Work Together with Microsoft

by Felicien | Jul 2, 2018 | Education

We are all familiar with a situation where we are not able to find a suitable meeting place or time because all the boardrooms have been booked and our tiny personal offices can barely host more than three people at a time. Yet, you have to work together with other team members in order to produce a document with merged data and beat that deadline.
Microsoft Office 365 has features that can help users collaborate without necessarily sitting in the same room. This article will explore some of these features and how users can make the best of them in order to achieve the desired results.
Cloud Attachments
Previously, if you had an attachment that you needed to share, you had to email it across the networks; it was so tedious and time-consuming. Not to mention the long hour spent sifting through your inbox and trying to clear out files. The worst part of this process is often that no one knows whether they’re working on the right version of the file. You may not have the most current draft so all your hard work could be for nothing. Those days are gone for team members who work in the cloud.
What is it actually like to share files stored in the cloud?
Using Outlook.com, go to create a new email and click on attach file. There will be a pop-up menu with a number of options to attach a file the old way or to attach a cloud file. Once you attach a cloud file, it will give you further options to change permissions so the document can be shared with everyone in the company. You can change permissions to allow sharing with only a single individual or a group.
Once the file is shared, anyone who is online at that particular time can edit the file and immediately you will see the new changes on your end of the document. There is no need to send it back and forth. Everyone edits in real time and can see the changes being made.
Collaborating in the Cloud Version
Open an email and click on an actual document link. Automatically, it will open in a browser window. The Cloud allows you to edit anything in the browser. If you want a different experience on your desktop or your phone, you can click open in your application, and you can edit it there and save it to the cloud. The great part of all this is that everything you make changes to and save is viewable by everyone you sent the file to.
Going back on the History of the File
Microsoft gives you a choice on how you want to work. But there are those people who are still concerned that sharing a file and co-authoring is going to make them lose control of what they worked on. You can go back to the original file if you like. When you open the file in the App, on the top right of the screen, you will see a little backtrack icon. When you click on that icon you will see all history of the file. You can then restore or edit from that point. You can do this from the cloud as well.
Microsoft Teams
Just like in Office, you have your own personal file storage system called OneDrive. You can also create a shared file cabinet and this is known as SharePoint. All the conversations that naturally happen in an office can occur in the chat room of MS Teams. The notes that you would take in a meeting can be created and shared in OneNote. That is what Microsoft Teams is all about. It’s a good collaboration tool so that your whole team can perform all the tasks they need to complete while staying in touch with each other.
OneNote
From that same single interface where you shared the file, you can look at the meeting minutes from meetings you were not able to attend. OneNote makes it easy to see what you missed and catch up. You can also chat on the same platform and get other people’s opinions and comments.
OneDrive
OneDrive is an application that is accessible on any device, PC or smartphone. It’s a good tool when you want to get opinions and feedback from the rest of the team. All files are stored on OneDrive. It’s easy to give access to these files to all or a few team members. You decide whether to give editing permissions to each individual.
Wrap Up
Group assignments are made easy with Microsoft Office 365. It includes all the tools you might need in a day’s time to create and edit documents, talk to team mates, keep notes in a meeting or work together in the cloud. If you need more information you can visit: https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/sites/get-it-done/default.aspx

Cyber Security Returns on Investment (Questions/Answers)

by Felicien | Jun 29, 2018 | Education

When most organizations are presented with the words “Cyber Security,” they often start imagining how much it’s going to cost them to install and maintain strong security measures. At the same time, there’s that gnawing feeling of stress about what would happen if any data were lost to hackers. In light of that though, the investment in security for your network is well worth the cost.
That brings us to the question, “What is the cybersecurity return on investment?”
The answer to that question is complicated. There are a number of variables to consider. For those who have endured a security breach and lost thousands of records, the answer is easy: Cyber Security protocols are always worth it.
You lose time and money if a breach occurs. Plus, your Brand can be damaged. And then, of course, there may be future lawsuits. What if a judge decides that your company was NOT doing everything possible to protect the personal information of its customers?
The average cost of a breach today is hovering around one million dollars and that makes it expensive for any business to deal with. Cybercriminals are relentless! They never take a vacation. Instead, they find new ways to get past all your best security efforts and steal your data. It’s worth a lot of money on the Dark Web and that’s how hackers earn a living. They steal data and sell it to the highest bidder.
Microsoft has a long history of dealing with Internet security problems. They’re probably one of the most experienced companies on the earth today. They build complex security systems from the ground up because they have quite a bit of data that needs protecting.
Many of their cybersecurity solutions are becoming the industry standard. That’s why they’re a good source of security products that can safeguard data on many levels. Below are some of their top cybersecurity products.
Leaked Credential Protection and Azure Active Directory
Most stolen credentials are obtained by hackers who breach vulnerable websites where passwords and usernames are stored in plain text. Typically, these websites have weak encryption. They’re an easy target for hackers.
Phishing attacks are designed to trick users into giving up their log-in information. All types of malware have been created that use deception to acquire names and passwords. Sometimes it’s not that hard to get this information because people don’t create strong passwords and/or they use similar passwords and usernames across different sites. This means that if one site is infiltrated, another site with similar credentials is also at risk.
Microsoft has built a standard set of processes and security layers with automated services such as Leaked Credential Protection and Azure Active Directory to ensure that users are always protected. They make it as difficult as possible for hackers to get past their security guards.
Office 365 ATP, Credential Guard, and Windows Hello
Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, Credential Guard, and Windows Hello are specifically designed to protect against hackers getting to your data through phishing emails.
Windows Defender ATP, only available with the Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 plan, provides security services that assist users in detecting advanced threats. The program then investigates and responds appropriately on their servers. For more info about Windows Defender ATP, you can visit the Microsoft Windows Security Threat Protection site.
Windows Defender Credential Guard uses virtualization-based security to separate the more critical data from normal data so that only authorized system software can access the information. Any attempts to bypass this Credential Guard will result in failure. Though hackers are always searching for workarounds, Microsoft is constantly adding patches and new layers of security.
Windows Hello, on the other hand, includes advanced technology that allows you to sign in to your Windows 10 device without using any password. You can sign in by using your face, fingerprint, or iris. How amazing! This means that if your device is stolen, no one will be able to gain access to the data stored on your device.
Windows Defender ATP and Windows Defender Anti-Virus
These are designed specifically to counter malware attacks by detecting, blocking, and responding to attacks. Malware attacks cost companies millions of dollars each year. With each new attack, the technology evolves. Individuals, but more importantly, organizations, should be ready to fight cyber-crime with the same kind of resilience and resolve shown by hackers.
With Windows Advanced Threat Protection and the Anti-Virus program, you are equipped to give the bad guys a good fight.
Wrap up
Some of the best hackers get their notoriety not because they were good, but because they were underestimated. Remember that hackers work 24/7/365. That puts them way ahead of most of us. It’s not possible to spend that amount of time protecting your data. That’s why good solid antivirus and security programs are so important. In the end, they are the best and most affordable option.
Simply put, when you are deciding about your cyber-security return on investment, the most important issue is keeping your data safe from hackers. This will save you money, stress, and time. You’ll avoid expensive data loss events that could cripple your organization and damage your reputation. With Microsoft security products, you can enjoy peace of mind knowing that you’re doing everything possible to stay a step ahead of hackers.

