Monday, December 31, 2018

Low-Code Development Is Awesome--Here’s When Not to Use It

Low-code development makes it easier and faster to write software, but there are 5 things about low-code platforms that should give companies pause.
by Christopher Tozzi via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

10 Future Technology Predictions to Watch in 2019

Our team at ITPro Today talks to industry experts about their future technology predictions, and share how these trends will impact storage, mobility and cybersecurity.
by Jeffrey Burt, Paul Heltzel, Nicole Henderson, Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sunday, December 30, 2018

Talking T-SQL (among Many Other Enterprise SQL Server Topics)

Microsoft experts discuss the current state of cloud adoption, T-SQL enhancements, the evolution of enterprise SQL Server performance tuning and mentorship.
by Tim Ford via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Saturday, December 29, 2018

The 12 Tips of ConfigMas

'Twas the night before ConfigMas, when all through the house, not a keyboard was clicking, not even a mouse ...
by Adaptiva Guest Blogger via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Join Sympraxis Consulting at the SharePoint Conference North America in May, 2019

Beginner’s Guide to AWS Security Monitoring

As organizations around the world shift their workloads to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and other popular cloud infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) providers, concerns about cloud security continue to rise. According to a 2018 Cloud Security Report from
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Top 10 PCI DSS Compliance Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Despite the fact that PCI DSS has been in effect for over a decade, and most merchants are achieving compliance, some of the world’s largest retailers have still been hit by data breaches. The sad truth is that achieving compliance doesn’t guarantee
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

2018 Threat Intelligence Report

Threat intelligence has become a significant weapon in the fight against cybersecurity threats, and a large majority of organizations have made it a key part of their security programs. This threat intelligence report, produced by Cybersecurity Insid
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Detect Advanced Threats with Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)

As malicious actors target endpoints with new types of attacks designed to evade traditional antivirus tools, security teams are looking to endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions for an additional layer of security. In this solution brief, y
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

5G Wireless Service, GDPR Laying the Groundwork for 2019

Two of the biggest stories of 2018 will likely be bigger in 2019. Specifically, we saw the first U.S. cities get 5G wireless service from major carriers, with more devices sure to follow in 2019. The privacy law GDPR took effect in 2018, in what looks to be the just the tip of the privacy crackdown iceberg.
by Paul Heltzel via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Friday, December 28, 2018

How to Classify Files with File Server Resource Manager

Windows Server’s native File Server Resource Manager allows administrators to classify files in order to simplify management.
by Brien Posey via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

802.11ax: Benefits, Challenges and Use Cases

Date: Tuesday, April 09, 2019Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight TimeDuration: 1 hour IEEE 802.11ax – also becoming known as Wi-Fi 6 – is the latest in a long line of major physical-layer standards for wireless LAN (WLAN) technology. Incorporating a rema
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

DTP: The Future of Data Transfer?

Tech heavyweights have teamed up on the Data Transfer Project, which is designed to make it easier for users to take ownership of data.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

New Year – New Skills! Save 33% on Pluralsight Subscriptions!

Boxing Day is on and Pluralsight is back at it with a 33% off promotion! If you’re new or want to renew, you can get a 1-year subscription to all 600 + courses for as low as 199$ or 299$ on the Premium one which also includes Certification Practice Exams! If you already know about Pluralsight, skip the rest of the blog and get the deal over here: https://spvlad.com/PSBoxingDay2018

If you are a SharePoint person, there are over 200 courses on SharePoint 2013, 2016 and Online, as well as 90 courses on Office 365! Not to mention multiple learning paths for Certifications, as well as general learning! You even have Skill IQ, which allows you to do a test on a certain skill, and then shows you courses on only the things that you didn’t get correct, so you can focus your learning on the stuff that you need!

The promotion is only valid until December 31st so get it now at https://spvlad.com/PSBoxingDay2018 !

The post New Year – New Skills! Save 33% on Pluralsight Subscriptions! appeared first on Absolute SharePoint Blog by Vlad Catrinescu.


by Vlad Catrinescu via Absolute SharePoint Blog by Vlad Catrinescu

Blockchain-Optimized Storage Addresses Performance, Security Concerns

Bluzelle CEO discusses where blockchain breaks down when it comes to data storage and integrity, and how a decentralized architecture can help.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

SPJS Charts v7.0.0.14

Fixed a small bug and added some new functionality. You find the complete change log here: https://spjsblog.com/spjs-charts-for-sharepoint/spjs-charts-for-sharepoint-v7-change-log/

Alexander


by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

Thursday, December 27, 2018

What Apple and Google Know about You--and How to Delete It

Apple and Google know more about us than most people realize, and they've recently provided ways to "take back your data."
by Paul Heltzel via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

AT&T Rolls out Mobile 5G Network to Limited Cities

AT&T and Verizon provided a taste of mobile 5G this year, with more widespread coverage expected in 2019.
by Paul Heltzel via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

What we Got Right (and Wrong) in Our 2018 Predictions

The ITPro Today team looks back to the claims we made on the cusp of 2018 to see how they panned out this year.
by Christine Hall, Richard Hay, Nicole Henderson, Lisa Schmeiser via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Wednesday, December 26, 2018

How to Implement File System Quotas in Windows Server

Organizations can curb data growth by placing quotas on their file servers. Here's how to set up File System Quotas in Windows Server.
by Brien Posey via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Enterprise Hardware Lifespan: Why My SSD Still Works After 6 Years

The biggest lesson learned from my SSD's long life may be more about enterprise hardware lifespan best practices and less about the SSD itself.
by Brien Posey via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Data Is Your Story: The Language of Data Infrastructure Modernization

A look at the key trends driving the modernization of the data infrastructure, focusing on governance, mobilization and analytics.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Recent Security Breaches, IoT Vulnerabilities Make Top Stories of 2018

From the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities to recent security breaches, 2018 was a year in cybersecurity that had its share of ups and downs.
by Jeffrey Burt via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Monday, December 24, 2018

Speaking at SharePoint Conference 2019!

SharePoint Conference is back in Las Vegas in May 2019! SPC19 is one of two major Microsoft events where Microsoft announces their roadmap for SharePoint and of course the full Office 365 collaboration suite! This promises to be an amazing conference, with all sorts of announcements, deep dive technical sessions and of course great networking! There will be over 100 of the best speakers at the event, some of which you can probably recognize from the picture below, and even if the conference has SharePoint in its name, it will cover Office 365, Planner, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Flow, Yammer, and almost all the products in Office 365 that interreact in a way or another with SharePoint!

SharePoint Conference 2019

My Sessions!

I will be presenting two sessions, so let me introduce them quickly!

From start to finish: How to create your modern SharePoint site provisioning solution

I am excited to be doing this session on modern site provisioning with my good friend and MVP Drew Madelung! Here is the official description, and I won’t go too much in depth with the details as we have created a small video that explains it all!

Creating modern SharePoint sites only takes a second, but what if you want to customize or control that process? It can be a challenge to keep up with all the sites in an organization and can affect support and governance of a SharePoint environment. In this session, learn how to use Microsoft’s latest tools such as Site Designs, PnP Site Provisioning, PowerApps and Flow to create a full site provisioning system with custom templates, custom branding, and easy approval before creation!

