Office 365 upgrade

http://community.office365.com/en-us/wikis/solutions/fix-outlook-connection-problems-after-office-365-upgrade.aspx

Some people who have been recently upgraded from the pre-upgrade version of Office 365, are having connectivity problems with Outlook. There are a few things that can cause issues. The most common cause seen by Support is an outdated operating system or software, so you should check that first. If that meets requirements, continue to go through the steps below in order. Test your Outlook connection between each step. If you’ve completed the steps below and are still having issues, post the details of your situation to this discussion in the Email and calendar forum.

Important: It may take over 48 hours to complete the upgrade of a particular tenant. If you have questions about your upgrade, see Office 365 Service Upgrade Center for Enterprise or Office 365 Service Upgrade Center for Small Business. If you have questions about what to expect while your tenant is being upgraded, read the Guide to the Office 365 Service Upgrade for 2013.

Step 1. Make sure that your operating system and software is up to date

1. Check the version of your software and your operating system to see if they meet the minimum requirements for Office 365. There’s a list of all the minimum software requirements located here. If the versions that you are using aren’t supported, you’ll need to upgrade. You can continue to send and receive email and manage your calendar and contacts in Outlook Web App.
2. If your operating system and software meet requirements, you might just need to install a software update for Outlook. Run Windows Update to install the latest patches and feature updates.

Step 2. Repairing your Outlook profile may resolve your connection issue

How do I repair my Outlook 2007 profile?

1. In Outlook 2007, on the Tools menu, click Account Settings.
2. In the Account Settings dialog box, on the E-mail tab, select your account, and then click Repair. Follow any prompts from the repair wizard.
3. When the repair is done, restart Outlook 2007.

How do I repair my Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2013 profile?

1. In Outlook 2010 (or Outlook 2013), on the File tab, click the arrow next to Account Settings, and then click Account Settings.
2. In the Account Settings dialog box, on the E-mail tab, select your account, and then click Repair. Follow any prompts from the repair wizard.
3. When the repair is done, restart Outlook 2010.

For more details on how to repair your Outlook profile including instructions for other Outlook clients go to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2847916.

Step 3. Verify Connectivity and Autodiscover settings

Use the Microsoft Remote Connectivity Analyzer to test Autodiscover for your account. If you have repaired your Outlook profile and are still experiencing issues, administrators can follow the directions in this link to correct the Autodiscover DNS settings. If you need help with this diagnostic tool, you can read more about how to use it for troubleshooting email problems here.

Step 4. Still having connectivity problems?

If you have completed the steps above, but are still experiencing connectivity issues with Microsoft Outlook, please contact Support.

To submit a new service request or to find a phone number for your country or region, sign in to Office 365. On the Admin Overview page, on the left pane, under Support, click Overview.

However, Microsoft has two possible solutions for this issue:

1. Within OWA:

a. Open the email in question

b. Click anywhere in the body of the email.

c. Hold <ctrl> and hit S. This will open the Save window.

d. Keep the filename offered, or the email file will not open.

e. Choose the folder in which you wish to save the email.

f. Click Save

g. The email is saved as web-file (MHTML Document).

h. You will not be able to reopen the file unless you are logged into your OWA account, so I believe it may defeat the purpose of saving the file to your desktop in the first place.

2. You can use an email client, such as Outlook, to connect to your Office 365 account.

a. You can download and install a free trial of Office 2013 Professional Plus, which includes Outlook 2013 by following the instructions in this article: http://community.office365.com/en-us/wikis/upgrade/4177.aspx

b. From the client, you can save email messages to your desktop, or to any folder.

c. These saved files can then be reopened through the client, even when working offline.

Sad, but true. Unfortunately, for our client we had to go back to Outlook 2003 and configure as a POP account so they could save mail messages as text files to their file server.

When you need help with your issues, give us a try, call 425-260-9701.

 Start with the basics
Data analysis made simple
Spreadsheets in the cloud

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/learn-where-menu-and-toolbar-commands-are-in-office-2010-HA101794130.aspx

Learn where menu and toolbar commands are in Office 2010 and related products applies to: Microsoft Access 2010, Excel 2010, InfoPath 2010, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, Publisher 2010, Word 2010

For example, more advanced features such as Word Forms or analyzing data in Excel.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/

…and for Office 365 Hosted Exchange users, you may want to share this one with your team: Outlook

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/

To give a user full access to another user’s mailbox ________________________________________

1. In Active Directory Users and Computers, right-click the organization domain name, point to View, and then click Advanced Features.

2. Click the Users container or the organizational unit where the user is located.

3. Right-click the user account, and then click Properties.

4. Click Exchange Advanced, and then click Mailbox Rights.

5. Click Add to add a user to the list of users that are allowed to access this mailbox.

6. In the permissions list, for the Full Mailbox Access permission, select the Allow check box.

Yes, it really does help and yes, we have a streamlined version that we rewrote that is understandable. Call for help 425-491-7348

http://www.sbacoach.com/365/Discovery_KeyActivitiesSummary.pdf

The Microsoft Office 365 Deployment Guide helps you understand the requirements and workflows that are necessary when you introduce Office 365 to your organization. See the link above for a table to help identify the scenario that closely resembles your own environment and needs. You can then determine which deployment path to take or call us and we’ll walk you through it.

We’ve been moving small businesses into Microsoft Online Services since 2009.

Jun 11, 2012

The Federal Aviation Administration will move 80,000 employees to Microsoft Office 365, giving them secure access to e-mail, instant messaging, calendaring and Web conferencing tools from virtually any device. 

Helping employees to be both efficient and innovative was a key driver in the FAA’s decision to move to the cloud, according to a Microsoft blog. However, as a cloud productivity service, Office 365 also will support the FAA’s broader NextGen initiative to make air travel more convenient and dependable for people, said Curt Kolcun, vice president of the U.S. Public Sector division at Microsoft Corp.

http://gcn.com/articles/2012/06/11/faa-office-365-enterprise-messaging.aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-foundation-help/sharepoint-document-libraries-i-an-introduction-RZ101930528.aspx

About this course

This course includes:

• One self-paced lesson.
• A short test at the end of the lesson. The test is not scored.
• A Quick Reference Card you can print at the end of the course

Sending email to everyone you know isn’t target marketing, it’s unsolicited mail. Be specific with your intention and in your message; you’ll garner more respect from your existing clients and generate new demand. Yes, the law of attraction at work, again.

Worthwhile read from HBR: http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/three_myths_about_customer_eng.html?referral=00563&cm_mmc=email-_-newsletter-_-daily_alert-_-alert_date

Myth #1: Most consumers want to have relationships with your brand.

Myth #2: Interactions build relationships.

Myth #3: The more interaction the better.

http://www.partnerpoint.com/News/EntryId/642/Download-Windows-8-Release-Preview-Here-FAQ.aspx

Microsoft’s Office 365 Jump Start Series http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/video//office-365-jump-start-01-microsoft-office-365-overview-for-it-pros

 Free Registration

 WHEN: every Friday starting June 1 – August 31 (11am-12pm PST)

 WHERE: Online using Lync – RSVP for invitation

 WHY: This Microsoft Office 365 Overview provides an excellent perspective of the overall value Office 365 provides to modern organizations in terms of productivity, access, familiarity, security, control and reliability.

 1) Help IT Pros better understand the options and advantages

2) Help prospective business owners get an inside view of Office 365 technology

 WHO: Anyone interested in finding out more about Microsoft Online Services; Information Workers, Partners, Vendors, Business Owners, IT Professionals, IT Directors, CIO

 PRESENTER: Susan Melchert, MS Partner VAR

 If you are interested in presenting, please contact me directly and reserve your topic week; we’d love to hear from you.

 Susan Melchert, MBA Technology

Office 365 Sales and Support

Group Organizer

425-491-7348

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/basic-tasks-in-sharepoint-online-for-office-365-beta-for-enterprises-HA101988923.aspx

Here are some basic tasks and information to help you learn how to use SharePoint Online for Office 365 for enterprises.

• Introduction to SharePoint Online
• Parts of a site
• Site specifics that affect your experience
• Permissions and access
• Adding content to a site
• Managing and working with site content

Introduction to SharePoint Online

SharePoint Online provides a single, integrated location where employees can efficiently collaborate with team members, share knowledge, and find organizational resources and information.

When you begin, the SharePoint Online site consists of at least a top-level site that your site collection administrator created, and it may contain one or more subsites below that. Your sites can be based on one of many site templates and, with the appropriate permissions, you can create various subsites.

For example, your top-level site could be a Team Site that organizations, teams, or groups can use to connect with each other and collaborate on documents and other files. You and coworkers could use the Team Site to store documents and share them with other users, post official announcements, schedule meetings, track tasks and issues, store information in lists, and so on. Below the team site, you could have a team blog for employees to share information, or a social meeting workspace to organize team events, company meetings, and so on.

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Parts of a site

A site is a group of related Web pages where your team can work on projects, store data and documents, and share information. For example, your team might have its own site where it stores schedules, files, and procedural information. All SharePoint sites have common elements that you should know about to get started: lists, libraries, Web Parts, and views.

Lists    A list is a Web site component where your organization can store, share, and manage information. For example, you can create a task list to track work assignments or track team events on a calendar. You can also conduct a survey or host discussions on a discussion board.

