The Device Pros Enterprise Mobility

Business Apps 2015 - Make a BIG Impact In episode 26 Frank and Alfred invite a special guest to the show, Alan Meeus, to talk about universal apps, cross platform apps, modern apps, traditional apps and why business apps 2015 are making a big impact creating digital moments with end users, customers and leadership. Make a big splash with business apps 2015 Gartner Predicts By 2015, One-Third of Consumer Brands Will Integrate Payment Into Their Branded Mobile Apps.  That's a lot of companies looking to leverage apps as additional revenue streams, and oh by the way 2015 is now.  If we are gonna make a big splash I think it's important we understand all these different types of "apps" and the when/why/how to leverage the different types and formats.  Firstly, there is the traditional applications. We all know them as executables or .EXE files or even .MSI files. They are packaged, deployed and installed in traditional methods such as manual install or an application management tool like Configuration Manager 2012. Then we have something the technology world calls apps. By using the shortened version of the word applications technology people are referring to applications which are packaged differently than traditional applications, and targeted as modern OSs and mobile devices.  Typically apps are deployed via a store, think Windows App store, iTunes Store or Google Play Store.  Now that we have an understanding of what apps are, lets talk about a couple categories of apps. Universal Apps In the world of Microsoft and the emerging Windows 10 release, Microsoft posted details in their blog to share their definition and vision of universal apps.  For Microsoft, universal apps are apps created via visual studio that share a common core, which can have user interface (UI) displays be device type.  Further, a Microsoft universal app is a single app which can span from the full Windows OS, Phone OS and even XBOX.  That, my friends, is all goodness.  If we take a short trip outside Microsoft this term is regularly used in the industry to represent cross platform apps. Cross Platform Apps From the perspective of Microsoft, lets examine the phrase.  Cross platform refers to the app's ability to run on multiple operating systems from different vendors.  A business example of an industry that does this very well are banks.  They create separate apps for Windows, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android.  This is an excellent technique to make sure they gain a high percentage of market share by covering the major OSs in technology. However, it comes at a considerable cost as much of the code used to write an app for iOS must be re-written for Android or Windows.  While the CxO audience love to gain market share, the do not love the cost of have 3 separate programming teams to create, manage and update 3 separate apps.  This is NOT a cross platform app.  A true cross platform app allows a programmer to use a common code base making use of lets say 25% of their code, and then create apps across multiple platforms with a reduced effort and cost to the business.  What if it could be even better than this?? Cross Platform apps with Visual Studio and Xamarin If you are a Visual Studio programmer, and have plans to write business apps 2015, please applaud your new best friend, Xamarin.  If you use this lovely tool when creating your cross platform apps you can use the same language, APIs and data structures to share an average of 75% of app code across all mobile development platforms. AND, if you build user interfaces with Xamarin.Forms,

High Impact Enterprise Mobility topics? Why do you care? In episode 25 Frank and Alfred share businesses view for high impact solutions and how to frame those conversations when talking to your CxO team, your technical decision maker team and the IT Pro staff.  Frank shares some of his experiences speaking with Microsoft customers describing their concerns, their wants and their needs. What is Enterprise Mobility? Enterprise mobility is often mistaken as a product you implement, or a piece of software you install. That is partially due to some vendors marketing their products in that way.  However, based on conversations with customers who have been successful and had struggles implementing enterprise mobility we know that the solution depends on three basic elements.  Apps, Security/Identity and Management of devices makeup the components to create a high impact enterprise mobility offering for your business.  This is very different than simply enabling email, calendaring and IM on mobile devices.  With that in mind have a look at the Mobile Maturity model image representing the view of Microsoft Services interactions with customers. Business Decision Maker CxO Discussion At the most basic level CxOs are looking to achieve one or more of three things: Reduce bottom line (costs) Increase top line (revenue) Increase value with their customers This is a conversation that IT Pros rarely understand or know how to participate in and few technical decision makers think in these terms. However, with the shift of IT budget being held by business units, this is a very important thing to understand. BDMs do not care about the technology itself, only the outcome the business would benefit from.  Here are some examples of conversations that BDMs would engage in: I want to increase retail sales by 20% I want to increase manufacturing productivity by 33% and reduce manufacturing costs by 15% I need to uncover additional revenue streams Our competitors are innovating rapidly and capturing some of our market share, how do I deliver rich customer experiences that will entice our customers to stay with us and also capture additional market share Technical Decision Makers Discussion Based on the CxO view point, TDMs everywhere are working to transform their IT departments and the way their businesses view them.  The transformation to become viewed as a service provider has been noted by Gartner, Forrester, CIO Magazine and countless other popular IT publications. But why?  In the past IT would just upgrade to the latest and greatest technology and then advertise new features to consumers of the tech. But this did not help the users see value in meaningful ways in their individual jobs.  So, what that means is IT must work to provide a menu of capabilities to their business allowing the business to view IT as a trusted service provider.  Not just a department pushing new technology for the sake of technology.  Here are some examples of conversations that TDMs would engage in: How can I enable my mobile sales force to be more agile I need to provide real time information to me factory workers. How can I create a collaborative environment while keeping our digital assets safe We need secure and reliable integration points with our key vendors IT Pro Discussion This is a conversation we are very familiar with so I will not spend time on this topic. Some examples of typical IT Pro conversations are: I purchased licenses for Azure RMS, how can I deploy it

