Tag: Work

Jan152019January 15, 2019February 13, 201929 Commentsby Thomas Maurer

Joining Microsoft

Posted in Award, Cloud, Cloud Advocate, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Microsoft MVP, Speaking, Work

Today is a great day! I’m excited and proud to announce that as of February 1st, 2019, I’m joining Microsoft. I will join the Microsoft Azure Engineering team as a Senior Cloud Advocate. After being a Microsoft MVP for 7 years and working very closely with Microsoft the last couple of years, this is a great new opportunity and an exciting time ahead.

Microsoft Cloud Advocate

The Microsoft Cloud Advocate Mascot by Ashley McNamara

My role is part of the Microsoft Developer Relations group and more specific the Cloud Advocates. I’m joining the team of Rick Claus, which many of you know from Channel9, Microsoft conferences and his overall work at Microsoft. Our team is focused in the IT Ops and IT Pro community. This allows me to do what I love most, which is being an advocate for customers in the Azure product group, sharing knowledge and engaging with the community.

We are advocates for the IT community within Microsoft. Using the products, listen to customers and help the product teams to prioritize their work. We develop tools to help use the products, we write documentation and tutorials, and we build connections between the community and the engineering teams.

Our team’s charter is to help every technologist on the planet succeed, be they students or those working in enterprises or startups. We engage in outreach to developers and others in the software ecosystem, all designed to further technical education and proficiency with the Microsoft Cloud + AI platform.

A large part of our mission is to make Microsoft Azure the best platform to run your applications and services, as well as making migration to the Microsoft Azure ecosystem simple. Our team looks for common pain points and works with the product teams to address them. In other cases, we build the missing pieces like tools and documentation.

My focus is going to be on the Azure and Microsoft hybrid cloud strategy. Besides the Azure services, this will include products and services like Windows Server and Azure Stack. Which will help bringing that consistent cloud experience to life, so our customers can make the best out of the Intelligent Cloud and the Intelligent Edge.

If there’s anything you would like us to improve reach out to me or to our team. We listen to your needs and take your feedback into consideration in our future developments.

Aug242018August 24, 2018January 28, 201911 Commentsby Thomas Maurer

Surface Go – My first Impressions and why I bought it!

Posted in Hardware, Hardware, Microsoft, Surface, Windows, Windows 10

I just received my Microsoft Surface Go. Yes, in Switzerland it was released just now, a couple of weeks after the US. The first review videos out there, did convince me that this is the right device I was looking for, but more to that later. In this short blog I want to give you a look at my first impressions of the Surface Go.

Why I bought the Surface Go

First, let me tell you why I bought the Surface Go. I am a long time Microsoft Surface user, since the first Surface Pro. I went to several iteration of the Surface family and currently I am using a 15-inch Surface Book 2 and a Surface Pro. Surface Book 2, I like because of the power and screen size, and it is perfect for me to do some serious work. The Surface Pro is more less my light travel work devices to day.

As you know I spend a lot of time travelling at conferences or to customer for meetings. Every weight and space I can safe during traveling is basically a great thing. A lightweight device for doing some simple work like mail, browsing the web or working with office would be enough for most of the tasks. Another tasks I need my device a lot for is taking notes. Since I started to use OneNote, I never took notes on paper again. Most of my note taking I do with the Surface Pen. Especially during meetings, it is much nicer to take notes on an almost flat surface, instead of hiding behind a laptop. The Surface Pro and the Surface Go are prefect for this, since with the kickstand. They let you switch easily from taking notes with a pen, to using the keyboard.

Benefits I expect from the Surface Go

I think the Surface Go would have all these requirements and benefits:

Lightweight and small
Surface Pen support
Full Windows 10
Touchscreen and Keyboard with trackpad support
Great built quality like other Microsoft Surface Devices
Enough power to still do some simple work
LTE to be always connect

I know the Surface Go LTE version, comes later this year. I think this would be perfect, but with conference and travel season coming up, I didn’t want to wait. Let’s see if I upgrade later to the Surface Go LTE version. These always connected devices running Windows 10, cannot come soon enough.