Libraries    A library is a special type of list that stores files as well as information about files. You can control how documents are viewed, tracked, managed, and created in libraries.

Views    You can use views to see the items in a list or library that are most important to you or that best fit a purpose. For example, you can create a view of all the items in a list that apply to a specific department, or to highlight particular documents in a library. You can create multiple views of a list or library that people can select from. You can also use a Web Part to display a view of a list or library on a separate page of your site.

Web Parts    A Web Part is a modular unit of content that forms a basic building block of most pages on a site. If you have permission to edit pages on your site, you can use Web Parts to customize your site to display pictures and charts, portions of other Web pages, lists of documents, customized views of business data, and more.

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Site specifics that affect your experience

The specifics of your installation and configuration of SharePoint affect what you see and what options are available to you on your site.

Permissions    If you are assigned to the Full Control permission level, you have the full range of options to manage the site. If you are assigned to the Contribute or Read permission level, your options and access to site content are more limited. Many of the options discussed in this article are not available to users with the Reader permission level, which allows users to read content but not make changes to it. Because permissions are designed to be flexible and customizable, your organization may have its own unique settings.

Customization    Your organization may have customized the permissions and branding of your site, or even customized site navigation and moved controls such as the Site Actions menu to a different location on the page. Similarly, your organization may have decided not to use the ribbon functionality introduced in SharePoint 2010.

Version of SharePoint    This article discusses how to get started in SharePoint Online for Office 365 for enterprises. If your organization has subscribed to a different Office 365 plan, or if you are using a previous version of SharePoint, see the Help for that plan or version.

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Permissions and access

To access the site, you need to have the appropriate permissions. By default, most users on your site are given permission to contribute to the site. A few people are likely to have permission to design the site. Site collection administrators can manage permissions for people on all sites. Site owners can manage permissions for people only on the sites they own.

The basic permission levels in SharePoint are Full Control, Design, Contribute, and Read. Permission levels are combinations of permissions that are bundled together typically based on the nature of work. For example, you can assign the Contribute permission level to a user who will add content to the Team Site, or the Design permission level to a user who will design the site. For more information on roles and permission levels, see Roadmap: Grant permissions for a site.

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Adding content to a site

In either the Team Site or the Website, you can add items to lists and files to libraries by using a Web browser. The buttons you use to perform the most common actions are on the ribbon, which is near the top of the page on most pages of a site.

Buttons on the ribbon may be grayed out for any of the following reasons:

• The action is not applicable or it depends on some other action. For example, you must select the check box for a document before you can check it out.
• You do not have permission to complete the task.
• The feature is not enabled for the site. For example, workflows may not be enabled on the site.

You can also save files to a library from some client programs that are compatible with SharePoint Online. For example, you can save a Microsoft Word document to a library on a SharePoint site while you work in Word.

To add an item to a list or a file to a library, you must have permission to contribute to the list or library. For more information about how your organization uses permissions and permission levels, ask your site owner or administrator.

When you add the item or file, other people who have permission to read the list can view the item or file, unless it requires approval. If the item or file requires approval, then it is stored in a pending state in the list or library, until someone with the appropriate permissions approves it. If you are already viewing the list or library when an item or file is added, you may need to refresh your browser to see the new item or file.

In addition to adding content to existing lists and libraries, you may have permission to create new lists and libraries. The list and library templates give you a head start. Depending on your permission level, you can also create and customize new pages and sites.

Lists (including calendars and contacts)

Although there are different types of lists, including calendars and contacts lists, the procedure for adding items to them is similar, so you don’t need to learn several new techniques to work with different types of lists. A list item contains text in a series of columns, but some lists may allow attachments to be added to the item.

Add an item to a list

1. In the list where you want to add the item, click the Items tab on the ribbon. (It’s the Events tab for a calendar.)
2. Click New Item (New Eventfor a calendar). Tip    Another quick way to add an event to a calendar is to point to the date on the calendar, and then click Add.
3. Complete the required fields and any others that you want to complete.
4. Click Save.

Edit or delete an item in a list

1. Point to an item and then select the check box that appears next to the item. Tip    You can perform actions on multiple items by selecting multiple check boxes.
2. On the Items tab on the ribbon, click either Edit Item or Delete Item, as appropriate.

On many types of sites, some lists are created for you. These default lists range from a discussion board to a calendar list. If you have permission, you can also create lists from several types of list templates, which provide structure and settings to give you a head start.

Create a list

1. To create a list, click the Site Actions menu , and then click More create options. Note    If you do not see the Site Actions menu or if the option to create does not appear, you might not have permission to create a list.
2. On the Create page, click the type of list you want to create. For example, Links.
3. Type a Name for the list, complete any other fields you want to complete, and then click Create.

Libraries

A library is a location on a site where you can create, collect, update, and manage files with team members. Each library displays a list of files and key information about the files, which helps people to use the files to work together.

You can add a file to a library by uploading it from your Web browser. After you add the file to the library, other people with the appropriate permission can see the file. If you are already viewing the library when a file is added, you may need to refresh your browser to see the new file.

If you are using a program that is compatible with SharePoint Online, you can create a new file based on a template while you are working in the library. You can also save a file to the library from another program such as SharePoint Workspace or Microsoft Word.

Add a file to a library

1. In the library where you want to add the file, click the Documents tab on the ribbon.
2. Click Upload Document.
3. Browse to the document and then click OK.

 Tip    If you are using a program that is compatible with SharePoint Online, such as Microsoft Word 2010, you can drag and drop documents from Windows Explorer into the Upload Document dialog box.

Edit or delete a file in a library

1. Point to a file and then select the check box that appears next to the file.
2. On the Documents tab on the ribbon, click either Edit Document or Delete Document, as appropriate.

A default library, called Shared Documents, is created for you when you create many types of sites. Shared Documents is a document library that you can use for storing several types of files. You can create more libraries, such as a picture library for storing images, if you have permission to manage lists.

Create a document library

1. To create a document library, click the Site Actions menu , and then click New Document Library. Note    If you do not see the Site Actions menu or if the option to create does not appear, you may not have permission to create a library.
2. Type a Name for the library, complete any other fields you want to complete, and then click Create.

 Note    To see the other types of libraries you can create, click Site Actions, and then click More create options. Point to a library option to see a description of it.

Sites and pages

A site can serve a general purpose, such as storing schedules, guidelines, files, and other information that your team refers to frequently. Or a site may serve a more specific purpose, such as keeping track of a meeting, or hosting a blog, where a member of your organization frequently posts news and ideas.

Your organization can divide site content into distinct, separately manageable sites. For example, each department in your organization may have its own team site.

You can add content to sites by adding lists and libraries. If you have permission, you can also add pages to your site. You may consider adding Web Part Pages (Web Part Page: A special type of Web page that contains one or more Web Parts. A Web Part Page consolidates data, such as lists and charts, and Web content, such as text and images, into a dynamic information portal built around a common task.), which enable you to use Web Parts to add dynamic content quickly.

If you need to create new sites, you can choose from several types of site templates to give you a head start on creating a new site. Whether you can create sites and subsites depends on how your organization has set up its sites and its permissions to create them.

Create a site

1. To create a site, click the Site Actions menu , and then click New site. Note    If you do not see the Site Actions menu or if the option to create does not appear, you may not have permission to create a site.
2. Select a site template from Featured Items or after clicking Browse All to see all the options.
3. Type a Title and URL name for the site.
4. If you are selecting a template from the Browse All gallery, choose any other options you want, and then click Create.

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Managing and working with site content

To help your team be more productive, there are several ways that you can manage and extend content in lists, libraries, and sites. Some features help your team to find and work more efficiently with information. Other features help you manage the access to the information.

Navigating to content

Navigation elements help people to browse through the content that they need. Two navigation items that you can customize are the top link bar and the Quick Launch.

By using the settings pages for each list or library, you can choose which lists and libraries appear on the Quick Launch. You can also change the order of links, add or delete links, and add or delete the sections into which the links are organized. For example, if you have too many lists in the List section, you can add a new section for Tasks Lists where you can include links to your tasks lists. You can make all of these changes to the Quick Launch from within a Web browser. You can even add links to pages outside the site.

The top link bar provides a way for users of your site to get to other sites in the site collection by displaying a row of tabs at the top of every page in the site. When you create a new site, you can choose whether to include the site on the top link bar of the parent site and whether to use the top link bar from the parent site.

If your site is using a unique top link bar, you can customize the links that appear on the top link bar for the site. Any sites that are created within the parent site can also be displayed on the top link bar, provided that the sites are configured to inherit the top link bar of the parent site. You can also include links to other sites outside of your site collection.

Managing access to content

A site owner or administrator can grant permission levels to users and to SharePoint groups, which contain users. The permissions can be applied to a site, the lists and libraries on a site, and the items in the lists and libraries.

You can assign different permission levels for different objects, such as a specific site, list, library, folder within a list or library, list item, or document.

Organizing lists and libraries

How you organize your lists and libraries depends on the needs of your group and on how you prefer to store and search for your information. Some planning can help you to set up the structure that works best for your organization.

Information in lists and libraries is stored in columns, such as Title, Last Name, or Company. You can use columns to sort and filter items as you would in a spreadsheet by clicking the column headings in a list or library. You can also use views to see the items in a list or library that are most important to you.

