by Felicien | Aug 22, 2018 | Education
11th Annual MSP 501 Identifies World’s Most Forward-Thinking MSPs & Leading Trends in Managed Services
August 21, 2018: Bralin Technology Solutions ranks among the world’s 501 most strategic and innovative managed service providers (MSPs), according to Channel Futures 11th-annual MSP 501 Worldwide Company Rankings.
The MSP 501 is the first, largest and most comprehensive ranking of managed service providers worldwide. This year Channel Futures received a record number of submissions. Applications poured in from Europe, Asia, South America and beyond.
As it has for the last three years, Channel Futures teamed with Clarity Channel Advisors to evaluate these progressive and forward-leaning companies. MSPs were ranked according to our unique methodology, which recognizes that not all revenue streams are created equal. We weighted revenue figures according to how well the applicant’s business strategy anticipates trends in the fast-evolving channel ecosystem.
“For the past 24 years, Bralin has been one of the leading IT providers in Saskatchewan and Alberta” says Brad Kowerchuk, CEO of Bralin Technology Solutions, “and now we’re honored to officially be named one of the leading IT managed services providers in the world! We are privileged to have Clients that trust and value our experience and solutions. Our Team is obsessed with ensuring the technology used to run our Client’s businesses is reliable and cost-effective. The daily rise of cybersecurity threats demands that businesses have a dedicated partner to keep them protected and secure. We look forward to facing the challenges tomorrow brings and growing with our Client’s success.”
Channel Futures is pleased to honor Bralin Technology Solutions.
For the first time, Channel Futures will also name 10 special award winners, including MSP of the Year, CEO of the Year and one Lifetime Achievement Award for a career of excellence in the channel.
The MSP 501 winners and award recipients will be recognized at a special ceremony at Channel Partners Evolution, held this year October 9-12 in Philadelphia, as well as in the Fall issue of Channel Partners Magazine.
“This year’s applicant pool was the largest and most diverse in the history of the survey, and our winners represent the health and progressivity of the managed services market,” says Kris Blackmon, Channel Futures content director and editor of the MSP 501. “They’re growing their revenue, expanding their customer influence and exploring new technology that will propel them for years to come.”
The full MSP 501 report, available this fall, will leverage applicant responses, interviews, and historical data to identify business and technology trends in the IT channel. Highlights will include:
Revenue growth and business models
Hiring trends and workforce dynamics
Business strategies
Service deliverables
Business tools and automation investments
The complete 2018 MSP 501 list is available at Channel Futures.
Background
The 2018 MSP 501 list is based on data collected by Channel Futures and its sister site, Channel Partners. Data was collected online from Feb. 28 through May 31, 2018. The MSP 501 list recognizes top managed service providers based on metrics including recurring revenue, growth and other factors.
About Bralin Technology Solutions
Since 1994, Bralin Technology Solutions has been providing leading IT Solutions and management for Clients in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Bralin’s slogan “We Manage Your Technology… So You Can Manage Your Business” is far more than a slogan. It drives the decisions they make, and focuses each Team member on helping their Clients move their businesses forward, further, faster.
About Informa
Channel Futures, Channel Partners Online, Channel Partners Conference & Expo and Channel Partners Evolution are part of Informa, the international business intelligence, academic publishing, knowledge, and events group. Informa serves commercial, professional and academic communities, helping them connect and learn, and creating and providing access to content and intelligence that helps people and businesses work smarter and make better decisions faster.
Informa has over 10,000 colleagues in more than 20 countries and a presence in all major geographies. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kris Blackmon,
Content Director, Channel Futures
Editor, MSP 501
Kris.Blackmon@knect365.com
by Felicien | Aug 22, 2018 | Education
Bralin Technology Solutions is excited to welcome Rabia Tinna to the team! Rabia is joining us as a Help Desk Technician, based in our North Battleford Office.
Rabia brings a wealth of education and experience to our company, holding a Master’s of Computer Applications degree along with various other academic distinctions. Rabia previously worked with Oracle as a Technical Analyst and at IBM as a Senior Software Engineer.
We’re confident that the professionalism and dynamic skillset Rabia brings, will be a great addition to our team. We’re very much looking forward to working with Rabia, and know that our valued clients will be served, by her and the rest of the team, based on Bralin’s core values of Caring, Excellence, Responsibility, and Trust.
