Updated Automatic Australian RGS/Response Groups Holiday Sets v.2.20
Update 19/05/2018 Released Version 2.2 to fix an issue with multiple pool selection, typos and even cleaning up my code with ISESteriods About the tool For those that don't know, I've been writing and maintaining this script for a few years over on TechNet This is a script that adds/maintains the relevant Australian Holidays to your Skype4B / Lync environment for the next 12 months based on data available from the Australian Government Website. I re-wrote most of the script from scratch and added a whole bunch of code to try and catch a lot of the errors etc that happened in the older versions. I’ve also tried to make it alot simpler to use for everyone that’s not me. Data is taken from http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events/public-holidays and I have done my best to be as error free as possible. Shout of to Greig in Sydney for beta testing and providing the red pen. That guy would have made a brilliant English teacher. Instructions Download, and run on a Frontend or any machine with the Lync / Skype4B management tools installed The script will attempt to detect your Skype4B Setup and proceed accordingly If it only detects a single FrontEnd it will prompt you to confirm the selected pool and then configure new Holiday sets Should it detect multiple pools it will ask you to confirm which pool to use and configure new Holiday sets If it finds Holiday sets with the same name they will automatically have any existing entries removed If you already have holiday sets with the name names or you need to add a country code. You can specify a string with the -RGSPrepend parameter to prepend to the Holiday set names. Unattended (Scheduled Task) execution You can also use the script on a scheduled task to automatically pull and update the latest holidays on a monthly basis if your server has internet access. Simply specify -FrontEndPool <FEPoolFQDN> and -Unattended in the scheduled task. You can also still specify the -ServiceID and -Unattended parameters at the commandline if you want to specify the ServiceID directly. Use Get-CsRgsConfiguration -Identity Frontend.Skype4bAdmin.com to see valid service id’s Note either of these options will disable script update checking. So it pays to check manually every now and again. Applying the Holiday sets After you have run the script, you can find the time frames in the Response Groups Editor, Simply tick the states you want the workflow closed for. Note: each of the states already includes the National holiday set, so there is no need to tick both. Fork Me As alot of my code is open source, I’ve moved from storing my Git repo on VSTS over to GitHub. Feel free to fork the code for your own purposes over here https://github.com/Atreidae/New-CsRgsAustralianHolidayList Advanced The default holiday set names are “National”,”Victoria”,”New South Wales”,”Queensland”,”ACT”,”Northern Territory”,”South Australia”,”Western Australia”,”Tasmania” If you need to change these for whatever reason update the following lines in the script 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 $National = $RGSPrepend+"National" $Vic = $RGSPrepend+"Victoria" $NSW = $RGSPrepend+"New South Wales" $QLD = $RGSPrepend+"Queensland" $ACT = $RGSPrepend+"ACT" $NT = $RGSPrepend+"Northern Territory" $SA = $RGSPrepend+"South Australia" $WA = $RGSPrepend+"Western Australia" $Tas = $RGSPrepend+"Tasmania" Version history Update 19/05/2018 Released Version 2.2 Fixed a bug with logging system culture Removed some old redundant code Passed script through ISESteriods PSSharper and applied corrections Fixed a few typos Fixed a few bugs introduced cleaning up my dodgy code Fixed a bug with multiple pools using the same holiday set names Deprecated the ServiceID parameter, Specify the pool FQDN instead Added warning for deprecated ServiceID Updated Pat Richard's website Removed PowerShell 5.1 cmdlet (Get-Timezone), now using a WMI query instead Update 11/05/2018 Released Version 2.1 with TLS 1.2 support Added Script logging Updated to use my new autoupdate code Added ability to switch between devel/master branches Added timezone offset detection / warning Added TLS 1.2 support for the new Govt website requirements Update 09/10/2017 Released Version 2.0 with a Massive Overhaul, updated for 2018! Added Autodetecton of single RGS pool : Added Autodetecton of single RGS pool Complete Rewrite of existing rule rewrite code , Should make for alot less red text! More User friendly and better instructions Fixed a few typo’s causing dates to be incorrect. You no longer need to “Reassign” the holiday sets to response groups anymore. Update 2/11/2016: Released Version 1.1 of the script. Fixed Onedrive download link Fix for Typo in Victora Holiday set causing import to fail Fix ForEach loop not correctly removing old time frames Fix Documentation not including the SID for ServiceID parameter Update 26/09/2016: Fixed some Typo’s. Thanks Grieg