Change the view of a list or library

1. In the list or library where you want to change the view, click the List or Library tab on the ribbon.
2. In the Manage Views group, under Current View, click the arrow next to the views list, and then select a view.

If you need to store additional information about list items or files in a library, you can add columns to help you sort, group, and create multiple views of your list. For example, you can sort a list by due date or group the items by department name.

You have several options for the type of column that you create, including a single line of text, a drop-down list of options, a number that is calculated from other columns, or even the name and picture of a person on your site.

Create a column

1. In the list or library where you want to create the column, click the List or Library tab on the ribbon.
2. Click Create Column.
3. Type a name for the column and select a column type.
4. Select any additional settings and then click OK.

You can also use the columns in a list or library to create views to help specific departments find the information that they are most interested in, such as tasks with the highest priority or all the items assigned to each person. For information about creating and modifying views, see Create, modify, or delete a view.

Some features of lists can help your team to create and manage items efficiently across several lists or libraries. For example, you can create a column that provides information about list items and then share it across other lists. Or, if you want to make a file available in multiple libraries, you can easily copy it to other libraries on your site. You can be prompted for updates if the file has changed.

For information about managing large lists and libraries, see Manage lists and libraries with many items.

Using accessibility features

Sites are designed so that lists, libraries, and other features can be fully accessed by using only keystrokes. A More Accessible Mode enables users of accessible technologies to more easily interact with menus and various controls. Skip to Main Content links enable keyboard users to skip over repetitive navigation links to the more meaningful content on a page.

The markup of headings is designed to better define the structure and improve navigation for people who use screen readers. Images that are uploaded to the site allow for custom alternative text to be defined. For example, you can assign custom alternative text to the image that appears on the home page in the Site Image Web Part or to a picture that you add to a picture library. For viewing sites, the high contrast options in Windows work well for users with low vision.

For more information about browsing sites and using More Accessible Mode, see Accessibility features.

Tracking versions

Your list or library may be set up to track versions, so that you can restore a previous version if you make a mistake and view a version history of the changes. When versions are tracked, revisions to the items or files and their properties are stored. This enables you to better manage content as it is revised and even to restore a previous version if you make a mistake in the current version. Versioning is especially helpful when several people work together on projects or when information goes through several stages of development and review.

 The current published major version is highlighted, and the version number is a whole number.

 A version is created when properties or metadata changes.

 The first version of a file is always minor version number 0.1.

Versioning is available for list items in all default list types — including calendars, issue-tracking lists, and custom lists — and for all file types that can be stored in libraries, including Web Part pages.

Co-authoring documents

Two or more users can edit a Word document or PowerPoint presentation at the same time. This new feature enables you to read and write portions of a file stored in SharePoint. For example, you can work on one paragraph in a Word document while a colleague works on another paragraph in the same document and at the same time.

Staying updated on changes

RSS provides a convenient way for you to distribute and receive information in a standardized format, including updates to lists and libraries. A standardized XML file format allows the information to be viewed by many different programs. You can also subscribe to lists and libraries by setting alerts, so that you know when content has changed.

A team can use their feeds as a way to customize their content for team members who subscribe to their feeds and to offer links back to their sites. RSS Feeds are an easy way to keep track of team progress and project updates. Instead of browsing multiple team sites, you receive the latest news or updates from those sites automatically.

Managing workflow

Workflows help people to collaborate on documents and manage project tasks by implementing specific business processes on documents and items in a site. Workflows help organizations to adhere to consistent business processes. Workflows can also improve organizational efficiency and productivity by managing the tasks and steps that are involved in specific business processes. This enables the people who perform these tasks to concentrate on performing the work rather than managing the workflow.

Workflows can streamline the cost and time required to coordinate common business processes, such as project approval or document review, by managing and tracking the human tasks involved with these processes. For example, an organization can create and deploy a basic custom workflow to manage the approval process for drafts of documents in a document library.

Working with content types

Your list or library may support multiple content types. Content types enable organizations to organize, manage, and handle large amounts of content more effectively. If your list or library is set up to allow multiple content types, you can add content types from a list of available options that your organization uses frequently, such as Marketing Presentations or Contracts.

After you add a content type to a list or library, you make it possible for that list or library to contain items of that type. Users can then use the New Item button in that list or library to create new items of that type.

One of the key advantages of content types for lists and libraries is that they make it possible for a single list or library to contain multiple item types or document types, each of which may have unique metadata, policies, or behaviors. For more information about working with content types, see Use content types to manage content on a SharePoint site.

Stakeholders looking to Microsoft for guidance about this very complex product discuss what they don’t like about SharePoint 2010 and what they’d like to see in the next version.

• By Lee Pender
• 04/03/2012

What is SharePoint, anyway? Here are some things we know. It’s a billion-plus-dollar blockbuster product for Microsoft. SharePoint is a data repository, a collaboration system, a publishing tool, an enterprise content management (ECM) system and a development platform. It’s packed with enough features to be just about all things to all organizations, and yet it rarely is.

The disappointment boils down to the issue of simplicity, and simple is one thing SharePoint definitely is not.

Instead of being a strategic piece of technology infrastructure, SharePoint tends to be a helpful add-on in the Microsoft stack. It’s sort of like a $700 tie matched with a $150 suit. Sure, it looks great, and maybe it has an impact from time to time, but it’s kind of being wasted in its surroundings. SharePoint, ideally, is the whole suit, not just the tie. But it’s hard for organizations to understand that, and even harder for them to use the product that way. That’s because SharePoint’s ever-increasing complexity makes migrating to it and getting the most out of it a major commitment for IT departments, many of which don’t have the time or inclination to undertake either task.

Some of the people who know SharePoint best — third-party developers — talked to Redmond about all of these shortcomings. But they also said that the product has a bright future and that Microsoft is taking steps to remedy some of SharePoint’s ills. The bottom line is that if companies dig deep enough and commit enough resources, they can take advantage of SharePoint’s strategic benefits.

Might as Well Use It
One myth that needs debunking is the popular notion that companies are clamoring to buy SharePoint. For the most part, observers say, that’s not the case. Sure, Microsoft says it’s making a lot of money from the product, but many companies only have SharePoint either because a workgroup or department set it up on its own or because they got it through Software Assurance or some other sort of licensing program that threw SharePoint in with the technology the firms actually wanted to buy.

“Customers are [implementing SharePoint] because they own it,” says Jason Masterman, general manager, portals and collaborations practice at Neudesic LLC, a SharePoint consultancy based in Irvine, Calif. “It’s not that they’re doing research and choosing [SharePoint]. They’re doing it because they own it.”

Sean McDonough, a former SharePoint consultant and now chief SharePoint evangelist at Idera Inc., a Houston-based SharePoint tools provider, agrees. “Most people who implement SharePoint are not people going out and buying licenses for SharePoint just because they want SharePoint,” he says. “They realize that they’ve already bought SharePoint and now can use it. Nine times out of 10 when I’d be going in doing a strategic consultation, it [was], ‘We apparently already own this, and we want to implement it.’”

And when they do set it up, they’re often just looking to replace a different content management system, rather than take full advantage of SharePoint’s capabilities. Barry Jinks, president and CEO of Colligo Networks Inc., a SharePoint ISV based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, says the thinking often goes like this: “I used to have content management platform X, and I had all these functions in content management platform X. I’m going to try to recreate content management platform X in SharePoint.”

One particular problem with the frequent focus on content management is that it isn’t actually one of SharePoint’s stronger capabilities. “SharePoint takes a lot of knocks as an ECM system. It does the job, but it doesn’t do the job continually well,” McDonough says.

John Hodges, VP of global account product management at AvePoint Inc., a SharePoint ISV based in Jersey City, N.J., echoes Jinks’ sentiment about the roots of SharePoint use in most companies. He says most companies that started with SharePoint 2003 or 2007 used it in only a limited capacity.

“People didn’t really start out in older versions of SharePoint with information architecture in mind,” Hodges says. “A couple of guys got together and needed a collaboration site, so they set up a collaboration site.” With the release of SharePoint 2010, he says, many of those customers were hesitant to expand their use of the product. “The best feature of SharePoint that our customers are not using is SharePoint 2010 itself. They left most of their users on 2007,” Hodges says.

A Multiheaded Monster
Part of the reason for that hesitation is that while SharePoint 2010 brought improved functionality in content management (as well as in other areas), it also greatly increased the complexity of the product, making it more difficult to implement and migrate to.

McDonough says “the complexity of that platform and the vast array of interdependencies” are the biggest complaints users have. “That ease of end-user experience comes with extreme cost to IT in terms of maintaining it, setting it up, keeping it running and performing,” he adds. “It’s very painful to set up. Most organizations at best have one or two people they throw at it, so it’s this overwhelming experience.”

And, McDonough continues, it’s only going to get worse. “All of these [new features] tie into the same plumbing,” he says. “It’s the rolling ball of junk that rolls downhill and gets bigger and bigger. It’s only going to get more complex as

[Microsoft keeps] adding things into it. If you look within Microsoft, SharePoint is not built by a single team. It’s a group of teams that have responsibility in different areas. People are not necessarily paying attention. It just grows bigger and bigger and bigger with each release.”

