Ignite 2015 Session Download Script

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Michel de Rooij

Yesterday was the first day of Ignite, and Exchange fellow Tony Redmond put up a nice summary of the first day, keynoted included, here.

For those not attending Microsoft Ignite, attending different sessions or not able to enter a session because the room was full, Microsoft publishes Ignite sessions on Channel 9. Because you may want to watch sessions offline, some people created scripts to retrieve all session videos and slidedecks.

Here is a slightly modified script, originally from Claus Nielsen, to download all Microsoft Ignite 2015 videos and slidedecks as the become available on Channel9. You can select sessions based on category or speaker, which helps narrowing down the contents offered at Ignite to sessions you are interested in. The script also allows you to download other session videos and decks, for example from Build 2015 or last year’s TechEd NA.

You can download the script from the TechNet Gallery here.

Ignite 2015 Session Catalog is here!

Posted on January 29, 2015 by Michel de Rooij

A short heads-up as the session catalog for Microsoft Ignite has been published. So, if you are still undecided or already want to pick ‘must see’ sessions for your schedule, you can check the session catalog here.

The session catalog contains 275 sessions, covering products like Exchange (49), Office 365 (85) and Skype for Business (26). It will be the first major Microsoft event where details will emerge on the next version of Exchange, Exchange v.Next.

The Exchange team published a blog on the Exchange-related Ignite sessions here. The blog contains a nice video featuring Greg Taylor and Jeff Mealiffe talking about what to expect at Ignite.

Also, on Febuary 3rd, the team behind Ignite as well as several speakers will be available on Twitter to answer any questions you may have on Ignite. Use the hashtag #IgniteJam to participate, or follow @MS_Ignite for any updates.

More information on Ignite, pre-day sessions, the session catalog and the #IgniteJam in the original post on Channel 9 here.

Ignite 2015: Call for Topics

Posted on November 21, 2014 by Michel de Rooij

In October, I reported on the new ‘mother of all Microsoft events’, Microsoft Ignite. This event is going to take place from May 4-8, 2015 in Chicago, US.

Contrary to how the agenda used to be determined for events like TechEd or the Microsoft Exchange Conference (MEC), Microsoft is now asking for your help by scoring contents and topics. By completing a short, anonymous Call for Topics survey here, you can let those in charge of assigning session slots know what you would like to see at Ignite.

If you have any questions on Ignite, Microsoft is also having some Twitter sessions for specific products. More on this in the original Call for Topics post here. The Exchange session takes place at Tuesday, December 2^nd 9 am (Pacific Time) and use hashtag #ignitejam to participate.

So, if you went to MEC and would like to see a fair share of Exchange or Office 365 should you visit Ignite, be sure to complete the Call for Topics survey and plug your favorite product or platform.

Aaand we named it .. Microsoft Ignite!

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Michel de Rooij

Today Microsoft revealed the name of the event temporarily known as MUTEE, or Microsoft’s Unified Technology Event for Enterprises:

Microsoft Ignite 2015 Full

The Microsoft Ignite event, which replaces Microsoft Exchange Conference, LyncConf, Microsoft Management Summit, SharePoint Conference and TechEd North America, will be held from May 4-8, 2015 in Chicago at McCormick Place. On the Exchange Team blog, former Microsoft Exchange Conference attendees are told this will be their ‘go to’ event for 2015 (apart from independent conferences, such as Exchange Connections 2015).

The Microsoft Ignite 2015 site is already up and you can even register, in case you are worried this event with a potential of 20k attendees will soon be sold out. Microsoft is asking potential attendees to provide input through a YamJam. For those unenlightened, a YamJam is a virtual event on Microsoft’s Enterprise Social platform called Yammer, meaning you have to register on the hosting Yammer network first.

The announcement on the Office blog has some additional information here, including information on Convergence and //Build 2015.

PS: It is likely that the adoption of this name has consequences for the events formerly known as Ignite, e.g. Office 365 Ignite. Those events were technical training to get IT Pros up to speed on new products. The faith of those training sessions has not been disclosed.

IT/Dev Connections 2014 Wrap-Up

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Michel de Rooij

Note: For those that attended Jaap and my session on Thursday, PowerShell Tips & Tricks for Exchange, and are looking for the scripts used in the demonstrations, they are available here. The slidedeck is available here.

Today I returned from one of the largest, independent conference on Microsoft technologies, as it is not sponsored by Microsoft. Sessions were spread over a 3 day period on popular topics as SharePoint, SQL, developer and Windows, as well as out beloved Exchange. In addition, the conference offered pre and post-conference workshops. The conference was held in the city of Las Vegas, a place which I hadn’t seen after I left it around 1996 when leaving something called Comdex. The estimated total of attendees was 1,400, of which around 100-200 attended Exchange sessions since people were free to switch between tracks.

With this being my first Exchange Connections, I must confess the community feeling and depth of contents were well-above expectation. Exchange sessions were not only presented by independent Exchange MVP’s and MCSM’s, but there were also sessions hosted by Tim McMichael and Wes Blalock of Microsoft. Greg Taylor, Exchange PM CXP, was also present, but unfortunately didn’t host any session.

The Exchange track was kicked off by an plenary session for those interested in everything Exchange or related topics such as Office 365. I am still waiting for the formal feedback and ratings on the PowerShell Tips & Tricks for Exchange session with Jaap I did on Thursday, but unofficial feedback was overall good which I am happy with since this was my first presentation in front of an international audience and I am somewhat self-critical. The week was closed with a Exchange panel session, wrapping up the week and answering audience questions. It was also when the winners were announced of the trivia contest offered by sponsor ENow. Prizes included an Xbox One and $500 in cash.

When connecting with the community, you get a sense on the current opinion on the product and future plans. It was learned that the majority of the attendees are still running Exchange on-premises and a vast majority still runs Exchange 2007 or Exchange 2010. There were quite a few comments on product quality, mainly referring to the recent issues with Exchange 2013 Cumulative Updates resulting in Hybrid Configuration Wizard issues, issues with Exchange 2013/Exchange 2007 co-existence deployments, or more recently issues experienced when using Chrome with the Exchange Administrative Center.

I had a blast at Connections, despite a minor inconvenience as my luggage was delayed. There were lots of opportunities to meet up at the conference, receptions, many dinners and the excellent Scheduled Maintenance party. Outside of these formal events, people were also actively looking each other up to exchange musings over a pint. Having experienced my inaugural Exchange Connections this year, I must say I am really looking forward to next year’s event to stay in contact with the community, and catch up with my MVP and MCSM friends. The MVP Summit is next up on the agenda, so I won’t have to miss most of my MVP friends for long.

I was also very pleased with my Huawei E5372, a so-called MiFi device which functions as a mobile WiFi access point, routing traffic to a mobile data provider at a fraction of the roaming mobile data costs. In the end, the amount of mobile data used after this week was rather low, which mainly can be attributed to the excellent WiFi facilities in Aria, the conference hotel.

One final shout out to ENow for the personalized NFL jersey. People attempted pronouncing my last name, and most came up with “The Rouge” which is close enough for me.

Finally, here are some of the other Exchange Connections wrap-ups:

Austrian MVPs Martina Grom (Office 365) and Toni Pohl (Client Development) analysed Twitter data related to IT/Dev Connections 2014, and came up with some nice statistics where they present here. It seems I was a Top 10 Tweeter.