Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Microsoft Canada is hiring!

Are you an Exchange Specialist looking for a new opportunity and challenge? Microsoft Canada is hiring!

Please see http://lnkd.in/UQQX2z for details on the Exchange Technology Solutions Professional position…

Technical Solution Sales at Microsoft

As part of our pre-sales team, you’ll work with enterprise customers to define their needs, and work with other technical and sales teams to meet them. Realizing the potential of their investment in Microsoft technology, you’ll articulate the value of our solutions to a range of customers - testing, demonstrating and illustrating how our technology could impact on their business. Then once agreed, you’ll help to transfer the project for development teams to deploy it across the organization. Fostering the eco-system surrounding the solution, you’ll collaborate with customer and Microsoft teams, as well as support partner sales pitches too - generating consulting revenue for our partners, and product revenue for us.

Apply today!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Free Lync Training!

From http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=316

Deploying, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Lync Server 2010

Literally hundreds of organizations are recognizing the cost savings and efficiency that results from empowering people with improved collaboration and cross-team communications. Once you learn about what Microsoft Lync can do for your office, as well as your resume, you'll never look back.

Microsoft Learning and the Microsoft Lync team have partnered to bring you an exciting opportunity to learn how to deploy, configure and administer Microsoft’s unified communications solution. Leveraging the popular “Jump Start” virtual classroom approach, two of the industry’s most gifted experts will leverage an accelerated, engaging and demo-rich learning experience to help attendees gain the knowledge and confidence required to prepare for taking Exam 70-664: TS: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Configuring.

Here are the details:

  • Course: “Deploying, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Jump Start”
    - Accelerated, engaging, demo-rich virtual learning experience – no hands-on labs
  • Date/Time: April 17-19, 2012 from 9:00am – 4:00pm PST
  • Where: Live virtual classroom (online from wherever you are)
  • Cost: FREE!
  • Target audience: IT Professionals and telecommunications professionals.
    This is an accelerated course. Attendees should have at least three (3) years’ experience working with unified communications software, including knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

 

From http://mctreadiness.com/MicrosoftCareerConferenceRegistration.aspx?pid=320

 

Planning and Designing a Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Solution

The demand for information technology (IT) professionals experienced enough to effectively architect Microsoft unified communications solutions with Lync Server 2010 technologies continues to increase. For those of you who have the Lync Technical Specialist certification (see below) or have equivalent knowledge and experience, this accelerated Jump Start may be for you—so keep reading! If you don’t have the experience with Lync required for this course, we encourage you to check out the prerequisite course, “Deploying Lync Server 2010 Jump Start” scheduled for April 17-19, 2012, first.
Microsoft Learning and the Microsoft Lync team have partnered to bring you an exciting opportunity to learn what you need to know to plan and design Microsoft Lync Server 2010 solution. Leveraging the popular “Jump Start” virtual classroom approach, two of the industry’s most gifted experts will leverage an accelerated, engaging and demo-rich learning experience to help attendees gain the knowledge and confidence to help prepare for Exam 70-665: PRO: Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Administrator, a required exam for the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Administrator. Here are the details:

  • Course: “Planning and Designing a Microsoft Lync Server 2010 Solution”
    - Accelerated, engaging, demo-rich virtual course – no hands-on labs
    - Level 300 content
  • Date/Time: April 24-26, 2012 from 9:00am – 4:00pm PST
  • Where: Live virtual classroom (online from wherever you are)
  • Cost: FREE!
  • Target audience: IT Professionals and telecommunications professionals.
    This is an accelerated course. Attendees are expected to have experience in hands-on deployment and day-to-day management of Unified Communications technologies for enterprise organizations and the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): Microsoft Lync Server 2010, Configuring or equivalent knowledge.

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Importance of User Experience: Part 2

As I mentioned before, I recently presented at the Know Your Alternatives conference in Toronto about the importance of a Simplified User Experience to user adoption and capturing a full return on your UC investment.

I previously touched on the negative effects of poor Adoption, including lost productivity and an altogether negative perception of IT and the value it brings to the organization.

Challenges in Communication

It’s not news that Information Workers are sending and receiving more and more messages from more and more locations…

“The average Information Worker gets more than 51 messages a day in up to seven different locations” – Harris Interactive

…and we communicate from many different devices and applications.

“Businesses average more than six communications devices and almost five communications applications per employee.” – Sage Research

Multiple disconnected systems leave us confused and wondering where to turn.

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We know what we need to do, we are pretty sure there’s a tool somewhere to help, but we don’t remember where to go, who to talk to, which application to start, or how to use the application once we find it.

