Microsoft NZ TechNet Blog

Get ready, SQL Server 2016 coming on June 1st

The TechNet NZ Team — Thu, 05 May 2016 21:23:35 GMT

SQL Server 2016 is the foundation of Microsoft’s data strategy, encompassing innovations that transform data into intelligent action. With this new release, Microsoft is delivering an end-to-end data management and business analytics solution with mission critical intelligence for your most demanding applications as well as insights on your data on any device. Recently, we had the opportunity to showcase the exciting capabilities and what customers are doing with SQL Server 2016 at our Data Driven event. Building on this momentum, today we are excited to announce the following:

SQL Server 2016 will be generally available on June 1, 2016. This will allow you to build mission-critical, and business critical intelligent applications with the most secure database1, the highest performance data warehouse2, end-to-end mobile BI on any device, in-database advanced analytics, in-memory capabilities optimized for all workloads, and a consistent experience from on-premises to cloud. These capabilities are built-in to SQL Server for industry-leading low cost of ownership.

New SQL Server 2016 performance benchmarks. Today, Lenovo published a new #1 TPC-H 30 TB world record3 using SQL Server 2016 and Windows Server 2016 on Lenovo System x3950 X6. This result, in addition to recent benchmarks by software and hardware partners, as well as key applications across variety of workloads, proves that SQL Server 2016 is the fastest in-memory database on the planet for your applications.

The SQL Server 2016 editions include Enterprise, Standard, Express, and Developer. In March, we announced that the SQL Server 2016 Developer edition will be a free download to enable broad access to and development on the full capabilities of the latest SQL Server release.

Check out the rest of the announcement on the SQL Server Blog! [1] National Institute of Standards and Technology Comprehensive Vulnerability Database update 2/2016. [2] TPC-H 30TB and 10TB non-clustered results as of 05/02/16, 04/06/15, 5/04/15, 4/15/14 and 11/25/13, respectively. http://www.tpc.org/tpch/results/tpch_perf_results.asp?resulttype=noncluster

Free IT Pro Tools to help you build your Cloud Career

The TechNet NZ Team — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 18:11:12 GMT

Cloud technology is transforming how you do your job. Keeping up with the necessary skills and trends is more important than ever. Microsoft is introducing two new free programs for IT Professionals who want to build and grow their career in the cloud-first world:

Microsoft IT Pro Cloud Essentials
A FREE annual subscription that includes free cloud services, education, and support.
• Cloud Services: Azure Credits; Enterprise Mobility Suite Trial; Office 365 Trial
• Education: Pluralsight 3 month subscription; Certification Exam Voucher
• Support: Priority support in the TechNet forums and a phone support incident

Microsoft IT Pro Career Center
A FREE online resource to help you map your career path in cloud technologies, curriculum to learn the cloud roles, and industry career guidance to help you build the skills you need to stay relevant.
• Cloud Career Paths: discover what industry experts suggest for your cloud role
• Cloud Role Courses: follow a learning curriculum for your chosen cloud role
• Industry Career Trends: Hear from industry experts about the skills you need to succeed

Join Now!

IT Camps are here!

The TechNet NZ Team — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:30:00 GMT

...And we're back! Get your spot at one of the upcoming IT Camps early this year. The IT Camps are a great place to get up to speed on the latest features. And we reckon not a bad way to start 2016! Learn how to embrace infrastructure in the cloud while maximizing current resources and improving datacenter flexibility to deploy new technologies.

Auckland, 18 February. Register now.

Dunedin, 1 March. Register now.

See you there,

- The NZ TechNet Team and @nzregs.

******************************************

More Hybrid Cloud and Infrastructure Camps coming from February 2016. See you there!

Happy holidays,

- The TechNet NZ Team and @nzregs.

******************************************

The 300 level, expert lead, one day events known as the Microsoft IT Camps are here! Get hands-on and get skilled-up quickly at no cost. Register now, while there’s still space for you and your laptop available.

IT Camp: Windows 10 for Business

Attend this Windows 10 IT Camp to gain a deeper understanding around Windows 10 for business. This IT Camp will be covering what’s new in Windows 10, Windows 10 Deployment and Provisioning, and Windows 10 Security. You also have the option to BYO secondary Windows 7 or Windows 8 device to upgrade throughout the day with the help of a Windows expert.

Auckland, Tuesday 20 October.
Wellington, Thursday 22 October.

IT Camp: Azure Infrastructure

If your organisation needs to scale on-demand, rapidly respond to your customers, and maintain total control over your data at all times, consider extending your datacentre and choosing a Hybrid Cloud model infrastructure. Attend the IT Camp “Azure Infrastructure” to learn how your existing skills are applicable to extending your business beyond the capabilities of your on premises infrastructure.

Wellington, Thursday 12 November.
Christchurch, Tuesday 24 November.
Napier, Tuesday 8 December.

Hope to see you there!

