Recap of Exchange and Outlook News for Microsoft Ignite 2020

I wrote up a recap of the exciting Exchange and Outlook news and announcements from Microsoft Ignite 2020.

There were a number of important announcements and quite a bit of technical content published on-demand. Most of it is still available on the Virtual Hub. Read all about it on the Enow Software blog.

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Announcing Microsoft Exchange Server vNext!

Some really exciting Exchange Server news was announced for on premises customers at the Microsoft Ignite virtual conference today! 

Microsoft will be releasing the next versions of Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, and Skype for Business Server the second half of 2021.  These new on-premises server versions will only be available with the purchase of a subscription license, using a similar subscription model to Microsoft 365.

The name for these new on-premises server products has yet to be announced, but it is likely that Microsoft will drop the year from the version name since the new subscription server will be evergreen. Pricing and availability will be announced closer to the release date.

It's important for on-premises customers to know and stay on top of the Exchange Server product lifecycle policies for support and planning.

Product	End of Mainstream Support	End of Extended Support
Exchange Server 2010	01/13/2015	10/03/2020
Exchange Server 2013	04/10/2018	04/11/2023
Exchange Server 2016	10/13/2020	10/14/2025
Exchange Server 2019	01/09/2024	10/14/2025

As mentioned in the article, Exchange Server 2016 and the End of Mainstream Support, CU19 is the last planned update for Exchange Server 2016 and is due in December 2020. After December 15, 2020, only CU19 or its successors will receive critical updates.

Exchange Server Upgrade Planning

In the near-term, customers who plan to stay on-premises should upgrade to Exchange Server 2019 ASAP to maintain both critical security and non-critical feature updates. This will also put your organization in the best position for when Exchange Server vNext is released in the second half of 2021.

You'll be able to install Exchange Server vNext into an org with Exchange Server 2013, 2016 or 2019. That's one more version than they used to support. And for the first time ever, you'll be able to perform an in-place upgrade from Exchange Server 2019 to Exchange Server vNext. Even in the same DAG. This will make it the easiest Exchange upgrade ever!

The bottom line is, if you're going to be staying on-premises long term - start planning and installing Exchange Server 2019 today!

New hybrid customers or customers who plan to keep some mailboxes on-premises should definitely upgrade to Exchange 2019 and later, Exchange Server vNext when it's released.

Hybrid customers who have completed migrating all their mailboxes to Exchange Online can continue to use their existing Exchange 2016 server for hybrid management. Microsoft hopes to deliver a serverless management solution soon, but it will later than the CU19 release.

Other Exchange and Exchange Online News

Another important bit of news on hybrid is that the new HCW will support establishing a one-to-many on-premises to cloud tenant configuration. This is helpful for divestments and customers with multiple tenants. Just be aware it only works for Exchange 2016/2019 and Hybrid Modern Auth only works with one tenant.

Microsoft is also opening the distribution of the Exchange Server 2019 Capacity Calculator. It previously was available only to Volume License customers. You can get it from https://aka.ms/ExCalc. 

"Plus Addressing" is now GA in Exchange Online. This lets users create "disposable" email addresses based on their primary email address. This lets users know where their email addresses are being leaked and create Inbox rules to handle them.

View the on-demand session, Exchange, Here, There and Everywhere, delivered by the ever-so-suave Greg Taylor.

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EXPTA Consulting provides professional upgrade, migration, and hybrid services for on-premises customers of all sizes. We specialize in Exchange, Microsoft 365, Active Directory, and identity solutions and pride ourselves on customer satisfaction.

Examples where we provide turn-key solutions or can work with your IT staff include:

• Exchange and Active Directory Health Checks
• Exchange on-premises upgrades and configuration
• Exchange hybrid configuration and migrations to Exchange Online
• Hybrid Modern Authentication (MFA) for Exchange on-premises
• Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) design and deployment

Contact us today for a free consultation.

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Get ready for Ignite 2020!

Microsoft Ignite 2020 is virtually just around the corner (see what I did there?). Get ready for two days of jam-packed content, so set your OOF for September 22-23 so you can join in for all the goodness uninterrupted.

The Exchange Team published a blog article listing all the sessions around Exchange and Outlook. These include Roadmap Sessions, which focus on what's new and upcoming, and Technical Deep Dives and Walk-Throughs, that take you through the specifics of a particular area of interest. There are also many Learning Path sessions describing how to use technologies to deliver successful solutions to your business.

Of particular note, you'll want to see Exchange - Here, There and Everywhere. This is one of the many pre recorded sessions that you can watch on-demand. Look here for exclusive information about about Microsoft's plans for the future of both on-prem and cloud. This is a must-see presentation for planning and forecasting so sign-up here.