My first impressions of the Surface Go

Let’s talk about my first impressions of the Microsoft Surface Go. The most important part is obviously the formfactor. The Surface Go is crazy small and light. It really feels great in the hand and it seems to be the right size for a small and light travel device. It is almost cute if you put it to the 15inch Surface Book 2. The build quality is great as expected from Microsoft Surface hardware. The performance feels great for the tasks I am looking for. Microsoft Edge and Outlook and the other office apps feel fast and responsive.

The Surface Go also comes with a Surface Connect Charger, which is a great magnetic charging port. With that it can also easily connect with the Surface Dock and power my external monitor. However, the Surface Go also has a USB Type-C Port, and you can also charge the devices using a UBS charger.

I also got the Signature Type Cover, which is a smaller version of the Type Cover which comes with the Surface Pro. It is small but typing feels great. It takes only a quick moment to get used to it. Great is the huge glass trackpad which on the Type Cover.

I think this is the first Windows tablet I really can use as a tablet. With the size and weight, it is ideal to also use it as a tablet. For example the Surface Pro is only a little bit larger, but it makes a huge difference when you want to use it as a “portable tablet”. I found myself using Windows 10 in tablet mode a lot, and using the Surface Go in landscape and portrait mode.

Audio quality seems to be very good for a device in that price category. And the front facing stereo speakers make the difference to other tablets.

What I also really like is the great quality cameras which Microsoft has build in. If you record videos or if you do Skype for Business Calls and video meetings, the quality is way better than other tablets or even notebooks.

These were my first impressions of the Surface Go. Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions about it

Jun182018June 18, 2018August 27, 20180 Commentby Thomas Maurer

Speaking at the Microsoft Azure Stack Customer Event at the HPE Innovation Center in Geneva

Posted in Cloud, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Microsoft MVP, Speaking, Webinar, Work

As you might have seen we at itnetX are heavily pushing Hybrid Cloud with Microsoft Azure and Azure Stack. Besides our webinar series about Azure Stack, we are working together with Microsoft and HPE to present the Azure Stack solution at a live event in Geneva. Attendees will first have the chance to have a tour trough the HPE Customer Innovation Center, and after that itnetX and HPE will present two session about Microsoft Azure Stack, followed by networking and drinks.

HPE Customer Innovation Center Tour
Session: Microsoft Azure Stack – Your Cloud, Your Datacenter
Session: The Hybrid IT Approach with Microsoft Solutions
Networking & Closing Apéro

If you are interested to learn about Azure Stack from itnetX, Microsoft and HPE, join the Microsoft Azure Stack Customer Event at the HPE Customer Innovation Center in Geneva on June 27th.

I will be speaking together with Charbel Nemnom (itnetX and Microsoft MVP) and we will be joined by Christine Perrin (HPE Presales Consultant, Hybrid IT Innovation Center team).

Free Event

Presentation - Microsoft Azure Stack - Your Cloud, Your Datacenter

By Charbel Nemnom & Thomas (Microsoft Cloud & Datacenter Most Valuable Professionals) Microsoft released Azure Stack as an Azure appliance for your datacenter. Learn what Azure Stack is, what challenges it solves, how you deploy, manage and operate Azure Stack in your datacenter. Discover the features and services and how you can build a true Hybrid Cloud experience. In this presentation, Charbel Nemnom and Thomas Maurer will guide you through the highly anticipated innovations and experiences during the Azure Stack Early Adaption Program and Azure Stack Technology Adoption Program (TAP).

HPE Customer Innovation Center in Geneva

The Customer Innovation Center environment is designed to help you get an end-to-end understanding of the HPE portfolio and partner eco-system capabilities. As part of the Microsoft Azure Stack event, you will be able to explore different showcase areas including the industry zone presenting live intelligent edge uses-cases, the transformation zone with a see and touch experience on products, technology in action with a tour within the modular Datacenter (MDC) and finally the success gallery.

Managed Azure Stack

The operation of Azure Stack requires a lot of know-how: special business processes have to be established. The infrastructure requires a high degree of monitoring and capacity planning and the offered services must be configured and optimized continuously. During two sessions, HPE and itnetX will share their expertise knowledge on the entire operation of the Azure Stack infrastructure and will provide you with useful insights into how to successfully integrate, manage and operate Microsoft Azure Stack.

