About the Authors

Nathan Winters has worked in IT since graduating from the Royal College of Music (RCM) in 2003, where he studied the clarinet! His first job was at the RCM, migrating from Exchange 5.5 and Windows NT4 to Exchange and Windows Server 2003. Nathan has since worked in a variety of roles for Microsoft partners, including consultancy and practice management. He now works for Microsoft UK as a presales technical specialist. Throughout 2012 and 2013, Nathan has been a regular speaker at industry conferences, such as TechEd and Exchange Connections, both in Europe and in the United States. Before joining Microsoft, Nathan was active in the UK technical community, running the Exchange user group (MMMUG) and writing numerous articles for Windows IT Pro magazine and the MSExchange.org website, among others. He was awarded the distinction of Microsoft MVP between 2006 and 2011. In addition to this book, Nathan has recently completed Mastering Microsoft Lync Server 2013, also published by Sybex/Wiley. On the rare occasions when he is not working, he enjoys wildlife photography and badminton.

Nicolas Blank is a messaging architect, author, and speaker focused on all things Exchange at NB Consult in South Africa. With over 14 years of experience with Exchange, Nicolas consults with customers on cloud-based and on-premises Exchange projects, as well as companies building Exchange-focused products. Nicolas currently holds the status of Microsoft Certified Master, Exchange 2010 and Office 365, and has received the Microsoft MVP award for Microsoft Exchange every year since 2007. Nicolas blogs regularly on Exchange and messaging topics at blankmanblog.com as well as tweeting as @nicolasblank.

Neil Johnson has worked in IT since leaving Derby University, where he studied engineering. Initially, he worked with Novell Netware and Unix but then quickly moved on to Windows NT and Exchange Server. Neil worked in a number of roles, including third-line support, field engineer, technical design authority, and systems analyst before joining Microsoft in 2006. Since joining Microsoft, Neil has led some of the largest and most complex Exchange deployments in the United Kingdom. He can often be found speaking at Microsoft internal and public events about Exchange or Exchange Online, and he is also an instructor with the rank of Microsoft Certified Solutions Master: Messaging. Neil writes for the Microsoft Exchange Team Blog (EHLO) and maintains both the Jetstress Field Guide and Exchange Client Network Bandwidth Calculator. Neil has a passion for motorsport and is a lifelong Williams F1 team supporter. In his limited spare time, Neil is a keen photographer and loves to explore the national forest woodlands in the midlands where he lives with his son, Leo, and partner, Liz.