And that complexity leads to performance and usability problems. SharePoint is very slow on connections that aren’t lightning-fast, such as satellite Internet connections on oil rigs and tankers, Hodges notes. But the problem isn’t just confined to offshore or rural locations.

“It’s a very bandwidth-intensive suite of tools and solutions,” says Steve Bystran, senior vice president of global sales and business development at GSX Solutions, a provider of SharePoint monitoring software based in Geneva. “Depending on where the content resides, your level of satisfaction or frustration is largely based on bandwidth. When you’re used to a certain response time, you become very dissatisfied very quickly if things aren’t responding.”

A more pervasive problem, though, involves the basic SharePoint user experience. “People, for example, like to work in Outlook,” says Bill Evans, vice president and general manager of the SharePoint practice at Quest Software Inc., a provider of SharePoint configuration and management tools based in Aliso Viejo, Calif. “That doesn’t facilitate using SharePoint. I’m not going to like being forced to use SharePoint. It’s the inertia of the information worker not being compelled to use SharePoint” that slows adoption, Evans says.

Beyond that, SharePoint can be just plain hard to use. “The difficulty that people have in using the product is just to do something simple,” says David Lavenda, vice president of marketing and product strategy at harmon.ie (formerly known as Mainsoft), a provider of cross-platform SharePoint integration software based in Milpitas, Calif. “To send a document link to somebody else is a nine-step process.”

The Future of SharePoint
Complex though it may be — and partly because it is so complicated — SharePoint is extremely powerful. Its ability to combine content management and collaboration alone holds the potential to increase efficiency and lower costs, observers say. And it already provides a solid platform for managing information and interactions, says Chris McNulty, SharePoint expert and project manager at Quest.

“To really leverage the capacity of the platform for doing actual collaboration as opposed to storage — those are functions that not all of them have gotten [to] yet,” McNulty says.

Masterman, of Neudesic, whose company provides SharePoint consulting services, says companies often fail with SharePoint implementations because they underestimate the complexity of the product. “Where I think companies fall short on delivery is there’s a little too much belief that their completely maxed-out IT staff can build something with no budget, no time and no expertise.”

To be sure, Microsoft can only do so much to guarantee successful SharePoint implementations. Third parties and customers themselves bear most of the responsibility there. But there are a few areas observers say they’d like to see Microsoft improve or expand upon in SharePoint 15.

Data Tagging and Searching
One critical area revolves around management of metadata. Absolutely critical to SharePoint, data tagging can be a lax and loose process depending on the governance in place and how users choose to identify — or not identify — their critical data. Observers say that Microsoft could help with the accuracy and usefulness of data tagging.

“Everything revolves around metadata,” Hodges, of AvePoint, says. “Our governance policies almost exclusively depend on how well you tag your content in SharePoint. Importance to the business is all contained in that metadata. Microsoft needs to come out with more tools for that — something that helps me view it better, deploy it better. Some more prescriptive tagging — that’s the way I would put it. Something that says, ‘Your content is governed by this rule.’”

“End users are in the best place to declare content,” says Colligo’s Jinks.

Tagging data properly is especially important because search is one of the areas observers identify as being a potential competitive advantage for SharePoint. “We’re going to see SharePoint search as a serious contender for enterprise-level search across non-SharePoint locations,” McDonough says.

Mobile Access
SharePoint is great for users sitting in an office tethered to a corporate network. But take it on the road, and it starts to break down. With the proliferation of devices in enterprises, it’s critical for Microsoft to improve mobile access if SharePoint is to reach its potential for users.

“The single biggest thing I want to see improved is the mobile experience,” McDonough says. “As a user, my mobile experience with SharePoint is absolutely miserable. Without that type of integration, SharePoint is going to be limited to desktops and browsers. It’s my understanding that [Microsoft is] trying to improve the mobile experience. I’m hoping for a revolutionary change instead of an evolutionary next step.”

Masterman agrees. “SharePoint has to be more broadly accessible by all devices from all locations easily,” he says.

Cloud Friendliness
Microsoft has placed great emphasis on cloud-based applications in recent years, and it’s possible to run SharePoint in the cloud. But third parties would like to see on-premises versions of SharePoint work more effectively with other cloud-based systems, and they say that Microsoft needs to make it easier for developers to create cloud-based apps to tie into SharePoint. In particular, developers would like to see more cohesive development possibilities between SharePoint and Office 365, the new online productivity suite from Microsoft.

“One direction that I’d personally like to see Microsoft move in is making custom development more cloud friendly,” Quest’s Evans says. “You can’t install custom Web parts and server-side code.”

McDonough shares a similar concern. “Office 365 has made all sorts of traction,” he says. “There’s a problem with this move to the cloud in that it makes it difficult for us to leverage our tools in a way that’s cloud friendly.”

For example, Idera’s backup product has to have code running on the SharePoint box, McDonough says. “That situation is not permitted in Office 365 and many hosted situations,” he says. “Microsoft needs to extend APIs so that those tools can run in those scenarios.”

All Things to Those Who Figure It Out
But none of the enhancements to SharePoint 15 or beyond will matter much if users never find ways to take advantage of them. The key for adoption now is for businesses to look at SharePoint as a strategic collaboration and information-management platform rather than as a single-purpose tool. Truly delving into the benefits of SharePoint will require a firm commitment from both business and IT leaders, and that’s no mean feat. But for those organizations that manage to navigate their way through the platform, the payoff can be significant.

It is in the process of being redone in Office 365 Small Business.

“A Microsoft-sponsored survey of 3,000 companies shows that despite the threats of outages and security breaches, businesses are getting more comfortable with the idea of putting their data on the cloud.

• By Scott Bekker
• March 28, 2012

SMBs are on the verge of tipping to cloud services over the next two to three years, according to a large, multicountry survey commissioned by Microsoft.

Microsoft released results of the study Wednesday at the Microsoft Hosting Summit in Bellevue, Wash., emphasizing to the 400 partners in attendance how hosting and other channel partners will be able to capitalize on the trend. By the numbers, the survey included responses from 3,000 companies ranging in size from 2 to 250 employees in 13 countries.

Key shifts compared to previous runs of the survey are occurring in SMB attitudes toward security in the cloud and the competitive advantage of cloud services, said Marco Limena, Microsoft’s vice president of Operator Channels, in a telephone interview.”

Please ask if you need help with this, otherwise, here is the video to get you started.

• http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/en-us/exchange-online-hosted-email.aspx
• http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/en-us/pricing-exchange-online-email.aspx

The Office 2010 product guides provide an overview of what’s new in your favorite Microsoft Office programs and a deeper look at benefits across all Office 2010 programs, as well as Office Web Apps and Office Mobile.

And, while you’re at it, download the Office 2010 Getting Started Screensaver!

http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26508

Microsoft Office 365: Your Office, Your Terms with Starvest Partners, Women Innovate Mobile, Babesta & Golden Seeds

Microsoft Office 365 is sponsoring this premier networking event with the goal of raising awareness and helping women interested in entrepreneurship and building their business. This event is open to aspiring and current venture capitalist, entrepreneurs, technologists and investors and is free to those who attend (this is an open event for females and males) to network and connect.

https://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/EventDetail.aspx?EventID=1032504771&Culture=en-US

Microsoft® Office 365 for professionals and small businesses will replace Office Live Small Business as the comprehensive Microsoft productivity service for businesses like yours. To get you started with Office 365, we are offering you an exclusive 6 month free trial of Microsoft Office 365 and Office Professional Plus.

If you would like to take advantage of this offer, Microsoft recommends that you take steps to prepare for the transition by March 31, 2012, as there are specific actions you need to take. These are outlined in the self-transition guide.

On the other hand, if you would like us do it for you or to be onhand to train you, please call to schedule a walk through of what you need us to do and what you want to do.

Your exclusive free trial includes:

• A spam-filtering email account
• Document sharing with employees, customers, and clients
• Microsoft Office Web Apps: Outlook®, Word, Excel®, PowerPoint®, and OneNote® Instant messaging, audio/video calls, and online meetings
• Simple website management
• The latest version of Office 2010 desktop applications

To take advantage of this exclusive 6 month free trial, visit the URL in your Office Live account at http://smallbusiness.officelive.com

Note: You will be signing up for a 30 day free trial, but your unique promo code will extend this free trial to 6 months. You can verify your trial expiration date in Office 365 by doing the following:

Log into Office 365 Click “Admin” at the top of the screen Click “Manage” on the left side of the screen.

Ready to get started? Follow the self-transition guide to move your web site, email, contacts and calendar to Office 365; or hire a partner if you need assistance.

If you have already redeemed your promotional code to start your free trial of Office 365, simply close this window and continue your self-transition.

Please note: If you do not transition your subscription, your email account and website will be deactivated and all content will be deleted after April 30, 2012.

____________________________________________________________

Introduction

Microsoft is excited to bring our Office Live Small Business customers Microsoft Office 365, the next generation of online productivity tools.  This document is intended to help our Office Live Small Business customers through the steps of moving manually moving their data to Office 365.

Please read the following important information before you begin the transfer steps:

Important Information

ü  This document is designed for customers choosing to self-transition from Office Live Small Business (OLSB) to Office 365 for professionals and small businesses.

ü  Follow the steps in this guide in order to minimize the chance of losing data.