Mar232018March 23, 2018January 28, 20193 Commentsby Thomas Maurer

My First Impressions of the Surface Book 2

Posted in Hardware, Hardware, Microsoft, Surface, Windows, Windows 10, Work

Last week I got my early (or late) Christmas gift to myself. The Microsoft Surface Book 2 15-inch version was finally shipping to Switzerland. The 13-inch version of the Surface Book 2, was already available last year. I am a long time Surface user, since I got my first Surface and my first Surface Pro back in 2012. As you might remember I got a new Surface Pro 2017 as a new company device, back in July 2017. I picked the Surface Pro as a replacement for my Surface Book which I used quite a while and I am very happy with it. It is a light and mobile device, perfect when you are traveling. I think the new Surface Pro with LTE would even be better if you are on the road.

However, one thing I always knew, was that I am more productive with a larger screen. Even the 13” Surface Book, made a huge difference against the 12” Surface Pro. The thing is simple, it is mobility versus screen real estate. I am often working on the go, which means I like the mobility. On the other hand I am also working a couple of hours on the device with no extra screens. Having some extra space on the mobile device, makes me more productive.

When Microsoft announced the new Surface Book 2 13-inch and 15-inch, I knew I want a 15” version. It would give me more screen real estate, more productivity, paired with the Surface quality and design. The combination of a 15” screen in a 3:2 aspect ratio, together with a touch screen and pen support, will provide you with the best possible work setup.

The Surface Book 2 also comes with some performance improvements. With the higher end models, you get new 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8650U quad-core processor, and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, which will provide you with the necessary performance. For me, these performance improvements are a nice addition, but not the reason I would upgrade. If you are a creator, designer, editor, you might highly benefit from the additional graphics performance. However, Microsoft also updated the disk to a faster NVMe SSD, and this you can see and feel in your day-to-day tasks.

Surface Book 2 – First Impressions

I haven’t used the Surface Book 2 long enough for a full review, but I want to share my first impressions.

Hardware and build quality are amazing as for all the Surface devices, no surprises here.
Performance improvements from the 8th Gen Intel Core i7-8650U quad-core processor, and the NVMe SSD are great. They are helping a lot if you are running Docker containers and Hyper-V on your machine. I can also imagine if you are doing graphic intensive work, you also benefit heavily from the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060.
The amazing 15” PixelSense display with the 3:2 aspect ratio and a resolution of 3240 x 2160 is just stunning and really makes a difference if you need screen real estate. The quality of the display is also amazing and you can switch between “Enhanced Mode” and sRGB. And as always I am very happy with the Surface Pen support.
Yes you can still detach the screen from the keyboard to use it as a giant 15” tablet.
Microsoft now includes 2 x USB type-A (version 3.1 Gen 1), 1 x USB type-C (version 3.1 Gen 1 with USB Power Delivery revision 3.0), 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 x Surface Connect ports, Full-size SDXC card reader. The only thing missing is the Thunderbolt port, but to be honest I never missed it before, but of course it would be nice to have it.
Of course the Surface Book 2 15” version is huge if you compare it to the Surface Pro or the Surface Laptop. With 1.9kg also heavier, but with the performance improvements, battery life and the larger screen, what else can you expect. However, if you undock the screen from the keyboard, the tablet part is still very light.
It also provides you with the necessary modern Wi-Fi standards a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth Wireless 4.1 technology and built-in Xbox Wireless for the 15-inch version.
Since I am using it only since a couple of days, I cannot really talk about battery life. Microsoft claims up to 17 hours of video playback. To be honest the first Surface Book was already very good in terms of battery life. I think, with the Surface Book 2 I will make it trough a day.
Of course it also ships with a Windows Hello face authentication camera. A 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video and a 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video.

Overall my first impression of the Surface Book 2 is amazing. The Surface Book 2 is the laptop I was waiting for, for a long time. I think this is the best notebook I have ever owned. Are you owning one, or thinking about buying one for yourself? Let me know in the comments.

