News & Press Releases

(Welcome to The Next Byte, a series on Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server written by Don Conrad, a.k.a. “Don SQL”, the Fpweb.net SharePoint database wizard and expert in all things SQL-related. In this post Don examines new features in SQL Server 2012. Missed an installment of The Next Byte? Check out the complete Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server series.)

and now… THE NEXT BYTE

SQL Server 2012 Topics to Discuss:

1. Which new features will have the biggest impact for SharePoint?
2. Why is the filetable so important?
3. What are the pricing considerations?

Microsoft recently released the newest version of its premier enterprise database management system, SQL Server 2012. This update contains many new and significant features from the current release, 2008 R2. Many of the features are notable improvements over 2008 R2 and there are so many that we couldn’t possibly do justice to them in one article.

In fact, we won’t even try. Instead we’ll focus some of the feature updates that will have the most impact on Microsoft SharePoint, since, after all, SharePoint hosting is what we do here at Fpweb.net.

SQL Server 2012 key features (in no particular order):

1. AlwaysOn
2. Contained databases
3. The FileTable feature (*not a datatype)
4. Core-based licensing

SharePoint Hosting provider Fpweb.net is once again teaming up with Innovative-e, Inc. to present a FREE webinar on “5 Risky SharePoint HR Temptations” on Wednesday, May 23rd at 2:00pm ET.

Join Chris Schwab, SharePoint Engineering Director for Fpweb.net, and Caroll Ford, Managing Partner and SharePoint Practice Owner for Innovative-e, Inc., for an in-depth look into the Human Resources “temptations” or mistakes that organizations make when it comes to understanding the roles necessary to successfully implement and maintain a SharePoint portal, as well as knowing what skills are essential to the various roles. Key topics in this FREE webinar include:

• Discussing the different roles that are required to successfully implement a SharePoint portal
• For each role, learning the appropriate technical and soft skills necessary to form a winning team
• Selecting the “right” people for a SharePoint team
• Understanding how SharePoint governance guidelines and policies interact with the team selection and success
• Managing a cross-functional team that consists of IT and business people who may report through different structures

Please register FREE to attend this featured SharePoint webinar.

Want easy, seamless integration between your company’s network and Fpweb.net’s SharePoint Cloud? How about Disaster Recovery (DR) failover with fast, secure Virtual Machine (VM) replication across the Internet? New updates in the core Microsoft server product lineup are closing the gaps and facilitating smarter cloud-based SharePoint environments. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Microsoft SharePoint and the Cloud are becoming fast friends! (*hold for applause*)

At the recent Microsoft Hosting Summit 2012, I was thrilled to see the future of Cloud tools unfolding before my eyes. Microsoft is finally producing tools that enable providers like Fpweb.net to go big and fast. As a trusted SharePoint advisor and leading hosting provider for the platform, Fpweb.net is 100% SharePoint, and solving our customers’ SharePoint needs just got easier!

Fpweb.net has provided Microsoft’s SharePoint Team with a ton of feedback from our customers, and I am delighted to say that most of our wish list has been fulfilled with this release of products. Always nice to see Redmond recognizing Fpweb.net’s dedicated SharePoint team in their new product release presentations.

So, let’s talk about what the Microsoft Product Teams have been up to – and which tools Fpweb.net will be using to build the next-generation SharePoint Cloud. The big three core components behind SharePoint are Windows Server 8, SQL Server 2012 and System Center 2012. SPOILER: Windows Server 8 is the greatest Cloud platform on the planet…

Without further ado, let’s get started.  

Well folks, Spring is officially here!

What’s that you say? You’ve been enjoying the new season for the past month and a half? Okay, truth is… I have too! I spent all winter making meals in the Crock Pot (yes, I still consider this cooking), but the crazy nice weather has got me grilling anything and everything I can think of. Have you ever tried peaches on the grill, drizzled with honey? If not, please stop what you’re doing and go make some now… I promise you won’t regret it!

Alright, I may have gotten a little off track with the peach thing. But really… spring is all about baseball games, evening walks, and soaking up every minute of daylight you possibly can. Another thing it’s good for? Traveling the globe, talking about SharePoint. So without further ado, here’s what the Fpweb.net SharePoint Hosting ‘Road Crew’ will be up to in April:

Innovative-e, Inc. and Fpweb.net are proud to host a free SharePoint webinar series – “Temptations That Lead to the 5 Deadly Sins of SharePoint in the Enterprise.”

Join us for the next webinar in the series, “5 Risky SharePoint Temptations for IT Leaders” on Thursday, March 29, 2012, at 2:00pm ET. Co-hosts Dux Raymond Sy, managing partner of Innovative-e, and Mark Miller, Director of Global Strategy and Senior Storyteller at Fpweb.net, will discuss SharePoint risk management and take an in-depth look into the “temptations” or mistakes that IT leaders make when it comes to implementing and managing SharePoint enterprise-wise.

The “SharePoint Temptations” series is an extension of the original “5 Deadly Sins of SharePoint in the Enterprise” webinar. Innovative-e’s monthly webinar series began in January and Fpweb.net is proud to be joining this month as a co-host. The series will continue through June 2012.

Please register FREE to attend this featured SharePoint webinar.

You will be sent a link to obtain your unique attendance URL the day before or morning of the event.

(Don Conrad, a.k.a. “Don SQL”, is Fpweb.net’s resident database wizard and expert in all things Microsoft SQL related. In this post he examines the next version of SQL Server. Missed an installment of The Next Byte? Check out Don’s complete Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server series.) 