ü  OLSB account data not saved or transferred will be inaccessible after May 1, 2012 or after your account is canceled.  This includes email, contacts, calendar, business application data, site analytics, contact manager and your public facing website.

ü  Some limitations apply during the Office 365 free-6 month trial period, including: you can only add 10 users.

ü  If you are transferring a custom domain, there may be a period of between 24-72 hours when you will not be able to receive email.

ü  Your fourth-level domain (yourdomain.web.officelive.com) cannot be transferred.

ü  Review Appendix B: Office 365 System Requirements

The instructions below provide the basic step-by-step procedures for moving your OLSB account to Office 365 for small businesses and professionals. If you want more information or have questions, we encourage you to consult the help resources available for OLSB and Office 365.

ü  As a part of the exclusive offer for OLSB customers – you are provided a copy of Office Professional Plus which provides you the latest Office 2010 desktop applications  during the 6 month trial period. If you choose not to accept the promotional offer, each person on your account will need a copy of Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 if they want to move their email, contacts and calendars. (Alternatively, you can archive your email, contact, and calendar data in the free Windows Live Mail software.)

ü  Most of the transition steps can be performed by anyone with Administrator privileges, but certain steps can only be performed by the OLSB account owner.

ü  Anyone who uses the OLSB account and wants to move their personal email, contacts, calendar and documents will need to perform some tasks.

ü  The transition steps may take between 2-6 hours per user.  The actual amount of time required will vary depending on the number of users and the amount of data being transitioned. The process will involve manually re-building your public-facing website.

ü  We recommend that you build a mini-project plan to ensure that all of the tasks are completed by the April 30, 2012 deadline date.

To help ensure that you transfer your Office Live Small Business account without losing data, it’s important that you complete the following steps in order:

1. Create your Office 365 account
2. Create accounts for your users
3. Move all email, contacts, and calendars
4. Move your website to Office 365
5. Save your business applications
6. Move your custom domain (if you have one)

To retrieve your one-time use promotional code to create your Office 365 account, sign in to your OLSB account with your Windows Live ID and click on the promotional code link. This link will open a new browser window on Office 365 to a unique sign up form that includes Office 365 for professionals and small business and Office Professional Plus.  Follow the instructions to complete sign up for the 6-month free trial promotional offer. Only the account owner needs to sign up. For now, the owner will also be the account administrator, and will add the rest of the organization’s people and data in Step 2: Create accounts for your users below.

If you choose to close the promotional offer page, you can get access to the promotional offer until April 30, 2012 by signing in to OLSB.  On the Home page,  click Redeem today to access the one-time use promotional offer and follow the self-transition steps.

These instructions apply only to organizations that create accounts for Office 365 for professionals and small business. If you have more than 25 people or require technical phone support, you may want to consider Office 365 for enterprises.

You need to create an account for each individual user. As you add a user, you can decide whether to grant them administrator privileges on the account. Be sure to add all of your existing users now, before step 3, below.

During the 6 month free trial, you can add up to 10 users. After the free trial, you can add up to 50 users, and the charge will be $6.00 per user per month for Office 365 for Professionals and Small Business and $15.00 per user per month for Office Professional Plus.

1. In the header, click Admin.
2. On the Admin page, in the left pane, under Management, click Users.
3. On the Users page, click New, and then click User.
4. On the Properties page, complete the user information. Click the arrow next to Additional properties to add optional user information, and then click Next.

Note: Because you have not yet added a custom domain, users will use the free 3^rd level domain that you selected when you created your account (for example, Mike@contoso.onmicrosoft.com). After you complete Step 6: Move you custom domain, return to the Properties page and change each user’s email address to a custom domain (for example, Mike@contoso.com).

1. On the Settings page, indicate whether you want the user to have administrator permissions. If you select Yes, also provide the user’s preferred email address. This email address is used for important notifications.
2. Under Set user location, select the user’s work location, and then click Next.
3. On the Assign licenses page, select the licenses that you want to assign to the user, and then click Next.

Note: If you have no licenses available, you can purchase more licenses, recover the use of service licenses by removing licenses from existing users, or delete user accounts that have assigned licenses.

1. On the Send results in email page, select Send email to send the user name and temporary password for the newly created user to yourself and other people you choose. Enter email addresses separated by semicolons (;), and then click Create. You can enter a maximum of five email addresses.
2. On the Results page, the new user name and temporary password are displayed. When you’re finished reviewing the results, click Finish.

The exclusive promotional offer for OLSB customers provides you with a 6 month free trial subscription of Office Professional Plus – The latest version of Office 2010 desktop applications. If you choose not to sign up for Office 365 with the promotional offer, and you have Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 installed on your computer, it’s easy to move your OLSB email, contacts, and calendar to your Office 365 account. If you don’t have Outlook and you don’t want to buy it, you can still save your email for free using Windows Live Mail. See below, Archive your email to Windows Live Mail

Warning: Every person in your organization must follow this step and move their email, contacts, and calendars, or this data will be lost in Step 6: Move your custom domain, below.

Add your Office 365 account to Microsoft Office Outlook

Before you add your Office Live email to Outlook, you need to add your Office 365 account to Outlook. These instructions relate to Outlook 2010. For Outlook 2007, see Set Up E-Mail in Outlook 2007 at http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/cc511396.aspx.

For other questions, see FAQs: E-Mail Programs at http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/cc875919.aspx.

1. Open Outlook. If the Microsoft      Outlook Startup wizard displays automatically, on the first page of the      wizard, click Next. Then, on the E-mail Accounts page of the      wizard, click Next again to set up an e-mail account.
   If the Microsoft Outlook Startup wizard doesn’t appear, on the      Outlook toolbar, click the File tab. Then, just above the Account      Settings button, click Add Account.
2. On the Auto Account Setup      page, Outlook may try to automatically fill in the Your Name and E-mail      Address settings based on how you’re logged on to your computer. If      the settings are filled in and they’re correct, click Next to have      Outlook finish setting up your account.
   If the settings on the Auto Account Setup page aren’t filled in or      aren’t correct with your Office 365 account information, consider the      following as you correct the settings:
• If the settings on the Auto       Account Setup page aren’t filled in for you, type the correct       settings based on the information that was provided to you by the person       who manages your e-mail account.
• If the name in the Your       Name box isn’t correct, you may need to reset the options on the Auto       Account Setup page before you can edit your name. To reset the       options, click the option button next to Manually configure server       settings or additional server types, and then click the option button       next to E-Mail Account.
3. After you click Next on      the Auto Account Setup page of the wizard, Outlook will perform an      online search to find your e-mail server settings. You’ll be prompted to      enter your user name and password during this search. Make sure that you      enter your full e-mail address (for example, tony@contoso.com) as your      user name.
   If Outlook is able to set up your account, you’ll see the following text:      Your e-mail account is successfully configured. Click Finish.

If Outlook isn’t able to set up your account, see Set Up E-Mail in Outlook 2010 at http://help.outlook.com/en-us/140/dd253202.aspx.

Move your OLSB account to Outlook using the Microsoft Outlook Connector

If you have Outlook 2007 or Outlook 2010 installed on your computer, you can move your email using the Microsoft Outlook Connector for Windows Live Hotmail. The Outlook Connector is available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=d9662d20-ad27-45a6-9184-f906dd63ddaa&displaylang=en.

1. Exit Outlook.
2. Download the Microsoft Office Outlook Connector.
3. When prompted to open or save the file, click Open.
4. When prompted to run the software, click Run.

Note: You may see a security prompt, depending on which operating system or Web browser you use. Click the option to continue with the installation.

1. Follow the instructions on your screen to complete the installation.
2. The next time you start Outlook, you are prompted to configure the Outlook Connector. Enter the following information:

• Your e-mail address
• Your password
• Your name as you want it to appear in the receiver’s Inbox

If you aren’t automatically prompted to add your account, you can initiate this yourself by opening Outlook, clicking File, clicking Add Account, and then following the instructions.

1. Click OK. Your OLSB email is now added to the list of mailboxes in the Mail section of the left navigation pane. Your calendar and contacts appear in the Calendars and Contacts sections of the left navigation pane.

YOU’RE NOT DONE YET. You’ve moved your mail into Outlook, but you still need to add it to your Office 365 account:

1. In Outlook, in the Mail section of the left navigation pane, locate your Office 365 mailbox.
2. In Outlook, in the Mail section of the left navigation pane open your OLSB mailbox that you just added. Open one of the folders, for example the Inbox folder.
3. Select all of the email messages in that folder, copy them, and then paste them into the corresponding folder in your Office 365 mailbox. (If you don’t have a corresponding folder in your Office 365 mailbox, you may have to create one.) Now this email has been added to Microsoft Exchange. Repeat this for every folder in your Office Live Small Business email account.

To move your contacts:

1. In Outlook, in the Contacts section of the left navigation pane, click the name of the OLSB mailbox that you just added.
2. Select your individual contacts and drag them into your Office 365 contacts list.

To move your calendars:

1. In Outlook, in the Calendars section of the left navigation pane, click the name of the mailbox containing your OLSB calendars.
2. Drag each individual item (or select multiple items after changing your view settings to a list view) from your OLSB calendar into your Office 365 calendar.

Archive your email to Windows Live Mail

If you don’t want to purchase Outlook, another way to save your email is to archive it in Windows Live Mail. Windows Live Mail is available as a free download from Windows Live Essentials at http://explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials.

