Resources
Blog
Microsoft Azure AD Single Sign-on Now Free to Customers
Microsoft announced any customer using a subscription of a commercial online service can connect all their cloud applications to Azure AD for single sign-on (SSO), and protect this access with multi-factor authentication (MFA) as a security default at no extra cost. SSO reduces the number of sign-in prompts for employees and enables one-click access
How to Recover an Azure Conditional Access Policy
According to Microsoft, “Conditional Access is the tool used by Azure Active Directory (AAD) to bring signals together, to make decisions, and enforce organizational policies.” Conditional Access policies are an effective replacement and improvement over user login restrictions provided in on-premises Active Directory (AD). Conditional Access Policies are also present
3 Reasons The Recycle Bin Won’t Always Protect You Against Accidental Deletions to Azure Active Directory and Hybrid AD
The Active Directory and Azure AD Recycle Bins exist as tools for protecting you against the accidental deletion of directory objects…but not all of them. If an administrator accidentally deletes an Active Directory user account, for example, it is possible to retrieve the deleted user from the Recycle Bin. Even so, the Recycle Bin has a number
6 Tips to Optimize and Reduce Microsoft Office 365 Licensing Costs
Microsoft’s Office 365 platform provides dozens of license options, which allow customers to tailor the service to their specific requirements and budgets. This flexibility is great, but it does put the onus on each customer to make smart decisions about license usages to get the most value from Office 365. To optimize investment in Office
Microsoft Sees 775% Spike in Some Areas
Microsoft is experiencing a large increase in Microsoft Teams, Windows Virtual Desktop, and Power BI, which are powered by Microsoft Azure — the second largest cloud services provider behind Amazon Web Services (AWS). “We have seen a 775 percent increase of our cloud services in regions that have enforced social
Useful Microsoft Teams Resources For Administrators
As newly remote workers flock to collaborate, and Microsoft Teams daily users surges beyond 44 million, both IT professionals and individual users are trying to quickly master the application. We’ve pulled together some helpful resources for Microsoft Teams administrators to use and share. Go right to the source… Microsoft There
Microsoft Extends MCSE, MCSA, and MCSD Certifications
Due to current COVID-19 prevention tactics, Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Microsoft Certified Solutions Developer (MCSD), Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE) certifications will be retired on January 31, 2021 rather than the June 30, 2020. With testing centers closed, it’s nearly impossible for most to obtain these certifications within the
Microsoft making Teams available for everyone
Earlier this week, Microsoft announced access to Teams for everyone, as COVID-19 continues to impact people and countries around the world. How Individuals can get started with Microsoft Teams: If you have an email address through work or school, sign in using this link. We’ll get you into Teams in no
Racing to Microsoft Office 365? Leverage the Power of Automation
Many organizations are rushing to the cloud and exploring new ways to manage remote employees. Office 365 automation tools have always been important for the purposes of productivity and efficiency, and they can be vital if you’re moving to the cloud faster than you’d originally planned. Here’s how Active Directory
8 Truths and Tips: Avoiding Outages in Azure Active Directory and Hybrid AD
Unfortunately, Active Directory data loss (in Azure, on-premises and in hybrid environments) is a harsh reality for many organizations, especially as threat of malicious actors breaching AD is on the rise. These business-critical services must be protected from costly outages and threats, which can stop users from getting to email,
PowerShell 7: the latest major update to PowerShell
Powershell 7 is here On March 4, 2020, Microsoft announced the release of Powershell 7. In case you didn’t know, Powershell is the automation platform and scripting language developed by Microsoft for simplifying and automating the management of Windows and Windows Server systems. In addition to the usual release of new
Creator of copy, cut and paste function, Larry Tesler, dies at 74
The inventor of Cut/copy and past, the revolutionary idea that makes your workday easier, was former Xerox researcher, Larry Tesler. Larry passed away Monday, Feb. 17, 2020. Join us in celebrating his life and his work. Read more about Tesler here.
5 Things You Should Know About Hybrid IT in Microsoft Environments
The hybrid IT model can play an important role in your digital transformation and data management, and this includes hybrid Microsoft environments. Simply stated, the hybrid IT strategy employs a mix that begins with resources in house. Nearly every organization has legacy on-premises computing resources. The second ingredient is cloud
Microsoft’s February Security Patches Deliver 12 “Critical” Fixes Among Others
Microsoft has released a hundred patches to Windows and other Microsoft software, including 12 vulnerabilities flagged as Critical, and 87 flagged as Important. Products such as Microsoft’s browsers, Windows, Office, Exchange Server and even the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool received updates (see Release Notes). Most of the critical bugs are remote code
Introducing Microsoft’s Powershell Module for Graph
At the Microsoft Ignite 2019 conference, Microsoft announced a beta version (V0.11) of the Microsoft Graph PowerShell module (available in the PowerShell gallery). The idea being to allow administrators to use PowerShell to call the Microsoft Graph API to interact with Exchange, Azure Active Directory, and other sources. Being able to use PowerShell with the Graph exposes