It’s back! Microsoft is offering subsidized pricing on new purchases and renewals for business licenses for the following products:

- Microsoft Office 2010,
- Microsoft Exchange 2010
- Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Small Business Server 2011
- Microsoft Lync 2010
- Microsoft SharePoint 2010

These partner subsidy dollars apply to:

- Open License,
- Open License with Software Assurance,
- Open Value and,
- Open Value Subscriptions.

There are two discount levels; 15% for one product line purchased and 20% if two or more product lines are purchased.

Now is the time to renew or buy because this offer ends March 31st. If you would like more information, Sea to Sky Network Solutions is the Microsoft Partner who can help.

Contact us for more information at info@seatosky.com.

- Sea to Sky Team

Did you know that there are different technologies, or protocols, to deliver email? Did you know that Microsoft’s Exchange email protocol is the best solution for a user with numerous devices (computer, phone, tablet, etc…) and multiple users? This article will compare Exchange Online to POP and IMAP which are now older email technologies. POP and IMAP represent email solutions which are less unified and less expensive to maintain. Because of this they are commonly offered as a free service to their users. These services are usually offered free of charge thanks to revenue generated by monthly internet service fees by an ISP (i.e. Telus) or advertising revenue derived from scanning a user’s email messages for keywords (i.e. Google’s Gmail). POP and IMAP have their place in the consumer email world, but there is no doubt that Exchange email is a must for businesses. Let’s take a quick look at the evolution of email; from POP to IMAP to Exchange.

POP Email:

POP email was designed for a time when 56k modems were popular and logging on and off of the internet was the norm; I think we all remember those 56k modem screeches and beeps of days gone by. Because POP email was developed in an era of limited bandwidth, it does not support synchronization between multiple devices. As a result of this limitation POP email does not maintain continuity across multiple devices. This limitation makes it much harder to manage message status (i.e.: what has been sent and received). Now multiply this problem by the number of employees in a business; that is where it gets complicated.

IMAP Email:

Fast forward a few years, the 1990s, and email users are now excited about the introduction of IMAP email protocol. IMAP is a more robust system with features that address some of the limitations of POP email by utilizing the capabilities of broadband internet. IMAP protocol hosts a user’s messages on a server to facilitate the synchronization of multiple devices. These messages remain on the server until they are explicitly deleted by the user. This is a great help for multi-device synchronization, including folder synchronization, in a simplistic world of one user with little to no support needs.

Exchange Email:

Now we get into the good stuff; Exchange email! Most people don’t get excited about this, but the team at Sea to Sky does. We are huge fans of this technology because of the added value it brings to an organization. Exchange offers greater management, security and communication capabilities that help a company manage its intellectual property. Until recently, this technology required an onsite server and continuous support to make sure security patches and updates were installed. The costs associated with this discouraged a lot of SMB owners from purchasing the product. Thankfully, Microsoft recognized the need for hosted Exchange and has since released Office 365 Enterprise plans which offer hosted services in a monthly subscription model. This is proving to be hugely successful and paves the way for growth in the feature set of Office 365.

Exchange’s unique features, thus far, include:

- Better support and synchronization for email, calendar, contacts, tasks, notes, etc…

- Shared calendars and group collaboration features
- 25GB mailboxes
- Slick integration with installed Microsoft Office software (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc…) including Office:Mac 2011
- Growth into SharePoint Online and Lync Online for document sharing and online video, audio and screen sharing conferences.
- Full Push Email (aka always-on) capability

Advanced security and productivity management capabilities, include:
- Legal hold (in case an employee deletes emails)
- Exchange Forefront (enterprise class spam and virus protection)
- Message archiving (backup of all messages)
- 99.9%, financially backed, uptime (ask for details)
- Remotely disable accounts through an administrative console if a device is lost or stolen.

Exchange email services are charged on a per user, not per email address, basis to help reduce costs. Contact a Sea to Sky technician for more information (www.seatosky.com). Additionally, Office 365’s services are advertisement free and do not use your company’s data for marketing purposes.

Here is a short video to help explain the day in the life of an Exchange Online user:

Video: Office 365, Exchange Online

Next up, we will provide a review of Office 365’s SharePoint Online service; stay tuned!

- Sea to Sky Team

This milestone represents a huge step forward in the day-to-day management of business communication and collaboration. To most people it may not be quite as thrilling as the release of Angry Birds on the PlayBook, but business owners should seriously consider BBCS and Office 365 as a company-wide communication solution. The bottom line is BBCS and Office 365 can save a considerable amount of time and money without foregoing advanced features found in server-based BlackBerry management systems, such as the BlackBerry Enterprise Server family of products.

