leedesmond’s blog

Following the successful delivery of my recent sessions at TechDays 2012 (Basel, Switzerland) and the MVP Community Day (Munich, Germany)*, I am pleased to announce that by popular demand and in conjunction with Swiss IT Pro User Group, a “reload” of this session will be delivered as a free online webinar:

Preparing for the next wave - Lync Server 2013

Building on the solid unified communications platform of its predecessor, the upcoming Lync Server 2013 is poised to drive the communications and collaborative landscape to the next level. Be it on the deskop, laptop or mobile devices, a solid understanding of multiple technological disciplines in the back-end is indispensable for a successful deployment. From Active Directory, Public Key Infrastructure, Exchange/Outlook to integration with third party devices, this session highlights the “must-know” and troubleshooting tips and tricks to help ease your rollout and support pains.

( note that all sessions are the same to cater for audience in the various time zones )

Date:  Thu 13 Dec 2012

Language: English (German, Chinese and others upon request)

Session 1
EMEA / Central European Time
1000 hrs to 1100 hrs CET / UTC+1

APAC time zone
1700 hrs to 1800 hrs UTC+8 / CET+8

Session 2
EMEA / Central European Time
1700 hrs to 1800 hrs CET / UTC+1

North America / Pacific Time Zone
0800 hrs to 0900 hrs PST / UTC-9

North America / Eastern Time Zone
1100 hrs to 1200 hrs EST / UTC-6

Seats are limited; register today with your preferred session by sending an email to info [a+] swissitpro [d0+] com with your first and last name, company name and title/position (for logistics planning). I look forward to see you online soon!

* MVP Open Day 2012: Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Award Program at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQLGhKUIbnM

Technorati tags: Microsoft Lync Server/Client /Lync Phone Edition / Lync Mobile,  Events , Community/User Groups

1 Comment »

“Preparing for the next wave - Lync Server 2013″ is the level 300 technical track that I am delivering as a speaker and ATE at Switzerland’s largest conference TechDays 2012 for IT professionals and developers.

Building on the solid unified communications platform of its predecessor, the upcoming Lync Server 2013 is poised to drive the communications and collaborative landscape to the next level. Be it on the deskop, laptop or mobile devices, a solid understanding of multiple technological disciplines in the back-end is indispensable for a successful deployment. From Active Directory, Public Key Infrastructure, Exchange/Outlook to integration with third party devices, this session highlights the “must-know” and troubleshooting tips and tricks to help ease your rollout and support pains.

Taking place for the 9th time this year from Mon 19 Nov 2012 (Developer Day) to Tue 20 Nov 2012 (IT Pro Day) in Basel, Switzerland, be ready to immerse yourself in 5 parallel tracks in German and English brought to you by top regional and local speakers.

From Windows Azure, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, the next wave in Unified Communications (Lync Server 2013, Exchange 2013, SharePoint 2013, Office 2013, etc.) to System Center family of products (VMM, Orchestrator, Service / Configuration / Operations Manager), there is something for everyone working with Microsoft technologies and “we’re all in” the cloud with Windows Azure.

Register today and see you there (at my session and Ask-The-Expert area where me and my mates, IT Pro Community, peers, colleagues and MVPs will be hanging out)!

Technorati tags: Microsoft Lync Server/Client /Lync Phone Edition / Lync Mobile,  Events

No Comments »

  The super early bird registration is now opened for TechDays 2011, Switzerland. Taking place for the 8th time, the largest Swiss Microsoft Conference is scheduled in the fall / autumn at Kursaal, Bern (capital city). For the second time round this year*, the event is organized into 2 focused groups running on different days:

- Thu 20 Oct 2011 IT Professionals
- Fri 21 Oct 2011 Developer

You are welcomed to attend both tracks or simply choose to take part in one of them. The actual conference agenda is planned for publication in September with key highlights and exciting developments from the new BUILD Windows Conference**.

Bookmark the event dates and see you (again) soon!

* TechEd EMEA takes an absence this year 2011
** running from 13 to 16 Sep 2011 in Anaheim, California

Technorati tags: TechDays, Events

No Comments »

Lync Server 2010 Deployment Best Practices (aka “How to avoid the Pitfalls”) is the hot topic that I shall be speaking at TechDays 2011.