Welcome aboard Rabia!
by Felicien | Aug 22, 2018 | Education
Of course, you will be living in a kicked anthill for days. The trick is to make sure that all the scurrying around is not just mindless motion, but actually protects the organization by:
Meeting legal responsibilities,
Protecting the organization’s reputation to the extent possible,
Immediately stopping intrusions and mitigating the damages,
Finding out how the breach occurred,
Repairing the vulnerabilities, and,
Making sure your risk assessment, security plans, and operating procedures reflect any necessary changes.
Meeting Legal Responsibilities
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) breach notification rule essentially requires entities that have had a breach to inform the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the affected individuals, and in some cases, the media, within 60 days. There are exceptions, but these are best handled by lawyers. Since there are stiff penalties for not reporting security breaches that should have been reported, but no penalties for reporting security breaches that did not need to be reported, it’s best to err on the side of caution.
Protecting the Organization’s Reputation To The Extent Possible
It is unfortunately not true that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Your organization’s reputation is going to take at least a small hit. Perhaps the worst example possible is the behavior of Experian, a credit reporting service, in response to its massive data breach. They failed to report it, they did not notify affected individuals, they dribbled out information, repeatedly contradicted the information they dribbled out, and immediately tried to monetize the breach by selling protective services to those affected. Everything that could have been done wrong in the early phase was done wrong. Apply the Golden Rule here. Look at things from the perspective of those whose data has been exposed. What would they want to be done? Figure that out, and at least pledge to do that much.
Immediately Stopping Intrusions and Mitigating the Damages
The first step is to get the affected devices off the network and isolated, so they can no longer serve as points of entry. The next step is to check the system and audit logs to identify the source of the penetration. Thirdly, it’s important to force an immediate password change for everyone, if passwords are still being used. Of course, if the source of the breach is the medical director’s smartphone, which was left in an Uber, the only way this data can be remotely deleted is for companies using a Mobile Device Management plan.
Finding Out How The Breach Occurred
In some cases (see above), the source of the data breach will be glaringly obvious. In others, it may be very hard to find. Your own IT staff may be too close to the problem to see it. In those cases, bringing in a computer forensics firm may be useful or even essential. Determining the root cause of the breach, once the details are known, requires thinking through policies and procedures. You’ll need the skills of a good detective, combined with those of an excellent IT specialist.
As illustrated above, there is always a tradeoff between ease of access and security of access. Does everyone really need remote access to patient records at all times, using devices that can be lost or stolen? Depending on the organization and how it delivers services, the answer may be yes or no. But if it is “no,” serious consideration should be given to limiting remote access. Of course, if you’re working with a managed IT services provider, they can set you up with a Mobile Device Management plan so that any lost or stolen devices can be remotely wiped of all data.
Repairing The Vulnerabilities
Once the source of the breach and the root cause have been identified, the vulnerabilities need to be repaired. The issue of 24/7 remote access from stealable devices is one example. Use of cloud services is another. Having data in the cloud is wonderful. Having unprotected data in the cloud is not. Several recent breaches have occurred because, even though access to the cloud from an organization’s network was protected, the server in the cloud itself was totally open – no password in place. Granted, this defies imagination, but it has happened more than once.
If something like this has occurred, every policy and procedure that relates to the root cause needs to be looked at. This has to be done slowly and carefully; it is not an exercise to be carried out in panic mode. In most cases, this type of error will not occur if you’re working with a managed IT services provider. They have too many checks and balances in place to allow such a glaring mistake.
It most often happens to companies who employ poorly trained in-house IT staff who spend all day playing games and talking with friends on social media. Again, though this scenario is shocking, it is occurring across the nation with more frequency. Don’t let your CEO find out the hard way that his in-house IT people actually don’t have much network and computer experience. Their last job was serving up hamburgers at a local fast-food chain.
Making Sure Your Risk Assessment, Security Plans, And Operating Procedures Reflect Any Necessary Changes
Having a credible, annually updated risk assessment is part of the HIPAA Security Rule. A breach presents an opportunity here. If it occurred, your risk assessment either did not identify it or did not prioritize it; your security plan did not encompass it; your operating procedures ignored it, or some combination of the above occurred. The breach gives you a chance to rethink the security assessment, the security plan, and your operating procedures. Take advantage of it.
Conclusion
A data breach is painful, but it is also an opportunity for health care organizations to assess their security approaches and make improvements. Never waste a crisis. If you have onsite IT staff members, they may need more thorough training in security protocols. In fact, this is probably a good time to ask a local managed IT services provider to come out and hold security awareness classes for your entire workforce.
by Felicien | Aug 22, 2018 | Education
Microsoft’s M12 has recently announced the launch of the Female Founders Competition, a startup initiative aimed at rewarding startup companies founded by women. It will not only identify top female talent within the startup industry but also seek to accelerate venture capital funding for companies headed by women entrepreneurs across the globe.
