10/17/2023
Not exactly what I was hoping for my first 'Tech Tip', however, this is frustrating about all of my clients so I wanted to address it on here for all of you as well. This is the letter sent to my clients this morning.
Hello Everyone and Happy Tuesday, (I think);
I have spoken with several of my clients about Microsoft's (well-intentioned but, very poorly planned) migration from the Outlook program that most of us have been using for three decades now to their new 'App'.
(If you are busy and just want the 'summary' of this email - skip below to "Summary").
There are a lot of 'nerd' reasons that this, ultimately, is a good thing. The amount of integration with M365 coming in the next couple of years is going to completely revolutionize the way we all work by streamlining a lot of the 'day to day', mundane tasks we currently have to do two or three times with each appointment or calendar submission etc. That is actually the tiniest tip of the iceberg. This 'migration' is eventually going to be mandatory for all Microsoft Office users.
The official cutover date was September 1st, 2023. However, in usual Microsoft fashion, they are allowing some overlap for the one's who resist change (I think most of us). They are also implementing the 'mandatory' part in waves. They do this either at random, or by using some variable that the average person doesn't have access to. Some of you have already been forced to make this change and, for others, it might be the first time you have heard of this.
So far, the users that have been forced to switch (or opted to) have not enjoyed the experience. The interface looks almost identical to what you are used to, however, when you attempt to do anything from an 'administrative' standpoint, everything is in a different place. It has been frustrating for most users. Having dealt with this for the past six months, I can tell you that it actually does start to make sense why they did this and it is actually easier. However, the ramp up time is always frustrating.
SUMMARY:
As usual, Microsoft has released a 'half baked' product that is showing some early signs of serious bugs. They are starting to happen, almost, daily. Today's 'surprise' is that they are shifting the licensing rights for 'legacy' licenses (which almost everyone has right now). Something on THEIR side has caused some licensing and sign in issues with the new 'App'. For many of you this is not going to affect you. For others it might be only a few users who have chosen to use the new app. For a few, this is going to be an issue company wide.
I wanted to let you know that I am aware of it. I am currently working on a 'work around' (if not a permanent solution), however, I have to believe that Microsoft is aware of this issue and, yet another, update will be released within the week to address this issue.
Should you run into any problems with your accounts in the new app - the short term solution is to switch back to the old one (which can be done with the toggle on the top right of the screen). If this does not resolve the issue, please feel free to contact me or create a ticket with the 'ticketing interface' using the 'Ability' icon in your taskbar or emailing directly.
Thank you,
Tim J. Smude
Owner, Ability I.T. | Website: www.AbilityMN.com |
Cell: 952.452-0030 | email: [email protected] |
804 10th Street, Farmington, Minnesota 55024
Minneapolis-South of Metro, Business support services. Learn how Ability I.T. can increase performance of your network while cutting your I.T. budget in half.
