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Office 365/Exchange Cloud - integration with apps

I currently have clients using Terminal Services for local-based Office 2010 and Exchange.  It seems Microsoft is pushing Office 365/Cloud Exchange as an alternative. In my sites, the Office 2010 that is installed on the Terminal Server hooks into a lot of other applications - for instance there is

1) Outlook contact synching with accounting programs

2) being able to get to Adobe from just about any app.

3) The clients have macros and scripts - Word and Excel -  that are pretty critical to the operations of their business

4) Additionally clients have add-ons, plug-ins of all kinds in IE

5) I have tight control of desktops through GPO but at the same time users have a lot of leeway with their 'look and feel'.

6) I can rollout specific components via centrally-designed Group Policy as well

Addressing each of the points above, I would appreciate responses detailing how these would work or not work with Office 365.  In particular, I would like to hear at first instance from folks who have converted from 'premises' Terminal Services installations like mine to the 365/Exchange cloud model as it seems to be that Terminal Services already gives a 'cloud' experience.
Microsoft 365Remote AccessExchange

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justinoleary911
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I believe I read your article already but it didn't really address the specifics of the points I deliberately set out in point format to have answered one by one. And the reason I did the point breakdown was that was that everything I have read so far has not actually addressed the points.

My first question to you is ignoring cost, what will Office 365 get me that I don't already have?

As well, as far as the individual points I brought up, if you migrated a site that has the types of configurations the points detail - and they are very normal to most sites - did you not run into any issues with any of the items?  

P.S. One issue I overlooked was shadowcopy and backup in general - the idea of going back to one of a series of previous versions of a document. How does that fit in?

You mention in the article of being the man-in-the middle with Microsoft - in the middle for what? What type of issues are you calling them about? Do you have your Office 365 working with Terminal Services?

The fact is that most of the folks I know who have looked at Office 365 have all come up against various things that won't work - or are not sure if they will work - the list I compiled is as much the list of colleagues as my one. So if you have dealt with and resolved each of the points I would like to hear it from you point by point - if you haven't covered a point that's ok.  I am not interested in what should work in theory - I want to know what people have working with Office 365 and Terminal Services.
1.      “Outlook contact synching with accounting programs”: Your still using Outlook so there’s no reason it should not work, and what accounting program?
2.      “being able to get to Adobe from just about any app” ???? Get to adobe from any app, adobe what?  And adobe has nothing what so ever to do with office 365
3.      “The clients have macros and scripts - Word and Excel -  that are pretty critical to the operations of their business” This is local Office installation functions, nothing is going to change you still need Office
4.      “Additionally clients have add-ons, plug-ins of all kinds in IE” Nothing will change they can have IE any way they want
5.      “I have tight control of desktops through GPO but at the same time users have a lot of leeway with their 'look and feel'” Once again Active directory or GPO’s have nothing what so ever to do with Office 365
6.      “I can rollout specific components via centrally-designed Group Policy as well” Once again GPO’s nothing to do with office 365 services, nothing will change.


These questions are the reason I pointed you to the article in the hope it would give you an understanding of what  office 365 actually is.  Also this is the reason I said no much of anything would change for you.

“My first question to you is ignoring cost, what will Office 365 get me that I don't already have?” Do you have exchange 2010 running?  If not youll be getting that and any other service you would like from office 365.

“P.S. One issue I overlooked was shadowcopy and backup in general - the idea of going back to one of a series of previous versions of a document. How does that fit in?”

Shadow Copy something else that has link whatsoever to office 365, it’s a totally separate technology.

“You mention in the article of being the man-in-the middle with Microsoft - in the middle for what? What type of issues are you calling them about? Do you have your Office 365 working with Terminal Services?”

Man in the middle, like theres an issue with mailflow at the 365 datacenter and I cant do anything about it until they fix the issue, rare but it happens.

And yes I have a client with a terminal server running outlook 10 and using office 365 services.


“The fact is that most of the folks I know who have looked at Office 365 have all come up against various things that won't work”
Most likely they cant get it to work because lack of knowledge of the product or its not compatiable and they don’t know it which comes back to ignorance of the product, and that’s all over the place in IT whether its someone saying SharePoint sucks because they have no idea what they’re doing.  

It sounds like you have a deep misunderstanding of what Office 365 is and I would recommend you use a trial account and below is a good book on Office 365 that may explain what it is better than my article did for you.


http://www.amazon.com/Working-Microsoft-Office-365-Business/dp/0735658994/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1341926050&sr=8-2&keywords=office+365
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Thanks I think you're trying but this is going nowhere. I am going to repost this question and see if somebody gets at what I'm getting at. We're too far apart.
I guess so, a C grade.  thanks alot

if you dont get how 365 has nothing to do with what your asking about at this point.  you never will.

when you learn more about the product youll see everything Im telling you is correct
Exchange
Exchange

Exchange is the server side of a collaborative application product that is part of the Microsoft Server infrastructure. Exchange's major features include email, calendaring, contacts and tasks, support for mobile and web-based access to information, and support for data storage.

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