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2014 Microsoft Events

Here’s a list of Microsoft events for the first half of 2014:

Source: US Partner Training January 2014 Hot Sheet

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MVP Award for 2014

I got a nice email from the friendly folks at Microsoft yesterday:

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award - 2014

This is my 7th Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award (2008-2014).

Here’s a copy of the Executive Recognition Letter:

Microsoft Executive Recognition Letter - MVP Award 2014

Thanks Microsoft, and I’d especially like to thank my MVP Lead, Michelle Campbell for her hard work and dedication to the community. You rock!

Smile

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Video – 3D Printing at the Microsoft Store

While in Redmond, Washington for the November 2013 MVP Summit I stopped in the Microsoft Store to purchase a Surface 2. While standing in line I noticed a young girl, about 8 years old, who was using a MakerBot Replicator 2 to 3D print herself a bracelet.

MakerBot Replicator 2 – Microsoft Store in Bellevue Washington

It’s amazing how young kids embrace this technology so easily. The generation who always had the Internet since the day they were born will definitely have a different perspective on life.

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Must Read – Microsoft Partner Program Changes

Oct 2013 Microsoft Partner Network Disclosure of upcoming program changesTitle: Microsoft Partner Network Disclosure of upcoming program changes
Publisher: Microsoft
Published: 10/15/2013
Pages: 53
PDF: OCT Disclosure Guide_October2013_Final.pdf
Size: 1.12 MB
Price: FREE
Download URL: Click here for download

Description:
Microsoft is retiring some exams from competency qualification, changing around the Microsoft Action Pack, adjusting fees for some partners (due to exchange rates) and some other things. Some of the changes are good, some are not.

Advice:

  1. Grab a cup of coffee, a pad of paper, and a pen
  2. Close your office door
  3. Turn off the ringer on your phone
  4. Spend 15-20 minutes NOW reading through this document and make a list of any necessary action items for you, your staff, and your customers
  5. Delegate any action items you can, and schedule your remaining action items accordingly
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Training – Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Jump Start

I have been VERY impressed with the Microsoft Jump Start courses! It’s great to hear that they have another one coming later this month – perfect timing before General Availability (GA) hits for Windows Server 2012 R2.

Microsoft Virtual AcademyTopic: Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage Jump Start:
New Choices
Date: Tuesday September 24, 2013
Time: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM Eastern (9-5 PDT)
Venue: Online – Microsoft Virtual Academy
Cost: FREE

JumpStartDescription: IT leaders struggle with the costs and complications associated with data growth and are looking for new solutions and tools to help them scale and keep costs down. Come to this Jump Start to find out how the new tools in the R2 release of Windows Server 2012 can help you move workloads to less costly and more robust and scalable storage solutions. Learn more about Automated Tiering, Data Deduplication, Scale-Out File Server, shared VHDX files and Hyper-V live migration over the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol (SMB Direct and SMB Multichannel).

Prerequisites: Having a solid understanding of Windows Server 2012 storage concepts. Preview Windows Server 2012: Storage and What’s New in Windows Server 2012 R2 Jump Start.

Registration: Registration for this event IS required.
Register today!

http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/liveevents/windows-server2012-r2-storage-jump-start-new-choices

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Download Even More Free Visio Network Stencils

But wait, there’s more!

Here are a bunch of Microsoft Official Visio Stencils.

Visio Stencils for IT Pro PostersTitle: Visio Stencils for IT Pro Posters
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 03/02/2009
Version: 1.0
Filename: ITPostersVisioTemplate.zip
File size: 603 KB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:

Download this zip file of Microsoft Office Visio stencils to create your own diagrams for models of server deployments. For examples of how the IT pro content publishing team for Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft Office Project Server 2007, Microsoft Search Server 2008, and Windows SharePoint Services used these shapes, see these pages:

Sample content:

Visio Stencils for IT Pro Posters
More Visio Stencils for IT Pro Posters

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=11616

 

Visio shapes for SharePoint Server, Project Server, Search Server, and Office postersTitle: Visio shapes for SharePoint Server, Project Server, Search Server, and Office posters
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 2/06/2010
Version: 1.0
Filename: ITPro_PosterStencils.zip
File size: 1.0 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:
Visio shapes to use to create models of server deployment environments.

Sample content:

Visio shapes for SharePoint Server, Project Server, Search Server, and Office posters

More Visio shapes for SharePoint Server, Project Server, Search Server, and Office posters
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=21480

 

New Office Visio StencilTitle: New Office Visio Stencil
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 12/18/2012
Version: 1.0
Filename: FLEX_Stencil_121412.vss
File size: 3.9 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:
This stencil contains more than 300 icons to help you create visual representations of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office 365 deployments including Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, Microsoft Lync Server 2013, and Microsoft SharePoint Server 2013.

Sample content:

New Office Visio Stencil
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35772

 

Office Visio Stencil for Exchange 2013Title: Office Visio Stencil for Exchange 2013
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 1/25/2013
Version: Jan 2013
Filename: Exchange 2013 Office Visio Stencil.vss
File size: 2.0 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:

This stencil contains Exchange 2013 specific icons to help you create visual representations of Microsoft Exchange 2013 deployments, including on-premises, hybrid, and Office 365.

