hard drives, problems with applications) and can let IT know ahead of time of pending maintenance issues.
They can easily be cc'd on emails regarding upcoming password expiration for key executives or managers and make sure those people complete those tasks in a timely manner. Resetting passwords and unlocking accounts is a easy activity that can be delegated out to admin staff with a quick training session. With the proper permissions, you can only give them the abilities they need and nothing more.
Opening tickets, resetting voicemail passwords for phone systems, replacing batteries in wireless mice, swapping out broken keyboards, changing printer toners, basic troubleshooting of printer jams, updating job titles in Active Directory... That's just off the top of my head.
So what good could come of this? First off, there is a big lack of women in systems admin roles. I was just on a WiT panel last week discussing how to get more women into this role. Turns out, 3 out of 4 women on the panel started in administrative roles. It's a great way for someone to get a glimpse into the "plumbing" of how systems and network administration keep businesses running.
Second, most executive assistants are great managers of time and of people, and can often see and understand the big picture of how a company runs, all characteristics that make successful sysadmins. Letting them handle some of the front facing issues can also take away some of the "mystery" of the IT department.
Integrating these two functions can provide a great cost savings to your company, can provide a pipeline of future staff to pull from when you have an opening in the IT department and as a bonus, you're doing something to help more women begin their technical careers.
So go ahead, steal the receptionist.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Don't Miss Out on some Fun Stuff
Please tell me you've seen the tweets and gotten the emails!
I'm co-chairing PacITPros 2nd TechDays SF - two days jam packed with a crazy menu of sessions to choose from, brought to you by some great speakers - many of which you'd pay 6 times the amount to see at TechEd.
Not going to TechEd? Then this is the place for you to get the much of what you need to know about Cloud, Azure, PowerShell, plus some extra goodies on SharePoint 2013, Lync, Remote Desktop and Hyper-V!
The fine folks at Xantrion are sponsoring us and we've got our schedule available as a mobile app by EventBoard. So go register now. Otherwise, you are making me feel bad.
Speaking of Azure, if you haven't done the 90 day free trial, it's totally worth looking at. Microsoft is even running a Virutal Networking challenge where you can win some pretty decent prizes, like a Surface Pro.
I'm co-chairing PacITPros 2nd TechDays SF - two days jam packed with a crazy menu of sessions to choose from, brought to you by some great speakers - many of which you'd pay 6 times the amount to see at TechEd.
Not going to TechEd? Then this is the place for you to get the much of what you need to know about Cloud, Azure, PowerShell, plus some extra goodies on SharePoint 2013, Lync, Remote Desktop and Hyper-V!
The fine folks at Xantrion are sponsoring us and we've got our schedule available as a mobile app by EventBoard. So go register now. Otherwise, you are making me feel bad.
Speaking of Azure, if you haven't done the 90 day free trial, it's totally worth looking at. Microsoft is even running a Virutal Networking challenge where you can win some pretty decent prizes, like a Surface Pro.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Because 365 Days to XP EOS was SO YESTERDAY!
You probably saw it mentioned a million times yesterday. End of Support for Windows XP is April 8, 2014. Today, it's probably old news. Or you've noted it and moved on.
Well, unless you've moved to Windows 7 or Windows 8, you still need to pay attention - yesterday's news or not. Check out the Springboard Series Blog and Steven Rose's post on the countdown to the end of XP Support.
And in case you missed them, here are a few other products with End of Support dates in the recent past or near future.
Server 2003 - 7/14/2015
SQL Server 2000 - 4/9/2013
Office 2003 - 4/8/2014
Exchange 2010 SP 1 - 1/8/2013
Office 2007 SP 2 - 1/8/2013
Well, unless you've moved to Windows 7 or Windows 8, you still need to pay attention - yesterday's news or not. Check out the Springboard Series Blog and Steven Rose's post on the countdown to the end of XP Support.
And in case you missed them, here are a few other products with End of Support dates in the recent past or near future.
Server 2003 - 7/14/2015
SQL Server 2000 - 4/9/2013
Office 2003 - 4/8/2014
Exchange 2010 SP 1 - 1/8/2013
Office 2007 SP 2 - 1/8/2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
TechDays SF is May 2nd/3rd - Check out our speaker list on Twitter!
This year, I'm a co-chair for the PacITPro's TechDays SF. If you didn't attend this event in 2012, you should take a close look at what we are offering this May. The event is two days and we are offering multiple tracks with a variety of sessions on Windows Server, Client, Cloud and PowerShell all for the bargin price of $300. Please visit www.techdays.org for more information or to register.
We are also using EventBoard Mobile for easy access to the most up to date information and schedule. I recommend downloading that app for your Windows Phone, iPhone or Android.
Our speakers include some very well-known, knowledgable folks who've spoken at other popular conferences like TechMentor and TechEd. Most of them have Twitter handles - if you aren't following these people yet, I'm sure you'll find some interesting enough to add to your list.
We are also using EventBoard Mobile for easy access to the most up to date information and schedule. I recommend downloading that app for your Windows Phone, iPhone or Android.
Our speakers include some very well-known, knowledgable folks who've spoken at other popular conferences like TechMentor and TechEd. Most of them have Twitter handles - if you aren't following these people yet, I'm sure you'll find some interesting enough to add to your list.
