Do you get a lot of request for New Users? Using out of the box features of Microsoft 365 you can create a simple process to request and automatically create a new user. In this video I demonstrate the features including adding the user to a Microsoft 365 Group. Here are the details of the Workflow shown in the video Generate Password This example generates ..read more

I have spent this week attending the Microsoft MVP Summit at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond. It is the 4th time I have made the long journey from New Zealand, and I felt like a seasoned attendee until I arrived on campus and then I had those same feelings I had the very first time I visited. There were several things that made my experience ..read more

The New Zealand Digital Workplace Conference (DWCNZ) was held in Christchurch for the first time on the 27th and 28th of February 2024. More than 30 speakers from New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and the United States spoke on a wide range of topics and presented case studies. The conference was held at Te Pae, our fabulous new convention centre. This fantastic venue is ..read more

Microsoft 365 Archive is a SharePoint Premium feature to help reduce SharePoint Online storage costs. SharePoint Administrators can select sites and archive them from the Admin Portal. When a site is archived, access to the content in the site is removed making it inaccessible to end users. Purview continues to manage retention, content sensitivity and eDiscovery on archived sites. How Archiving works In the SharePoint ..read more

Where do you store documents related to jobs? We often find folder structures on file servers containing subfolders for customers, information about jobs, correspondence related to the job, health and safety check lists, site photos etc. This has served many of us well for decades, but it has some major limitations. Accessing file server content remotely, usually requires a VPN, a remote desktop system, or ..read more

Copilot is a powerful tool that helps you write faster and better code, documents, emails, and more. It uses artificial intelligence to suggest completions, corrections, and enhancements for your text, based on your context and preferences. Copilot can save you time, improve your productivity, and boost your creativity.  However, Copilot also comes with some risks and responsibilities. When you use Copilot, you are sharing your ..read more

How do you backup Microsoft 365? This is frequent question. Some organisations choose to use a cloud connector for their existing on-premises backup solution, others choose a cloud native solution, and many don’t have a backup solution, instead relying on a combination of retention policies and Microsoft support requests. The right backup solution depends on the requirements for recovery. What are the recovery point and ..read more

Last night a whale became stranded on a sand bank in the Estuary I live beside and spend my weekends kayaking. We watched from a distance feeling helpless as the whale struggled to free itself. The local coast guard and surf club arrived in boats and attempted to save the whale. Unfortunately, this story had a sad ending. Tonight, I went for a walk down ..read more

Working in services and consulting means we are always busy with other people’s projects. We hardly have time to breathe, let alone think, with packed schedules, constant distractions, and relentless deadlines. We are supposed to be experts who have all the answers, but that’s not always true.  Our work is shaped by tools, systems, methods, and frameworks. We are skilled at following instructions, reading blogs ..read more

We live in a world where technology is constantly evolving. If we look at the technology we use today, it is easy to forget that it is only possible because of decades of effort that came before. I read earlier today, that the first Apple Mac came out 40 years ago. The Mac of today is a very different machine, but still has at it’s ..read more