Slide Deck: Understanding the benefits of Azure AD, EM+S and Tips to get prepared for GDPR Compliance

I recently had an opportunity to deliver a session for C# Corner - Bangalore Chapter Meet and presented my session in Understanding the benefits of Azure AD, EM+S and Tips to get prepared for GDPR Compliance.

Sharing the slide deck presented in the session here: Understanding the benefits of Azure AD, EM+S and Tips to get prepared for GDPR Compliance

Azure Stack: Building an end-to-end validation environment e-Book

Azure Stack is an extension of Azure, bringing the agility and fast-paced innovation of cloud computing to on-premises environments.  Organizations adopted Hybrid cloud Model started their move towards Azure Stack.

To help Organizations on their Azure Stack journey Microsoft team published a guidance e-book to help you plan for an end-to-end Azure Stack validation environment using the Azure Stack Development Kit.

You can download the e-book here: Azure Stack: Building an end-to-end validation environment

Also review the following Blog post series on this topic published by AzureCAT team to know more in detail.

Azure Stack Validation Environment – Part 1: Overview

Azure Stack Validation Environment – Part 2: Quotas, Plans, and Offers

Azure Stack Validation Environment – Part 3: Subscriptions

Azure Stack Validation Environment – Part 4: Services and Resource Manager

Azure Stack Validation Environment – Part 5: Putting it all together

Additionally access the Azure Resources  to advance your learning and for next steps.

Compliance Manager Preview now Available

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) effective date is just six months away and most of the Organizations already started to align their environment to meet the critical requirements for GDPR Compliance. Microsoft 365 which combines the power of Office 365, Windows 10 and Enterprise Mobility and Security offers a complete cloud solution to help you with GDPR compliance.

Now you have the new Compliance Manager (in Public Preview) which helps you to access and manage your compliance risk from one single location.

Compliance Manager Public Preview program is now available for organizations with a paid or trial subscription for Microsoft cloud services (e.g., Office 365, Microsoft Azure, etc.). You can access the Compliance Manager by Sign in using your Office 365 or Azure Active Directory user account.

Read this Tech Community blog post to know more on the Compliance Manager Preview: Compliance Manager Preview is now available   

Access the Official Blog post here: Microsoft 365 helps businesses increase trust and innovation through compliance with Compliance Manager Preview

Update:

New Security Solution guidance for Office 365 Information Protection for GDPR is now available,  This solution demonstrates how to protect sensitive data that is stored in Office 365 services.

Update:

A new blog post released to show how Microsoft tools and partners support GDPR compliance

How Microsoft tools and partners support GDPR compliance

Update:

Also read the below post to know more about GDPR

5 things you need to know about GDPR before it's too late

Update:

Access the latest blog post how Microsoft 365 provides an Information Protection strategy to help with the GDPR Compliance.

Microsoft 365 provides an information protection strategy to help with the GDPR

Update:

Compliance Manager reaches General Availability access the Tech Community blog post below to know more.

Access here: Announcing Compliance Manager general availability   

Stay tuned for more updates...

Microsoft Teams - PowerShell Module now Available

PowerShell Module for Microsoft Teams is now available,  This module contains set of command lets that allows you to manage Microsoft Teams via PowerShell and use Automated scripts at ease.

You can download the Module here: MicrosoftTeams 0.9.0

Read the below Excellent write-up from Matt Soseman MSFT to get an Overview of the new PowerShell Module and how it helps IT Admins to manage and automate tasks for Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft Teams: PowerShell Support

Also read the below blog post from MVP Tony Redmond, where he shows the limitations of the current Module with additional information.

Why the PowerShell Module for Teams is Critically Flawed

Stay tuned for more updates...

Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams Capabilities Roadmap Available !

Microsoft during last month Ignite event announced, Microsoft Teams becoming the Primary client for Communication and Collaboration in Office 365. Today Microsoft published more details on their Planned Roadmap for adding Skype for Business capabilities to Teams.

Download the Roadmap here: Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams Capabilities Roadmap

Access the Official Microsoft Tech Community post to know more: Roadmap for Skype for Business capabilities coming to Microsoft Teams now available

Be sure to participate in the upcoming Microsoft Teams "Ask Microsoft Anything" on October 25th, at 9 AM PDT and a live broadcast on October 27th, at 9 AM PDT on Teams On Air to hear the product team discuss the roadmap in more detail and have your questions answered.

Get started with your Microsoft Teams Journey today with the help of  Microsoft FastTrack.

