Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Accelerate Business Practices with Microsoft Solution Accelerators

Do yourself a favor and visit:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/default.aspx

Poke around. But remember, at some point you have to go back to work.

This site houses Microsoft "Solution Accelerators." Some of these are just white papers on planning and speculating. Others are configuration guides. Some are full-blown technology plans in a bottle.

I first learned about Solution Accelerators during a little tour I did with Harry Brelsford in 2006. We walked through an entire technology configuration plan for a small business.

At that time there were a few Solution Accelerators, but they weren't organized together very well and you had to go looking. Now they've got this big web site with a search tool.

Some are 10 pages, but a lot of them are 100+ pages.

And just what is a Solution Accelerator? Well, they're practical guides to the Microsoft universe.

Think of it this way: Documentation tells you how to use a product. Good Books on Microsoft Technologies will give you lots of information about the details of using, selling, and fine-tuning a product. ;-)

Solution Accelerators are somewhere in the middle. They're kind of a quick step-up in understanding how a product is used. They tend to be filled with real-world practical advice. So documentation will tell you the minimum RAM required. But the Solution Accelerator will help you make a realistic decision and understand how it fits in the larger picture.

Solution Accelerators tend to have a lot of peripheral information, like "While you're at it, be sure to check . . .."

Again, you have to spend time working your work in order to get ahead. But bookmark this page and check back from time to time.

There is a lot of great, practical advice here.

As the universe of technology continues to expand, we all need a helping hand from time to time.

- - - - -

Here's what was available the day I looked:
(Note: POG = Product Operations Guide)
  • Active Directory POG

  • Exchange Consolidation and Migration Solution Accelerator 1.0

  • Exchange Service Management Guide

  • Medium Business Solution for Collaboration Services

  • Medium Business Solution for Messaging Services

  • SharePoint Capacity Planning Tool

  • SharePoint Monitoring Toolkit

  • SharePoint Cross-site Configurator

  • Upgrade Toolkit for Windows SharePoint Services Sites and Templates Guide

  • File Service POG

  • Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs

  • Medium Business Guide for Backup and Recovery

  • PCs Infected with Malware? Download the Malware Removal Starter Kit

  • Alert Tuning Solution Accelerator 2.0

  • Autoticketing Solution Accelerator 2.0

  • Business Desktop Deployment 2007

  • Consolidating and Migrating File and Print Servers from Windows NT 4.0 Solution Accelerator

  • Consolidating and Migrating LOB Applications Solution Accelerator

  • Developing Custom MOM 2000 Reports 2.0

  • DHCP POG

  • DNS POG

  • Domain Server Consolidation and Migration: Windows NT 4.0 to Windows Server 2003 Solution Accelerator 1.0

  • Introduction to the Medium IT Solution Series

  • Introduction to the Microsoft Enterprise Platform for Mainframe Professionals

  • Managing the Windows Server Platform: Testing Guide

  • Medium Business Guide for Pilot Deployment and Migration

  • Medium Business Solution for Client Configuration

  • Medium Business Solution for Core Infrastructure

  • Medium Business Solution for Patch Management

  • Medium Business Solution for Print Services

  • Medium Business Solution for Remote Connectivity

  • Microsoft Assessment and Deployment Solution

  • Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008

  • Multiple Management Group Rollup Solution Accelerator 2.0

  • New Application Installation Using Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 1.1

  • Notification Workflow Solution Accelerator 2.1

  • Patch Management Using SMS 2.0 Solution Accelerator

  • Patch Management Using SMS 2003 Solution Accelerator

  • Patch Management Using Software Update Services Solution Accelerator

  • Peer-to-Peer Networking with Windows XP

  • Print Service POG

  • Service Continuity Solution Accelerator 2.0

  • Small IT Solution

  • Small IT Solution for Mobility

  • Software Updates for Dell Server Hardware Using SMS 2003 Solution Accelerator 1.0

  • Windows Server Deployment Solution Accelerator 1.0

  • Windows Vista Readiness Assessment

  • Identity & Access Management

  • Medium Business Solution for Management and Security using Active Directory Group Policy

  • Microsoft Assessment and Deployment Solution

  • Windows Security and Directory Services for UNIX Guide v1.0

  • IT Process & Frameworks

  • Branch Office Infrastructure Solution (BOIS) v1

  • Introduction to the Medium IT Solution Series

  • Introduction to the Microsoft Enterprise Environment for UNIX Professionals

  • Medium Business Guide for Antivirus

  • Medium Business Guide for Backup and Recovery

  • Medium Business Guide for Pilot Deployment and Migration

  • Medium Business Solution for Client Configuration

  • Medium Business Solution for Collaboration Services

  • Medium Business Solution for Core Infrastructure

  • Medium Business Solution for Management and Security using Active Directory Group Policy

  • Medium Business Solution for Messaging Services

  • Medium Business Solution for Patch Management

  • Medium Business Solution for Print Services

  • Medium Business Solution for Remote Connectivity

  • Microsoft Operations Framework 4.0

  • Small IT Solution

  • Small IT Solution for Mobility

  • Solution Guide for Migrating Oracle on UNIX to SQL Server on Windows

  • Trustworthy Computing, Reliable in Operations (IT Pro BOOK/MS Press) 1.0

  • UNIX Custom Application Migration Guide

  • Upgrade Toolkit for Windows SharePoint Services Sites and Templates Guide

  • Applying the Principle of Least Privilege to User Accounts on Windows XP

  • Medium Business Guide for Antivirus

  • Medium Business Solution for Patch Management

  • Medium Business Solution for Print Services

  • Medium Business Solution for Remote Connectivity

  • Microsoft Solution for Securing Windows 2000 Server

  • Securing Wireless LANs with Certificate Services

  • Securing Wireless LANs with PEAP and Passwords

  • Server and Domain Isolation Using IPsec and Group Policy

  • The Antivirus Defense-in-Depth Guide

  • The Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 98 Threat Mitigation Guide

  • Threats and Countermeasures Guide

  • Windows Server 2003 Security Guide

  • Windows Vista Security Guide

  • Windows XP Security Guide

  • Security Compliance Management Toolkit

  • The Services and Service Accounts Security Planning Guide

  • Implementing Quarantine Services with Microsoft Virtual Private Network Planning Guide

  • Medium Business Guide for Antivirus

  • Regulatory Compliance Planning Guide

  • Security Risk Management Guide

  • The Administrator Accounts Security Planning Guide

  • The Secure Access Using Smart Cards Planning Guide

  • The Security Monitoring and Attack Detection Planning Guide


Have Fun!

:-)


Visit www.smbbooks.com for great books and other resources.

4 comments:

  1. Hey Karl,

    thats a lot of reading, thanks once again for bringing the information to the world.

    Rob

    ReplyDelete
  2. Drink carefully from the firehose!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I continue to be amazed at how much information Microsoft puts out there that we just had no idea existed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The Solution Accelerators are a great resource, but the name is definitely a misnomer. Some marketing critter must have made it up.

    ReplyDelete

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