December 2018 Holiday Party!

It’s that time of year, again.  Time for the annual Central Ohio Azure / Microsoft user group holiday party!!!

Once again, the Central Ohio Azure user group is joining with three other Microsoft technology focused user groups in Central Ohio to host an annual holiday party.  The party is a joint effort of the Central Ohio .NET User Group, the Columbus App Dev User Group, the Buckeye SharePoint User Group, and the Central Ohio Azure user group. The event will be on Monday, December 10th from 6pm – 8pm at the Improving Enterprises office.  A $5 ticket is required for attendance.

The annual holiday party is a great way for you to network with other geeks in the Central Ohio technology community.  Plus, there will be plenty of board games, ping pong, and food!  We’ll also be raffling off a few fantastic prizes (more details on those to be announced soon).

As in year’s past, we’ll also be supporting a few local charities.  Your $5 ticket will go to support TechCorps.  Additionally, you can bring a toy (or two, or three) to support OSU’s Toy Adaption Program.  You can also bring food to donate to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.  That’s a lot of giving!!!  Each item you donate earns you another ticket to the prize raffle.  For example, if you have a $5 + one toy + one food item, that will earn you three tickets.  The more toys and food you bring, the more tickets you earn!

Please purchase a ticket now by clicking on the “Get a Ticket” link below.  You’ll be redirected to Eventbrite.com where you can purchase your ticket, and also learn more about suggested food donations and toys for the Toy Adaption Program.  You must purchase a ticket to be eligible for the raffle, and you must be present to win.

Get a Ticket

December Holiday Party / Meetup

Columbus OH has 4 major User Groups focused on Microsoft technologies:

Again this year, all 4 User Groups come together for an EPIC Christmas Party!

What’s in store – Networking | Board Games | Ping Pong | Holiday Spirit. Oh, and great Food & Drinks! And what’s a Holiday Party without some great Prizes? Thanks to our sponsors, we’ll be raffling off the following:

  • Amazon Echo Plus
  • Amazon Echo Spot
  • Raspberry Pi 3
  • Phillips Hue Starter Kit

And more to come!!

Sponsors:
Cardinal Solutions Group
Improving

YOU MUST PURCHASE A TICKET HERE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE RAFFLE!

Support Local Charities and Win a Prize!
Your $5 registration fee  earns you 1 ticket toward the prize raffle. To increase your chances of winning you can “purchase” additional tickets ($5 each) by helping us support local charities. Proceeds from the registration fees, as well as cash contributions, go to TechCorps. We would also encourage you to donate toys to OSU’s Toy Adaptation Program and food to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Bring your receipts for toy and food donations to exchange for raffle tickets ($5 per ticket). See the list of approved/adaptable toys below, and visit the list of suggested food donations. Let’s spread the love this Holiday Season!

You simply need to be here!

January 2017 Meetup

For the first meetup of 2017, on January 9th, we are excited to welcome Michael Collier as the featured speaker. Michael will be sharing information on containers in a Windows environment. Over the past few years, containers have become one of the hottest trends for developers and IT Pros alike. Michael will share with the group more information on how containerization is making its way into the Windows ecosystem with Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10.

As in past months, following Michael’s session, we will once again hold an open architecture Q&A session. This is a time set aside for the attendees to discuss ideas or questions about Azure – a time to ask the “Can or How do I do X with Azure?” question.

Please RSVP via Meetup.com/coazure

Title: Containers for Windows Developers

Abstract: Over the last few years, Docker has popularized Linux containers, but Windows developers have been left out in the cold. This changes with Windows Server 2016. At this session we’ll cover the basics of the new Windows Server container model and how to develop applications/services that can take advantage of this exciting new advancement, for cloud, for on-prem, and for the future.

Speaker Bio: Michael is currently Senior Software Development Engineer in Microsoft’s DX TED organization, where he engages deeply with select global ISVs to help them best utilize Azure’s features. Michael has over 13 years of experience with various consulting and technology firms where he was instrumental in leading and developing solutions for a wide range of clients. He has a vast amount of experience in helping companies determine the best strategy for adopting cloud computing, and providing the insight and hands-on experience to ensure they are successful. Michael is also a respected technology community leader, and is often found sharing his Microsoft Azure insights and experiences at regional and national conferences. Michael is also the co-author of a published book on Microsoft Azure entitled Microsoft Azure Essentials: Fundamentals of Azure, Second Edition. Follow Michael’s experiences with Azure on his blog at http://www.michaelscollier.com and on Twitter at @MichaelCollier.

