This morning I have the privilege of presenting a workshop at SPTechCon in Boston about creating a public facing websites with Kyle Schaeffer. The attendees all have their own CloudShare environment and are following along with their own lab environments and ‘tool chest’ as we build the site below.
The slide decks, artifacts and code files to create this site can be found here on my SkyDrive.
In the last part of the workshop we will also discuss testing and performance.
Do you have business data in Oracle, SAP, PeopleSoft, Access or other line of business systems and need to display it SharePoint for business users or analysts? My 4PM session this afternoon at SPtechCon in Boston will offer guidance and best practice on how to aggregate and display all kinds of data in SharePoint. You will learn how to display data from any system in PowerView, PerformancePoint, PowerPivot, Dashboards, Reports and SharePoint lists. I will not mention the word governance or cloud in this session!
Interesting books about data visualization:
If you haven’t started watching TED talks yet I highy recommend you check out a few on this list. If you’re anything like me you will quickly be addicted to the amazing sessions deliverred by some of the brightest thought leaders of our time. TED tabulated data from sources like TED.com, YouTube, Hulu, iTunes, and sev. Sir Ken Robinson’s 2006 talk about how schools kill creativity tops the list with most views.
With the release of Windows 8 and last months preview release of Office 2013 paired with SharePoint 2013 many consultants and companies are scrambling to find features, benefits or return on investment to justify budget plans to migrate to the new platforms. I’m not one of these folks. I believe the technical fellows at Microsoft have a solid long term vision which will allow them to sway consumers and businesses to give device computing using Microsoft software another chance. It seems clear the new releases of Windows 8, Office, Skype, SkyDrive and SharePoint are an attempted to aggressively pursue the growing device market.
To put the device market in perspective in 1999 there were 50 million internet users, today there are over 3 Billion mobile devices in the world and this number is expected to grow to 5 Billion within the next three years. I for one am pleased with Microsoft’s recent efforts to bring an all ‘hands on deck’ approach to extend software to the device. It reminds me of 1999 when Gates sent his famous memo explaining to all product groups that Microsoft had underestimated the potential of the internet and every product had to have an internet play by the end of year. One could speculate the folks at Microsoft are in a very similar position today with the device market however while they are behind they are certainly not out of the game and the release of Windows 8, Office 2013, SharePoint and SkyDrive Pro clearly demonstrate their competitive edge in the cloud and thus getting onto the device.
Many look at these new 2013 releases as attempts to bolster the Microsoft Cloud strategy. What they may be overlooking is how the cloud enables Microsoft software to reach the eventual 5 Billion device users. Every large technology company has what some consider the brightest minds in the world pursuing this device market. If you’re using a device yourself or your company has plans to enable users with device enabled software in tablet or handheld form I submit you are be one of may whom might benefit from the 2013 releases.
After a quick flight from Lalibella and a dusty taxi ride we finally arrived in Axum, Ethiopia. Later today we’ll head off to the mountains and remote villages where we hope to see more amazing sites and along the way continue to help children when we can. We have created a contact list using an Ipad and Colligo Briefcase software. The list of names will allow for follow up with the children when we return. I have already received email from three children we met in Lalibela. The Colligo software allows me to collect the contact and details of the children without being connected to the internet. When we reach areas with internet connectivity the lists will synchronize the details with our Office 365 list. A big thank you to Colligo for making this work possible.
School supplies seem to be an easy way to make a big difference in the region. Yesterday we handed out almost 100 study exercise books to students.
More information and a list of orphanages in Ethiopia
While traveling in Lalibela we learned many of the children are desperate for school supplies. Since school starts in two weeks we decided to try and help.
Session Title: Data Visualization with SharePoint and SQL Server 2012
One key factor driving the self-service BI market is the growing volume and complexity of data. As a result, enterprises will adopt new interactive reporting tools designed to put more data analytics capabilities into the hands of business users. In this session you will learn what self-service reporting tools are available in SharePoint 2010 and how they can be used to create business solutions to visualize and navigate data. Learn how to meet your business needs and discover best practices implementing data visualizations.
Session Title: New SharePoint Features in Visual Studio 2012!
The Visual Studio team has provided SharePoint developers with new templates and project items in the latest release of Visual Studio. Now developers have new templates and tools to enhance the developer experience within SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013. In this session learn about compatibility, upgrading source code and what’s new with SharePoint development and Visual Studio 11.
