I'm Robert Marshall, director and senior consultant at SMSMarshall Ltd who's specialism is in the Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager product and all of its dependent products covering all aspects from Architecture, Implementation, Migration to Break-Fix.
I've been using computers for over 30 years, beginning as a programmer and now a senior consultant in an enterprise product. I only count my career as starting 17 years ago when I began my first serious role as a deployment engineer. I've seen 8 bit through to 64 bit, the rise and constant refinement of the GUI, the rise of the Internet from land-line based modem access to the powerful broadband connections we have today, mobile phones come into existence, and I've seen Microsoft evolve from a handful of employees to the company it is now while pretty much tinkering with every OS they have released; As well as seeing an industry that has evolved around those humble beginnings to become what we have today. You could call me an IT Dinosaur but I'm still as mentally able as I was back then, perhaps even more adept now since I've had broad exposure to so much and seen trends come and go. I'm a keen technical puzzle solver, which sets me apart as I love to solve gnarly problems around my area of specialism.
I like to share, i do so by blogging here, and helping out when I can as a moderator and answering questions when I have time on the TechNet Social forums for ConfigMgr 2012 and ConfigMgr 2007. I am a guest poster on TechNet UK Flash magazine and an MVP since 2009 (Most Valuable Professional) in the ECM (Enterprise Client Management) exclusively dedicated to ConfigMgr. the MVP status helps me to help others in more depth due to the closeness to the product group and access to other MVP's the program affords me.
The blogs pretty much about ConfigMgr, but on the odd occasion I also use it as a platform to express my random urges to post something I've stumbled across, be it technical or non-technical, and which I imagine would entertain you or what not as equally as it did me.
(2013)
Looks like the cat is truly out of the bag!
ConfigMgr 2012 Service Pack 1 is hot on the heals of the ConfigMgr 2012 RTM release. Incredible turn around times. This SP1 is unique, its not there purely to fix things up, its there to fix a few things but to shove a whole lot of love into the product post-RTM without an R release.
Kent Agurland, part of Coretech.dk, had a session with Wally Mead and Mark Florida yesterday (11/06/2012) in which they announced all the goodies coming in SP1 ...
I'm so going to rip off Kent's post LOL! As I'm not at TechED 2012 :-( I know he will forgive me in the name of sharing and due to proper attrition ;-)
Just finished my first session @TechEd 2012 in Orlando with Wally Mead and Mark Florida. During the session they revealed some of the upcoming features in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1.
Application changes
Software Updates
Changes in Settings Management
Changes in OSD
Prestage media support for additional content types
PowerShell support
Check out the full blog\source posting here
No ETA on the release of SP1 itself, most likely we'll see a CTP soon enough. Can't wait to tinker with the features that really jump out and interest me, the real-time admin actions from the console (any of you guessed the implications of this?), Windows 8, Linux support and PoSH.
Nice :)
This is an exceptional release ... first time in SMS\ConfigMgr History we've had so much arrive in a service pack and not had to wait for an R release to activate it ... I have to be honest, the 2012 product is INCREDIBLE!