Happy New Year! Welcome to this week’s issue of the US Partner News Online.

In this weekly post, we’ll connect you to resources to help you be market-ready, connect with customers and prospects, and differentiate your business. You can read previous weeks’ issues at http://aka.ms/uspnewsletter.

If you’d like to see the next post in your email inbox, go to the main US Partner Community blog page and enter your email address under “Subscribe and follow” on the right hand side.

We provide real-time updates about the topics covered in this newsletter and other partner-related news and information on our US Partner Community Twitter feed.

To stay in touch with me and connect with other partners and Microsoft sales, marketing, and product experts, join our US Partner Community on Yammer and choose how you want to stay informed.

Top stories

New Cloud Profitability Program Webcast Series Starts January 7
Register for the new series of Cloud Profitability Program webcasts that will be held Wednesdays at 8:30AM Pacific Time. These webcasts provide you the information you need to understand the cloud market, partner opportunities, and considerations for defining your business strategy in the cloud.

Renew Your Competency and Retain Your Benefits
Your Microsoft Partner Network silver or gold competency comes with the distinction of your company being among the top 5 percent of Microsoft partners. You can renew your competency up to 90 days prior to your company’s anniversary date in the Microsoft Partner Network. On our blog, we provide step-by-step guidance, tips, and links to what you need to know for a smoother renewal.

Office 365 Community: Focus on Security and Compliance
The current topic for the Office 365 Community is security and compliance. Read the blog series, register for the January 8 call, and join the conversation in the Office 365 group on Yammer.

• Register for the January 8 community call

Resources

Choose How You Want to Stay Informed in 2015
Stay informed about the partner-related news, recommendations, opportunities, and programs relevant to your business. We’ll help you understand and prepare for the market opportunity, connect with customers and prospects, and differentiate your business.

Earning the Office 365 Internal Use Rights Benefit
The Office 365 internal-use rights (IUR) benefit allows partners to use and learn Microsoft’s latest cloud technology internally, so that they are able to sell Microsoft cloud solutions to their customers more effectively.

• Find out how using Office 365 internally can help transform your business

Windows Server 2003 End-of-Life Campaign
Show customers how to get the most from today’s technology by migrating to Microsoft Azure, Windows Server 2012 R2, and cloud services like Microsoft Office 365. 

Azure Starter Kit: Technical Presales Workshop
Request one-to-one technical consulting for during a presales engagement with a customer about Microsoft Azure, at no charge.

Training and certification

Stay informed about opportunities that align to your business and role. For real-time updates and reminders about upcoming training, follow @mslearningcurve on Twitter.

January Hot Sheet: Find and Register for Upcoming Training, Webcasts, and Partner Calls
The Hot Sheet is a frequently updated schedule of live virtual and in-person training, webcasts, and informational calls that are coming in the next few weeks. The current Hot Sheet goes through February, so you can plan ahead. Subscribe to the US Partner Learning blog to receive the Hot Sheet in your email inbox.

Azure and Office 365 Webcasts from Partner Technical Services
Register for these January webcasts for IT pros, developers, and presales technical roles, about Microsoft Azure, delivered by Microsoft experts on the Partner Technical Services team.

January 7: Cloud Profitability webcast – IDC and PC Media Interview
Join Josh Waldo and Brent Combest in an interview with Darren Bibby from IDC and Lee Harper, CEO of PC Media, about profitability for cloud partners vs. non-cloud partners. These webcasts are now on Wednesdays.

January 8: Labs on Azure – First Steps
In this online workshop, you’ll learn how to spin up a test lab or sandbox quickly, sign up for and activate your Azure subscription, and more.

January 9: US SMB Partner Insider Calls
Join your Microsoft Regional team for the latest Microsoft information and resources for US partners serving SMB customers, giving you the opportunity to be among the first to know what’s happening.

ISV Workshops: Upgrade Your Apps to Windows Server 2012 R2 and SQL Server 2014
If you have a solution running on older versions of Windows Server and think an upgrade is right for you, join us at this event to use the expertise of local experts who can answer your questions.

On Demand: Sales and Licensing Excellence Webcast Series
Over the past several weeks, we have delivered a series of sales- and licensing-focused webcasts for partners, covering a wide variety of Microsoft products and technologies. These are all available for watching on demand. The next Sales and Licensing Excellence webcast is on January 12.

• Register for the Azure Government Cloud Solutions Webcast and Executive Keynote on January 12

Featured Video

Watch this playlist of videos that covers the 2014 calls for the US Azure Partner Community. Get caught up on topics like Enterprise Mobility Suite, migrations to Azure, and disaster recovery. Read the companion blog posts here, and register for the January 15 call.

Calendar through January 16

The list below is a sampling of upcoming partner calls, training, and events. Refer to the January Hot Sheet for a comprehensive, frequently updated list covering the next several weeks.

Week of January 5–9

• January 6 – Visio 2013 Tips & Techniques (Value Stream Mapping Template)
• January 7 – Cloud Profitability Program webcast: IDC and PC Media Interview
• January 8 – Microsoft Virtual Academy: C++/DirectX Game Development: Skyboxes and Porting DX11 to 11.2
• January 8 – Partner Technical Services: Labs on Azure: First Steps
• January 8 – US Office 365 Partner Community Call
• January 9 – Microsoft Azure: Hybrid Integration
• January 9 – SMB Partner Insider Call Series – East Region
• January 9 – SMB Partner Insider Call Series – Central Region
• January 9 – SMB Partner Insider Call Series – West Region