What is Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Suite? In episode 24 Frank and Alfred take a look into the new Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Suite.  In the episode the guys discuss what ECS is, when to use it and why this is an important change for Microsoft customers. Thriving in a cloud-first, mobile-first world In the modern workplace, employees are always connected and always moving. They have more devices with more data, and they expect tools to support ubiquitous collaboration.  To support this workplace, IT needs a solution to help protect your data, manage the growing number of mobile devices, unify environments that span operating systems, and enable seamless collaboration for your workers across all of their devices.  The Enterprise Cloud Suite (ECS), now available as part of the Enterprise Enrollment, brings together Office 365 E3, Enterprise Mobility Suite and Windows Software Assurance per User. The combined power of these three offerings empowers users with best-in-class productivity across devices while supporting IT security and control.     With Enterprise Cloud Suite, you can take advantage of: Simplified cloud licensing in the Enterprise Enrollment. True per user licensing that puts users at the center. A compelling offer when buying cloud services. How it works Enterprise Cloud Suite is available as a User Subscription License (USL) or an Add-on license for the Enterprise Platform in the Enterprise Enrollment. Enterprise Cloud Suite USL: For users who are not covered by an existing Enterprise Platform or who would like to transition to full user-based licensing at renewal. The USL lowers initial licensing costs because you subscribe to the rights to use Microsoft products and services instead of purchasing a perpetual license. Enterprise Cloud Suite Add-on: For users who are covered by an existing Enterprise Platform. The Add-on is a subscription that supplements your existing Enterprise Platform license position. Flexible - Put users at the center with true per user licensing Users get a consistent productivity experience on any device and on any operating system. A range of ECS licensing options are available through Add-on licenses or USLs, and cloud services can be added at any time, then reconciled at anniversary. Manageable - Simplifying cloud licensing in the Enterprise Enrollment With a pure per user licensing model, you will no longer need to count devices for the Platform EA and cloud services. Move to the cloud without modifying your Enterprise Agreement while getting rid of bridge CALs and complex True-up requirements. Learn More from Microsoft http://www.microsoft.com/ecs Article Source http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/9/A/89A3F8B9-94DE-4956-A56E-F6D2B215D0E6/Enterprise_Cloud_Suite_At_a_Glance.pdf   The post Enterprise Cloud Suite – Episode 24 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Office 365 Mobile Device Management added for FREE! In episode 22 Frank and Alfred take a look into the new features of Office 365 Mobile Device Management capabilities.  In the episode the guys discuss what was implemented but even get into why Microsoft would add MDM to Office 365 in the first place.  To start lets have a look at some statistics. Enterprise Mobility Stats from Gartner 50% of employers will require employees to provide their own devices by 2017. 90% of enterprises will have to or more mobile OS's to support in 2011 93% of employees admit to violating information security policies 80% of employees admit to using non-approved SaaS applications in their jobs Why does Office 365 Mobile Device Management matter? It seems clear the goal Microsoft was trying to achieve was to provide a single solution encapsulated in a single product and provide a clear separation from corporate and personal email and/or data.  What did we use before Office 365 MDM? ActiveSync.  And it was awesome... but our corporate customers said "We need more, we need to offer more". Below is a comparison of the mobile device management capabilities by technology.   Top 3 Challenges addressed with Office 365 Mobile Device Management If connecting to Exchange, you had to lock the phone down, so potentially you had a set of policies that prevented you to do anything personal on the phone. If the device needed to be wiped, all data was removed from the device. What do businesses really want? To manage their corporate data and ensure digital asset protection. Some of the things new Office 365 MDM Provides In the Admin Portal, you can click a button and get device management for Office 365. The portal is device aware, it knows what devices are trying to connect to the Office 365 and what user should have access to that device. Next you can go to the compliance console and provision policies. You have the ability to apply conditional access requirements & device controls, i.e. the device must meet certain requirements to gain access.  They'll Some of these things are password protection, Device encryptions and if the device is jail broken. If the user has connected using the OneDrive for Business, the policies can look to make sure the data doesn't go elsewhere. Via policies, controls can manage things like screenshots and Bluetooth, etc. Lastly you have options to use selective wipe.  Selective Wipe can remove the data that has been protected by managed apps or Intune aware apps.. Added bonus: Every time the user goes to connect with their device, the device is checked against compliance policies which are controlled by IT to ensure that the device has not been compromised. Screen shot of the Office 365 Mobile Device Management Options Article Source http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn792010.aspx http://blogs.office.com/2014/10/28/introducing-built-mobile-device-management-office-365/ http://www.zdnet.com/article/byod-from-optional-to-mandatory-by-2017-says-gartner/ http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2466615 http://ipcarrier.blogspot.com/2013/05/by-2017-50-of-enterprises-will-require.html The post Office 365 Mobile Device Management appeared first on The Device Pros.