Nov202017November 20, 2017August 27, 20180 Commentby Thomas Maurer

Speaking at HPE Discover 2017 Madrid

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Events, HP, Hyper-V, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Microsoft MVP, Nano Server, PowerShell, Private Cloud, Speaking, Virtualization, Windows Server, Windows Server 1709, Windows Server 2016, Work

Today I am happy to announce that I have the honor to speak at HPE Discover in Madrid next week. In a presentation together with HP Enterprise I will talk about how HPE and Microsoft improve the Hybrid Cloud experience using Microsoft Azure Stack.

HPE Discover 2017 Madrid

Building your Azure hybrid cloud business is easier when you work with Hewlett Packard Enterprise

With the release of Azure Stack, now is the time to develop your hybrid cloud business. Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Microsoft have partnered to make it easy for you to accelerate your business by offering Azure-consistent services with HPE ProLiant for Microsoft Azure Stack. Come hear about HPE’s solution for Azure Stack and how HPE can help you develop and grow your Azure business. This session is designed for HPE partners.

I hope to see you next week in Madrid, if you have the chance, step by the HIAG Data booth and ask for me.

Oct172017October 17, 2017August 27, 20180 Commentby Thomas Maurer

My impressions from Microsoft Ignite 2017

Posted in Certification, Cloud, Containers, Hyper-V, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Microsoft MVP, Pictures, PowerShell, Private Cloud, Speaking, System Center, Virtualization, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 2016, Work

Okay, I know, Microsoft Ignite 2017 was already a couple of weeks ago. But still, I finally had time to write about my impressions from Microsoft Ignite, after the conference plus my visit in Seattle for the Intelligent Cloud Architect Bootcamp and spending my days in meetings and back at work in Switzerland. Since there is a lot of stuff and important changes coming, I think it is still valid to write about my impressions.

First, I have to say Orlando is great, I really loved spending my time there. This was my second Microsoft Ignite after the first one in Chicago. I have to say, it was very well organized and organizing such a huge conference is definitely not easy.

The Speaking part…

I had the great opportunity to speak in several Microsoft Ignite sessions and this was huge fun. It is always fun for me to stand in front of a couple of people and show them some stuff I am working on. I not only had the chance to do my Theather session about “Lessons learned from deploying Windows Server 2016”, I also spoke in two breakout sessions about our customer cases focusing on System Center and Storage Spaces Direct.

The Microsoft Ignite 2017 Networking part…

One of the most important parts of such a conference is networking with others. The point is that all the videos are going to be online available for later review, but you get time to meet with people from Microsoft, customers and partners, and talk, share and learn from them. The connections you make at such a conference will be helpful in the future, trust me…

The Learning part…

One of the main reasons for me to attend, was to learn. Not only learn about the latest and greatest technology, but also about where the industry is heading. I believe that our industry is heading to one of the biggest changes in history since the transition from Mainframes to client server topology. I think this is not new to most of us, but what is interesting and something I underestimated is, how fast that transition will be going forward. Cloud Computing, AI, Big Data, IoT and modern applications are going to be big topics in the future and technologies like containers and methods like DevOps are going to accelerate this change. My lesson learned from these events is that we all in the industry have to learn much faster and be ready to adapt to change much quicker.

With that, I hope to see you soon at other conferences and events or again at Microsoft Ignite on September 24 – 28 in Orlando, Florida.

Oct132017October 13, 2017September 1, 20180 Commentby Thomas Maurer

Speaking at the CLOUD 2017 Infrastruktur & Security Congress Switzerland about Azure Stack

Posted in Cloud, Hardware, Hosting, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Microsoft MVP, PowerShell, Private Cloud, Speaking, Virtualization, Web, Windows Server, Work

I am happy to announce that I will be speaking aht the CLOUD 2017 Infrastruktur & Security Congress Switzerland on October 26 in Zürich. In the session “The Swiss Azure Stack Cloud – bringing Microsoft Azure to Switzerland” I will talk about a project I have worked on in the past year, very closly with our partners Microsoft, HPE and HIAG Data, to bring Microsoft Azure services to Switzerland using Microsoft Azure Stack.

Cloud 2017