[PeopleOnConferenceCallStaringAtPhone[4].jpg]Once we do land on a tool that is actually useful for it’s purpose, it often comes with it’s own set of challenges and deficiencies.  Have a look at Quit staring at that conference phone and change the dynamic of your meetings for a prime example.

 

So why is Adoption a challenge?

There are many reasons why technology adoption is a challenge, but here a few in particular…

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With the constant introduction of new technologies, new software versions, new work challenges, and the increased goal for employees to find a healthy work-life balance, users find it difficult just to keep up.

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Many users find what they like and get comfortable doing what they do.  The introduction of new features and capabilities, regardless of how “cool” or seemingly valuable they are, does not correspond to the uptake and adoption because users aren’t compelled to change.

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Similar to the above reason, user habits are very hard to break.  A good example of this one is people who still print everything before reading it, or who print presentation materials and bring them to a meeting, rather than leveraging their notebook PC and a soft-copy of the presentation.

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Organizations sometimes don’t sufficiently consider personal learning styles, different retention capabilities of users, and the difference between training delivery and effectiveness.  How do you measure if training was effective?  Do you even try to?  Tough to expect healthy adoption if you don’t!

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Finally, even if we’ve conducted thorough training and measured it’s immediate effectiveness, we often neglect the ongoing attention needed to ensure adoption continues.  As we move on to the next thing we forget to go back and evaluate effectiveness and adoption 3, 6, 18 months later.

These themes are at a high level.  Let’s bring it back to UC.  How can a Simplified User Experience help improve Adoption of a UC solution?

A Better Way

Microsoft Lync provides a single fully-unified experience that helps overcome many adoption challenges.

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With Lync, new features and capabilities and intuitive and easy to understand and use.  User are empowered and unafraid to try something new!  Powerful communications are made available in context within the applications being used everyday such as Microsoft Outlook and SharePoint.  In many rollouts, users look over the shoulders of colleagues enjoying Lync and ask how they can get their hands on it!

Take a quick peek at this video and see how the Commonwealth Bank of Australia saw 60% adoption of Lync in just 24 hours!

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Now, User Experience is critical to user adoption but there’s definitely more to consider to really get it right.

Strategies for Adoption

Microsoft has provided a free framework for Facilitating a Successful Rollout of UC solutions.  Even with a product as easy to use as Lync, having a well thought-out plan and team to guide the rollout is critical. 

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In addition to process, tools and resources are important and invaluable in planning and executing on a successful rollout.  Microsoft also provides a free Adoption and Training Kit which includes:

  • Targeted content for IT pros, Project Managers, Trainers, Help Desk workers, and Users
  • Best Practices, Resources, and Strategies
  • Fully Customizable material
  • Planning workbook
  • Guidance and resources aligned to user roles
  • Troubleshooting script for level 1 support
  • Cost-effective training strategy for each user role
  • Custom Intranet Site

Summary

Poor adoption of technology affects everything from user confidence to the bottom line.  Microsoft Lync is a UC solution that is proven to be more readily adopted due to it’s powerful capability, ease of use, and integration into the Microsoft Office suite.

In addition to having the right technology, be sure to take the time and leverage existing resources to properly plan for and manage your rollout.

Monday, January 23, 2012

The Importance of User Experience

I will be presenting at the upcoming Know Your Alternatives conference in Toronto on February 9, 2012.  If you’re in town I hope you can join me as I speak about the importance of a Simplified User Experience to user adoption and capturing a full return on your UC investment.  I will post again after the event with a summary of my presentation and links to some useful materials.

For now, a teaser…

Simplified User Experience

Two powerful advantages that Microsoft Lync enjoys over the competition are:

  1. An intuitive and easy-to-understand user experience
  2. Native and seamless integration into the applications we use every day, such as Microsoft SharePoint, Outlook, and the rest of the Office Suite.

This is a huge factor is ensuring better, faster, and broader user adoption.

Who Cares?

Technology adoption is a constant challenge for many reasons including difficulties breaking habits and keeping up with today’s fast pace of change.  Users can become frustrated quite easily … can you relate to this?

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So What?

Poor adoption of new technology has many negatives effects extending from user frustration and confusion, to lost productivity, and ultimately leading to an altogether negative perception of IT and the value it brings to the organization.

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How Can You Help?

Please come to my session and/or read my follow-up post for my thoughts on the importance of a simplified user experience, how Microsoft Lync provides it, and how you can get the most out of your UC investments.