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GPO and PowerShell support in #AzureAD and #Intune? Tech Preview released – #EnvokeIT Workspace Client

February 9, 2017 Leave a comment

Finally… we’re pleased to announce that we now have released the Tech Preview of the EnvokeIT Workspace Client service!! 🙂

What is this and why did we build this SaaS device configuration service?

Have you also tried to roll-out Windows 10 with Azure AD and potentially also Microsoft Intune and lack capabilities like Group Polices to control registry and files or to run PowerShell scripts?

We’ve solved that for you! The EnvokeIT Workspace Client is a device configuration client built on the cloud and for the cloud! Now you have all the capabilities that you require to deliver a modern Windows 10 Out-of-the-box delivery using Azure AD!

Have a look at our “quick” overview video or just sign up for a free Tech Preview tenant and you’ll be up and running within minutes!

The service is built for Windows on Azure and leverages the latest technology to ensure that you can adopt the Windows and Azure AD architecture without lacking what you need from good old Group Policies!

Here are some examples of what the service can solve for you:

  • You want to remove the Windows “bloatware” for all your Windows 10 devices, no problem
  • If you want to specify and ensure that all your users have the same company background, you can do that!
  • If you need to configure application settings for all users, no problem!
  • Do you need to have an updated User Guides or other material easily pushed to your users desktop, no problem!
  • If your web applications require that they are put in Local Intranet or Trusted Sites in your browsers, then you can push that out!
  • Does your Windows application require specific local settings files to be pushed to the clients, no worries we’ve got you covered there as well!
  • Do you need to push out Microsoft Edge policies you can do that as well! For a complete list of built-in Group Policy objects that you can configure see this list.
  • If you need to do special configuration of the OS, applications or user settings you can do that through PowerShell scripts, you write the scripts and our agent makes sure it’s run in user or system context. Configuration possibilities are endless with PowerShell script support!

Read more at the site or sign up for your own trial tenant!

https://cloudclientportal.envokeit.com

http://www.envokeit.com/en/project/envokeit-workspace-client/

And if you need any assistance in your Windows 10, Office 365 or Enterprise Mobility Project just contact us at EnvokeIT: info@envokeit.com or send an email to me directly: richard.egenas at envokeit.com

//Richard

Categories: Azure, Intune, Microsoft, Mobility, Office 365, Office365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Azure AD Premium a visionary in Gartner IDaaS Magic Quadrant! I love it! – #Azure, #AzureAD, #IDaaS

June 4, 2015 Leave a comment

This is awesome! I just love what Microsoft is doing with all the cool Azure offerings! That’s also why I’ve been digging deeper into this area lately and also took the Microsoft Specialist – Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions exam and been playing around with Azure AD, DirSync and ADFS a lot.

Now with the whole release of Windows 10, Azure AD, Intune, ADFS and System Center we’re going to have a lovely story going forward with how to do client management going forward, just take a Windows 1o device, join it through Azure AD, Intune and federation and then sign in using your on-premise AD credentials. On top of that you can also then leverage Azure AD or federation with it for your SaaS apps as well and with SSO, and why not use the Azure connector to make your on-premise web apps available on the Internet with authentication as well!

Microsoft and Azure rocks!

Now also with the magic quadrant from Gartner that shows how well Microsoft is doing! It look very promissing, and just think about combingin all this also with Citrix Workspace cloud going forward! So great! 🙂

Gartner just released their Magic Quadrant for Identity Management as a Service (IDaaS) and after only ~10 months in market, Azure AD premium was placed in the “Visionary” quadrant, far to the right of our competitors for our completeness of vision and our ability to execute, only slightly below companies with established, multi-year track records.

If you are a Gartner client, you can find the report here. We will have a complimentary copy to share soon, so please check back.

We’re really pleased with this result. We believe it validates our vision of providing of a complete solution for hybrid identity management, a solution that includes not just a directory and employee identity management, but full suite of identity capabilities, an integrated device management offering (Microsoft Intune), leading edge information protection (Azure RMS) and a robust set monitoring and security capabilities.

I am especially delighted by this validation because it says a lot about our customers, implementation partners and ISV partners who have worked together with us. They have been awesome about sharing their time and energy every day, to make sure that the products and services we build meet their needs and are helping them position their companies to thrive in the emerging world of cloud and devices.

This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Microsoft.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product…

Continue reading here!

//Richard

Categories: Active Directory (AD), All, Azure, Cloud, Intune, Microsoft, Mobility, Office 365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Microsoft Intune May updates – #Intunes, #EMM, #MDM, #Mobility, #EnvokeIT

May 20, 2015 Leave a comment

Thsi week Microsoft is going to roll out some new updates like Android Wrapping Tool and new features for iOS, Android and Windows Phone to Microsoft Intunes.