Sample content:

Office Visio Stencil for Exchange 2013
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=36448

 

Microsoft Exchange 2010 Visio StencilTitle: Microsoft Exchange 2010 Visio Stencil
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 11/05/2010
Version: Nov 2010
Filename: Exchange2010.vss
File size: 6.2 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:

Use this stencil to create Visio drawings that contain Exchange 2010 objects. These shapes include icons for the following:

  • Exchange 2010 server roles
  • Features new to Exchange 2010 SP1
  • Networking, telephony, and Unified Messaging objects
  • Active Directory and directory service objects
  • Client computers and devices
  • Other Exchange organization elements

Sample content:

Exchange 2010 Visio Stencil
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=6977

 

imageTitle: Lync Server 2010 Visio Stencil
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 2/09/2011
Version: Feb 2011
Filename: LyncServer2010VisioStencil.vss
File size: 19.4 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:

This stencil provides over 125 shapes to help you create a visual presentation of your Lync Server architecture.

Sample content:

Lync Server 2010 Visio Stencil
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=20891

 

Rack Server Virtualization Template for Visio 2010Title: Rack Server Virtualization Template for Visio 2010
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 10/17/2011
Version: 1.0
Filename: Rack_Server_Virtualization.vst
File size: 468 KB
Download URL: Click here to download

Description:

Get started with diagramming a virtualized rack server or data center environment with this Visio 2010 template.

Sample content:

Rack Server Virtualization Template for Visio 2010
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=27735

And some older ones…

Network Equipment Shapes for Microsoft Visio (38.3 MB)
(24 stencils, lots of older network objects from Dell, Compaq, Panduit, etc.)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4604

Software and Database Shapes for Microsoft Visio
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=25110

Office Communications Server 2007 and 2007 R2 Visio
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=9194

Microsoft Office Visio Stencil Containing Shapes for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 (2.1 MB)
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=4290

Microsoft Office Visio Stencil Containing Shapes for Microsoft Exchange Server 2007

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Download – Service Pack 2 for Office 2010

Office 2010 logoTitle: Service Pack 2 for Office 2010
Publisher: Microsoft Corporation
Published: 7/21/2013

32-bit Version
Filename: officesp2010-kb2687455-fullfile-x86-en-us.exe
File size: 638.2 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

64-bit version
Filename: officesp2010-kb2687455-fullfile-x64-en-us.exe
File size: 730.4 MB
Download URL: Click here to download

KB 2687455 – What’s new in Office 2010 SP2:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687455

Spreadsheet listing bug fixes in Office 2010 SP2:
Click here to download

If you just need to download Service Pack 2 for a specific Office 2010 application, check this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2687521

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An MVP By Any Other Name

The last 12 months have seen some pretty major changes at Microsoft (which I won’t rehash) and the changes continue:

“Effective July 17th, 2013, the technical expertise Small Business Server will be renamed to Windows Server for Small and Medium Business. Please note this is a MVP Program expertise change only and has no impact within the product team structure.”

(Excerpt of an email from my MVP Lead – quoted with permission).

Sign - Change Ahead

So, is that only a name change?

I don’t think so.

Here’s why.

Everybody who keeps an eye on Microsoft knows they’ve been spending gobs of money to try and get education out to the Partners.

Examples:

That’s just to name a few resources, and there are plenty more on the way. And all of those resources above are FREE.

What’s my point?

I’m not saying that Small Business is going away, but I am saying that with the amount of resources Microsoft is making available the Medium Business is more approachable than ever for the SMB folks. You have to adapt your skillset and your mindset. The medium business tools can be used for both small and medium businesses. In fact, that was the original intent behind SBS!

Look back in time to when SBS was born. Internet wasn’t mainstream yet. ISDN was expensive. Nobody had smartphones or tablets. Everything has changed. And it will continue to change, probably even faster than it has before.

To borrow a quote from the movie Hanna, “Adapt or die.”

Yes, that’s harsh. But ignoring the truth, the reality of the market and product set we now work with, the new opportunities and threats from a financial and security standpoint – it’s a recipe for disaster.

My recommendations to you, gentle reader:

  1. Learn PowerShell – It’s your friend
    http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/liveevents/PowerShell-JumpStart
  2. Learn about the cloud offerings (Office 365 & Azure) and how to deploy them
  3. Learn about Windows Server 2012 & 2012 R2 Preview
    http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/virtuallabs/bb512925

Bottom Line: On-premise is far from dead. But if you don’t continually fill your technical gas tank with proper business coaching, someone else who’s in a position to deploy the new technology might just end up driving away with your customer.

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Download – Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview

Update: 2013-06-25

Public (non-TechNet/MSDN subscribers) links for the preview versions are now live for everyone. Here are the public download links:

This just in; the following betas are available for download for subscribers of TechNet and MSDN: http://www.ittsystems.com/best-free-tftp-servers-windows/

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Beta (3938 MB)
  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Beta (3736 MB)
  • Windows Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 Beta (1769 MB)

Here are the file sizes and SHA1 values.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Preview:

TechNet download of Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Beta

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Preview:

MSDN download of Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials Beta

Windows Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 Preview:

MSDN download of Windows Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 Beta

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