Wednesday 6 July 2022
Florida State University reimagines student learning with Microsoft Teams
When the 2020 pandemic hit, Florida State University (FSU), was already transforming student engagement through technology with an initiative focusing on the idea that virtual technology can personalize education and unlock student potential.
FSU began using Microsoft Teams for remote engagement and asynchronous collaboration, eliminating the struggle when the lockdown occurred, and everyone transitioned to working and studying remotely. Just take it from Sean Brown, the initiatives’ Chief Strategist, who says: “…every educator would be surprised at how much they can do—and how easily—if they took the time to investigate the resources that are available to them inside the Microsoft digital transformation suite and inside Teams.”
Watch this customer success video and learn more about how more universities are incorporating technology to create a more inclusive, personalized educational strategy.
Tuesday 5 July 2022
Building a flexible and adaptive modern workplace
Hybrid work is here to stay, and businesses must have reliable and secure tools to remain competitive. Microsoft Teams makes it easier for people to work and collaborate and for businesses to successfully adapt to a new way of working.
Discover a dynamic, secure platform that allows teams to connect and interact with each other no matter where they are, allowing for flexible and inclusive hybrid work. With Microsoft Teams, you can empower your team from anywhere on the globe.
Sign up to stay connected. We’ll help you learn more about using Microsoft Teams.
Thursday 30 June 2022
5 New Rules for Leading a Hybrid Team
Hybrid work is here to stay. What does it mean for organizational leaders navigating the shift? How do they accommodate people’s needs meanwhile maintaining a culture of excellence? Turns out, the fundamentals of what transforms a group of people into an outstanding team haven’t changed much over time.
Learn what the former senior vice president of people operations at Google Laszlo Block writes in this article about organizational culture for The Harvard Business Review. The author of the 2015 book Work Rules! uses his guidelines for how to combine data analysis, academic rigor, and human resources best practices to create a world-class company culture to outline 5 ways leaders can build great teams—even when those teams aren’t together in-person all the time.
Hybrid Meetings - Microsoft Teams Rooms
Microsoft Teams is innovating for the workplace. You can now bring Microsoft Teams to any meeting space to help everyone feel closer and more engaged so they can collaborate fully.
In this infographic, learn about how you can create a natural and immersive experience with Front Row—a new layout in Microsoft Teams Rooms that enables in-room participants to see remote colleagues face to face across a horizontal plane as if they were in the same room. Learn about how to use live reactions and how you can identify and differentiate the voices of up to 10 people talking in a Microsoft Teams Room.
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Tuesday 28 June 2022
Hybrid Meetings - Microsoft Teams Rooms
Microsoft Teams is innovating for the workplace. You can now bring Microsoft Teams to any meeting space to help everyone feel closer and more engaged so they can collaborate fully.
In this infographic, learn about how you can create a natural and immersive experience with Front Row—a new layout in Microsoft Teams Rooms that enables in-room participants to see remote colleagues face to face across a horizontal plane as if they were in the same room. Learn about how to use live reactions and how you can identify and differentiate the voices of up to 10 people talking in a Microsoft Teams Room.
Sign up to stay connected. We’ll help you understand how Teams Rooms can work in various spaces.
Thursday 23 June 2022
The Total Economic Impact of Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is the tool that companies relied on when the pandemic forced them to quickly switch to hybrid work, allowing them to innovate despite the challenges. This research provides a framework for assessing the potential impact of Microsoft Teams on businesses.
Learn how customers saw increased adoption to the tool, enabling them to shift more of the enterprise to Teams for collaboration and communication. The result was increased productivity for a larger number of employees, improved productivity benefits from new automation functionality, and cost savings associated with the transition to a single communication and collaboration tool.
Sign up and download the e-book to learn about the economic impact of Microsoft Teams.
Wednesday 22 June 2022
HUS: sharing data securely to make life-saving
HUS is Finland’s largest healthcare provider and one of Europe’s leading healthcare organizations, bringing together 23 different hospitals and treating more than 680,000 patients a year.
With Microsoft cloud services and Microsoft 365 tools already in place across HUS, a Microsoft Teams trial was introduced in 2020 to help improve communication and allow medical staff to easily share sensitive information—like imaging scans— between clinicians.
Resident HUS Neurosurgeon Anselmi Kovalainen explains how since the onset of COVID-19, daily radiology meetings are now in a hybrid format, where the physical meeting still takes place, but people can join remotely through Teams.
Watch this customer success video and learn about how, with Teams, staff have a secure platform to collaborate both inside the hospital and remotely for any self-isolating colleagues.
