IT/Dev Connections 2014 Speaker Highlight: Mike Terrill

Part of an ongoing series, we're highlighting the excellent speakers selected by the community to present phenomenal and extremely valuable content at IT/Dev Connections 2014.

Today's speaker highlight is Mike Terrill, PM - Windows Migrations and User-centric Application Management, 1E

Mike is the Product Manager for Windows Migrations and User-centric Application Management at 1E.  He specializes in the design, architecture and installation of Configuration Manager and Windows operating system deployments.  Prior to joining 1E in 2007, he worked 10 years for a global strategic outsourcing company as an IT Architect specializing in SMS, software distribution and operating system deployment.  His last project in 1E Professional Services included deploying System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and Windows 7 to a 450K seat environment.  He founded and runs the Arizona Systems Management User Group and has been working with SMS since version 1.2.

Speaker's IT/Dev Connection session:

Building the Ultimate Operating System Deployment Task Sequence

The Operating System Deployment (OSD) feature in System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager is by far the most complex feature in the product. When you combine the power of the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit with OSD, you get a great starting point for an OSD task sequence that covers a lot of build scenarios to make deployments flexible and dynamic. This session starts off with this foundation and builds on it to extend the task sequence to cover real-world situations. After working with different customers across several projects, we developed a best-of-breed, comprehensive task sequence template to address common situations. This session will demonstrate our tips and tricks for setting up a successful pre-flight check, as well as show how to handle problems such as whether the computer is a supported model, whether the computer is connected to a wired network, and whether there are any USB drives connected that could accidentally cause the deployment to fail. In addition, this session will cover all the benefits and capabilities of custom task sequence actions.

Recently, we asked Mike to give us a little information about himself. Here's what he shared:

WITPRO: Give us a brief introduction to yourself.

Mike: I recently took a new role at 1E as the Product Manager for Windows Migrations and User-centric Application Management.  Prior to this role, I was in 1E's Professional Services as the Systems Management Practice Lead (aka consultant).  In this role, I had the opportunity to work with customers of all sizes, as small as 1000 and as large as 450K, on Configuration Manager and OS Deployment projects.  I have been able to share my experiences and knowledge through the community, as well as conferences (MMS, TechEd and now IT/Dev Connections).  I have a passion for the technology and enjoy interacting with others in the systems management field. 

WITPRO: Describe the session you are presenting and why you feel the topic is important.

Mike: The session that I am presenting with my colleague Troy Martin is Building the Ultimate OSD Task Sequence.  Operating System Deployment is one of the most complex tasks that administrators have to perform.  In the past, it was really treated like a special project.  However, that is starting to change as more companies are treating it as a business as usual type task.

WITPRO: What should attendees expect to be able to take away from your sessions?

Mike: This session will focus on common challenges from several projects and the steps that were taken to overcome them.  It will also give attendees ideas on how they can develop solutions that they might encounter in their own environment.

WITPRO: What is your primary reason to be excited about IT Connections?

Mike: This will be my first IT/Dev Connections conference.  From those that have attended previously, they describe it like how MMS was in the early days - like a User Conference.

WITPRO: What is the one key technology you believe is changing IT right now?

Mike: I believe that Windows touch enabled devices are going to be the next big thing to hit IT.  Now that most companies have their XP migration behind them, they are going to be looking at how to deploy and manage Windows 8.x to some of these newer touch enabled devices that are hitting the market.

WITPRO: Do you think Satya Nadella can rebuild Microsoft into a Cloud powerhouse?

Mike: Possibly, however businesses are going to be slow to fully adopt fully off premise Cloud solutions.  As long as Satya reaches a balance between on premise and off premise solutions he will be successful.

WITPRO: To get to know the real you, give us one thing about yourself you believe will be of most interest to attendees.

Mike: I am probably one of the last people to still call Configuration Manager by anything but the 'SCCM' acronym.  Outside of work, I enjoy college basketball (go Arizona Wildcats!), Tour de France, and fast cars!

IT/Dev Connections runs from September 15 – 19, at the Aria Resort in Las Vegas. IT/Dev Connections has been designed specifically for IT.

And, there's still time to register!  Here's some important resources to check out:

Registration

Windows, System Center, and Cloud Sessions

Travel and Lodging Information

Full Speaker List

FAQ