Introducing the SMB Assessment Desk
With 71 Million SMB organisations across Asia, Microsoft has launched a new SMB Assessment Desk that has been designed to provide more customers with: Rapid Security Assessment - a holistic security assessment via CSAT Quickscan, providing actionable recommendations on security improvements to drive M365 and Azure security consumption Azure Express - a comprehensive server migration assessment via Azure Migrate/RV Tools and AMA Workbook, providing recommendations on migrating current on-premises and cloud environments to Azure IaaS and PaaS solutions. Partners can leverage this service to provide their customers with a holistic security assessment via CSAT Quickscan, providing actionable recommendations on security improvements to drive M365 and Azure security consumption. If your customer has more than 30 endpoints you can leverage the desk to run the assessment for you and support you in presenting the findings. Request support here Solution Assessment Program (microsoft.com) In the attached folder you can download a summary presentation on the desk and some assets you can use with your customers including a flyer and a sample report. We've also included a document on our tool requirements.Microsoft AI Partner Innovate, Brisbane, April 16 | Content now available
Hi everyone, I'm happy to share the content from the "Microsoft AI Partner Innovate" run in Brisbane on April 16. You'll find 3 files here - one for each key segment - early morning, late morning, and after lunch. Again it was so good to catchup with the partners, share learnings, gain insights and enjoy chatting about work and life. I look forward to coming back to Brisbane, the Gold Coast and other parts of Queensland in the near future to help innovate further around Microsoft 365, the Copilots, Business Applications and Azure. Regards, PhilBusiness and Employment verification failed after address change
Hi Is anyone at Microsoft able to assist help us sort out our verification issues It's been going on for weeks. We moved office and I updated the address on Partner Center. They keep asking for domain verification document. Have supplied this and it matches our domain, entity and address exactly. Even sent Whois screenshots Still fails. 2 support requests open with Microsoft but they are of no help. Support ID : 2306020010000152
Account Verification - MS Partner Centre
I am attempting to sign up with Microsoft as a MS Partner (Which I have done in the past for several other organisations, and until now, never had an issue). I have submitted a support case with case number 2305300010001219. Error message: Our system has indicated multiple failed attempts from your account. We are unable to proceed with your Account Verification. What can I do to get verified?Microsoft AI Partner Innovate, Sydney, April 4 | Content available here
Thanks for attending the Microsoft AI Partner Innovate event in Sydney on April 4. It was an absolute pleasure to see so many enthusiastic partners networking, learning, asking questions and getting ready to help their customers with adoption of Microsoft Copilot and AI. Again the discussion with a partner, Chuong of Fuse Technology in this case, was popular with attendees. And the security section by Jordan was really insightful and appreciated. Please consider what Emma covered in the Tech for Social Impact [ TSI ] segment and all the value presented in the GTM and Sales Excellence sessions. The slides from the day are here. Regards, Phil on behalf of the Microsoft team and SponsorsMicrosoft AI Partner Innovate Perth, March 26 | Content Available here
Thanks for attending the Microsoft AI Partner Innovate event in Perth on March 26. It was so good to see some familiar faces and meet so many other new partners full of enthusiasm and opportunity for the Era of AI and Copilot. The slides from the day are here. Regards, Phil on behalf of the Microsoft team and Sponsors
MAPS Excessive Price Increase
I just renewed my MAPS subscription. As a background I'm a one person organisation. For many years the price was A$440 inc GST. This year, the price was over A$710 inc GST. Which is a price increase of over 75%. I was told this was because now all pricing is based on USD so I'm paying the equivalent of US$400, and that it's not a price increase. I'm posting this to raise my objection to the exhorbitant price increase, and find out if other people have also been similarly effected.