Week of January 12–16

• January 12 –14 – Partner Technical Services: Design the Hybrid Cloud
• January 12 –  Sales and Licensing Excellence: Azure Government Cloud Solutions Webcast and Executive Keynote (Level 100)
• January 12 – Partner Technical Services: Ask the Experts: Identity: Azure Active Directory Editions
• January 13 – The Innovation Challenge: Creating the 21st Century Utility
• January 13 – Partner Technical Services: Enterprise Mobility Scenario – Microsoft Azure Remote App
• January 13 – Partner Technical Services: Office 365 Initial Journey – Introduction to Office 365
• January 13 – Success with Enterprise Mobility Suite Webcast: Do I Really Need an Integrated Approach for Mobility Instead of Compiling Point Solutions?
• January 13 – Driving Sales Productivity With Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Office 365
• January 14 – Cloud Profitability Program webcast: Anatomy of a Deal
• January 14 – QuickLane: Maximizing Azure Profitability in the Cloud First, Mobile First World
• January 14 – Dynamics Bite-Sized Series: Dynamics GP 2015 - Employee Self Service
• January 14 – Partner Technical Services: Voice for Office 365 – Enterprise Voice for Office 365, Opportunities for Partners
• January 15 – Microsoft Online Services Advisor Monthly Office Hours: Web-Direct and Deploy Incentives
• January 15 – Microsoft Virtual Academy: C++/DirectX Game Development: Fun with Sounds and Shaders
• January 15 – Partner Technical Services: Maximize Your Productivity with O365 using SPO Collection: Azure IaaS for SharePoint Business Continuity Management
• January 15 – Partner Technical Services: Migrate Your MBX to O365 – Office 365 Identity and Security in the Cloud
• January 15 – Partner Technical Services: Microsoft Azure Solution Scenarios – Cross premises Connectivity with Microsoft Azure & Windows Server
• January 15 – US Azure Partner Community Call
• January 16 – Microsoft Azure: Hybrid Integration

Beschreibung
Certificate Authorities (CAs) gehören zu den Schlüsselkomponenten einer Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) und sind verantwortlich für die Ausstellung und Sperren von Zertifikaten. Der Wert und die Vertrauenswürdigkeit von Zertifikaten, die von einer CA ausgestellt wird, lässt sich direkt mit dem Maß an Vertrauen in Verbindung setzen, das ihm entgegen gebracht wird. In diesem Webcast möchten wir einige bewährte Sicherheitsmethoden für CA hervorheben.

Nach dem Premier Webcast sind sie in der Lage:

• CA’s risk exposure im Detail zu verstehen
• Active Directory integrated CA so sicher wie möglich durch System Hardening,
  securing Remote Management Tasks, Role Separation, Security Auditing etc zu implementieren

Zu folgenden Themen werden Demos gezeigt:

• Private key storage and vulnerability
• Risk mitigation by implementing Role Separation
• Certificate Templates handling by implementing role based delegation
• Implementing Security Auditing correctly

Wir bieten Ihnen diesen Webcast als Online-Meeting über Microsoft Lync an. Der Referent erläutert das Thema anhand von Microsoft PowerPoint Slides. Live Demos innerhalb 90 Minuten. Am Ende des Webcasts steht den Teilnehmern 30 Minuten für Fragen zur Verfügung. 

Zielgruppe
Dieser Webcast ist für die technische Entscheidungsträger sowie für PKI-Administratoren gedacht.

Level 200
(Level Skala: 100= Strategisch/ 200= technischer Überblick/ 300=tiefe Fachkenntnisse/  400= technisches Expertenwissen)

Sprache
Dieser Workshop wird in deutscher Sprache gehalten.

Anmeldung

Zur Anmeldung wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an Ihren Microsoft Technical Account Manager oder senden Sie eine Mail an peger@microsoft.com. Besuchen Sie auch unseren Microsoft Services Blog.Dort finden Sie eine Gesamtübersicht aller verfügbaren Webcasts, Workshops und Events.

Beschreibung

Der Umgang mit Identität hat sich im Zuge von Cloud-Lösungen als kritisch entwickelt. Ob nun reine Cloud-Lösungen oder Hyprid, eigenständig oder integriert mit Unternehmensverzeichnissen, Authentifizierungslösungen haben sich stark entwickelt.

In diesem Webcast beschäftigen wir uns mit Lösungen, die Sie implementieren können, wenn Sie mit Microsoft Azure, Office 365 oder andere Anwendungen, die Cloud Authentifizierung benötigt, arbeiten. Nach dem Webcast haben Sie ein besseres Verständnis für das Design von Azure AD integrierten und Azure ACS Lösungen bzw. ADFS insgesamt und wie sie sich von klassischen Active Directory Domain Services unterscheiden.

Wir bieten Ihnen diesen Webcast als Online-Meeting über Microsoft Lync an. Der Referent erläutert das Thema anhand von Microsoft PowerPoint Slides. Live Demos innerhalb 90 Minuten.  Am Ende des Webcasts steht den Teilnehmern 30 Minuten für Fragen zur Verfügung. 

Technical Highlights

Folgende Themen werden behandelt.

• the concept of SAML, claim authentication and identity federation
• the various solutions available to use and enable authentication in the cloud:

• Azure Active Directory (concepts and features, federation and identity synchronization with on-premises directories or Office 365)
• Azure ACS (features and implementation)
• ADFS solutions in Azure IaaS ( for global presence)
• Active Directory Domain Services considerations when running in Azure IaaS

Zielgruppe
Dieser Webcast richtet sich an IT Pros, die ihr Wissen über die verfügbaren Tools zu Identitäten in oder mit Microsoft Azure und Office 365 erweitern möchten. Architekten, Applikationsspezialisten oder Security Engineers erhalten nützliche Informationen in diesem Webcast.

Level 200
(Level Skala: 100= Strategisch/ 200= technischer Überblick/ 300=tiefe Fachkenntnisse/  400= technisches Expertenwissen)

Sprache
Dieser Workshop wird in deutscher Sprache gehalten.

Anmeldung
Zur Anmeldung wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an Ihren Microsoft Technical Account Manager oder senden Sie eine Mail an peger@microsoft.com.
Besuchen Sie auch unseren Microsoft Services Blog.Dort finden Sie eine Gesamtübersicht aller verfügbaren Webcasts, Workshops und Events.

