Posts from 2020

Arcible and the SolarWinds Solorigate SUNBURST Threat

Richard Green on 16th December 2020

At Arcible, we take monitoring our services seriously and we take security seriously too. We use multiple products for the monitoring of our services; we consider security at all times and factor it into multiple layers of our operations. We’re releasing this article both as reassurance for our customers and for your information about Arcible and the Solorigate SUNBURST threat.

Arcible does not use the SolarWinds Orion product or any SolarWinds products to conduct our business either internally or externally with customers. Based on our current understanding and knowledge of the issues, Arcible does not believe that it is impacted by the SolarWinds threat, however, we continue to remain vigilant and review our security tools.

Use OneDrive and SharePoint for Microsoft Teams Meeting Recordings

Richard Green on 15th December 2020

Microsoft Stream is an odd service. It’s fantastic in its own right but limitations built within it and it’s positioning as a Microsoft 365 outsider has always been problematic. For Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Stream as the location for meeting records brought its own set of challenges. With change approaching, let’s explore how this is moving to use OneDirve and SharePoint for Microsoft Teams meeting recordings.

Microsoft Stream sure has a time and place. We think, for example, that it’s a fantastic platform for sharing videos internally such as corporate messaging, training, and more. But that is also it’s Achilles Heel. It is limited to internal use only and you cannot share recordings [directly] from Microsoft Stream with external users.

When you participate in a meeting with people from multiple organisations and the meeting is recorded, that goes to Microsoft Stream for the organisation of the meeting organiser. If you’re outside that organisation, the only way you can access that is if someone downloads the recording video file and shares it with you by manually copying the file to their OneDrive or SharePoint or worse, emails you the file.

Block Incoming Calls with Microsoft Teams

Richard Green on 19th November 2020

Last week, a customer contacted us about an issue they were receiving persistent, unsolicited calls in Microsoft Teams from a phone number. The customer needed a way to block incoming calls from that number and we figured that this was one worth sharing for all to see.

Block incoming calls features in Microsoft Teams

One of the more hidden features in Microsoft Teams is the ability to block incoming calls from a number or a range of numbers at the organisation level. This isn’t something that’s visible or available in the Microsoft Teams Admin Center and requires the use of PowerShell.

Measuring Client Performance with Endpoint Analytics

Richard Green on 11th November 2020

Whether it be a laptop that takes so long to boot you can make a coffee and drink it or whether it’s a logon process that is so slow it’s time for the user to take their next break already, we’ve all seen and heard of performance issues before. As IT or as someone making financial decisions about hardware purchases for end-users, knowing that what you have or what you buy is good is important and for that you need data and we can use Endpoint Analytics in Microsoft Intune exactly for this purpose.

Audio Conferencing with Microsoft Teams

Richard Green on 29th October 2020

As the usage of Microsoft Teams continues to grow across organisations around the world, our reliance on PCs and digital devices grow. Under normal circumstances, that’s all well and good but what if you’re internet goes down? Microsoft Teams isn’t all about the app and that’s why dial-in Audio Conferencing with Microsoft Teams is an important and often overlooked facet of the service.

Whether your Internet is down, you live in an area with poor mobile data coverage which means you can’t use a mobile device with the Teams app, or whether you need a screen break but still want to participate, Audio Conferencing could be your ticket.

Replace Your File Server with Azure Files

Richard Green on 26th August 2020

We’ve previously talked about migrating files to SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business. Even if you’ve done this, you will no doubt have a reason for a file server still. If cloud is your goal, why not replace your file server with Azure Files?

You get all the same capabilities as you do with an on-premises file server but the benefits of a Platform-as-a-Service solution that doesn’t require servers.

Sharing Templates and Logos with an Organisation Asset Library

Richard Green on 30th July 2020

At Arcible, we love our brand and we want to make sure that it gets used correctly. We have standard document templates, high-quality versions of our corporate logo, and more. We want these to be used and used correctly. If there isn’t an organisation asset library that is easily accessible to users then they are more likely to go off-piste and make up their own. When you’ve worked hard to create and design a brand, you want to make sure that users stay on it.

With Microsoft 365, we have various ways that users can author content and access information so making sure that our asset library is accessible to them across all of these modalities is important. This is where the SharePoint Online organisation asset library feature comes in.

Free Calling Plan for Microsoft 365 E5 Customers

Richard Green on 17th July 2020

Until this announcement, Microsoft 365 E5, the gives you everything plan for Microsoft 365 excluded one critical piece: a Calling Plan. The Microsoft 365 E5 license included the Phone System license and the Audio Conferencing license. This mean you had the licenses to use PSTN Audio Conferencing and to receive incoming calls but you would either need standalone Calling Plans for Microsoft 365 or pay Communication Credits for calls.

With the news of a Calling Plan for Microsoft 365 E5 customers, you will be able to, at no extra charge, get a 120-minute Domestic Calling Plan for each of your licensed E5 users.

Microsoft 365 Enterprise Voice Plans and Pricing

Richard Green on 17th July 2020

People talk. Whether it be one-to-one or many-to-many, people talk. If you want to be able to give users the ability to make and take phone calls to non-Teams users then you need to enable voice elements of the service. Without these voice elements, Microsoft Teams users are only able to perform Teams-to-Teams calls. If you’ve come from a Skype for Business background, this is the same as the choice between PC-to-PC calling and Enterprise Voice. Microsoft 365 Enterprise Voice Plans are here to simplify things and hopefully make them cheaper too.