Christophe Fiessinger's Blog The latest news you need to know about Microsoft Project
Following this post: Important Information on Project Server and SharePoint Server 2007 Service Pack 2 (SP2), please find an important update from the SharePoint team:
The public update to fix this issue is available for customers to download. If you have any questions please send them here. Post URL is here: http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/06/25/service-pack-2-update.aspx Service Pack 2 Update. The public update for the Service Pack 2 expiration date issue is now available for download. The update can be applied before or after Service Pack 2 installation. If the update is applied prior to installing Service Pack 2 it will prevent the expiration date from being improperly activated during installation of Service Pack 2, if it is applied after Service Pack 2 it will remove the expiration date incorrectly set during installation of Service Pack 2. The update is applicable to all of the products that this issue affected (see the list in the KB linked below). Installation instructions and download links for x86 and x64 are available in this KB: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971620 The direct download link for x86 is: http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/F/5/2F51AB71-1325-49D2-9CB9-18DEC4780E99/office2007-kb971620-fullfile-x86-glb.exe And for x64: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/B/B/5BBD34A9-C528-42B0-8A5F-9A8997B25C32/office2007-kb971620-fullfile-x64-glb.exe We will be updating the existing Service Pack 2 download package with a new package that includes this fix within the next 4-6 weeks.
The public update to fix this issue is available for customers to download. If you have any questions please send them here.
Post URL is here: http://blogs.msdn.com/sharepoint/archive/2009/06/25/service-pack-2-update.aspx
Service Pack 2 Update.
The public update for the Service Pack 2 expiration date issue is now available for download.
The update can be applied before or after Service Pack 2 installation. If the update is applied prior to installing Service Pack 2 it will prevent the expiration date from being improperly activated during installation of Service Pack 2, if it is applied after Service Pack 2 it will remove the expiration date incorrectly set during installation of Service Pack 2.
The update is applicable to all of the products that this issue affected (see the list in the KB linked below).
Installation instructions and download links for x86 and x64 are available in this KB: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971620
The direct download link for x86 is: http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/F/5/2F51AB71-1325-49D2-9CB9-18DEC4780E99/office2007-kb971620-fullfile-x86-glb.exe
And for x64: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/B/B/5BBD34A9-C528-42B0-8A5F-9A8997B25C32/office2007-kb971620-fullfile-x64-glb.exe
We will be updating the existing Service Pack 2 download package with a new package that includes this fix within the next 4-6 weeks.
Related links:
Attached is a document written by Shawn Kim from Microsoft Consulting Services which provides great insight into the budget and cost management capabilities of Project Server 2007. This document is based on actual customer experience and is intended to be used as a guide for any organization that wants to do budget and cost modeling using Project Server 2007.
“This document is intended as a “how-to” guide for budget and cost modeling using Microsoft Office Project Server 2007. Microsoft Office Project Server 2007 is a great tool for coordinating and managing project schedules and resources. While many users know the schedule and resource management capabilities of Project Server 2007, most users are not familiar with the budget and cost management capabilities of Project Server 2007. With Project Server 2007, you can set a budget to a project, and track costs against the set budget. You can also group the projects so that budgets and costs can roll up to a program or portfolio level.
The budget and cost tracking model was used at a federal government agency client site and it can be applied at many organizations. The model enabled the agency to use Project Server 2007 to track budgets and costs at a program level in a central location. Previously, the agency had to access several separate systems (budget in one system, resource costs in another system, fixed costs in yet another system, etc…) in order to get all of the necessary information to see a clear picture of the program. Project Server 2007 enabled them to very easily capture and report the budget and cost information from one central location in addition to providing them day to day cost and schedule visibility out of the box.”
Funny interview!
Following the release of Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 and its out of the integration with Microsoft Project Server 2007, we are pleased to announce the release of the Project Finance and Controls demo image. This solution allows the support of more sophisticated projects through the use of multiple currency budgeting, invoicing and planning:
Standard Project Web Access interface when the Dynamics AX based Project Accounting module installed:
The AX based Project Accounting module for Project Server 2007 adds functionality around invoicing, contract management, project controls/validation, expenses and procurement. It also adds in formal project accounting project types. These include investment, internal (charge back), fixed-price and time & materials. Separate accounting treatments and controls can be applied to each type of project. For example internal projects can be billed back at a fix rate, a percentage, etc.
This demo image along with a recorded webcast, deck and demo scripts are available on the Microsoft Partner portal: https://partner.microsoft.com/productdemos
Email proj2007@microsoft.com for download instructions.
