Hi all - hope this week leading into the chocolate frenzy finds you all well? My name is Katie Mac and I work withJeffaandMaccaon all things IT Pro. I have been remiss in talking to you all so would like to keep you up to date with training, tools and resources that are available.

I am not sure if you have heard of ourIT Campsor perhaps you have already attended one. They are fabulous hands-on learning opportunities that are hosted byJeffaandMaccaand we have some great new content and dates now available. Be quick to register though as seats are limited in each city and also note the next dates are in Sydney and Brisbane in just over a week so please get in fast! All the information and registration links you need can be found athttp://aka.ms/itcampsinoz

Looking forward to seeing you all there. In case you would like some more info I've added a bit on each new topic below...  And don’t forget there are still some seats available for the Datacenter Virtualisation IT Camp in Canberra and Preparing your Datacenter IT Camps in Sydney and Canberra.  All details are on theIT Campspage.

Wishing you all some fun over this long weekend ahead, cheers, Katie Mac

REGISTER NOW Starting in Brisbane on 16th April and Sydney on 17th April and other cities in May and June

The culture of work is changing. Tech-savvy and always-connected, people want faster, more intuitive technology, uninterrupted services, and freedom to work anywhere, anytime, on a variety of devices. It’s time to give people the freedom to get things done their way. In return, you’ll unleash passion and productivity like never before. Learn how our products offer experiences that your people will love. Whether they are using PCs, phones, tablets, or all of the above, Microsoft technologies are flexible to match the unique needs and styles of individuals. Best of all, our enterprise-grade solutions are designed to help you maintain security, streamline management, and cut costs.

REGISTER NOW

The cloud is coming, but are you prepared to transform your datacenter to the next shift in enterprise computing? This camp will prepare you to understand, deploy and manage a Microsoft Private Cloud. See how you can combine hardware, software and management processes to update your datacenter to gain new levels of automation, elasticity, resource virtualization, efficiency and self-service. Dozens of technologies will be covered, including Windows Server, Hyper-V, Solutions Accelerators and all the System Center 2012 products.

As many of you know I'm looking after content end-to-end this year forTech·ed Australia 2011and we have reached the first of many milestones that we have in planning such an event.  Today we would like to announce the availability of the Call for Topics tool for those of you wishing to submit sessions to this years conference.  In my opinion content is king and we rely on the technical knowledge and creativity of our speakers to make a great event!

So with that please submit your sessions to: http://teau11.eventpoint.com/cft 

This year we have a similar breakdown of content tracks to submit your sessions against which are below.

Architecture
Cloud Computing and Online Services
Database and Business Intelligence
Developer Tools, Languages and Frameworks
Dynamics*
Middleware and Integration*
Office and SharePoint
Office 365*
Security Identity and Management
Exchange and Lync
Virtualization
Voice of the Customer
Web Platform
Windows Client
Windows Phone
Windows Server
*Indicates a Virtual Track

TheCall for Topics toolwill be open untilMay 25th 2011so get your thinking caps on and start submitting sessions.  There are some tips for successful submissions which include:

• A good session title – this must engage attendees and must match what is going to be delivered.  Make sure the title entices people to want to attend the session!
• Technical readiness – remember Tech·ed is about technical content; not marketing content!
• Session objectives – what do you want the attendees to gain from your session and what do you want them.
• Abstracts – limited to 300 words so need to clearly describe what the session is about.  Remember sessions are 75 minutes long.
• Tech·ed overall theme – This year’s theme is heavily focusing on Private Cloud and  how it can help customers run their business's more efficiently so think about that when you submit sessions.

Good luck and we look forward to seeing some great submissions!

Jeffa

Starting onApril 1st2011(no really) and going through toJune 30th 2011we are offering 3 extra months to the normal 12 month TechNet subscription.  It’s pretty good value and now includes 3 extra months free.  This for new subscriptions only.

This is aTechNet Professional Subscriptionwhich includes:

• Full-Version software for evaluations only for 70+ Microsoft products with no time or feature limits
• Priority support on TechNet Managed Forums with technical answers within 2 business days
• 2 Professional Support Calls to help resolve critical technical issues
• Microsoft E-Learning to keep your skills up-to-date and prepare for certifications
• As well as additional support and productivity resources
  

If you don’t have a TechNet subscription as of yet; this Friday is a good time to start!

Jeffa