31Dec2020
22Dec2020
Reader question: Do you recommend Defender in place of third-party antivirus or security tools?
It feels like it has been a while since I addressed a reader question on the blog. This is one I get frequently, all the more so in recent months since Microsoft Defender for Endpoint (formerly Microsoft Defender ATP) became available as a standalone subscription via CSP. Previously, it was...
10Dec2020
Your customers are coming to me…
I wanted to bring up an interesting trend that I have been seeing in my website's contact form. I still get plenty of messages from IT Pros, independent consultants and Managed Services Providers. But, in recent months, I have also been seeing an increasing number of SMB customers coming to...
01Dec2020
Why aren’t you charging your customers to take care of Microsoft 365?
This is a simple question. The way I see it, there are many opportunities to provide Managed Services for SMB customers with regard to their Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Yet to this day, hardly anyone is doing it. Why? I suspect some folks have difficulty connecting all the dots and putting...
16Nov2020
How much security is ‘enough’ security? Looking at Microsoft 365 Defender vs. Azure Sentinel
How much security is 'enough' security? This is in fact a trick question, I just threw it in there to get your attention. When it comes to security, one can never be 'safe,' but only 'safer' (even with the most expensive of cybersecurity tools and talented, dedicated humans to back...
02Nov2020
The “Five Rules of Fields” for File Server Migrations to Microsoft 365
What a fun tongue twister, and such a practical resource that I am excited to share with you today! Well, actually a lot of this information you might have already gleaned by following my past posts about file server migration. But I still find that when I consult with folks...
26Oct2020
Cloud vs. On-prem and the future of Managed Services
Is the on-prem model (e.g. legacy AD with file shares, Windows Server-based apps, etc.) 'better' in some cases than SaaS alternatives like Microsoft 365, GSuite, Ping, Okta, Salesforce, DropBox, or whatever? In the SMB space, I really struggle to advocate for on-prem anymore, and I mean REALLY struggle. And that's...
13Oct2020
Goodbye, Exchange 2010 (And advice moving forward)
The end of an era. Exchange 2010 is End of Life today--no more security updates, no more extended support. I know there are quite a few servers left out there in the world, but many of them are not even in use (or they were merely in place for hybrid...
23Sep2020
Deploying Conditional Access Policies via PowerShell
There is a new GitHub repository available from Microsoft: Manage Conditional Access policies like code. Similar to the infamous Intune samples repo from which I and many others have built their automated Intune setup scripts for new tenants, this repo is replete with the resources that you need for accomplishing...
22Sep2020