Understanding Microsoft Office 365 (Product Review)

by Felicien | Jun 29, 2018 | Education

How to Set Up a Microsoft Bookings Site (Questions/Answers)

by Felicien | Jun 29, 2018 | Education

If you own a small business that deals in offering services to the public, scheduling appointments is often part of your daily routine. You may find yourself playing phone tag so much that you sometimes lose focus on your clients. Being a small business, you may have to double up as the chief administrator and financial officer, as well as the inventory supervisor and janitor on some days.

Microsoft Bookings: empowering clients to handle the appointments part
Microsoft has a solution – Microsoft Bookings – designed to alleviate the burden of booking appointments. Microsoft Bookings is a new online and mobile scheduling tool that is available with the premium subscriptions of Office 365. It provides your business with a unique web page where customers can schedule appointments themselves. First, the customer selects the service they want, chooses a day and time based on the availability you’ve provided, then enters their contact information and proceeds to book the appointment.
First things first: set up your Microsoft Bookings portal
The first step is to sign up for an Office 365 plan that includes the Microsoft Bookings service. Once you do this, the Bookings portal is turned on by default. It’s available as a tile in the MS app launcher. If you check the app launcher page and do not see “Bookings” listed there, then you may not have the right plan.
Bookings are available with an Office 365 Business Premium subscription, as well as for customers with the Office 365 A3 and A5 subscriptions. However, enterprise customers with Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 subscriptions can now turn it on and set it up for their clients.
To turn on the Bookings app for Office 365 Enterprise E3 and E5 subscriptions, simply follow these steps:
Step 1: Login to the administrator portal
To configure Microsoft Bookings, start by logging in to the admin center of your subscription by clicking on the Admin icon and entering your administrator username and password. This gives you the admin rights to acquire new services from Office 365.
Step 2: Adding Bookings to your Office 365 Enterprise subscription
Once you’re logged on, select the Billing tab and navigate to the Purchase Services option under it. You should be able to see a whole selection of options that include a Business App (free) with a Buy Now button that shows up when you hover over it. Click on this button to add the app to your subscription free of charge.
You will then have the option to add the amount corresponding to the licenses that you want. Ensure that this amount matches the total number of users in your organization (preferably). You will want to enable this service for these users during setup.
When this is complete and you have assigned licences to the users that you want the service enabled for, the users will now see the Bookings app as a new addition to the multiple apps on Office 365.
Moving onto setup
To set up the Microsoft Bookings site for your small business, click on the Bookings icon to open the Microsoft Bookings app. This action should open the welcome screen on the Microsoft Bookings website.
Tap the “Get it now” button to begin the setup process. This should lead you to a new window where you can enter your new Bookings calendar name and add it by clicking the “Add a booking calendar” tab.
You will then see a new window that requests more information about your business. This is where you enter your business name and type (from a predefined list). Ensure that the name you provide is unique since it is what will be used as the email address from which meeting notifications are sent.
When you’re done, select the “Continue” button and give it a moment to build the site. Your new Microsoft Bookings site eventually appears, ready for customizing.
Click on the different options to add more details about your business, staff, and services. Take your time to explore the various settings, one by one to ensure that you customize everything correctly. Of course, you can go back and tweak things if you need to.
At the end, you’ll have a Home Page from which you can monitor Bookings, add activities, modify the services you offer, manage your staff by adding, removing, and/or setting them up in terms of, say, working hours and days of the week – with respective color codes for each staff member.
Wrap-up
With Microsoft Bookings, you can spend far less time scheduling appointments with your customers and instead concentrate more on actually serving them. The tool simplifies how customers schedule and manage appointments. It takes care of the appointment-booking side of your business management so you can focus on the service side.
This tool was built for small businesses that depend on scheduling appointments with customers. It’s great for companies such as an auto mechanic shop, insurance agent, accounting office, a dog groomer, hair stylist, a dentist’s office, and many more. Now customers can set up their own appointments and do it at their convenience. This frees up your staff for other tasks. Microsoft Bookings boosts customer satisfaction, plus it reduces the number of missed appointments.