Simon May, IT Pro Evangelist Microsoft

Week Note 004: Holidays, Family Time and Blog Themes

2013-05-04T07:09:15Z

This past week has been mainly about being on holiday and spending time with the family, something I really needed to do after the TechDays Online week. That little week required five 12 to 14 hour days pull off and … Continue reading →

Week Note 003: Better late than never, TechDays Online

2013-04-30T07:37:56Z

Well Matt was right, it doesn’t take long to slip. This Week Note is being posted part way through the week because the end of last week was a mad dash over the line with UK TechDays Online 2013 – … Continue reading →

Week Note 002: Tech.Days Planning, IT Camps, Videos and Bring Your Daughter to work

2013-04-19T12:45:53Z

This week is inspired by the thought of proving Matt wrong and actually getting a second week note out the door. This week I’ve been mainly: Delivering a Windows 8 IT camp in Southampton, Chris who attended wrote up a … Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions-009: Deeplinking a Windows Store app on Windows RT from Windows Intune

2013-04-17T08:00:00Z

In this deployment sessions video I take a look at the Deeplinking process using Windows Intune to install an app on Windows RT. The deeplinking process essentially lets you place apps from the Windows Store in your own company store, or Company Portal... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions-008: Deeplinking a Windows Store & Installing on Windows 8 Using Windows Intune

2013-04-15T10:56:04Z

In this deployment sessions video I take a look at the Deeplinking process using Windows Intune to install an app on Windows 8. The deeplinking process essentially lets you place apps from the Windows Store in your own company store, or Company Portal ... Continue reading →

Week Note 001, Deployment Sessions, Tech.Days Online, Blog Theming and more

2013-04-12T11:06:02Z

Inspired by my former manager Matt Ballantine I thought I’d start a new little series on the blog of “week notes”. My plan is that these will be weekly, and help me to keep up blogging pace, and will also … Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions–007: How To Sideload on Windows 8 Enterprise from Windows Intune

2013-04-09T08:00:00Z

In this Deployment Sessions video I take a look at how to use Windows Intune to Sideload a Windows 8 app or Appx package (formerly metro app) onto a Windows 8 Enterprise device. Sideloading is the process of taking the appx package form the developer a... Continue reading →

How To: Deploy modern apps for Windows 8 and Windows RT with Configuration Manager

2013-04-08T14:00:00Z

At first glance you could be forgiven for thinking that deploying a Windows 8 to a bunch of enterprise devices is hard, complex or time consuming. The reality is that Windows 8 apps are actually quite easy to deploy once you understand the basic requir... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions–006: Sideloading on Windows RT with Windows Intune

2013-04-04T08:00:00Z

So far in this series we’ve looked at Sideloading and deeplinking apps using System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 and Windows Intune linked together. In this and the next few videos we’ll take a look at using Windows Intune only, in isolati... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions–005: Sideloading on Windows RT with Windows Intune & System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1

2013-03-25T09:00:00Z

Sideloading is the process of installing a Line of Business (LoB) app onto a Windows RT or Windows 8 device without the need to publish the app to the Windows Store. System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 is able to publish apps for sideloading o... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions – 004: Deeplinking Windows Store Apps on Windows RT from System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 and Windows Intune

2013-03-22T09:00:00Z

In this video I explain the process of making a Windows Store app available to Windows Intune clients using System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 to publish the apps through the Windows Intune company portal. This process is known as deeplinking... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions-003: How to Connect Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 to Windows Intune to Enable Mobile Device Management Including Windows RT devices

2013-03-20T09:00:00Z

System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 can be connected to Windows Intune to enable mobile device management of Windows RT, Windows Phone, iOS and Android devices. This is a great solution because these types of devices expect an “always on” ... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions-002: Sideloading Windows 8 app with Configuration Manager 2012 SP1

