Businesses are Going Digital!

10 Years ago, server virtualization was the IT wave and just a few years later the move to the Cloud became the most significant IT shift.  Cloud is still in the early to middle stages of adoption but growing extremely fast due to the compelling nature of scalability, accessibility and cost.   And now businesses are going digital!

According to a McKinsey article I was reading "What 'Digital' Really Means" Digital can be broken into three areas: “creating value at the new frontiers of the business world, creating value in the processes that execute a vision of customer experiences, and building foundational capabilities that support the entire structure.”

Creating value at the new frontier is the overall change in value from technology as in cars that drive themselves, seeking new ways to drive value for customers.

Customer experience value is improving the customer experience in ways that may not have been possible before through new ways of implementing technology.

Building foundational capabilities is about business intelligence and responding to the data in real time.

“What ‘Digital’ Really Means” by Karel Dörner and David Edelman:

 http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/high-tech/our-insights/what-digital-really-means

Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) 
Taking Out Complexity with Microsoft Cloud

Microsoft offers a broad end to end cloud solution for small and medium sized businesses (SMB).  Nortec has adopted an all in Microsoft Cloud approach for our SMB customers.  Microsoft Office 365 offers a desktop suite of software combined with email, a terabyte (TB) of cloud storage, Skype for Business and SharePoint.  Additional applications may be hosted in Azure or purchased from another software company as Software as a Service (SaaS).  Nortec adds Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite (EMS) to manage and protect the desktop as well as provide single sign on with AD Premium.  Many SMBs are able to go completely cloud and only need switches, firewalls and desktops on premises.  Clients that do need on premises servers, Nortec usually will provide a Dell VRTX Server. 

Notec has seen tremendous success lifting and shifting clients to the Microsoft Cloud and providing unlimited remote support on a subscription services.  Clients have found that not only do they save money but everything works and works better especially for the mobile worker!  Using a complete Microsoft solution removes complexity and drives down problems and cost for the customer.  We are seeing this as a very compelling value proposition and so far the clients that have moved to this unlimited support cloud subscription model are extremely happy!

What is Skype for Business?

In the 4th Quarter of 2014, Microsoft announced plans to rename its business communication tool Lync to Skype for Business. Lync is a tool that Microsoft has invested in for the past decade, offering a single application that combines all of the communication tools for business. It became a core part of the Office enterprise. When the latest version of Lync is released in 2015, it will be named Skype for Business and include a new server release, client interface, and updates for the UC service in Office 365.

Essentially, customers will enjoy new tools and features like:

·       Access to any Skype user on any device

·       Skype’s familiar functionality icons

·       Skype’s call monitor feature so active calls stay visible when using other applications

·       Lync’s content sharing, IM, and telephony

·       Improved access and interface functionality

·       Ease of use taken from consumer Skype versions

·       Security and scalability for every business user

New Verizon DBIR Report

Quantify the impact of a data breach with
NEW DATA FROM THE 2015 DBIR.

The 2015 Data Breach Investigative Report (DBIR) from Verizon is now available for download.  The report is created every year with data from 70 different IT security companies.   The report found that breaches map to error and misuse and most breaches are a result of known compromises that have remedies known for a year or more.  This suggests that businesses need to rethink their patching strategies.  The primary successful attacks were through phishing, misuse of credentials and malware.  Mobile risk and the internet of things, although a concern, have yet to be a significant attack vector. 

 

http://www.verizonenterprise.com/DBIR/2015/ 

 

Is Office 365 HIPAA Compliant?

Yes. Microsoft^® Office 365 provides all the capabilities you need to satisfy the technology requirements for HIPAA and HITECH compliance.  These regulations require that organizations establish and document procedures that govern:

·        Restrict access to patient data.

·        How patient data is handled.

·        How stored patient data is kept secure.

·        How to secure patient data when it’s transmitted.

Meeting these general guidelines requires lots of time and attention to detail. Office 365 helps you meet these requirements with less time and cost than you might think

 

Windows Server 2003 nears its security deadline

For those organizations who’ve been planning on upgrading some of your legacy Windows Servers, especially the 2003 variety, but just haven’t found a compelling enough reason to do so, you’ll want to go ahead and put those upgrade plans in high gear!

In July of this year there will no longer be any more security updates for this server. Unlike the retirement of XP, where Microsoft continued with anti-malware definitions, in this case when the server goes out of support and becomes an unsupported product Microsoft will NOT be issuing any anti-malware protections.

The ‘so-called’ security updates will end on July 14, 2015. Microsoft is recommending that organizations not rely on what they deem as ‘up to date’ security patches as Microsoft has found them not to be ‘secure enough’ or effective enough for out of date/support operating systems. If you’d like to know what your migration options are and what makes sense for your organization we are always ready, willing and able to help you figure out your next move.

OneDrive for Business Now Available on Mac and iOS Devices

OneDrive for Business is an Outlook email storage application that is utilized by many Office 365 clients. While the application has been available to Mac users, the ability to sync files and take them offline was limited until now. With the new OneDrive for Business sync client, users can now access their files across all devices by downloading the iOS application and the Mac Sync Client from Microsoft Download Center.

Accessibility is Key

Users have been able to utilize Android and Windows apps to sync their OneDrive files since late 2014, but the iOS application took a little longer to develop. In late January 2015, Microsoft finally released the OneDrive app, giving iPhone users the same accessibility. The application features new capabilities for viewing, managing, and sharing photos as well as the option to connect multiple OneDrive accounts. Previous versions separated the business and personal use files but the new OneDrive for Business allows users to access all files through the same app interface.

Business users can access all saved files and shared files, as well as the most recently viewed files. Additionally, there is a recovery option for files that were accidentally sent to the Recycle Bin. The new OneDrive features an upload option as well as “search” and “share” features making it easy to interact with business and personal files on the go. With this application comes enterprise-grade security with compliance and control by Office 365.

IT Priorities for 2015

Top 5 IT Priorities aggregated from surveys by NetworkWorld and ComputerWorld:

1. Security
2. Cloud
3. Analytics and Data Management
4. Mobility and Wireless
5. Clients - Desktop, Laptop