Enable secure external sharing for the Office 365 Administrator

Does the idea of your users sharing content externally keep you up at night? Join me in this demo-filled session to learn what security controls Office 365 and SharePoint Online offer in order to enable users to securely share content in SharePoint Online. We will cover everything from settings available in the Office 365 admin center, to hidden ones that are only available in PowerShell, and of course, how to create different reports of external users in Office 365 and what they have access to. Users are smart, and if we disable external sharing, they will find a way, most probably using tools that are not approved by IT to get the job done! The end goal is for Administrators to enable external sharing in their Office 365 tenant in order to allow users to be productive, but still have full control over what is shared and with whom.

 

A unique chance of networking with Microsoft

SharePoint Conference 2019 will be a great opportunity for you to have direct access to the Microsoft Product Group! Last year, there were over 100 members of the different Product Groups, from SharePoint to Yammer to Stream and even SharePoint Spaces that you could book meetings with, ask specific questions and get help on the big projects you have in 2019!

Also, don’t forget to register as soon as possible, because the price will go up as we get closer to the conference! The early bird ends on January 14th, and you can save an additional 50$ with code VLAD. If you sign up for a workshop package, you can also bring some sweet gadgets home such as a Xbox One or a Cortana Smart Speaker! Register today at: https://sharepointna.com/#!/register?utm_term=VLAD !

SharePoint Conference 2019

The post Speaking at SharePoint Conference 2019! appeared first on Absolute SharePoint Blog by Vlad Catrinescu.


by Vlad Catrinescu via Absolute SharePoint Blog by Vlad Catrinescu

New Types of Data Storage Support Rapid Growth in 2018

The year in storage news can best be summed up with types of data storage brought by advances in hardware that will allow IT organizations to keep abreast of the terabytes of data they're managing both on-site and in the cloud.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sunday, December 23, 2018

Start a Security To-Do List

Protecting an organization depends on deep knowledge and experience, but a security to-do list can go a long way toward locking things down.
by Tom Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Saturday, December 22, 2018

CommentBox for SharePoint v3.0.0.5

I have released a new version of CommentBox for SharePoint with a few bugfixes.

Look here for the complete change log: https://spjsblog.com/commentbox-for-sharepoint/commentbox-v3-x-change-log/

Post any comments below, but please post bugs or questions in the forum: https://spjsblog.com/forums/forum/comment-box-for-sharepoint/

Alexander


by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

Friday, December 21, 2018

Microsoft Continues Building an Open Source Software Legacy

In a year when Microsoft has added a lot to the open source software landscape, it is closing out 2018 with one last addition to its open source contributions and work. Also: information about merging data between G Suite applications; Microsoft's work to make modern desktop management more efficient.
by Richard Hay via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Delayed Flight? Honeywell May Have a Fix

Honeywell has a vision for using technology to improve air travel and stake out a leading position in the burgeoning field of connected aircraft.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Drone Industry Fears Political Attack After Gatwick Shutdown

Analysts and executives are concerned that political reaction may hinder the rapid growth of the drone industry.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

2018 in Machine Learning News: A Year of Reckoning

In a lot of ways, machine learning news in 2018 suggests a year of reckoning with the technological advancements of preceding years. The push toward driverless vehicles slowed after a death; ethical concerns about AI were addressed by no less than Microsoft and Google; ML-driven tech became increasingly ubiquitous at home and at work, even as people grew increasingly concerned about data protection.
by Terri Coles via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Thursday, December 20, 2018

IBM Says No Evidence That `Sensitive' Data Was Taken by Hackers

International Business Machines Corp. says it doesn’t have any evidence that hackers took “sensitive” company and client information after Reuters reported China’s Ministry of State Security attacked IBM and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Facebook's Spiraling Data Issues Could Lead to Billions in Fines

Facebook, bound by a 2011 settlement with the FTC, isn’t supposed to share private data without the permission of users or misrepresent its privacy policies. But a New York Times report earlier this week said Facebook shared users’ private messages and allowed access to data about friends without their consent. Those are "two potentially thorny legal problems," according to Matthew Schettenhelm, a Bloomberg Intelligence litigation analyst.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Security Analytics: Benefits and Best Practices for Deploying

Security analytics offer a comprehensive, automated system for staying on top of security alerts and events. What should your IT team keep in mind when researching and deploying these tools?
by Joan Goodchild via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Learn the Benefits and Drawbacks of Edge Computing

This exciting technology can extend compute power to places and scenarios previously considered unimaginable – but it carries some very real risks.
by Stuart Burns via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

The Seven Steps of the DevOps Lifecycle Process

A well implemented devops process should mean delivering better code, faster. But getting it right does mean investing in an appropriate process. Here’s a framework for seven steps to successful devops.
by Simon Bisson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Four Data Center Colocation Trends to Watch in 2019

Colo providers expect a surge in enterprise business driven by hybrid cloud and new, modern tools for consuming their services.
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Samsung Foldable Phone: Apps Will 'Tell' Form Factor's Future

The long-awaited Samsung foldable phone is poised for release, but how long will it take for a critical mass of apps for the form factor to appear?
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

How to Detect Cryptomining in your Environment

Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2019Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour Cryptominers are built to turn computing power into revenue. To make cryptomining a profitable venture, cyber criminals are writing and distributing malware to stea
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Data Replication, Automatic Failover Drive University's Search for New Storage Solutions

Pittsburg State University seeks new storage solutions that will help it move from time-based replication to synchronous replication.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Wednesday, December 19, 2018

4 Online SQL Server Help Resources for DBAs ('Accidental' and Otherwise)

There are several good online SQL Server options DBAs can turn to for advice, support and help.
by Tim Ford via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Confluent Creates New 'Open Source' License to Stop Cloud Poaching

As they attempt to fight the onslaught of cloud giants selling their software as managed services, open source companies devise new licensing restrictions.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Enabled HTTPS protocol for SPJSBlog.com

I have added an automatic rewrite of all URLs to use HTTPS. This mean the site is not only accessible trough the secure HTTPS protocol. All existing links will automatically be rewritten so the users should not experience any issues.

Please post any comments below.

Alexander


by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

CommentBox for SharePoint v3.0.0.4

I have released a new version of CommentBox for SharePoint with a few bugfixes.

Look here for the complete change log: http://spjsblog.com/commentbox-for-sharepoint/commentbox-v3-x-change-log/

Post any comments below, but please post bugs or questions in the forum: http://spjsblog.com/forums/forum/comment-box-for-sharepoint/

Alexander


by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

EU Investigating Report of Massive Hacking on Diplomatic Cables

The European Union is investigating "a potential leak of sensitive information" following a report that hackers breached the bloc’s diplomatic communications network.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Modernizing Your SQL Databases with HCI and Workload Optimization

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2019Time: 11:30 AM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour Sponsored by We live in a data-driven society. that is experiencing tremendous growth. 33 Zettabytes (ZB) in 2018 to 175 ZB by 2025. The other big challenge isn't j
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Windows 10 Security: How to Configure Advanced Security Features

Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2019Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Daylight TimeDuration: 1 hour System and information security are critical elements of doing business in today’s connected world. As more companies dive deeper into digital transformations, more d
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

SharePoint Online Search Isn’t Displaying What I Expect – Part 2 – EnableDynamicGroups

This occasional series probably ought to be titled “How to solve a search problem by asking Mikael Svenson” (@MikaelSvenson), but he probably doesn’t want to be the world’s help desk for search. Luckily, I know him.