2013-03-18T11:00:00Z

In this Deployment Sessions video I take you through deploying a line of business app using System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 to “side load” a Windows Store app. The app is in the form of an appx package, something that an ISV might give... Continue reading →

The Deployment Sessions–001: Deploying a Windows Store App with Configuration Manager 2012 SP1

2013-03-13T11:00:00Z

This is the first in a new series of videos I’m working on that show how deployment works for modern apps, Windows Store apps, Windows 8 apps, Windows RT apps or Appx packages – whatever you like to call them. There are a few ways that you can depl... Continue reading →

Power Tip –Launch PowerShell from File Explorer in one second

2013-03-09T18:44:34Z

You know how you often need to launch PowerShell from the current location you’re looking at in File Explorer on Windows 8? Well there are a couple of quick ways to do it, you can select File > Open Windows PowerShell then that’s pretty quick bu... Continue reading →

Why Windows 8 is Great for Business–Technically Speaking

2013-02-25T11:05:00Z

Windows 8 has enhanced security with BitLocker, AppLocker, Windows Store apps, Secure Boot, Measured Boot and much more. It also offers superior seamless, fast and fluid experience for remote or VDI sessions with inbuilt support for technology like mobile broadband in ways you probably hadn’t considered. Simon May takes a look at why Windows 8 is great for business.

Over the past few years the world of end user computing has changed dramatically. Back in 2009 when Windows 7 was released there were few end-users who used multiple devices. I was working for an organisation that was one of the exceptions, issuing some users with relatively dumb smart phones for email access. My how the world has changed.

User Demands Have Changed

Today it’s highly unlikely that your end-users are only carrying one device, many are carrying two or three. In some rare circumstances (Andrew Fryer and I) typically carry 7 devices each, we are extreme end users inside of Microsoft. As the world has changed so much our devices also need to change in almost every aspect. In the world of end user computing we are mainly driven by what our users expect from a device and as we all know some of those expectations are explicit and some are not.

On the list of explicit requirements are usually things like the ability power it on and in todays world very quickly – almost instantaneously. Small, light, fast, clear, bright, intuitive are also right up there on the list of expectation adjectives for end users. The list of implied expectations I think is far more interesting: security, reliability, easy to repair are often taken for granted or assumed by the user. Lets take a look at why Windows 8 is necessary to help IT deliver on some of these requirements.

App Security

The security features of Windows 8 are pervasive throughout the OS and build upon and compound the previous security investments in Windows. For example the Windows Store app model requires that apps declare to the end user (or to the IT Admin) precisely what the app needs to access within Windows such as the users work or home networks, documents, web cams etc. Additionally Windows Store apps don’t execute with the users standard set of permissions – instead they use a subset in much the same way Internet Explorer does. The upshot being that the app is less able to affect the devices stability. I use the term Windows Store here but that doesn’t require the app to have been obtained via the Windows Store, side-loading (the process of installing without using the store) is more relevant for many enterprises.

Encryption, Faster

Encryption is an area where Windows 8 excels and compounds previous improvements. In Windows 8 BitLocker Drive Encryption (BDE) can be set to only encrypt data as it is placed onto the disk, where as previous versions of BDE would also encrypt the “white space” on the disk that contains no data. If you want you can still allow that to occur. BitLocker’s approach of only encrypting data as it is placed on disk becomes a boon when you consider the deployment process. With Windows 8 and System Center Configuration Manager 2012 we have the ability to pre-provision BitLocker or to put it another way encrypt the hard disk before Windows 8 is even installed. The upshot is that Windows 8 can be provisioned in an encrypted state. For anyone who’s had a build engineer take a device from your build factory before disk encryption has been run, and subsequently breach security by issuing the device to a user this will probably want Windows 8 as a result of that feature alone. It’s a job saver.