The Next Byte – Special Edition

Microsoft is busy promoting its next version of SQL Server, the database that powers the SharePoint platform. The RTM (“Release to Manufacturing”) edition of SQL Server 2012 is already available for download, and Microsoft will publicly unveil this new database technology before the end of March. As a result, SQL Server database administrators – and DBAs-in-training – are occupied studying up on the differences between SQL Server 2008 and this new version. For this “Special Edition” post, I’ve taken a break in my on-going talks about SQL Server to cover the highlights of new features in SQL Server 2012.

Perhaps the most pressing questions for SQL Server DBAs are:

1) What are the major enhancements?
2) What editions are available?
3) Did the pricing change?

Many of the feature updates in this version are truly significant and really enhance the usefulness of SQL Server. They are less about storing more, faster. Instead, they are more about how can I use my data quicker and better. They also directly address the massive increase in information that has been ongoing for 10+ years and is now threatening to be unmanageably large. How can we store, and access in a meaningful manner, the incredible quantities of data we already have stored and continue storing the increasing magnitude of data that we will have accumulated in the next few years?

Fpweb.net is hosting FAST Search Server in the SharePoint Cloud

You have a choice in enterprise search. And let me assure any enterprise or mid-sized company, you don’t just need FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint, you want it! When you’re running a company that is powered by outside-the-box thinking, you can’t be limited to “out-of-the-box” features. You need your environment to grow with your business needs.

If the purpose of using SharePoint is to benefit from the productivity and collaboration that it enables, you’ll miss a key business benefit by disregarding FAST Search.

So what is FAST Search Server?

We’ve written a pretty comprehensive look at the features of FAST Search Server 2010 but in the meantime, here’s a brief summary:

Microsoft FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint takes all of the search and integration capabilities that are baked into SharePoint Server 2010 and then amplifies those capabilities with improved flexibility and scale along with beefing up the content processing to the point that it can index and search over a billion items. Which is a lot.

Why the ‘Reasons You Don’t Want to Move to the Cloud’ are actually the ‘Reasons You Should be in the Cloud’

The Cloud is a buzzword. The Cloud is the buzzword. We’ve tried to make that abundantly clear. Most of our blogs and conversations center around it. Why you need the Cloud. Where SharePoint meets the Cloud. Security concerns with the Cloud.  The Hybrid Cloud SharePoint Model. and the list goes on and on! But it’s not because we love the sound of our own voice; it’s because we know what the Cloud is capable of! We know that it’s revolutionizing the way that companies store data, the way it’s changing productivity within that company, and especially the way it’s making everything available at the click of a button.

Yet concerns about cloud-based infrastructure persist- because it’s that special. It has changed the game and frankly, adapting to change can be difficult at times. I’ve said before that it wasn’t easy for me to jump into social media. It’s like I’m late to every party. We only just now got onto Pinterest…

So I’ve gathered five of the most common Cloud concerns to help explain that what you consider a setback, we consider a benefit. Please review and share! If it seems like a bit of a sales pitch, it’s because it is. For every benefit the cloud offers, Fpweb.net’s Private Cloud SharePoint solutions harness it best!

Want to win cool prizes? Tell us your favorite Fpweb.net blog post!

Do you read Fpweb.net’s blog? Has a particular post been especially beneficial to you? Taught you something new? Made you laugh? What post did you give a second look?

The contest is simple, tweet us your favorite blog post! The grand prize: A seat at the table! Specifically, a seat at Innovative-e’s upcoming SharePoint training session “How to Build a Project Management Information System (PMIS) with SharePoint 2010” on March 9th, 2012 (this Friday!) from 11am-3pm ET.

This free ticket to Innovative-e’s online training session is a $249 value (covers attendance, artifacts and resources, and a recording of the presentation) but one random tweeter will enjoy the full course for free! The winner can attend or choose to send a friend! Plus, Additional prizes will be sent randomly to other contestants (coffee mugs, sunglasses, flash drives, etc).

It’s easy to enter the contest, and easy to win!:

1. Acknowledge @fpweb in your tweet
2. Link to your favorite Fpweb.net blog post
3. Add the hash tag #bestfpwebblog

Ex. My favorite @fpweb blog is When Cloud Computing Meets SharePoint http://blog.fpweb.net/cloud-computing-sharepoint-in-the-cloud/ #bestfpwebblog

A winner will be chosen randomly from all contestants on Thursday at 2pm CT. Winners will be announced on Twitter; make sure you’re following @fpweb so we can Direct Message you if you win!

The session is available to everyone, even if you don’t win (enter the discount code ‘Fpweb’ to receive an exclusive 20% off!)  Learn more and register here!

This is the fourth in a series of articles documenting the Sharing the Point South America 2012 Tour, sponsored by Fpweb.net and AvePoint.

“Your plane has crashed down. We have had to cancel the flight.”

These were the words we heard when reaching the checkout counter at the airport, before leaving from Montevideo, Uruguay for our flight to Santiago, Chile. It seems there was something lost in translation. Fortunately, “Your plane has crashed down” only means “There is a mechanical failure and the plane has been taken off the schedule.”

While it was a relief to get that worked out, the dilemma was now how are we going to get to Santiago? Option one: Rent a van and drive 12 to 14 hours through the mountains at night. Not a great choice, but available as a last resort. Option two: Find a private plane and charter the flight. Not viable at all on our budget. Option three: Stand at the counter, holding up the entire line at the airport until the attendant found us seats on the next available flight.

At first, that didn’t look like it was going to work, but we were persistent and with the blessing of a group of nuns standing in line right behind us, we were able to book a late night flight, arriving in Santiago about 1:00am.