- @nzregs and The TechNet NZ Team.

2015 Wrap-up

The TechNet NZ Team — Mon, 21 Dec 2015 15:27:03 GMT

TechNet NZ Flash

: : View as Webpage : : Go to TechNet.com

News

Events

Resources

2015 Recap

Each 12 months we take wide strides forward in-step with our top notch ISV partners, students and startups. As we near the end of the year we take a look over our shoulders. This year we looked back to see the three days in September that usually mark TechEd also marked an institution in the NZ Tech industry that’s been around for 20 years. Not only did the event reach its second decade of awesomeness, but 140+ sessions, 118 speakers from 5 countries and 2,500 attendees. And a new name – Ignite. Ignite NZ will be back 25-28 October 2016. Check out the top three sessions from this year online: The secret to telling awesome stories from Microsoft’s Chief Storyteller, The Microsoft DevOps Vision and Aligning Architecture to Organization.

Ignite is our largest event each year. But good things come in small packages too. In 2015 we ran over 60 Azure events. Attendees joined us for IT Camps and User Groups across the country. There’s more IT Camps to come in February as well as weekly events from a handful of User Groups and Meetups we enjoy working closely with.

Talk about moving fast. Talk about growing fast. As partners of the Lightning Lab we’ve watched the Auckland cohort and the inaugural Christchurch cohort raise 19 promising startups since March, with the help of the BizSpark programme and the recently announced $20 million support package that marks our commitment to supporting the ecosystem.

Emerging tech stars are shooting up from our tertiary institutions as well. This year the Microsoft Student Accelerator programme delivered 15 events and are now placing 129 students into work experience with 32 of our customers and partners for the summer.

We continue to see our partners embracing our new platforms, with Xero releasing the new integrated Outlook Office app available on the Office Store. TVNZ releasing their TVNZ Ondemand services built on the Universal Windows Platform with Mobile and XBOX One coming in 2016.

Time to take a breath. We’re closing in on the finish line now. We’d like to wish you a restful break, and thank you for joining us on the journey in 2015. With next year’s starting line on the horizon I’d like to finish on one note, and that is – see you there.

Nigel Parker
Director
Developer Experience
Microsoft New Zealand

News

EMM 2015 Recap
Enterprise mobility continues to be one of the fastest growing categories in the industry. 2015 was a good year for mobility innovations across hardware (like Surface Pro 4 & Surface Book), great mobile OS updates, and a massive change and consolidation amongst the mobility management vendors. With all of that in mind, read more to find out what to expect in 2016.

Display Scaling in Windows 10
Windows 10 delivers desktop and mobile UI which looks polished and crisp across a wider range of display densities and viewing distances. Finally, Windows 10 drives support for high quality multi-monitor scaling for docking and projection into more of both our desktop and our mobile UI. Read more to find out the basics of scaling in Windows 10 on how it works, and how users will benefit from the work we have done. Here is quick overview.

Small enterprises and StorSimple
StorSimple is a hybrid cloud storage solution that is built on Microsoft’s vision to help enterprises move faster, save money, and integrate on-premises applications and data with the cloud. With StorSimple, customers have reduced their storage costs, eliminated infrastructure sprawl, simplified data management, and increased IT agility to help transform their businesses.

Windows 10 Compability
Ensure your mission critical applications and programs continue to work as your organization plans for its migration to Windows 10, while providing greater flexibility and freedom to your end users than ever before. Check out the video on application compatibility on Windows 10, iOS and Android.

Upcoming Events

IT Camps return in 2016
From February 2016

Stayed tuned for more Infrastructure Modernization and Azure Hybrid Cloud camps coming in 2016.

Fresh courses from Microsoft Virtual Academy

Modernize Your Datacenter
In this course, find out how to embrace the modernization of on-premises infrastructure, hybrid cloud approaches, and new models for application delivery.

Simplify Mobile App Management and Secure Email on Any Device
Join this session, and learn how Microsoft Intune and Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) can help you solve these problems and how they offer the answer to your enterprise mobility management (EMM) needs.

Accelerate deployment of Windows 10 at scale
Learn how Microsoft is gearing up to make the deployment and upgrade of Windows 10 using Configuration Manager or Intune the easiest yet.

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.

2015 Microsoft Corporation Terms of Use : : Trademarks

Microsoft respects your privacy. To learn more, please read our online Privacy Statement.
If you would prefer not to receive this newsletter any longer, click here to unsubscribe.
To set your contact preferences for other Microsoft communications click here.

The Privacy Officer : : Microsoft New Zealand Ltd, PO Box 8070 Symonds St, Auckland 1150, New Zealand

A platform for modern server applications

The TechNet NZ Team — Wed, 16 Dec 2015 12:15:12 GMT

TechNet NZ Flash

News

Events

Resources

Windows Server 2016 - A platform for modern server applications

We’re now onto the fourth technical preview – TP4 – for Windows Server 2016, and it’s really starting to come together nicely. This new Windows Server has been designed with the cloud-first world in mind and brings many enhancements to features such as software-defined networking (SDN), software-defined storage, and changes to support modern computing models including containerisation and micro services.