Add-on Read:

New usage reports for Microsoft Teams is now available :  New usage reports for Microsoft Teams   

Configure Azure Multi-Factor Authentication settings in Azure Portal - Public preview

Azure Multi-Factor Authentication Configuration settings are now available in the Azure Portal (in Public Preview).  MFA settings are manged in the Azure Classic Portal, the PFweb portal, and now finally they are getting included in to the Azure Portal. This is an expected change as Microsoft is working towards simplifying the Admin Experience for Azure AD, and also announced recently that by November 30, Azure AD admin experience in the classic Azure portal will be retired.

Access the documentation here: Configure Azure Multi-Factor Authentication settings - Public preview

Not all features are completely available yet in the Azure Portal and we still rely on PFweb Portal as outlined in the documentation.

Additionally, Read the following Blog post from MVP Sander Berkouwer on this topic with more detailed updates: Azure Multi-Factor Authentication is now in the new Azure Portal (in Public Preview)

As of today we don't have any major updates on this topic from Microsoft Product team, and expecting they will soon publish the same in the upcoming days along with the GA date.

You can read my blog post to know more on Azure MFA with latest updates here: Let's Learn Azure Multi-Factor Authentication today!!!

Update:

Microsoft recently updated the retirement date for Azure AD Admin experience in the Azure Classic portal to January 8, 2018.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Azure Essentials - Free Training

Microsoft launched the new Azure Essentials Free training Programme, the best place to get started with and Learn more about Azure.This is a new addition to the list of existing Learning resources for Microsoft Azure and helpful for IT Professionals and Developers both new to Azure and already work on Azure.

Access the Content here: Azure.com/Essentials 

Additionally, Review the newly launched Microsoft Tech Academy in Microsoft Tech Community site for more resources, This newly launched Tech Academy unifies Microsoft’s learning and readiness platforms for IT Professionals and Developers into a single place.

Access Tech Academy here: Microsoft Tech Academy

Start your Learning Journey today !!!

IT Roadmap Planning Tool for Microsoft 365

In today's world of Digital era, more and more Organizations are embracing Digital Transformation to adopt new ways of connecting people, data, and processes to create value for customers. Microsoft 365 product suite comprising Office 365, Enterprise Mobility + Security and Windows 10 provides rich set of features to support the Organizations in their Digital transformation Journey.

Microsoft recently released the new IT Roadmap Planning Tool for Microsoft 365 currently in Preview to benefit Organizations in their Digital Transformation Journey to explore the available options, prioritize and target what they want, and build long-term set of deployment and configuration plans. This Roadmap Tool is built around Microsoft 365 services for deployment, configuration and management. It displays options and levels for core capabilities spanning teamwork, creativity, device management, identity, security and more.

IT Roadmap Tool is available for usage in two ways. Light version of the IT Roadmap tool  is available for anyone to try. The full version of the Tool is available to Microsoft partners as part of the Business Value Programs.

You can access the Light version of the Tool here: IT Roadmap for Microsoft 365

More details are available in the Official Microsoft Tech Community post here: Introducing the IT Roadmap planning tool preview

Access the Microsoft Mechanics Session to explore the full capabilities of the Tool.

Watch here: Introducing the IT Roadmap planning tool: A new way to build tailored implementation plans

Review https://transform.microsoft.com for additional resources.

Microsoft 365 and Office 365 Adoption Guide

Microsoft team published adoption guides for Microsoft 365 and Office 365 in their Microsoft FastTrack Center. These guides are essential for Organizations planning to adopt these services by understanding the right adoption approach for successful deployment and usage.

Download here: Microsoft 365 End User Adoption Guide

Download here: Office 365 Adoption Guide

Access the Microsoft FastTrack site for more resources.

New Azure Exams Announced !!!

During Microsoft Ignite 2017 event, Microsoft team announced their plan to develop three new Certification exams for Azure.

These 3 New exams are aligned to the skills required for the Modern IT Job Roles identified by the Azure Team.

• For Azure Stack Operators - Exam 537: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack
• For Azure Solutions Architects - Exam 539: Managing Linux Workloads on Azure
• For Azure DevOps - Exam 538: Implementing Microsoft Azure DevOps Solutions

The exams will be added to existing certifications for Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA): Cloud Platform, Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Cloud Platform and Infrastructure, and Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD): App Builder. 

Exam 537: Configuring and Operating a Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure Stack will release in January. The remaining exams will follow a bit later in 2018.

You can access the Official Announcement post here with more information: Announcing New Azure Exams And Certification Path Recommendations for Azure Job Roles

You can utilize the Azure Training and Certification resource, other essential learning resources specified in the above site and Choose your Learning path today, and get prepared for the New Azure Exams.

