Office 365 for Business
23Feb
12Feb
Office 365 increases Productivity and Collaboration
Increase the productivity and efficiency of your employees.
Below is an actual case from one of our IT Support clients detailing how they utilize Microsoft Office 365 Cloud Services.1. Introduction
It’s important to note that not all IT hosts are created equal. There are big differences between the features, reliability, and security. And there are three major things to consider. They are cost, updates, and accessibility.2. Trends
As cloud computing matures, a growing number of organizations are moving to the cloud. This lowers IT costs and increase efficiency and flexibility. Well, many organizations benefit from timely trends analysis. Simple, well-organized information about their IT environment helps them understand their current IT state. Also, where they will be if they adopt a particular cloud service.3. Problem
The key difference between Office 365 and all third party hosting providers is simply, Microsoft. Microsoft designed, developed, and distributed the software. There are many providers that have hosted these products successfully. But they are not the developers of the products they host. Why is this important? First, no third party hosting company can claim to match level of expertise in these products. Second, Microsoft’s products are in a constant state of development to improve. And the improvements made flow directly into their Office 365 and CRM Online offerings. Often they come online before their client-server apps. So you will automatically have access to them. However, updates may be available to third party hosting providers. But, you may be charged for them. Or the provider may not elect to deploy them at all.4. Solution
Office 365 takes the familiar Microsoft Office desktop suite. Then, they combine with powerful cloud-based communications and collaboration services. So this allows web and mobile accessibility. Collaborate easily with anywhere access to email, web conferencing, documents and calendars. Office 365 enables your employees to work together effectively. This enables your IT team to focus on more business-critical tasks. And you can have peace of mind knowing that experts are managing your IT. Your services will be available when you need them. This includes business-class security. Also, this is backed by technology's most-trusted company. Office 365 includes:- Office Professional Plus 2013
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online
- Lync Online
5. Benefits
Here are just a few key benefits of Office 365 we're most excited about:- Enterprise-class security and reliability. One of the best aspects of the cloud is the enterprise-class technologies. And they available at a price that smaller companies can afford. For instance, numerous layers of security help protect Office 365's data centers. Furthermore, stringent privacy policies help keep your data safe.
- Additionally, the data centers provide first-rate disaster recovery capabilities. Also, they are fully redundant. And, they are global to help ensure your data is available. So this means no more worrying. You are backed guaranteed 99.9% uptime.
- IT control and efficiency. On any given day, basic IT management tasks like retaining security updates and upgrading back-end systems occupy a great deal of your IT workers' time, preventing them from focusing their energy on business priorities. Office 365 will handle tasks like these, while still giving your IT staff control over user management and service configuration.
- User familiarity and productivity. Creating an Office 365 workspace doesn't necessarily result in a large learning curve. If your business already uses programs like this, your employees will merely be transitioning to a similar. But this would instead be a cloud-based experience. Moreover, since these programs are hosted on the cloud, employees can access information while on the go, from any laptop or device.
6. Example
Dr. Fuhrman's Medical Associates is located in Flemington, New Jersey. It provides health care for both adults and children. We helped them migrate from multiple applications to just Office 365. Office 365 provided them with one simple solution instead of four. As their business grows, Office 365 helps them save them time, money, and resources.7. Conclusion
Office 365 is an enterprise-grade service. So it was designed to meet the most rigorous requirements. It brings together their most trusted productivity solutions. These include Microsoft Exchange Online, Microsoft SharePoint® Online, and Microsoft Lync™ Online with Microsoft Office across platforms and devices. There are lots of good reasons to choose Microsoft as your solution provider. But the most important one is trust. And for business-critical capabilities. you want a trusted partner. Microsoft has provided enterprise-class productivity solutions for more than 20 years. And Office is the number one productivity suite worldwide. So with millions of users, what better partner would you need?About Profulgent Technology
An efficiently-run business helps keep you ahead. So we create ways to enhance your company. Our approach incorporates a comprehensive evaluation. We audit all of your existing technology and its processes. Additionally, we assess your needs for the future. Our fully-certified staff enables you to make informed decisions. And we also help your business cut costs on your overall spending. Lastly, we that your operations are streamlined. And this allows you to remain at the forefront of your respective industry. Our target market is small to medium sized businesses. Nowadays, most businesses have either a single PC or a multi PC environment. And all of these businesses need support. So we support and to monitor all of these systems on a regular basis. And we leave minimal chance of failure or data loss. Thus, you have more time to work on your business. Contact information: Profulgent Technology Phone: 732-242-9345 Email: info@profulgent.net Website: https://profulgent.net
11Sep
Outlook 2010 Scheduling Assistant
It is a common complaint in some organizations that trying to arrange a meeting with people is virtually impossible. Scheduling an appointment usually starts with a series of emails asking when people are free. As the number of attendees grows or shared resources are involved, like conference rooms, projectors, etc, this simple task becomes even harder to accomplish. This is where Outlook 2010 and Exchange 2010 can help. The Outlook 2010 Scheduling Assistant allows you to see what people have available in their calendars without them actually giving you permission to view it. You can see the times that are booked but you cannot see any details other than the time. The details on using these features are listed below.
