Office 365 Upgrade 2013

office-365-log-orange-whiteOne of the big selling points of Office 365 is escaping the backend maintenance and upgrades. While there are regular updates monthly and quarterly, customers will benefit from a significant upgrade this year:

  1. Exchange, Lync, and SharePoint are upgraded to 2013.
  2. Office Professional Plus 2013 may be downloaded.
  3. Each user now has 7GB of SkyDrive storage versus previous 500MB.
  4. Forefront Online Protection for Exchange is upgraded to new Exchange Online Protection.
  5. Lync video conferencing and chat now is in HD.
  6. Windows XP and Internet Explorer 8 are discontinued April 8, 2014 and are not supported to reliably connect to Office 365.
  7. Office 365 E3 customers enjoy Rights Management, Data Loss Protection, and various new SharePoint templates including e-discovery.

How it works is Microsoft sends a notice e-mail of scheduled upgrade with the upgrade date (usually a Friday). For the most part the upgrade is seamless and no impact on customers. However, we have observed the following:

  • Outlook 2007 users sometimes must repair their Outlook profile and then switch from offline to online.
  • There may be a few days after the upgrade where you are unable to change SPAM and other related policies while Exchange Online Protection upgraded completes.

Approximately 40% of our customers were upgraded in Q1. The official statement from Microsoft is that customers will be upgraded throughout the year, but progress is steady and it seems our over 5,000 subscribers will be upgraded by mid-year.

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Microsoft Buys Matrixforce

Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner LogoMatrixforce and Microsoft today announce a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Matrixforce, one of the leading U.S. Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partners for $17.6 million. Matrixforce will join the Microsoft Office Division, led by division President Kurt DelBene, and the team will continue to report to current CEO Kevin Fream.

“The acquisition of Matrixforce underscores our commitment to deliver technology that businesses need and people love,” said Jon Roskill, Vice President, Microsoft Worldwide Partner Group. “Matrixforce adds best-in-class managed services and cloud migration as an innovative pilot for the Microsoft Partner Network.”

Matrixforce was one of the nation’s first Microsoft Partners in 1994 and Oklahoma’s first Microsoft Gold Partner for Security in 2003. Starting in 2008, Matrixforce now has more than five thousand Office 365 business subscribers annually. The Matrixforce Orbit service allows customers to securely access data and applications virtually anywhere for more agile business..

Matrixforce will continue to develop its standalone managed services and maintain its commitment to simplicity, innovation and cross-organization experiences. Moving forward, Microsoft plans to accelerate Matrixforce’s deployment of Office 365 migrations for medium business customers alongside complementary offerings from Microsoft Consulting Services for Fortune 500 organizations.

“When Matrixforce started offering cloud computing services five years ago, we set out to do something big for customers,” Fream said. “We had a vision for how online services could change the way we work. Joining Microsoft will accelerate that vision and give us access to the technologies, expertise and resources we’ll need to scale and innovate.”

The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

Avoid Office 365 P1

Office 365 LogoSince 2008, Matrixforce has helped customers move to the cloud with Office 365. We’ve helped organizations with as few as 5 users and organizations with over a thousand users with a la cart and enterprise plans. Each of these options offers cost-effective productivity and flexibility to help move business forward.

However, the Office 365 P1 subscription should be avoided at all costs by any individual or customer because of the limitations:

  1. There is no way to move from P1 to any other plan without exporting all of your data, removing associated domains, deleted the P1 subscription, creating a new E series or other subscription, and importing your data. For all other plans, you simply purchase and assign new licenses without such hassle.
  2. P1 subscription has a hard limit of 50 users.
  3. SharePoint is limited to 1 site collection and you cannot purchase additional storage.
  4. Users cannot have their own mysite.
  5. P1 subscribers are unable to edit transport rules such as corporate disclaimers.
  6. P1 subscribers cannot administer anti-virus or anti-spam rules.
  7. P1 subscribers are limited to only 25 users for Lync meetings.
  8. P1 subscribers cannot submit online support requests to Microsoft.