Remember last time you needed a piece of equipment for an event, only to find its wasnt available for you to use in the time frame needed? Someone else booked it (or it was out of order/broken) and you had a choice of not bringing that piece of equipment or buy a new one.

Having the ability to maintain an inventory of equipment, check availability, and reserve equipement can save you tons of frustrations and money too.

In Dynamics Marketing you can manage equipment (eg Displays, Roll Ups, Travel cases etc). In most cases equipment is used for meetings, conferences, trade shows, demonstrations and events.

Example

In this example I'll be managing an event in the first two days of March and I need a large display (monitor) to present my information to the attendees.

To check which options I have for equipment I navigate to the Equipment Inventory (Marketing Execution->Event Management)

I see that we have three displays of various sizes in our organisation repository

To check availability I navigate to Equipment Availability

In the Availability chart I can easiliy see that the 90" display is reserved in the first week of March (red bar), where as the two others are available (blue bars)

To reserve the 120" display I navigate to Equipment Requests

In the grid (1) I see all the reservations, and I can initiate a new request by clicking the "+" icon (2)

In the Request form I specify equipment and date, and click Submit to save and close the form (Note: you can also specify which event the reservation is for if needed)

In the Equipment Requests grid I now see the new request listed as "Not Processed" (a user with the proper priveleges will need to approve the request before its listed as "Reserved")

The request is also now displayed in the Avalability chart (note it is color coded with the color black, indication that the reservation hasnt been approved yet)

To approve the request I navigate to Equipment Requests, select the request (1) and click the check mark icon (2)

The request is now listed as "Reserved"

And the request is now color coded with red in the Availability chart

Now perhaps I need a Travel Case for our LED displays. I navigate to the Equipment Inventory to check if we have one already.

Seeing that we dont I might go and buy a new one.

Lets pretend I did so. The case was delivered to me after a few days, and I now need to enter the new piece of equipment into our Equipment Inventory. I click "+" the open the "Add - Equipment" form

I'll provide the necessary information; name, type etc and click Submit to save and close the form

The new piece of equipment is now listed in our inventory

To request the case for my event I navigate to Equipment Requests and click "+" (1) to initiate a request

In the Request form I select the new piece of equipment and the dates I need it for, and click Submit to save and close the form

The new request is now listed in the grid as "Not Processed"

And reflected in the Availability chart as well

To see more about Equipment in Dynamics Marketing click this link

I know this blog mainly focuses on Microsoft Cloud Solutions, but any news about the next version of Windows Server definitely fits into that picture.  As I tell my customers, even if you are not ready to move everything to the cloud, the best thing you can do is to get your own datacenter ready for when that time comes.  Microsoft takes the knowledge and technologies that we use to run Windows Azure and puts them into Windows Server so you can leverage the cloud technologies in your own environment.  Check out what's new in the Windows Server Technical Preview.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn765472.aspx

J'utilise plusieurs téléphones Nokia, et comme cela peut toujours tomber, j'ai opté pour  une house de protection. Quoi de plus normal !

J'ai opté pour des produits Xeptio que je trouve de très bonne qualité.

Ce qui est intéressant, et qui est en fait la raison de ce blog, c'est que j'ai eu l'occasion il y a quelques semaines de leur remonter un "avis" sur leurs produits, et très rare de nos jours, j'ai non seulement eu un retour, mais ils ont pris en compte certaines remarques.

Alors bravo à toute l'équipe !!!

 Le saviez vous ? : Xaptio est Français !!!

Pour moi c'est cette protection : http://www.amazon.fr/Nokia-Lumia-Ultra-Style-stand/dp/B00KK2P44A/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1420213599&sr=8-9&keywords=xeptio+930

Bonne année.

The Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMPC) has recently seen an increasing number of threats using macros to spread their malicious code. This technique uses spam emails and social engineering to infect a system.

Using macros in Microsoft Office can help increase productivity by automating some processes. However, malware authors have also exploited these capabilities. Since Microsoft set the default setting to "Disable all macros with notification", the number of macro-related malware threat has declined. More recently we have seen new threats emerging that include some form of social engineering to convince users to manually enable macros and allow the malicious code to run.

Two recent macro downloaders that we have seen spreading through spam email campaigns are TrojanDownloader:W97M/Adnel and TrojanDownloader:O97M/Tarbir. These recent campaigns are one example of an increasing trend of macro malware targeting home users and enterprise customers. These threats predominantly target our customers in the US and UK. 

Figure 1: Adnel and Tarbir encounters peaked mid-December, 2014

Figure 2: Regional distribution of Adnel and Tarbir encounters during December 2014

We have seen the spam emails spreading these threats use subject lines such as:

Figure 3: Recent spam campaigns use usually money-related subject lines to entice users to open the malicious email attachment

Similar to other malware that spreads through malicious binary email attachments (for example, TrojanDownloader:Win32/Upatre), macro malware serve as an infection gateway. Once the gate is opened, in this case by opening the email attachment with macros enabled, whatever is on the other side of the gate (the malware), will enter and infect the system.

We have seen the email attachments in the Adnel and Tarbir campaigns using the attachment file names similar to those below:

• 20140918_122519.doc
• 813536MY.xls
• ACH Transfer 0084.doc
• Automated Clearing House transfer 4995.doc
• BAC474047MZ.xls
• BILLING DETAILS 4905.doc
• CAR014 151239.doc
• ID_2542Z.xls
• Fuel bill.doc
• ORDER DETAILS 9650.doc
• Payment Advice 593016.doc
• SHIPPING DETAILS 1181.doc
• SHIP INVOICE 1677.doc
• SHIPPING NO.doc

These names are again designed to look like legitimate payment files and use social engineering to convince recipients to open them. Upon opening the Microsoft Office file (in this case a Word document), a user will be prompted to enable macros. By default, the macros in Microsoft Office are set as "Disable all macros with notification". Until they are manually enabled, the malware code cannot run.