What’s new in TP4?

We saw Windows Server containers light up in the TP3 release. This release brings us Hyper-V containers which allow for an additional deployment option and a higher level of isolation. Both of these container implementations support Docker for management. Nano Server, a highly optimised and small footprint version of Windows Server, was delivered in TP2. It went through some big changes to make it easier to deploy in TP3 and now we’ve added support for PowerShell Desired State Configuration. There are also many more improvements in software-defined storage and networking in this release and a new release of System Center to manage and support these.

Show me :)

There are many resources on the internet that will help you understand some of these new features and technologies. Here are just a few of the recent ones: Mark Russinovich demonstrates Hyper-V Containers on the Microsoft Mechanics show (12 mins). Hear Ben Armstrong cover What’s new in Hyper-V (1hr 16 min) and Matt McSpirit walk us through Software Defined Networking (1hr 11 min) at Ignite Australia. See Jeffrey Snover talking about Windows Server 2016 (14min), Windows Server 2016 Storage (15min), and Nano, Containers and the Modern App Platform (14min) on Channel 9.

Let me at it!

There are a two ways to try out the latest technical preview. By far the easiest method is to spin up an Azure Virtual Machine. Look for the images beginning with “Windows Server 2016” in the Azure Marketplace for quick start options for Full Server, Nano, and Containers. If you don’t currently have an Azure subscription, then you can sign up for a free trial at aka.ms/azuretrial. You can also download the ISO for TP4, and use the popular Customer Experience Guides to explore. System Center TP4 versions are available also.

To the source…

I’ve summarised just a couple of the new and updated features here. To explore more about what’s new or updated in this release head over to the TP4 announcement blog post from the Windows Server and Cloud Platform team.

Regan Murphy
Technical Evangelist
Microsoft New Zealand

Fresh courses from Microsoft Virtual Academy

What really happens when there is an Office 365 service incident, and what's my role?
In this session, learn more about the continuous investments in processes and tooling to provide more transparent and actionable communications so that you're ready to be successful in your role before, during, and after a service incident.

Microsoft FastTrack: The Customer Success Service
FastTrack helps Office 365 and Enterprise Mobility Suite customers evaluate, onboard, and drive user adoption of these cloud services. Learn how this service provides not only methodology guidance, tools, and resources but also direct engagement with Microsoft Engineers to help you get the most out of your subscriptions, at no additional cost.

Manage Enterprise Voice for Skype for Business 2015
Learn to how to analyze reports and troubleshoot Skype for Business 2015, and get guidelines, best practices, and considerations to help you optimize your enterprise voice deployment.

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.

Partner with us

The TechNet NZ Team — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 14:47:37 GMT

TechNet NZ Flash

Partner with us

If you’re selling Microsoft products and services into your customer base, or developing products that are based on Microsoft technologies, then you should become a Microsoft Partner.
Why become a partner?
There are many benefitsthat you can take advantage of including:

internal-use licensing of Microsoft products and services – including Office 365 and Azure
access to tools, products, and demos to help you sell
additional margins when selling certain products
access to exclusive partner training and events
listing in Pinpoint - the Microsoft partner directory

Cloud Competency Partners
The cloud is well and truly here and many of our partners are now delivering cloud, or hybrid-cloud solutions. As such, we have created four cloud-focussed competencies for our partners and are currently offering enrolment for no fee at the Silver level, or at a reduced cost for Gold level. Find out a bit more about each cloud competency here:
Small and Midmarket Cloud Solutions: for partners selling Microsoft Office 365 to SMB
Cloud Productivity: for partners deploying Microsoft Office 365 to enterprise customers
Cloud Platform: for partners who deliver infrastructure and SaaS solutions on Microsoft Azure
Cloud Customer Relationship Management: for partners deploying cloud-based CRM Online solutions.
Microsoft NZ Partner Newsletter
As a partner you’re also welcome to sign up for the partner newsletter. This is the best way to keep up to date with all the news, events, and opportunities coming up for Microsoft Partners.

Regan Murphy
Technical Evangelist
Microsoft New Zealand

News

How influential are you?
Here's your chance to grow your influence over the web and be in to win a trip to the Microsoft Ignite conference in the States. Enter by creating a Channel 9 video for our millions of viewers globally, or by answering technical questions in selected forums. Registrations close next week. Find out more or go ahead and register now.

Linux & Docker Container management with OMS
Operations Management Suite (OMS) is a simplified IT Management Solution that provides Log Analytics, Automation, Backup and Site Recovery. The OMS Agent for Linux is the easiest way to collect Syslog events, Performance metrics, Container data, as well as Nagios and Zabbix alerts. The agent is a light, open and modular agent built on proven open source components.

