Category: IT Pro
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The Shoemaker is No Longer Barefoot!
This post was originally written for the Canadian IT Pro Connection blog, and can be seen there at http://blogs.technet.com/b/canitpro/archive/2012/09/13/the-shoemaker-is-no-longer-barefoot.aspx. For years I have been espousing the need to and value of locking down client workstations in a corporate environment. Part of the SWMI Story – the secure, well-managed IT infrastructure for which I named my…
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To be, or not to be: If you are IT it is not your decision!
I made what I thought was a reasonably innocuous statement in front of an audience a few months ago, and couldn’t believe the pushback I got. Our job as the IT providers – whether as in-house providers or as contractors – is not to make decisions. In fact, people are often amazed by how few…
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A Dichotomy of IT Conferences
As I fly south from Toronto I am heading to two separate and very different conferences. I am new to neither one, and am looking forward to both. As they are very different conferences, I am looking forward to them both in very different ways. SBS Migration – A Party with a Conference Theme The…
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Bringing Governments into the Modern World of IT
I recently attended Microsoft’s Canadian Leadership Summit in Redmond, where I had the opportunity to meet and chat with some amazing people. I overheard one conversation between two Canadian IT industry leaders who were lamenting the difficulties in getting various departments in different levels of government to adopt new technology, or more accurately to upgrade…
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70-659 Vouchers Giveaway!
Hey folks my friends at TekSource Corporate Learning (www.teksource.ca) in Toronto have told me that they have just received nine (9) more vouchers for the 70-659 exam (TS: Microsoft Windows Server 2008: Server Virtualization). Knowing that so many of you were disappointed when Ruth (Technology Advisor, Microsoft Canada) announced that she was out of them,…
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Women in IT? Why Not?
I have been watching the ‘Women in IT’ movement grow over the past several years, and I truly do applaud women who want a career in IT. However I do not think that women deserve any special consideration for being women in the professional world. A friend of mine, Melinda Thrasher, wrote a great article…
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Why We Support Communities
I wrote this article a few days ago, and decided that before I posted it here I would offer it to the CanITPro Team – IT Pro Connection. They published it on January 31st as a guest blog post. I am now republishing it here, so that it can get the most exposure. I have…
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CanIT! (Pro)
For years I have followed, worked with, and looked to the IT Evangelism team at Microsoft Canada for guidance and direction. My first encounter with them probably dates back to 2003 (before there was an actual team), but I really started to get to know them in 2005. When Rick Claus came to speak to…
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Who Pray Tell is Jack Oprah: Missing pieces are easier to contend with than wrong ones.
Although I have of late been on another ‘digging through the archives’ kick, I was reminded of this article from 2005 by a friend of mine who occasionally refers to it to remind me that I really can write about anything when I am so inspired. Thanks for reminding me of that Jess! Unfortunately I…
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Advances in Technology: It is vital to stay current, even when remembering the past.
I guess I am on another one of these kicks… traveling back down memory lane. I dug up this article from the archives, and I remember sitting down to write it the first time I ever checked into a hotel in Redmond, Washington. What is more fun about this article is that it took me…
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IT Virtualization Boot Camp
Hey folks! The IT Professionals Community of Greater Toronto and Microsoft Canada are getting together to bring you this amazing opportunity! This Saturday (January 21st) and next Monday (January 23rd) we are doing a full-day Virtualization Boot Camp! The cost is only $25, with Damir Bersenic (Senior IT Pro Advisor, Microsoft Canada) leading the way…
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A response to a recent blog response
Yesterday a gentleman named Cameron wrote a very insightful response to an article I write back in July (Certifications Alone do not Make the Pro, July 20, 2011). He points out that as he has been in IT for 26 years, he actually pre-dates most certifications. Please read his comment, but this is my response. …
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Get Your Geek On in Ottawa, Canada!
One of the parts of my job that I really love is speaking to IT Pro audiences around the world on different topics that I am passionate about, such as Windows 7 Deployment, Microsoft Virtualization, and System Center. I am excited to be back as a speaker at TechDays Canada this year (speaking about Desktop…
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Advice for IT Pros Planning to Open their Own Companies, Part III
In the first article of this series, Advice for IT Pros Planning to Open their Own Companies, I explained a bit of my own history, and why I was writing these articles. The actual advice is split into sixteen points, the first eight were listed in my next article, Advice for IT Pros Planning to…
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Advice for IT Pros Planning to Open their Own Companies, Part II
In my last article (Advice for IT Pros Planning to Open their Own Companies) I outlined the scenario, and gave some of the history of how I got to where I am today. If you don’t know, I am a Senior IT Consultant and Courseware Specialist with SWMI Consulting Group, as well as a Virtual…
The World According to Mitch 