Important: If you archive your OLSB email, contacts, and calendars in Windows Live Mail, you will be able to view them, but you will not be able to reply to or forward any of the messages, and you will not be able to add these messages, contacts, or calendars to your Office 365 account.

To learn how to add your OLSB email to Windows Live Mail, see Mail: Add accounts at http://explore.live.com/windows-live-mail-add-accounts-using. After adding your account, we recommend that you create a backup using How to backup and restore Windows Live Mail 2011 at http://windowslivehelp.com/solution.aspx?solutionid=8f758eb1-b8a7-4e66-92fb-7a3b447d3280.

To transfer your OLSB website to Office 365, you need to manually move your content. For text, this is just a matter of copying from one site and pasting into the other, but for some images or for your site’s header, additional steps are required.

These instructions offer a brief overview of how to transfer your website, but for more detailed explanations of how to use the Office 365 web-design tool, see the help topics contained in Design a public-facing website at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-online-small-business-help/CL102040066.aspx.

Save a copy of your web pages in Internet Explorer (optional)

If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can save copies of your web pages in case you want a copy of your website to refer to later. This will only provide a record of your website; you will not be able to upload these saved web pages to Office 365. If you don’t feel that you need a record, you can skip this step.

To save a copy of a page, open the page in Internet Explorer. In the header of Internet Explorer, click File, click Save as, browse to the folder where you want to save the page, and then click Save.  Repeat this process for all of the pages that you want to save.

Save your Image Gallery

You must save the images in your OLSB Image Gallery to your computer. Before you begin, you may find it helpful to create a dedicated folder on your computer where you can save all of your Office Live images.

To save an image:

1. On the OLSB Home page, at the top, click Web Site.
2. In Page Manager, on the left navigation bar, click Image Gallery.
   1. Click the image that you want to save, and it opens full-size in a new window. If you don’t open the image full-size, you will only be saving the small thumbnail view of the image.
   2. Right-click the image, and then click Save picture as…
   3. Browse to the location where you want to save your image, and then click Save.

Open the old web-design tool and the new web-design tool side-by-side

The easiest way to transfer your website content is to open the OLSB web-design tool and the Office 365 web-design tool side-by-side so that you can see them both at the same time.

Open the OLSB web-design tool:

1. On the OLSB Home page, at the top, click Web Site. Page Manager appears.
2. In the list of Web pages, find the name of the page that you want to copy content from and click Edit. The page opens in the web-design tool.

Open the Office 365 web-design tool:

1. On the top-navigation in the Office 365 Home page, click Team Site.
2. On the navigation bar, click Website.
3. In the list of web pages, click the name of the page that corresponds to the page you are copying content from. For example, if you’re copying the Home page from your OLSB website, click Home. Now you’re seeing the Web page in edit mode.
4. If you don’t see the kind of page that you need in the list of web pages, on the Pages tab, click New Page, select the type of page that you need, provide the necessary properties, and then click Finish. The page is now open in edit mode.

Now that you have opened the two web-design tools, resize the two browser windows so that you can see them both at the same time, one on the left and one on the right. You’re ready to begin moving your website.

Move content from your old site to your new site

Follow the instructions above in Open the old web-design tool and the new web-design tool side-by-side. To move text or images from your old page to your new page, simply copy and paste it.

If an image fails to paste properly, you may have to add it using the Insert function:

1. In the Office 365 web-design tool, click the Insert tab.
2. Click Image.
3. Select the location from which you want to add the image, click the image, and then click Insert image.

Move your website header

Follow the instructions above in Open the old web-design tool and the new web-design tool side-by-side.

After you have opened the two web-design tools, click anywhere in the header of your two web pages, and the Customize your header dialog opens.

To transfer text, just copy and paste. To transfer logo images, you must first save them to your computer and then upload them to your new site. To learn more about making changes to your header, see Customize a header for a public-facing website at http://office.microsoft.com/serverhelp/helppreview14.aspx?AssetId=HA101836349&lcid=1033&products=SPOLite&pid=CL102040077&CTT=4.

Add a module

Unfortunately, you can’t copy modules—or “Gadgets,” as they’re now called—from your old site to your new site. You need to create a new version of that gadget on your new site. To do so, place your cursor at the location where you want to insert the gadget. On the Insert tab, in the Gadgets section, click the gadget that you want to insert, and then follow the instructions.

Note: The following gadgets are unfortunately not available in Office 365 at this time: Blog, Event Calendar, Form Designer, List Publisher, and Subscribe to Newsletter. Website analytics are also not available at this time.

You can move your document libraries in the Business Applications section of OLSB to Office 365. Other business applications can be saved and archived.

Move your Document Library to Office 365

You can transfer all of the documents within a document library at once. To do so:

1. On the OLSB Home page, at the top, click More, and then click Business Applications.
2. In the left navigation bar, click Document Manager.
3. On the actions bar, click Actions, click Open with Windows Explorer, and then click Allow. A window opens that contains your documents.
4. In a new browser window, sign in to your Office 365 account. In the top navigation click Team Site, and then in the left navigation click Documents.
5. Click Upload documents to make them available to anyone with access to this site. The Upload Multiple Documents window opens.
6. Resize the window containing your OLSB document library and the Upload Multiple Documents window so that you can see them side-by-side. In the Office Live window, select all of your documents by clicking Ctrl+A. Drag your selected documents into the Upload Multiple Documents window in Office 365, and then click OK. Depending on the size of your documents, they may take a few minutes to transfer.
7. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each of your document libraries.

Save your lists, calendars, surveys, and other applications

1. On the OLSB Home page, at the top, click More, and then click Business Applications.
2. On the actions bar, click Actions, click Export to Spreadsheet, and then click Open. A spreadsheet opens.
3. Under File, click Save As. Under Save as type, select CSV (MS-DOS).

You may be able to upload some of this content to the Team Site in Office 365. For help with this, explore the help and how-to topics for SharePoint Online for professionals and small businesses at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint-help/sharepoint-online-for-office-365-for-small-businesses-FX102053252.aspx.

Contact Manager

You can’t transfer information from the Office Live Contact Manager to Office 365, but you can save this information to your computer by exporting the data to either Microsoft Office Excel or Microsoft Office Access. The information will be saved in an Office Excel workbook or an Office Access table, and you can then import the information from the workbook or table into Outlook.

1. On the OLSB Home page, at the top, click More, and then click Contact Manager.
2. On the left navigation bar, click Business Contacts, Companies, Opportunities, or Products.
3. On the actions bar, click Actions, and then click Export to Spreadsheet, or click Open with Access, and then select Export a copy of the data. You may be prompted to sign in with your Windows Live ID.
4. The list opens in a workbook or table. Save it to your computer. To learn about importing this list to Outlook, see Import your data into Business Contact Manager at http://www.office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/import-your-data-into-business-contact-manager-HA010379389.aspx.

Moving your custom domain name involves several steps. First, you remove your custom domain name from OLSB. Next, add your domain to Office 365 and verify that you own the domain. Finally,  update the records at your domain registrar to direct network traffic for your domain to Office 365.

Remove your domain name from your OLSB account

In order to free up your domain name for use with Office 365 (or another provider,) you must remove it from OLSB.

• If you bought your custom domain through OLSB, we provide you with a way to move your domain.   Caution: Before you move your domain, we recommend updating your administrator email address to an address not associated with your Office Live Small Business account.  This will ensure that your Domain Registration Key (DRK) is sent to an active email address.  (For example, you can use a free Hotmail account).

To update your administrator email address:

1. On the OLSB      Home page, at the top, click More,      and then click Domain Manager.

2. On the      Domain Manager page, next to the domain name that you want to view, click Properties.

3. On the      Domain Properties page, you can make changes to your email address. Click Edit properties in the      Registration Contact Information section and update your email address.

To move your domain:

1. On the OLSB      Home page, at the top, click More,      and then click Domain Manager.
2. In the      domains table, find your purchased domain and in the options column click Move domain.
3. On the      subsequent page, enter an email address to receive your domain      registration key.
4. On the      domain confirmation page, you will be able to view you Domain Registration      Key.
5. You’ll      receive an email with full instruction with how to access your domain at      Melbourne IT.

Once you’ve completed these steps, Office Live will continue to host your site pages and you can still access your OLSB email.   You will now have access to your domain at Melbourne IT and will be able to complete the steps necessary to add and verify you domain in Office 365.

• If you bought your custom domain through another domain name registrar, you do not need to remove your domain from your account.   You have access to this domain at your domain hoster and will be able to complete the steps necessary to add and verify your domain in Office 365.

Add your custom domain to Office 365

To add your domain to Office 365, you step through the Add a domain wizard. The wizard verifies that you own the domain, and then prompts you to update your records at your domain registrar to direct network traffic for your domain to Office 365.

For a complete overview of this process, we highly recommend that you read Add your domain to Office 365 at http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-smallbusinesses/ff637561.aspx#bkmk_provider.

1. On the Office 365 Home page, click Admin.
2. On the Admin page, in the left bar, under Management, click Domains.
3. On the actions bar, click Add a domain.
4. On the Add a domain page, under Specify domain, type the domain name that you want to add, and then click Check domain.
5. Review the information about the domain, and then, if the information is correct, click Next.
6. Follow the steps in the wizard to verify with Office 365 that the domain name you have added belongs to you.