Creating Pop-ups by using PowerShell
Ever thought to yourself “wouldn’t it be nice if I had a little notification icon pop-up that would tell me how much RAM and CPU each of my hosts was using? I wonder if PowerShell can do that?” It can. Here's more on creating pop-ups with PowerShell.

Reflecting on ConfigMgr
Our goals with ConfigMgr in this release cycle are all centered around finishing the work we started back in 2010 (when we were building ConfigMgr 2012) to deliver ConfigMgr as a service. When any IT organization or business unit looks at the challenges ahead, the need for an integrated solution is clear. In particular, a need for an integrated system that does six irreplaceable things.

Keeping up with Windows 10

Windows 10 in the Enterprise
Enterprises want a joined-up experience – one that delivers a converged ecosystem. Join Katharine Holdsworth and Simon May as they take you through the new Windows infrastructure, capabilities and experience for a modern enterprise.

Upgrading to Windows 10: In Depth
With Windows 10, we are encouraging everyone, including organizations, to upgrade from their existing OS (Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1). This upgrade process is easy and reliable, but how exactly does it work? We dig deep and explore how the process works to ensure that everything is preserved.

Windows 10 + Azure AD + Intune = Full Desktop Management and Provisioning in the Cloud
Join us as we take a retail bought laptop running Windows 10, connect it to the internet and with the power of Azure AD and Windows Intune convert it to a fully managed Windows 10 Enterprise corporate device complete with applications.

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.

A question of forums

The TechNet NZ Team — Mon, 30 Nov 2015 21:04:01 GMT

TechNet NZ Flash

A Question of Forums

As an IT Pro you’re one of the “go-to” people in your organisation. You’ll likely be fielding questions from all over the IT spectrum – whether you’re the actual expert or not...Luckily there are a bunch of resources out there to help you maintain your IT Superstar persona! One of those resources is the TechNet Forum.
Whether you have a question about connecting a printer to Windows 10, federating your Skype for Business deployment with other organisations, or moving your servers to the cloud with Azure, you’ll be able to ask your question on the forums – or find the answer there if someone has asked it before.
Who answers these questions you might ask? It’s a community site so you’ll find answers coming in – often very quickly – from other IT Pro’s, from Microsoft MVP’s (we have over 30 in NZ), and also from Microsoft Staff (like me!)
Not finding the answer on the TechNet forums? There are some other great resources out there too. Geekzone is a locally based forum site which has a very active community and a bunch of IT Pro related forums including Lan, VoIP, Windows, Desktop, and Laptop/Mobile.
There are also a number of User Groups that meet regularly around New Zealand. If you’d like to catch a presentation on something topical and connect with some of your peers over pizza and a drink then keep an eye on the events section in this newsletter, or go and join a meetup or two on meetup.com. In the Cloud/Infrastructure/Windows subject area there are meetups in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington that you can join.
Whichever way you get your answers, I’m sure your people appreciate your knowledge and willingness to help. Perhaps next year they can recognise you for this with cake or ice-cream on your special day…

Regan Murphy
Technical Evangelist
Microsoft New Zealand

News

Microsoft Mechanics Launches
The show that brought you the latest in Office from the engineers behind the tech is expanding to cover the breadth of Microsoft technologies. Today marks the launch of Microsoft Mechanics, our official new show and video platform for tech enthusiasts and IT professionals. We’ll cover the latest tech from the Azure, SQL/BI, Windows and Surface teams with the same demo-packed 10-minute shows from the engineers and experts.

Windows Server 2016
What’s new in Windows Server 2016 Preview? Which, if you haven’t heard, is now available on-demand. Walk through the questions here that focus around upgrading to Windows Server 2016, specifically using the new rolling upgrade capabilities, then wrap up with some questions under the banner of ‘Operational Efficiencies’, which are a load of cool features to make life better for the Hyper-V admin.

Microsoft and Dell - New Hybrid Cloud Offerings.
At Dell World, Satya Nadella joined Michael Dell on stage to talk about new solutions and investments Microsoft and Dell are jointly making to bring customers into the mobile-first, cloud-first world. The new partnership will mean you have more options than ever to get to your hybrid cloud, on your terms.

Watch #AzureCon On Demand
Missed the #AzureCon event? With all sessions now live on Channel 9, you can still hear from the experts about the latest Azure innovations and easy-to-adopt solutions. With four epic keynote speakers including Scott Guthrie, Bill Staples, T.K. Rengarajan and Jason Zander, alongside 50+ technical sessions, this is an event that shouldn't go amiss. Accelerate your journey to the cloud and get watching!

Windows 10 Sessions from Ignite NZ

What's New in Windows 10 Deployment
With the release of Windows 10, there are new and updated ways to deploy Windows. In this session, we review new recommendations for upgrading existing devices using a simple in-place upgrade process, provisioning tools for transforming new devices into ones ready for enterprise use, as well as updates.

