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Russell Smith

Editorial Director

Russell Smith, the Editorial Director at Petri IT Knowledgebase, has over two decades of hands-on experience in IT, in both small business settings and government IT infrastructure projects.

Russell started writing for Windows IT Pro Magazine in the early 2000s. Since then, he has contributed insights to various IT publications, including Petri and CDW. His authoritative voice has resonated across industry blogs, where he dissects complex topics into an ‘easy read’.

Russell has authored over a thousand articles, each a testament to his depth of knowledge. His expertise doesn’t stop there: he wrote a book on Privilege Management and co-authored another for Microsoft’s MOAC series. Moreover, Russell’s commitment to education shines through in the courses he crafted for Pluralsight.

He is also presenter on his own YouTube channel, This Week in IT, and the current presenter of Petri Dish.

LATEST

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Windows Server 2025 Is Here – But Should You Upgrade?

This Week in IT, Windows Server 2025 is finally here but is it worth upgrading from older versions? Thanks to Semperis for sponsoring this episode of This Week in IT! Links and resources Episode overview The release of Windows Server 2025 brings numerous updates and improvements, particularly in security and Active Directory functionalities.

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Teams new chat and channels experience

Microsoft Teams Gets a Slack-Like Makeover

This Week in IT, Microsoft is about to make one of the biggest changes to Teams in the app’s history, making it work more like rival Slack. Plus, there are a whole load of new features coming aimed at making it easier to organize and find conversations. Thanks to Semperis for sponsoring this episode of…

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Intel Lunar Lake vs Snapdragon X Elite

This Week in IT, Intel and Qualcomm are at each other’s throats over performance claims but if you’re in the market for a new PC, especially a Copilot+ PC, which should you opt for? Links and resources Episode overview This week’s IT update discusses the performance claims between Intel and Qualcomm, focusing on the choice…

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Windows 11 24H2 Bugs Out and Microsoft Announces Third-Party Passkey Provider Support

This Week in IT, the initial rollout of Windows 11 24H2 isn’t going as smoothly as it could with users reporting numerous issues, plus Microsoft announces that support for third-party passkey providers is coming to Windows 11 Insiders soon. Links and resources Episode overviewHere’s a summary of the document: This Week in IT covers issues…

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Copilot for OneDrive

OneDrive New AI Features and IT Pro Controls

This Week in IT, Microsoft announces updates to OneDrive, including new AI-powered search, and new features coming for Microsoft 365 Copilot subscribers. Links and resources Episode overview Microsoft announced new features for OneDrive and Microsoft 365 Copilot at its recent event, including AI-powered search, a refreshed mobile app, and updates to the OneDrive desktop experience.

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Assess Your Organization’s AD Management Effectiveness

Are you responsible for managing Active Directory (AD) within your organization? Whether you’re an IT professional, security specialist, or part of an infrastructure team, understanding AD resiliency and best practices is crucial. Active Directory is still the most widely used Identity and Access Management (IAM) solution on the market. And for the first time in…

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Windows 11 2024 Update – Everything You Need to Know

This Week in IT, Microsoft finally releases the Windows 11 2024 Update, the first version of the OS to include major architectural changes for two years. Plus, there’s a slew of announcements for Copilot+ PCs. Links and resources Episode overview The latest episode of “This Week in IT” covers the release of the Windows 11…

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Windows Server Update Services – The Beginning of the End

This Week in IT, Microsoft announces the deprecation of WSUS in Server 2025, Intune gets MDM controls for Apple Intelligence, Entra Internet Access is now GA, and the replacement for the Remote Desktop Client is now GA across all platforms. Links and resources Episode overview This week in IT, Microsoft announced several updates including the…

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Microsoft Copilot Pages

Microsoft’s Copilot Event – Wave or Tsunami?

This Week in IT, Microsoft announces updates to its AI solution Copilot, including a rebranding of the main product name and M365 Chat, general availability for Copilot in Excel, new Copilot pages, and much more… Links and resources Episode Overview Microsoft has announced several updates and rebranding efforts for its AI solution, Copilot, under the…

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Windows Zero-Day, VMware Worries, and Oracle’s AWS Affair

This Week in IT, Microsoft fixes some critical issues in this week’s Patch Tuesday, new research shows businesses increasingly concerned about Broadcom’s pricing strategy and business model for VMware, and Oracle partners with AWS to offer multi-cloud features. Links and resources Episode Overview This week’s IT updates cover critical Windows vulnerabilities, Broadcom’s VMware pricing concerns,…

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3 Ways to Reduce Shadow IT

Last Update: Sep 20, 2024

In this article, I look at three easy ways to help prevent shadow IT becoming a problem in your business. Shadow IT isn’t a new problem facing IT departments. But with the explosion in remote working, cloud Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions, and generative AI it’s become harder than ever to mitigate the risks. What are the…

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Windows 11 Control Panel

Windows Control Panel Is Dead and Alive

This Week in IT, the Windows Control Panel is back from the dead, LinkedIn is moving from CentOS, Microsoft will discuss Windows security at an upcoming conference, and I have some updates on Microsoft 365. Thank you to Semperis for sponsoring this episode of This Week in IT. Download Purple Knight for free. Links and…

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