Be sure to read this post to know the retirement timeline for the existing Exams and their new replacements: Exam Retirement Update for October 2017

Update:

Exam 70-534: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions is getting retired and replaced by a new Exam 70-535 (Proposed /Tentative) with few significant changes in the Exam objectives.

Read the below post to know more: Microsoft retires exam 70-534 and replaces with a new exam 70-535 (tentative name)

Additionally, Microsoft team further expanded their Microsoft Professional Program (MPP) with the addition of two new tracks: Cloud Administration and DevOps

Read this Blog post to know more: Expanding the Microsoft Professional Program to drive impact

Follow Microsoft learning @MSLearning and read the Born to Learn blog for the latest updates.

Microsoft Ignite 2017 Sessions on demand !

Microsoft Ignite 2017 completed last week successfully with a ton great announcements across all major Microsoft Technologies. The excitement is still on following the event, and now its time for us to revisit the great announcements and download the Sessions on demand and watch out for the latest updates in the upcoming days.

Though I have not attend the event in person, I watched the keynote sessions online on day one,  through which got a glimpse of the latest innovations and the upcoming Roadmap, following this I received active updates through-out the event and round the clock from fellow Microsoft MVPs, Microsoft Product Teams and Technical Enthusiasts direct from the event via twitter tweets, Tech Community posts and live blogs. I am thankful to all of them for sharing the latest updates timely through which I was able to get to know the latest news and share those updates with the fellow Community members.

Some of the Key announcements related to Office 365 are below:

• Vnext announcement of Office 2019, Exchange Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019.
• Microsoft Teams to replace Skype for Business Client in Office 365 over time. 
• New Office 365 Admin capabilities, Security & Compliance updates and Analytics & Reporting enhancements. 
• Most awaited Multi-Geo Capabilities for OneDrive, SharePoint Online and Exchange Online.

Also we had some major announcements on Microsoft 365, Enterprise Mobility + Security, Microsoft Azure, Azure Stack and much more.

Not to forget some great announcements on Microsoft's new Mantra for Digital Transformation "New Era of Intelligent Cloud and Intelligent Edge" spreading across the innovations in Artificial Intelligence, Serverless Computing, Machine Learning, IoT, Mixed Reality and the future with Quantum Computing.

You can get to know more by reading the information available in Official Channels like Microsoft News Center,  Office Blogs, Enterprise Mobility and Security Blog, Azure Blogs etc. and also through the Articles and Blogs of well known Microsoft MVPs and Technical Enthusiasts in the Community.

Access the dedicated Microsoft Tech Community Space to view all the sessions on demand here:  Microsoft Ignite Content 2017

You can also access the On demand sessions on Channel 9 now: Microsoft Ignite 2017

Download the Recordings and slide decks using the PowerShell script created by MVP Michael De Rooij here: Get Microsoft Ignite session information or contents

Access the related Microsoft Mechanics videos here: Microsoft Ignite 2017 - Microsoft Mechanics Live!

You can further read the latest news on the Microsoft Tech Community spaces dedicated for each of the Technology.

Stay tuned for more updates...

New Office 365 admin and IT pro courses now available !

Microsoft Partnered with LinkedIn learning announced new courses for Enterprise Admins and IT pros to ramp up on critical skills for Office 365 deployment, administration, and internal help desk support. You have free Premium video training up to 7 hrs. via support.office.com with the option to get a LinkedIn Learning trial or paid Subscription to complete the full learning Series.

Below are the available courses:

• Microsoft Cloud: Explore Cloud Services
• Office 365: Deployment
• Office 365: Administration
• Office 365: Manage Identities Using Azure AD Connect
• Microsoft Cloud Services: Administer Office 365 and Intune
• Office 365: Troubleshoot Availability and Usage
• Office 365 for Administrators: Supporting Users Part 1

Access the Courses here: Office 365 admin and IT pro courses

Also you have latest Office 365 training courses now available for both Small Business customers and End users

Access the source Microsoft Tech Community post more details: Just released: Free Office 365 training for IT pros, small business, and end users   

These resources are essential and much helpful for every IT Pro work with Office 365.

Happy Learning !!!

Get to know Microsoft Project Honolulu !

Microsoft is all set to release the next version of Windows Server, version 1709 at Microsoft Ignite 2017 Next week. This new version is built on the innovation in Windows Server 2016.

Microsoft team published Sneak Peek posts for the past few weeks following the Official Announcement on the new version  and one of the most admired feature is Project “Honolulu” Microsoft's new Windows Server management experience made available in Windows Server, Version 1709 and several other versions.