A Microsoft Christmas In episode 23 Frank and Alfred share their top 7 Christmas Gifts on their wish list!  Hurry before the special pricing is gone... Xbox One with Kinect Assassin's Creed Unity Bundle $449.00 Unite in the fight for freedom with this limited-edition Assassin's Creed bundle. This bundle includes: Xbox One console Xbox One Kinect sensor Assassin's Creed Unity  - download Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag  - download Wireless controller and chat headset Exclusive offer: $50 Microsoft Store gift card**  This item ships within 1-2 weeks. Xbox One Assassin's Creed Unity Bundle $349.00 This bundle includes: Xbox One console with 500GB hard drive Assassin's Creed Unity - download Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag - download Wireless controller and chat headset Exclusive offer: $50 Microsoft Store gift card** Microsoft Band $199.00 Microsoft Health is a new service that helps you live healthier by providing actionable insights based on data gathered from the fitness devices and apps that you use every day. It's designed to work for you, no matter what phone you have, device you wear, or services you use. Microsoft Health makes tracking personal fitness easier, more insightful, and more holistic.  Works with the phone you own. iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone Microsoft Band is designed to be awesome on multiple platforms.* Live healthier. Microsoft Band makes it easier to reach your fitness goals. You can track your daily physical activity and review your stats with a glance at your wrist. Just like a personal trainer, Microsoft Band guides you to improved wellness by constantly learning about you, your current fitness level, and your future needs. Activity tracking and goal setting 24-hour heart rate monitor: Gives you a better understanding of your calorie burn, sleep patterns, and peak and resting heart rate so you can perform at your best. Run: Whether you’re on the treadmill at the gym or outdoors in the rain or sun, you can view your run summary on your band with personalized metrics in the phone app including pace splits and heart rate. Steps: Set a goal and track your progress. Microsoft Band calculates the calories you’ve burned and the distance you’ve traveled each day. Built-in GPS: Measures the distance you’ve run and tracks your pace and route. Save your favorites to retrace your steps and challenge yourself later. Calorie tracking: Count the calories you burn each day. View daily or weekly stats, set goals, and receive a virtual "high-five" when you reach them. Sleep tracking: When activated, Microsoft Band tracks the length and quality of your sleep. Analyze the sleep charts in your app to gain insights about your slumber. Guided Workouts: Fun and challenging workouts from fitness partners like Gold's Gym, Shape, and Men's Fitness with exercise prompts on the band and much more in the app. Goal setting: Challenge yourself by setting daily step and calorie goals. Microsoft Band notifies you when you meet them so that you can stay motivated. UV monitor: Get a quick read of the UV Index while you’re out and about. Surface Pro 3 starting at $799.00 The new 12-inch Surface Pro 3 is the tablet that can replace your laptop (Type Cover sold separately). Choice of Sleeve from as low as $719.10 with a valid .Edu email address. Shipping is free Free Sleeve Offer ?Valid December 7, 2014 until January 4, 2015 or while supplies last. Customer must purchase a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and and sleeve togethe...