In my previous post, I showed how to simplify your code by using PnPJS and async/await. I didn’t focus much on what I was trying to accomplish. The goal of the search call was to get a list of all the sites (STS_Site) which the current user could access. We’ve built a My Team Sites SPFx Web Part and this call is in the services for it.

Over several weeks, we’ve been trying to get the Web Part to display what we want – which wasn’t as simple as we would have thought. If you work with the search APIs all the time, these things may be old hat to you, but since there is usually a big gap in between the times I use them, my memory can get a little fuzzy.

In the prior post in this series, I talked about how the way that the search API trims duplicates – which may make total sense in many ad hoc search results – can cause you to miss results you actually need. By setting TrimDuplicates to false, we can ask the search API to return all the results.

We ran into another search “feature” in this instance. Since we’re trying to retrieve all the sites to which the current user has access, we’re asking the search API to return objects where contentclass=STS_Site. I’d already turn off duplicate trimming – can’t catch me twice on that! But we still weren’t getting all of the sites back. Even more strangely, we were getting some modern sites back, but not others. The sites we were getting back and those we weren’t were darn near identical in their set up and use. Because they represented a project covering a specific scientific topic, the names of the sites were almost identical.

Here’s an abstraction of what we were seeing:

Site 1 Site 2
Site Type Modern Team Site Modern Team Site
URL /sites/SITE-CHR-204 /sites/SITE-CHR-207
Title SITE-CHR-204 SITE-CHR-207
Permissions* Owner Owner
contentclass STS_Site STS_Site

* In this case, my permissions as I was testing, but we checked with a few other people’s views as well.

As you can see, the only difference we could spot was the single character difference in the Title and URL for the site. Duplicate trimming could certainly have kicked in there, but we had already turned that off. (If you have any ideas of what else might be different, I’m all ears!)

After a discussion with Mikael, he suggested adding EnableDynamicGroups to the call. Magical – it worked! I can’t for the life of me understand why it worked, since we were seeing probably a good half of the modern Team Sites already, but since it worked, I guess we should just be happy with that. As Mikael told me, “turn off duplicate trimming and add that, and things usually work.”

If you’re using PnPJS and async/await- as I recommended in my prior post, then the change is in lines 14-20. We’ve simply added the EnableDynamicGroups property and set it to true.

private async _getSiteData(): Promise<ISPSite[]> {

    var thisDomain: string = location.host.split(".")[0];
    var exclusions: string[] = ["https://" + thisDomain + "-my.sharepoint.com", "https://" + thisDomain + ".sharepoint.com/portals/personal"];
    var exclusionString: string = " -Path:" + exclusions.join(" -Path:");
    exclusionString += " -Path=https://" + thisDomain + ".sharepoint.com";

    try {

      let result = await sp.search(<SearchQuery>{
        Querytext: "contentclass:sts_site " + exclusionString,
        RowLimit: 500,
        TrimDuplicates: false,
        Properties: [{
          Name:"EnableDynamicGroups",
          Value: {
            BoolVal: true,
            QueryPropertyValueTypeIndex: QueryPropertyValueType.BooleanType
          }
        }],
        SelectProperties: ["Title", "Path", "SiteLogo"]
      });

      return this.processSearchResults(result);

    } catch (e) {

      console.error(e);
      return null;

    }

  }

by Marc D Anderson via Marc D Anderson's Blog

Service Meshes are Getting Hot in the Enterprise, and VMware Is Listening

Bringing the Istio service mesh to its network virtualization platform, VMware is hitting three strategic priorities at once.
by Mary Branscombe via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

AWS Is Coming to Enterprise Data Centers, With or Without VMware

In a departure from its previous strategy, AWS is going for the on-prem data center market. What does the move mean for its partnership with VMware?
by Wylie Wong via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

GE Creates New Independently-Managed IoT Business

With its stock valuation continuing to sag, the company is looking for short-term revenue growth. To that end, it is creating a new stand-alone IoT software business.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Monday, December 17, 2018

Oracle Sees Stronger Sales Growth in Cloud Transition

Oracle Corp.’s shares rose on a strong sales forecast, signaling the world’s second-largest software maker expects greater customer demand in its transition to cloud-based computing.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

A Preview of Bosch’s IoT Projects on Display at CES 2019

From driverless shuttles to smartphone-based vehicle keys, Bosch plans to show off an array of IoT projects at the CES 2019 exposition in Las Vegas.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Ransomware Attack Victim: Once Bitten, Twice Shy

A dozen years after it was hit, ransomware attack victim A1care continues to search for and implement the latest and greatest in security software.
by Jeffrey Burt via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Friday, December 14, 2018

Infographic: Benefits of Migrating from ADFS to Okta

Organizations of all sizes are on a journey to the cloud, migrating their legacy software and adopting new cloud-based apps. Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) enables you to keep using Active Directory as your single source of tru
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Facebook Bug Gave Developers Broader Access to User Photos

The bug, which spanned the 12 days between Sept. 13 and Sept. 25, potentially gave developers access to other images, such as photos uploaded to the site but not yet posted, the Menlo Park, California-based firm said.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Removing the Identity Barrier for Office 365 Migrations

Migrating to Office 365 can present many challenges and delays. One of the greatest is the problem of identity. How do you easily connect your existing users, groups and other Exchange/Lync information in Active Directory to Office 365, and keep it u
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Benefits of Migrating from ADFS to Okta

Organizations of all sizes are on a journey to the cloud, migrating their legacy software and adopting new cloud-based apps. Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) enables you to keep using Active Directory as your single source of tru
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Deploying Mission-Critical Business Workloads on Hyperconverged Infrastructure

Hyperconverged holds out the promise of helping consolidate your infrastructure. It can seem like the “easy button” to deploying storage in remote locations or for VDI. But “easy” often comes with tradeoffs—like performance limitations that don’t sup
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

The State of Software-Defined Storage, Hyperconverged and Cloud Storage

DataCore’s Seventh Consecutive Market Survey
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

A Modern Approach to Protecting Business Data and Improving Application Performance

An organization’s data is at the core of all of its operational and service functions, and the amount of that data only continues to grow.  The need for quick access to the data is growing commensurately; companies today increasingly require the abil
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Smarter Storage Management Series

Organizations are creating huge amounts of data but how and where are they going to store it all?  Answers can be found in this eBook, which includes a series of thought provoking articles covering critical issues including storage silos, application
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Business Continuity for Mission-Critical Applications

Learn how to get the most out of your infrastructure
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Study Shows Disconnect Between Firstline Workers and Management

A Forrester Consulting survey conducted on behalf of Microsoft exposes a distinct disconnect between firstline workers and managers. The numbers show that managers believe they are providing the necessary tools for their workers but that is not the perception of those who work in public-facing positions. However, there is opportunity to improve the situation across IT. Also, in another survey from Pega Systems, it seems balance and consolidation is needed with those tools so that workers can be more productive.
by Lisa Schmeiser, Richard Hay via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Marriott Breach Exposes Weakness in Cyber Defenses for Hotels

There is a growing sense that an industry whose bedrock business is providing real-world security isn’t equipped to look after its guests in cyberspace.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Google's Cloud Unit Won't Sell a Type of Facial Recognition Tech

Google said its cloud business won’t sell a general type of facial recognition software until questions around the controversial technology have been answered.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Is AWS Glacier Deep Archive the Tape Killer?