I’m speaking at the European SharePoint Conference 2013 and I’m delighted to be a part of this fantastic gathering of the SharePoint Community, Feb 4-7 2013, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I will be conducting two sessions – “A Developer’s Perspective on the Social Architecture of SharePoint 2013” aimed at Developers and “Building a New Business Structure Using Office 365” aimed at Business Decision Makers and End Users.
A Developer’s Perspective on the Social Architecture of SharePoint 2013
In this session, you will learn the new architecture and topology of the new social infrastructure in SharePoint 2013. See how you can leverage these new social computing features from within SharePoint or externally hosted applications. In addition, learn where data is stored, how to access feeds, SkyDrive Pro and the velocity cache. Watch and learn from demonstrations of the new community features and how to extend these features using code. All source code will be available for download following the session.
Building a New Business Structure Using Office 365
Increasingly, people are looking to build business infrastructure using cloud-based platforms. In this session, you will learn how you can use Office 365 to start and run a new company. You will learn about the registration process, online web presence, managing corporate data and your domain. The topics will be relevant to those starting a one-person consulting company, in addition to companies which need to support complex business process for larger teams.
I am speaking alongside renowned experts on SharePoint as well as sharing the stage with some of Microsoft’s product team from Redmond covering Search, Apps, Social, Cloud, Project, Migration & Upgrade, Governance and much more.
With over 110 SharePoint sessions, keynotes, hands on labs, SharePoint Shootouts, ask the experts, community lounge, tutorials, Europe’s largest SharePoint focused expo, SharePints, parties, meetings, networking events, competitions and more …. This is a MUST attend event for all SharePoint enthusiasts! Check out the full Conference Programme to see all sessions and topics that are being covered by myself and many others.
Prices start as low as €995! There is also special group discounts for bookings of 3 or more people.
Book Now and I’ll see you in Copenhagen this February.
This morning while browsing the new philanthropy section of Best of All Worlds I discovered the work of M. Renee Orth. Her video intrigued me and I look forward to reading the new book – Conspiracy of Dreamers: Capitalism at the Service of Humanity. The video below highlights some of her work.
“To tear down a factory or to revolt against a government or to avoid repair of a motorcycle because it is a system is to attack effects rather than causes; and as long as the attack is upon effects only, no change is possible. The true system, the real system, is our present construction of systematic thought itself, rationality itself, and if a factory is torn down but the rationality which produced it is left standing, then that rationality will simply produce another factory. If a revolution destroys a systematic government, but the systematic patterns of thought that produced that government are left intact, then those patterns will repeat themselves in the succeeding government. There’s so much talk about the system. And so little understanding.”
- Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
January 30th Bill Gates will send out his annual letter as always I’m looking forward to see what insights he has to share based on his work and study the past year. There is a link you can use to receive the letter via email on the 30th.
The Official Site of Bill Gates – The Gates Notes.
This week I traveled to Copenhagen to speak at the largest SharePoint conference in Europe hosted in Copenhagen. I’ll be presenting a session on the social architecture of SharePoint from a developers perspective and another which will show business people how to use Office 365 to build a business structure. Using this post I’ll highlight the events of the week.
Day 1: Arrived in Copenhagen at 7AM on a red eye flight from the US. After a brief nap and shower I registered as a speaker and immediately started seeing friends and colleagues as well as masses of attendees. Before I knew it I was at lunch and then found time to sit in an afternoon session Joel Oleson presented about mobile technology and SharePoint. Joel’s session was packed and the content was well delivered and informative. It is clear we can benefit from this technology as we continue to extend our RealActivity platform to mobile devices.
Joel Oleson presenting on mobile technology
AvePoint Masquerade Party at Zen
Of course AvePoint hosted another fabulous dance party and selected the top night club in Copenhagen to host the event!
Day 2: Since it was important to keep up with business on the East Coast, US I was awake and online until 5AM and slept until 1PM! (7AM EST)
I have the luxury of participating in a few sessions while taking breaks to keep up with email and clients at home. A session which interested me the most today was Matt Berg’s presentation on using search with Office 365. The session highlighted techniques for finding data in cloud hosted deployments. Microsoft has come a long way with the Office 364 offering. Our internal business infrastructure at RealActivity was architected using Office 365 allowing us to support remote teams with maximum functionality.
Lugar: Hotel Crown Plaza Corobicí de 8 AM a 6 PM. La entrada incluye alimentación completa y parqueo, además participas en la rifa de un Xbox con Kinect.
