BPOS Rocks

Exchange Online and Exchange On Premise Coexistence Video

One of the great features of Exchange Online, part of the Microsoft Online Services BPOS suite, is that it allows coexistence with On Premise Exchange Servers. This can be very useful in situations where you have an On Premise Exchange Server and need to host some employees in the cloud.

We have implemented this scenario in several cases. Especially when you have a lot of employees who aren't computer workers but need access to e-mail using the Exchange Online Deskless worker suite is a great option. With Exchange Online Deskless Worker you will be able to give them an Outlook Web Access account which has the same domain name of your other mail addresses. Next to that you will have a fee of approx. $ 1.70 per month while an Exchange CAL will cost you approx. $ 80.

In this video that was created Ty Anderson (http://www.officedeveloper.net) for Technet, it is explained how Exchange Online and Exchange On premise coexistence can be configured:

Do you want to try Exchange Online? Click this link: http://www.bposrocks.com/2009/07/bpos-trial-setup.html

Microsoft Online Services (BPOS) USA gets update

Over the next few days BPOS usa will get an update. This update will provide some extra functionality but does require some changes to SharePoint Online and the Directory Synchronization tooling. Next to this you'll have to update the SSO tool.

The message send by the BPOS team is copied below:

Upgrade Timeline

3/26 The new version of the Sign In application is available for download 4/15 Optional upgrade notifications appear in the Sign In application 5/15 Mandatory upgrade notification appears in the Sign In application

We are writing to inform you of three changes to the service that may require updates to your environment.

1. Sign In Application

In mid-May, Microsoft Online Services will require an update to the Sign In application. The options for deploying this upgrade are:

Allow users to automatically upgrade the Sign In application when prompted (no administration required)     Suppress the display of update notifications until you are ready to upgrade     Deploy the Sign In application to your users' computers

See Upgrade Your Sign In Application to assist you in planning for this change to your environment.

2. SharePoint Online Update

Have you customized your SharePoint Site Collections? If you have changed the SharePoint Online master page or uploaded a custom master page, you will need to take action before the April upgrade. See Update Your Microsoft SharePoint Online Site Collections for more information.

If you have not customized your site collections, no action is needed.

3. Directory Synchronization Update

Do you use the Microsoft Online Services Directory Synchronization tool? If so, you will be interested to learn that Windows Update recently released a high priority update that will stop your Directory Synchronization service. After installing this update, you will need to restart Directory Synchronization. For more information, see Directory Synchronization Update.