Bottomless cloud storage at cents per gigabyte for your cold tier might sound like the end of tape, but there’s more to consider than cost.
by Mary Branscombe via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Druva's CloudRanger Integration Helps Manage, Protect Workloads in the Cloud

As companies increase their workloads in the cloud, unified disaster recovery/business continuity becomes increasingly important.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Wednesday, December 12, 2018

DNA Storage: Why the Stuff of Life Is Poised to Be the Stuff of Storage

DNA storage may prove to be optimal for archiving files that must be retained but will rarely (if ever) need to be accessed again.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Using PnPJS and Async/Await to Really Simplify Your API Calls

Anyone who knows us at Sympraxis realizes that Julie (@jfj1997) is the master developer. I consider myself quite capable, but Julie is always at least three steps ahead of me. She often leads me by the nose to a better pattern or practice, and it always seems to be a good idea.

Over the last few days – at Julie’s suggestion – I finally decided to try using the PnPJS library with a couple of SPFx Web Parts I’m working on. Even though I was on all the calls in the beginning of the effort to build it, and on some level it’s a “modern” SPServices, I decided a while back that I didn’t really like the way it looked. I understand REST just fine, I figured. Why would I need a helper library?

I’ve been cruising along just fine, building great stuff for our clients, but Julie started telling me recently that PnPJS and async/await was reducing her code size significantly. It sounded too good to be true, frankly. So I figured I should give it a try.

Here are a couple of examples to demonstrate how right Julie was and how much code I’ve been writing that I didn’t need to write. (Allow me to get away without doing everything I need to in the try/catch here. That’s not the point I’m trying to make. Watch for a post on Julie’s blog about how to use PnPJS’s Logging package with try/catch.)

Calling Search to Get Sites

In this instance, switching to PnPJS and async/await didn’t greatly diminish my code size, but I do think it makes it more readable. It also runs significantly faster.

Here’s the starting code. It’s a simple call to the search endpoint requesting Sites (as in Site Collections in the old parlance) with some specific exclusions. The Web Part this is in shows all the sites the current user has permissions to see. It’s like the modern Sites Web Part, but that Web Part doesn’t allow us to:

  1. Show *all* the sites the user can access, and
  2. Control the styling of the output

The end result is a listing of the sites, showing their icon and Title as a link to the site.

This is one of the data calls as it started:

private _getSiteData(): Promise<any> {

    var thisDomain: string = location.host.split(".")[0];
    var exclusions: string[] = ["https://" + thisDomain + "-my.sharepoint.com", "https://" + thisDomain + ".sharepoint.com/portals/personal"];
    var exclusionString: string = " -Path:" + exclusions.join(" -Path:");
    exclusionString += " -Path=https://bluebirdbio.sharepoint.com";

    var url: string = this.context.pageContext.web.absoluteUrl +
      "/_api/search/query" +
      "?querytext='contentclass:sts_site " + exclusionString + "'" +
      "&selectproperties='Title,Path,SiteLogo'" +
      "&rowlimit=500";

    return this.context.spHttpClient.get(url, SPHttpClient.configurations.v1,{
      headers: {
        "Accept": "application/json;odata.metadata=none"
      }
    })
      .then((response: SPHttpClientResponse) => {
        return response.json();
      });
  }

And this is what it looks like using PnPJs and async/await.

private async _getSiteData(): Promise<ISPSite[]> {

    var thisDomain: string = location.host.split(".")[0];
    var exclusions: string[] = ["https://" + thisDomain + "-my.sharepoint.com", "https://" + thisDomain + ".sharepoint.com/portals/personal"];
    var exclusionString: string = " -Path:" + exclusions.join(" -Path:");
    exclusionString += " -Path=https://bluebirdbio.sharepoint.com";

    try {

      let result = await sp.search(<SearchQuery>{
        Querytext: "contentclass:sts_site " + exclusionString,
        RowLimit: 500,
        SelectProperties: ["Title", "Path", "SiteLogo"]
      });

      return this.processSearchResults(result);

    } catch (e) {

      console.error(e);
      return null;

    }
    
  }

Even with the added try/catch the code is smaller, and since we’re building up the request with the library, we get help from our IDE (I use WebStorm) because the library is strictly typed. In the first example, since I’m building the request in the URL string, it’s easier to type an error into my code.

Getting List Data

In this example, I’m retrieving values from what I think of as a reference list for a more full-fledged application-in-a-Web-Part.

public getShipmentStatuses(serviceProps: IServiceProperties): Promise<IStatus[]> {
  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
    var urlList: string = `${serviceProps.context.pageContext.web.absoluteUrl}/_api/web/lists/getbytitle('SL_ShippingStatuses')/RenderListDataAsStream`;
    var requestOptions = this.spHttpOptions.getShipmentStatuses;
    serviceProps.context.spHttpClient.post(urlList,
      SPHttpClient.configurations.v1,
      requestOptions
).then((responseList: SPHttpClientResponse): Promise<{ value: any }> => {
      return responseList.json();
    })
      .then((responseJson: any) => {
        var shipmentStatuses: IStatus[] = [];
        for (var i = 0; i < responseJson.Row.length; i++) {
          var thisRow = responseJson.Row[i];
          var thisShipmentStatus: IStatus = new Status();
          thisShipmentStatus.Id = thisRow.ID;
          thisShipmentStatus.Title = thisRow.Title;
          thisShipmentStatus.SortOrder = thisRow.SortOrder;
          thisShipmentStatus.Follows = thisRow.Follows;
          thisShipmentStatus.CanBeCancelled = thisRow.CanBeCancelled === "Yes";
          shipmentStatuses.push(thisShipmentStatus);
        }
        resolve(shipmentStatuses);
      })
      .catch((err) => {
        reject(err);
      });
  });
}

This turns into:

public async getShipmentStatuses(serviceProps: IServiceProperties): Promise<IStatus[]> {

    try {

      let items = await sp
        .web
        .lists
        .getByTitle("SL_ShippingStatuses")
        .items
        .select("Id", "Title", "SortOrder", "CanBeCancelled")
        .orderBy("SortOrder")
        .get(spODataEntityArray<Item, IStatus>(Item));

      return items;

    } catch (e) {
      
      console.error(e);
      return null;
      
    }
}

Much less dense and easier to follow, I think.

The other thing I’m taking advantage of in PnPJs here is Entity Merging. You can see how simple that is in line 12 above. Rather than building up my object in what amounts to a constructor, the Entity Merging package takes care of it for me. All I have to do is tell it what interface to use. (Above, it’s IStatus.)