Tuesday 21 June 2022
Hybrid Meetings - Live Events & Webinars
Microsoft Teams is innovating hybrid work. New tools exist to support pre- and post-event workflow, and you can now scale up to 1,000 attendees for interactive webinars, townhalls, and trainings and up to 10,000 for view-only broadcasts.
This infographic provides you with the latest announcements comings to Teams: Language Interpretation and the power of cameo and recording studio in PowerPoint, for starters. And a link to the Microsoft 365 roadmap will be your guide for what to expect in 2022.
Sign up to stay connected. We’ll help you deliver engaging events with large scale audiences with Microsoft Teams.
Tuesday 14 June 2022
Drive new ways to work and be together
Hybrid work has changed the way we work, and Microsoft Teams is the tool that can help you make the most of it. Microsoft Teams provides an intuitive way to connect and work collaboratively, allowing people to interact regardless of where or when they work.
Discover new and easier ways to create more immersive and engaging meetings by increasing your flexibility. Bring apps into meetings for real-time, multi-participant collaboration while maintaining Teams' security, familiarity, and capability.
Sign up to stay connected. We’ll help you learn more about using Microsoft Teams.
Thursday 9 June 2022
A Hotel-Style Hybrid Work Environment May Be the Answer to the Post-Pandemic Office Question
As the "new normal" settles in, more businesses are embracing the concept of office hoteling, a hybrid model that stretches the free-form layout of hot-desking to the entire office, removing assigned seating.
This Entrepreneur article highlights what thought leaders are acting on when it comes to changing workplace models. For business owners looking for cost-effective ways to provide the flexibility employees want without affecting productivity, hoteling is actually a pretty good idea. Case in point: Experts estimate a single desk in a high-quality office space—in real estate, furniture, technology and more—can cost up to $18,000 a year. Learn how one company saved an estimated $10 million annually thanks to its adoption of an unassigned office-seating arrangement.
Tuesday 7 June 2022
Giant Eagle reimagines communications, supports hybrid work model with Microsoft Teams
Socially conscious grocery retailer Giant Eagle adopted Microsoft Teams and used Teams live events to host a large-scale event addressing the social unrest spreading throughout the country in 2020 and beyond. With Microsoft Teams already in place, they were easily able to use their existing infrastructure to invite all 17,000 employees to watch presenters at two store locations. Arlo Sivak, Manager of the Modern Workplace team at Giant Eagle, said it was “about as smooth as a first-time event of that magnitude could have gone.” Learn about how the corporate staff quickly proved they could use Teams as a remote work platform at the onset of the pandemic, and how and why the company really hasn’t looked back.
Thursday 2 June 2022
Hybrid Meetings - Teams Meetings
Did you know that 52% of people are likely to consider shifting to hybrid or remote work in the year ahead? Microsoft Teams Meetings has a better way to run meetings where participants are empowered to engage no matter where they’re dialing in from. This infographic illustrates how participants stay in the flow before, during, and after the meeting, and includes updates about upcoming features like Loop components and meeting recaps.
Sign up and stay connected. We’ll help you transform your organization so everyone can engage in immersive hybrid meetings.
Tuesday 31 May 2022
A healthy edge: Medical technology leader Smith+Nephew uses Microsoft 365 to innovate
With the lived experience of hybrid work now officially in play, employees have a new “worth it” equation. Leaders must ask themselves: What is the role of the office? How do teams build social capital in a digital-first world?
Global medical technology company Smith+Nephew trusts Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams to ensure business continuity to reshape its work processes and include a mix of on-site and remote collaboration.
Like Microsoft, Smith+Nephew’s innovation is a fundamental part of their business, so it makes sense that they would bring in a solution to meet their employees’ needs.
Lawrence Zorio, Vice President of IT Information Security of Smith+Nephew said this of the reasoning behind their cloud provider selection: “The automation and orchestration inherent in Microsoft 365 combined with the security of the tools was a differentiator for us.”
Thursday 26 May 2022
Wednesday 25 May 2022
Closing the Loop: Securing PostgreSQL for Extreme Workloads
PostgreSQL—a free, open-source object-relational database system—has earned a powerful reputation for its proven architecture, reliability, data integrity, and the dedication of the open-source community. But it’s not without its challenges. Review issues and solutions related to extreme availability, protections against catastrophic errors resulting from heavy workloads, and embedded encryption for stricter security.