EMS (Enterprise Mobility Suite) by Microsoft - Episode 21 EMS Part 3 of 3 Part Series - Microsoft Intune In episode 21 Frank and Alfred take a deep dive into EMS Microsoft Intune. One of three things that comes with the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite.  In the next episode The Device Pros will cover the final component of EMS Microsoft Intune. EMS includes Microsoft Intune which enables: Mobile application management across devices Broad device support for Windows, Windows Phone, Apple iOS, and Android devices Selective wipe of apps and data for greater security What is Microsoft Intune? Microsoft Intune simplifies how your business can manage and secure PCs and mobile devices so your computers and users can operate at peak performance, from virtually anywhere, on any device. With Intune, whether your employees are in the office or on the road, you can give them a rich, productive Windows experience without compromising the essentials—costs, control, security and compliance. Device Management Capabilities As a standalone service, Microsoft Intune offers the features in the following tables for supported mobile devices like iOS, Android, and Windows devices. You can manage Windows 8.1 devices using the Windows Intune client or enroll them as mobile devices. The following information for Windows 8.1 applies to Windows 8.1 devices that are enrolled as mobile devices. Device security and configuration Security policies Remote Wipe, Remote Lock, and Passcode Reset Kiosk Mode App management App deployment and management Deploy software to mobile devices in Microsoft Intune Compliant and noncompliant apps Manage devices using configuration policies with Microsoft Intune Company resource access Certificate profiles Wi-Fi profiles Email profiles VPN profiles Conditional Access policies Inventory and reporting Manage reports in Microsoft Intune You can integrate Microsoft Intune with Configuration Manager to enable deeper mobile device management to let users access company resources in a secure, managed way. By using device management, you protect company data while letting users enroll their personal or company-owned mobile devices and giving them access to company data. When you use Configuration Manager with Intune, you have the following management capabilities: You can retire and wipe devices You can configure compliance settings on devices. These include settings for passwords, security, roaming, encryption, and wireless communication You can deploy line of business apps to devices You can deploy apps from the store that the device connects to, Windows Store, Windows Phone Store, App Store, or Google Play You can collect hardware inventory You can collect software inventory by using built-in reports Why Deploy Windows Intune Supporting enterprise mobility in the workplace requires a simple way for users to register their personal or corporate owned devices for use and ways for IT to take the device registration into account as part of the authorization for access to corporate resources. Workplace Join in Windows Server 2012 R2 enables users to register their devices in Active Directory, and IT can require multi- factor authentication as part of this registration process. Additionally, users can enroll their devices for management, which connects the devices to Microsoft Intune and allows the installation of the company portal. This enables users to access their applications and data,

EMS (Enterprise Mobility Suite) by Microsoft - Episode 20 EMS Part 2 of 3 Part Series - Azure RMS In episode 20 Frank and Alfred take a deep dive into EMS Azure RMS. One of three things that comes with the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite.  In the next episode The Device Pros will cover the final component of EMS, Microsoft Intune. EMS includes Azure Rights Management which enables: Information protection from the cloud or in a hybrid model with your existing on-premises infrastructure Integration into your native applications with an easy-to-use SDK What is Azure Rights Management (RMS)? Almost every organization is Internet-connected these days, with users bringing personal device to work, accessing company data on the road and home, and sharing sensitive information with important business partners. As part of their daily work, users share information by using email, file-sharing sites, and cloud services. In these scenarios, traditional security controls (such as access control lists and NTFS permissions) and firewalls have limited effectiveness if you want to protect your company data while still empowering your users to work efficiently. In comparison, Azure Rights Management (Azure RMS) can protect your company’s sensitive information in all these scenarios. It uses encryption, identity, and authorization policies to help secure your files and email, and it works across multiple devices—phones, tablets, and PCs. Information can be protected both within your organization and outside your organization because that protection remains with the data, even when it leaves your organization’s boundaries. As an example, employees might email a document to a partner company, or they save a document to their cloud drive. The persistent protection that Azure RMS provides not only helps to secure your company data, but might also be legally mandated for compliance, legal discovery requirements, or simply good information management practices. But very importantly, authorized people and services (such as search and indexing) can continue to read and inspect the data that Azure RMS protects, which is not easily accomplished with other information protection solutions that use peer-to-peer encryption. This ability is sometimes referred to as “reasoning over data” and is a crucial element in maintaining control of your organization’s data. What do I need to deploy Azure RMS and how do I get going? First, check Requirements for Azure Rights Management, which has information about the cloud subscription options, how you can use your on-premises servers with Azure RMS, which deployment scenarios are not currently supported, which devices and applications support Azure RMS, and a link if you need a list of IP addresses and domain names for firewalls or proxy servers. You might also want to check the other topics in the Getting Started with Azure Rights Management section, to get a basic understanding of how Azure Rights Management can help protect your organization’s data, how it works with applications, how it compares with the on-premises version of Active Directory Rights Management, and understand the terms and abbreviations that are specific to Azure Rights Management.  Then when you’re ready to test Azure RMS for yourself, or deploy it for your organization, use the Azure Rights Management Deployment Roadmap for a list of steps with links for more information and how-to instructions.  If you need additional information, resources, and support options, see Information and Support for Azure Rights Management. What devices and which file types are supported by Azure RMS? For a list of supported devices,