Honolulu is a locally deployed, browser-based, management tool set that enables on-premises administration of Windows Servers with no Azure or cloud dependency. Honolulu gives IT Admins full control over all aspects of their Server infrastructure, and is particularly useful for management on private networks that are not connected to the Internet.

Honolulu is the modern evolution of “in-box” management tools, like Server Manager and MMC. It is complementary to System Center and Operations Management Suite, and is not intended to replace these products and services.

More information is available in this blog post: Sneak peek #4: Introducing Project “Honolulu”, our new Windows Server management experience

Last week "Project Honolulu" Technical Preview was released and made available for Download along with the deployment guide.

Access the Official Blog post here: Project “Honolulu” technical preview is now available for download!

Review the Video Walk-through made available in the above blog posts to know more on this new feature.

Technical Preview Download link : Project Honolulu Technical Preview Evaluation

Download Poster here: Honolulu Ignite poster

Documentation Link: Microsoft Project Honolulu

Be sure to follow the Project “Honolulu” team blog for latest news and additional resources.

Update:

Microsoft Project Honolulu gets renamed as "Windows Admin Center" and  now Generally available and also gets a new documentation.

Access here to know more : Windows Admin Center Overview

Follow the @servermgmt and dedicated Windows Admin Center blog for latest updates.

Stay tuned for more updates...

Skype for Business is now Microsoft Teams ?

Most of you might already be aware about this ongoing buzz in today 's IT World, that Skype for Business is going to be upgraded to Microsoft Teams. Users try to login to Skype for Business saw this surprise change notification, and there were no Official Public Announcements made by Microsoft on this change through their major channels.

Office 365 Message center notification that indicated the changes confirmed this, which was later removed, but the news spread across the world and made everyone aware on possible upcoming changes to get prepared soon, and to add to this Microsoft Teams finally got the most awaited "Guest Access" support.

Since there are lot of Excellent write-ups are already made available, I am going to refer some of the posts that I came across on this topic in the community that could be helpful.

First this new change was reported by  Mary Jo Foley via ZDNet article: Microsoft may be repositioning some (or all) of Skype for Business as Teams

Then we have the following Blog posts from Petri IT Knowledgebase that outlined more information on this update

Goodbye Skype for Business, Hello….Teams - Brad Sams

The Teams-SfB Fiasco and What Might Happen Next - Tony Redmond | MVP

There are lot more great posts in the community on this topic and above one's covers things in a nutshell.

Yesterday Microsoft announced the availability of Guest Access in Microsoft Teams along with the new developer Tools 

Official Announcement here: Expand your collaboration with guest access in Microsoft Teams

EMS Blog post:  Azure AD B2B Collaboration in Microsoft Teams

Support Article: Guest access in Microsoft Teams

Tips and Tricks: Microsoft Teams tips & tricks

Note: Currently Users with an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account can be added as a guest in Teams. Ability to add anyone with a Microsoft Account (MSA) to be added as a guest in Teams will be available in the next few weeks.

A Nice walk-through from  UC Expert Randy Chapman here: How to enable external guest access in Microsoft Teams

Another great post from MVP Matt Landis here: Microsoft Teams Guest Access: How it Works

A detailed write-up from MVP Tony Redmond on Microsoft Teams Guest Access below

How External Access for Microsoft Teams Works

Things You Should Know About External Access for Teams

Also review this post from Matt Soseman MSFT : Microsoft Teams: Enabling and Using Guest Access

We are only few weeks away from Microsoft Ignite 2017 to get more updates on the new changes and innovations in Skype for Business and Microsoft Teams.

Following Microsoft Tech Community post outlines the key sessions on this topic to watch-out for

Access here:  An exciting week for Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business at Ignite

Stay tuned for more updates...

MVA Learning: Experience the Microsoft Cloud with Cloud Adoption Test Lab Guides

To get hands-on experience in the latest Microsoft Cloud technologies you can utilize the "Cloud adoption Test Lab Guides (TLGs)" as an essential resource, and to know more on how to use this resource you now have the latest Microsoft Virtual Academy course.

This course provides an overview of the Cloud Adoption Test Lab Guides and steps you through:

• The value of using prescriptive, modular Test Lab Guide (TLG) documents for technical ramp-up, demos, proof-of-concept configurations, and dev/test environments.

• Using cloud adoption TLGs to experience the integration of Microsoft’s cloud offerings, which include Office 365, Azure, Dynamics 365, and Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS)/Intune.

• The Microsoft Cloud Adoption TLG stack.

Access the MVA course content here: Experience the Microsoft Cloud with Cloud Adoption Test Lab Guides