Encryption, More User Focused

There are other improvements too for BitLocker, most importantly these affect usability for the end user. With Windows 8 and BitLocker users can change their own BitLocker PIN without the need for admin rights, simplifying the process. Most BitLocker users I’ve seen (and EVERYONE) in Microsoft must run BitLocker to protect YOUR data never change their BitLocker PINs but they should. I actually helped a colleague add a PIN a few days ago as he was having to enter his BitLocker recover key upon every boot to use his device. Sub-Optimal! This is of course the next end user improvement, BitLocker can in Windows 8 with UEFI hardware network unlock itself. This process prevents your users having to find and enter their BitLocker recovery key on trusted networks, you as the IT guy define that network and the whole process is secured using public key certificates. This will reduce downtime and helpdesk calls for your users and for IT.

If you don’t think BitLocker is for you then consider what happens when you loose a device, also consider that most users think their devices are encrypted even if they aren’t since they’re smartphones and tablets often are. Now make the link to you CIO / CEO / CFO probably thinking you encrypt all devices and again deploying BitLocker could be a job saver.

Secure Boot

Windows 8 with UEFI hardware also implements Secure Boot. Put simply the UEFI chip holds the current signature of Windows 8 and if that changes Windows 8 will enter recovery and recover to the state that Secure Boot knows, reboot and succeed to start. This is important because pre-boot malware has become an attack vector of choice. As a Malware creator getting your malware under the OS is a home run because it’s hard to detect once the device has started. Secure Boot prevents that ever happening.

Measured Boot

Measured boot takes the Secure Boot process one step further and checks more granularly that files and processes within the OS haven’t changed by comparing more signatures. The measured boot process uses the TPM to check that boot is progressing as planned and has not been compromised.

App Control

For many control over what apps can run on a device is a paramount concern, in fact in the UK some industry sectors are unable to deploy devices upon which applications cannot be blocked. Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 allow you to decide what apps can or cannot run on Windows 8 devices within your enterprise using AppLocker technology. AppLocker is not new to Windows 8 and Server 2012, it has been available since Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008R2 but in Windows 8 and Server 2012 AppLocker extends to Modern UI or Windows Store Apps. AppLocker is implemented through Group Policy and by creating a GPO to either enable or disable specific apps that are either side loaded or are delivered from the Windows Store. This process provides complete control. AppLocker can be used to allow or deny based on publisher, version or name of the app with publisher being the most permissive or restrictive (allowing or blocking all apps for a publisher) and name being the least permissive or restrictive (requiring an exact name match).

With regard to the AppLocker user experience at camps I’ve repeatedly been asked how to remove tiles from a users Start screen. AppLocker can help you achieve that. When apps have been blocked or only specific apps have been allowed (which infers all others are blocked) the app will not launch, cannot be installed from the store and upon login the tile is removed from the start screen (after the AppLocker policy is applied). The user may have paid for the app they are loosing access to and could be annoyed at the IT Admins blocking of their favourite app, but they still retain their purchase which will work on other devices that don’t have the GPO applied to them. Some IT Admins may want to use WMI filtering to make GPOs more dynamic, removing the block when the user is connected to an alternate network for example.

Anti-Malware by Default

Every Windows 8 devices has anti-malware protection by default. That is an incredibly important statement for enterprises because they can be sure that when someone brings a Windows 8 device into the office, even if it’s not corporately owned it will have some form of protection. Furthermore it is impossible to turn off Windows Update on a Windows RT device. Couple this anti-malware protection with a NAP solution with SHVs and you’ll be a step closer to safely allowing BYOD. For enterprises that want to take control of the anti-malware solutions in Windows 8 you will need to use either Windows Intune or System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 with System Center Endpoint Protection. Once either solution is enabled you’ll have the ability to control updates and report compliance across your estate. Additionally you’ll have the ability to instantly, remotely initiate anti-malware detection so you won’t need to talk the user through the process.