- @VirtualChrista - From Microsoft, Christa Anderson will be presenting two sessions, "Delivering Applications with Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2012" and "The User Configuration Cage Match".
- @scevans - Steve Evans will be presenting "IIS: Choose Your Own Adventure" and "Designing Hyper-V for the Real World".
- @nhawkins - Nick Hawkins will be co-presenting "Designing Hyper-V for the Real World" with @scevans.
- @grouppolicyguy - Darren Mar-Elia will be breaking out of his Group Policy shell to bring you "!0 Tips for Success with Private Cloud".
- @gblock - Glenn Block will be lighting up the room with "Managing the Cloud from the Command Line".
- @alexandair - Joining us from Serbia, Aleksandar Nikolic will be presenting "Remote Management of Windows Server 2012 with Windows PowerShell".
- @cacallahan - For those of you who support or dabble in SharePoint, CA Callahan will join us again to bring you two sessions on SharePoint 2013.
- @ubergeekgirl - Our fearless leader of PacITPros in Southern California, Jessica DeVita will be part of the Women in Technology panel discussion. Joining her will be @adfskitteh, @VirtualChrista and me, @jkc137.
- @KevinRemde - Also from Microsoft, Kevin Remde will bring us "Windows 8 Deployment" for those of you planning to move beyond Windows 7 and "Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V".
- @chrisavis - Often PacITPros' host for our monthly meetings at Microsoft's office, Chris Avis will be bringing us two session on Azure, including Azure IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service).
- @mminasi - Mark Minasi, one of the household names for those of us reading technical books, will be presenting several sessions, so be sure to put one on your schedule: "Manage Server 2012 Like a Pro or, Better, Like an Evil Overlord!", "Changes to Storage in Windows 2102: Storage Gets a Bit SANer", "Understanding Dynamic Access Control: the File Share Recharged, Reimaged and Compliance-Enabled".
- @richardhicks - If you are looking for the latest in Remote Access, don't miss Richard Hicks and his "Next Generation Remote Access with Windows Server 2012 DirectAccess" session.
- @richcampbell - Richard Campbell will be presenting "People, Process, Tools - The Essence of DevOps" as well as host the Run As Radio: Women in Technology Panel
- @adfskitteh - Part of the Idenity & Access Management team at Microsoft, Laura Hunter will be covering "Strong Authentication for BYOD" and "How Microsoft Has Adopted Office 365 and Azure"
- @JeffHicks - Need more PowerShell? Choose from "Troubleshooting Active Directory with Windows PowerShell", "10 PowerShell Mistakes, Trips and Traps and How to Avoid Them" and "File and Folder Provisioning with PowerShell and Windows Server 2012". Want more Hyper-V? Learn how to "Build a Windows 8 Hyper-V Lab"
Monday, March 18, 2013
Goodbye Google?
I opted for a Gmail account back in the day when you still needed an invite to get it. It still said "Beta" on the logo. My gmail account has been my primary email address for pretty much EVER. I had an over abundance of blog subscriptions in my Google Reader. I've got stuff in Google Drive. I use Google Calendar to share data with my hubby who's an Apple fan-boy. This blog is on Blogger.
And now I'm falling out of love. I'm worried about the compatibility with Microsoft and Windows 8, on my computer and on my phone. The end of support (and extension of support) for Exchange Active Sync is worrisome. And now they've told everyone to use CalDAV, but that's going away too. And Reader, well, everyone knows about what's going on with Reader.
But my gmail address is so ingrained in stuff, I'm just not sure I'll ever be able to cut the ties. But maybe a partial migration - I'm not sure. I'm really liking the two-factor authentication features. So instead of rushing and making any rash decisions, I'm taking it slow.
When it comes up, I change an email address registered with something away from my Gmail address. Starting to spread my eggs around in some other baskets, so to speak.
I took this opportunity to start fresh with my RSS feeds. Today, instead of hunting for a place to move my subscriptions to, I culled them down to about a dozen feeds that I gravitate toward on a daily basis. New feeds will have to earn their place on my reading list and I'm hoping by July 1st, I'll have found a new home for them.
What are you plans for your use of Google services? Have they finally jumped the shark?
And now I'm falling out of love. I'm worried about the compatibility with Microsoft and Windows 8, on my computer and on my phone. The end of support (and extension of support) for Exchange Active Sync is worrisome. And now they've told everyone to use CalDAV, but that's going away too. And Reader, well, everyone knows about what's going on with Reader.
But my gmail address is so ingrained in stuff, I'm just not sure I'll ever be able to cut the ties. But maybe a partial migration - I'm not sure. I'm really liking the two-factor authentication features. So instead of rushing and making any rash decisions, I'm taking it slow.
When it comes up, I change an email address registered with something away from my Gmail address. Starting to spread my eggs around in some other baskets, so to speak.
I took this opportunity to start fresh with my RSS feeds. Today, instead of hunting for a place to move my subscriptions to, I culled them down to about a dozen feeds that I gravitate toward on a daily basis. New feeds will have to earn their place on my reading list and I'm hoping by July 1st, I'll have found a new home for them.
What are you plans for your use of Google services? Have they finally jumped the shark?
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