Microsoft and VMware Team Up to Offer the Next Evolution of the Azure VMware Solution
The next evolution of Azure VMware Solution (AVS), built by Microsoft and endorsed by VMware, makes it easier than ever to move to the cloud with existing VMware technologies. Products are integrated with the Azure Portal, ensuring that customers can maintain their native VMware experience with the tools they know in Azure. Learn more about why CIOs and enterprise IT departments like the idea of enabling customers that want to be all native on one cloud while using their VMware compute platform.
Tuesday 24 May 2022
Modernize your VMware workloads with native Azure management, security, and services
Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is a Microsoft service, verified by VMware, which runs on Azure infrastructure. With AVS, you can take advantage of Azure as the best cloud for your Microsoft Windows and SQL Server workloads. Eliminate the hassles of procuring, deploying, and managing hardware infrastructure by running your workloads on fully managed, single tenant, bare-metal Azure infrastructure. Join the ranks of customers who trust Azure for their Windows Server and SQL Server workloads.
Sign up to learn how to seamlessly integrate your VMware environment with Azure.
A wide-open source ecosystem for every workload
With best-in-class Linux and container infrastructure, you can choose your flavor of native Linux on Microsoft Azure with support from Linux partners. You also have your choice of open-source databases—including MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MariaDB. Use familiar tools for smooth onboarding and seamless migration.
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Treating Remote Employees Fairly in a Hybrid Workplace
With the hybrid work model taking root in modern business, it’s easy to fall into the trap of “distance bias” since our brains are naturally wired to pay more attention to what’s right in front of us. Instead of favoring people in the room, leaders should become more self-aware and intentional in their evaluations of individuals’ skills regardless of where they sit.
Learn why hybrid work can boost productivity, how remote workers may become alienated, and tactics for leveling the playing field across in-office and remote environments for the best all-around outcomes.
Thursday 19 May 2022
A fierce battle is raging in the database industry
Databases that are relational (SQL) aren’t showing the same adoption trends as their non-relational counterpart (NoSQL) and may become less relevant over time. However, opposed to other relational databases, open-source PostgreSQL is built on an object-relational architecture and delivers a range of benefits including the ability to run pretty much anywhere. A commitment to PostgreSQL means developers are relentlessly creating the most innovative open-source technology since Linux. Examine how PostgreSQL overcomes questions of scalability and other challenges.
VMware: Networking Portfolio Review
VMware is a pioneer in virtual machines (VMs) with products that tie together applications, servers, and containers spread out over the cloud. The VMware networking portfolio includes the NSX Cloud product, which networks hybrid and public cloud resources with a cloud-native tool—supported by Microsoft Azure. Another product—the NSX Advance Load Balancer—provides an application to centralize visibility into loads across cloud resources. Specifically, it provides analytics across on-premises data centers and public clouds—also including Azure. Learn more about why executives trust VMware and its partners to provide training, sales support, implementation assistance, and the network design support needed for their organization’s migration journey to the cloud.
Wednesday 18 May 2022
Tuesday 17 May 2022
5 Reasons to Migrate using Azure VMware Solution Part II
Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is a partnership between Microsoft and VMware that supports scale, automation, and fast provisioning for your VMware workloads on global Azure infrastructure. Review an infographic that explains why AVS is Azure. Learn about the solution’s cost-effective strategies for migration, and how with platform symmetry, you have the control to transform at your pace. Research included provides convincing data points about cost-savings with AVS.
What does Azure do to make sure all my Linux workloads are securely managed
Security is top of mind for all cloud computing, and Linux is no exception. Secured Linux VM images are available, including CIS-hardened images. Linux distributions publishers are required to update images in Microsoft Azure Marketplace at least once per quarter.
Looking for a database solution? SQL Virtual Machines run great on Linux, featuring optimized price and performance. Review the infographic to see how much.
Monday 16 May 2022
Thursday 12 May 2022
Engage employees, improve productivity, and build team cohesion
After so much turmoil and change, employees all want different things. Companies need to support a successful back-to-hybrid-office life—a situation that is here to stay. The capabilities for positive hybrid meetings is possible with modern Microsoft tooling like Teams, Endpoint Manager, and devices like Surface Hub. Immersive and custom engagements that highlight leading guidance and innovation help remote and on-site deployment assistance prepare teams for hybrid work—meeting the needs of employees and increasing productivity and satisfaction no matter where they work.
Sign up to stay connected—we’ll help you better connect and create new experiences throughout your organization with Hybrid Meetings.
Linux and OSS Database Migration to Microsoft Azure Advanced Specialization Program guide and FAQ.