Connected

The style in which we as individuals work has changed much over the past 3 to 4 years too. Always on connectivity is now expected and many of us work from home or on the road on a regular basis. One of the reasons for this change has been the abundance of access to the Internet from almost everywhere. Of course, being realistic, not all Internet connections are created equally and the quality of service you receive varies significantly. Trust me on this I know, I’ve spent over 40 nights in hotels this year and I run events where the Internet (which is always business-grade 30mbs minimum as advertised) varies dramatically. Thankfully we’ve realised this and there are changes throughout Windows 8 that make this experience better.

Mobile Broadband

Mobile broadband now accounts for a vast amount of connections to the Internet with most smartphones and tablets being constantly connected. Services range from GPRS to 4G in the UK and those terms indicate vast ranges in bandwidth but not only in bandwidth, latency and loss are also a huge factor in modern networks. If we look at how people were connecting back in around 2000 when I started my career WAN connections were a known quantity – you got what you paid for. If you wanted a 1mbs backbone (yup) for your core network with 100ms round trip you pay for it and get it. Today that kind of connectivity is almost taken for granted and is substandard – your mobile phone connects better. If you wanted to make that purchase today you will have myriad options, you will probably go with the cheapest. The point is really that network conditions have changed and your devices now have to cope with many different network types.

Mobile broadband is now intrinsically understood by Windows 8. When Windows 8 sees mobile broadband hardware, a SIM and a connection you have the option to connect from the charms. Not only that but Windows 8 understands that you don’t want to experience shocking bills and so limits what happens over that connection. Windows 8 automatically marks mobile broadband connections as “metered” connections, and some activities, such as getting updates from Windows Update are not undertaken on metered connections. Metered connections are constantly tracked to tell you how much data you’ve used as well and many of the major carriers have Windows 8 apps to provide you with deeper intelligence on your bill. If an alarm bell just rang in your head, as it did in mine, about Windows Update not running on a metered connection and therefore not downloading anti-malware updates on a metered connection the fear not. IT admins can control metered connections with Group Policy, as you would expect.

It’s not only Windows 8 that understands metered connections. System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 also understands metered connections, an app can in fact make use of the information. CM12 however uses the information to give you control over whether your users can download from your CM12 Distribution Points (DPs) over a metered connection.

As good remotely as locally

Because so many people now connect when they’re out and about access to remote sessions has become ever more important. There are times when you don’t want the data walking out of the data centre which is where VDI and Remote Desktop Services come into play. In Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 these two areas have undergone massive improvement. Firstly the client and server now negotiate to find the best connection quality for both bandwidth usage and server performance, and they do that continually to maintain remote sessions that look as good as local sessions.

Ensuring that remote sessions look as good as local sessions was a key directive for the team. When I remote onto a Windows 8 VDI desktop it should feel local, and it does. Touch is respected (up to 256 points!! if the client supports that) and things flow as quickly on remote sessions as they do locally. Video is a prime example, watch Windows 7 and Windows 8 side by side and you quickly see the difference. The key is the way that the remote session is rendered, dynamically analysing the content on screen and sending that content to the users remote client in the most appropriate way. If the client sees moving pictures, it’s probably video and h.264 is used to encode and send the video (if it’s available for rendering on the client). If the content is a picture then a low res version is sent to the client and progressively updated with more detail – this lets the user get on with their task, such as viewing a webpage. Oh and for those guys working on trade floors, we now support up to 16 monitors.

Under the hood there is a also work being done to support those more lossy, more latent networks. In the case of video in a Windows 8 VDI or Server 2012 RDS session the video is sent as UDP packets and not as TCP packets. The difference being that UDP doesn’t require the acknowledgement of receivership that TCP does, in most cases dropping a frame or two while watching a video doesn’t hurt the experience so much. Video sent over TCP could require every frame to be acknowledged, slowing the frame rate right down, delivering a very jerky experience.