Before the release of BBCS, the ability to manage an entire organization’s mobile phone system from a central portal was only available to companies who had an onsite server with BlackBerry Enterprise Server software. This hardware/software solution requires a substantial upfront capital investment that most small business cannot justify. Hardware solutions have several growth limitations and can become very expensive to replace if an organization experiences rapid expansion. Additionally, these solutions can be hard to manage on a monthly basis without a dedicated IT person. That is why Sea to Sky’s Microsoft certified team is excited to provide information on cloud services offered by RIM and Microsoft. It really does represent a new way of looking at enterprise email, file sharing and online communication with virtually unlimited scalability. BlackBerry Cloud has been built from the ground up to work with Office 365’s selection of enterprise plans. When properly configured, support costs and capital investment costs become a lot less expensive. Finally, it is comforting to know that these products are being offered directly by Microsoft which eliminates compatibility issues as the product evolves.

Notable features of this collaborative effort include:

- Secure transmission and synchronization of Microsoft Exchange Online email, calendar, contacts and organizer data.
- A data management system called BlackBerry Balance which helps to securely separate personal and work data on a single device.
- A cloud, or web, based console allowing IT administrators (Sea to Sky’s technical staff) to manage and secure a BlackBerry smartphone more efficiently.
- Additionally, this console will allow the BlackBerry user to access self-serve options, such as password resets and remote lock/wipe functionality.

For reference, here is a complete comparison of the BlackBerry management solutions currently available: BlackBerry Comparison Document

Now that BlackBerry fully integrates with Office 365, Sea to Sky would like to take this opportunity to let our readers know about a series of blog articles we plan on releasing over the next month. These articles will provide insight into the features of Office 365 and the BlackBerry Cloud. We encourage you to contact us if you have further questions about these new services by emailing info@seatosky.com.

All the best,
- Sea to Sky Team

Following the steps below will help reduce the likelihood of computer hardware becoming damaged due to extreme weather conditions. Please remember that these are simply guidelines. If you are concerned about the health of your computer please contact a Sea to Sky technician for assistance as soon as possible. Additionally, if you wish to further protect your investment please ask Sea to Sky to include a “drops and spills” warranty on your new computer.

The most common scenario in which a laptop becomes exposed to freezing conditions is in the trunk of a car. Firstly, a car is never a good place to store a laptop. It is best to take your laptop inside with you whenever possible. If you find yourself in a situation where the laptop has been exposed to temperatures outside of the manufacturer’s specifications, we recommend following these simple steps:

- Make sure the laptop is completely turned off (not just in sleep mode); take the battery out if possible.

- Bring the laptop inside with you to help it reach room temperature. Make sure you allow the computer come to room temperature naturally; do not use a hair dryer or any other heater to accelerate this process. Quick temperature changes can cause the components to loosen, crack or break. A simple way to check the temperature of the computer is by touching the outside surfaces, including the keyboard, with your bare hand. If the computer feels cold when compared to the room – the ideal temperature is 22 degrees Celsius – you must continue to wait; patience is a virtue. Warming a laptop from freezing to room temperature could take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours.

- Finally, check for condensation. If you find condensation do not turn the laptop on until it has evaporated. You should check for condensation in the fan’s exhaust vents and the input ports (USB, monitor, audio etc…) on the laptop. Again, allow this process to occur naturally with the computer completely powered off.

If you plan on using your computer in extreme weather, or temperature, conditions on a regular basis, we recommend investing in a laptop designed for rugged use. The Dell Latitude ATG (http://www.dell.com/ca/business/p/latitude-e6420-atg/pd) series of computers is a great example of a product designed for less than favourable conditions. This speciality line of laptop computer offers exceptional performance and retains the business styling of the Latitude line. The Latitude ATG computers have been tested to MIL-STD 810G and IP5X levels of protection against ingress of humidity and dust. They also include special rubber seals to protect the data ports from direct exposure of unfavorable conditions. Additionally, the Dell Latitude ATG series of computer includes a reinforced metal chassis to reduce the likelihood of internal damage from a short fall of approximately 30 inches.

If you are interested in learning more about how to keep your technology investments safe, or if you wish to learn more about rugged laptop options, please contact a Sea to Sky team member for more information.

Stay Warm!
- Sea to Sky Team

If you are working over this holiday we would like to remind you that we are here to take your support calls and, as always, our managed service clients are being monitored 24/7.