The Linux and Open Source Database Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization is designed for partners to demonstrate their knowledge, experience, and success in planning and deploying migration of production workloads to the Azure cloud for their customers. This document defines the requirements to earn the Linux and Open Source Database Migration to Microsoft Azure advanced specialization. It also provides requirements, guidelines, and an audit checklist for the associated audit that is required to earn this advanced specialization.
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Meeting You Where You Are A pragmatic take on the journey to the cloud.pdf
Pressure to accelerate big decisions and investments around digital transformation is at an all time high. To ease the transition and make it work for organizations in every stage of cloud migration, Microsoft has partnered with VMware. Azure VMware Solution (AVS) helps benefit mutual customers to efficiently and cost-effectively move existing VMware apps to Azure. This E-book takes you through specific, realistic ways to accelerate your cloud journey.
Subscribe to stay connected. We’ll help empower your organization to come out of this moment stronger and streamlined so you are setup for success now, and in the future.
Wednesday 11 May 2022
Investors Bank seamlessly transforms its data center using Azure VMware Solution
In 2019, Investors Bank launched a three-year technology transformation project. The bank needed a platform and infrastructure to support its customer experience team's digital-first, omnichannel strategy. After research and training, they partnered with Microsoft and implemented Azure VMware Solution (AVS), which allowed them to run VMware workloads natively on Azure—accelerating innovation. Previously, they didn’t have the ability to scale up or down to prove or disprove a technology, but AVS helped seamlessly migrate its data center to new virtual machines in private clouds without having to expend resources.
Canonical creates Ubuntu offerings on the cloud using Azure Marketplace
Canonical is a tech provider that distributes Ubuntu Linux using Microsoft Azure Marketplace. With Ubuntu used as the base for Kubernetes, it now makes up 70 percent of the Linux footprint on all hyperscale clouds.
Microsoft and Canonical wanted to give businesses migrating to Azure with Ubuntu a seamless positive experience—from a development environment that is the same as the production environment, to flexibility to scale from testing to production.
Azure Marketplace was the ideal choice for bringing value to Ubuntu users. Services such as system management, compliance, enhanced security, and vendor support are built-in benefits.
Tuesday 10 May 2022
Nebraska Furniture Mart embraces Microsoft 365 to work smarter
The ability to work securely from anywhere already played a role in Nebraska Furniture Mart’s (NFM) digital transformation vision, but COVID-19 pushed that goal to the forefront. Decision makers at NFM chose Microsoft 365 to advance a cloud-first strategy and standardize on a single solution. Consolidating communication on a single solution like Microsoft Teams helped drive efficiency and collaboration—all while saving costs. NFM implemented Teams Rooms systems at its Omaha headquarters, and the company will soon roll out the solution across all its stores, as well as integrate Teams Phone capabilities in the future.
Top 5 Reasons to Migrate with Azure VMware Solution Part I
Azure is the best cloud for your VMware workloads. Review an infographic that illustrates how the partnership between Microsoft and VMware enables a seamless move from your datacenter to Azure, including specifics about data consolidation, application modernization, fast provisioning, and more. And, as a bonus, see a handful of research points about how organizations are replacing legacy applications with new cloud-native applications. You’ll also find a link to more information about the Azure Hybrid Benefit—a plan to save you money by using your existing on-premises Windows Server and SQL Server licenses on the cloud.
Tuesday 3 May 2022
To Make Hybrid Work, Solicit Employees’ Input
Driven by the state of the world today, more companies are committing to hybrid work. But how do you build out the model in a way that’s right for your business and those who are conducting it?
Simple: Talk to employees to tailor the program to their specific needs. Easier said than done? Learn what questions to ask and scenarios to consider, and then maintain flexibility so you can quickly pivot if necessary.
What is Microsoft doing with Linux? Everything you need to know about its plans for open source
Over time, Microsoft support for Linux has grown more enthusiastic, with 60 percent of the images on Azure Marketplace now based on Linux. Microsoft SQL Server is also part of that ecosystem, as more and more container and private cloud technologies are built on Linux infrastructure. Microsoft Azure can provide best-in-class support for Linux and container infrastructure because of Microsoft’s increased understanding of running Linux—especially now, in a hyperscale cloud.
Bonus: Azure customers get the same hybrid benefits for Linux support contracts as with Microsoft Windows Server.
