Azure SQL Database offers a lot of advantages when building a cloud based application, it also has some constraints that can be overcome with complimentary Azure features. Enterprise feature set Azure DB is a cloud service which means updates get rolled out much faster than on premises updates. As such, Azure DB is already running SQL Server 2016. In addition, there is only one edition which is equivalent to the Enterprise edition in the on premises version.

For years the pain of the OneDrive for Business sync client has plagued the effective use of the tool. Last December the “next generation” sync client was released. It had one major capability missing though: It would not work with document libraries in SharePoint Online. This may not be major issue for many, however, as an Office 365 consultant, it was a major issue - there was no easy way to say to clients that they would have to continue to use the old, unreliable sync client, with no suggestion of when they could stop using it.

I use Office 365 for my family’s e-mail and document storage, but they are not keen on regularly changing passwords - the IT department receives a lot of hassle Although the UI does not allow for the passwords to be set to never expire, PowerShell does. First off, we can get the status of all users: ## See the status of all users Connect-MsolService; Get-MsolUser | Select UserPrincipalName, PasswordNeverExpires; Or we can get the status of a specific user:

There are many benefits of Office 365, but one of the most commonly realised benefits is the use of the User Profile, and moving forward the functionality that is tightly coupled with the User Profile such as Delve and Blogs. As part of many engagements I work with clients to make the most of the User Profile and this often involves the use of photographs to allow quick recognition of people.

With Office 365 you are sometimes prompted to enter your credentials. This is not always desired behaviour and in some circumstances it can be avoided. One approach is to use “Smart Links”. Smart Links involve creating a URL that will provide information related to the “realm” that the user is a member of which in turn allows the Office 365 login server to determine whether it should authenticate the user or whether it should transfer the user to a different authentication provider.

In Office 365, it is desirable to be able to configure the look and feel, and behaviour of pages through the use of JavaScript, HTML or even PowerShell. The ability to do this is disabled by default when a new Office 365 tenant is created. Most of the time, this feature is then activated as the features are required. What is less understood is the scope of impact of this setting.

This year I have been lucky enough to have been selected to speak at the what was originally a SQL Saturday in Cambridge. Now it is the first combined SQL and SharePoint Saturday and I am presenting two sessions: SharePoint Databases – What you need to know An introduction to the different databases that SharePoint uses, with recommendations for High Availability, Disaster Recovery and configuration settings for SQL Server, including the constraints imposed in a single farm, a stretched farm between data centres and a separate DR farm.

In this age of multiple, trusted operating systems running a variety of different devices, many users have preferences for specific tools to use. These preferences are usually based on familiarity with an operating system, the applications that are available on the operating system or the capabilities of the device. The result of this variety of preferences is that many organisations are starting to reduce the costs of hardware by sharing them with their employees.

Being back in the office on a Monday after attending a SQL Saturday Exeter is always fun because that is when I get to use some of the information that I have gained. There are always nuggets of information to be had from sessions that I have attended, and also from talking with other speakers, attendees, and sponsors. This year in Exeter, I was lucky enough to have been selected to speak on SharePoint databases.

In SharePoint 2010 situations arise when the ability to add web parts to web part pages using the UI becomes impossible. In some situations, there will be JavaScript or other web parts that are executing incorrectly and throwing errors. Once the errors are resolved then it should become possible to add the web parts. In other situations the cause is much harder to diagnose. In the latter sitauation a workaround is to add “toolpanelview=2” to the querystring, prefixing it with ?