Configure your domain for use with Office 365

After your domain has been added and verified, you must configure records at your domain registrar that point your domain traffic to your Office 365 account. Office 365 provides the DNS information that you’ll need in order to create the records. You use this information to change DNS name server records at your domain registrar or host site so email and other services will work correctly with your domain in Office 365.

Caution: When you change your custom domain’s name server settings as described here, you change the destination of domain services—such as email and web hosting—to point to Office 365.

1. Add Office 365 email addresses for your users after you’ve added your domain to Office 365 and Office 365 has verified that you own the domain, and before you change the name server records to point domain network traffic to Office 365 (as described in this section). Make sure that your users’ email addresses exactly match the current email addresses that they already have with your custom domain name.

You can continue hosting your website with your current provider, but you must take additional steps before you change your name server records. These steps are described in detail in Hosting your website with another provider at http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-smallbusinesses/hh335299.aspx

We provide specific instructions for changing the name server records on popular domain registrar websites. For more information, see Change name server records at a domain registrar at http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-smallbusinesses/gg549203.aspx.

In general, to change your domain’s name server records, follow these steps.

1. Sign in to      your domain name registrar’s website.
2. On the      domain registrar’s website, locate the section where you can change name      server settings. This section is typically labeled in one of the following      ways:
• Manage       Domain
• Nameserver       Settings
• DNS       Server Settings
3. On the      page where you can change name server settings, edit the primary and      secondary name servers to be ns1.bdm.microsoftonline.com and ns2.bdm.microsoftonline.com,      respectively, and then save the new settings.

Note: Typically it takes about 15 minutes for your changes to take effect. But it can take up to 72 hours for the DNS record that you created to propagate through the DNS system. If you need to view these record settings again, on the Domains page, click the domain, and then, on the Domain properties page, click the DNS manager tab.

To check the status of configuring your domain in Office 365, on the Domains page, click the domain, and then, on the Domain properties page, click Troubleshoot domain.

After you have added your custom domain, refer back to Step 2: Create accounts for your users to change user email addresses to the custom domain.

You have now completed the self-transition steps.

See the Office 365 Quick Start Guide to get started with email, contacts, calendar, instant messaging, and document sharing.

To get started with service administration and user management tasks, see the Introduction for Office 365 Administrators.  To ask and receive answers to your questions, report service issues, bugs, make suggestions, and read the Office 365 blog and wiki, see the Office 365 Community.

What is Office 365?

Office 365 for professionals and small businesses is a set of web-enabled tools that lets you access your e-mail, important documents, contacts, and calendars from virtually anywhere and on almost any device[1]. Designed for organizations with one to 25 employees (with a technical limit of 50 users maximum), the service brings together online versions of the best professional-grade communications and collaboration tools from Microsoft at a price that small businesses can afford.   Office 365 includes many of the features that our customers loved about Office Live Small Business, including simple public facing websites, and much more.

Is Office 365 right for my business?

Office 365 is designed for organizations with fewer than 25 employees and without IT staff, so it’s easy to set up and use.  Office Live Small Business customer feedback helped us design Office 365: professional email with anti-spam/anti-virus protection and a 25GB mailbox, improved tools for document collaboration and version control, online meeting and IM capabilities, an improved mobile experience, simple public-facing website tools and hosting, and financially-backed reliability and security, all at a price affordable for most small businesses..

How does Office Live Small Business compare to Office 365?

The best way to experience the difference between Office Live Small Business and Office 365 is by signing up for a free 30-day trial of Office 365 by visiting www.Office365.com.

At a high level, here is some of what Office Live Small Business customers gain with Office 365 for professionals and small businesses:

To better understand how Office 365 can help your business, we’ve created the detailed table below so you can see how Office 365 for professionals and small businesses and Office Live Small Business compare.  If you want more information on Office 365, visit www.Office365.com or read the Office 365 for professionals and small businesses Service Description available through the Microsoft Download Center.

* Through CSS (Style Sheets) and HTML, much of the built-in design functionality that Office Live Small Business Site Designer offered can be replicated in Office 365’s SharePoint Online Site Designer.

Recommended Operating Systems and Software

For the best experience with Office 365, we recommend the following operating systems and software:

•  Windows 7

•  Office 2010 or Office Professional Plus

•  Internet Explorer 8

•  Lync 2010 (included in Office 365 Plan P1)

•  Office desktop set up (an installable piece of software included in Office 365 Plan P1)

Operating Systems and Software Not Supported

The following operating systems and software versions are not supported when using Office 365:

•  Windows Server® 2003

•  Microsoft Office Outlook 2003

•  Microsoft Internet Explorer 6

•  Microsoft Office Communicator 2007

Office 365 works effectively with many combinations of browsers, operating systems, and supporting software, but table below shows the software supported by Office 365.

For the most recent information about software requirements, see Software requirements for Office 365 at http://onlinehelp.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-smallbusinesses/ff652564.aspx.

“There are so many ways the Microsoft email has made my life easier, e.g. from the large storage capabilities, which allows me to keep all my folders,  to the shared calendar which is invaluable to keep us at City Lights Sign all connected.”

“And this email has virtually gotten rid of all my spam mail (I used to get at least 40 per day).   It is a reasonably priced service that provides more than any other email service I have seen or used.”

Martha Davis
City Lights Sign Co
902 NW 49th St
Seattle WA  98107
Ph 206.789.4747
Cell 206.255.7029
Fax 206.789.3316
www.citylightssign.com

http://www.meetup.com/mscloud

Please join us for a chance to win a FREE copy of  Microsoft Office Professional 2010

Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Publisher

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/professional 

$350 value, must be present to win, no purchase necessary.

 WHEN: Saturday February 4 (10am-12pm)

 WHERE: University Villlage

http://content.microsoftstore.com/store/detail/Seattle-WA

WHAT: Office 365 Professional and Small Business Demonstration:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/plans/small-business/email-calendar.aspx

WHO: Anyone interested in finding out more about Microsoft Online Services; Information Workers, Partners, Vendors, Business Owners, IT Professionals, IT Directors, CIO

Bring your laptop, you’ll get to jump in and play! 

Are there any topics you would like to discuss or demonstrations you would like to see? Please ask! You know there are others with the same questions!  Bring your laptop and we’ll show you how to sign up for your very own trial account so you can start using Office 365 right away.

Looking forward to meeting you, please RSVP. 

Susan Melchert, Organizer

info@sbacoach.com, 425-491-7348

Microsoft Online Services Technical Support, Office 365

http://rcpmag.com/articles/2011/12/20/qa-microsoft-tom-rizzo-part-2.aspx

By Jeffrey Schwartz

Nearly six months after the official release of Office 365, Microsoft Senior Director for Online Services Tom Rizzo says the cloud-based messaging and collaboration service is shaping up to be one of the company’s fastest-growing businesses. Just don’t ask Rizzo to prove it. Microsoft refuses to give any figures — revenues or number of subscribers — that would quantify just how well Office 365 is doing.

The on-premises versions of Office are selling quite well. Microsoft has sold more than 100 million copies of Office 2010 and 61 million SharePoint 2010 licenses. While no such picture is available for Office 365 or its predecessor, Business Productivity Online Services (BPOS), Microsoft has acknowledged that 90 percent of customers are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees.

In Part 2 of the interview (Part 1 is here), Rizzo explained why Microsoft is bullish about Office 365.

RCP: Absent any user stats or revenue reports, some analysts have voiced skepticism as to how well Office 365 is selling. Are there any measures you can share?

Rizzo: I can’t share any details. The only thing I will say is I think those analysts will be shocked when we talk about Office 365 and the momentum that is actually happening with our concrete numbers. I’ve worked on some really great growth business at Microsoft — Exchange, SQL and SharePoint — and I’m amazed at the momentum of Office 365. We’ve only been in market since June 28 but we’ve been selling extremely well.

How are BPOS-to-Office-365 migrations coming along?

It is going well. It’s driven by the customer pace, not by our pace, but the migrations have been going extremely well. We’ve tried to make sure that we continue to learn from every migration, whether it’s new tools that we need or new documentation or new procedures, training, support — those sorts of things. But the vast majority have gone pretty seamlessly, both from a customer standpoint and from a Microsoft technology standpoint.

http://rcpmag.com/articles/2011/12/08/9-huge-opportunities-for-microsoft-partners-in-2012.aspx

1. Communications
Product: Microsoft Lync
Competency: Communications

Microsoft recently split the Unified Communications competency into two. The Communications competency is now specifically for voice and video, and the expertise to do things like replace PBXes and set up voice lines. Microsoft is boasting of massive momentum for Lync, with a recent claim that Lync now has 3 million voice lines. This is the product for which several Microsoft executives have predicted hockey stick growth, and incentives and resources are aligned for partners that can help make that a reality.

2. E-Mail Servers
Product: Microsoft Exchange
Competency: Messaging

The other half of the former Unified Communications competency is the new Messaging competency — expertise in the good, old-fashioned practice of installing and supporting e-mail systems based on Microsoft Exchange. The e-mail server is the dominant corporate e-mail server, and enjoys a high place on Microsoft’s list of products that bring in more than a billion dollars in annual revenues.