Season’s Greetings!
- Sea to Sky Team

This outage tested the patience of BlackBerry users as they vocalized their frustration on social media. In the end service was restored and the anxiety associated with feeling disconnected died out.

The big question our clients are asking is “should I switch”? The answer is no. The reason IT departments recommend BlackBerry can be attributed to the unparalleled security and administrative controls which offer the ability to regulate sensitive company information. The same concept applies for all users who chat with friends using BBM; they know their data is being sent through a secure network.

To make all of these security features possible, BlackBerry routes data through their private data centre. RIM’s method of delivering and securing transmissions means that messages cannot be intercepted and used by others for malicious purposes.

This type of service is not offered by other providers as a core service. Some companies have introduced similar BBM-type services for their iUsers which will be just as prone to failure. Despite the increased likelihood of downtime, RIM’s competitors understand that the benefits of a secure mail system outweigh disadvantages of server-side message filtering. As BBM derivatives come to market one must consider that these trickledown technologies which are being developed will experience similar issues at some point down the road, especially as they fight through their infancy stage.

Downtime is a fact of life for those of us who rely on smartphones for communication. Issues, such as RIM’s October outage, will be reviewed and better processes will be implemented to further limit downtime. Sea to Sky still views RIM’s products and services as a best practice solution for managing a business’s communication needs.

If you would like more information please visit the official BlackBerry press release site at: http://www.rim.com/newsroom/news/

If you have questions regarding your business IT, please feel free to contact a Sea to Sky consultant for more information.

- Sea to Sky Team

The new SharePoint integration with your BlackBerry will allow users to:

-          Download, edit, upload and sync documents,

-          Navigate SharePoint files and folders

-          View details of a document

-          Integrate with the SharePoint calendar

-          Utilize high-level BlackBerry security features

Here is a sample image of the interface, borrowed from the crackberry.com website article:

At Sea to Sky we feel that this is great news because it reinforces the fact that RIM and Microsoft are still putting business needs first.

If you have questions about this product, please contact a Sea to Sky representative for more information.

- Sea to Sky Team

BlackBerry is working hard to make sure that any information traveling through their client’s phones via Office 365 is secure. The RIM team is designing a dedicated SSL connection on their end so all cloud-based services offered by Office 365 can be used securely. These features include:

-          messaging,
-          access controls,
-          physical security at their data centres,
-          backups and,
-          administrative controls meet or exceed IT admin requirements

Basically; BBCS is going provide our clients with enterprise class IT features without the enterprise cost for hardware and ongoing IT support.

Below is a diagram from the RIM BlackBerry Business Cloud Services – Security Technical Overview document

As with any beta release of software, Sea to Sky will not be implementing this into any customer solutions. Once it has been given the official seal of approval we will begin the process of introducing the service to all of our client’s BlackBerry devices.

Stay tuned for more information!

- Sea to Sky Team

Windows 8 signifies a radical departure from the traditional user interface we have all come to know from the current version of the world’s most popular operating system. This major interface design change has the blogosphere buzzing with both positive and negative views.

The most notable change is the new desktop user interface (UI) that resembles what Microsoft calls “Tiles”. The Tile design is similar to that found on the Windows Phone 7. This new interface was designed to accommodate the shift to touch screen devices which require larger screen push points for accurate command inputs from a user’s finger. These Tiles are buttons that represent programs. The tiles replace icons and can be customized and relocated on the home screen as needed. Below is a screenshot of the beta release:

Microsoft has stated that their goal is to unify the user interface across the myriad of devices people most commonly use (computer, phone, tablet and gaming console). This is a great idea and we can’t wait to see the final prouct.

We are very excited to see what advantages Windows 8 will bring to the business client. Sea to Sky will keep a close eye on the progress of Windows 8 as it gets closer to the launch date.

Windows 8 is still a long way from being released; it is likely to be made available to the public late 2012. If you are planning on purchasing a new machine Windows 7 is still a current, best practice solution that will last for years to come. Sea to Sky feels that it is still too early to know what the changes in Windows 8 are going to mean for our business clients. We will keep this blog up-to-date as Microsoft releases more information.If you have any questions please contact one of the Sea to Sky team members for more information.

- Sea to Sky Team

This is really exciting, as it means we’re even closer to a lot of our customers downtown, and we have the space to expand and support more employees in the near future!

We look forward to supporting you from our new location – please let us know if you’d like to drop by!

For your records, our full mailing address is:

Sea to Sky Network Solutions
300-455 Granville St.
Vancouver, BC
V6C 1T1

Please update your records accordingly.