Alex Lewis

Alex Lewis, MCITP, CISSP, has a mixed background in technology and business spanning 20 years. He has worked with a wide range of environments, from small organizations to large enterprises requiring complex or custom communications solutions, and is responsible for architecting and implementing some of the largest Lync and Skype for Business deployments in the world. Alex is a strong believer in aligning technology to business goals to create a competitive business advantage. Including titles on Active Directory and Exchange, and three on Lync, Alex has participated in writing nine books from 2004 to present. He is currently Vice President at Event Zero, the global leader in real-time analytics for Skype for Business. In his spare time Alex enjoys scuba diving and beach volleyball.

Pat Richard is a Unified Communications consultant and PowerShell Developer who began working with Microsoft Exchange and evolved into working with the full Microsoft Unified Communications stack. He has been involved in some of the best-known deployments and migrations in the world, including those in the defense, finance, government, real estate, manufacturing, and services fields. Pat maintains the renowned ehloworld.com blog, which focuses on solutions, ideas, scripts, and information centered on PowerShell and Unified Communications. His PowerShell scripts, Excel design calculators, and other tools have been used by many of the major consulting firms, large enterprises, small- and medium-sized shops, and even Microsoft Consulting Services to deploy and manage millions of seats on Exchange Server, Lync Server, and Skype for Business Server. Pat is the host of the popular Exchange/Lync/Skype for Business/Office 365 focused podcast “The UC Architects” and has been recognized by Microsoft and awarded the Microsoft MVP award more than 10 times across three products. He has contributed to several books, spoken at international conferences, and has been spotlighted by some Microsoft marketing campaigns.

Phil Sharp is a Unified Communications consultant with over 10 years of experience working with Microsoft Unified Communications solutions. His career in Microsoft UC began with one of the first Office Communications Server 2007 voice deployments in the U.S. He has extensive experience architecting, implementing, and supporting Microsoft Active Directory, Office Communications Server 2007/R2, Lync Server 2010/2013, Skype for Business, and Exchange for organizations of all sizes and verticals. In Phil’s current role at Modality Systems, he leads a world-class team of Microsoft UC consultants who specialize in telephony integration of Lync and Skype for Business.

Rui Maximo started in the Microsoft Skype for Business product team at Microsoft since the early days of RTC in 2003. As a lead program manager, he managed multiple areas of responsibility on the server side, including AD schema, topologies, management, setup, Enterprise Voice, and CWA. Rui has authored over 40 technical articles, training videos, whitepapers, and multiple books.

In addition to writing technical books, Rui is the principal software architect of the Security Filters (www.lync-solutions.com), a suite of seven security products that protect Skype for Business Server against denial-of-service (DoS) and over 20 different types of attacks, provide granular control of federation traffic, and restrict access to only authorized mobile devices. He consults and does contract work for clients looking to integrate their products with Skype for Business Server 2015.

Rand Morimoto

Chris Amaris, MCSE, CISSP/ISSAP, CHS III, is the chief technology officer and cofounder of Convergent Computing. He has more than 20 years experience consulting for Fortune 500 companies, leading companies in the technology selection, design, planning, and implementation of complex information technology projects. Chris has worked with Microsoft System Center products such as Operations Manager and Configuration Manager since their original releases in 2000 and 1994. He specializes in messaging, security, performance tuning, systems management, and migration. A Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with an Information System Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) concentration, Certified Homeland Security (CHS III), Windows 2003 MCSE, Novell CNE, Banyan CBE, and a Certified Project Manager, Chris is also an author and technical editor for a number of IT books, including Network Security for Government and Corporate Executives, Exchange 2010 Unleashed, and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed. Chris presents on messaging, systems management, security, and information technology topics worldwide.

Tyson Kopczynski, CISSP, GCIH, with more than ten years of experience in IT, has become a specialist in Active Directory, information assurance, Windows automation, PKI, and IT security practices. Tyson is also the founding author of the Windows PowerShell Unleashed series and has been a contributing author for such books as Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006 Unleashed and Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Unleashed. He has also written many detailed technical papers and guides covering various technologies. As a consultant at Convergent Computing, Tyson works with and has provided feedback for next generation Microsoft technologies since their inception and has also played a key role in expanding the automation and security practices at Convergent Computing. Tyson also holds such certifications as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), the SANS Security Essentials Certification (GSEC), SANS Certified Incident Handler (GCIH), and the Application Platform, Active Directory, and Network Infrastructure (MCTS).