Imagine this blocking of untrusted macros is the lock on the gate, and the key to open the lock is user consent. A simple click enables the untrusted macro to run, which give the malware access to the system. This is where another social engineering trick comes in. The malware authors provide step-by-step instructions to trick the user to enable the untrusted macros by.

The following screenshot shows the contents of a spam email attachment spreading TrojanDownloader:O97M/Tarbir.

Figure 4: The malware masquerades itself as a Microsoft Office notification to mislead users into enabling macros

The combination of the instructional document, spam email with supposed monetary content, and a seemingly relevant file name, can be enough to convince an unsuspecting user to click the Enable Content button. When they do, the macro executes and downloads its payload, which is to download other malware, including TrojanDownloader:Win32/Drixed.B.

To avoid further infection from these malware types, keep this in mind:

• A file which contains a receipt or billing statement, most of the time does not need to have any macros in it.
• Be cautious of unsigned macros and macros from an untrusted source. Macro malware are usually unsigned.
• Some macro malware leave the document intentionally empty, relying on the user to think that they need to enable the macro so that they can see something. Beware of such tricks.

Microsoft security products, such as Microsoft Security Essentials, include detection for TrojanDownloader:W97M/Adnel and TrojanDownloader:O97M/Tarbir. To help stay protected we recommend you keep your security software up-to date.

We also encourage people to join our Microsoft Active Protection Service Community (MAPS) and take advantage can take advantage of the Microsoft cloud protection service.

Alden Pornasdoro
MMPC

OneDrive for Business has ETL logging is automatically set.  The log obtains data about the OneDrive for Business process, groove.exe, synchronizing.  It is in a hidden part of the your computer's user profile:  C:\Users\ProfileName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\Spw\log.  Recently, we have obtained information the symptom is that one log is created and becomes very large.  Currently, it was reported by a customer that one log was over 115 GB.

Workaround:

Microsoft support team and the our Product group are investigating why this is occurring. 

Temporary workaround until Microsoft support has fully investigated to determine root cause or more permanent resolution.  There is a registry key that can be set:

1. Launch the registry editor:

• In Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, swipe in from the right edge of the screen, and then tap Search .  (If you're using a mouse, point to the upper-right corner of the screen, move the mouse pointer down, and then click Search.)
• Type Regedit in the search box, tap or click Apps, and then tap or click Run .
• In Windows 7, click Start , type regedit in the Search programs and files box, and then press Enter.

2.  Within Regedit it, select the following to manually add the key and the two values (NOTE: Also, copy the following into Notepad, save the file as GrooveETL.reg (check that you are showing file extensions so that you are not having a .reg.txt)):

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Groove\Development]

"TraceLogCompressionEnabled"=dword:00000001

"EnableEtwTraceLogging"=dword:00000001

 3.  After adding the registry key enter in step #2 above OR after merging the above registry key, then select on the lower right side, the OneDrive for Business, and right click on the cloud, and select Exit.

4.  Launch Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) or Right-click on the taskbar, then click on Start Task Manager. 

• • • Within Task Manager select Details tab (Windows 8 or 8.1), and verify that Groove.exe is no longer listed in the Name column.
      • Within Task Manager, select Msosync.exe, and click on End Task (Windows 8 or 8.1):

• • • Windows 7:
      • Launch Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) or Right-click on the taskbar, then click on Start Task Manager.Within the Task Manager, select Processes tab, then the following:
      • Check if Groove.exe is still running.  If so, then select the OneDrive for Business cloud and right click or left click on it, and choose Exit.
      • Check if Groove process is still running, if not, then proceed to Msosync.exe. 
      • Select MsoSync.exe, then click on the button, End Process.  Follow the dialog boxes to end the process.

5.  After the two processes are closed, then proceed to the folder of:  C:\Users\ProfileName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\Spw\logs

• • • ProfileName = User's profile name, i.e. Admin or User Account name
    • A step to locate the folder, File Explorer (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/files-folders-windows-explorer), in the address bar, type in %appdata%, click on the enter key.  This will take you to the path of Roaming, then you can click in the Address bar to the Local folder, then follow the rest of the path of above.
    • Delete the file that is the one large log, in this example, it was 115 GB.  Delete it.

6.  After the log is removed, then select OneDrive for Business from the All Programs | Office 2013 | OneDrive for Business, and check if the logs are being created with normal size versus the 1 large ETL log. 

Again, once the issue is resolved, then we will report back, and you can remove the temporary workaround.

Teammates on the Office client and Web Technologies team has provided a blog on the details of the latency issue seen with saving to OneDrive for Business 2013:  http://blogs.technet.com/b/office_integration__sharepoint/archive/2014/12/29/minor-latency-when-saving-to-onedrive-for-business-from-office-2013.aspx 

Summary: Learn how to open the Windows PowerShell ISE and a script at the same time.

 How can I open a specific script and the Windows PowerShell ISE at the same time?

 Use the Windows PowerShell_ISE command from the Windows PowerShell console,
            a command prompt or the Start/Run command. Specify the –File option and supply
            one or more scripts to the command. The following command opens two scripts, Bios.ps1
            and Bogus.ps1 from the current directory:

PowerShell_ISE –file “.\Bios.ps1,Bogus.ps1”

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about why you should learn Windows PowerShell.

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. The other day, I ran into an IT pro at the mall. He recognized me and started talking to me. It was like, dude, I was trapped. It turned out that he was cool, and yapping with him was much more fun than walking around a boring mall. Although, this particular mall happens to have a Microsoft Store in it (which incidentally is why the Scripting Wife and I made the trek downtown). Hmm, come to think of it, that might also be why there happened to be an IT pro hanging around. Anyway, he asked me a question that I have taken for granted for a number of years. In fact, I was actually a bit shocked that an IT pro would even ask this question today. But it turned out to be a good experience.