Summary

Sometimes it’s important for old dogs to learn new tricks. In software development, it’s really a requirement. It didn’t take me anywhere as near as much time to take these steps forward, and I’m already seeing performance improvements and simpler code – both wins for my clients. If Julie recommends something – we should ALL listen!


by Marc D Anderson via Marc D Anderson's Blog

Gender Roles: In Search of Open Source Software Diversity

Gender diversity in the open source software community was a topic of discussion at this week’s KubeCon, where panelists explored the problem and pointed to corporations as safe havens against bad behavior.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sweden Gets Its Own AWS Data Centers – Amazon’s First in the Nordics

The cloud giant promises better performance for its “tens of thousands” of customers in the region.
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Almost Everyone Involved in Facial Recognition Sees Problems

An unusual consensus emerged recently between artificial intelligence researchers, activists, lawmakers and many of the largest technology companies: Facial recognition software breeds bias, risks fueling mass surveillance and should be regulated. Deciding on effective controls and acting on them will be a lot harder.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

FCC Encourages Phone Carriers to Block Unwanted Text Messages

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted Wednesday to clarify that telephone companies may block unwanted text messages in a move the agency said would help prevent spam from polluting the popular service.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Third-Party Investigator Says No Evidence of ‘Spy Chips’ on Supermicro Motherboards

The hardware vendor hired an investigations firm to help it mend reputation damaged by allegations of a supply chain breach.
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

The End of Classic SharePoint

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

First-Time re:Invent Attendee Reflects on AWS Announcements

AWS announcements came at a rapid-fire pace during re:Invent, but this first-time attendee and VP of product helps us decipher which ones may be worth more attention.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Microsoft Adds Edge Web Browser to Its Open Source Development List

Over the last few years, Microsoft has become a big contributor to the open source software community. Earlier this week, the company added several of its developer-related technologies to the list during the Microsoft Connect(); 2018 developer conference. However, the latest open source-related announcement about its Windows 10 web browser is overshadowing everything else right now.
by Richard Hay, Lisa Schmeiser via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Equifax Failed to Match Security to Its Growth, Report Says

Equifax Inc. failed to modernize its technology security to match the company’s aggressive growth strategy and data gathering, a shortcoming that left it open to the 2017 hack that compromised the information of 148 million people, according to a House Oversight Committee report.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Vodafone Leads in Magic Quadrant for Managed M2M Services

The British multinational telecom firm has won accolades from a variety of analyst firms for its managed M2M services.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Google Chief Stresses American Roots in Debut Before Congress

Google Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai kicked off his first appearance before Congress Tuesday stressing the company’s American roots as lawmakers from both parties criticized the world’s largest search engine over issues including political bias, privacy and its ambitions to re-enter the Chinese market.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

What You Need to Know about Microsoft's Azure Blockchain Development Kit

Azure Blockchain Development Kit provides the means for developers to explore the security and financial potential of blockchain.
by Daniel P. Dern via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Monday, December 10, 2018

Microsoft’s Storage Spaces Direct: How It Differs from Other HCIs

Microsoft’s Storage Spaces Direct HCI, which reappears in Windows Server 2019, disaggregates the storage from the compute nodes. Find out how the product differs from other HCIs.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Cryptojacking: The Hot New Type of Attack on Data Centers

Servers hijacked for cryptocurrency mining may lead to higher bills from your cloud provider or your power utility.
by Maria Korolov via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

SPJS Charts v7.0.0.11

Fixed a few bugs – you find the complete change log here: http://spjsblog.com/spjs-charts-for-sharepoint/spjs-charts-for-sharepoint-v7-change-log/

Alexander


by Alexander Bautz via SharePoint JavaScripts

Saturday, December 8, 2018

T Mobile Wants to Be Your Mobile Bank

A number of "mobile banks" are looking to pick up customers who want to cut ties with traditional brick-and-mortar banks.
by Paul Heltzel via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

The Best Programming Languages Born in the Last Decade

While there is plenty to like about venerable languages like C and Java, the best programming languages of the last 10 years have a lot to offer.
by Christopher Tozzi via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Friday, December 7, 2018

Druva's CloudRanger Integration Helps Manage, Protect Workloads in the Cloud

As companies increase their workloads in the cloud, unified disaster recovery/business continuity becomes increasingly important.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

How (and Why) to Get Ready for 802.11ax

802.11ax will dominate the Wi-Fi-infrastructure landscape. Here's why--and what you need to do to get ready for 802.11ax.
by Craig Mathias via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Microsoft Adds Edge Web Browser to its Open Source Development List

Over the last few years, Microsoft has become a big contributor to the open source software community. Earlier this week, the company added several of its developer-related technologies to the list during the Microsoft Connect(); 2018 developer conference. However, the latest open source-related announcement about its Windows 10 web browser is overshadowing everything else right now.
by Richard Hay, Lisa Schmeiser via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Huawei Is Said to Plan $2 Billion Cybersecurity Reboot

The pledge comes at a critical moment for Huawei’s ambitions in Europe, its second-biggest market outside of Asia. European phone companies are getting ready to order tens of billions of euros worth of equipment for fifth-generation wireless networks and Huawei has spent more than a decade positioning itself to win much of that work.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Why AWS Is Getting into the Satellite Data Business

As more satellites are hurled into space, ground-station access becomes the biggest satellite-data bottleneck.
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Microsoft Calls for Laws to Prevent Bias in Facial Recognition AI

Microsoft thinks current facial recognition technology increases the risk of biased outcomes, can lead to new intrusions into privacy and can encroach on democratic freedoms if used for mass government surveillance.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Marriott CFO Calls $1 Billion Estimate on Cyber Breach Premature

The company could face $200 million in fines and litigation expenses, and could spend about $1 per customer notifying victims and providing free data monitoring services, according to a note last week from Morgan Stanley.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

How to Overcome Barriers that Lead to AI Failure

At this week’s AI Summit, AI leaders from IBM and Google examined the factors that contribute to AI failure and shared best practices for getting past those obstacles.
by Sue Troy via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Modern SharePoint Look Book

Some kind soul out there made a very cool, interactive site with a bunch of site layout ideas using the modern SharePoint templates. Thank you kind soul!  Give it a whirl.

SharePint Look Book


by Veronique Palmer via Views from Veronique

IIC Testbed Demos Smart Manufacturing on PLC-based Equipment

The new technology allows plant operators to IoT-enable equipment in decades-old manufacturing facilities.
by Courtney Bjorlin via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Is AWS Glacier Deep Archive the Tape Killer?

Bottomless cloud storage at cents per gigabyte for your cold tier might sound like the end of tape, but there’s more to consider than cost.
by Mary Branscombe via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Facebook Wielded User Data to Reward, Punish Rivals, Emails Show

Facebook Inc. wielded user data like a bargaining chip, providing access when that sharing might encourage people to spend more time on the social network -- and imposing strict limits on partners in cases where it saw a potential competitive threat, emails show.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Navigation Apps May Be Following You

As holiday travelers hit the road, Checkmarx outlines vulnerabilities in navigation apps from GPS companies Garmin and TomTom.
by Jeffrey Burt via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Googlers Write to CEO Demanding Equal Treatment for Contractors

Last month, Alphabet Inc. overhauled the way it handles allegations of sexual harassment and assault, but the updated policies largely left out temporary, vendor and contract workers. On Wednesday, a group of full-time and contract workers sent a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai asking for that to change.

(Bloomberg) -- A group of Google employees wrote to Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai demanding better conditions for the thousands of contractors that make up more than half of the internet giant’s work force.

Last month, Alphabet Inc. overhauled the way it handles allegations of sexual harassment and assault, but the updated policies largely left out temporary, vendor and contract workers. On Wednesday, a group of full-time and contract workers sent a letter to Pichai asking for that to change. They also listed other requests, such as access to companywide emails and town hall staff meetings, better health care and benefits, and a more transparent process for applying for full-time jobs.

“We will continue to be mistreated and ignored if we stay silent,” the workers wrote in the letter. “Google has the power -- and the money -- to ensure that we are treated equitably.”