When completing your Schedule Scheduler, you'll notice that sessions have two options -- Save to Backpack (for pre-recorded on-demand sessions) or +Add to Schedule (for live digital breakout sessions). If you can't attend the live session you can add it to your backpack to watch later. Live community events will have an RSVP button where you can save a virtual spot.

While no one will argue that an in-person event is preferred, this virtual event promises to deliver some really good content in a way that everyone can consume on their own schedules. "See" you there!

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Recap of Microsoft Ignite 2019

I had a GREAT time at Microsoft Ignite 2019 in Orlando! I hope you were able to attend or at least catch some of the online sessions that were streamed in real-time.

One of the big highlights for me this week was attending the ENow VIP dinner where I sat between Greg Taylor (Exchange Marketing Lead extraordinaire) and Jeffrey Snover (the father of PowerShell).

I was very pleased to see how many people made the trek to Theater 9 to see my two sessions, "Reading SMTP Headers Like a Boss" (please ignore the fact that they got the photo wrong - I have no idea who that is) and "Twenty minutes to a secure environment".

Please read my recap of Microsoft Ignite 2019 on the ENow ESE Blog and learn about some significant improvements coming to Exchange Online.

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Come see me at @MSIgnite in Orlando!

I'm pleased to be speaking at Microsoft Ignite in Orlando next week. This will be a fabulous conference with lots of fantastic content!

BRK3145: IT burnout - the state of the industry panel (45 minute breakout)
Have you been working non-stop and never taking a break? Do you go on vacation, but still find yourself working? Does your leadership expect you to be available all the time even when you are not on-call? Do you go home, answering email in between all of the family things going on that evening? Are you truly present in all the things you do?
Recently, our team conducted a survey about IT burnout to get a real sense of how IT professionals are functioning and managing their personal well-being. We learned some interesting things that will surprise you, and have some statistics you won't want to miss.  Join me and a panel of MVPs to have a discussion on this tough topic.
Session ID: 78641
When: OCCC W224 F-H
Where: Tuesday 10:15-11:00am

THR3033: Reading SMTP headers like a boss (20 minute theater session)
Learn how to read SMTP headers for fun and profit! In this demo-tastic session, learn how to read SMTP headers to troubleshoot mail flow, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Also, see some of the online tools available to analyze headers and turn you into an SMTP rock star.
Session ID: 78655
When: Thursday 11:30-11:50am
Where: The Hub - Theater 9

THR3034: Twenty minutes to a secure environment (20 minute theater session)
Legacy authentication is an attacker's best friend. Learn how to secure your environment using modern authentication in the cloud and hybrid modern authentication for on-premises. Then, learn how to turn off legacy authentication in your Microsoft 365 and Exchange 2019 environments to keep the bad guys out!
Session ID: 78663 
When: Friday 12:05-12:25pm
Where: The Hub - Theater 9

In addition to my sessions you'll find me at the Exchange booth on the expo floor and at various Exchange and identity sessions throughout the week. I hope you'll come to these great sessions and say hi!

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Got 20 minutes to secure Exchange Server?

Going to Ignite? Got 20 minutes to see how easy it is to secure Exchange on-premises? Come see my theater session, "How to add MFA to your Exchange Online/on-premises mailboxes in 20 minutes or less".

Securing Exchange doesn't have to be hard. Learn how to dramatically increase your organization's security posture in just 20 minutes. In this fast-paced session, learn how to use conditional access and MFA to easily secure Exchange Online and Exchange on-premises, including demos of the end-to-end user experience. We cover authentication, how to configure Azure Active Directory and Exchange, licensing, and other requirements.

Add these sessions to your Ignite Schedule Builder!

Monday, September 24, 3:25 PM - 3:45 PM, Expo Theater #11
THR3024 - How to add MFA to your Exchange Online/on-premises mailboxes in 20 minutes or less

Thursday, September 27, 3:25 PM - 3:45 PM, Expo Theater #12
THR3024R - How to add MFA to your Exchange on-premises or Exchange Online mailboxes in 20 minutes or less (REPEAT)

So far over 1,400 people have added THDR3024 to their schedules. That's a lot of folks! Be sure to come to the THR3024R repeat session on Thursday if Monday's is too crowded. I look forward to seeing you there!

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Announcing the 11th Annual UC Roundtable at Microsoft Ignite!

I'm pleased to announce the 11th Annual UC Roundtable at Microsoft Ignite 2018 in Orlando!

A one-of-a-kind conference deserves a one-of-a-kind opportunity to network with your peers.