December Holiday Party / Meetup

Instead of a “normal” meetup for December, we’re joining forces with three other Columbus user groups which focus on Microsoft technologies to hold one major holiday party! This year, all four groups come together for an EPIC Christmas party!

What’s in store – Networking | Board Games | Ping Pong | Holiday Spirit. Oh, and great food & drinks!

And what’s a holiday party without some great prizes? Thanks to our amazing friends at Cardinal Solutions, we’ll be raffling away an XBox One S and an Amazon Echo! There will likely be a few other surprise prizes as well. 🙂

All ticket sales go to charity.

Also highly encouraged are toy donations to The Ohio State University College of Engineering Toy Adaptation Program and Food item donations to Mid-Ohio Foodbank. Let’s spread the love this Holiday Season.

IMPORTANT: If you’re bringing a toy donation, it must be from the list provided on the holiday party registration page. Those are the only toys that can be used by the Toy Adaptation Program. Please adhere to the list!

A HUGE “Thank You” to Improving Enterprises in Columbus for providing the food and venue for event. Improving has a been a great partner in the community for years. Thank you!!!

When

Monday, December 19th, 2016
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Registration – $5.00, just go right here . . now

Location

Improving Enterprises
One Easton Oval
Suite 175
Columbus, OH 43219

June 2016 Meetup

For June’s meetup we are excited to welcome Brian Jackett (Senior Premier Field Engineer, Microsoft) as the featured speaker. Brian will be sharing his guidance on running an dev/test Azure IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service) environment, especially as related to SharePoint.

Following Brian’s session, we will once again hold an open architecture Q&A session. his is a time set aside for the attendees to discuss ideas or questions about Azure – a time to ask the “Can or How do I do X with Azure?” question.

Title: Running Your Dev / Test VMs in Azure for Cheap

Abstract: With an MSDN subscription you can run your dev / test SharePoint environment in Azure IaaS for less than the cost of a cup of coffee each day. In this session we will overview the basics of Azure IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), the pieces you will use to be successful deploying SharePoint in Azure (including the new Azure Resource Manager templates), and how to use resources as efficiently as possible to reduce your costs and boost your farm performance. This session is targeted to SharePoint developers and administrators. Prior knowledge of Azure is helpful but not a requirement.

Speaker Bio: Brian T. Jackett is a Senior Premier Field Engineer at Microsoft specializing in SharePoint development / administration and PowerShell for over 8 years. Brian enjoys giving back to the community through giving presentations, planning and volunteering at conferences, maintaining a SharePoint/.Net centric blog, and contributing to the SharePoint Twitterverse. He also holds several Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) for SharePoint related technologies.

BrianTJackettHeadshot 226x226

Azure Certification Boot Camp

If you’ve ever wanted to receive expert assistance in preparing for an Azure certification exam, the upcoming Azure Certification Boot Camp is for you!

On Saturday, April 9th you can join Azure certification & training guru, and Microsoft Virtual Academy instructor, Sidney Andrews. Sidney will be covering all three exams, including the recent changes made to the certification exams.

  • 70-532   Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions
  • 70-533   Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions
  • 70-534   Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions

The boot camp will take place from 10am – 4pm at Cardinal Solutions’ office in Columbus. Please sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/azure-certification-bootcamp-tickets-22655364806.

A New Group is Born!

Welcome to the new Central Ohio Azure user group, or just COAzure for short!

COAzure was born out of the former Central Ohio Cloud Computing User Group (COCCUG). While COCCUG’s mission was to learn about a wide range of cloud computing platforms, COAzure is specifically focused on the Microsoft Azure platform. While we are sad that COCCUG is shutting down, we are thrilled to be bringing a new user group to the Central Ohio market.

As COAzure is a new group, it is getting a new home. COAzure meetings will be held at the Microsoft office in Columbus located on the north side of Columbus just off Polaris Parkway at 8800 Lyra Drive, Suite 400, Columbus, OH 43240.

One thing from COCCUG is remaining with COAzure – the date and time. COAzure meetings will be held on the second Monday of each month, from 6pm to 8pm.

COAzure is currently being shepherded by Vince Fabro, Nick Martin, Michael Meadows, and Michael Collier. It is our hope that spreading the organization duties across a wider group of people will allow COAzure to be an efficient and effective group for the Azure community.

If you would like to speak at an upcoming COAzure meeting, please contact us and we’ll work to get you on the calendar.