This is the latest example of Google employees speaking out, at a time when the company is being criticized for its handling of sexual misconduct, contracts with the U.S. military and a plan to build a censored search engine in China. Google has said it has strict rules for how vendors and suppliers respond to misconduct, and investigates when a contractor makes a complaint against a Google employee.

U.S. corporations often use contractors. But some Google employees and outside activists contend the company, which is on track to make more than $30 billion in profit this year, can easily afford to treat everyone who works in its offices the same.

In July, Bloomberg wrote about Google’s “shadow workforce” and revealed that earlier this year, for the first time, temporary, vendor and contract workers made up more than half of the company’s total staff.

The workers, known internally as "TVCs," do all sorts of jobs, from serving meals and piloting self-driving cars to writing code and managing teams. Unlike full-time workers, they aren’t given stock, and many struggle with inadequate health care. They aren’t allowed in some buildings or at certain company meetings. They are often employed by outside agencies, including Adecco Group AG, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. and Randstad NV.

Several TVCs interviewed recently by Bloomberg News described feeling like second-class citizens compared with full-time Google employees. They asked not to be identified for fear of losing their jobs.

When a shooting happened at YouTube’s campus in San Bruno, California, in April, TVCs didn’t get some communications updating workers on the situation, which left them feeling unsafe, the TVCs said.

The workers are often on teams with full-time employees and said their contributions are indistinguishable from the better-placed colleagues. One contractor, who works 50 to 60 hours a week in Google’s marketing division, said TVCs are treated as “collateral damage” who can be hired and fired on short notice to help the company achieve business goals quickly and cheaply.

Another TVC described full-time staff asking her to move from an office desk or cutting ahead of her in line for coffee because she was a contractor and therefore not as important.

Another contract worker said when he took a job doing user research for Google, a manager told him he would be able to eventually convert the position into a full-time role. Two years later, that hasn’t happened, and he’s largely given up on that ever happening.
 

 


by Bloomberg via IT Pro

RISC-V Summit Debuts to Showcase Open Source ISA

Vendors at the first annual RISC-V Summit announce new products built around the open source processor specification.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

RISC-V Summit Debuts to Showcase Open Source ISS

Vendors at the first annual RISC-V Summit announce new products built around the open source processor specification.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Your Complete Guide to Data Center Modernization

To reap the rewards of digital transformation, big data analytics and the internet of things (IoT), you need modern data center infrastructure with the capacity, speed and intelligence to piece together your data story from the millions of interactio
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Tuesday, December 4, 2018

House Republican Campaign Committee Tells FBI It Was Hacked

"The NRCC can confirm that it was the victim of a cyber intrusion by an unknown entity,” Ian Prior, a spokesman for the group, said in an email Tuesday. “The cybersecurity of the committee’s data is paramount, and upon learning of the intrusion, the NRCC immediately launched an internal investigation and notified the FBI, which is now investigating the matter."
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Microsoft Boosts Rural Broadband Efforts to Reach More Users

The Microsoft Airband Initiative will now be in 25 states by this time next year, more than doubling the program’s original reach and adding states including California, Indiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The company, the world’s largest software maker, plans to reach the 3 million total customers by July 2022.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

What Is a Digital Supply Chain? An SAP Exec Answers.

The software company’s president of digital supply chain and manufacturing discusses the ramifications of weaving a digital thread from warehouses to the final customer.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Monday, December 3, 2018

Would-Be Unicorn Seeks to Undercut Banks With Secure Cloud

A financial newcomer wants to become a unicorn by providing faster and cheaper ways of processing credit card transactions. There’s just one catch: it needs to persuade security-conscious clients to let their financial data be handled by a cloud service managed by an American retail giant.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Can Blockchain Fix Cybersecurity?

The technology holds a lot of promise for security, but there’s still a long way to go before it sees serious enterprise adoption.
by Maria Korolov via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Alphabet's DeepMind AI Algorithm Wins Protein-Folding Contest

DeepMind, the artificial-intelligence company owned by Google parent company Alphabet Inc., has created an algorithm that won a competition for predicting the complex, three-dimensional shapes into which proteins can be folded.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Apple Is Said to Miss Rapid 5G Takeoff, Sitting Out Tech Shift

Apple Inc. plans to hold off until at least 2020 before offering an iPhone that can connect to the next generation of high-speed phone services coming next year, according to people familiar with its plans. The delay may make it easier for rivals like Samsung Electronics Co. to win over consumers to phones that connect to 5G networks, which will provide a leap forward in mobile data speeds.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

10 Points that Often Get Forgotten During Disaster Recovery Planning

Based on client "scar tissue," here are 10 disaster recovery planning lessons learned from experience.
by Tom Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sunday, December 2, 2018

Courting Disaster: Most Disaster Recovery Plans Are Lacking

Failing to prepare is preparing to fail, when it comes to disaster recovery plans, according to study.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Friday, November 30, 2018

New AWS Services Make Cloud More User-Friendly

From saving users' time to consolidating security and compliance data, new AWS services want to make the cloud easier for all to use.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

New AWS Services Aim to Make Cloud More User-Friendly

From saving users' time to consolidating security and compliance data, new AWS services want to make the cloud easier for all to use.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Custom Configuration Items: Maybe the Most Underrated Tool in Your ConfigMgr Kit

Non-compliance can be remediated to bring devices back into a compliant state--super-cool, super-powerful and really easy to set up.
by Adaptiva Guest Blogger via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Amazon Opens Its Machine Learning University to all Developers

Offering free training, which all the big tech companies do for their own products and services, is a great way to expose potential customers to the process of using those tools. The latest move in this area is Amazon's Machine Learning University. Also: securing critical administrative accounts, a new security conference from Amazon, and tools to assist with migrations to the re-released Windows 10 October 2018 Update.
by Richard Hay, Lisa Schmeiser via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Marriott Hit by Starwood Hack That Ranks Among Biggest Ever

The Marriott hack may rank only below Yahoo as one of the biggest of personal data, when 3 billion users were exposed to a 2013 security breach.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

What You Need to Know Before Starting a Windows 10 Migration

Any migration — especially a major migration like Windows 10 — requires careful planning and preparation before it is attempted on even a single system. Planning helps identify potential problematic areas before they become issues so the IT team can
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Blockchain Proof of Concept: Naturipe Farms

A critical step on the path to enterprise adoption of blockchain is the proof of concept. Attend this webinar on agribusiness Naturipe Farms’ blockchain proof of concept to understand the company’s challenges and lessons learned.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Software-Defined Storage: Understanding the Realities

Date: Tuesday, January 22, 2019Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour Software-defined storage solutions, in which the control plane of the storage system is separated from the data plane, promise to increase flexibility and cut costs i
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Learn Why Database Performance is the Key To Digital Transformation

Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2018Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour To become a digital native in today's data-driven world, organizations must focus their energy on the lifeblood of the digital movement. That is -- data. Business,
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Data Quality Primer

Using Data Quality Tools And Techniques To Improve Business
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Data Quality 101: The Ultimate Guide for Data Stewards

Improve the reusability, accessibility, and quality of your data.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Golden Records are Key to Solid Data Quality

Golden Records are Not Just Valuable, They're Invaluable!
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Thursday, November 29, 2018

Rethinking the cloud after recent Microsoft Azure Outages

In a span of just eight days, two different Microsoft Azure outages impacted customers who use Multi-factor Authentication for Azure-based resources. Is this the cost of doing business in the cloud?
by Richard Hay via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