Click here to read more: Outlook 2010 Scheduling Assistant
26Jun
Windows XP and Office 2003 Are No Longer Supported
You probably heard by now, if not, as of April 2014, Microsoft has shut down support for Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003. Microsoft has declared these products “End of Life”, which means that Microsoft will not produce any more security updates protecting you from threats or criminals trying to get into your system. There's nothing new about software reaching the end of its commercial life. The problem with Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 is the fact that it is still widely used in many commercial environments. These environments will become hackerheaven. For more details, see HackerHeaven.
Strategic businesses have been working with our IT consultants over the last six months to replace and upgrade their systems. At Profulgent Technology we want to protect our clients in every way possible. If you are still running either of these systems in your environment, the time for change is now! Give us a call to schedule some time with one of our consultants to discuss your upgrade options. 732.242.9345, x. 100
Profulgent Technology - Practical Solutions Business Results!
26Jun
Microsoft to the FBI: Drop Dead
Microsoft has taken some heat for what some people claim is too cozy a relationship with the NSA. But they've recently gotten privacy religion. The company stood up to the FBI. And they refused to turn over data about one of their customers.
This article excerpt, by Preston Gralla, originally appeared here:
http://blogs.computerworld.com/privacy/23947/microsoft-fbi-drop-dead
Microsoft successfully fought off the FBI. It was an attempt get “basic subscriber information” about one of Microsoft’s corporate customers, writes Brad Smith, General Counsel & Executive Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs in the the “Microsoft on the Issues” blog.
The Challenge
First, the FBI issued a National Security Letter asking for the info. And as part of the letter, they weren't even allowed to publicly acknowledge that it received request. In fact, it wasn’t even allowed to tell the company about it. So, Microsoft challenged it in court. Because, in the words of Smith:“We concluded that the nondisclosure provision was unlawful...It violated our Constitutional right to free expression. It did so by hindering our practice of notifying enterprise customers when we receive legal orders related to their data.”The FBI backed off, and agreed to call back the letter. Yesterday, documents related to the case were unsealed by a federal court in Seattle. You can read them here.
Future Effect
The case involved a corporate customer using cloud-based Office 365 and cloud data. So, hat’s the future, and likely one of the reasons it fought back against the FBI. And in its petition against the FBI request, Microsoft wrote:“As more users migrate from locally installed software and locally stored data to cloud-based computing platforms, Microsoft increasingly is entrusted to store its customers’ data safely and securely.”Also, they note that its contract requires that it alert them when their data is being requested:
“The Contract provides that Microsoft disclose data to satisfy legal requirements. And to comply with law or respond to lawful requests by by a regulatory or judicial body, as required in a legal proceeding. The Contract also provides that unless prohibited by law, Microsoft must use commercially reasonable efforts. This is to give notice of any such disclosures in advance, or as soon as commercially reasonable after such disclosures.”That’s why Microsoft fought the FBI request. But it has promised its customers it would tell them when a government agency was asking for information about them. And this FBI National Security Letter banned them from doing that. Some might argue that the enterprise only did this to protect its business. But, that’s besides the point. Because for whatever reason, Microsoft stood up to the FBI and won. And that’s a good thing.
11Mar
Free business continuity and disaster recovery plan review
Hurricane Sandy last year followed by the recent tornado that hit Oklahoma has truly put things in to perspective why businesses need to prepare for disasters. The safety of your employees should be your number 1 concern followed by the plan to protect your business along with the data and applications that run it. Give us a call to discuss a no-cost business continuity and disaster recovery plan review.
http://www.ready.gov/business/implementation/IT
11Nov
Tech terms you should know
For most of us, technology is an integral part of our everyday lives. Many of us, however, still are hazy on a number of common technology terms. Fortunately, for those that are confused, we have created a mini glossary of common tech terms you should be familiar with.
Cookies
Cookies are what allow websites to know who you are. If you allow cookies, your web browser will automatically supply your information such as username, password or preferences. They are convenient because they save you from having to reenter your information every time you visit a website.