Microsoft Wants to Control VMware Infrastructure with Azure Arc
Working efficiently is all about keeping things simple and under control. That is why Microsoft is enabling VMware virtual machines (VMs) to be managed in the same way that Azure is managed in the cloud, by automating the deployment and management of its VMs. Learn why leaders are excited about how Microsoft is transforming Azure Arc into a universal control plane that can orchestrate servers, Kubernetes clusters, database services, application services, and even VM management platforms such as vCenter running in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Monday 2 May 2022
Hybrid Work: A Guide for Business Leaders
The pandemic has fundamentally transformed the way we work, do business, and meet customer (and employee) needs. With data showing that all parties want flexibility, the shift to hybrid work is a strategic business opportunity for every organization—one that requires a new operating model.
The customers’ objective is to lead this change within their business and embrace innovation and the hybrid work opportunity—the inevitable way of the future. Fortunately, Microsoft has been a trailblazer in this transition, and has a guide to share what they’ve learned at scale about people, places, and processes.
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Thursday 28 April 2022
Reimagine the flow of work in the new hybrid work reality
Flexibility is a must in the new post-pandemic work world. Hybrid work continues to evolve, and business leaders are looking for a new operating model. Technology is the binding factor to create inclusive meetings that keep employees engaged and inspired. Updates to Teams like PowerPoint Live, the Teams camera feed, Microsoft Whiteboard—and devices like Surface Hub—encourage digital collaboration.
Endpoint Manager combines services like Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Desktop Analytics, co-management, and Windows Autopilot to help secure access, protect data, and respond and manage risk.
Sign up to say connected—we’ll help you better connect and create new experiences throughout your organization with Hybrid Meetings.
Best-in-class Linux and container infrastructure
Microsoft Azure supports common Linux distributions, including Red Hat, SUSE, Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Oracle Linux, and Flatcar Linux. Create your own Linux virtual machines (VMs), deploy and run containers in Kubernetes, or choose from hundreds of pre-configured Linux images available in Azure Marketplace.
Stay connected: Sign up today and receive information, tools, and support, so we can help you can take your organization to the next level.
Get scale, automation, and fast provisioning for VMware workloads on global Azure infrastructure
Azure VMware Solution (AVS) is a Microsoft service, verified by VMware, which runs on Azure infrastructure. It is the way in which you can easily move your VMware workloads to Azure—increasing productivity and provisioning cycles. Enhance your workloads with the full range of Azure compute, monitor, backup, database, IoT, and AI services. Azure is the cloud of choice for Windows Server and SQL Server for a reason. On Azure, you can benefit from intelligent security, seamless hybrid capabilities, and unique cost-cutting options.
Sign up to learn how to seamlessly integrate your VMware environment with Azure.
Wednesday 27 April 2022
Setting The Stage For Collaborative Hybrid Teams
Remote work is starting to feel mainstream, but many companies are still struggling to normalize their own personalized hybrid work models. Explore four things you should avoid in order to balance the needs of a diverse and divided workforce—from investing in the right tools and overcoming meeting fatigue to finding new ways for personal connections.
Tuesday 26 April 2022
The NFL huddles with Microsoft Teams to digitize collaboration for game day
Everyone knows that teamwork is vital in the National Football League (NFL)—on the field and off. The arrival of COVID-19, however, pushed the league to reimagine how to collaborate behind the scenes. Executing hundreds of live events while preserving the gameday experience for online fans and business partners was a new challenge.
In exchange for the traditional high-touch, in-person communication culture at league offices, the organization adopted a virtual home field. Microsoft Teams helped the NFL stay connected and safely execute all 270 combined regular season and playoff games and Super Bowl LV—despite the collaboration challenges brought on by the pandemic.
University of Miami Gains Flexibility and Disaster Recovery Resiliency with Azure VMware Solution
The University of Miami's IT team turned to Microsoft Azure about seven years ago for a cloud-based approach to disaster recovery—especially relevant since the university is home to one of the leading oceanographic institutions in the nation, including two U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research laboratories.
By 2019, the university was well-positioned to continue operating email and other mission-critical systems in the event of a natural disaster or other disruption. The cost savings for VMware licensing alone (up to six figures) were significant, as was the elimination of the need for networking equipment, storage hardware, and professional services for deployment.
They have been able to demonstrate their resiliency, invested over the years using Azure’s native platform and Azure VMware Solution (AVS), making them much more agile to support the university's evolving infrastructure needs.
XM deploys Microsoft SQL Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux to optimize its data management
Compañía de Expertos en Mercados SAESP (XM) in Columbia offers services related to renewable energy and the wholesale energy market that depend on real-time systems. To improve its internal processing and database management, XM deployed Microsoft SQL Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and open-source software. The result: a 300 percent increase in digital transaction response times and increased availability of online services. Both compute resources and sysadmin service hours also were greatly reduced.
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