AWS Says It’s Never Seen a Whole Data Center Go Down

It’s had plenty of devastating outages, but reportedly never as a result of losing an entire building.
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Germany Suspects Russia-Linked Hackers in Attacks on Politicians

Hackers suspected of ties to Russia’s government targeted Germany with a renewed cyber attack on political institutions, according to the country’s domestic intelligence agency.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Open Source RISC-V Silicon Project and Linux Foundation Form Partnership

First fruits of the collaboration between the Linux Foundation and the open source project will be two "getting started" guides to be made available at next week's RISC-V Summit.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

The Linux Foundation Unveils EdgeX and RISC-V Hardware News

The nonprofit now supports RISC-V's open instruction set architecture. Last month, it announced the availability of developer kits enabled by EdgeX, the edge computing framework.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Containers and the Serverless Computing Model: What AWS, Azure and Google Offer

There’s now a dizzying array of public cloud-based services for deploying containers or serverless functions.
by Christopher Tozzi via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Microsoft Wins $480 Million Army Battlefield Contract

The contract, which could eventually lead to the military purchasing over 100,000 headsets, is intended to “increase lethality by enhancing the ability to detect, decide and engage before the enemy,” according to a government description of the program. The U.S. Army and the Israeli military have already used Microsoft’s HoloLens devices in training, but plans for live combat would be a significant step forward.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Outposts Will Make it Possible to Run AWS Cloud Services On-Premises

The new service, a fully managed compute and storage rack that will allow customers to run AWS cloud services from within their own data centers on AWS-designed hardware, is an extension of the company's work with VMware through VMware Cloud on AW.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Amazon Web Services Unveils Custom Machine Learning Inference Chip

Says it designed Inferentia because GPU makers have focused much attention on training but too little on inference
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Why TÜV SÜD Says It Is an Industrial Cybersecurity Leader

The international testing firm is positioning itself as a neutral and nimble industrial cybersecurity authority.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Amazon Unveils Server Chip, Challenging Intel on Price

The largest cloud company unveiled its own server processors late Monday and said the Graviton chips will support new versions of its main EC2 cloud-computing service. Until now, Amazon -- and other big cloud operators -- had almost exclusively used Intel Xeon chips.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Google Contractors Are Said to Organize Over Misconduct Policies

A group of workers – some of them full-time employees and others contractors – have embarked on a campaign to get Google to extend protections to temporary, vendor and contract workers.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Amazon to Sell Satellite Data Service to Ease Transfer to Cloud

Amazon.com Inc.’s cloud-computing unit will offer a service the company said will make it easier to download data from satellites and get it into the cloud.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Cloud Scaling Meets Machine Learning with New AWS Feature

AWS is using machine learning to bring predictive cloud scaling to EC2 instances.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Are You Making the Right Cloud Storage Decisions for SQL Server tempdb?

Here's why selecting the right storage for SQL Server tempdb is critical, and how to determine what will work.
by Tim Ford via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

HPE to Buy Big Data Infrastructure Startup BlueData

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is buying BlueData, a startup whose software makes deploying infrastructure for big data and machine learning easier for enterprises • HPE’s goal is to create a turnkey big data solution customers can use in their own data centers, in the cloud, or in hybrid scenarios • While promising, big data projects have a notoriously high failure rate inside enterprises, often because of the level of technical complexity involved
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

HPE Debuts IoT Software That Can Run on Competitors’ Servers

The IoT platform, HPE Edgeline OTLink, complements and enhances IT and OT integration capabilities.
by Courtney Bjorlin via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Red Hat Acquires Multi-cloud Storage Vendor NooBaa

In what might be its last acquisition as an independent company, Red Hat has purchased Israel-based multi-cloud storage software company NooBaa.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Red Hat Acquires Multicloud Storage Vendor NooBaa

In what might be its last acquisition as an independent company, Red Hat has purchased Israel-based multi-cloud storage software company NooBaa.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Will Nano ReRAM Eventually Replace DRAM and Flash?

ReRAM (Resistive RAM) is a hybrid technology that may someday replace NAND Flash and DRAM in the storage world .
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Cloud Migration Tool Buyer’s Guide

If your 2019 IT strategy includes moving applications to the public cloud, here is a look at the cloud migration tools that may help you get there with ease.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Uber Fined $491,000 by U.K. Regulator Over 2016 Cyber Attack

Uber Technologies Inc., which is already facing a range of legal and regulatory headaches in London, got another one Tuesday after it was fined 385,000 pounds ($491,000) over a cyber attack that compromised the data of millions of customers and tens of thousands of drivers.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Google Workers Sign Letter Seeking End to China Project

Project Dragonfly, as the initiative is known, would enable state surveillance at a time when the Chinese government is expanding controls over the population, according to the letter signed by at least 10 workers, predominately software engineers and researchers. The document also called on management to commit to transparency, be accountable and provide clear communication.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

AWS Launches Cloud Instances Powered by Custom Arm Chips

Becomes the first cloud giant to sell Arm servers as a service, although not the first cloud provider to do so.
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Schneider Electric Exec Opens Up on Industrial IoT and AI

Schneider’s highest-ranking IoT executive said the company’s Industrial IoT and AI strategy is based on pragmatism.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Monday, November 26, 2018

Millennials and Open Source: Don't Know, Don't Care?

Young programmers' indifferent attitude toward open source may reflect shifting attitudes about the model.
by Christopher Tozzi via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

IBM CEO Joins Apple in Blasting Data Use by Silicon Valley Firms

International Business Machines Corp. Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty joined a growing chorus of tech executives lambasting web platforms, like Google and Facebook Inc., over their collection of user data and urged governments to target regulation at those companies.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

RISC-V and the Rise of Open Source Hardware Community

Open source software is clearly big business, as evidenced by recent billion-dollar acquisitions by IBM and Microsoft. Open source hardware could be the next big thing.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Will Nano ReRAM Eventually Replace DRAM and Flash?

ReRAM (Resistive RAM) is a hybrid technology that may someday replace NAND Flash and DRAM in the storage world .
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Tractica Report: Quantum Computing for Enterprise Markets

Market intelligence firm Tractica recently published a report on quantum computing for enterprise markets, exploring market trends and technology considerations. This executive summary lays out the highlights from that report.
by Keith Kirkpatrick, Clint Wheelock via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Saturday, November 24, 2018

Enterprise IT Storage for Beginners: Terms Every Admin Should Know

Gaining insight into the most pervasive industry vocabulary will help ease enterprise IT storage for beginners.
by Brien Posey via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Cybersecurity In Today’s World

Learn why modern applications need adaptive micro-segmentation to be more secure.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

3 Reasons Today’s Apps Run Best On A Virtual Network

A virtualized network can kick your application development and deployment capabilities into high gear.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Adaptive Micro-Segmentation

For IT pros, handling security threats is now a fact of life.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Step Up To Ubiquitous Security With A Virtual Network

Put security muscle into your virtual network.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Why Your Network Needs To Get On Board With Your Multi-Cloud Agenda

By adopting a virtualized network solution, you can create a safe super-highway for your apps, data, and workloads to travel.
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Unified Mobility Management: How Much Is Too Much?