Of course the thought of VDI is great but the practicality is not for everyone and other solutions make sense. It’s great to not need to take a computer with you, but to have all your apps, your documents and your corporate access with you. Windows To Go is the solution that makes this work, allowing you to take Windows 8 with you on a USB drive, pop the drive into any Windows 7 certified PC, boot and log in. You then get your personalised experience with you. If you care about security you can encrypt the stick with BitLocker and you can implement DirectAccess to allow you to encrypt any network traffic back to your corporate HQ – right down to the specific servers being accessed. The second you pull your stick out of the PC you booted with it the PC will lock up, blocking all drive, keyboard, mouse and touch access. Thirty seconds later it will reboot to the PCs own OS. However if you pop your stick back in within 30 seconds you seamlessly carry on where you left off. Enterprises can use System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 to manage the creation of the sticks with your normal enterprise deployment practices. We are seeing some organisations deploy Windows To Go to their temporary workforces to save cost, asking them to bring their own PC and boot from a stick.

Enabling BYOD with Windows To Go

Windows To Go sticks are managed just like any other computer in your estate. They have an AD account, they appear in CM12 as computers, when they’re in a PC they are the PC and you can do almost anything to them that you can to a normal Windows 8 device. Critically there is not usability difference to the end user.

Over the course of this article I’ve highlighted how Windows Store apps take a more modern approach; how BitLocker and pre-provisioning and used space encryption will save hours and pounds; how integration with new hardware can strengthen security and malware resistance with Secure Boot and Measured boot; how AppLocker will help you control application usage in Windows 8; how built in Anti-Malware will help increase trust and manageability in BYOD environments; how remote connectivity is improved throughout Windows 8 with mobile broadband and metered network integration; how VDI and RDS help when dealing with demanding users and remote connections and finally how Windows To Go can help with BYOD questions.

In short I’m up to about 2 pages of A4 at 10pt text or 2800 words and I’m only half way through the features of Windows 8 that matter for business.

The best thing you can do, right this second, is try Windows Server 2012, Windows 8 and System Center 2012 SP1

Continue reading →

Enable and Activate TPM for BitLocker Pre-Provisioning in WinPE

2013-02-24T20:11:12Z

I have to say this one caught me out. I’m just setting up a task sequence to deploy Windows 8 and pre-provision BitLocker (which is wicked fast by the way!) and got caught with enabling and activating the TPM from WinPE. The solution I came up ... Continue reading →

Announcing System Center SP1, our UK MVPs

2013-01-16T10:02:00Z

Last night we announced general availability of System Center 2012 SP1, it’s great, expansive product that is absolutely key to delivering your Private Cloud, Managing your Public cloud and managing the consumerisaiton of IT. You can get the trail VH... Continue reading →

Error Code1 in Windows Update & 0×80004005 in ccmsetup.log

2013-01-15T16:40:16Z

Today I’ve been playing with my System Center Configuration Manager SP1 lab and came across a very painful little bug. A little searching and I came across this thread on the TechNet forums. Essentially the problem I suddenly started havi... Continue reading →

WSUS Service fails to start with error 193, WSUS Service is not a valid Win32 application

2013-01-10T16:26:58Z

As I continue to build my System Center Configuration Manager 2012 (CM12) lab I continue to shoot myself in the foot in a number of ways. Over the weekend I discovered that my WSUS service was unable to start and was logging “WSUS Service is no... Continue reading →

Build and Capture Error codes with System Centre 2012 Configuration Manager

2013-01-10T16:30:02Z

I’m currently spending some time build a test lab with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Service Pack 1 (CM12 or SCCM 2012 if you like to shorten it) and during a build and came across a couple of errors (0x80070002 and during my first b... Continue reading →

Evaluate This–Windows Server 2012 AD DS

2013-01-10T16:30:46Z

Last time I posted about how you can use Windows Azure to setup a test lab for yourself without the need to spend anything or have any hardware lying around to play with. In this video I show you how to take that one step further and build your f... Continue reading →