Basically, he said that at work he is swamped. Really swamped. Over the past several years, their staff has literally been cut in half, but the number of servers per staff member has nearly tripled. It is working him to death. Basically, he said that he does not have time to learn Windows PowerShell. Their training budgets disappeared years ago, and there is no time off to attend free events at the Microsoft Office. There is no lab at work, so if he was to learn anything new, it has to be on his own time, at home, using whatever equipment he happens to have on hand.

When I asked him how they managed their environment at work, he told me it was basically a hodge-podge of things cobbled together over the years. Many of their solutionswere created by people who are no longer with the company, or by people who no longer have time to manage the solutionthat was created. This is because they now have new positions or so many additional responsibilities, that they have no time to fix or modify whatever was created so many years ago. Therefore, when something breaks, there is basically no one to fix it. They spend most of their time in break/fix mode, and they move from crisis to crisis.

When I asked him why he remained at the company, he told me that he felt he was lucky to have a job. As a matter of a fact, he had been looking for a new position, but his skills were pretty much out of date (they still have some NT 4.0 servers in production).

So, I told him he needed to learn Windows PowerShell. Surprisingly, he asked, “Why?”

And then I told him. Here are some of the main points I made.

Top five reasons for learning Windows PowerShell

1. It will save time.

Big time. Here is a prediction: For every hour, you spend learning Windows PowerShell, in the course of a single year, you will realize a two-fold return on the investment in your time. This value increases exponentially with the size of your network and the number of servers for which you are responsible. Note: I made this up, and there is no implied guarantee associated with this. But the numbers are also based on hundreds of conversations I have had with IT pros over the years.

Consider the following real world scenario:
You have no automation in place, and you need to create 50 new users in Active Directory. By using the graphical tools, it takes a minimum of 30 seconds per user. That is 25 hours of boring, error-prone work. But even a novice can create and run a script to create all 50 users in less than two hours. For the sake of argument, let’s say it takes five hours to research, create, and test the script. That one script still saves 20 hours of work—a tenfold payback with the very first use. And the next time another 50 users need to be created, it will take much less time to simply modify the script and run it anew.

2. It is less error prone.

As I alluded to in point number 1, it is less error prone. I don’t know about you, but I still remember a time when I was using Active Directory Users and Computers at a customer site (14 years ago). It was about 2:00 A.M. and I had been working for over 18 hours straight. I dozed off with the mouse in my hand. That was when I first learned that Microsoft had put drag-and-drop in Active Directory Users and Computers. Dude, I was panic stricken as I tried for the next several hours to find and to confirm everything that I had inadvertently moved.

If I had of written a Windows PowerShell script, a mistake like that would not have occurred. How many user names have you ever seen in Active Directory that were all lower-case, some that were first initial only, and every other possible combination of entry? How many streets are abbreviated, and how many are spelled out? Is it One Times Square, one times sq, or 1 x sq? Or is it all of these?

3. It is self-documenting.

Even if I mess up in a script, I at least know exactly what happened because my script becomes my change control. The script itself is what was done. Even when working interactively from the Windows PowerShell console, I can turn on logging. Therefore, I have a record of what was typed and what the outcome of the command was.

4. It is the Microsoft standard for automation.

Everything has Windows PowerShell in it. It is the standard for Microsoft automation. This means that I can use Windows PowerShell for Exchange Server, for SQL Server, for SharePoint, for Windows Server, for Hyper-V, for Office 365, for Azure, and so on. If I want to automate processes, configuration, maintenance, and other daily activities, Windows PowerShell is the way to go.

5. Everything you learn applies to everything else.

PowerShell is PowerShell is PowerShell. Everywhere, it the same. This means that if I use Windows PowerShell to administer Active Directory, I can also apply that knowledge to administering Exchange Server. When I learn Windows PowerShell conventions, I can sense how it will work on other products.

But that is not all because the Windows PowerShell team respects the effort you spend in learning Windows PowerShell. What I learned about Windows PowerShell 1.0 applies equally well to Windows PowerShell 4.0, and this knowledge will also provide me with a good stead when the next version comes out.

It is not like having to forget everything I learned last year to work with this year’s version of the product. There may be improvements, shortcuts, and new features, but the old ways continue to work. I have scripts that I wrote in the beta of Windows PowerShell 1.0 and they still work today.

There are many other reasons for learning Windows PowerShell, such as interaction with a great community of fellow scripters, and the fact that Windows PowerShell is just plain fun. If you become addicted to Windows PowerShell, you might even begin talking in Windows PowerShell code. I remember one time when someone asked someone else how they were doing that day, and they replied, “Dollar sign wonderful.” I am not naming names, mind you—but that actually happened, and there were witnesses!

I hope you have an awesome day.

I invite you to follow me on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy 

The cloud is integrated into the Microsoft Partner Network. Partners with active practices around Microsoft Office 365 or Microsoft Azure may attain one of three cloud performance competencies. By partnering with Microsoft, you can make money selling industry-leading cloud solutions, and your success will not only help your business grow, it will unlock additional support, enablement, and incentives with the Microsoft Partner Network.

Through June 30, 2015, the Silver competency fee for these cloud performance competencies is waived, and you can enter at the Gold level at a reduced fee.

In this post, I’ve provided information about each of the cloud performance competencies, with links to details about benefits, requirements, training, how to enroll, and additional resources. Benefits and requirements are based on each competency’s portal page.

If your company has a Microsoft Action Pack Subscription or a competency, you have access to internal use benefits for Office 365 and Azure. Activating and deploying these licenses in your business can help you increase your success in the cloud and meet the performance requirements for these competencies.

• Watch this short video about activating your Azure benefits
• Learn how using Office 365 internally can increase cloud sales

Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency

This competency is for partners selling Microsoft Office 365 to small and midmarket customers.

