“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