The purpose of the UC Roundtable is to gather Exchange, Office 365, and Skype for Business/Teams admins, MCMs, MVPs, Exchange product group members, architects, and experts for a free-flowing discussion about issues, questions, and experiences related to collaboration. If you work with these technologies you need to be here!

Monday, September 24th from 7:00PM to 8:30PM EDT

Download the event to your calendar

We'll be meeting in the outdoor area of Marlow's Tavern at 9101 International Dr, Lower Level -- just a short 10 minute walk from the Ignite convention center.

The UC Roundtable is going old school again this year! This will be a no-host event. Order your own beer or a bite to eat before you leave for the evening's parties. Please RSVP to jguillet@expta.com so I can tell them how many people to expect.

Help spread the word on Twitter and I hope to see you there!

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Meet with EXPTA Consulting at Microsoft Ignite

It's less than one week to Microsoft Ignite in Orlando, FL. I hope you’re as excited as I am to attend and hear about all the new hotness that Microsoft plans to deliver. I’ll be speaking Wednesday 12:30-1:45PM at "The Epic Exchange Preferred Architecture Debate" with a panel of experts. I hope to see your there! I’ll also be available throughout the conference for meetings to discuss how I can help you with your current and future IT projects.

Click here to setup a meeting with EXPTA Consulting at Microsoft Ignite

EXPTA Consulting can assist your organization with:

• On-Prem Solutions – Including Exchange and Active Directory health checks, mitigation, and upgrades. We recognize that not all customers can or want to go to the cloud. Let me help you upgrade and make the most of your on-premises solutions, based on my many years’ of experience and best practices. I provide turnkey solutions or I can work with your IT staff and provide training and support.

• Office 365 Solutions – Let EXPTA Consulting help you get the most from Office 365. We can help with data migrations, tenant to tenant migrations, EM+S, interoperability and integration solutions.

• Identity Design and Solutions – Safe, secure, and easy to use Identity management solutions are the key to a successful deployment. I can help design and implement the best identity solutions to meet your organization’s needs. 

Recent EXPTA Consulting customers include an international college Office 365 migration, a large Federal agency identity project, a mid-sized business insurance brokerage Exchange 2016 upgrade, private equity firms, and consulting/hosting providers. Set up a meeting to see how we can help you!

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Proud to announce I'll be speaking at Microsoft Ignite!

Come join Ross Smith IV, Lin Chen, Mike Cooper and me at Microsoft Ignite in Orlando for, "The epic Exchange preferred architecture debate" on Wednesday at 12:30pm EDT.



Here, we plan to talk about what is the best, DAS or SAN? Are SSDs on the way in or are slow spindles here to stay? Should you give up and migrate to the cloud? What about virtualization?

Come listen to experts from inside and outside of Microsoft debate the various Exchange architectures that can be deployed on-premises and hybrid.

This is an open panel discussion where you can ask questions and learn about architectures and topologies that defy the preferred architecture, such as some of those listed in the Exchange Solution Reviewed Program (ESRP). We'll discuss the ESRP and it's role in Exchange architecture design.

I'll also be a panelist at the session, "Microsoft Exchange: Through the eyes of MVPs" on Thursday at 4:00pm EDT.

Microsoft says,

"We've assembled an amazing set of Exchange MVP luminaries, representing scores of years of experience, to share their unvarnished truth about all things Exchange. You won't want to miss your chance to ask questions and hear this panel's expert opinions. Hiring this set of experts for 75 minutes would cost you a fortune, but by attending this session, you'll only pay the small fee of having to listen to them occasionally poke fun at Microsoft - and each other."

I hope to see you there!

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Announcing the 9th Annual UC Roundtable at Microsoft Ignite, Atlanta!

I'm pleased to announce the 9th Annual UC Roundtable at Microsoft Ignite 2016 in Atlanta!

A one of a kind conference deserves a one of a kind opportunity to network with your peers.

The purpose of the UC Roundtable is to gather Exchange, Office 365, and Skype for Business admins, MCMs, MVPs, Exchange product group members, architects, and experts for a free-flowing discussion about issues, questions, and experiences related to Exchange, Office 365, and Skype for Business. If you work with Exchange, Office 365, or Skype for Business or Lync Server you need to be here!

Wednesday, September 28th from 7:30PM to 11:00PM EDT

A big special thank you to my friends at F5 who will be hosting the event for the fifth year in a row! Those of you who have attended previous UC Rountables know that they put on a great event.

Please RSVP to jeff@expta.com for event details and location. I will email you the details via EventBrite.

Help spread the word on Twitter and I hope you can join me!

