Retirement of Skype online connector

 Now will Micrsoft retire the skype online connector. I got this mail now.

We will be retiring the Skype for Business Online Connector on February 15, 2021 for all Skype for Business Online or Teams customers. This will simplify the admin experience by moving to a single PowerShell module for managing Skype for Business Online and Teams. Moving forward use the Teams PowerShell module, which is where we will continue to invest.

[Key Points:]

• Major: Retirement
• Timing: February 15, 2021
• Action: Review and assess the impact for your organization.

[How this will affect your organization:]

Administrators will no longer be able to download and use the Skype for Business Online Connector to manage online organizations and users after this change is implemented.

[What you need to do to prepare:]

Instead of using the Skype for Business Online Connector, we require using latest release of Teams PowerShell module.

Resources:

• Install Microsoft Teams PowerShell - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs
• Move from Skype for Business Online Connector to the Teams PowerShell module - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Docs

Last full week before Christmas, here are some news

 As mentioned earlier, the clock is ticking. And please read this blogpost so that you are not confused on what service Microsoft takes down and what has still support and can be running.

This is importantent to know about. 

And here are some news for us who have Telephony in Teams.

The one marked yellow is now show both mobile and teams numer if you have this is your AD. Real nice feature.

Then we got the new meeting join experience. This is real nice I think. 

This I think is a real nice feature for all of us out here, and I like the preview on video first.

Real soon we also get the new 1:1 recording feature. I have earlier written about it and read more about it here.

This is all for today, and I will be back soon with another blog 

Teams, it's time for some rules and pointer to get Teams to work

 As many has started to use Microsoft Teams, well it's time to stop and take a breath on the ground. 

We has been working from home the last 9 months. We have got the #WFH tag and many companies sees this as the new normal.

But this is not what I want to write to you today. What I want to talk to you about is Teams and some of the pitfalls.

Breakoutrooms are here

 Yesterday I saw on LinkedIN and on Twitter. Breakout rooms are here.

Read more about it here.

#StaySafe

SBA is out in Public Preview for Teams

 As many out there has their SBC running in their datacenter and not by an servicepartner or Telco who has the SBC as a service. 

For you there is a important new stuff that has come in public preview, and that is the SBA (Survivable Branch Appliance) for direct routing.

You need to talk to your vendor and mostly upgrade your SBC to have this support. 

So why should you add on a SBA? If you have an internet outage this can be usefull to remain telephony in Teams. 

Wooo Webinar for KEMP done

 What end for a great day. Now just finished with a webinar for KEMP. The preperation has been done together with great people like Frank Yu, Hugo Faria, Andrew Casey and Noemi Toth. We all in different contries, parts of the world. And let's don't forget Mikael Lange who had this idea for me to come and speak.

Here are some short info about it:

• TMG Forefront is dead (RIP)
• Why Always on VPN and not Direct Access or Classic VPN.
• KEMP ESP pay for it and get the good stuff
• How to migrate from Lync/Skype to Teams and SBCaaS or onprem SBC, you call.
• You as a customer is the "commander in chief"

The webinar was recorded and you will be able to watch it here . 

What's hot in Teams November 2020 edition

 Here we go, soon Christmas is comming up. WFH is the standard at the present time.

Here are the  News Teams November 2020. 

 

New stuff like personal recording and more

 Today it's just 240 days left before Microsoft shutdown Skype Online. As mentioned last week it's now time to act and start the trip to Teams Only.

So I heard the news today, here comes the news on what's comes and what's hot in Teams

35 weeks and counting

 Well now its 248 days for the Skype Online shutdown today, are you ready? Well it's time to get ready.

During the last week many of you have been into my guest apperance on the podcast of "bluescreen brothers". Great :-) 

This week has been so fare brilliant. Moving users from Skype On-prem to Teams. Planning for about 5-700 users this week. All with telephony in Teams.

Time to move on - Podcast & more

 The clock is running fast for the switch off for Skype Online. At present time (18.november 2020) there is 37 weeks left. Are you still thinking about moving to Teams, well now is the time start this project. 

What's new in Teams October 2020 edition

 New months, and here is a wrapup on what's new in Teams October 2020. 

According to this blog here is what's new.

Breakout rooms allow meeting organizers to split main meetings into smaller sessions for focused discussions

 This morning I got long waited email for a new feature that has been written page up and page down on. It will now be rolled out in November according to the mail.

So, what is all about?

Added Knowledge during Covid-19 and filled up with MS-700 and assigment

 Since the middle of March I have mostly worked form home. I guess that I can count on my hands the days I have been to working at the corp office.

Lots of customers has been going to Teams, and migrating them from Skype for business server 2015 and move to Teams with telephony.

But up in all that I have also documented my skills regarding to Teams.

Teams and HELP function

 Ignite has gone online and was the end of last month (22-24 september 2020), TeamsFest October 2020 is finished (7th october 20202). MVP-dagen in Norway is today (8th October 2020) and is an online event.  Teamsdagen Studio in Sweden will come online soon.

Lot's happens in the Teams communites now. 

Today I will talk about the new HELP button in Teams 

Small change but important for many - tip of the day

 This morning I was testing some CMD's in Powershell and made a discovery.

