Exchage Online SBC Connectivity Discontinued

Posted on September 18, 2017 by goodchildc

Microsoft have recently made the announcement that support will be withdrawn, as of July 2018, for third-party PBX systems (Cisco, Avaya, Siemens etc.) to leverage Exchange Online Unified Messaging (UM) via a Session Border Controller (SBC).

Today, as shown below, many organisations provide voicemail functionality via Exchange Online UM to the end users mailbox or telephone device whilst continuing to use their third-party PBX for call control functionality.

Based upon the announced change, customers have under a calendar year to complete the migration to one of the following supported topologies:

Migration from a third-party PBX to Office 365 Cloud PBX
Migration from a third-party PBX to Skype for Business Server (On Premise or Hosted)
Implementation of Cloud Connector Edition
Implementation of a software based connector, connecting the PBX to Skype for Business Server (On Premise or Hosted)
The final option is to implement a third-party voicemail system, removing the dependency upon Exchange Online

The following topology will continue to be supported:

Skype for Business Server leveraging Exchange Online UM
Third-party PBX systems connecting to Exchange Online UM via an API and NOT an SBC
All forms of Exchange Server UM (on-premise)

Unsure of what to do next? Feel free to get in touch and we would be happy to talk through the available options in more detail with you!

Office 365 E5 – Cloud PBX

Posted on July 14, 2015 by goodchildc

So as Day 1 Keynote has now taken place, several additional anouncements have been made; with respect to UC, the most significant being the announcement of Office 365 E5 Licensing SKU…

From a recent summary email;

New Office 365 E5 offering: In October, we will introduce a new premium Office 365 enterprise suite. The new E5 plan will include Cloud PBX, analytics, Power BI, and advanced security capabilities, providing partners with a complete productivity and communications offering for their enterprise customers.

Stay tuned for more updates as they come through!

Lync Mobile iOS Updated – 5.7.563

Posted on June 1, 2015 by goodchildc

For those that may have not noticed, or have automatic updates configured – Microsoft have released Lync Mobile 5.7.563 to the iOS AppStore.

Unfortunately, release note list “bug fixes”, so not the most information to go on – has anyone noticed any changes?

Hopefully the new Skype for Business Mobile Client will be released sooner rather than later, considering the mobile client is a significant priority, I would have like to have seen its release, alongside side its desktop cousin.

Windows Phone is currently running at 5.9.1359.0.

Can anyone confirm Androids current version in the comments below?

Free prize (undecided) for the first person that does!

[UPDATED]

Thanks Richard for confirming the android version number (5.5.8975) – do you like chocolate? 🙂

Issue Lost Data When Migrating from Lync Server 2013 to Skype4B

Posted on May 5, 2015 by goodchildc

Microsoft released KB on Saturday 2nd May via its FAST PUBLISH process, so clearly there is some urgency behind this patch.

So what’s the issue?

As we know, when migrating from one pool to another, to maintain scheduled conference IDs we leverage the Conference Directory structure (in addition to SQL).

Prior to KB3062801, if administrators leverage the Lync Server 2013 Management Shell to complete the conference directory move to a Skype for Business pool, there is the potential for data to be lost, which will not provide a pleasant experience to your end users.

How can you fix it?

Apply May 2015 CU Update for UC Managed API to all servers within your estate, this will allow for management of the conference directories, using Lync Server 2013 Management Shell.

Are there any workarounds?

Yes – use the Skype for Business management shell to move your conference directory – not the Lync Server 2013 Management Shell! 🙂

Learn Skype for Business Today!

Posted on April 17, 2015 by goodchildc

….Well not exactly Today, but Microsoft do have an upcoming Webcast series that appears to be focussed more so towards end users and the actual usage of the Skype4B client. It appears that sessions will be repeated so do not be thrown off by 1am sessions, see below for the timetable and registration links;

Session / Registration Link	Date
Get Started – Collaborating with Skype for Business (SKP005CAL)	21^st April 2015 @ 4PM GMT
Go Further – Presenting and Organizing with Skype for Business (SKP006CAL)	23^rd April 2015 @ 4PM GMT
Get Started – Collaborating with Skype for Business (SKP007CAL)	28^th April 2015 @ 7PM GMT
Get Started – Collaborating with Skype for Business (SKP007CAL2)	29^th April 2015 @ 1AM GMT
Go Further – Presenting and Organizing with Skype for Business (SKP008CAL)	30^th April 2015 @ 7PM GMT
Go Further – Presenting and Organizing with Skype for Business (SKP008CAL2)	5^th May 2015 @ 1AM GMT
Get Started – Collaborating with Skype for Business (SKP011CAL)	6^th May 2015 @ 5PM GMT
Go Further – Presenting and Organizing with Skype for Business (SKP012CAL)	7^th May 2015 @ 5PM GMT
Go Further – Presenting and Organizing with Skype for Business (SKP014CAL)	13^th May 2015 @ 5PM GMT
Get Started – Collaborating with Skype for Business (SKP013CAL)	14^th May 2015 @ 5PM GMT

Risual Event – Skype for Business – Are you Ready?