Fellow Project Partners,
Final call to those wishing to have access to the Microsoft Project 2010 client and Microsoft Project Server 2010 Technical Preview.
We have issued an invitation asking to show and expression of interest in gaining access to the Technical Preview of Project/Project Server 2010. The invitation was issued to all known EPM Specialized partners; Independent Software Vendors (ISV’s) that build on Project/Project Server; Project Most Valued Professionals (MVP’s) and Project/Project Server courseware builders (books, Computer Based Training (CBT) DVD’s, instructor lead, on-demand).
There is only one invitation per company and it was sent to the company’s primary contact as registered in the Microsoft Partner Portal or through the Microsoft field providing contact details. Be aware as part of the process the person accepting the invitation must also sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement which applies to the individual and their company.
This is a final call to express and interest in receiving an invitation. If you fell that you company has not received this invitation (and should have based on the criteria given) please email proj2010@microsoft.com with your contact name, company name and email address.
For all other partners who are reading this and wish to participate in the Project/Project Server 2010 please email proj2010@microsoft.com with your name, company, email address, city, country and three sentence explanation why you should participate in the Technical Preview. Your name will be added to a wait list, there is not a guarantee that you will receive an invitation.
It is also worth noting that as an added value to the Microsoft Project Conference registration at no additional cost to the conference ticket, you and your technical colleagues have been invited to attend the Microsoft Project 2010 Ignite Airlift which will be held on September 13-14, 2009 at the Phoenix Sheraton in Phoenix, Arizona, USA . This is a training workshop for EPM specialized partners and ISV’s who are looking for in-depth technical training on setting up the next EPM version: Project 2010.
See http://blogs.technet.com/doug_mccutcheon/archive/2009/04/09/project-2010-readiness-be-one-of-the-first-off-the-line.aspx
Last August I did this post: How to upgrade your laptop/desktop to Windows Server 2008?, with the imminent release of Windows Server 2008 R2 (scheduled for next October), I recently upgraded my laptop (Lenovo T61P). It was a painless exercise, most drivers were found and I leveraged the following resources to complete the install and experience the Win7 enhancements:
Very cool to run the latest Hyper-V and Win 7 enhancements not to mention the latest version of Office :)
Thanks to Janus Morthorst IT Architect at Progressive IT (also thanks to Brian Smith for contributing to the script), please find attached a script to do an unattended Project Server and/or SharePoint Server install.
The attachment contains the following three documented scripts (note each has a configuration file (XML):
Unlike these scripts I provided two years ago: Configuring Project Server 2007 using the command line: STSADM, the script above from Janus does it all (handles language packs, installs bits, provision and starts services etc…)
Janus has also done a great job documenting the script including important links to TechNet for instance to learn more about Project Server and SharePoint Server installation.
Moving forward expect to see more scripts to install these products using PowerShell.
I’m sure you are all actively monitoring your existing Project Server 2007 farm and specifically your Project Server’s performance counters. If not then it’s never too late! Check this latest update to the Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool from CodePlex, thanks to Michael Jordan from Microsoft Consulting Services, it now contains a Threshold File for Microsoft Project Server 2007 as shown below:
From our analysts site:
Magic Quadrant for Midmarket and Tier 2-Oriented ERP for Product-Centric Companies (Gartner, June 4, 2009) Microsoft Dynamics AX Positioned as a Leader in Midmarket and Tier 2-Oriented ERP Magic Quadrant. Despite mergers and acquisitions, there are many ERP offerings for midmarket companies and firms deploying Tier 2 ERP systems. This Magic Quadrant evaluates products that have a global presence and are specifically tailored for product-centric midmarket companies with roughly 100 to 1,000 employees.
and remember this as well Microsoft a Leader in Gartner 2009 Magic Quadrant for IT PPM + the fact that there is an out of box supported connector between the two Microsoft products, a perfect combination to manage projects!
Magic Quadrant for IT Project and Portfolio Management (Gartner Research, June 2, 2009) Gartner positions Microsoft in the Leaders’ quadrant in its Magic Quadrant for IT Project and Portfolio Management. The Project & Portfolio Management (PPM) market remains active in an adverse global economy. This year's Magic Quadrant acknowledges emerging IT planning and control and application lifecycle management integration support, two (but not the only) routes for expanding PPM systems.
Note our progress compared to others with respect to the 2008 report.
Time to purchase and deploy EPM 2007 :)
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