For the nominal difference in cost versus other plans, the restrictions are too great and Office 365 P1 for Small Business or Professionals should always be avoided. The better option is to try an Office 365 E3 trial free for 30 days. You can demo all of the features and then purchase whatever subscription you choose at the end of the trial without starting over.

5 Years Moving Oklahoma to the Cloud

Cloud PowerDo you have the t-shirt that says “I survived Oklahoma ice storms, blizzards, wildfires, drought, tornadoes, and earthquakes in 2009″? As Matrixforce approaches 10,000 cloud subscribers, we want to thank hundreds of Oklahoma businesses for the opportunity to prove our expertise by lowering their technology costs and escaping the worry of keeping critical systems running. For the 5th year in a row, Matrixforce has been recognized as the exclusive Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Partner of Oklahoma. While the competition generally boasts about being leading hardware providers or winners of magazine contests, we understand clients simply want to get off the technology obsolescence hamster wheel and have expert support.

Since 1978, Matrixforce has been central to the technology industry with 35 years transforming business for Oklahoma clients. In 1994, Matrixforce became one of the first Oklahoma Microsoft Certified Partners providing third-party qualification of high standard support services and the first Microsoft Gold Partner in the state by 2003. Unfortunately, 5 years later the bar had been lowered and Microsoft Gold Partner was no longer about expert competency, but rather software sales.

So in 2008, we took a calculated risk and moved our critical technology like e-mail and document storage to the cloud, using the predecessor to the current day Office 365. It would take 5,000 subscribers before cloud computing could be considered a viable business, but a win-win for us to prove our expertise while positively impacting client business operations and bottom line. We eliminated a handful of servers with associated software, along with the ongoing maintenance and disaster recovery – amounting to a savings of over $100K per year.

Today, Matrixforce is a top 25 national cloud partner and we regularly provide those same savings to our clients. While competitors push the latest product wares and gush about building data centers in the harshness of Oklahoma, our Office 365 experts leverage cloud computing to help clients improve other business aspects, such as employee productivity and nominal cost regulation compliance.

Technology Foresight 2013

Technology Foresight 2013

It seemed like 2012 was just all about the Presidential Election. While the world waited for the outcome, the technology industry of course didn’t slow down. The following predictions are a mix of both safe and controversial:

  1. 3D printers invigorate. This technology has the capability to bring American manufacturing back to prominence in the world economy.
  2. Cost cutting continues. From ObamaCare and higher taxes to a slow economy and senseless need to maintain significant technology infrastructure, more customers than ever will scramble to lower their number #4 business expense with managed services that offer flat cost and proven process.
  3. Author rank dominates. You click on the results with author pictures because you know they are credible experts and this search trend not only keeps Google leading and relevant, but increases the quality bar for everyone.
  4. Windows 8 dominates. Despite virtually the whole technology industry caught napping, a new era of innovation from smartphones & tablets to the desktop begins with more productivity and better value.
  5. Apple decline continues. The stock continues to plummet beyond 40%, high-priced Apple TV offers nothing over a plethora of TV manufactures with more wow for less bucks, youth no longer think Apple is cool with just another iPhone 6, and the 6 year trend continues for nothing new for business customers.
  6. Browser wars are over. Pure HTML5 begins to dominate due to Java security vulnerabilities, Adobe Flash  lacking search optimization, and Silverlight complexity.
  7. Cloud decided. Microsoft will announce nearly three times the subscribers with Office 365 versus Google Apps with more features for the cost as more organizations and consumers move to cloud computing.
  8. Responsive design rules. People browse the most on smartphones and tablets. Sites without this consideration in mind will be largely inaccessible or obviously dated.
  9. Google singularity. The SPAM of duplicate content like microsites, reposted blog articles, and widely copied boring press releases continue a slow death to search oblivion.
  10. Social media plummets. More people will leave Facebook because of scandals and monotony than the population of the United States, even as new variations like Snapchat or Pinterest emerge.