3. Database
Product: Microsoft SQL Server
Competencies: Data Platform, Business Intelligence

With a new version of SQL Server about to ship (SQL Server 2012 hit the release candidate stage last month), the huge partner business around databases continues to be a significant area of focus for Microsoft. Company executives say they’re continuing to compete with Oracle for deals and want to equip partners to help win that business.

4. Business Collaboration Platforms
Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Competencies: Content Management, Portals and Collaboration, Search

Partners from a number of competency areas are eligible to bring their skills to bear on the business collaboration platforms opportunity around SharePoint.

5. Optimized Desktop
Products: Windows, Microsoft Office
Competency: Desktop

When it comes to Microsoft revenues, nothing is more important than the desktop. Since the MPN-related competency overhaul that went into effect in 2010, though, most of the emphasis on the desktop side has been on Windows alone. Microsoft is refocusing its efforts around desktop to put more resources and incentives in place to help partners work an Office component into their engagements.

6. Management & Virtualization
Products: Windows Server, System Center
Competencies: Virtualization, Systems Management

Next spring, Microsoft plans to merge the Virtualization and Systems Management competencies for partners. Also over the next few months, Microsoft is expected to release System Center 2012 components that integrate more virtualization management capabilities. But the company’s not waiting for that competency update or the product releases to focus partners on the opportunities in combining virtualization and systems management.

7. Customer Relationship Management
Product: Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Competency: Customer Relationship Management

Microsoft is planning to integrate its cloud computing products into many of the MPN competencies over the next few months. One area where that integration between on-premise and online within a competency is well underway is Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Microsoft is pushing hard against Salesforce.com with its hybrid-focused story and is putting resources in the field to help partners sell the solution.

8. Web & Software Development
Product: Windows Azure
Competencies: Web Development, Software Development

File this one under the category of Microsoft using its resources and incentives to try to create some momentum around a product. Windows Azure and the rest of the Azure platform is going to get a lot more attention within the MPN over the next year, according to Microsoft executives.

9. Emerging Markets
Products: All of the Above
Competencies: All of the Above

While the above examples are Microsoft’s Priority Workloads, the geographic area makes a difference, too. Generally, Microsoft is looking for nearly twice as much growth in emerging markets as in developed markets. The revenue expectations go up accordingly for Priority Workload areas. In short, Microsoft is advising partners in or near emerging markets to focus their efforts there.

Microsoft Westlake/Terry Building

Tuesday, January 10  from  5:30 – 7:30 pm

http://www.thegsba.org/events/events.php?category=Special&type=GSBA+Tech+Tuesday#929

DATE:		Tuesday, January 10, 2012
TIME:		5:30 – 7:30 pm
LOCATION:		Microsoft Westlake/Terry Building, Map This Location
ADDRESS:		320 Westlake N 4th floor Seattle, WA 98109
EVENT CONTACT #:		(206) 363-9188
EVENT COST:		Individual Registration: $20.00 – Members $25.00 – Non Members $20.00 – Students
MORE INFO:		Light dinner and sodas will be served.Parking available on the street and under the building
REGISTER:		Register Online Now, or call (206) 363-9188.

If you want to learn SharePoint please invest 15 mins. a day and read this site. It is an easy to read, very well written, step-by-step — here take a look and see for yourself!

http://sharepoint.microsoft.com/Blogs/GetThePoint/Lists/Categories/Category.aspx?CategoryId=11&Name=Lists%20and%20Libraries

There are a number of administrator tasks you need to do to prepare for transition from BPOS to Microsoft Office 365 for enterprises. When transition happens, it will probably occur over a weekend, and may take a few days to complete. During the transition period, the Microsoft Online Services Administration Center is locked to prevent any issues with your transition. Your subscriptions are also locked in the Microsoft Online Services Customer Portal during transition. After transition, there are some tasks you need to do to complete your transition to Office 365.

To assist your users with their transition tasks, see Transition your user account from BPOS to Office 365.

We can also give you a hand because we know BPOS and Office 365. Our focus is small businesses run by women because we care about service and listening to your requests and questions.

Please call if you need a hand to prepare or would like some help with the products before during or after transition.

Susan Melchert, Exchange Online Technical Engineer

voicemail: 425-491-7348

Yes, that’s right, Cindy Bates, and SBA Consulting is here to provide technical support, training and product information for woman of all businesses sizes.

http://www.microsoft.com/business/Office365/your-office-your-terms.aspx#fbid=RvyRZ6gTPJ0

Susan Melchert, Exchange Online Technical Services

425-491-7348

I’m always working or learning.

Found this and thought I better share it with you so that you, too, can beef up your skill set and stay competitive.

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-cloud.aspx

I’m on a few paths, one of which is Hosted Exchange the other SharePoint. To keep me on track I’ve got Project Management review to keep it all on schedule.

What’s new in Windows Phone 7.5

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsphone/en-us/howto/wp7/start/whats-new-in-windows-phone.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2011/08/17/free-ebook-microsoft-office-365-connect-and-collaborate-virtually-anywhere-anytime.aspx

Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime

(ISBN 9780735656949), by Katherine Murray

Save yourself the frustration and overhead of maintaining an in-house mail service or even POP from your website hosting company. 

Have the flexibility to access your email from multiple locations and have the same contents up to 25GB.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/shortcut-keys-in-office-2007-HA010338215.aspx?CTT=1

And the quick access tool bar:

http://office.microsoft.com/video.aspx?assetid=ES010248357&vwidth=884&vheight=540&CTT=11&Origin=

 For all the free online training for Office 2007 or Office 2010 see:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx?CTT=97

I just tested it on my own BPOS to Office365 and it worked like a charm.

Here, give it a try Migrate Mailboxes from Old (AOL, Earthlink, etc.) to Microsoft Office365.

Call if you need a hand, 425-491-7348.

Take a look at online help.

Full Article

Watch how Microsoft explains BPOS

“Many companies are still struggling financially, forcing them to look for ways to cut costs and shave expenses from their balance sheets. Unfortunately for many of us working in IT, technology is usually seen as a cost-center meaning that our departments come under the knife. But the paradox is that businesses often don’t want to sacrifice service quality, and don’t want to accept risks associated with cost cutting – like risk of increased downtime caused by aging hardware.

As a result, many IT managers are looking toward hosted and cloud solutions to help them out of a bind. Hosted cloud services for something like Exchange offer potential to save large amounts of capital dollars that would otherwise be spent on expensive servers and software. Instead, the cost is shifted into monthly operating fees, allowing capital investments to be re-allocated to other areas.

Hosted services have been around for a long time. But, it’s only recently that Microsoft seems to have realized that a number of companies are making a nice profit by using Exchange to offer hosted email. In response, Microsoft has waded into the fray with their own flavor of hosted cloud software: the Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS).”

That is why we got involved to bring this technology to the small business owner, the team that may have fewer than 10. These companies can benefit the same way. To see for yourself, just ask to see the demo and try it no charge to see if it will meet your needs.

Susan Melchert
SBA Consulting
425-491-7348

Access to the latest news, articles, links, a newsletter, and other actionable, useful information about using Office 365 and Microsoft Online Services.

http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/

• Thinking About Starting

  If you’re thinking about starting a small business, you should start by weighing the pros and cons, so that you can make a wise decision. The resources in this section are essentially a toolkit to guide your decision-making …

• Finding a Mentor or Counselor

  When you’re in the initial phases of getting your small business off the ground, you could probably use some guidance and advice from a mentor or counselor. Experts are available to assist you through local offices and for specific …

• Writing a Business Plan

  Now that you’ve decided that you’d like to open a small business, you should put your thoughts down on paper. This way, your business idea is expressed in a plan – a living document that outlines every critical aspect of its …

• Establishing a Business

  Once you decide that your small business idea is viable, you have several more key decisions to make. SBA is your partner, equipping you with the information you need. Be sure to review the information in this section carefully, because …

• Preparing Your Finances

  Before you head to your bank or credit union to apply for a loan, be sure that you understand your situation and your options. What are your startup costs? At what level of revenue will your business break even? And how does SBA assist new …

• Loans, Grants & Funding

  You have a variety of options when it comes to financing your small business. In addition to traditional loans, you may wish to explore other opportunities that range from grants and bonds to investor-based venture capital. …

• Business Law & Regulations

  As a small business owner, you are subject to the same regulations as large corporations. Even if you’re starting out on a small level and planning to grow, you must comply with business laws and regulations from the day you open for …

• Marketing a New Business

  Let’s say you have a great product, and you’re ready to fill orders. You might be missing a crucial business aspect: marketing – or telling people why they need your great product in the first place. This sect…

• Local Resources

  Looking for small business counseling and training close to home? SBA can help! SBA provides small business counseling and training through a variety of programs and resource partners across the country. Check out the resources below to …

• Forms

  The process of starting and managing a business requires a lot of analysis and paperwork. SBA has just about every resource you’ll need, from business plan examples and financial forms, to tools that can help you determine the best …

I know seconds, minutes, hours are wasted by laptop users that choose to use the little mouse touch pad rather than the keyboard. Here, add years to your free time and learn to use the keyboard shortcuts.

Free up valuable time and money by simplifying your IT infrastructure. With technology that helps you better protect your information, reduce computer maintenance, and simplify systems management, you can use all the extra time to focus on what matters most—your business.