EMS (Enterprise Mobility Suite) by Microsoft - Episode 19 EMS Part 1 of 3 Part Series - Azure Active Directory Premium In episode 19 Frank and Alfred take a deep dive into EMS Azure Active Directory Premium. One of three things that comes with the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite.  In the next two episodes The Device Pros will cover the other two components of EMS, Azure RMS and Microsoft Intune. EMS includes Azure Active Directory Premium which enables: Self-service password reset for your people, to reduce helpdesk calls Multi-factor authentication options for greater security Group-based provisioning and single sign on for over 2000 SaaS apps Machine learning-driven security reports for visibility and threat management Robust sync capabilities across cloud and on-premises directories What is Azure Active Directory? Azure Active Directory is a service that provides identity and access management capabilities in the cloud. In much the same way that Active Directory is a service made available to customers through the Windows Server operating system for on-premises identity management, Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) is a service that is made available through Azure for cloud-based identity management. Learn more Because it is your organization's cloud directory, you decide who your users are, what information to keep in the cloud, who can use the information or manage it, and what applications or services are allowed to access that information. When you use Azure AD, it is Microsoft's responsibility to keep Active Directory running in the cloud with high scale, high availability, and integrated disaster recovery, while fully respecting your requirements for the privacy and security of your organization's information. Integration with your on-premises Active Directory Azure AD can be used as a standalone cloud directory for your organization, but you can also integrate existing on-premise Active Directory with Azure AD. Some of the features of integration include directory sync and single sign-on, which further extend the reach of your existing on-premises identities into the cloud for an improved admin and end user experience. Learn more Integration with your applications Application developers can integrate their applications with Azure AD to provide single sign-on functionality for their users. This enables enterprise applications to be hosted in the cloud and to easily authenticate users with corporate credentials. It also enables software as a service (SaaS) providers to make authentication easier for users in Azure AD organizations when authenticating to their services. Developers can also use the Graph API to query directory data for managing entities such as users or groups. Learn more Article Source: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/enterprise-mobility-suite/explore.aspx http://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/documentation/articles/active-directory-whatis/ Episode Transcription While we work at Microsoft, this podcast is independent of Microsoft and it implies no warranty or guarantee of the products or services. We will not be sharing anything confidential and we do not represent the opinion of Microsoft in any way. We are just two passionate guys that love what we do, implementing Microsoft devices and services. Welcome to the Device Pros Podcast. I’m Frank Pinto and my co-host is Alfred Ojukwu. This show is all about our experiences as consultants implementing solutions around the world. If you’re already an IT pro,

What the heck is an Enterprise Mobility Suite Microsoft? In episode 18 Frank and Alfred share some great information about the new cloud solution from Microsoft called Enterprise Mobility Suite.  Microsoft has packaged together some of their individual cloud offerings to form a comprehensive solution designed to address people centric IT (PCIT), consumerization of IT (COIT), bring your own device (BYOD) and software as a service (SaaS) in a cost effective method.  The three main components are: Microsoft Azure Active Directory Premium Windows Intune Microsoft Azure Rights Management What's so great about that? The industry is currently dealing with some new challenges, Microsoft has identified them as the following. 1.  Users expect to be productive across a variety of device types, with access to the applications they need. 2.  Businesses need to unify their infrastructure technology environment with a common identity across on-premises Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and the cloud, with deeply integrated capabilities for PC and mobile device management. 3.  Businesses must protect their data, so they require a comprehensive set of access control and data-protection capabilities. The focus of Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) is to make it easy for IT to address these challenges thereby enabling their workforce to consume solutions/services provided by IT safely and securely.  In addition by bundling these solutions business will be able to save a bundle as shown in the table below.  Have a look at the whitepaper from Microsoft. The Device Pros are kicking off a three podcast series diving deeper into each one of these cloud solutions provided by Microsoft.  We have a couple of surprise guests, including Richard Smith of The Deployment Guys, joining us to dig into this fantastic offering from Microsoft. Hybrid Identity Video Mobile Device Management Information Protection The videos embedded in this page are via Microsoft to provide an effective understanding of how the process works. The post Enterprise Mobility Suite – Episode 18 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Discover PDT v2.64 In episode 17 Frank and Alfred share some great information about PDT (PowerShell Deployment Toolkit) v2.64 and the awesome things you can do with it. What is PDT? At its most basic level PDT is a collection of scripts with the purpose of deploying System Center with prerequisites. PDT is very customizable, very powerful and very useful in spinning up non-production or even production System Center environments. PDT is absolutely not intended to replace any of the capabilities of System Center, rather, it is intended to help solve the problem of deploying System Center with advanced configuration if you don't already have it in place.  In just about 3 hours you can deploy all of System Center including SQL and all prerequisites, in a highly available configuration, including all of the automatable post-setup integration. Get Some PDT Once you have downloaded PDT, you will need to download a couple of things to get your's up and running. Head over to the Microsoft Evaluation Software Center and get Windows Server 2012 R2. Part of the requirements to use PDT are that you have servers with Windows 2012 R2 installed, domain joined and local administrator privilege to them.  However, PDT includes a script to help create Hyper-V VMs call VMcreator.ps1.  For details on how to use this head over to the Building Clouds blog and get the details from Rob Willis.  Also, since PDT requires some XML knowledge for variables.xml if this intimidates you there is a great new tool called The PDT GUI created by Benedict Berger and Kamil Kosek from Elanity Network Partner. Some Resources Intro to PDT http://blogs.technet.com/b/privatecloud/archive/2013/02/08/deployment-introducing-powershell-deployment-toolkit.aspx Rob Willis at TechEd 2014 The post Powershell Deployment Toolkit (PDT)– Episode 17 appeared first on The Device Pros.