35 Years Transforming Business

35 Years Transforming BusinessWe want to thank the thousands of Matrixforce clients for the opportunity to improve their business. Most information technology firms go under in 5 – 7 years and our longevity is one of the many things that prove our expertise to you. Today, we generally cut your technology support costs in half and implement the hot technologies like cloud computing and virtualization. Throughout the history of the technology industry, Matrixforce has been central to transforming business.

In 1978, the firm began providing data collection solutions, primarily with bar code printing and scanning. As luck would have it, we stumbled across a mid-sized retailer in Arkansas (Wal-Mart) and sold the entire stock of bar code printers from the manufacturer that would become Datamax. From there, Matrixforce went on to help manufacturing and distribution clients nation-wide eliminate data entry and cut the time required for tasks like inventory, shipping, and labor/payroll processing by 90%.

By the late 80′s through the early 90′s, Matrixforce had evolved to adding business consulting and application development. We leveraged the opportunity to work side by side with the global leaders in technology from IBM to HP and Computer Associates. Revolutionary software was developed to allow electric and gas utilities across the nation to upload meter and inventory data to mainframes with no software changes. We helped Goodyear ship an additional 6,000 tires per day, Snap-on Tools to process all North American payroll same day, and Arco Alaska continues to save $23 Million per year in freight forwarding.  Accolades also included one of the first externally developed applications for American Airlines and the world’s largest wireless implementation in 1991 for Gates Rubber.

As the era of the mainframe gave way to the PC, a larger opportunity was available to help all businesses leverage technology for competitive advantage. The decision was made to focus on niches that helped the economy grow like bankers and accountants, lawyers and architects, government and non-profits, and manufacturers and distributors. In 1993, Matrixforce joined the fledgling Microsoft Solution Provider program and had one of the first technology websites. By 2003, Matrixforce had become Oklahoma’s first Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and recognized in the top 30 nationally for implementing Windows Server and Exchange.

The 21st century has brought even more value for clients and success for Matrixforce. Matrixforce was a pioneer managed service provider that eliminated the billable hour and sales of planned-obsolescent hardware. Our proprietary Delta methodology, continues to prove business acumen with over 3,500 flat-cost and outcome-based projects. In a highly competitive industry, clients appreciate the consistent quality of knowledge from our technology personnel with an average tenure of over 8 years. For present day, we continue to lower client technology costs by streamlining operations as a national leader in cloud computing. Recently, we’ve also begun to provide digital marketing services to increase sales with inbound marketing for a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising.

Popular 2012 Posts

2012 Most Popular Posts

2012 Most Popular Posts

Thank you again for a prosperous 2012. A lot happened in 2012 and predictably the world didn’t end. As we look forward to next year, we wanted to give a brief list of the most popular posts of the year:

  1. 2012 Predictions - Apple stock is down $20B. Windows 8 Phone and tablets are everywhere, but the big growth will likely be in 2013. If you haven’t started generating SEO and Social media content, you better get started this year or be left behind. Our own online backup grew 18TB this year, managed services are up 30%, and we added another 2,987 subscribers to the cloud.
  2. High Cost Apple Switch - Many of you remembered the story of Mr. Pielsticker and avoided high risk.
  3. Transparent Cloud - Customers want to know if it’s true cloud computing or just legacy hosting of 10 years ago.
  4. iPhone Not Relevant - Apple hasn’t updated it’s version of ActiveSync since 2007 even though Microsoft released Exchange 2007, Exchange 2010, and Exchange 2013.

Happy New Year and we look forward to providing you more business and technology insight in 2013.

Hosting Hurdles

No hostingThe IT Manager was really frustrated. The organization was growing at a rapid pace, but there was constant friction with the “consulting” firm that hosted e-mail and provided infrastructure support.