Female Founders Competition
According to recent studies, it has been proven that female entrepreneurs receive a significantly less amount of funding within the venture capital community, with figures pointing to only 2.2% of the total amount of funds invested in startups. Ironically, some studies have demonstrated that female-founded companies deliver higher-than-average returns.
The competition will strive to raise awareness for the companies of both finalists and winners in hopes of attracting future funding.
The program, which is accepting applications through Sept. 30, 2018, is open to companies across the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, and Israel.
Companies must meet certain stipulations before they are eligible to apply. This includes having at least one female founder, as well as plans to release a product or service with the potential to improve the business world by helping solve one of many issues.
A group of finalists will be selected to pitch their product or service in person in hopes of winning one of the two top spots. Winners will receive a $2 million investment in their company, in addition to other support, such as technical resources.
Finalists will be judged on a variety of factors. A panel of judges will be compiled from M12 and other VC firms within each region. They will evaluate competitors based on the problems/needs their product or service addresses: These include:
Market size
Growth potential
Performance
Traction with customers
The ability of the founding team to execute their vision
MC12 has contributed millions to the startup community. Within the past couple of years alone, they have invested in more than 50 different startup companies, demonstrating a particular focus on those dealing with artificial intelligence.
AI Contest Encourages Innovation
Last year, M12 launched an artificial intelligence contest with an investment of over $3.5 million. The organization joined forces with other organizations like Notion, Vertex Ventures, and Madrona Venture Group for the AI contest. They received hundreds of submissions across a range of industries including healthcare, retail and financial services, among others.
How Is Artificial Intelligence Used Today?
In healthcare, a number of startups are using the power of artificial intelligence for personal health assistance, conducting drug research and spotting abnormalities in tests. In the financial services realm, AI is used to power research and insights to help professionals invest their money more wisely. For human resources, AI is used to help departments understand candidates’ skills and strengths in order to match them with the schools and jobs best suited for their personalities.
Four finalists were chosen from each region. Envisagenics, based in North America, is a biotechnology company that applies AI to the genetic sequence of cancer and/or genetic disease patients in hopes of discovering new therapies. The company’s proprietary cloud-based discovery platform, named SpliceCoreTM, prioritizes new drug target candidates based on patients’ RNA utilizing innovative machine learning techniques.
ZenCity, a company based in Israel, partnered with Vertex Ventures. They built an app that uses artificial intelligence to analyze key data from countless public interactions across city hotlines, social media, and other channels. This data is then evaluated to determine how residents view the city. With this information in tow, city officials are able to further understand the needs of the people, and therefore make better decisions regarding important issues.
Hazy, a company based in Europe, helps companies meet the standards of the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with their innovative data structures. The company uses a range of innovative technologies and data to help identify and classify sensitive information, all while interpreting that data with a human-like understanding bound to elevate data security in new, interesting ways.
Voiceitt, the winner of the “AI for Good” award, is committed to making technology available for everyone. The company’s voice recognition technology allows the more than 100 million people suffering from diseases like autism, cerebral palsy, ALS, and Parkinsons to overcome communication barriers. This hands-free voice recognition application allows for face-to-face communication, and can even be integrated into smart homes and assistive devices, along with other technology. Their prize includes $500,000 in VC funds and up to $500K in Microsoft Azure credits and prizes.
M12, formerly known as Microsoft Ventures, is committed to empowering innovative new companies. M12’s rebranding is part of a common theme for today’s oldest tech companies. The name change came perhaps in hopes of creating an edgier, more appealing persona apart from its reputation as one of the first in the tech game. Google has done something similar in the past with their rebranding of Google Ventures to “GV”, as did Nokia’s rebranding of Nokia Growth Partners to “NGP Capital”.
Conclusion
As you can see, Microsoft and other big tech giants are working toward improving our world. They’re also involved in helping female entrepreneurs gain a stronger foothold in the tech and AI industries.
by Felicien | Aug 22, 2018 | Education
Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Add your Email Signature in Outlook, Outlook.com, and Gmail
Creating a signature that will leave a lasting impression at the end of an email is essential in today’s business world. However, users often struggle to know which font to use, how to make it stand out, but not make it too flashy, and so on.
If your company doesn’t specify a detailed way to create a signature, you may end up searching for professional email signature examples every time you change jobs, get a promotion, or feel the need to improve your current signature.