What's new with Windows Phone 8.1? In episode 16 Frank and Alfred share some great information about the new features they have used and like in the Developer Preview of Windows Phone 8.1 The post Windows Phone 8.1 – Episode 16 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Using Click-2-Run MS Office Installer In episode 15 Frank and Alfred with special guest Steve Thomas share some great information about the new Microsoft Office click-2-run install, app-v install, traditional install and more. Learn more about Office Click-to-Run Microsoft Office Click-to-Run uses Microsoft streaming and virtualization technology to significantly reduce the time that is required for you to download and begin experiencing the new features of Microsoft Office 365 and 2013. Why would I use Office Click-to-Run? If you have decent Internet speed, you can be using a Microsoft Office program within minutes and have the whole program in less than a half hour. The Click-to-Run Application Manager shows you the download progress. If you want to start to use an Office program, Office Click-to-Run downloads what it must have to have you running with the small delay as that is part of the real-time downloads. The following are some advantages to using Click-to-Run versions of Office products: Faster to download and install. Start using a product before it has finished installing Up-to-date from the start and kept up-to-date automatically No need to download and install updates manually Run different versions of Office products side-by-side on the same computer You can also use common software management tools and practices to manage and maintain Office products that use Click-to-Run. For example, you can do the following: Download Office product and language files to an on-premises location and then deploy those products and languages to users by using a software distribution product, such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Use Office-specific Group Policy settings to create and enforce standard configurations for users and computers. The Click-to-Run and MSI versions of Office products use the same set of Group Policy settings For more information about how to deploy Office from an on-premises location, see Determine the deployment method to use for Office 365 ProPlus. Special Guest Steve Thomas Steve Thomas is a Senior Consultant working for Microsoft Enterprise Services in the overall specialty areas of client solutions and deployment with a focus on desktop, application, and user state virtualization as well as application compatibility. Expertise in desktop virtualization spans both client-hosted and server-hosted infrastructures (VDI.) Has worked with both the SMB market as well as large enterprise networking environments. Considered to be one of the top world-wide technical SME's in App-V, MED-V, Server App-V, UE-V, and Application Compatibility.  Secondary Specialties include DaaS, Hyper-V, SCVMM, Azure, Hyper-V Replica and Recovery Manager. Microsoft Blog Twitter @madvirtualizer LinkedIn Facebook   The post Office Click-2-Run – Episode 15 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 In episode 14 Frank and Alfred share some great information about the new Microsoft Surface Pro 3. They talk about what they have heard from customers and what they are excited about regarding the new laptop replacement from Microsoft. The post Surface Pro 3 – Episode 14 appeared first on The Device Pros.

