m365

Happy holidays! Another year, another set of predictions around the life of IT Pros – now in 2022! The pandemic continues to evolve, with new variants appearing and vaccination levels getting high. Will the pandemic still be a significant factor next year? What about back-to-work plans? Or is working-from-home the new normal? The past year was tough on the security side of things with notable ransomware and business-email-compromise attacks – are you prepared? What will we be doing differently in the next year? And how did Richard's predictions from last year stand up to reality? Thanks again for listening!

Recorded December 2021

Episode 800! Richard chats about making 800 episodes of RunAs with Microsoft Technical Fellow Jeffrey Snover. The conversation digs into the state of the IT business today, with the huge role of the cloud and digital transformation, and how it impacts the nature of work. Jeffrey talks about how the artificial intelligence in M365 is emerging as a tool to help people be more productive, by watching what they're working on and helping them to organize their information and efforts better. This leads to a discussion about privacy, understanding objectives and key results, and the ultimate goal of any system - better outcomes. Could this actually be the next generation of Microsoft technology? Hopefully it won't take another 800 shows to find out!

Links:

• The Strength of Weak Ties

Recorded October 11, 2021

The Architects sit down in the virtual studio to discuss Microsoft Forms:

• What is it
• How do you use it
• Why should you use it

Show Links
ITPro Video Channel

Information on Microsoft Forms


We like to thanks Aspirant for sponsoring the show
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Michael Askins on Twitter
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In der letzten Episode stellten wir die Frage ob die Fileshares landauf und ab bereits obsolet sind und wir nur mehr alles in Teams, OneDrive und SharePoint speichern. Da liegt es auf der Hand die gleiche Frage auch Richtung Kommunikation, also Emails, zu stellen.

In Episode 32 dreht sich alles rund um Kommunikation. In wie weit ist Kommunikation eine Kompetenz die man in ein Team miteinbringt? Was ist der Unterschied zwischen schriftlicher Kommunikation in Emails und zum Beispiel Microsoft Teams? Und wenn man sich für Teams als Tool entschieden hat, welche Möglichkeiten gibt es dort und wie kann man hier einen Überblick erhalten. 

Viele Fragen und hoffentlich noch mehr Antworten in unserer Folge 32!

Schmankerl der Woche

• Antje: Der schweizer Park PARC JURA VAUDOIS
• Thomy: Ein Baby-Phone mit Video

How does your organization work with files in Microsoft 365? Richard chats with Jason Moore about the role of OneDrive for Business, SharePoint, and the many tools available for files, folders, and lists in the M365 world. Jason talks about how under the hood, every file ends up in some pretty standard spots, like Azure Blob Storage - so you know that compliance, governance, and policy are consistent. The conversation also ranges over how different organizations come to different solutions based on their past experiences and skill sets - there's a lot of choice for a reason!

Links:

• One Drive for Business
• M365 To Do App
• M365 Lists
• Ransomware Detection and Recovery in OneDrive
• M365 and Microsoft Defender
• OneDrive Personal Vault
• OneDrive Photo Storage
• Sharing OneDrive Files and Folders

Recorded August 6, 2021

How do you respond to a ransomware attack? Richard talks to Dana Epp about dealing with a ransomware attack. Dana discusses making a plan - if you don't have a plan already, dealing with an attack is very difficult. And make sure your plan exists outside of your regular network since one of the first things you're going to do during an attack is shut down the network. The conversation focuses on how ransomware attacks are a crime and need to be treated accordingly - it's a business problem, not just a technical problem.

Links:

• Canadian Center for CyberSecurity
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• Ransomware Detection and Recovery in OneDrive
• Azure Backup
• Twilio

Recorded July 19, 2021

How do you protect your PowerApps? Richard chats with April Dunnam about backing up and maintaining versions of PowerApps over time. April talks about how many PowerApps are developed by people that are more domain experts than developers. That lack of experience in development means that issues like source control and disaster recovery are not on their minds. There is excellent tooling available to help manage PowerApps: You just need to set it up!