To be delivered in English*, make sure that you register for this annual event - Switzerland’s largest Microsoft IT conference - for both IT Pros and Developers alike that will happen in less than 2 weeks’ time from 2 to 3 May 2011 in Basel, Switzerland. A short synopsis of my session is outlined here:

Lync Server 2010 is the latest generation of unified communications platform which powers the communications and collaborative landscape to the next level. Be it on the deskop, laptop or mobile devices, a solid understanding of multiple technological disciplines in the back-end is indispensable for a successful deployment. From Active Directory, Public Key Infrastructure, Exchange/Outlook to integration with third party devices, this session highlights the “must-know” and troubleshooting tips and tricks to help ease your Lync rollout and support pains.

I look forward to engaging and networking with you in person very soon.

* German / Deutsch if by popular request

Update (10 May 2011)
A recorded version of the live presentation is now available as a screencast here for your viewing pleasure!

Technorati tags: Microsoft Lync Server/Client, TechDays, Events

No Comments »

Tue 08 March 2011 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext: Service Lifecycle Management for the Private Cloud

Track: Management (MGT201)
Speaker/s: Desmond Lee
Session Type: Breakout Session
Room: Red Room 1 | Level: 200 - Intermediate

Private clouds enable abstraction of services from the underlying fabric. This abstraction delivers benefits to the enterprises for fabric management as well as service management. Come and see how VMM vNext delivers industry leading service design, deployment and management for private cloud environments. See the power and benefits of using Server Application Virtualization and image based servicing. Learn how to create private clouds, design service templates and empower your end users to deploy and manage services in the private cloud. Attendees will gain an understanding of VMM vNext supported scenarios, along with an understanding of how to use these capabilities to build an on-premise private cloud.

Wed 09 March 2011 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext: Fabric Management for the Private Cloud

Track: Management (MGT301)
Speaker/s: Desmond Lee
Session Type: Breakout Session
Room: Purple Room 1 | Level: 300 - Advanced

Private clouds enable abstraction of services from the underlying fabric, delivering benefits to the enterprise for fabric as well as service management. Come and see how VMM vNext delivers industry-leading Fabric Provisioning and Infrastructure Management. See how VMM vNext will handle Networking, Storage, Cluster and Bare Metal Provisioning. Learn how VMM vNext will help with Dynamic Optimization, Power Optimization and Monitoring of the Infrastructure to ensure that you are providing the desired service levels to the consumers of your Infrastructure, with the speed and agility they require.

Technorati tags: TechEd, Events, Virtual Machine Manager, Cloud Computing

No Comments »

A quick update: I shall be delivering an additional break-out session on the private cloud with VMM vNext (System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012) at Tech.Ed Middle East 2011. See you in Dubai real soon!

(MGT301) System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext: Fabric Management for the Private Cloud
Wed 9 March 2011
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

Private clouds enable abstraction of services from the underlying fabric, delivering benefits to the enterprise for fabric as well as service management. Come and see how VMM vNext delivers industry-leading Fabric Provisioning and Infrastructure Management. See how VMM vNext will handle Networking, Storage, Cluster and Bare Metal Provisioning. Learn how VMM vNext will help with Dynamic Optimization, Power Optimization and Monitoring of the Infrastructure to ensure that you are providing the desired service levels to the consumers of your Infrastructure, with the speed and agility they require.

Technorati tags: TechEd, Events, Virtual Machine Manager, Cloud Computing

No Comments »

Tech.Ed Middle East 2011 is returning to Dubai, UAE this year. This is a major technical conference for IT Pros and developers in the region and will take place from Tue 8 to Thu 10 Mar 2011. A pre-conference is scheduled on Mon 7 Mar 2011. To register or find out more information, click here.

I am very happy to share that I shall be back at Tech Ed Middle East as a speaker to deliver a break-out session on VMM v.Next in the private cloud (computing) in the management track. A synopsis is outlined here:

(MGT205)  System Center Virtual Machine Manager vNext: Service Lifecycle Management for the Private Cloud

Tue 8 March 2011
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM

Private clouds enable abstraction of services from the underlying fabric. This abstraction delivers benefits to the enterprises for fabric management as well as service management. Come and see how VMM vNext delivers industry leading service design, deployment and management for private cloud environments. See the power and benefits of using Server Application Virtualization and image based servicing. Learn how to create private clouds, design service templates and empower your end users to deploy and manage services in the private cloud. Attendees will gain an understanding of VMM vNext supported scenarios, along with an understanding of how to use these capabilities to build an on-premise private cloud.