Cookies are also seen by some as a privacy issue. Since they store your information and track your activity, somebody could easily access your data. You can protect yourself, however, by using cookies sparingly.
URL
A URL, which is short for uniform resource locator, is essentially the web address of a website. It is what you type into the address bar of a browser when you would like to be directed to a web page.
Cloud
Cloud is one of the most used terms in technology these days yet it still has quite a few people scratching their heads. The cloud is made up of web-based services that you can use on any computer without purchasing hardware or installing software. Google Docs and Facebook are among the most common cloud services today.
Flash
Flash is an Adobe Systems-owned platform that allows for great web interactivity. Installing a Flash plug-in on your browser makes it possible for you to view animations, certain displays and videos. Although Flash has been the longtime standard, HTML5 is surfacing as a valid competitor.
Although tech terms can get quite complicated at times, knowing the basics can help you to better understand the technology we’re using every day.
For more tech terms and their meanings, check out this glossary.
30Sep
Windows XP is a ticking time bomb, and it’s set to explode April 8th, 2014.
It’s that time again, when Microsoft declares the retirement of another operating system, Windows XP, even while many of us are still using it. This does not mean that Windows XP will cease to function on computers in April but it will no longer be officially supported by Microsoft. It is imperative to cease using Windows XP before support is dropped for numerous reasons listed below.
Official Microsoft support for Windows XP means many things including bug fixes, software updates, and security patches, just to name a few. Of these the most relevant to why you should move away from XP are the security patches. These patches close vulnerabilities in the operating system itself that allow malicious attacks or even hijacking of your computer and the data it holds. It’s the same concept as patching up holes in a roof to prevent water from leaking in. Studies show that those who exploit these holes in systems are currently holding onto the security risks they have discovered and plan to wait until after April 8th to use them. This means that starting on April 8th we will see a wave of new virus attacks specifically targeting Windows XP machines. At that point, Microsoft will have dropped support and no attempt will be made to plug these holes.
For this reason alone it should be a priority to eliminate any usage of Windows XP in your office or home, even if it is not a regularly used machine. Just imagine the damage to your company or property that could be done if a burglar broke in and gained full access to your computer systems. That is exactly what any Windows XP machine on your network will potentially become when next April rolls around. The longer an XP workstation remains on your network, the more exploits will be discovered, and the more dangerous it will become. Don’t let this happen to you or your data!
If that is not enough of a reason to motivate you into upgrading your system and security consider this. Security is not the only part of XP that is becoming antiquated, system software is already lagging behind and is only getting worse. Internet Explorer, the built-in Microsoft software many of us use to access the web, is currently in its 10th version. However the latest version running on Windows XP is Internet Explorer 8. So what does this mean to you? It mean that Internet Explorer 8 is the latest version that will ever run on XP. As new languages such as HTML5 are used in websites fewer and fewer pages will load properly in Internet Explorer 8 since it will never receive the appropriate updates. One can simply resort to 3rd party browsers such as Mozilla’s Firefox or Google’s Chrome right now, however that will only last as long as these companies continue supporting XP, which brings me to my last point.
3rd party support for Windows XP. Already many companies who develop software exclude Windows XP as a supported operating system. This is because in the United States only 16% of computers are still running XP. It costs money to ensure compatibility with each operating system, and frankly, to many smaller companies it is neither affordable nor cost effective. This is already going on now, and will get exponentially worse as official support of the operating system is dropped by Microsoft.
So I ask you, are you still running XP on any of your computers? If so, what is the purpose? Is it because the computer has simply not been upgraded, or perhaps because you are running a specialized software that only supports XP?
Whatever the case may be, Profulgent Technology has the answers for you. From simple PC upgrades to virtualization for specific applications, we can bring your business up to speed quickly and ensure your computers are ready when April rolls around.
Read more here (References):
http://www.welivesecurity.com/2013/08/13/cybercriminals-saving-up-wave-of-windows-xp-attacks-for-when-microsoft-stops-support/
https://www.networkworld.com/news/2013/080713-china-has-a-massive-windows-272608.html
16Aug
Local Technical Support in NJ
At Profulgent Technology, we recognize that an efficiently-run business is what helps keep you ahead in today’s competitive marketplace. We are your one-stop-shop for all things IT in Monmouth, Middlesex and Mercer County and all throughout the state of NJ and NY. Our goal is to create innovative ways to enhance your company’s business. Our successful approach incorporates a comprehensive evaluation of all of your existing technology and its processes, as well as assessing your needs for the future.
