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Microsoft Ignite 2015 summary – #MSIgnite, #EnvokeIT, #Azure, #Office365, #OneDrive, #EMM, #PaaS, #IaaS
Hi all,
We at EnvokeIT participated and collaborated at Microsoft Ignite 2015 in Chicago. And it was one of the most intense events I’ve visited in years with a lot of happening in the business and Microsoft really showed that they are the leading innovator in many areas!
I hope that you enjoy my report and that it gives you a condensed overview of what happened and please contact us at EnvokeIT if you want assistance within any area below! And thank you Microsoft for such a great event and also all you bloggers out there that I’ve linked to in this material.
I must say that this event was positive and a bit scary at the same time. Microsoft is for sure pushing as visionairies and innovators in a lot of areas, and I think that competitors will have a hard time competing in the coming years.
These are the areas where A LOT have been released already and where Microsoft according to my oppinion will increase its market share significantly:
- Cloud and Mobile services, and with this I don’t mean IaaS service for just running a VM in their public Azure cloud or building a hybrid cloud with connectivity to on-premise datacenters. They are delivering so many capabilities now as PaaS and SaaS services. Just look at the sections below, it’s everything from Enterprise Mobillity Management (EMM), Business Intelligence, Database, Storage, Web Apps/services, Service Availability services (DR, Monitoring/Reporting, Backup etc.), Development, Source Control, Visual Studio Online etc. It’s amazing!!
- Open Source/Linux support – It’s so cool how much Microsoft have shifted to become an adopter to support more open source technologies and way of thinking than just a couple of years ago! Just have a look at all the Linux support they have in Azure, the Linux support they now have in System Center, Docker support to deliver more DevOps capabilities and all the other services in Azure. It’s amazing and so fun! So now both Microsoft have opened their eyes and realized that they can’t ignore this anymore just like Citrix has with their addition of XenDesktop for Linux with SuSE and RedHat support!
The first day kicked off and was a bombarding of product announcements aimed at helping IT pros secure and manage the new Universal Windows Platform.
CEO Satya Nadella presided over a three-hour keynote, which focused on how Microsoft’s new wave of software and cloud services will enable IT and business transformations that are in line with the ways people now work. Nadella talked up Microsoft’s focus on “productivity and platforms” and how it’s tied with the shift to cloud and mobility. He also highlighted the need for better automation of systems and processes, and better management of the vast amounts of data originating from new sources such as sensors and other Internet-of-Things-type nodes.
As mentioned there where a lot of updates and below I’ve tried to gather these and I hope it gives you a good insight on the infromation we received and also guidance on how you can get more information about the topics.
Included below are links to detailed overviews of each of the demos (from Microsoft blog post) – including information about how to use them, where to learn more, and what you’ll need to get started.
- The New Outlook App: A Modern Standard for Secure E-mail
- Enhanced Data Protection with Windows 10
- Windows 10 Device Guard
- Azure RemoteApp
- Document Tracking & Secure Collaboration with Azure RMS
- SaaS Management with Cloud App Discovery
- Detecting Anomalous Sign-Ins with EMS
- Microsoft Advanced Threat Analytics
- Deploying Azure in Your Datacenter
- The Microsoft Operations Management Suite (OMS)
- Power BI in SCCM
The following picture is a sketch of the keynote and is also quite good at summarizing the message of Mobile and Cloud first!
vNiklas also created a great powershell script that automates the downloading of all MS Ignite content with PowerShell and Bits from Channel 9 that you can find here!
Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) – MDM, MAM, MCSM/MIM etc…
Microsoft’s next chapter in Enterprise Mobility, great blog post on where Microsoft is going etc. http://blogs.technet.com/b/enterprisemobility/archive/2015/05/04/ignite-microsofts-next-chapter- in-enterprise-mobility.aspx …
Windows 10 Continuum – this is cool, think about docking your smartphone to your external screen, keyboard and mouse! That’s try mobility of youre device, this looks really cool and something that I’d like to try out once released!
Have a look at the feature demo at Ignite in the video below.
What’s New and Upcoming with Microsoft Intune and System Center Configuration Manager | Microsoft Ignite 2015
This session outlines the latest enhancements in enterprise mobility management using Microsoft Intune and System Center Configuration Manager. See the newest Microsoft Intune improvements for managing mobile productivity without compromising compliance, and learn about the futures of Microsoft Intune and Configuration Manager, including new Windows 10 management scenarios.
Microsoft Intune and Configuration Manager, including new Windows 10 management scenarios.
In the Cloud – Enterprise Mobility Management table of content:
- Enterprise Mobility Vision
- The Evolution of Enterprise Mobility
- Moving Forward in a Mobile-first, Cloud-first World
- Mastering Mobility: A How-to Guide
- Today: Integration into Broader Systems
- Tomorrow: Mobile Productivity
- Empowering SCCM Admins
- Our Plan to be Your Long Term Vendor of Choice
- Extra: The “Master of Mobility” Video Series
Office 2016 public preview available!
