CIAOPS - Need to Know podcasts

Episode 71 - Ben Dampney

I this episode I speak with Ben Dampney from DigitIT about one of the biggest challenges in any business, attracting and retaining good staff.

Ben shares his recent experiences with locating his first staff member and the processes and challenges we went through to find the right person for his business. We cover off plenty of strategies you can implement, even if you are not yet quite ready to take the leap into employing that first staff member.

Some great insight and real world experiences shared by Ben here that I think will benefit many, so listen and learn from someone who has already done it.

Resources

DigitIT

The Small Business technology podcast

Episode 70 - James Eling

In this episode I am joined by the owner and managing director of Extreme Networks - James Eling, to talk about the state of play in the SMB IT space. James and I discuss the changes and challenges the cloud is bringing to the segment and the revolution it is especially forcing upon small IT resellers.

James shares his extensive business experience in this warts and all look at the options for SMB IT resellers. Is is perhaps time to consider merging? Acquiring a business? Or perhaps getting out of the game altogether. Some really great and honest feedback from someone who has built a very successful business and continues to transition it every day to something that makes sense. You'll learn a lot from listening to this episode.

Episode resources

James Eling
www.extremenetworks.com.au
 jeling@extremenetworks.com.au

Episode 69 - Tas Gray

I am joined again by Tas Gray from AxiomIT to talk everything Office 365. We talk  about the different plans that are available and what represents the best value. We also a deeper look into the specifics of each plan as well as answer some specific questions when it comes to Office application. You’ll also find some discussion around Azure, network social and the new business model the cloud bring for IT resellers.

Episode resources

The RDS world changes again - http://blog.ciaops.com/2014/10/office-365-rds-world-changes-again.html

Office 365 plans - https://products.office.com/en-us/business/compare-more-office-365-for-business-plans

Installing Office Pro Plus on RDS server - http://blog.powerbiz.net.au/office-365/installing-office365-proplus-on-a-rds-server-terminal-server-using-shared-computer-activation/

Email – tas@axiomit.com.au

Twitter – http://twitter.com/tasgray

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+TasGrayIT

LinkedIn - http://au.linkedin.com/in/tasgray/

 

Papers / Tools

 

Deploying Office 365 Desktop Apps from a USB drive - http://www.axiomit.com.au/speed-office-365-desktop-application-deployment/

I’ve developed a DNS Configuration tool for Office 365 which is hosted on Azure - https://tools.axiomit.com.au/

Episode 68 - John Liu

Here I speak with SharePoint MVP John Liu about workflows in SharePoint (and in Office 365). We discuss what workflows are, how to create them and what you can do with them. John gives us many examples of where workflows can be used to better automate and optimise a business.

Resources

SharePoint Designer 2013

http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=35491

 

Visual Studio 2013 Community Edition (with Update 4)

http://www.visualstudio.com/downloads/download-visual-studio-vs

 

 http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sharepointdesigner/

  

@johnnliu

http://johnliu.net

 

 http://sharepoint-videos.com/video-categories/sharepoint-2013-training-courses/sp13-304-sharepoint-designer-2013-workflow-course/

 

http://www.lynda.com/search?q=workflow&f=producttypeid%3a2%094%092015%3bmeta_software_facet%3aSharePoint

http://www.pluralsight.com/search/?searchTerm=sharepoint%20workflow

 

Custom Activities - these can all be used on Office 365 or SP2013 OnPrem

 

Office Dev Patterns and Practices samples

https://github.com/OfficeDev/PnP/tree/master/Samples/Workflow.Activities

 

Codeplex

http://sp2013workflowactivities.codeplex.com/

 

Paul Culmsee has a 12-part multi series that’s very fun to follow

http://www.cleverworkarounds.com/2013/12/21/trials-or-tribulation-inside-sharepoint-2013-workflowspart-1/

 

Plumsail has a pack of custom activities that can be purchased (~$500) and more importantly, support.

http://plumsail.com/workflow-actions-pack/

 

Special Episode 1 - David Alexander

Just in time for the holidays comes a special Need to Know podcast with David Alexander, Senior product Marketing Manager, Office at Microsoft.

