Hmmmmm…What Is Yam Jam?

by Felicien | Jun 19, 2018 | Education

Yam Jam – The Virtual Town Hall Experience That Brings Your Organization Together
If you are an avid user of Office 365 or have in some way expressed interest in Microsoft’s online environment, then you’re probably familiar with Yammer – the freemium enterprise social networking service that is used for private communication within organizations.

Also, chances are that you have come across terms such as “Yammer Town Hall,” “Yammer Power Hour,” or “Yammer Time.”  They all refer to the same thing: Yam Jam.
What is Yam Jam?
This is simply a digital meetup on the Yammer network. It provides a unique space for real-time Yammer discussions where people can exchange ideas and learn from one another. One of its strong points is that an organization’s employees have the opportunity to break the typical organizational chain of command and interact directly with senior leaders alongside fellow staff.
As such, you can look at Yam Jam as a curated virtual town hall event that is held within a designated group in the Yammer network.
Attendees within Yam Jam get the rare opportunity to interact directly with subject matter experts, company leaders, or executives as well as with one another (fellow employees). Anyone can participate in Yam Jam because it is actually an open environment on the network. They can ask questions related to the topic of discussion, learn from the experts, and share ideas with one another.
Every Yam Jam event typically lasts about an hour but they continue on after the live event is finished, which is the best part. This makes global engagement much easier and more inclusive, which can be extremely helpful for organizations with remote staff. It brings them together regardless of where they are on the planet. Yam Jam events are also scalable and measurable, in addition to being low cost and focused.
The fun thing about Yam Jam
Yam Jam is not restricted to a single shape and size. The type of event you hold on this network is determined by your specific need. There is also the option to @mention someone on the Yam Jam environment so that they get notified about an ongoing event that they can benefit from.
Thinking about hosting a Yam Jam? Here’s why you should
There’s so much your organization stands to gain from hosting Yam Jam. For starters, the events enable your employees to engage with multiple participants on Yammer, which can promote the culture of cooperation.
Participants on Yam Jam share ideas and insights with one another and receive valuable information that they can use to better their performance and productivity of the organization overall.
More importantly, Yam Jam is a means for the employees to break hierarchy and interact directly with company leadership. Participants can not only gain richer insights from subject matter experts but also get a chance to address pressing matters with the company leadership and reach solutions that may benefit them and the organization as well.
Employees can build a great deal of confidence in their senior leadership from interacting in the Yammer Town Hall. Leaders also get a good opportunity to interact directly with practitioners in a way that helps them remain connected to the massive pool of talent within the organization.
Yam Jam best practices to ensure you make the most of your events
One interesting thing about Yam Jam is that they are rather easy to organize or set up; anyone can do it. To host a successful Yam Jam, here are some tips to ensure you have your best foot forward.
Ensure your participants are Yammer savvy
Yam Jam participants need to have sufficient Yammer knowledge to effectively participate in any event on the platform. As such, it will help to do some due diligence beforehand to be certain that your team or the audience you’re targeting is well-versed on the network. Otherwise, consider offering a Yammer training session before taking the plunge.
Choose an appropriate time and topic
Participants are bound to contribute properly if the time is right and the discussion involves pertinent topics or ones with varying viewpoints. The time is right when the participants are in a position to take part. As such, it is best to consider time zones and days of the week when jobs and other similar engagements are not likely to stand in the way.
Advertise the event properly
People easily forget schedules, so it is important that you keep them properly informed about the event and the exact time, date, and topic of discussion so everyone can prepare appropriately. Remember, the more engaged the participants are, the more interaction the event is likely to achieve. The more interactive the event, the more likely it is to be productive.
Wrap up
Yam Jam can be hugely beneficial to any organization that seeks to improve and become more productive, especially if they provide participants with a proper feedback loop, or means to give feedback at the end of the live event. If you haven’t tried it yet, then no time is better than the present.

Sensitive Data Stolen From Naval Contractor By Chinese Hackers

by Felicien | Jun 18, 2018 | Education

Why Your Company Should Switch to Office 365

by Felicien | Jun 18, 2018 | Education

Undoubtedly, Office 365 has taken the business world as we know it by storm. With each update that Microsoft makes to Office 365, more and more companies are jumping on the Office 365 bandwagon, and for good reason. This enterprise software has something to offer for just about every business. Some business owners have even identified Office 365 as a major factor behind the success they’ve experienced.