Windows 10 in the Enterprise
Enterprises want a joined-up experience – one that delivers a converged ecosystem. Join Katharine Holdsworth and Simon May as they take you through the new Windows infrastructure, capabilities and experience for a modern enterprise.

What’s New in Windows 10 Management and the Windows Store
In this session, we talk about all the changes that are coming, including enhancements to built-in mobile device management protocols, new Windows Store and volume purchase program capabilities, sign-on capabilities with organizational IDs (Microsoft Azure Active Directory), and much more...

Upgrading to Windows 10: In Depth
With Windows 10, we are encouraging everyone, including organizations, to upgrade from their existing OS (Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1). This upgrade process is easy and reliable, but how exactly does it work? We dig deep and explore how the process works to ensure that everything is preserved.

Windows 10 + Azure AD + Intune = Full Desktop Management and Provisioning in the Cloud
Join us as we take a retail bought laptop running Windows 10, connect it to the internet and with the power of Azure AD and Windows Intune convert it to a fully managed Windows 10 Enterprise corporate device complete with applications.

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.

Windows 10 Just Keeps Getting Better!

The TechNet NZ Team — Thu, 08 Oct 2015 14:17:47 GMT

8 October 2015 : : View as Webpage : : Go to TechNet.com

Windows 10 Just Keeps Getting Better

New Devices
This week was HUGE for Windows 10. At an event in New York we announced a slew of new devices including:

The Development Edition HoloLens
New Lumia 550, 950 & 950XL devices running Windows 10 Mobile plus the Microsoft Display Dock
The Microsoft Band 2 with an impressive array of new sensors and telemetry
The much anticipated Surface Pro 4 (which you can pre-order here)
...and one of the biggest kept secrets, "the laptop that can replace your laptop" AKA "the ultimate laptop"... the new Surface Book!

It's not over yet, however: our OEM partners have new devices on the way, so get ready for some more exciting announcements. If you weren’t able to catch the live event at 3am, you can catch the replay on-demand here.

Free Training
Of course if you’re going to snag any of those new devices and use them in your organisations, you’ll need to get yourself updated with the latest on the Windows 10 features for business, and understand the options you have when it comes to deployment.

IT Camps: we’re kicking off in October with a couple of free, hands-on, full-day Windows 10 for Business IT Camps in Auckland and Wellington. These will be popular and will ‘sell out’ fast so be quick to secure your seat! We also have a couple of Azure Infrastructure IT Camps lined up for Wellington and Christchurch for you in November.

Online: There is a huge amount of great content available on our Microsoft Virtual Academy and Channel 9 websites to help you learn about Windows 10, Azure for IT Pros, and more. We also have most of the sessions from our Ignite NZ event available online: check out the Windows 10 related sessions listed below, or browse the full catalogue.

Regan Murphy
Technical Evangelist
Microsoft New Zealand

News

New Era of Windows 10 Devices
With more than 110 million devices, and over 8 million business PCs running on Windows 10, there's a whole lot of device goodness to get excited about with the Surface Book, the Surface Pro 4, the new Lumia phones, the Microsoft Band 2, and the HoloLens Development Edition taking to the streets. More device announcements from Microsoft partners (like HP) are on the way. Get ready to be amazed!

Azure Backup Introduces Backup of SQL, Hyper-V VMs & More
The backup of Microsoft SQL Server, Hyper-V VMs, SharePoint Server, Microsoft Exchange and Windows Clients has been introduced in Microsoft Azure Backup server. As well as workload support, Azure Backup comes with support for backup of large data sources and long-term retention for up to 99 years. For more details, refer to the Azure Backup documentation.

You're Going Places. Microsoft Could Be One of Them.
Building and sharing your Windows 10 prowess could win you a trip to Seattle and a backstage pass to see all the exciting things happening across the Microsoft campus. Know it. Prove it. is back, and they've cranked up the technology challenge to another level. Enhance your skills with Microsoft Virtual Academy for a chance to win. More details here.

Upcoming Events

Windows 10 IT Pro Readiness
13 October (Virtual)
The MVP Award Program and the Windows IT Pro teams are pleased to offer a *free* live webcast, as part of a global community event, to provide first hand guidance about Windows 10 Enterprise for IT Pros. Join Microsoft MVPs as they take you through topics such as an overview of the Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows Security, Windows as a Service, Windows Deployment, Windows Management & Store, and Windows Networking.

IT Camp: Windows 10 for Business
20 October (Auckland - BOOKED OUT), 22 October (Wellington)
Registration for our Auckland Windows 10 for Business Camp is now full. Please stay tuned to @TechNetNZ for upcoming events!

Attend this Windows 10 IT Camp to gain a deeper understanding around Windows 10 for business. This IT Camp will be covering what’s new in Windows 10, Windows 10 Deployment and Provisioning, and Windows 10 Security. You also have the option to BYO secondary Windows 7 or Windows 8 device to upgrade throughout the day with the help of a Windows expert.