David joins me to talk all about the latest product in the Office range, Sway. David tells all about what Sway is, how it works and where the product is headed. He shares with us some insights of bring the product to market and what people are creating with this latest offering from Microsoft.

If you want to know more about Office Sway from Microsoft then this is podcast for you.

Episode resources

Iphone app available in AU and NZ - https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/office-sway/id929856545

Sway – http://www.sway.com

Sway Blog - http://blogs.office.com/sway/

Recent iPhone app announcement - http://blogs.office.com/2014/12/15/sway-preview-expands-delivers-feature-improvements/

Feedback on Sway - http://sway.uservoice.com

David Alexander on Twitter - @MSFTDavid

Episode 67 - Chip Reaves

In this episode I am joined by Chip Reaves from Bigger Brains to talk about the MSP landscape and how the cloud is impacting this along with Chip"s venture of providing video training content. Chip also talk about his experiences with the Computer Troubleshooters franchise. We discuss Chip's recent interviews with a number of SMB community leaders about the changes that the IT Reseller market is facing and where opportunities may lie.

Resources

http://www.technology-solved.com/franchise-overview/

 

http://getbiggerbrains.com/

http://biggermsp.com/

www.getbiggerbrains.com 

www.biggermsp.com

 

http://blog.ciaops.com/2014/10/why-i-dont-like-term-trusted-advisor.html

 

http://biggermsp.com/2014/11/21/how-does-the-cloud-affect-managed-services-wrap-up/

 

http://blog.ciaops.com/2012/04/valley-of-discontent.html

 

Episode 66 - Darrell Webster

For this episode I'm joined by Office 365 Darrell Webster to discuss Yammer and Office 365. We look at what Yammer is, what it does and why it is so important to organisations going forward. We also discuss so of the challenges to adoption of Yammer within and organisation and some steps that can be taken to overcome these.

If you want to know more about Yammer, then this is the episode for you. If you an IT reseller working with Office 365 then Darrell recommends the Office 365 network  http://aka.ms/office365network as the best way to get some real hands on experience using Yammer.

Darrell Webster - http://about.me/darrellcwebster

Episode 65 - Tas Gray

Tas is back and in this episode we take a closer look at some of the enterprise features of SharePoint Online such as Access Services. We look at how these can benefit your business and why you should be looking at investing in the advanced version of SharePoint Online, even if you are a small business. We also cover off some of the latest Office 365 news as well as covering lots of other Office 365 topics.

Here's also how you contact Tas as well as some of his helpful resources:

Email – tas@axiomit.com.au

Twitter – http://twitter.com/tasgray

Google+ - https://plus.google.com/+TasGrayIT

LinkedIn - http://au.linkedin.com/in/tasgray/

 

Episode 64 - Sonia Cuff

In this episode I'm joined by Sonia Cuff from Computer Troubleshooters Aspley to talk about women in technology. We look at the questions of why more women are not involved in technology and what impact that may be having on the industry. We also cover off some suggestion about how to alleviate this and Sonia has some great resources to share. This should be a topics that makes us all ask how we can make technology an industry that is more appealing to all aspects of our society.

Women in Technology: http://www.wit.org.au/

 

The Current Status: http://www.petri.com/current-status

 

Microsoft Virtual Academy: http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/

 

Off the Scuff blog: www.offthescuff.com

 

Computer Troubleshooters Aspley: http://www.ctaspley.com.au

 

Sonia Cuff on Twitter: @Cuff_S

Episode 63 - Greg Plum

Join me as I speak with Greg Plum about the opportunities of Lync in Office 365, especially when it comes to the integration with phone and voice systems. Greg shares his experience with implementing unified communications in Office 365.

Lync is a real opportunity for many IT resellers and all too often something that is unwisely overlooked. The service that Greg can offer can truly make a Lync and end to end unified communications solution, which is something many customers are looking for.

For those wishing to contact Greg to take advantage of what he offers here are his details:

Greg Plum

Principal

PlumUC

greg@plumUC.com

Twitter:  @channelmanager

LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/gregplum/

Blog:  http://www.gregplum.com

+1.302.514.PLUM (7586)