If you’re thinking about making the switch to Office 365, here is some information about the features of this enterprise software that should help you make a concrete decision.
Available on the Cloud
As a business owner, your primary concern should be perfecting your products and services. Unless your business operates within the IT industry, you and your employees shouldn’t have to worry about servers and maintenance. Fortunately, if you decide to switch to Office 365, you and your employees won’t have to.
Office 365 is a cloud-based software. Therefore, you and your employees can use this software primarily on the cloud. However, if needed, you also have the option of integrating Office 365 with the on-premises solutions of your company. Not only will you save money on maintenance costs by using Office 365 on the cloud, but you will also enjoy peace of mind knowing that your data is safe and secure.
Scalability
If you foresee your business growing significantly in the near future, it is in your best interest to consider switching to Office 365. Scalability is one of the most lauded features of Office 365. With Office 365, you only need to pay for the features that you get.
Therefore, in the early stages of your business, you don’t need to worry about wasting money on features that you won’t use. As your business grows, you won’t be forced to switch to another enterprise software to ensure your growing needs are met. Instead, all you will need to do is pay for more services and data storage. By choosing Office 365 from the beginning, you will save yourself a lot of time and trouble.
Access Anywhere and Anytime
In many organizations, the productivity of employees is limited significantly by the lack of access to documents and data anytime and anywhere. If you want your employees to be able to access anything required for work from home, coffee shops, and elsewhere, you should consider getting Office 365. Since Office 365 is available on the cloud, this software will make it possible for your employees to be productive hundreds of miles away from their desk in the workplace. Also, your employees won’t be forced to work from a laptop or desktop computer. Office 365 makes it possible to be productive working from a tablet or even an iPhone.
Simplified Migration
One concern that many business owners have when it comes to switching to Office 365 is the migration process. If you also have this concern, you will be happy to know that Microsoft has made migrating to Office 365 incredibly easy. This is true no matter what storage tools your business is using currently. Also, once you make the switch to Office 365, you will never need to worry about migrating your data once more in the future because Microsoft is constantly making updates to Office 365. Microsoft strives to make timely updates to Office 365 to ensure this enterprise software continues to meet the needs of businesses across the world.
Unification of Your UI
Another issue that many businesses have is needing to use a plethora of software and apps to accomplish various tasks. If you want your employees to be able to enjoy a more unified UI, you should consider switching to Office 365. Office 365 has a business app for just about everything your employees need to do. Microsoft regularly releases new business apps on the Windows Store and quite a few of these apps are free. If you don’t want your employees to have to deal with a crowded home screen, you can pick and choose the apps you know your employees will need to use and add them to the Office 365 home screen. That way, your employees will be able to access these apps easily.
Another advantage of having your employees use Office 365 for all their needs is that they don’t need to worry about compatibility between apps. Since all of these apps are developed and/or managed by Microsoft, these apps will be compatible with each other. Not having to deal with compatibility issues on a regular basis will boost the productivity of your employees.
New Bug Updates and Features
If you’ve used other enterprise software in the past, chances are you’ve been frustrated with the lack of bug updates or new features. In some cases, you may have had to wait a few years for the release of a new product or update. Fortunately, if you switch to Office 365, you won’t have to deal with this frustrations anymore. As stated above, Microsoft releases updates and bug fixes regularly and you will have access to these updates as soon as they’re released.
Data Loss Prevention
As you probably know, data is the lifeline of most businesses. Accordingly, most businesses do everything in their power to secure their data and prevent data loss. One reason many businesses are switching to Office 365 is that this enterprise software makes data loss prevention so easy. Office 365 comes with a multitude of backup and data protection features that will allow you to enjoy peace of mind.
With each passing day, more and more companies make the switch to Office 365, an enterprise software that is frequently lauded as an all-in-one package. Switching to Microsoft’s Office 365 can put your business on the path to success and prosperity in the near future. For more information about why your company should switch to Office 365, don’t hesitate to contact us.

