Olas Software Training & Development

Is your organisation thinking of rolling out Office 365?

2012-02-09T05:25:00.000-08:00

What is 365?

Office 365 enables organisations to outsource e-mail hosting and other functions to Microsoft and free up IT personnel. Organisations considering a move to Office 365 should be aware of potential benefits and some limitations.

Why implement 365? (What are the benefits?)

1. Work from Almost Anywhere

Access your email, important documents, contacts, and calendar from virtually anywhere on PC, phone and browser.

2. Collaborate Better

Boost collaboration with document sharing, online meetings and instant messaging. Works seamlessly with tools you already know and use like Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office.

3. Robust Security and Reliability

Provides powerful security to help protect your data.

Possible pitfalls to consider

After your migration completes, source mailboxes will be disconnected from Active Directory. This is a significant problem if you need to rollback, want to compare source and destination mailboxes, or intend to perform a multi-pass migration.

You also cannot control the migration process. There is no guarantee when the migration will start or how many computing resources will be allocated for it. This may have a significant impact on companies looking to migrate over a weekend for example.

'To use your existing MS Access database in Office 365, you will first need the database to be upgraded to MS Access 2010. Once it is saved in MS Access 2010 format, you can then publish it to Office 365 by opening it in MS Access and selecting Save & Publish to Access Services option.'

Figure 1 - Save & Publish to Access Services option

'Your published MS Access database is now accessible from an URL which can be shared out to your colleagues wherever they are -'

Figure 2 - Accessing the database

'More importantly, your database will be backed up on the cloud and more scalable i.e. better able to grow as your needs change.

In relation to security, Office 365 applications are accessed through 128-bit SSL/TSL encryption so that if any authorised transmissions are intercepted by someone without authorisation, they won’t be able to read it. Also antivirus signatures are kept up to date, and security measures are applied in accordance with the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing initiative.

Microsoft monitors the systems continuously for suspicious activity and has a robust incident response protocol in place. Microsoft also does regular security audits.'

Finally, the migration process requires you to deploy a trusted SSL certificate, a self-signed certificate will not work. Trusted SSL certificates cost money. They also require the issuer to perform multiple identity verification checks which takes days.

'The single biggest technical support issue Microsoft receive with regard to security with Office 365 has to do with certificates. Unless the certificates are set up correctly, the entire process will fail. Office 365 uses certificates for;

· SSL encryption

· Token signing

· Client authentication

Because all parties involved need to trust the certificate authority that issued the certificates, Microsoft recommends getting your certificates from a well-known commercial certificate authority. When you apply for the certificates, the subject name has to match your external domain name.

Don’t underestimate the trouble Security certs can cause you e.g. don’t expect the SSL issuing company to automatically inform you of a pending expiry. Put it your calendar for 1 month previous. Remember if the credit card used to originally pay has expired or details have changed it is up to you to inform the SSL issuing company. Otherwise you are going to have a website with no SSL and exposed for all the world to see.' - Conor MacManus Director of software Development at Olas

Does my organisation really need 365?

Businesses of all sizes need technology that enables flexibility and cost-efficiency adds value to your organization. Cloud-based services provide a way to meet these objectives.

The main advantage of having 365 enabled is that it allows you to have both your software and documents stored securely somewhere else, rather than having to manage hardware in the office. It also delivers feature-rich productivity tools to users while helping to relieve the burden of managing and maintaining business systems—freeing up IT departments and businesses to focus on initiatives that can deliver true competitive advantage.

Author Graham Byrne is a Sales & Marketing Executive at Olas.ie. Olas is independent of Microsoft and is not affiliates with Microsoft

Seasons Greetings From Olas

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From all the team here at Olas we would like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and prosperous New Year....hopefully!

Microsoft Office is finally unveiled on the iPad

2011-12-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

Everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of Microsoft Office onto the iPad early next year. Check out the smooth new features on offer. We here at Olas are very excited at the prospect of using the iPad for the likes of Excel, PowerPoint and Work documents. Let us know your thoughts on using an iPad for Office.

Understanding SharePoint 2010

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Adoption of Microsoft SharePoint is growing rapidly, with Microsoft reporting "double-digit growth" in its latest financials, yet it remains widely understood. What can you do with SharePoint, what is the difference between the free SharePoint Foundation and the full product, and what are the pros and cons?

Read Tim Anderson's Article 'Making Sense of SharePoint 2010'

Social Media 101

2011-10-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

Olas announce our first Social Media Workshop course. This half day workshop is aimed at Sales & Marketing professionals looking to generate more leads, run successful promotions, and get their brand in front of the right people.

Only €195. This half day course will run on the (16th of Nov) and (13th of Dec).

Email; sales@olas.ie or call us for more info; 01-2790020

Click here to view course outline

Steve Jobs steps down as CEO of Apple as Tim Cook attempts to fill his boots

2011-08-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

Following on from the news this week of Steve Jobs sadly stepping down as CEO of Apple. We look back on one of his first ever charismatic presentations way back in 1983 at the launch of Apple Computers first ever Ad campaign.

This guy is one of the best public speakers around. His charismatic, confident style has you hanging on his every word. If you are interested in improving your presentation skills further in just one day, why not give Olas a call. Or click here for further information on our Presentation skills schedule

British teenager named 'Microsoft Excel world champion'

2011-08-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Rebecca Rickwood, a 15 year old, from Cambridgeshire UK, clinched the coveted prize ahead of 228,000 international rivals.

The 79 finalists in the “2011 Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office” battled it out last week in San Diego, California. Rebecca took first prize in the Excel 2007 category.

“It’s amazing. I didn’t think I’d win it,” Rebecca said.

“First we had to take a qualifying exam which I took back in about October. Then at the end of June we got the phone call saying I’d got the best score in the UK so I was coming to San Diego for the world championships.”

The final rounds consisted of timed tests in which the contestants had to build a spreadsheet to present a set of data. Well we here at Olas salute you Rebecca. No need for you to attend one of ourExcel classes. If you are interested in improving your Excel skills in just 1 day click here

Handy Excel Tips & Tricks

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Feel that your just getting by with the bare minimum knowledge of Excel. An Olas 1 day Excel course will have you working like a pro. Here's a taster of what you can learn in just 1 day. Check out our course schedule

SQL Time Saving Tricks

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Need help writing SQL queries and updating dating in MySQL, MS Access and Oracle databases. Why not give Olas a call. Check out our 2 Day SQL Introduction Course