Competency portal page: https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/pages/membership/small-midmarket-cloud-solutions-competency.aspx 

Competency-related benefits

In addition to the core benefits you receive as a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, partners with the Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency receive these benefits:

• Incremental Microsoft Office 365 seats in addition to core Microsoft Partner Network internal-use software license benefits
• Unlimited Signature Cloud Support
• Eligible for Microsoft Online Services Advisor Accelerator for Microsoft Office 365 (sign in as an MPN member for access)
• Marketplace/Pinpoint prioritization
• [Gold competency only] Direct partner support provided by a regional contact or tele partner account manager

Competency requirements summary

Training to meet exam, certification, and assessment requirement(s)

• Follow the learning path for the Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions competency

How to enroll in this competency

Your company’s Program Administrator for the Microsoft Partner Network must sign in to the Partner Membership Center to enroll your company in the competency.

Sign in to the partner portal and check your company’s Cloud Performance Competency Status here.

• Troubleshoot Microsoft Partner Network website sign-in issues
• Solve errors during membership enrollment
• To obtain support for competency enrollment, please call 1-800-MPNSOLV (676-7658) or use the Partner Membership forum in the Partner Support Community to request one-to-one assistance from an agent

 Additional resources

• Cloud SureStep– three phases to help you make money in the cloud  
• Take the new Office 365 Practice Accelerator for SMB course at no cost through March. Details here.
• Microsoft Partner Technical Services can assist you in all stages of your Microsoft Office 365 sales cycle. See their offerings to help you win more deals, deploy more seats, and resolve product specific issues.
• Microsoft Office 365 on the partner portal

Cloud Productivity competency

This competency is for partners deploying Microsoft Office 365 for enterprise customers.

Competency portal page: https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/pages/membership/cloud-productivity-competency.aspx

Competency-related benefits

In addition to the core benefits you receive as a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, partners with the Cloud Productivity competency receive these benefits:

• Incremental Microsoft Office 365 seats, in addition to core Microsoft Partner Network internal-use software license benefits
• Unlimited Signature Cloud Support
• Eligibility for Microsoft Online Services Advisor and Deploy Accelerator for Microsoft Office 365 (additional requirements apply) [Sign in as an MPN member for access to content]
• Eligibility to participate in the Microsoft Office 365 Adoption Offer
• Marketplace/Pinpoint Prioritization
• [Gold competency only] Eligibility for Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS)
• [Gold competency only] Direct partner support provided by a regional contact or tele partner account manager

Competency requirements summary

Training to meet exam, certification, and assessment requirement(s)

• Follow the learning path for the Cloud Productivity competency

How to enroll in this competency

Your company’s Program Administrator for the Microsoft Partner Network must sign in to the Partner Membership Center to enroll your company in the competency.

Sign in to the partner portal and check your company’s Cloud Performance Competency Status here.

• Troubleshoot Microsoft Partner Network website sign-in issues
• Solve errors during membership enrollment
• To obtain support for competency enrollment, please call 1-800-MPNSOLV (676-7658) or use the Partner Membership forum in the Partner Support Community to request one-to-one assistance from an agent

 Additional resources

• Download the Office 365 Playbook for Enterprise Partners
• Microsoft Partner Technical Services can assist you in all stages of your Microsoft Office 365 sales cycle. See their offerings to help you win more deals, deploy more seats, and resolve product specific issues.
• Microsoft Office 365 on the partner portal

Cloud Platform competency

For partners specializing in delivering infrastructure and software as a service (SaaS) solutions on Microsoft Azure.

Competency portal page: https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/pages/membership/cloud-platform-competency.aspx

Competency-related benefits

In addition to the core benefits you receive as a member of the Microsoft Partner Network, partners with the Cloud Platform competency receive these benefits:

• Microsoft Azure internal-use software licenses in addition to core Microsoft Partner Network internal-use software license benefits
• Unlimited Signature Cloud Support
• Eligibility for Azure Deployment Planning Services. Learn more about AZDPS.
• Eligibility to participate in Azure Special Offers
• Marketplace/Pinpoint Prioritization
• Eligibility to deploy certain on-premises, internal-use software on Microsoft Azure. Learn more about IUR Mobility
• [Gold competency only] Direct partner support provided by a regional contact or tele partner account manager

Competency requirements summary

Training to meet exam, certification, and assessment requirement(s)

• Follow the learning path for the Cloud Platform competency

How to enroll in this competency

Your company’s Program Administrator for the Microsoft Partner Network must sign in to the Partner Membership Center to enroll your company in the competency.

Sign in to the partner portal and check your company’s Cloud Performance Competency Status here.

• Troubleshoot Microsoft Partner Network website sign-in issues
• Solve errors during membership enrollment
• To obtain support for competency enrollment, please call 1-800-MPNSOLV (676-7658) or use the Partner Membership forum in the Partner Support Community to request one-to-one assistance from an agent

 Additional resources

• Learn about the major market opportunities partners have with Microsoft Azure (download)
• Microsoft Partner Technical Services can assist you in all stages of your Microsoft Azure sales cycle. See their offerings to help you win more deals, deploy more seats, and resolve product specific issues.
• Learn about the Cloud Platform competency sales goal requirement
• Microsoft Azure on the partner portal

Happy New Year to ALL Wiki Ninjas!!

In Kyoto (World Best City and my hometown), Japan, I was able to see very very beautiful scenery because it snowed from the beginning of the new year. It is the heaviest snowfall in Kyoto City in the last 58 years. Yes, 58 years! There will be the area of the heavy snow which is greater than Kyoto, Please take good care of yourself. The following photo is Kinkakuji Temple (One of the most famous sights in Japan) this morning.

Okay, Today is the 1st "Progress in Each Language" in this year.

The end of December is as follows:

The topic of this month:

• Spanish posted 130 articles and They outdistanced French.
• No order changes.

Look Back on 2014

I looked back the number of articles contributed for one year.

TechNet Wiki continued growing up this year. The Language which showed the most remarkable activity is Turkish. Turkish's contribution growth rate for this year is more than 100%. On the other hand, Simplified Chinese showed sharp growth in the end of this year. With this, from Russian(6th) to Indonesian(12th), 7 languages came close very much.