SQL Server User Group
21 October (Christchurch)
What's new in SQL Server 2016: This month we've persuaded Rob Douglas to tell us all about SQL Server 2016 and it's new features. Come along and learn all about this and how SQL Server is evolving to embrace the cloud and mobile revolutions.

IT Camp: Azure Infrastructure
12 November (Wellington), 24 November (Christchurch)
If your organisation needs to scale on-demand, rapidly respond to your customers, and maintain total control over your data at all times, consider extending your datacentre and choosing a Hybrid Cloud model infrastructure. Attend the IT Camp “Azure Infrastructure” to learn how your existing skills are applicable to extending your business beyond the capabilities of your on premises infrastructure.

Featured Apps

Browse the latest products from top retailers in the exclusive TradeMe Mall app. Find out how much your car is costing you while you're on the go, and change the way you do accounting with a free trial of the Xero app for Office, which integrates with your Outlook so you can see information on your Xero contacts while you email.

Have a Windows project on the side? Show it off! Share it with the rest of the community in the Kiwi Windows Apps Facebook Group or send us an email at msdnnz@microsoft.com.

Windows 10 Sessions from Ignite NZ

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.

#AzureCon is Coming 30.09.2015

The TechNet NZ Team — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 14:41:43 GMT

24 September 2015 : : View as Webpage : : Go to TechNet.com

#AzureCon is Coming 30.09.2015

Join this worldwide event from your place in Aotearoa. The event is for IT Implementers and Enterprise Developers, with a choice of more than 50 short, technical sessions from level 200-400. It will be demo heavy and slide light!

Sound good? Join the event here. Stream the exclusive keynotes from Scott Guthrie, Jason Zander, Bill Staples, Scott Hanselman, Mark Russinovich and other Azure engineer gurus. Join live Q&As and interact with the architects and engineers who are building the latest features.

Get started with some quick Azure facts:

Hybrid: Create new applications while adding value to existing investment by extending your data center to the cloud
Best for Business: With more Gartner MQ leadership positions than any other cloud vendor and more regions than AWS and Google combined
Open & Flexible: Embraces open source technologies but also creates a first class experience for all of your business applications (i.e. SAP, Oracle, Cloudera, etc.)
Trustworthy: Microsoft has provided detailed information showing how the Azure cloud platform addresses all of the data sovereignty, security and privacy questions set out in the 105 question due diligence framework issued by the NZ Government Chief Information Officer, who's responsible for providing guidance on how NZ government organizations should adopt cloud computing

Put it in your diary to join the Azure experts and people like you from everywhere around the world at the end of this month.

Dirk Develter
Cloud & Enterprise Lead
Microsoft New Zealand

News

#TheNewOffice is Here!
Office 2016 is here with a focus on collaboration, apps that work for you, and a perfect pairing with Windows 10. Office 2016 apps with Office 365 provide the most secure Office yet, with Data Loss Prevention and Mulifactor Authentication to ensure secure document sharing and access to content from anywhere. There is a range of new capabilities to support IT professionals too. Find out more.

Try Hadoop on Azure HDInsight (No Credit Card Required!)
Always wanted to give Azure HDInsight a go? You now have the chance to sign up for a one week trial period to learn more about HDInsight and try out the range of services, without the need to provide a credit card or create an Azure account. Get a sneak preview into Azure's big data services and get inspired to use them in your own business!

What Were the Top Rated IT Pro Sessions at Ignite NZ?
Caught up on Ignite NZ yet? If not, we'll save you a bit of time and let you know what the top IT Pro sessions were, straight from our delegates:
   1. Deploying Exchange Server 2016
   2. 30 Bad Habits of Server Administrators
   3. Exchange Server Preferred Architecture
There's plenty more learning goodness to watch with all sessions now on Channel 9.

Upcoming Events

#AzureCon
30 September (Virtual)
Choose from more than 50 technical sessions and accelerate your journey to the cloud in this free, virtual event, where you can hear from experts about the latest Azure innovation and easy-to-adopt solutions.

Canterbury Software Summit
1 October (Auckland)
The annual Software Summit is the preeminent industry event of the year for the tech sector. The conference hosts an impressive lineup of speakers across our business and technical streams plus three Master Classes, four Tech User Group sessions and a large trade show area. The Software Summit offers inspirational and educational content, allowing attendees to learn about new technology developments, hear success stories, and explore new business opportunities.

SQL Saturday Auckland
3 October (Auckland)
SQL Saturday comes to Auckland this time held by New Zealand Business Intelligence User Group which is an official chapter of PASS. SQL Saturday is a training event for SQL Server professionals and those wanting to learn about SQL Server. Admittance to this event is free, all costs are covered by donations and sponsorships. Please register soon as seating is limited, and let friends and colleagues know about the event.