TechEd 2014 Tips and Tricks from The Device Pros In episode 13 Frank and Alfred share some great information about TechEd 2014 including suggested sessions to attend, who to look out for and even some of their tips and tricks when they attend Microsoft Conferences. Masters of All Things PCIT TechEd 2014 gathers giants in the computing industry in one location for a week of unparalleled training, guidance and information from the top gurus in the business. Here is a few of The Device Pros favourites. Ben Hunter Jason Sandys Johan Arwidmark Kent Agerlund Michael Niehaus Mikael Nystrom Richard Smith Exam Prep Sessions Our very own Alfred Ojukwu will be on hand to deliver certification preparation sessions helping IT Pros get ready for the HALF OFF exams while at the conference. Have a look here for the latest information about those sessions. EXM01 Exam Prep: 70-410 and 70-417 - MCSA: Windows Server 2012 (repeats on May 13 at 5:00pm) EXM02 Exam Prep: 70-411 and 70-417 - MCSA: Windows Server 2012 EXM08 Exam Prep: 70-410 and 70-417 - MCSA: Windows Server 2012 (repeated from May 12 at 1:15pm) EXM11 Exam Prep: 70-415 and 70-416 - MCSE: Desktop Infrastructure The post TechEd 2014 Tips and Tricks – Episode 13 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Windows Intune and Configuration Manager 2012 R2 Episode 12 introduces Windows Intune as part of the SCCM 2012 R2 infrastructure solution. Windows Intune, of course, is not the next version of Zune, but can certainly help in managing access to corporate applications delivered to your preferred endpoint device as part of the BYOD initiative. Intune continues the drive towards management from the single-pain-of-glass scenario. In this podcast, we discuss the benefits of Windows Intune in the enterprise, it’s integration points with SCCM 2012 R2, basic requirements around its configuration and links to references of where more information can be found. Why Windows Intune? Users expect to have access to their data wherever they are and remain highly connected between devices. There has also been an explosion of devices driving IT to move away from having to standardize on the type of devices they use and manage. In addition users are interested in accessing applicationd that allow them to be productive and ensure use of their corporate or personal data. With PCIT the initiative has shifted to ensure there is unified approach to manage all the information and ensuring a consistent experience across devices. What type of devices are supported in Windows Intune management? Windows 8.1 PCs (Win8,Win7,Vista,XP), Windows RT, Windows Phone 8, iOS, Android, Mac, Linux/Unix. Each of these devices are configured with different types of management agents to ensure they are managed properly. What is required to get things started? You would first need to sign up with a trial account Windows Intune services with your preferred Microsoft account. You’ll next have to addverify your public DNS details in your internal active directory and in your cloud configuration. You’ll next have to set up ADFS for Multi-factor authentication. You’ll want to then take advantage of AD Directory Sync. From there you can look to manage your client devices once you set up your configuration in SCCM 2012 R2. What are some of the benefits? OTA Device Enrollment can be used on Windows Intune managed devices. Both users and device settings management will be available. Device inventory, device, retirement, and device wipe (both full and selective) are all available. The latest additions include, VPN/WiFi certificate profiles and company branding. There are a few additional settings that have been added to the latest version that we haven’t mentioned. My suggestion would be to go and try it out for yourself. Take a look and see how it works out for you. How can if find out more? If you’re interested in finding out more about this great solution, you can visit TechNet to find out more details. For more information about Microsoft’s product offering visit Unified Device Management | System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager to try out additional options. The post Windows Intune – Episode 12 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Windows 8.1 Update Released April 8, 2014 Its another great day at Microsoft with the release of Windows 8.1 Update for the general public. In episode 11 Frank and Alfred run through some of the awesome new features.  If you haven't already checked your system to look for some of these really cool updates, its never too late. Windows 8.1 Update comes with a number of minor yet powerful changes. When the system is unlocked the default screen the desktop defaults to the type of device you are currently logged on to. In other words on a laptop you will be logged on to the desktop. If you are on a tablet, you'll be logged on to your start screen. This goes right along with the idea that you as the only reasons have the ability to control your desktop look and feel. New Keyboard and Mouse Navigation You'll also notice that all machines will have the store pinned to the desktop by default. Now you're just one click away from many of the awesome Windows store apps. In fact, you can have access to any of your store apps on your desktop taskbar. You also now have the ability to right-click on any tile on your start-screen menu and have the ability to pinunpin them to the task bar. Also, when a new Windows Store app is installed on your system, rather than adding the icon to your start menu, the tile will be added to your "All Apps" screen. Again, you can find much more details at What's new in Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 Update. Enjoy the latest Windows 8.1 Update!   The post Windows 8.1 Update – Episode 11 appeared first on The Device Pros.

Windows Phone 8.1 Coming April 10th 2014 for Devs In episode 10 Frank and Alfred take a departure from normal show format to talk about the awesome new features in Windows Phone 8.1. Tune in to this episode to find out what's new, what's exciting and how to get it! There are just a few of the features listed here. Windows Phone 8.1 Features Joe Belfiore wrote a great blog post talking about the key investments Microsoft made and all the new features announced. Take a few minutes to read it, watch the videos and see a fantastic demo. Here is the video of Joe Belfiore introducing the new Windows Phone 8.1 Internet Explorer 11 Synced favourites and tabs from other computers, InPrivate browsing, password caching, and a reading mode. New Apps The new universal app development platform lets you purchase an app once and use it on both your phone and PC. A new Skype app, split Music, Video and Podcast apps. Data Sense, Wi-Fi-Sense, Storage Sense and Battery Saver join the line up too. Cortana The first truly personal digital assistant, she aims to please! Cortana learns about your interests and habits and then brings information to you as you need it. Using the power of Bing, you can interact via voice or typing.  You can talk to Cortana through your voice or your keyboard, and when she replies you’ll notice she has a real personality! Enhanced Start screen Customize your Start background with a photo and the option for a third row of tiles on all phones, and theme color changes that follow you across all your Windows devices! Enterprise Features Built in VPN and S/MIME support and customizable Mobile Device Management (MDM) enrolment. Windows Phone 8.1 is THE phone choice for Enterprise. Action Center The Action Center lets you see notifications from any app, and puts important toggles at your fingertips like Wi-Fi, Flight Mode, Bluetooth and Rotation Lock. Word Flow keyboard Glide your finger quickly over the keys to type. Word Flow learns your writing style to make typing easier, and oh yea, is now the Guinness World record holder for fastest typing smartphone! Microsoft Appstudio In the podcast Frank and Alfred talk about the amazing drag and drop Appstudio, which you can check out here for free! It's what THE Device Pros used to create their app. ITPro.tv gives our listeners a 40% discount Frank and Alfred also share information about one of our new affiliates, ITPro.TV, why they are amazing, and how to get your 40% off on all-you-can-eat training!!   The post Windows Phone 8.1 – Episode 10 appeared first on The Device Pros.