Thank you!!

Tomoaki Yoshizawa (yottun8)
TechNet Profile: Tomoaki Yoshizawa
twitter: @yottun8
Facebook: Tomoaki Yoshizawa

Jan.

03

Script Download:  
The script is available for download from https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com//How-to-remove-secondary-e690ce08.  You can also use  Microsoft Script Browser for Windows PowerShell ISE to download the sample with one button click from within your scripting environment. 

This script sample is used to remove secondary email address in bulk in EXO

You can find more All-In-One Script Framework script samples at http://aka.ms/onescriptingallery

In 2014 many Community members shared their knowledge and appreciated for helping the TechNet Wiki "pt-br" grow up too.

See below for a "small retrospective" of Best Moments of who collaborated with Portuguese articles and also on TechNet "Wiki Ninjas Brazil" blog.

Today my post was inspired by Alan and Hezequias who recently wrote:

- Quinta-Feira - Conselho Spotlight - O que aconteceu na comunidade TechNet Wiki em 2014?

- Wiki Life - Feliz Ano Novo!

Featured Articles

Who recently went to our TechNet Wiki already know this Portal.

 You can remember everything related to "Featured Articles" on TechNet Wiki (pt-br) in using the tag: Artigo em Destaque.

We have an "aka"

We also have shortened URL from Microsoft.

See and memorize ... The Portuguese TechNet Wiki link's: http://aka.ms/wiki-ptbr

"A picture is worth a thousand words"

Now let's quickly access our TechNet Wiki Portal !!!

You can remember this announcement on post Quinta-Feira - Conselho Spotlight: Nós temos um "aka"

New MVP's

Whole Community can feel proud of important mission to our members: The sharing and improving of knowledge to us.

When receiving this award is just a confirmation that TechNet Wiki can value the work carried out.

See below our members that became MVP's (in alphabetical order):

- Andre R. Novello

- Eduardo Sena

- Rodrigo Romano

- Vinicius Mozart

You can remember this announcement on post Quinta-Feira - Conselho Spotlight: TechNet Wiki ajudando a formar novos MVP´s

"TechNet Wiki Day" awards

They were the Best of the Year and were awarded one of the most important awards on TechNet Community:

February, 2014: SharePoint 2013: Exportando dados da lista para Excel by Demétrio Silva March, 2014: Filtro de lista no Outlook 2010 com lista do SharePoint 2010 by Denis Roberto Felix April, 2014: Windows 8 / Server 2012 - Identificar características da ISO by Caio Vilas Boas May, 2014: Criando aplicações Windows Phone 8.1 e Windows 8.1 usando o App Studio da Microsoft by Sara MG Silva June, 2014: Analisando o desempenho de uma aplicação by Italo Pessoa August, 2014 Passos de troubleshooting para cenários de Slow Logon e Slow Boot by Fernando H. Silva September, 2014 Balanceamento de Carga - SQL Server by Tulio Rosa October, 2014 Preparando o Ambiente e Instalando o System Center Configuration Manager 2012 R2 by Walter Teixeira November, 2014 Grupos de Colaboração do Office 365 by Mauricio Cassemiro December, 2014  in soon !!!

You can remember everything related to "TNWiki Day award" on TechNet Wiki (pt-br) in using the tag:TechNet Wiki Day.

Wiki Ninjas Blog "Brazil" - The Current authors

All this has earned a special mention due to great job of Blog authors.

So I need to give thanks to who collaborated with Wiki Ninjas Brazil Blog in 2014 (in alphabetical order):

Alan Nascimento Carlos 

Daniel Donda

Durval Ramos 

Fernando Lugão Veltem

Hezequias Vasconcelos

Jefferson Castilho

Luciano Lima

Luiz Henrique Lima Campos

"Who Has What" Ninjas Belt ranking in "Brazil"

Many began to look for more information and producing articles to change your Ninja Belt.

You can remember this announcement on post Sexta-Feira - Atualização internacional - Quem possui as faixas Wiki Ninjas no Brasil?

Portuguese FaceBook Reformulated

Inspired by all International contributions on FaceBook, we also updated our Fan Page and create a Group for those who "likes" the TechNet Wiki.

You can remember this announcement on post Domingo - Final de Semana Surpresa - Wiki Ninjas Brasil no Facebook

We received "Translation Challenge" award

This Challenge had a great contest with more than "200 articles" translated into 8 different languages.

The TechNet Wiki awarded our Community with new Wiki Ninjas images, related to translations and "soccer".

You can remember this announcement on post Sexta-Feira - Atualização Internacional da Comunidade - Homenagem aos Bi-campeões do "Desafio"

I hope you remember to "a little" work of Lusitanian-Brazilian Community has inspired all who speak Portuguese (who knows ... we can also inspire other members in different languages) to create even more great articles in 2015.

Happy new year TechNet and MSDN Communities !!!

See you soon here !

Brazilian Wiki Ninja Durval

Bem-vindos à mais um Sábado de Atualização Semanal dos principais contribuintes em nosso TechNet Wiki, mas este post no Blog é "especial" !

Vamos destacar a evolução da Comunidade em nosso http://aka.ms/wiki-ptbr.

ESTATÍSTICAS

Esta é a análise das contribuições do Technet Wiki (pt-BR) ao longo do ano de 2014.

Essas estatísticas gerais e também os levantamentos do Progresso de cada Idioma foram realizados mensalmente por Tomoaki Yoshizawa. 

Nossa Comunidade teve um crescimento expressivo!

Tivemos uma adesão de 53% de novos usuários que contribuíram criando, revisando ou comentando diversos artigos.

O maior crescimento anual de membros da Comunidade desde que o TechNet Wiki(pt-BR) foi criado.

Uma marca histórica!!!