LEAN 15
5-7 October (Wellington)
An immersive 3 day event in Wellington, LEAN 15 will unite attendees through powerful yet practical programming with world renowned speakers, collaborative workshops, interactive discussions, and a dynamic collective experience. Whether you are building a high-growth tech startup, a mobile app, a piece of hardware, working in a non-profit, or in a multinational organization, adopting Lean Startup methodology can help you overcome obstacles and set up effective systems.

NZ Dynamics CRM User Group
6 October (Auckland)
Get ready for the next release: CRM 2016. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2016 is a major release that will be delivered to online and on-premises customers. Alastair Coats and Greg Olsen will present the updates and new features coming to CRM with the release. This will be a jam packed session that you don't want to miss!

Windows Infrastructure and Azure User Group
7 October (Wellington)
What's new in Exchange 2016? Exchange 2016 is scheduled to be released before the end of this year. What's new and relevant for the NZ marketplace, especially for those not in a position to shift all their on-premises infrastructure into the cloud just yet? Come along and find out from Tony Murray. Tony is Directory Services MVP, but professes to know a bit about Exchange too!

Windows 10 IT Pro Readiness
13 October (Virtual)
The MVP Award Program and the Windows IT Pro teams are pleased to offer a *free* live webcast, as part of a global community event, to provide first hand guidance about Windows 10 Enterprise for IT Pros. Join Microsoft MVPs as they take you through topics such as an overview of the Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows Security, Windows as a Service, Windows Deployment, Windows Management & Store, and Windows Networking.

SQL Server User Group
21 October (Christchurch)
What's new in SQL Server 2016: This month we've persuaded Rob Douglas to tell us all about SQL Server 2016 and it's new features. Come along and learn all about this and how SQL Server is evolving to embrace the cloud and mobile revolutions.

Recommended Apps

Browse the latest products from top retailers in the exclusive TradeMe Mall app. Find out how much your car is costing you while you're on the go, and change the way you learn a new language - totally fun and free with Duolingo!

Have a Windows project on the side? Show it off! Share it with the rest of the community in the Kiwi Windows Apps Facebook Group or send us an email at msdnnz@microsoft.com.

Brush Up on IT Pro Sessions from Ignite NZ

What's New in Windows 10 Deployment
With the release of Windows 10, there are new and updated ways to deploy Windows. In this session, we review new recommendations for upgrading existing devices using a simple in-place upgrade process, provisioning tools for transforming new devices into ones ready for enterprise use, as well as updates.

Microsoft's New Windows Server Containers
In this session, we cover what containers are, what makes them such an exciting technology, how they will work in Windows Server, and how Docker will integrate with them.

20 Better Ways to Perform Server Administration Using PowerShell
Increasingly being a Windows Server Administrator requires that you be able to effectively use Windows PowerShell. In this session you'll learn some tips and tricks to get more out of your PowerShell, including making the most of PowerShell ISE, leveraging snippets, learning faster ways to write loops...

30 Bad Habits of Server Administrators
Non-expiring admin accounts, over-privileged accounts, the same service account credentials used for every service in the organisation, disabled firewalls and help desk technicians with domain admin accounts. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one.

Exchange Server Preferred Architecture
This session reviews the preferred architecture for deploying Exchange Server. These principles apply to both Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2016 due later this year.

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.

Ignite NZ Sessions Now Available to Watch on Channel 9

The TechNet NZ Team — Wed, 09 Sep 2015 19:01:48 GMT

10 September 2015 : : View as Webpage : : Go to TechNet.com

Ignite NZ Sessions Now Available to Watch on Channel 9

Thank you to the 2,500 of you that came to Ignite NZ and celebrated our 20th year of holding New Zealand’s largest tech conference. I couldn’t be more proud of the team that supported the event, and all of the amazing speakers and delegates that attended, to make it an awesome week of collaboration and learning. The session feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive, with scores across sessions achieving higher ratings than last year. It was great to see almost 400 people attend our Exam Cram sessions and Surface Hands on Labs.

The keynote is now on Channel 9 for you to enjoy, and I'd like to give a special thanks to Matt Bostwick in my team for pulling this together. I'd also like to give a special thanks to Regan Murphy, for owning the content in the breakouts, and to all the track owners, speakers, and of course you, the attendees, for making the event so successful.

At the time of writing this, the top five sessions for the conference were as follows:

You can view the sessions from Ignite NZ on the event page on Channel 9.

It was also the second year that we ran a Women in Technology evening as part of Ignite NZ. This was really well received by those that attended, and is definitely worth watching. Thanks to everyone that was involved in pulling this together. There were also many photos captured during the event and a social media takeover that saw #MSIgniteNZ overtake the NZ flag as the #1 topic on Twitter in New Zealand!

If you attended and haven't yet provided your feedback on the conference yet, please do so to help us improve the experience, before 12pm Monday 14 September. We hope to see you at Ignite NZ 2016!

