Yeah, I am pretty much the best thing since sliced bread!

Bravo! IT colleague takes the initiative to launch a money-saving training program
July 06, 2011

MatthewTeegarden
Photo: Matthew Teegarden of Information Technology is passionate about training and finding cost-effective solutions.

Matthew Teegarden isn’t one to sit idle when something needs to get done, so when he heard Information Technology colleagues cite concerns about the availability of training, he took things into his own hands. When Matthew learned that the Kenexa employee engagement survey rated “Career Development and Training” as an area where improvements could be made, he decided to step up to the plate with a solution.

“During Steve Brown’s Town Hall and Joe Terhaar’s Town Hall, I heard similar statements regarding training and opportunities for career growth at Carlson,” Matthew explained. “I felt that my skills could be very useful, and the monetary savings could be huge. I heard employees feel there isn’t an opportunity for training. Well, there is now! I am passionate about training my fellow coworkers and training, in general.”

Before joining Carlson, Matthew was an educator at Benchmark Learning for five years. He worked out an agreement with his former employer to provide training materials, virtual classroom facilities and machines. His initiative resulted in a training program in Powershell, a technical scripting language. So far, 17 IT professionals have completed Matthew’s Powershell training course.

“It appears to be a very cost effective training solution that also addresses issues from the Kenexa survey,” said Chris Schouviller, team lead, Operations & Infrastructure, who is Matthew’s manager.
“We set up a Sharepoint site for users of the class to exchange ideas, comment on the class and suggest future classes,” explained Chris. “This allows staff to keep what they have learned fresh and relevant. Matthew works with them to bring in real-world Carlson problems and opportunities and address these with Powershell.”

IT worked with the Human Resources team to include the class in the Carlson Learning Network, giving staff credit for taking the course.

“Matthew already has a full-time job, but he took the time to build the training,” says Joe Terhaar, vice president, Information Technology, Carlson. “This is the kind of initiative you like to see in people.”

Matthew’s win-win proposal not only provides Carlson IT with the skills needed to be innovative and cutting edge, but also provides excellent return on investment! Bravo, Matthew!

SCUP 2011

SCUP (System Center Updates Publisher) 2011 is out.  You can download it here:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/systemcenter/bb741049

There is a TON of information on the above link.  However, you do need to configure a few things that you need to do in Group Policy.

First you need to configure a GPO with the following:  Computer > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update | Allow Signed Content from intranet Microsoft Update services location.  (NOTE:  No other settings should be configured under Windows Update)

Then you need to install the SCUP certificates on the SCCM Site Server that is running SCUP.  I chose to have SCUP issue a self signed cert.  That cert is placed in Computer > WSUS > Certificates store.  Export it to a location.  Then you need to import it into the Computer > Trusted Publishers and Computer > Trusted Root Authorities stores. 

Finally you need distribute the SCUP Self Signed cert to all the computers that you want to participate in SCUP deployments.  To do this create a new GPO. 

  • To place the key in Computer > Trusted Root Authority store – Go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Public Key Policies > Trusted Root Certificate Authorities.  Right click Trusted Root Certificate Authorities and select import.  Browse to the location where you exported the SCUP self signed cert.
  • To place the key in the Computer > Trusted Publishers store – Go to Computer Configuration > Windows Settings > Security Settings > Software Restriction Policies.  Right click Software Restriction Policies and select New Software Restriction Policies.  Now navigate to Additional Rules.  Right click Additional Rules and select New Certificate Rule.  Browse to the location where you exported the SCUP self signed cert.  Change the drop down to Unrestricted.

You can now deploy SCUP publications like Adobe patches!