Nick MacKechnie

Ever wonder what happened to the security guides from Microsoft Solution Accelerators? Your go-to security guidance from Solution Accelerators hasn’t disappeared, it’s just been repackaged. The previously stand-alone Microsoft product-specific security...

RSAT Client is the collection of Windows Server management tools which enable IT professionals to manage their Windows Server infrastructure from their PCs running Windows 7 SP1 and Windows 7. This rest of this email outlines the list  of tools contained...

Released: Update Rollup 3 for Exchange 2010 SP1 and Exchange 2007 SP3 Earlier this week the Exchange CXP team released the following Update Rollups for Exchange Server 2010 and 2007 to the Download Center. Release via Microsoft Update will occur on March...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Initial Best Practices & Lessons Learned from Microsoft ITs SharePoint 2010 Upgrade , which discusses how Microsoft IT shares lessons learned to help viewers reduce time and effort around...

Overview of SP1 (from Technet) Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 SP1 is a set of updates and fixes for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 that addresses feedback from our customers (in addition to the improvements that are delivered to users through...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft IT Deployed FAST Search for SharePoint 2010 , which discusses how Microsoft IT recently deployed FAST Search for SharePoint 2010 and the enterprise search service for its hosted...

With its SharePoint 2010 deployment nearly complete, Microsoft IT has developed helpful perspective on what worked and what steps could have been performed better. The Microsoft IT SharePoint engineering team is sharing its experiences with you to help...

PowerShell – The Basics About This Video This video will show the basic concepts of how to learn almost anything about PowerShell with four commands. This video is meant as a basic and gentle introduction to PowerShell, explaining the concepts as you...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Enhancing Federation Services for Internal and External Partners , which discusses how deploying AD FS 2.0 helped Microsoft IT simplify the integration of internal systems.   By...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of How Microsoft IT Leverages Security Enhancements from Windows Server 2008 R2 , which discusses how Microsoft IT leverages the significant security enhancements in Windows Server 2008 R2 to...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Microsoft IT Datacenter Virtualization Past, Present and Futures , which discusses what Microsoft IT has implemented over the past six years, from Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 through Windows...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Maintaining High Availability for Microsoft.com , which discusses the meticulous planning, management and maintenance of this highly utilized site.  Microsoft.com is a large and heavily...

This 490-page document covers the essential phases and steps to upgrade existing instances of SQL Server 2000 and 2005 to SQL Server 2008 by using best practices. These include preparation tasks, upgrade tasks, and post-upgrade tasks. It is intended to...

The latest release from the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) team provides organizations with more assessments and reporting for simplified IT infrastructure planning. Download the MAP Toolkit 5.5: http://www.microsoft.com/map Simplify planning...

We have officially announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP) 2010 – the new version of Forefront Client Security .  Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 enables businesses to align security and management...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Microsoft IT Increases Security and Streamlines Antimalware Management by Using Microsoft Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 , which discusses how Microsoft IT deployed Microsoft Forefront...

SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 4 (SP4) has been released, as announced on the SQL Server Release team’s blog .  SQL Server 2005 Service Packs are cumulative, and this Service Pack upgrades all levels of SQL Server 2005 to SP4. You can use this package...

In October this year we announced Office 365 , which brings together the Cloud versions of Exchange, SharePoint, and Lync, with our Microsoft Office products both on the desktop and in the Cloud. Available in 2011, Office 365 is designed to meet the needs...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of four new customer-ready Work Smart productivity guides. Work Smart guides provide employees with scenario-based, best-use productivity aids on Microsoft products and technologies. Download...

Hi All, The Beta of the MAP Toolkit v5.5 is now available for download at the link below: https://connect.microsoft.com/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=23188&SiteID=297 If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll take a minute to learn about...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Protecting Privacy in the Development and Testing of Human Resources Applications , which discusses how Microsoft HR IT developed a strategy for sanitization (removal) of personal identifiable...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Facilitating Employee Rewards Management at Microsoft , which discusses how Microsoft IT redesigned our rewards management tool using SharePoint 2010 Business Connectivity Services. Microsoft...

Microsoft IT Showcase is pleased to announce the publication of Reducing the Costs of Enterprise Data Warehouse Creation and Data Acquisition , which discusses how Microsoft IT is improving its data warehouse management efficiencies. Metadata Driven Extract...

The next version of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit—version 5.5— is now available for beta download. To participate, register for the MAP Toolkit 5.5 Beta at Microsoft Connect. If you are not already familiar with the MAP Toolkit,...

The Microsoft Roadshow is on in December 2010 for IT Pros and Partners. Come for an update on our latest technologies - Small Business Server 2011, Office 365 and System Center Essentials 2010 – ideal for small to medium sized businesses. Presented by...