I am really honored to have been a speaker at the first ever Midwest Management Summit (aka the new MMS), that took place November 10th – 12th in Minnesota.  This event was the who’s who of systems management and did not disappoint.  There were over 100 sessions delivered in three days by 50+ experts (which included 32 Microsoft MVPs).  This is one conference and training event that you will not want to miss next year.

I also got the opportunity to present again with my co-worker and good friend Troy Martin.  Troy and I presented the following two sessions:

Hacking the Task Sequence

We will go behind the scenes of the CM OSD Task Sequence engine to look at all of the Task Sequence variables.  Mike and Troy will show you:

• Tips and tricks on how to pause, interact and resume a Task Sequence when developing your own custom steps.
• How to overcome certain limitations like read only variables.
• How to tweak your Boot Images so that they always contain the tools and utilities that are needed for ultimate success.
• How the task sequence works “under the hood” and some cool tips for manipulating it.

MMS – Hacking the Task Sequence.pptx

PXE Booting in the Real World

This session will focus on how PXE works and what it takes to get it working in the real world using System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager.  In addition to the native PXE boot capabilities in CM, this session will also cover the benefits and capabilities of PXE Everywhere from 1E.

Having difficulty performing zero touch because of 3rd party disk encryption?  Come learn the possibilities that open up when using PXE in your environment. Learn about PXE and what it takes to get up and running.

MMS – PXE Booting in the Real World.pptx

I also got to present for the first time with my co-worker Shawn Cardamon.  For those of you that have not met him, he is full of energy and constantly cracking jokes.  It was a fun presentation and we announced our upcoming 1E Solution Accelerator called 1E Enforcement that we will be releasing for free in the near future.

Advanced Application Management

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager application policies are evaluated prior to content being transferred, so that it can be determined if it the software is actually needed in the first place. Applications make use of the re-evaluation cycle which is enabled by default for all required deployments. This can cause potential issues if a rigid software distribution process is not followed. Come join us in this session as we take a deep look inside Applications and demonstrate some of the pros and cons. Also learn how to do selective Application enforcement and only those Applications that always need to be installed. Learn about Applications and application enforcement.

MMS – Advanced Application Management.pptx

Since 1E was a MMS Platinum Sponsor, we also gave a session on all the cool things that we do at 1E and how we help our customers save money.  For that session, I was joined by Troy, Shawn and also Liam Morrison.

World Class Solutions for Real World Problems

At 1E, our sole mission is to reduce the costs of running IT for our customers and provide avenues to true business value.

Many demands are being placed on IT today to deliver products and services which keep up with the consumerization of IT, provide stronger automation, and at the same time lower overall cost to the business. This session will cover what we see as the true circle of influence systems management has on an organization and how these things may be achieved. For example:

• Are you currently facing a software audit or need to reduce costs on software licenses?  AppClarity can help by identifying software installation and usage. It can even remove unused installations to prevent further license purchases or audit exposures.
• Are your users asking about BYOD? Are you constantly providing laptops for contractors and consultants?  With MyWorkNow you can provide a secure virtual corporate Windows desktop at a fraction of the price to any Mac or PC.
• Are your users looking for an easy way to request and install software?  Has it been challenging to manage and assure the right applications are being installed for your users during an OS deployment? Shopping is the App Store for the Enterprise that puts users and IT in control, each being able to focus on more strategic efforts.
• Stuck managing a large SCCM infrastructure? Do you have multiple locations to manage with SCCM?  Regardless of size, with Nomad you can eliminate the need for 95%+ of servers from SCCM architectures and still be able to perform all of the functions of SCCM like SWD, OSD and SUM.

Come and learn about 1E’s world class solutions and how they address real world problems.

MMS – World Class Solutions for Real World Problems.pptx

This conference was a great way to end the year and I am already looking forward to the next one!

Originally posted on https://miketerrill.net/