O idioma Português também atingiu à marca de 3.888 artigos, somando TNWiki (legado) + TNWiki (pt-BR) + migração do "Nokia Wiki".

Isto corresponde à um aumento de 18% em novos artigos, muito menor que o desempenho de 2013, quando à Comunidade criou uma quantidade incrível de artigos com um crescimento de 37%.

Em compensação, à qualidade dos artigos melhorou significativamente e hoje temos diversos artigos vencedores dos principais prêmios da Comunidade: o TechNet Guru e o TechNet Wiki Day.

Ultrapassamos à marca de 10.000 revisões, o que mostra a Comunidade se movimentando constantemente para manter os artigos atualizados.

Todas estas informações motivam para que possamos criar e compartilhar mais conhecimento em 2015.

Um trabalho excelente de todos!!! Tenho muito orgulho de ser parte desta Comunidade.

DESTAQUES

Tivemos diversos colaboradores se destacando durante o ano de 2014.

Blog TechNet "Wiki Ninjas"

Alguns mostraram comprometimento com o TechNet Wiki e se tornaram autores no Blog TechNet "Wiki Ninjas", são eles (em ordem alfabética):

- Alan Nascimento Carlos

- Jefferson Castilho

Obrigado pelo empenho em divulgar artigos e os destaques do TNWiki em 2014 !!!

Outros tiveram seus artigos premiados por publicar uma solução útil para toda Comunidade e, claro, de acordo com às Boas Práticas do TNWiki.

Normalmente destacamos os artigos premiados, mas nessa "Retrospectiva" vou citar estes autores que contribuem para o alto nível de nossa Comunidade (em ordem alfabética):

Prêmio "TechNet Wiki Day"

- Caio Vilas Boas

- Demétrio Silva

- Denis Roberto Felix

- Fernando H. Silva

- Italo Pessoa

- Mauricio Cassemiro

- Sara MG Silva

- Tulio Rosa

- Walter Teixeira

Prêmio "TechNet Guru"

- Alan Nascimento Carlos

- Durval Ramos

- João Eduardo Sousa

- Rafael Mantovani

- Sandro Pereira

- Sara MG Silva

Parabéns pelo prêmio e obrigado por compartilhar artigos úteis e com qualidade técnica excepcional.

 
MVP

Poucos realizaram um trabalho incrível e se destacaram pelas suas contribuições.

Eles mereceram receber o título de MVP's em 2014 (em ordem alfabética):

- Andre R. Novello

- Eduardo Sena

- Rodrigo Romano

- Vinicius Mozart

Simplesmente, merecido !

Parabéns à todos pelas excelentes contribuições em 2014.

Gostaria de agradecer o empenho dos Maiores Contribuintes de nossa Comunidade.

Desejo que 2015 seja repleto de conquistas e realizações "especiais" para todos, com muita saúde e paz !

Até +,

Wiki Ninja Durval Ramos ( Blog, Twitter, Wiki, Perfil )

There are independent experts awarded by Microsoft annually and they can be a great asset to you when you need elite support.

Who are MVPs?

As noted in partial extracts from a reference letter by Steven Guggenheimer Corporate Vice President Developer Experience & Evangelism:
The Microsoft MVP Award is an annual award that recognizes exceptional technology community leaders worldwide who actively share their high quality, real world expertise with users and Microsoft…With fewer than 4,000 awardees worldwide, Microsoft MVPs represent a highly select group of experts. MVPs share a deep commitment to community and a willingness to help others. They represent the diversity of today’s technical communities. MVPs are present in over 90 countries, spanning more than 30 languages, and over 70 Microsoft technologies. MVPs share a passion for technology, a willingness to help others, and a commitment to community. These are the qualities that make MVPs exceptional community leaders. MVPs’ efforts enhance people’s lives and contribute to our industry’s success in many ways. By sharing their knowledge and experiences, and providing objective feedback, they help people solve problems and discover new capabilities every day. MVPs are technology’s best and brightest…an exceptional group of individuals from around the world who have demonstrated a willingness to reach out, share their technical expertise with others and help individuals maximize their use of technology.

How do you find them?

There is a dedicated web site for MVPs at https://mvp.microsoft.com/en-US/default.aspx and the blog. Here are a few sample blogs spotlighting their top expertise:

SQL Server 2014 DML Triggers: Tips & Tricks from the Field

Share and Collaborate with Your Team Using Office 365

Dynamics CRM 2015 Calculated Fields

Want help from an MVP?

This IDG-IT World article delves in details about MVPs and how to contact them:

http://www.itworldcanada.com/blog/looking-for-help-mvps-are-the-answer/84354

Here are a sample of news updates from IFIP:

- Message from the President, Leon Strous

- 2014 World CIO Forum November 2014 held in Xi’an China

- 23rd World Computer Congress Oct 4-7, 2015 Daejeon South Korea

- News from IFIP’s Italian member AICA

- IP3 News

- CIPS BC Victoria luncheon with BC Minister of Technology, Innovation & Citizen’s services

- Link to the IFIP NEWS

http://www.ifip.org/images/stories/ifip/public/Newsletter/2013to2014/news_dec_2014.pdf

I spoke at the IFIP General Assembly in Vienna and was vice-chair international steering committee for the World CIO Forum (WCF). At the WCF, I chaired and spoke at the opening plenary dialogue panel session with CEO and CIOs and was invited to award the top 100 CIOs. I have several interviews from the IFIP World CIO Forum which will appear in IT Manager. The insights shared will be of value to you. The one area requiring your attention is the rapid progress made in Big Data, deep learning, machine learning and using these tools in the enterprise. Microsoft Azure has significantly enhanced their offerings and I would encourage having a trial. I noted trends to watch in these articles:

http://blogs.technet.com/b/cdnitmanagers/archive/2014/12/12/what-are-the-technology-trends-at-the-international-ces.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/cdnitmanagers/archive/2014/10/20/microsoft-azure-with-real-time-analytics-for-hadoop-and-machine-learning.aspx