Big data has gone from buzzword to business staple, affecting everything from how companies recruit and hire to how employees perform core functions in the workplace. It’s indisputable modern tech has infiltrated work habits and boosted the potential for team productivity; nowhere is this observation more evident than in employees’ usage of mobile devices both in and out of the …
How To: Crisis Communication During Disaster Recovery
Today’s businesses are tech savvy enough to understand the importance of having a disaster recovery (DR) strategy as a part of their business continuity planning (BCP) process. It’s no longer a nice option to have—it’s a necessity. Could your business survive a disaster without the critical hardware and software, data, and systems it relies on to operate? For all organizations, …
Make Shadow IT a Part of Your Digital Transformation Strategy
Shadow IT defines any technical concerns that fall outside the realm of your organization’s standard technologies, such as software and devices. It is often implemented without company approval or subsequent control—but that doesn’t mean you should look the other way. Despite the concerns we’ve seen countless times over the past few years, shadow IT is becoming a bigger part of …
Mastering the Management of Complex Cloud Environments
Cloud environments continue to get more complicated as businesses evolve. Most businesses now use at least one public cloud and one private cloud. Research indicates that most businesses probably use a combination of three to four, and some are even introducing fog or edge computing to the mix. Management of this complex cloud environment has proven to be difficult, and …
Five Things Startups Can Learn from Digital Transformation
Digital transformation has many market leaders scrambling to adopt new tactics and reshape their company cultures to mirror the leanness, flexibility, and agility of successful startups that are rocking the commercial boat. Recently, several industries have experienced major disruptions due to startup companies making waves and striking out against the status quo. Digital transformation hinges on a few key concepts, …
Modern Marketing Meets Modern Technology: Greatness Ensues
Marketing isn’t what it used to be. Sure, the Brand Bowl takes place adjacent to the Super Bowl each year, but if you are a business owner, leader, or marketer, it is safe to say that your role is changing. For the doomsayers, this change is scary. In fact, there are countless pundits out there proclaiming a sentiment of doom …
Why a VPN Might Not Be the Answer to Your Privacy Concerns
Consumer privacy in the age of digital-everything and big data has always been a hot topic. Lately, though, it’s on fire thanks to recent legislation passed by Congress. As a result, privacy concerns have spiked. To those worried about privacy, some in the industry are suggesting a move to virtual private networks (VPNs) might be the answer. It’s not. Let’s …
Cyber Incident Reporting Guidelines: What You Need to Know
Last summer, the White House took a significant step toward defining and coordinating a national response to the growing number of cyberattacks on government, businesses, and consumers—and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Last July, the Obama Administration released Presidential Policy Directive-41 on U.S. Cyber Incident Coordination Policy, which outlines how the government responds to significant cyber incidents. …
The Silent Killers of Productivity: Social Media and Mobile
In a recent article written in partnership with Microsoft, I discussed a number of ways technology can help improve productivity for your business. But what happens when technology actually becomes a hindrance to keeping things moving? Enter the silent killers of productivity: social media and mobile. In the most recent Office Small Business Academy Webcast, “Work Smarter: Productivity Tools for …
Collaboration in the Workplace: Best Practices for 2017
Collaboration is essential in today’s global marketplace, for businesses of all sizes. Mastering the art of collaboration using technology not only provides fantastic opportunities for innovation and creative problem solving within an organization, it also serves up a competitive business advantage in terms of what highly productive teams are able to accomplish. If you’re one of the many companies exploring …