Evaluate This–Windows Server 2012 on Windows Azure IaaS

2013-01-10T16:31:11Z

If you’re looking for an easy way to start evaluating Windows Server 2012 this couldn’t really be any easier, quicker, cheaper or faster (if you have 30 mins you can do this). Windows Azure’s IaaS features make it is as simple as it could possibl... Continue reading →

Decks to download from UK TechDays Online

2013-01-10T16:32:04Z

Last week Andrew and I presented a number of sessions at TechDays Online in the UK and we received numerous requests during the day to publish the decks so that people can peruse them at their leisure. Well those decks are now here available for ... Continue reading →

My new book: Windows 8 for Tablets Plain & Simple

2013-01-10T17:00:15Z

Just realised I hadn’t yet posted about my new book, Windows 8 for Tablets Plain & Simple, is out. It’s perfect for getting to know Windows 8 on a Tablet, a great gift for Christmas for you mum, sister, husband, wife or dog. If yo... Continue reading →

TechDays Online

2013-01-10T16:36:56Z

In a couple of weeks time Andrew, Planky and I will be hosting a slew of experts for TechDays Online. If you’ve been unable to get to our Windows Server 2012 camps you’ll find some really great walkthroughs at TechDays Online. It’s no... Continue reading →

Is your organisation storing more than ever before? Dedup might be the answer.

2013-01-10T16:37:31Z

We all want to store more information. Be it our ever growing email archive, our collection of family photos, or our customer invoices the information that we and our businesses need to store is an ever increasing volume. The amount of storage availabl... Continue reading →

Bring Your Own Network

2013-01-10T16:38:13Z

Some thoughts on another form of the Bring Your Own trend that you may have missed and how to take it one step too far (although this is probably already happening). A mobile hotspot, a strict web filter and an a social networker inadvertently cr... Continue reading →

Embracing consumerisation is strategic not tactical

2013-01-10T16:38:41Z

I keep seeing lots post, blogs and articles about how IT needs to move to a more nimble and responsive view. It’s impossible to argue that the business and IT need to be in lockstep but it feels like most … Continue reading →

Simple model for approaching BYOD

2013-01-10T16:39:29Z

For some time I’ve been trying to work out with colleagues how to articulate what I see as a solid model for dealing with consumerisation of IT in the workplace or even allowing people to bring their own devices. It’s quite tough to find some... Continue reading →

Technology to Support Consumerisation: IPSec

2013-01-10T16:39:21Z

A technology that’s been around for quite some time is IPSec, it helps to ensure security of communications between two network devices. With IPSec in place two devices need to establish a peer-to-peer trust before communication can take place,... Continue reading →

Test Lab Guides for Consumerisation (BYOD etc.)

2013-01-10T16:39:46Z

If you’re thinking about how you can make your environment more suitable for a world where people want to bring their own devices into the office then you could do well to attend an IT Camp where we talk about just that. Of course those events ... Continue reading →

Embracing consumerisation: It’s all about the journey

2013-01-10T16:40:06Z

In my last two posts I talked about People + Devices and Data + Apps – essentially 4 of the things you need to manage and probably already are in your environment. A fourth element is the network but I won’t be going into that in particular b... Continue reading →

Embracing Consumerisation: Data and Apps

2013-01-10T16:40:23Z

My last post was about how, in order to embrace consumerisation, you need to start thinking in terms of managing the access that people and devices have, or more accurately the access that People on Devices have. This post is an extension of that... Continue reading →

Embracing consumerisation: People and Devices

2013-01-10T16:40:38Z

In the past I’ve written a number of articles on how to start thinking about the consumerisation of IT – if you aren’t familiar with the term hopefully this link will help. Now I think it’s time to move beyond thinking about how you’ll ... Continue reading →

Data Centre World #dcwexpo

2013-01-10T16:41:00Z

Yesterday Andrew and I had some fun walking around Data Centre World Expo at Olympia in London. What we were looking at were hundreds of stands of the kit that you use to run a data centre, the plant, the cooling, flooring the wiring all the real... Continue reading →