The growing demand for mobile and the sheer multiplicity of offerings to manage the mobile workforce warrant an examination of unified mobility management strategy.
by Craig Mathias via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Friday, November 23, 2018

Microsoft Acquires FSLogix to Boost Virtual Desktop Performance

FSLogix will bring faster load times and improved performance to Microsoft virtual desktop environments. Also: Microsoft releases Outlook 2010 update, and AWS launches new options for processing at the edge.
by Lisa Schmeiser, Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

U.S. Urges Allies to Avoid Using Huawei Equipment, WSJ Says

Scrutiny of Huawei has increased since Donald Trump became U.S. President as trade tensions between Washington and Beijing escalate.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Thursday, November 22, 2018

Scared Your DNA Is Exposed? Then Share It, Scientists Suggest

If enhancing privacy by creating a giant database of people’s DNA sounds counterintuitive, the group’s point is that it’s already too late to prevent mass exposure.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Linux Foundation Offers Open Source Certification Exams from Anywhere

Channel partners looking to increase their workers' open-source skills can let them take their certification exams online.
by Todd R. Weiss via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Pluralsight Black Friday Sale – Save up to $150 (33%) and invest in a brighter you.

We’re now in the middle of the Black Friday & Cyber Monday weekend in North America, and every company is putting out some crazy deals out there for this special occasion! Luckily, Pluralsight which is one of the best online on-demand training providers is also having a super deal, allowing new and existing customers to get a 1 Year Subscription at only 199$ USD, so 100$ or 33% off! And for the first time ever, the Premium subscription that includes Certification and Practice Exams, and a lot more is also on sale, with 150$ off! It also works on renewals!

Pluralsight Black Friday Sale

This is a great investment to keep your skills up to date and to learn new ones! Check out the promo on the Pluralsight Website. If you’re interested in learning cool stuff about Office 365 and SharePoint 2013 and 2016, Pluralsight is the place with the most knowledge on the subject! Don’t miss the opportunity> https://spvlad.com/PSBlacKFriday2018

The post Pluralsight Black Friday Sale – Save up to $150 (33%) and invest in a brighter you. appeared first on Absolute SharePoint Blog by Vlad Catrinescu.


by Vlad Catrinescu via Absolute SharePoint Blog by Vlad Catrinescu

Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Top AI Conference Swaps Acronym After Sexism, Misconduct Protest

The conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, which takes place annually in early December, had been commonly known by the acronym NIPS. The foundation that runs the conference said it will now use the acronym NeurIPS instead.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Azure Data Studio Takes SQL Operations Studio to the Next Level

Microsoft seems to be closing the gap between Azure Data Studio and SQL Server Management Studio, making the former a viable alternative for developers and DBAs alike.
by Tim Ford via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Maxta Introduces Intelligent Storage System

Maxta intelligent storage system can lead to faster troubleshooting, more effective and quicker alerting, and in-depth capacity and performance trend analysis.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Google Taking Over Health Records Raises Patient Privacy Fears

Three years ago, artificial intelligence company DeepMind embarked on a landmark effort to transform health care in the U.K. Now plans by owner Alphabet Inc. to wrap the partnership into its Google search engine business are tripping alarm bells about privacy.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

5 Qualities You Should Look for in Storage Hardware Systems

There are many criteria that must be considered when evaluating hardware storage systems, but these core qualities should drive the decision making.
by Brien Posey via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

AWS Certification Training Launches IT Pros as Cloud Experts

AWS certification training, available in-person and online, offers a streamlined way to bring cloud knowledge to IT pros -- and can help those pros boost their asking price on the job market.
by Nicole Henderson via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Ransomware and your Endpoints: Putting Data Protection Where It Hurts

Date: Wednesday, December 12, 2018Time: 02:00 PM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour The most effective way to protect against a ransomware attack is to have backups of all data and systems affected by an infection. But, with the average ransomware
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

2019 Threatscape: What to Know, What to Do

Date: Wednesday, December 05, 2018Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour The threat landscape is constantly evolving, and different types of threats gain and lose popularity among malicious actors depending on their effectiveness over t
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Google to Build €600M Data Center in Denmark

Google said it will build its next European data center in western Denmark • It has accelerated data center construction in recent years to support its big cloud expansion • Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have been pouring billions into new cloud data centers nearly every quarter
by Yevgeniy Sverdlik via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Azure Data Studio Takes SQL Operations Studio to the Next Level

Microsoft seems to be closing the gap between Azure Data Studio and SQL Server Management Studio, making the former a viable alternative for developers and DBAs alike.
by Tim Ford via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

IoT Data Needs Blockchain, Decentralization, Startup Says

AnyLog’s technology would ease the management of IoT data and reduce costs associated with it.
by Courtney Bjorlin via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Ubuntu's "Bionic Beaver" Promised a 10 Year Life

Although there has been much ado about Ubuntu's "Bionic Beaver" being granted 10 years support, this is basically business as usual.
by Christine Hall via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Monday, November 19, 2018

Asset Management Made Easy

Date: Thursday, December 06, 2018Time: 12:00 PM Eastern Standard TimeDuration: 1 hour If you are like me, you can barely keep track and manage the devices on your plate as it is – and now your school/organization is going to add a Chromebook for ever
by via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Half of U.S. Mobile Calls Will Be Scams by 2019: Report

Scam calls are rising from about 3.7 percent of all calls just last year to nearly 30 percent of calls in 2018. By 2019, the number will be closer to 46 percent.
by Paul Heltzel via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

What Are Permissioned Blockchains, and How Can They Help IT Pros?

Permissioned blockchains strike a balance between the benefits and security concerns around blockchain.
by Christopher Tozzi via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Why 5G Wireless Networks Could Be a Boon for IoT and Taxes

5G wireless networks are coming. A telecom tax expert says companies eyeing the technology should be aware of the tax ramifications.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Commvault Updates Offerings with 3 Products as a Service

Commvault sets its sights on the cloud as it announces three new products as a service.
by Karen D. Schwartz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Phones Fail in California Fires, Highlighting Cell Vulnerability

There is no requirement for cell sites to have backup power. The industry has resisted efforts to make that mandatory, arguing that it would be overly burdensome in part because it can be expensive to rent space for equipment and hard to get permits to store fuel in some places.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Sunday, November 18, 2018

Google Cloud CEO Diane Greene to Leave; Kurian Steps In

Google Cloud Chief Executive Officer Diane Greene, who has pushed for three years to catch up with market leaders Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp., will step down from her post and be succeeded by former Oracle Corp. executive Thomas Kurian.
by Bloomberg via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

A Human Prescription to Internet of Things Security

Implementing an Internet of Things security strategy requires confronting cultural as well as technical challenges.
by Marcia Elaine Walker via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Blockchain Apps Are Coming: What You Need to Know Blockchain Support Challenges

Sooner or later, a blockchain application will be coming to a workplace near you. Here's what you need to know about blockchain support.
by Christopher Tozzi via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Friday, November 16, 2018

ABB: The Consensus About the IIoT Platforms Is Wrong

An IIoT platform is not an intrinsically valuable piece of technology, argues an ABB exec.
by Brian Buntz via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools

Windows 10 October 2018 Update (Redstone 5) Finally Available

After its initial release on October 2nd and then its withdrawal from public availability due to data loss bugs, the Windows 10 October 2018 Update has been re-released this week. We also have information about availability for enterprise customers, support lifecycle updates, and additional support tools for the October 2018 Update release.
by Richard Hay, Lisa Schmeiser via IT Pro - Microsoft Windows Information, Solutions, Tools