The Business Owner’s Guide to Office 365

by Felicien | Jun 17, 2018 | Education

Microsoft is considered a key leader in the enterprise software industry. Every year or so, Microsoft releases new products and services and makes updates to their existing software to keep up with the needs of their business users all around the world. Out of all of the products and service offered by Microsoft, Office 365 is arguably the most popular and lauded among business owners of organizations of all sizes.

If you’re thinking about having Office 365 serve as the foundation of the operation of your organization, this business owner’s guide to Office 365 should help you make your decision. This article will highlight the additional features included in Office 365, from collaboration to scheduling tasks.
Office 365 Groups
One reason why so many business owners view Office 365 as an essential rather than an optional enterprise software is the Office 365 Groups feature, which is a collaboration tool that any subscriber on the Business Premium, Business Essentials, or Enterprise E1, E3, and E5 plans can take advantage of. Office 365 groups will make it easier for your employees to select certain people and collaborate with them on a project. Neither you or your employees will need to manage a complex set of permissions for every individual. Users who are in the same group can access shared calendars, inboxes, document libraries, SharePoint planners and team sites, and OneNote notebooks.
Recently, Microsoft made updates to Office 365 Groups to add tools for group management for admin users. Users who are admin level are now able to manage security with retention policies and restore groups that have been deleted. These users can also restrict the ability to create new groups to certain individuals within an organization and can also grant individuals outside of an organization guest access to a group.
Skype for Business
Another Office 365 feature that you will be eager to take advantage of as a business owner is Skype for Business. If you currently don’t have Office 365, chances are your employees use different channels to communicate with each other. Your employees may even use a different set of channels to communicate with individuals outside of the organization. The channel that a certain employee uses will depend on their personal preferences. Unfortunately, the use of many different channels of communication within an organization can make it difficult to create a sense of continuity and cohesiveness. Fortunately, Office 365 offers business owners a solution to this issue in the form of Skype for Business.
Skype for Business offers employees the ability to choose from many different channels of communication condensed into a single platform. Therefore, your employees will be able to choose a channel of communication-based on their preference without harming the continuity of communication within your organization.
Not only does Skype for Business make communication more convenient, but it also reduces security risks significantly. Skype for Business offers enterprise-grade security. Therefore, having your employees shift from email or some other form of communication to Skype for Business will reduce the risk of your employees falling victim to cybercriminals.
Best of all, the monthly fee per user is very affordable, making Skype for Business as a solution even more attractive.
Anytime, Anywhere Access
Business owners are constantly striving to increase the productivity of their employees. If you’re one of these business owners, Microsoft Office 365 should help immensely in accomplishing this goal. One of the main features of Office 365 that Microsoft constantly advertises is the anytime, anywhere access.
Office 365 offers businesses, both small and large, with web-enabled access on just about any device to email, calendar, documents, and contacts. Whether your employees want to access their work inbox on their desktop computer or their iPad, they will be able to do so quickly and easily. Thanks to Office 365’s anytime, anywhere access, your employees will be free to work wherever they choose. They won’t need to rush to their office or find a WiFi hotspot simply to do work. If your employees are on the go and don’t have access to Microsoft Office, they can use Office 365 to view and edit documents from web browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.
99.9% Uptime Guarantee
When it comes to success in the business world, reliability and consistency is the name of the game. Even in the worst of disasters, your business should retain its ability to continue selling its products and services to customers without making compromises in terms of quality. Fortunately, Office 365 and its 99.9% uptime guarantee will help you do so.
Microsoft developed Office 365 with availability and reliability in mind. Office 365 features disaster recovery and enterprise-grade reliability, which is made possible with multiple data centers, a rigid privacy policy, and automatic failovers. The 99.9 percent uptime is guaranteed and financially-backed with a service level agreement.
Scalability
What makes Office 365 even more wonderful is its ability to cater to the needs of any business, no matter the size. Office 365 is very scalable so you will be able to continue using it even as your business continues to grow and flourish. For example, small businesses can enjoy features like a 50 GB email inbox with the ability to scale up the amount of storage. Choosing Office 365 to serve as the backbone of the operations of your business will make your life as a business owner easier from the get-go. With Office 365, your small business will enjoy advanced features and convenient solutions at a price affordable for a budding organization.
As you can see, Office 365 has a lot to offer to businesses of all sizes. For more information about the many features offered by Office 365 that can help your business prosper, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Northcentral Technical College in Wisconsin Targeted by Cyber Thieves