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Also, I'm pleased to say that I will be presenting two sessions at Microsoft Ignite this year:

• "Deploy Microsoft Exchange Server 2016", with Brian Day, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft
• "Meet twin sons of different mothers - Exchange Engineers and Exchange MVPs", panelist with fellow Exchange MVPs and members of the Exchange Product Group

We will take questions from the audience and give advice from the voice of independent experience. I hope you can join me for these sessions. Check out the MyIgnite tool and schedule builder at myignite.microsoft.com.

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Announcing the 8th Annual UC Roundtable at Microsoft Ignite, Chicago!

I'm pleased to announce the 8th Annual UC Roundtable at Microsoft Ignite 2015 in Chicago!

A one of a kind conference deserves a one of a kind chance to network with your peers.

The purpose of the UC Roundtable is to gather Exchange, Office 365, and Lync admins, MCMs, MVPs, Exchange product group members, architects, and experts for a free-flowing discussion about issues, questions, and experiences related to Exchange, Office 365, and Lync Server. If you work with Exchange, Office 365, or Skype for Business (Lync) you need to be here!

Wednesday, May 6th from 6:00PM until 9:00PM CDT

A big special thank you to my friends at F5 who will be hosting the event for the fourth year in a row!

Please RSVP to jeff@expta.com for event details and location. I will email you the details via EventBrite.

Help spread the word on Twitter and I hope you can join me!

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Also, I'm pleased to say that I will be at three sessions at Microsoft Ignite:

• "Experts Unplugged: Exchange Top Issues", session moderator
• "MVPs Unplugged: Real-World Microsoft Exchange Server Designs and Deployments", panelist with fellow Exchange MVPs Nicolas Blank, Siegfried Jagott, and Paul Robichaux
• "MVPs Unplugged: The Journey to Microsoft Exchange Online", panelist with fellow Exchange MVPs Nicolas Blank, Michael Van Horenbeeck, and Tony Redmond

We will take questions from the audience and give our advice from the voice of independent experience. I hope you can join me for these sessions. Check out the MyIgnite tool and schedule builder at myignite.microsoft.com.

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Microsoft Ignite - One Conference to Rule Them All!

Yesterday morning the on The Official Microsoft Blog announced the name for their new enterprise technology conference - Microsoft Ignite. This conference, called MUTEE (Microsoft Unified Technology Event for Enterprises by some folks, promises to be everything to everyone. It replaces TechEd North America, as well as all the specialty conferences held by those product teams over the year - MEC, the Lync Conference, the SharePoint Conference, MMS, etc.

Plus Office 365, of course.

It’s finally here — One enterprise conference with infinite possibilities.

For the first time ever, Microsoft Ignite brings together our best and brightest for a single, remarkable enterprise tech conference. Meet the minds that make it happen. For the first time under one roof, Microsoft Ignite gives you unprecedented access to hundreds of Microsoft technology and business leaders. Join us in Chicago.

In October I was invited to join the Microsoft Roundtable to provide feedback on this new conference. Microsoft was there to listen, not be heard. They were particularly interested in hearing our feedback on MEC (the Microsoft Exchange Conference), which is very highly regarded by both attendees and within Microsoft. MEC brought everything together in a perfect balance - mid-level and deep-dive sessions on Exchange (and Office 365), a tremendous sense of community, and attendees and product group members who are very passionate about this product.

My feedback was primarily about community, the depth of the sessions, and the level of participation that small sessions provide. I really think this is where MEC shines and I hope that Microsoft is able to pull off the same sort of vibe at Ignite.

By combining all these conferences into a single event, Microsoft expects 20,000(!) attendees at Ignite in Chicago. The expectation is to have 300-400 attendees per session, which is far too large to be "intimate". Microsoft is planning to have a lot of gathering areas for impromptu "chalk talks" and collaboration.

The conference center in Chicago is HUGE and should easily accommodate that many attendees. I hope that the sessions for each product are close to each other. It would be difficult to navigate long distances, both vertically and horizontally, if the sessions are spread out.

I have attended every TechEd since 2004 and I've always gotten great value out of these conferences. My take-aways and participation have changed over the years, but I still get a ton of information and collaboration from the community here. I look forward to the same thing going forward. I sit on The Krewe board of directors as Vice-President and know a lot about the value of community that conferences like this bring. The Krewe Facebook page continues to be a resource for TechEd and Krewe alumni, where members exchange questions, advice, and their views on our industry. I encourage you to check it out.

Overall, I'm hopeful that Microsoft Ignite will be able to pull off their ambitious goal of combining the dedicated technology conferences and TechEd into one mega conference, while maintaining the community and collaboration that smaller conferences like MEC and the SharePoint Conference were able to attain.

Microsoft Ignite - Come for the technology. Stay for the community.

#IWasMEC  --  #IamIgnite

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