Links:

• Power Platform
• Backup and Restore Environments
• PowerApps Dataverse
• Application Lifecycle Management with Power Platform
• Power Platform Extension for Visual Studio Code
• Azure DevOps
• Debugging Canvas Apps with Monitor
• Fusion Development

How do you get started with the Power Platform? Richard chats with Sandy Ussia about the familiar places that Power Platform first appears - domain users trying to automate work like approvals, improve or replace forms-over-data tooling, and more! Sometimes it relates to existing custom applications in the organization, and sometimes it is a set of connectors between SaaS services - or is so far down the to-do list, who knows when someone will get to it! Sandy talks about how culture impacts the evolution of Power Platform in an organization - will the people using the tool reach out when they hit an access restriction, or work around it? This is where IT can help - and maybe find some opportunities to use Power Platform as well!

Links:

• Lightning Tools Chat
• Power Platform
• Power Automate
• Microsoft Power Apps Community
• Power Apps
• PowerBI
• PowerBI Gateway
• Shane Young on YouTube
• Explore Power Platform

So many ways to store data in the cloud, so little time! Richard talks to Karl Rautenstrauch about the array of offerings for your files in Azure Storage. Karl talks about how the rush to move to the cloud last year created some regrets - in the form of large bills for certain services! Planning migrations help because there are several storage choices based on your needs. The conversation digs into the role of Azure Disk, Azure Files, and Azure Blobs - including their relationship to OneDrive for Business, and even a quick chat about NAS products like NetApp!

Links:

• OneDrive for Business
• Azure Storage Services
• Azure Migrate
• Azure NetApp Files

There are few endeavours more noble than saving lives on our coastlines, so looking after your staff and nurturing the family spirit is a key contributor to the success of a lifesaving charity such as the RNLI. 

For an organisation which has historically relied on working in person, the task of strengthening their internal communications required bold, fun initiatives from Internal Communications Manager Jessica Noble, and Internal Comms Officer Hayley Johnston.

Find out how RNLI’s weekly film update, wellbeing campaign, increased use of Yammer, and jovial content has brought the RNLI family together like never before.

This episode covers

• How RNLI’s internal comms directed the business through uncertainty
• Positive reception for the charity’s weekly film update
• RNLI’s 3 most important principles, and their One Crew pledge
• Keeping internal communications fun in the face of adversity
• Connecting people with RNLI’s culture through their new intranet
• Launching a new wellbeing campaign

Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamalexgraves/
Links & references at: https://siliconreef.co.uk/work-happy-podcast/

Connecting with employees in a business environment can be approached in much the same way you would a customer, where authentic content with the audience at the heart of the conversation is paramount. Such is the approach taken at Virgin Media by their Internal Communications Director, Jess Lonsdale.

On episode 3 of ‘Work Happy’ Jess joins us to talk about the values at Virgin’s businesses that have kept her with the company for nearly 15 years, the evolution of their collaborative work through Office 365, and how the formula for a winning team requires attention to both “me” and “we”.

This episode covers

• Overhauling Virgin Media’s approach to their intranet
• Using MS Teams to vary Virgin’s communications channels
• Importance of authenticity in content
• Putting employees at the heart of comms like they would a customer
• The “me” and “we” of having an effective team
• Incorporating ‘welldoing’ into Jess’ outlook on Work Happy

Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamalexgraves/
Links & references at: https://siliconreef.co.uk/work-happy-podcast/

With over half a decade of experience at Co-op, Rebecca Sykes has been taking strides to overhaul their approach to communications among their 70,000 colleagues. While this is no small task, the rewarding nature of celebrating their team’s stories has driven the creation of such campaigns as ‘Safer Stores, Safer Colleagues’, and their contributions to diversity and inclusion.

In this second episode of ‘Work Happy’ Rebecca goes in depth on the introduction and implementation of Office 365 and how it’s already led to tangible benefits, as well as her approach to the difficult task of benchmarking the success of internal communications campaigns.

This episode covers

• Modernising Co-op’s comms protocols with Office 365
• The benefits of spreading messaging across different channels
• Benchmarking and measuring the success of comms campaigns 
• Co-op’s dedicated support for colleagues’ mental health
• What to expect from “the next normal”
• Shifts in the job market and locations of their colleagues

Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamalexgraves/
Links & references at: https://siliconreef.co.uk/work-happy-podcast/

Welcome to the SERIES PREMIERE of Work Happy - a podcast series focused on using technology to explore better ways of working. 