Alec Minty, MCSE, is a senior engineer for a large Internet company in the San Francisco Bay area. He has more than 10 years’ industry experience with extensive knowledge designing and implementing enterprise-class solutions for a diverse array of organizations. Alec has been an early adopter of database technologies, operations management, systems management, and security technologies. He specializes in designing, implementing, migrating, and supporting complex infrastructures for a variety of large utility, telecommunications, and engineering organizations. Alec’s experience spans the business and technology areas; he has in-depth experience in the deployment, migration, and integration of key business technologies such as SQL Server, Windows, Exchange Server, Active Directory, ISA, and Identity Management. Alec is coauthor of SQL Server 2005 Management and Administration and MOM 2005 Unleashed and is a contributing author on Exchange Server 2007 Unleashed and ISA 2004 Unleashed, all published by Sams Publishing.

Rand H. Morimoto, Ph.D., MVP, MCITP, CISSP, has been in the computer industry for more than 30 years and has authored, coauthored, or been a contributing writer for dozens of books on Windows, Security, Exchange Server, BizTalk, and Remote and Mobile Computing. Rand is the president of Convergent Computing, an IT-consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay area that has been one of the key early adopter program partners with Microsoft, implementing the latest Microsoft technologies including Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, System Center Service Manager 2010, Windows 7, Exchange Server 2010, and SharePoint 2010 in production environments more than 18 months before the initial product releases.

Michael Noel

Rand Morimoto, Ph.D., MVP, MCITP, CISSP, has been in the computer industry for more than 30 years and has authored, coauthored, or been a contributing writer for dozens of books on Windows, Security, Exchange, BizTalk, and Remote and Mobile Computing. Rand is the president of Convergent Computing, an IT-consulting firm in the San Francisco Bay area that has been one of the key early adopter program partners with Microsoft, implementing the latest Microsoft technologies, including Microsoft Windows Server 2012, System Center 2012, Windows 8, Exchange Server 2013, SharePoint 2013, Office 365, and Azure cloud services in production environments more than 18 months before the initial product releases.

Michael Noel, MCITP, MVP, is an internationally recognized technology expert, bestselling author, and well-known public speaker on a broad range of IT topics. He authored multiple major industry books that have been translated into more than a dozen languages worldwide. Michael has presented at over 100 technical and business conferences in more than 50 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including the first ever IT conference in Antarctica. Currently a partner at Convergent Computing (www.cco.com) in the San Francisco Bay area, Michael’s writing and extensive public-speaking experience across all seven continents leverage his real-world expertise in helping organizations realize business value from the information technology infrastructure.

Guy Yardeni, MCITP, CISSP, MVP, is an accomplished infrastructure architect, author, and overall geek-for-hire. Guy has been working in the IT industry for more than 15 years and has extensive experience designing, implementing, and supporting enterprise technology solutions. Guy is an expert at connecting business requirements to technology solutions and driving to successful completion the technical details of the effort while maintaining overall goals and vision. Guy maintains a widely read technical blog at www.rdpfiles.com and is a Windows MVP.

Chris Amaris, MCITP, MCTS, CISSP/ISSAP, CHS III, is the chief technology officer and cofounder of Convergent Computing. He has more than 20 years experience consulting for Fortune 500 companies, leading companies in the technology selection, design, planning, and implementation of complex information technology projects. Chris has worked with Microsoft Exchange Server since its original release in 1995. He specializes in messaging, security, performance tuning, systems management, and migration. Receiving his first Microsoft technologies certification in 1993, Chris is a current Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) with multiple Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) certifications in Microsoft technologies, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with an Information System Security Architecture Professional (ISSAP) concentration, Certified Homeland Security (CHS III), a Novell CNE, a Banyan CBE, and a Certified Project Manager. Chris is also an author, writer, and technical editor for a number of IT books, including Microsoft System Center 2012 Unleashed, Network Security for Government and Corporate Executives, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Unleashed, and Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Unleashed.

Andrew Abbate enjoys the position of principal consultant and partner at Convergent Computing. With nearly 20 years of experience in IT, Andrew’s area of expertise is understanding a business’s needs and translating that to process and technologies to solve real problems. Having worked with companies from the Fortune Ten to companies of 10, Andrew has a unique perspective on IT and a grasp on “big picture” consulting. Andrew has also written nine industry books on varying technologies ranging from Windows to Security to Unified Communications and contributed to several others.