Posted on April 17, 2015 by goodchildc

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Skype for Business, are you ready?

Everyone is talking about Skype for Business, why? How does this impact your business?

After the success of our Skype for Business webcast, we have invited Microsoft down to our offices in Stafford to discuss the main changes to you. The event will enable you to discover the changes to your business as well as the overall technical changes. We will be providing a free lunch and a unique networking opportunity with break out session for both public and private sector organisations in the afternoon.

Event summary

– An in depth look at the exciting new changes and what these mean for your organisation

– Breakout sessions for Private and Public Sector including case studies, customer speakers, demo sessions and round table discussions

– A unique opportunity to network with similar sized organisations from both sectors

In order to secure your place, please click on the RSVP link and we will do the rest!

Agenda
09.00 – 09.30: Arrival and refreshments
10.00 – 10.15: Introduction
10.15 – 11.00: Skype for Business what does it mean for your business?
11.00 – 11.45: Guest speaker Leigh Smith – Microsoft
11.45 – 12.30: Guest speaker Gill Furlong – Essex County Council
12.30 – 13.15: LUNCH
13.15 – 14.00: Technical update
14.00 – 14.15: Refreshments and networking
14.15 – 15.00: Breakout sessions – choice between Public Sector or Commercial session
15.00 – 16.00: Refreshments and networking
16.00: Event close

When?
28th April 2015

Time?
09:00-16:00

Where?
risual House,
Parker Ct,
Staffordshire Technology Park,
Stafford,
ST18 0WP

Find us with Bing

risual House
15 Parker Court
Stafford Technology Park
Beaconside
Stafford
ST18 0WP

T: 0845 6800077
E: Enquiries@risual.com

Installing the Skype for Business Client

Posted on April 15, 2015 by goodchildc

First and foremost – RIP Lync 😦

For those that have missed it, Microsoft have now released the Skype for Business client, KB2889923. Although the Skype for Business Server 2015 server components haven’t been released yet, we can still use the new clients against Lync Server 2010 or 2013.

In this post, I will be running through the client experience, when using the new client against a Lync Server 2013 Pool, as well as the experience when changes are made to the client policy switch parameter, EnableSkypeUI.

Continue reading →

Skype for Business Workload Posters

Posted on April 14, 2015 by goodchildc

As we approach the general availability date for Skype for Business, there is definitely an increase in the rate of technical content publication. One resource that was priceless for understanding the traffic flows in Lync Server was the workload poster!

If you like your diagrams, you will be happy to hear that Microsoft have now released the Skype for Business Server 2015 Workload Poster.

Including within the PDF or Visio downloads are the following workloads:

Instant Messaging and Presence (including high level sign in process)
AV Conferencing (which now includes the Video Interoperability workload)
Application Sharing
Enterprise Voice
Certificate Requirements
Central Management Store Overview and Replication Traffic Flows
DNS Requirements

Silk is also now referenced where applicable in audio media flows!

#Skype4B Content Released

Posted on January 27, 2015 by goodchildc

Whilst we count down the days to the Office 365 Summits, it would be a good idea to keep an eye on the Office 365 Summit Readiness Tab.

Microsoft have released the Skype4Business Reference Architecture and Design PowerPoint content – It had 0 downloads when I found it 😉

Not long now!

Office Summit #Skype4B sessions

Posted on January 17, 2015 by goodchildc

Quite simply put…Get. Registered.

For those of us not able to physically attend the summits, Microsoft will be publishing live webcasts between February and March on a very interesting lineup of topics:

– Intro
– New Windows Desktop Experience
– Reference Architecture and Design Considerations
– Manageability Improvements Overview
– In-Place Upgrade Deep Dive
– SQL AlwaysOn Deep Dive
– Server Core Improvements Overview
– Reliability & Patching Deep-dive
– Hybrid Configuration Deep-dive
– New Meeting & Web Investments Overview
– Video Interop Server Deep-dive
– Lync/Skype Federation (Phase 2)
– Lessons Learned from Preview
– Software Defined Networks (SDN)
– Developer Platform

Registrations will be confined via email, you will also be able to find the sessions on the Office 365 Summit Readiness Tab

What topic(s) are you looking forward to? I must admit I’m looking forward to all!

Full details here

Skype4Business UC

Sharing my experiences whilst learning about Skype for Business, UC and life itself …

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