Si compra la entrada antes del 15 de enero, tendrá un descuento del 20%. Puede comprar con tarjeta de crédito en http://www.mall506.com/sharepointcostarica o por transferencia bancaria.
Más información sobre en http://www.sharepointcostarica.com/simposio2013
Adicionalmente vamos a impartir un curso sobre desarrollo en SharePoint 2013, y otro curso sobre instalación y configuración de SharePoint 2013, para obtener más información sobre los cursos contacte a CTE Global S.A. al teléfono (506) 2283-0990.
Surrounded by your fellow IT professionals, Visual Studio Live! provides you with immediately usable IT education that will keep you relevant in the workforce.
I’ll be presenting the following session:
· Developing and Extending Enterprise Content Management Features with SharePoint 2013
SPECIAL OFFER: As a speaker, I can extend $500 savings on the 5-day package. Register http://bit.ly/VLSPK30Reg
Learn how you can build a more productive IT environment at Visual Studio Live! Las Vegas — bring the IT issues that keep you up at night and prepare to leave this event with the answers, guidance and training you need. Register now: http://bit.ly/VLSPK30Reg
I LOVE to read about projects like this. We recently visited Kenya and held a free conference for business users and students. It’s great to see Microsoft trying to make a difference in the region.
Read more about Microsoft’s Wi-Fi effort
Read more about Sharing the Point and our recent trip to Africa
Many have emailed jokes to add to the growing list. I updated the list refreshing the list for the Visual Studio Live 2013 event.
Consultants, coders, administrators and enthusiasts work long hours trying to help clients and friends succeed with SharePoint. It is this global community that I dedicate this list of SharePoint jokes! Have fun with the list, pass it along and “take it for what it is.”
From one SharePoint consultant to many others. Enjoy!
I am proud to have worked with some of the most recognized names in SharePoint development on this writing project. The book is available for purchase now and getting great early reviews.
A team of well-known Microsoft MVPs joins forces in this fully updated resource, providing you with in-depth coverage of development tools in the latest iteration of the immensely popular SharePoint. From building solutions to building custom workflow and content management applications, this book shares field-tested best practices on all aspect of SharePoint 2013 development.
Since the concepts of Big Data are fundamentally different than classic Relational Database Management Systems I suggest we start by learning the basics and history of Big Data and Hadoop using the first few links I provide from Cloudera. An advantage to this approach is these videos explain the concepts without using a vendor specific approach allowing for a non-biased view of the concepts. Many of the links address Microsoft’s implementation and extensions of the Apache projects. The additional links section contains additional useful information including information on the role SharePoint plays in disseminating and visualizing Big Data.
As the Big Data topic is trending with each passing day and Microsoft is releasing new links and tools I’ll try to keep the list updated. Please email me with suggestions of additional links and blog sites to add. I’ll be providing follow up posts on topics focused on how you can use SharePoint and Excel to disseminate and visualize data patterns surficed from HDInsight.
1) What is Hadoop? - Cloudera’s CEO talks us through big data trends
2) Thinking at Scale – Great video which explains the challenges of data scale.
3) Introduction to Apache MapReduce and HDFS – Learn how Hadoop works, understand how these components fit together and build on one another to provide a scalable and powerful system.
4) Microsoft’s messaging – Manage data of any type or size
5) Hortonworks Blog – Hortonworks is a Microsoft Partner focused on helping people understand and use Apache Hadoop on Microsoft Windows.
6) SQL Server Big Data – HDInsight Microsoft’s 100% Apache compatible Hadoop distribution for Windows Server
7) Windows Azure HDInsight Preview – This preview of Windows Azure HDInsight enables you to get up and running with your own Apache Hadoop™ cluster in the cloud in just minutes.
8) Hortonworks Hadoop Tutorials – Map Reduce, PIG and HIVE tutorials for Hadoop Azure, there are great samples in C# and Java
9) Matt Winkler’s Blog – Project Manager on the Hadoop team at Microsoft
10) Microsoft Business Intelligence Blogs
Customers Rapidly Adopting Big Data Solutions — Driven By Marketing, Sales and More — Reports New Microsoft Research
Microsoft Big Data Solution Sheet
Top Microsoft Big Data Videos on YouTube
Top Big Data and SharePoint Videos on YouTube
This will be our last stop in Central America this month. Join us for this free one day event! Register here!
