King County is currently in the midst of an exciting move from Skype to Microsoft Teams for all communications needs, including calls, meetings, and chats/instant messages. Some employees have already made the switch to Teams, and the remainder will move by the end of the year.  “Microsoft is ending Skype, and Teams is a great replacement tool,” Scott Helke, KCIT training program manager said. “In addition, critical federal CARES Act funding was available if we moved to Teams in 2020; hence our quick turnaround.” Microsoft Teams helps employees working remotely and increases workplace efficiency by combining several features into one tool. Users can attend meetings, call, chat and share documents, plus connect to other Microsoft tools like Outlook and SharePoint. … Read More

King County is currently in the midst of an exciting move from Skype to Teams for all communications needs, including calls, meetings and chats/instant messages. Most employees will move by the end of the year, and it is a big undertaking.  To keep the move to Teams orderly, users are being moved in carefully selected groups. When a user receives Service Alerts about their move, please do not forward these alerts to anyone else. Doing so can confuse other staff about their scheduled time to move to Teams. Thank you to all employees for your cooperation. 

Phishing attacks continue to hit employees at King County, just like other local jurisdictions. Because of this, KCIT wants to remind employees about the banner which identifies emails sent from outside of the county. The banner is used because a common phishing tactic employed by the bad guys is sending emails in which the display name in the “From” field looks like it’s been sent by someone within King County, but that email address is fake and actually from someone making a phishing attempt. Unfortunately, users do not always notice when such an email is a phishing attempt. This makes employees vulnerable to viruses and other… Read More

For the next year, as employees move to Microsoft Teams for County communications, many people will continue on Skype until they move. Did you know you can send Instant Messages between Skype and Teams?   Below are instructions to send Instant Message between Skype and Teams.   Once employees move to Teams, send a message, called Chats in Teams, to coworkers using Skype by simply looking them up and sending a message. They will receive the message in Skype. When they reply, it will show up in Teams for the original sender using Teams.   Pro… Read More

Employees may recall that the guidance for using Skype instant messages (IMs) has been “do not conduct work via IM.” IMs should only be used for transitory communication because once the IM window is closed, the message is gone.  Yes, that has meant the instant messages were totally gone, leaving no record.  The same guidance is mostly in place with IMs in Teams, only they’re called “Chats” now. Chats, though, work a little differently in Teams. Microsoft technical requirements prevent Chats from instantly disappearing when the Chat window is closed, so they… Read More

By now, many employees have been notified that Skype is retiring and King County is moving to Teams. Most employees will move by the end of the year, and KCIT will let each person know multiple times by email when that happens for them.  For those employees wondering how Teams will work for their phone calls, the process is super easy.   Below is a sneak peek at the new Teams screen showing how to make a call. KCIT will let each employee know when Teams phone calls are turned on.  Moving to Microsoft Teams is a big change, and KCIT is here to make… Read More

All county employees using County devices will receive a critical operating system update beginning Oct. 26.  This update will result in minor changes to the appearance of your system.  Most of the update will not require any action on the part of users except for a restart of their device. The restart will take a bit longer than typical for updates, from about five to 20 minutes.  Thanks for your cooperation, and please let us know if we can answer any questions about the update. Please contact the Helpdesk if you experience any issues.   

Skype is retiring and King County is moving to Teams for all of our county communication. Most employees will move by the end of the year.  This means one click – in one application – will give employees:  Instant Messages: Send IMs and chat with individuals, teams or groups, all in one location.  Meet: Schedule meetings or invite anyone with an email address to join your meeting. Employees can collaborate in real-time, share screens or use a digital whiteboard.  Call: Make and receive calls within King County or to outside people or groups, with no app needed.  Collaborate: Teams will… Read More

PeopleSoft was upgraded over the weekend. Just a reminder that users may experience PeopleSoft performance issues after this update. The system may be missing homepages, freeze, or show a spinning wheel for an extended period of time. Confirm that you are using a valid web browser, and then follow these instructions to delete temporary internet files (also called cache).

Sophisticated cybercriminals are using phishing emails to break into computer networks and systems, and these attacks are on the rise both locally and nationally. It is up to all of us to be vigilant when using County email and internet resources. Never click a link in an email if you have any doubts about its origins. Scammers are experts at tempting people into clicking on fake emails, and have become very sophisticated with their cyber attacks. Here’s what to look for when you receive an email you aren’t sure about: Do not ever… Read More