Issue No. 33April 2015

Reminder: Microsoft Windows Sever 2003 End of Life is Near

Support for Windows Server 2003 will conclude in less than a few months’ time on July 14, 2015.  Originally released alongside Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 has benefitted from an extra year of extended Microsoft support to provide companies with ample time to migrate their critical business systems to Windows Server 2012.

What does this mean for your business? On July 14, 2015 Microsoft will cease to offer any technical or product support for systems running Windows Server 2003.  Windows Updates will no longer be published for Windows Server 2003. The result will mean that no more expert technical or product assistance will be provided by Microsoft for Windows Server 2003 and related issues, and the operating system will be a huge target for malicious hackers.

If your business is running Windows Server 2003, our recommendation is to upgrade your systems as soon as possible. Windows Server 2012 is the suggested Windows Server upgrade path for businesses still running Windows Server 2003.  It’s imperative that you evaluate your key business software for compatibility with Windows Server 2012, as software that runs on the Windows Server 2003 platform is not guaranteed to run on Windows Server 2012.

Now is the time to start planning and budgeting. If you are still running Windows Server 2003 and would like to discuss the best solution for upgrading, please contact our Contact Us.

The “Clutter” tool in Microsoft Office 365, New Additions

The Clutter feature in Office 365 was introduced back in November to help users focus on the most important messages in their inbox by moving lower priority messages out of their way and into a new Clutter folder. Microsoft last month announced new capabilities for Office 365 administrators to better manage how Clutter works.

• Administrators can now enable specific senders or messages to bypass the Clutter filters using a defined text pattern so that the message remains in the inbox. The process uses transport rules and is similar to how spam filtering can be bypassed.
• Office 365 administrators can now assign retention policy tags to the Clutter folder in a manner consistent with other default folders. This allows you to manage the lifecycle of all messages landing in the Clutter folder.
• Clutter is designed to work wherever email is read-across a broad range of email applications, browsers and devices. To provide a consistent notification experience, system notifications are delivered via inbox messages to inform people how to use Clutter. Now you can personalize these system notifications by controlling which sender display name is shown and in the near future by adding your custom logo to these messages.
• Office 365 administrators can now assign retention policy tags to the Clutter folder in a manner consistent with other default folders. This allows you to manage the life-cycle of all messages landing in the Clutter folder.

To learn more about the clutter tool and other features of Microsoft Office 365, please contact us at Contact Us!