With just about a month left to the start of the conference, you should act today to be part of the exciting Tech Ed experience. I look forward eagerly to be back in the region to meet and speak with you again. See you all there in person real soon!

Technorati tags: TechEd, Events, Virtual Machine Manager, Cloud Computing

No Comments »

Ich bin völlig aufgeregt, eine persönliche Einladung als Speaker einen Vortrag für den TechTalk Event bei Microsoft Schweiz zu halten. Es geht um das heisse Thema “Lync Server 2010*- Technische Neuerungen und deren Umsetzung” (Technical Innovations and Implementation).

Der neue Lync Server 2010 bietet nicht nur dem Endbenutzer viele neue und nützliche Funktionen, auch der IT Pro darf sich auf Änderungen freuen. In diesem Tages-Seminar erfahren Sie alles über die Veränderungen im Bereich IM/Presence, Voice und Conferencing. Wir zeigen Ihnen wie das Setup bzw. das Depolyment funktioniert, sei es innerhalb einer bestehenden (Migration/Koexistenz) oder bei einer komplett neuen Umgebung. Ein Vorteil der Microsoft Plattform ist die gute Integration der unterschiedlichen Produkte. Der Lync Server 2010 integriert sich neu nicht nur in Outlook/Exchange und SharePoint sondern spezifisch auch in die SharePoint-Suche. Hier erfahren Sie wie dies aussieht und welcher Nutzen sich daraus ergibt. Auch das Thema Monitoring, Archivierung und Troubleshooting wird angesprochen.

Bei der Veranstaltung am Di. 30. Nov 2010 (Microsoft Switzerland in Zürich) Sie begrüssen zu dürfen würde ich darauf sehr freuen. Anmeldung und mehr Informationen dazu finden Sie hier.

* Communications Server ‘14′

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007 R2, Communications Server ‘14′, Microsoft Lync

No Comments »

With the official announcement of Communications Server 14 at Tech.Ed North America 2010 (New Orleans), attendees are learning first hand from product group experts, partners, vendors and the community (MCT, MVP) the many CS 14 feature detail sets in breakout-, interactive-, TLC- sessions and Hands-on-Labs.

As part of the celebration, the all new Communications Server 14 website has also been launched. From news and reviews, business highlights, customer stories, partner contacts to technology coverage, do not miss out on the Community section. This leads to additional technical resources covering Events and Webcasts, Forums, Microsoft and CS team member blogs, and MVP Highlights with even more community resources.

Together with MVP peers Jeff Schertz, Mike Stacy and Keith Kabza, I am very honored to be recognized as one of the top (English) online contributors for the most recent quarter! Come by and check it out here today!

See also:
Microsoft Communications Server Technical Reference Hub (DrRez)
Twitter DrRez
Unified Communications Group Team Blog

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS/CS14, TechEd, Community/User Groups, Communications Server 14

No Comments »

Live from TechEd 2010 North America (New Orleans) keynote session. The full feature set of Communications Server “14″ is officially disclosed with an interative live demo by Gurdeep SinghPall (Corp Vice President). Some of the key new feature highlights of Communicator “14″:

• Communication Server (Wave 14) tightly integrated with corporate Active Directory, SharePoint and Exchange infrastructure
• display picture for personal Contacts pulled from SharePoint, AD or user-specified URL
• powerful aggregated search feature by name or skill against SharePoint backend (by expertise for instance sales)
• hover over name/picture to expose the Contact card with corporate information from AD, org chart (reporting structure)
• playback voice mail directly in Communicator (or Outlook for more)
• High Definition video playback directly in Communicator (HD cameras from Microsoft and partners controllable by policy)
• direct data collaboration à la Live Meeting right in Communicator client (powerpoint, desktop sharing, whiteboarding)

If you are attending TechEd this week, make sure that you check out the exciting line-up of UNC breakout sesions (more here). Take this opportunity to visit us on site at the Technical Learning Center (TLC) and experience Communications Server 14 live! Stop by and say hi

Stay tune for more on CS 14 … By the way, do not forget to check out the Exchange Server 2010 SP1 Public Beta - download available here.

Technorati tags: LCS/OCS, OCS 2007 R2, TechEd, Events

No Comments »