People Centric IT In episode 9 Frank and Alfred are back to talk about People Centric IT.  Listen in to learn what it is, why you should be planning for it and in future podcasts, how to implement it. PCIT, What the heck does that mean? Microsoft is paving the way with a new approach called People Centric IT to meet the demands of todays business, workforce and IT requirements. PCIT provides a consistent experience for end users across PCs, laptops, tablets and smartphones.  People-centric IT helps businesses to keep their data and information protected even in challenging scenarios like BYOD.  And finally, a unified solution helps to provide users with a more consistent experience across all their devices. It also provides IT with a single tool for managing those devices, making life easier and more efficient all round. Enable Users Work across multiple devices Provide access to the apps and data they need Deliver a consistent experience Minimize multiple identity requirements Protect Your Digital Assets Enable IT to keep corporate assets safe Deliver access to apps and data securely Maintain control and auditing of sensitive and/or valuable data Unify Your Environment Make management of IT more efficient Build on existing investments Register for a Microsoft People Centric IT Workshop Navigate here to register for a Microsoft one day workshop if your in the UK. ITPro.tv gives our listeners a 40% discount In episode 9 Frank and Alfred also share information about one of our new affiliates, ITPro.TV, why they are amazing, and how to get your 40% off on all-you-can-eat training!!       The post People Centric IT – Episode 9 appeared first on The Device Pros.

ITPro.tv 30% Discount for Unlimited Training! Here at The Device Pros we love learning and certification.  So what's better then all the training you can consume?  Nothing!  Because we love what the guys are doing over at ITPro.tv we setup a partnership with them to get our listeners an ITPro.tv 30% Discount for the life of your account!  I have attended several sessions and Alfred has too, that's why we know you're gonna love it. Sign Up Now ITPro.tv Sign Up  Make sure you use the offer code to save 30% Offer Code: thedevicepros Here's our list of what we love about ITPro.tv TV Show format It's Fun and very easy to understand Shows filmed live, not recorded and edited so you see everything! Hosts are certified Actually work in the field, not just teach Live chat during show Forum for offline questions 24/7 ITProTV Roku channel Your subscription gets you all their content CompTIA A+ Security+ Net+ Microsoft MTA MCSA Cisco CCENT CCNA IINS (in Production) ISC2 - Coming Soon SSCP® - Systems Security Certified Practitioner CISSP® - Certified Information Systems Security Professional When certifications are updated, its included The courses are organized for success By exam objective Learning and test preparedness Regular price $57 per month Special 30% offer code thedevicepros for as long as you keep your account active Listen to our experience with ITPro.tv below The post ITPro.tv 30% Discount for IT Training appeared first on The Device Pros.

Microsoft AppLocker not Software Restriction Policies In episode 8 Frank and Alfred invite Associate Consultant Simon Frost from Microsoft Consulting Services to talk about Microsoft AppLocker. AppLocker is a tool which allows administrators to specify what applications can run on a computer in their enterprise.  It is deployed using group policy templates which makes it very easy to maintain and update.  The technology is set to replace legacy software restriction polices which is great with me.  Its like comparing a Ford Model-T to a Mustang Shelby. How does it work Instead of identifying applications simply by the filename, which is how software restriction policies work, there are three ways to do it.  First is by publisher, which requires the application to be digitally signed.  Second is by path where the application is located.  And third is using a file hash. You can target executables, scripts, dll's and even Windows Store apps.  Yes that's right, store apps.  So for those of you that have emailed me asking how to manage apps from the Windows 8 app store this podcast's for you! The post Microsoft Applocker – Episode 8 appeared first on The Device Pros.