Over the last 12 months, we’ve transformed Office from a suite of desktop applications to a complete, cross-platform, cross-device solution for getting work done. We’ve expanded the Office footprint to iPad and Android tablets. We’ve upgraded Office experiences on the Mac, the iPhone and on the web. We’ve even added new apps to the Office family with Sway and Office Lens. All designed to keep your work moving, everywhere. But that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten where we came from. While you’ve seen us focus on tuning Office for different platforms over the last year, make no mistake, Office on Windows desktop is central to our strategy.
In March we introduced an IT Pro and Developer Preview for the 2016 release of our Office desktop apps on Windows, and now—as a next step—we’re ready to take feedback from a broader audience. Today we’re expanding the Office 2016 Preview, making it available to Office users everywhere in preparation for general availability in Fall 2015.
Office 2016 previewers will get an early look at the next release of Office on Windows desktop, but more importantly they’ll help to shape and improve the future of Office. Visit the Office 2016 Preview site to learn more about the Preview program and if it’s right for you.
New in Office 2016
Since March, we’ve shared some glimpses of what’s to come in Office 2016. Today, we’d like to give a more holistic view of what customers at home and work can expect in the next release. In Office 2016, we’re updating the Office suite for the modern workplace, with smart tools for individuals, teams, and businesses.
AT&T boldly enters home security market with digital life – via @EricssonLabs, @ATT
This is cool! Great thinking and I like the aggressiveness in finding new business models and ideas!
One of the more ambitious and promising initiatives announced at CES was AT&T’s Digital Life. As the flagship announcement at AT&T Developer Summit, Digital LIfe is an application and services platform that will offer a broad range of services to consumer households including media management, home security services, home energy monitoring and a broad variety of sensor-based services such as water leak detection and water main control.
When launched in March 2013 in eight metropolitan markets in the US, the platform will be the first of its kind sold by mobile operators in the US in partnership with several firms including Cisco Systems, which will provide a control panel for the service. The service platform has been in development for well over a year, with a mansion full of demonstration prototypes given at CTIA in New Orleans in 2Q2012, and represents a significant strategic direction for AT&T which is aggressively pushing the traditional business model boundaries of a mobile operator. While pricing and service details won’t be available until later in the quarter, the new platform is designed to leverage AT&T’s ever expanding portfolio of connected devices and shared data plans launched in 2012.
While home media management and device connectivity are not new to AT&T, the platform’s home security service is a strong indication of AT&T’s ambitious plans to expand its business model and revenue base.
According to AT&T, the home security market is a highly fragmented industry that is ripe for disruption and under penetrated. With less than of 20 per cent of US households currently subscribing home security services and served by thousands of service providers, AT&T is convinced that its wireless IP-based services will offer both the scale and efficiency to carve out a leadership position in the space, challenging current market leader ADT.
AT&T’s new security business will offer two 24/7 call centers to respond to real-time…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Fire Your CIO
Ok, yet another interesting article!
“The following post is by Mike Abramsky, principal of Red Team Global , which facilitates technology innovation via collaborative workshops and consulting.
Do you stifle productivity – or shoot the CIO?
That’s the dilemma increasingly faced by CEOs. With the rise of tablets, smartphones, social media, apps and personal clouds, we are in the midst of a profound computing shift, perhaps the greatest technology revolution in the enterprise since the invention of the PC. But the IT department with its risk-averse, slow-moving, heavy-handed culture threatens to torpedo hoped-for productivity.
This revolution is more than just technology; some CEOs recognize it as early days of Retooling the Enterprise. The ease of adoption of these new tools means non-technical staff can pursue faster, more flexible”
Continue reading here…
//Richard
Is Innovation dead with outsourcing?
So what do you think? Do you think that outsourcing your IT service(s) to a service provider will improve your chances in getting a service that evolves over time of the contract and enables you to focus on business needs and adopt the service(s) accordingly along the way?
What was your main driver behind your sourcing strategy?
- Cost savings
- Cost restructuring
- Access to knowledge and operational expertise
- Scalability possibilities
- Quality improvements
Or there may be other reasons…
Hype cycles
Ok, this is very interesting and I must say that I really enjoyed reading this great post from Dinakaran Sankaranarayanan! And thank you Michael Keen for posting this one! Michael is an old colleague of mine from my HP-days and is a person I really suggest that you follow, he’s got great ideas and thoughts!
But back to the post content, here is the article/post I’d like to recommend;
Understanding the Technology Hype Cycle
I hope you like it too!
//Richard
Eight I’s of Infinite Innovation
I must say that this article was a pleasure to read, and I hope that more people read it!
It’s actually really frightening of how I sometime see and hear companies managing their Business and IT innovations. THEY DON’T HAVE A STRATEGY OR PROCESSES in place, or way of working when it comes to managing innovation ideas!
I think it’s about time to address this, so please read this great article and think about how you and your organization promote and handle the innovations at your company!
http://www.innovationexcellence.com/blog/2012/08/26/eight-is-of-infinite-innovation/
/Richard
The IT Melting Pot! 