I started up my powershell and logged in with my account for this.

SAFE transfer of calls in Teams

 Today I woked up to some great news. The new big thing in Teams is SAFE transfer. 

The first I saw on Twitter this morning was from @pl_lange (Paul Lange) who had something about it. Thanks Paul.

So here is the functions and how it works.

Whats New in Teams and Addons - Switchboards - Recording

New month and time for a blog again. First of all, as every frist of month is that Microsoft is presenting a wrapup on what's new in Teams the last month.

Read about it here.

Kemp, Exchange 2010 and Teams, lot's to talk about

 From KEMP I got the latest blog. It's about Exchange. First I'm not an Exchange expert. I know a lot about KEMP, Skype and Teams. 

The blog contains information about Exchange 2010 support ends and it's now time do upgrade. Read what MVP Jaap Wesselius think about it. If your customers still runs Exchange 2010, well now its time to do some action.

Just love popout in calls and meetings

 During the last month there has come some new fuctions. After 4 weeks off work, I have now been trying this function for about 2 weeks.

The function I talk about  is Popout meeting and calls.

So what does the call window looks like when it has out. Well like this

When working on two monitors this is something I have been waiting for a long time.

Have a great day out there #StaySafe

Less than a year to Skype online switch off!

When I got to work this morning something hit me.

It is now less than a year until Microsoft has told the world that they will do a switch off on Skype Online. 

Well folks it's now time to start your travel and migration to Microsoft Teams. 

If you are running Skype for Business onprem, well you as still safe and can  do so for the next few years.

Want to follow the countdown, just go here: Countdown

Teams, Outlook contacts

I have got quite lot's of questions about outlook and teams contacs. This need futher investigation to figure this out.

Frist I came over this post in the tech communities Add company name

Then I read and added this and they showed up. 

But I could not figure out why all contacts needed company name, so I posted this question.

My post to Tech Comm

Then someone start to push me to do some more testing. And here is my conclusion.

1. If you add a new contact you don't need company name or email, just name and phonenumber. The phonenumber does not need to be on E164 can be strait forward.  Restart the teams client and it shows up under Calls - Contacts.

2. If you have an old contacts that does not show, just do a change on it and it will show up.

This has been tested on a clean Exchange online (no-hybrid). 

This will be the last blog in some time due to that I am going on 4 weeks vacation next week. Have a great summer and #StaySafe

S4b to Teams

For my norwegian readers I had last week a webinar talking about the road from Skype for Business Onprem til Teams with Telephony.

This is the webinar in a nutshell. Happy reading

WFH, service needed, uptime is more important then ever

Hi again. There has been some time since I wrote about Loadbalancing. So here we go.

The world has changed due to Covid-19 situation. Most of us who are working, well we work from home, here by shorted as #WFH, or just WFH.

This gives IT operations lot's of things to think about. Services need to be up and running all the time. There are lot's on employees that is working from home use VPN services, and out this way on companies internet connections.

New CU for Skype for Business server 2015

It has been a while since the last update from Microsoft. In August 2019 we got CU-10. And for a some days ago we got the CU-11. Microsoft made it public the 13th May 2020.
You will find it here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=47690

I have not tested it yet since most of my customers has moved to Teams with telephony.

April 2020 update - May first edition

Well, it's been some time ago since the last blog here. But here we go again.

Security in Teams 

There has been a lot of news regarding security for the UC platform. In 2018 Cisco got some issues regarding GIF. This has been fixed.

Then Zoom got the same issue and even more issues. Read about it here and I suspect that it will be fixed soon.

Major changes for the SMB - You got Direct Routing if you want

There has been today major changes to functionally regarding to where the customers who has Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business or Business premium.
They can now buy Microsoft 365 Business Voice (without calling plan). They will now get Phone-system and AudioConferencing included.

February 2020 summmary

The second month is gone in hurrycane. Corona is here. And why not just work from home and use Teams? With enterprise voice in Teams, and you are good to go. Use it for meetings, teamwork and phonecalls. This is how I can use my Teams client.

But what a month this has been and here comes a summary of the news that has happend in Teams.

Youtube video - Tendfor, Office App and Commsverse

Since there a great numbers of you who reads this blog, here is a new one.

Youtube Teams på Norsk, is my YouTube channel. Last week I created a new video. Watch it her: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OE-rkWLWtQ&t=29s

This contains information on Tendfor switchboard and how to create emergency messages and how to use them.

Graph-API give you presence in switchboard Tenant

One of the product I have worked with the last 3-4 months and where I do have customer running live since Graph-API was in beta. Yes you read right. These customers was the first in the world to go live on Teams Graph-API.

Zoom, MS-700 Certification and more

There are lot's going on in the Teams world at the present time.
During this weekend I have together with my co-workers just move a customer from Skype Onprem to Teams with telephony for 300+ users. One of the cool stuff we did was to add SIP-registrar on Poly TRIO 8800 and on Poly VVX-311 also. For the TRIO 8800 we also added the new feature named USB PassThrough since they have Visual + in those rooms. And it's cool to report that everything works just as it should. Want to know more please contact us on Teams at blinQ.