Happy New (Enterprise Mobility / ConfigMgr) Year!

Like every year I would like to wish you and your family a healthy and successful 2017! I hope that all of your and your family’s whishes may come true. Also this year I would like to start this brand new year with looking back at the year we lived in yesterday. What a year it was!

The year 2016 was again a very good year for me full of community, good friends and a lots of fun in the Enterprise Mobility / Enterprise Client Management world. It was the year of:

January:

Early 2016 Microsoft released more and more support for Windows 10 in Microsoft Intune. Read all about it here, here and here! 🙂

Microsoft Passport settings
Microsoft Passport for Work settings

Also wrote a blog about Android and device encryption, some tips when using device encryption (which you should use!) together with Microsoft Intune.

February:

Since February 2016 we are able to configure conditional access based on Operating System version, which was high on my and my customers wish list. As an Administrator in the Enterprise Mobility world you want to be in control. I wrote a blog about how you are able to gain back control and not force you to support more than 24.000 different Android device;) Also you are to test new features like Android Smart Lock first before allowing new devices to access company data. Android Smart Lock is also a good example to show the agility of Intune, the Product Group was able to add the ability to block Android Smart Lock very quickly. Thumbs up!!

In February Kent Agerlund and my book about Microsoft Enterprise Mobility +Security was ready for review. Busy times writing the book but so much fun!

March:

Early March Parallels released their new Mac Management Plugin for Configuration Manager.

While writing my chapters for Mastering System Center Configuration Manager I tested how the new servicing model of Configuration Manager Current Branch works if you have a hierarchy. (who needs a CAS? 😉 ) Pretty awesome if you ask me!

Who needs a CAS? 😉

On the Intune side of the spectrum, Microsoft added support for Conditional Access for SharePoint Online, iOS 9.3 (zero day) and Managed Browser enforcement for web clips. Also the first major version 1602 after the initial release of Configuration Manager Current Branch 1511 was released.

April:

Every year on the 1st of April it is time to look at our emailbox to see if the renewal email of the Microsoft MVP program arrives. For the fifth time in a row I was awarded as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award in Enterprise Mobility (EM+S and Configuration Manager) again. Still a great honor to be part of this community!

May:

Yeah! In May Kent Agerlund and my book (Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite: Planning and Implementation) was finally released! If you want to learn about Microsoft Enterprise Mobility +Security and want to execute a successful Proof Of Concept or implementation, this book will definitely help you!

May is also always Midwest Management Summit time! This year I presented a 4 hour preconference session with John Marcum called Taming BYOD with EMS, ConfigMgr & Intune – Hands On Labs also a session (Use Microsoft EMS to protect your mobile data and mobile apps) with Chris Nackers was on the schedule. Exciting times in Minneapolis.

If you are planning to attend a technical conference focused on Microsoft products this is definitely the place to be to learn from your peers in the community! The sale of tickets has started, so be quick because every edition is capped and sold out every year! Get your tickets for MMS here!

Besides all the community and work related stuff, I also moved homes in the meanwhile 🙂

June:

Big announcement this month Microsoft and Lookout made public that they are going to build an integration with Microsoft Intune. This way we can use the Mobile Threat Protection solution of Lookout to secure the devices and give based on the device status via conditional access in Intune/Azure AD access to corporate resources.

Also great news regarding new features in Microsoft Intune, finally we were able to give conditional access based on if a device had unknown sources, USB Debugging and if Scan device for security threats are disabled or enabled.

Also I was invited to speak at the System Center Summer Night of the System Center User Group Netherlands.

July:

Configuration Center Current Branch 1606 was released to the public with again some great new features. What a great effort of the Product Group that releases not only roughly every four months a major release but also a Technical Preview every month. So cool to see that Configuration Manager is alive and kicking!

July was also the month of the last BriForum ever. This time the event was held in Boston. This time I presented two sessions about the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite and managing Windows 10. Hopefully a new event like BriForum will be organized in 2017.

In July also the yearly visit to Mirko’s ConfigMgr Community Day in Bern Switzerland.

August:

August was full of writing for the new book Mastering System Center Configuration Manager.

Also tested Android 7 and the fact that Google is removing the ability to reset a passcode of a device for MDM providers. Found a small workaround for it. Looking back at this issue learns us that Android for at Work is the way to go to manage those different Android devices. Have your personal profile and work profile on one device.

September:

After the announcement in June the integration of Lookout and Microsoft Intune was finally there. In the months before I was able to validate, test and provide feedback at the solution that was build. While I was in Boston for BriForum I visited one of the offices of Lookout and met with Lookout. Great experience. In September I kicked of my series of blogs about the integration.

October:

In October the annual IT/Dev Connections in Las Vegas was scheduled. This time I was fully booked with a full pre-conference workshop day about Microsoft Enterprise Mobility + Security together with Kenny Buntinx and Tim De Keukelaere.

Besides the full day workshop I presented two joined sessions with Kent Agerlund. (Top 10 Enterprise Client Management Frustrations and How to Avoid Them and Manage Those Unmanaged Apple devices with ConfigMgr and Microsoft Intune)

A Azure RMS Deepdive session with Kaido Jarvemets and a session with Mirko Colemberg called 10 Reasons to Move to System Center Configuration Manager 1606.

Before heading to Las Vegas, Mike Terrill invited me for the tenth year anniversary of the Arizona Systems Management User Group, what a great user group!

Besides all the speaking, we looked at Intune and Lookout:

November:

The 1610 version of Configuration Manager Current Branch was released with again a lot of new features that makes the life of a Configuration Manager Admin more easy! One of the new features (still in preview) is the Cloud Management Gateway which I wrote a blog about.

In November I was invited again to talk for 2 hours together with Kent Agerlund at the System Center User Group Norway in Oslo.

A few days later ExpertsLive Netherlands was scheduled where I presented a session with my buddy Kenneth van Surksum.

Of course November is also all about the Global MVP Summit! The week with the Product Groups of Microsoft Intune and Configuration Manager was superb! Almost everything is NDA, NDA and NDA. But fellow MVP Kim Oppalfens wrote some blogs about the official Hackathon we had. Have a look here, here and here.

December:

End of the year ahead with a blog about the end user experience of Intune and Lookout. (more to come soon!)

On the 26th we welcomed our newborn daughter which allowed me to close 2016 with a huge smile and with a lot of pride!


Looking back to 2016 learns me that it was a very community related year, btw also again business wise. Travelled a lot, been to Phoenix – USA, Bern – Switzerland, Boston – USA, Seattle – USA, Las Vegas – USA, Oslo – Norway, Minneapolis USA. Okay it was less blogging than earlier years but meeting you all face to face is so much more fun!

We organized 6 on premise and two online Windows Management User Group Meetings with great speakers from around the world. Looking ahead to 2016 and the WMUG, it will again be a nice year with lots of nice laidback community events.

Looking quickly forward to 2017, also this year will be full of community, my next book will be released in a few weeks, we started writing our second book about Microsoft Enterprise Mobility +Security and some major announcements will be made. So stay tuned! 🙂 If you ask me, also 2017 will be great!

So again, I want to which you all the best for 2017! Stay healthy and hopefully all of your wishes may come true!

Thanks for following me and see you in 2017 online or one of the events!

Peter

 

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