Let’s take a look at how to add a signature to the two most popular email platforms used today: Outlook and Gmail. We will also identify shortcuts and tips to make your experience using these email platforms easier and more effective.
Outlook
Frequently Used Keyboard Shortcuts
Knowing keyboard shortcuts can speed up the process of sending emails, formatting documents, and searching through the toolbar. Let’s look at some great shortcuts for Outlook.
Go to Home tab: Alt+H
New message: Ctrl+Shift+M
Send: Alt+S
Insert file: Alt+N, A, F
New task: Ctrl+Shift+K
Search: Ctrl+E Alt+H, R, P
Reply: Alt+H, R, P
Forward: Alt+H, F, W
Reply All: Alt+H, R, A
Copy: Ctrl+C or Ctrl+Insert
Send/Receive: Alt+S, S
Go to the calendar: Ctrl+2
Create appointment: Ctrl+Shift+A
Move to folder: Alt+H, M, V, select folder from list
Attachment SaveAs: Alt+JA, A, S
Navigating Through Outlook Using Shortcuts
Outlook has great shortcuts that can quickly allow you to hop around from email to calendar, and so on. Let’s look at these shortcuts.
Switch to Mail view: Ctrl+1
Switch to Calendar view: Ctrl+2
Switch to Contacts view: Ctrl+3
Switch to Tasks view: Ctrl+4
Switch to Notes: Ctrl+5
Switch to Folder list in the Folder pane: Ctrl+6
Switch to Shortcuts: Ctrl+7
Adding an Email Signature to the Desktop Version of Outlook
Step One: To begin, open up your Outlook email client and click on File.
Step Two: In the file window, click on Options.
Step Three: When the Options window pops up, click on Mail.
Step Four: In the Mail section, scroll down to Signatures.
Step Five: When the Signature window opens, Click on New.
Step Six: In the Signature window, type in your signature and add a company logo if you desire.
Once you have completed this process, you can select New Email to see the signature you’ve created.
Adding an Email Signature to Outlook.com
If you are using Outlook.com instead of the desktop version of Outlook, adding a signature is a little different. Let’s look at how to add a signature to Outlook.com.
Step One: In your Outlook.com email, click the gear symbol in the top right corner.
Step Two: In the dropdown, scroll down to options, and click on it.
Step Three: In the Options window, scroll down to mail, and click on Signatures.
Step Four: When the Signature window appears, add your customized signature.
Step Five: After adding your signature, click the Save button.
Once you have completed this process, you can select New Email to see the signature you created.
Gmail
Frequently Used Keyboard Shortcuts
As with Outlook, knowing keyboard shortcuts in Gmail can quicken your tasks of sending emails. However, with Gmail, you first need to turn the keyboard shortcuts on.
Turning on Keyboard Shortcuts in Gmail
First: In your Gmail window, click the gear symbol in the top right corner.
Second: Click on Settings.
Third: Scroll down to the “Keyboard Shortcuts” section.
Fourth: Select Keyboard Shortcuts On.
Last: At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.
Gmail Shortcuts
Once you have your keyboard shortcuts turned on, here are some great shortcuts in Gmail:
Open keyboard shortcut help: Shift + ?
Select a series of messages: Shift
Select all unread messages: Shift + 8 + u
Archive selected messages: e
Mark selected messages as important: =
Compose Email: c
Undo last action: z
Search for messages: /
Go to tasks: g + k
Add a conversation to tasks: Shift + t
Reply: r
Reply all: a
Forward: f
Mark current messages unread: Shift + u
Mark selected message as important: =
Archive selected message: e
Jump to newer email: k
Jump to previous email: j
Jump to next message in email thread: n
Jump to the previous message in email thread: p
Jump back to inbox view: u
Insert link: Command + k
Insert numbered list: Command + Shift + 7
Insert bullet points: Command + Shift + 8
Bold/Italicize/Underline: Command + b/Command + l/Command + u
Remove formatting: Command + Control +
Send Email: Command + Enter
Adding an Email Signature to Gmail
Step One: After you have signed in to your Gmail account, click the gear symbol in the top right corner.
Step Two: In the drop down, click on Settings.
Step Three: In Settings, scroll down to the Signature window, and add your Signature.
Step Four: At the bottom of the page, click Save Changes.
Wrap Up
There you have it! Easy ways to add a custom signature to today’s most popular email platforms. Plus, as a bonus, all the shortcut keys you need to make sure you’re saving time and being productive each day.