We’re kickstarting this podcast with a breakdown of the methods behind IKEA’s incredible, almost family-like culture. From their emphasis on togetherness, to their dedication to highlighting motivating stories from stores around the world through Yammer, there’s no stronger advocate for IKEA’s internal communications strategy than Daniela Rogosic and Guy Britt. 

IKEA’s CEO Communication Leader and Global Head of Co-Worker Communication both join Alex Graves, Founder & MD of Silicon Reef and host of ‘Work Happy’, to pull back the curtain on ‘Flatpack TV’, how they connect with a workforce that are predominantly on the shop floor, and picking the right channels to encourage their teams to look after one another.

This episode covers

• Communicating with a workforce largely away from PC’s and laptops
• The strengthened culture provided by IKEA’s ‘Bible’
• Creating the ‘Flatpack TV’ show for its staff
• IKEA’s view on the future of working flexibly
• Emphasising conversations over monologues at their events
• Supporting mental health, and the ways co-workers lift each other

Connect with Alex: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamalexgraves/
Links & references at: https://siliconreef.co.uk/work-happy-podcast/

Are your teams secure? Richard chats with Tobias Zimmergren about securing Office 365 Teams - both internally and externally! The challenge of Teams collaboration is the risk of sharing too much - and as Tobias says, by default, everyone can see everything. Certain teams in your organization, like HR, legal, and RnD, have to limit who can see their collaborations: Teams has information barriers to protect sensitive collaborations. Tobias also dives into eDiscovery and Data Loss Prevention, two huge topics on their own, and typically connected with Exchange: But also important with Teams. Get secure!

Links:

• Managing Teams Security
• Managing External Access in Teams
• Security and Compliance in Teams
• Information Barriers in Microsoft Teams
• eDiscovery Solution in Microsoft 365
• Office 365 Data Loss Prevention
• Microsoft Defender for Office 365
• Microsoft Cloud App Security

Does M365 work for small business? Richard chats with Ian Williamson about his work as a sole IT person in a small business trying to move into Microsoft 365. Ian talks about how many of the features (and documentation) for Microsoft 365 is aimed at organizations much bigger than what he is working in - and often digging into features his tenant doesn't have! The conversation also focuses on the challenges of identity: Making sure your personal Microsoft identities don't collide with your M365 identities, how to untangle that mess, and perhaps, at some point, actually get some real benefits from M365!

Links:

• Perform an Internal Admin Takeover
• Determining Tenant Type
• Microsoft Hibernates SMB Support
• M365 Security Defaults

Happy New Year! A year ago Richard flew solo to talk about what IT looked like in the new decade. And then the pandemic hit and changed everything. With vaccines beginning to roll out, it's a good time to look at what 2021 is going to look like. What changes have been made in your organization, and how many of them will stay as the pandemic ends? Richard also dives into the predictions he made at the beginning of 2020, and how they look a year later. This is also the end of the Pandemic Series - thanks so much for listening!

In the final episode of season five, co-hosts Bill Mariano and Rob Hellewell review an article on a recent ILTA>ON panel that examined how tech has created certain power dynamics in legal space.

Next, Bill and Rob bring on John Collins of Lighthouse to walk them through the top M365 features to leverage in an ediscovery program. Together they cover the latest and greatest as well as uncover answers to the following questions: 

• How many updates and enhancements is Microsoft making?
• How often/fast are these coming out?
• What are some of the common challenges around these rapid changes? 
• What are the top M365 features that folks in the industry should be aware of?
• Are there other ways and/or resources folks can use to stay up-to-date?

The season ends with key takeaways from the guest speaker section. Subscribe to the show here, rate us on Apple and Stitcher, connect with us Twitter, and discover more about our speakers and the show here.

Related Links

• Blog Post:Microsoft 365, G-Suite, and the Growing Demand for Consulting and Testifying Experts
• Blog Post:Leveraging Microsoft 365 to Reduce Your eDiscovery Spend
• Blog Post:Key Compliance & Information Governance Considerations As You Adopt Microsoft Teams
• Podcast Episode: Microsoft Office 365 Part 1: Microsoft’s Influence on the Next Evolution of eDiscovery
• Podcast Episode:Microsoft Office 365 Part 2: How to Leverage all the Tools in the Toolbox

About Law & Candor

Law & Candor is a podcast wholly devoted to pursuing the legal technology revolution. Co-hosts Bill Mariano and Rob Hellewell explore the impacts and possibilities that new technology is creating by streamlining workflows for ediscovery, compliance, and information governance. To learn more about the show and our speakers, click here.