Why you need to know about “consumerisation” of IT

2013-01-10T16:41:13Z

One of the biggest challenges facing the CIO at the moment is the consumerisation of IT but I’m aware that may be a term that is meaningless to most in the IT department. Perhaps it’s better explained by the term Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) ... Continue reading →

Talking about App Compat and Internet Explorer today with Quest

2013-01-10T16:41:43Z

Today I presented at a seminar with Quest around IE migrations and compatibility. Many people asked for the deck, so here it is. Continue reading →

Error: Hyper-v launch aborted due to auto-launch being disabled in the registry

2013-01-10T16:42:09Z

Wow this one blindsided me this evening. I’ve just replaced the tiny 500gb drive in my main demo laptop with a shiny new 1TB one (I have a lot of VMs you know) and got hit with this error. Basically what I did to replace the drive was use... Continue reading →

How many times a day do you use Windows?

2012-01-09T06:24:06Z

Using Windows is something that most of us do every day, but you probably don’t realise just how much. A friend sent me this internal video that shows a “day in the life” of an average chap and just how many times he comes across a Windows ... Continue reading →

What does the future look like

2011-11-17T17:06:49Z

Yesterday I did a turn for a great group of CTOs associated to a variety of hedge funds. As promised here is my deck from the day. The Future of IT View more presentations from Simon May. Continue reading →

Nominated for a CW Social Media Award

2011-12-07T11:59:40Z

For a Computer Weekly Social Media Award… Which is kind of cool and I’d really appreciate you taking 5 minutes (probably less) to vote here for Simon-May.com which is listed in the IT Professional section, although I’d also like you … Continue reading →

The Future

2011-10-31T12:09:09Z

I quite often get asked to talk about what the future will be like and this video is excellent, it shows lots of augmented reality and the like but what really inspires me is the context computing you throughout. Switch context, switch interface.... Continue reading →

IE9 is secure, managed and trusted for your organisation

2011-09-30T08:05:00Z

In this world concerned with consumerised IT where almost everyone is familiar with using a browser of some description and many are bombarded by messages about how “fast” the internet can be if you use browser X, it really is important to.... Continue reading →

Still on XP? Why you should be browsing with IE8

2011-09-29T15:00:00Z

There are plenty of people out there still using Windows XP, however many parts of the operating system have needed to be updated in order to keep things going. There have been three service packs released for Windows XP since it’s inception and.... Continue reading →

Get your free conference here

2011-09-29T08:30:00Z

This one-day online conference features a range of sessions specially tailored for IT Pros and covering the big challenges for the year ahead. Join Microsoft experts plus professionals from IT departments around the UK to discuss topics such as how ... Continue reading →

Me, talking cloud, in the Telegraph

2011-09-27T10:20:00Z

A few weeks ago I was in a Telegraph supplement talking about cloud. Here’s the online version of the article on the Telegraph (UK national newspaper) website. Continue reading →

The basics of Windows Azure for IT Pros

2011-09-26T21:00:00Z

Windows Azure has now been around long enough to be a mature platform for building services on and as such IT Professionals are being asked to look at the service. Of course IT Pros are looking for slightly different things from a platform than others.... Continue reading →

Cloud Adoption in SMEs

2012-03-07T05:25:53Z

One of our UK TechNet readers, Christopher Latham, wrote to me a couple of weeks ago looking for help with some research he’s undertaking for his MSc Dissertation and the subject “ Cloud Computing adoption in SMEs” is something that I’m really ... Continue reading →

Some beyond-basic free tools for IT Pros

2012-03-07T05:26:19Z

Andrew and I often get asked questions about some of the more basic elements of the job and a question that comes up time and time again is what are the best tools to use for doing X. For me I often get asked how you start to plan a migrati... Continue reading →