Nigel Parker
Director
Developer Experience
Microsoft New Zealand

News

Get Ready for #AzureCon
Be first to see what's next. Attend the free, virtual event and hear from experts about the latest Azure innovations and easy-to-adopt solutions. Listen as customers take the stage to share their stories. Join live Q&As and interact with the architects and engineers who are building the latest features. Choose from more than 50 technical sessions and accelerate your journey to the cloud.

New Surface Enterprise Iniative Will Further Windows 10 Adoption
Designed for the enterprise, Windows 10 is a platform that delivers the latest technology to companies. As new Windows 10 enterprise capabilities are being rolled out, the Surface Enterprise Initiative will focus on bringing greater mobility and productivity to organisations with the power of Windows 10.

Getting the Fundamentals of Private Cloud Right
There are a lot of misperceptions about what it takes to get your private cloud investments right and drive adoption among your developers, and the answers may surprise you. You can successfully deploy and operate a private cloud, whether you start with a private cloud solution, or build one yourself. See how here or via Channel 9.

Test the SharePoint Server 2016 IT Preview in Azure
Microsoft recently anounced the availability of SharePoint Server 2016 IT Preview. To make this preview easy to install and test, the SharePoint product team created a new Azure virtual machine gallery image with SharePoint Server IT 2016 Preview and its prerequisites pre-installed. Check out how you can test it on Azure here.

Upcoming Events

Startup Weekend Whangerei
18-20 September (Whangerei)
Developers. Designers. Marketers. Business Folk. This is a call for you to get your idea off the ground. Anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea. Teams organically form around the top ideas (determined by popular vote). Then, it’s a 54 hour frenzy of business model creation, coding, designing, and market validation.

#AzureCon
30 September (Virtual)
Choose from more than 50 technical sessions and accelerate your journey to the cloud in this free, virtual event, where you can hear from experts about the latest Azure innovation and easy-to-adopt solutions.

SQL Saturday Auckland
3 October (Auckland)
SQL Saturday comes to Auckland this time held by New Zealand Business Intelligence User Group which is an official chapter of PASS. SQL Saturday is a training event for SQL Server professionals and those wanting to learn about SQL Server. Admittance to this event is free, all costs are covered by donations and sponsorships. Please register soon as seating is limited, and let friends and colleagues know about the event.

LEAN 15
5-7 October (Wellington)
An immersive 3 day event in Wellington, LEAN 15 will unite attendees through powerful yet practical programming with world renowned speakers, collaborative workshops, interactive discussions, and a dynamic collective experience. Whether you are building a high-growth tech startup, a mobile app, a piece of hardware, working in a non-profit, or in a multinational organization, adopting Lean Startup methodology can help you overcome obstacles and set up effective systems.

Windows 10 IT Pro Readiness
13 October (Virtual)
The MVP Award Program and the Windows IT Pro teams are pleased to offer a *free* live webcast, as part of a global community event, to provide first hand guidance about Windows 10 Enterprise for IT Pros. Join Microsoft MVPs as they take you through topics such as an overview of the Windows 10 Enterprise, Windows Security, Windows as a Service, Windows Deployment, Windows Management & Store, and Windows Networking.

Recommended Apps

Browse the latest products from top retailers in the exclusive TradeMe Mall app. Create with endless boundaries of pixelated wonder in Minecraft, or bring together what can seem like endless communications together in one place with Slack Beta.

Have a Windows project on the side? Show it off! Share it with the rest of the community in the Kiwi Windows Apps Facebook Group or send us an email at msdnnz@microsoft.com.

Brush Up on IT Pro Sessions from Ignite NZ

What's New in Windows 10 Deployment
With the release of Windows 10, there are new and updated ways to deploy Windows. In this session, we review new recommendations for upgrading existing devices using a simple in-place upgrade process, provisioning tools for transforming new devices into ones ready for enterprise use, as well as updates.

Microsoft's New Windows Server Containers
In this session, we cover what containers are, what makes them such an exciting technology, how they will work in Windows Server, and how Docker will integrate with them.

20 Better Ways to Perform Server Administration Using PowerShell
Increasingly being a Windows Server Administrator requires that you be able to effectively use Windows PowerShell. In this session you'll learn some tips and tricks to get more out of your PowerShell, including making the most of PowerShell ISE, leveraging snippets, learning faster ways to write loops...

30 Bad Habits of Server Administrators
Non-expiring admin accounts, over-privileged accounts, the same service account credentials used for every service in the organisation, disabled firewalls and help desk technicians with domain admin accounts. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that you have one.

Exchange Server Preferred Architecture
This session reviews the preferred architecture for deploying Exchange Server. These principles apply to both Exchange Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2016 due later this year.

Haven't subscribed to this newsletter yet? Join us!

Free Trials & Downloads

Have a sneak peak at how Windows 10 can help you meet your IT and security challenges.