This episode examines Microsoft Team and other productivity tools with a special focus on remote work. The conversation includes the value of our partner ecosystem and how they have added tremendous value to Microsoft’s productivity suite of tools.

Learn how Microsoft Teams has become a platform for life, work, and learning. Hear the story of Teams and its use in the NFL Draft.Many customers and use cases are explored around the state of the art in online communications. Learn how to become a partner yourself and add your add-ins and ideas to the platform.

Guest Information

Jared Spataro is Corporate Vice President for Modern Work at Microsoft with a special focus on emerging trends and technologies. He is responsible for product marketing, business management, and go-to-market programs for Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and next generation productivity products. 

Follow Jared.

Jared’s Blog | LinkedIn | Twitter

Show Links

• Microsoft 365 Blog
• Microsoft 365 
• Microsoft Teams Blog
• AppSource 
• Azure Marketplace
• Transcript

Your Hosts

Paul Maher is General Manager of the Industry Experiences Team at Microsoft. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

David Starr is a Principal Azure Solutions Architect in the Industry Experiences Team at Microsoft. Follow him on LinkedIn and Twitter.

In the very first episode of season three, co-hosts Bill Mariano and Rob Hellewell, introduce themselves and welcome listeners back for another riveting season of Law & Candor, the podcast wholly devoted to pursuing the legal technology revolution.

To kick things off, Bill and Rob begin with Sightings of Radical Brilliance, the part of the show where they discuss the latest news of noteworthy innovation and acts of sheer genius. In this first episode, they dive into a recent story around the Astros cheating scandal and their illegal use of technology to observe and relay the signs given by the opposing catcher to the pitcher known as sign-stealing.

Before our co-hosts jump directly into the guest speaker segment of today’s episode, they set the stage for the first three episodes of season 3, which are recordings from the first-ever live Law & Candor show during Legaltech this past January. All three live segments are trickled out over the next three episodes. 

The guest speaker segment for episode one highlights, Josh Kreamer of AstraZeneca. Josh, Bill, and Rob discuss ever-evolving technology and data sources, and how it is now more challenging than ever to combat the cost and complexities associated with legal data. They tackle these key questions and Josh provides answers to the following: 

• What are some of the biggest data challenges in the industry today?
• What are some key solutions to these challenges?
• How do you implement these solutions?
• How do you get buy in from your team/get them excited to move forward with implementation?

In conclusion, Rob shares top takeaways from episode one. If you enjoyed the show, join in the conversation on Twitter and discover more about our speakers and the show here.

Related Links

• Podcast Episode: The Future is Now – AI and Analytics are Here to Stay

About Law & Candor

Law & Candor is a podcast wholly devoted to pursuing the legal technology revolution. Co-hosts Bill Mariano and Rob Hellewell explore the impacts and possibilities that new technology is creating by streamlining workflows for ediscovery, compliance, and information governance. To learn more about the show and our speakers, click here.

Law & Candor co-hosts Bill Mariano and Rob Hellewell kick things off with Sightings of Radical Brilliance, in which they discuss changes the legal system may face thanks to innovation brought about by AI, big data, and online courts. 

In this episode, Bill and Rob are joined by Mike Brown of Lighthouse. The three uncover how Microsoft 365 (M365) and GDPR are driving change for a more proactive approach to ediscovery across the globe and answer the following questions: 

• How have GDPR and M365 changed company attitudes from a reactive to a more proactive approach to ediscovery?
• How does Brexit impact this?
• How does a company actually become GDPR compliant?
• How do companies prepare?
• How do DSARs come into play?
• How does M365 help solve for these concerns?

In conclusion, our co-hosts end the episode with key takeaways. To join the conversation, connect with us Twitter and discover more about our speakers and the show here.

Related Links

• Blog Post: Why Moving to the Cloud is a Legal Conversation

About Law & Candor

Law & Candor is a podcast wholly devoted to pursuing the legal technology revolution. Co-hosts Bill Mariano and Rob Hellewell explore the impacts and possibilities that new technology is creating by streamlining workflows for ediscovery, compliance, and information governance. To learn more about the show and our speakers, click here.