We are excited to share with you the next set of Intune features that will be released between May 19 and May 26.  With our monthly release cadence, we continue to focus on providing you with best-in-class experiences that help keep your users productive while protecting your company’s sensitive data. You can expect to see the following new Intune standalone (cloud only) features in this release:

  • Ability to extend application protection to your existing line-of-business apps using the Intune App Wrapping Tool for Android (Intune App Wrapping Tool for iOS made available in December 2014)
  • Ability to assign help desk permissions to Intune admins, filtering their view of the Intune admin console to only provide access to perform remote tasks (e.g. passcode reset and remote lock)
  • RSS feed notification option added for Intune admin to subscribe to be alerted when new Intune service notifications are available for their service instance
  • Improved end user experience in the Intune Company Portal app for iOS with step-by-step guidance added on how to access corporate email by enrolling for management and validating device compliance
  • Updated Intune Company Portal app for Windows Phone 8.1 to provide enhanced status notifications for app installations
  • New custom policy template for managing new Windows 10 features using OMA-URI
  • New per-platform mobile device security policy templates for Android, iOS, Windows, and Windows Phone, in addition to new Exchange ActiveSync policy template
  • Ability to deploy Google Play store apps that are required/mandatory to install on Android devices

Also, as announced last week, several new hybrid features are now…

Contact us at EnvokeIT if you like assistance with Intunes or continue reading the blog post here.

//Richard

Categories: All, Cloud, Device Management, Intune, Microsoft, Mobility, Office 365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Microsoft Ignite 2015 summary – #MSIgnite, #EnvokeIT, #Azure, #Office365, #OneDrive, #EMM, #PaaS, #IaaS

May 19, 2015 Leave a comment

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 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.

https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Ignite/2015/BRK3861/player

In the Cloud – Enterprise Mobility Management table of content:

Office 365

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.

Read more…

Categories: All, Azure, Azure Stack, Citrix, Client Services, Cloud, Collaboration, Configuration Manager, Development, Device Management, Enterprise Architecture, Exchange, Hyper-V, Infrastructure, Innovation, Lync, Microsoft, Mobility, Networking, Office 365, Office365, Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Security, Service Management, Storage, Surface, System Center Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Multi-Factor Authentication for Office 365 – #Office365, #IAM

March 10, 2014 Leave a comment

This is cool!

Paul Andrew is a technical product manager on the Office 365 team working on identity.

Today we’re adding Multi-Factor Authentication for Office 365 to Office 365 Midsize Business, Enterprise plans, Academic plans, Nonprofit plans, and standalone Office 365 plans, including Exchange Online and SharePoint Online. This will allow organizations with these subscriptions to enable multi-factor authentication for their Office 365 users without requiring any additional purchase or subscription.

Multi-factor authentication increases the security of user logins for cloud services above and beyond just a password. With Multi-Factor Authentication for Office 365, users are required to acknowledge a phone call, text message, or an app notification on their smartphone after correctly entering their password. Only after this second authentication factor has been satisfied can a user sign in.

Multi-factor authentication has been available for Office 365 administrative roles since June 2013, and today we’re extending this capability to any Office 365 user. We’re also enhancing the capabilities that have been available since June. We’re adding App Passwords for users so they can authenticate from Office desktop applications as these are not yet updated to enable multi-factor authentication. And we’re enabling users who are authenticated from a federated on-premises directory to be enabled for multi-factor authentication.

This addition of multi-factor authentication is part of our ongoing effort to enhance security for Office 365, and we’re already working on Office desktop application improvements to Multi-Factor Authentication for Office 365, which we’ll introduce later in this post. Office 365 offers many robust built-in security features for all customers and also optional controls that enable subscribers to customize their security preferences. More information about security in Office 365 is available inthe Office 365 Trust Center.

Let’s take a look at how Office 365 customers can take advantage of multi-factor authentication and configure it, including using App Passwords for Office desktop applications.

mfa_01

After entering your account password, you see a message like this while your phone is being called for acknowledgement.

Multi-Factor Authentication for Office 365

Office 365 administrators enroll users for multi-factor authentication through the Office 365 admin center.

Read more…

Categories: All, Microsoft, Office 365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

#Microsoft – On the right track! – #Windows, #BYOD, #Citrix

August 19, 2013 2 comments

I don’t know if you all agree but I find that Microsoft is making some really good strategic decisions to align themselves and be ready for the “next generation” workplace and client services. Everyone has been talking about BYOx and that everyone will bring their own device and consume business services and functions on that device in parallel to doing personal stuff.

But has BYOD taken off yet?

I personally think that it hasn’t to the extent that many thought it would, there are some companies in some countries that have adopted it for some use cases and user categories, but the majority is still struggling with it though their business apps and functions aren’t really there to support this way of working yet.