The customer found us on the web and verified with Microsoft that Matrixforce was a top 25 national Cloud Accelerate Partner. We simply listened as he recounted his issues with the current hosting and support:

  • The consulting firm owner had so much litigation in the industry that he had become an attorney with extra attitude.
  • Before the IT Manager position was created, the consulting firm actually finagled leasing the firewall, network attached storage, and fax services – effectively capturing the customer.
  • The consulting firm owner also routinely told the IT Manager that if they didn’t like the service to move on to someone else.
  • The admin portal was often inaccessible or broken meaning he really had no control.
  • In fact there was no documentation on anything and any questions were simply rebuffed or ignored.
  • There was just one guy for the customer’s account who was constantly busy, difficult to contact, and slow to respond.
  • Even the simplest of things had to be arranged for on-site support so the tech could bill the maximum amount by the hour.
  • The IT Manager had discovered that his e-mail was actually hosted by a third-party located in Missouri on the New Madrid fault line.
  • The consulting firm had recently purchased a wildcard SSL certificate in their name and the Exchange Connectivity Test would not verify for the customer’s domain.
  • If the IT manager wanted his data back, he was at the mercy of the consulting firm to export mailboxes to an external drive which was in vogue 10 years ago.

The customer was amazed when we explained managed services were actually flat cost and that cloud computing was not hosting. We provided:

  1. A nominal flat cost project to migrate mailboxes automatically.
  2. Flat cost Guardian Managed Services for infrastructure support.
  3. Test migration to prove that the data was accessible and the IT Manager could review his own migrated mailbox.
  4. System Plan with Office 365 settings and on-premise infrastructure configuration.

The IT Manager got a raise because the mailboxes were seamlessly migrated over a weekend and the improved reliability and disaster recovery. The network was more stable and the support was less. Most importantly, the customer’s management were excited they had a business partner with a full staff and a proven methodology to openly help business without motivation to just sell product and time.

Managed Serivces Year End

2012-year-endIt’s that time of year again, when things seem to both incredibly speed up and slow down at the same time.  STOP … Take a deep breath and THINK. That almost constant e-mail notification can wait. Use the next 15 – 30 minutes and go down this list to close out the year and prepare for the next:

  1. Take stock in accomplishments. Most of you had 1-2 projects this year and eliminated a server with virtualization, escaped disaster recovery with cloud computing, or have simply forgotten the headaches and frustrations of the bad old days when you didn’t have managed services benefits.
  2. Budget and plan projects. If you haven’t had your last CIO Review or looked at the 5 Year Technology Forecast, there are still a few meeting slots open or we can schedule for next year and send the current budget information on file. What are the 3 technology projects that are holding the business back for next year? Remember, any software version 2003 or older is not supported by the manufacturer next year.
  3. Save on taxes. Let’s see you can pay more tax or many customers choose to take an additional discount and pre-pay a project or their Guardian Managed Services for next year. Obviously, if you need to replace hardware or software, shop for the best price and this is the perfect time to do it. Sorry Ghost Rider, the pattern is full to implement any new projects this year with Delta, but we can handle the required billing and install starting in January. It’s time to clear out and donate that old hardware and pitch the old software and manuals from 15 years ago too.
  4. Prepare for winter. We’re going to have another El Nino, which means another 2009 ice blast. Make sure you have a current hard and soft copy of your System Plan off-site along with DVD copies of critical software – not to mention the gun, bottled water, powerbars, or other parts of your disaster recovery. Just dipped your toe into Office 365 for unified messaging? Well, now is a good time to get serious about moving documents to SharePoint Online. Oh, and it’s never too late to start an Office 365 Free Trial for a disaster plan if you haven’t done anything else.

What are we doing? Well old servers and workstations are going bye-bye, existing servers and workstations have been upgraded to Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 respectively. New versions of Insight Remote Monitoring and Recovery Online Backup are under-way. And we’re doing our board review near Christmas to continue the focus on lowering your technology costs and streamlining operations.