by Felicien | Jun 16, 2018 | Education

Northcentral Technical College (NTC) in Wisconsin has experienced a crippling cyber attack that shut down most of its classes from Monday through Wednesday. The cyber attack triggered system outages all over the school causing school officials to issue a public notice on the homepage of the college website that read:
“We apologize for the inconvenience but we are continuing to experience IT system outages. NTC’s Information Technology team is working diligently to bring information systems back online. We will continue to post updates to this page as they are available.”

Cyber forensics investigation underway
The college would not release any specific information about the data that was lost, but they did reassure their students and faculty that no one’s personal data was stolen. They have since hired a cyber forensics team who will perform a thorough investigation of the cyber intrusion. School officials want to know what type of information was targeted and whether any data was lost or compromised.
Marketing and public relations director, Kelsi Seubert, commented saying, “NTC’s Information Technology team is working extremely hard to bring information systems back online and we will communicate additional updates to students and staff as they are available.”
Seubert also sent an email out to students and faculty that reassured everyone that an investigation was underway but would require some time to complete. She also mentioned that the initial attempted hack occurred on June 4th.
The school has stated that all classes will be resumed on Thursday and that campus life would soon return to normal. A few classes that were not impacted by the breach were carried out as usual.
Summer school
The summer class schedule had just begun on Monday with students showing up to take advantage of Northcentral’s summer learning programs. The school offers a unique array of subjects ranging from technical diplomas to Information Technology training. Students can take summer courses to get additional credits so they can graduate sooner, or they can catch up on classes they may have missed.
The school has a flexible curriculum that includes virtual educational opportunities, online classes, late-start classes, winter enrollments, and many others. They offer associate’s degrees, certifications, and technical diplomas. In the accelerated credits program, students can get three credits in three weeks by taking augmented versions of the class.
Cyber breaches on the rise
Security breaches and cyber-attacks have become common in the news. Though it seems like everyone should know by now what it takes to prevent them, cyber thieves are escalating their tactics with each new attack.
In over 90 percent of these events, human error is to blame. A school official or teacher may have inadvertently clicked on a suspicious link. The latest phishing attacks include emails that look almost identical to what you might get from a bank or credit card company. Often, the email will say that something is wrong with your account. Cybercriminals use fear to gain access to your personal log-in information. An email might say something like:
“Alert! You have been locked out of your ABC Credit Card account due to suspicious activity. Click the link below to sign in and change your password.”
Once you click that link, you may be redirected to a phony website where the hackers will steal your password and username. Now they have legitimate access to your credit card account. They can go online and buy the merchandise having it shipped to an address overseas.
In this situation, never click on the link that’s embedded in the email. Instead, open a fresh page in your browser and navigate to your credit card account the way you normally would. Log in and check your messages. In most cases, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the account; it was just a ruse to get you, the consumer, to give away your password and username to cyber thieves on the other side of the world.
Third party vendors
Colleges and schools do business with a wide number of third-party vendors. If these vendors have access to any of your important data, then they should be thoroughly vetted in advance. Though a school or business cannot control the activities of third-party vendors, it’s important to make every effort to ensure that they are observing stringent security regulations.
Faculty training
All school faculty should attend regular security meetings to learn about the latest cyber threats and how to avoid them. Training employees and teachers have proven to reduce the number of cyber breaches. Training should include facts about how security breaches occur and what to do to stop them. Faculty should understand the difference between ransomware and malware. They should be familiar with the many types of phishing and spear phishing attacks. These are just a few of the many ways an organization can protect itself against cyber- attacks.
Northcentral Technical College life returning to normal
Though school administrators have reassured everyone that no financial, personal, or confidential information was stolen, the investigation into what happened is only just beginning. It often takes months for an organization to realize the full extent of a cyber-breach. It can be years before the true cost of the security breach is fully understood.
Northcentral Technical College located in Wausau, Wisconsin, is a community college and member of 16 schools in the Wisconsin Technical College System.