Even if they have a NetScaler or similar remote access capabilities with some sort of Desktop and App virtualization (like Citrix XenDesktop) to run the apps it’s still not enough. How do you solve the offline working scenario? And isn’t hosted apps and desktops just a legacy workaround until those business processes have been SaaS’ified? And what about “dropbox” alternatives, H: drives and G: drives, Sharepoint data etc. There is still a user data mess (read my earlier post on this) that needs to be solved and especially a “mega aggregator” tool for getting data/content and synch across devices in a secure manner (data also encrypted at rest on ALL devices and not just mobiles)…

Microsoft is kind of stepping up here I must say from a strategy point of view that makes me believe in them, even though I’ve said that no one ever will take my MacBook Air from me! Have a look at the features that are coming with Windows 8.1 to support a more “semi-controlled” or “semi-trusted” device, and the new cloud services like Azure AD, Windows Intunes offerings in combination with the online messaging and collaboration Office 365 services. And they are apparently also working on a “legacy” cloud service to offer desktops as a service (DaaS) as I wrote in a previous blog post as well.

I think that Microsoft is moving in the right direction towards offering the next generation enterprise IT services and to support the new way of working, and fast!

Have a look at these posts/articles on the news in Windows 8.1:

Everything you need, right from (the) Start

Microsoft is focused on delivering one experience across all the devices in your life. The centerpiece of that strategy and experience are the Microsoft services and apps that come right from (the) Start on your new Windows device.

This is the first blog post in a series that will highlight the apps and services driving toward this “one experience” vision. This experience comes to life through more than 20 new and improved Microsoft apps and services that come as part of Windows 8.1, including a new one that we are announcing today – Skype, right from (the) Start!

Apps_Graphic_White_REV

It’s where you want to go today….

Read more…

Categories: Active Directory (AD), All, Azure, BYOD, Citrix, Client Services, Cloud, Intune, Microsoft, Mobility, Office 365, ShareFile, SharePoint Server 2013 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Connect #Office365 to #AD for Free, with #Okta

May 2, 2013 Leave a comment

This is kind of cool! Check it out!

Connect Office365 to AD for Free, with Okta

  • Simple Set Up and Configuration – Enabling AD integration is a simple, wizard driven process. With the click of a button from the Okta administrative console you can download the Okta Active Directory agent and install it on any Windows Server that has access to your Domain Controller.
  • Intelligent User Synchronization – Once the agent is installed and the initial user import takes place Okta intelligently processes the results.
  • Robust Delegated Authentication – Okta’s AD integration also allows you to delegate the authentication into Okta, to your on-premises AD Domain.
  • Integrated Desktop Single Sign-On – Okta leverages Microsoft’s Integrated Windows Authentication to seamlessly authenticate users to Okta that are already authenticated with their Windows domain.

ACTIVE DIRECTORY OVERVIEW

How-To Series: Active Directory Overview

Categories: All, Office 365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

#Microsoft #Office 2013 lockdown aims to boost cloud services

February 19, 2013 Leave a comment

Microsoft Office 2013 lockdown aims to boost cloud services

If a computer dies, so does the Office license, unless you have enterprise deals

Microsoft has confirmed that a retail copy of Office 2013 is permanently tied to the first PC on which it’s installed, preventing customers from deleting the suite from one machine they own and installing it on another.

The move is a change from past Office end-user licensing agreements (EULAs), experts said, and is another way Microsoft is pushing customers, especially consumers, to opt for new “rent-not-own” subscription plans.

“That’s a substantial shift in Microsoft licensing,” said Daryl Ullman, co-founder and managing director of the Emerset Consulting Group, which specializes in helping companies negotiate software licensing deals. “Let’s be frank. This is not in the consumer’s best interest. They’re paying more than before, because they’re not getting the same benefits as before.”

Prior to Office 2013, which debuted last month, Microsoft’s EULA for retail copies of Office plainly stated that customers could reassign a license when, for example, they replaced an aged PC with a newer model, or the original machine gave out.

“You may reassign the license to a different device any number of times, but not more…

Continue reading here! 

//Richard

Categories: All, Microsoft, Office 365 Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Good News: Office 365 ProPlus can be activated on RDS – #RDS, #XenApp, #Citrix

January 17, 2013 Leave a comment

This is interesting and good news!

Thanks for sharing Jesper_Osgaard!!!

In case you missed it – the latest Product Use Rights (january 2013) now includes a note under Additional Terms #3, page 82

“3. Each user may also use one of the five activations on a network server with the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) role enabled”

Note: Office 365 ProPlus is the upcoming version of Office 365

Source: Good News: Office 365 ProPlus can be activated on network server with RDS role enabled 

//Richard

Categories: All, Microsoft, Office 365, Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
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