According to a IDG Enterprise (IDGE) survey of 696 senior IT and business executives, more than half of respondents said IT must be business-savvy (61 percent), collaborative (53 percent), and innovative (50 percent). The only problem is that finding "hybrid" staff--those with that combination of tech skills and business savvy that CIOs covet--remains a problem.
Many IT executives are challenged to build IT departments that are more strategic, serviced-oriented and engaged with the business--but may not have a full staff of employees who have all the skillsets to make the transformation. By using a blended IT workforce, you can leverage the abilities and expertise of a much larger and technologically-diverse team to tackle issues that your full-time staff may not be equipped to handle.
Benefits of Blended IT
Reduce Overhead
24/7 Access to expert support
Round out Your Technical Strengths
Increased Situational Experience
Speed up projects
Reduce Waste
Increased Operational Flexibility
Decrease Overall IT spending
More and more companies are discovering the benefits of employing a blended IT workforce. This approach includes using a mix of full-time employees, independent contractors and temporary workers. A blended IT solution provides for the best possible financial and strategic business outcomes.
On Friday, September 23, 2016 Microsoft and the Small Business Administration hosted a workshop, Resources for Veteran Entrepreneurs to Start and Expand Business. Jamie Gasior, Business Development Director, Arizona provided additional resources and tech tips at the educational event for veteran business owners, startups and entrepreneurs.
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Discovery Communications embraces Office 365 to foster creative culture of innovation
Change is a constant in today’s business and media landscape, but that does not make it any easier, especially when it comes to technology. However, having a company and workforce hungry for the best new solutions brings great opportunity. Our leadership and employees understand that embracing new technology can, and should, result in greater productivity, flexibility and, ultimately, a happier, more successful culture. At Discovery Communications, our teams produce content for some of the most recognizable and beloved brands, have made crab fisherman icons with “Deadliest Catch,” and have established one of the most beloved (yet unofficial) U.S. holidays, “Shark Week.”
Our 7,000 employees around the world have high expectations of their technology tools. At the same time, our Global Technology and Operations team works tirelessly to deliver innovations that support employee creativity and the company’s open, collaborative work environment—without exposing us to risk. By enabling employees to securely share ideas and work closely together, we not only sharpen the company’s focus on bringing compelling content to the screen but also increase operational efficiency.
A few years ago, Discovery moved from on-premises systems to Microsoft Office 365. With our eyes on flexible solutions that would grow with our global business, we wanted to stop supporting non-differentiated services that involve a lot of heavy lifting for our team. More importantly, shifting to cloud-based services makes it possible to give employees capabilities that are always available and that include the latest features and enhancements. Office 365 puts a lot of the power into employees’ hands to control their own environment. We looked at several offerings, but the Office suite provides a universal language for business around the globe, and it made sense to stay in a world where our employees were already productive.
We have had remarkable success in migrating to Microsoft Exchange Online, moving our intranet to Microsoft SharePoint Online and adding Yammer as our enterprise social network. At the same time, we have taken full advantage of built-in features like Exchange Online Protection and archiving capabilities. So it was only natural to be interested in adopting the Microsoft Enterprise Cloud Suite and the latest Office 365 offering—the E5 suite.
Honestly, if I look at the decision to move to Office 365 E5 licenses from a strictly financial standpoint, it’s worth it just for Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) and Advanced eDiscovery alone. Anyone who has to deal with today’s sophisticated information security threats understands that ATP is a must-have. We have to make sure we protect our programming content, employees and production partners, so the enhanced security components in E5 were a key factor in our decision to move forward.
In order to best serve our Legal team, Discovery is implementing Advanced eDiscovery for litigation and data requests—allowing them to search more effectively across mail and content repositories, to see results in a more dynamic way and to better manage their daily work. Advanced eDiscovery has a much more natural search language and a more approachable interface for our attorneys and the ability to see search results in a more dynamic way. Using it will save a lot of time and help to produce more accurate, relevant and comprehensive results.
Gaining Microsoft Power BI played a major role in our decision, as well. With Power BI, we will be able to further democratize business intelligence and analytics for all our employees. While storytelling and compelling content are at the center of what we do, our business is grounded in understanding our audiences through research and data. We now have a powerful cloud offering that plugs into the familiar Office suite. A cloud-based platform like Power BI allows us to share key data insights more effectively than passing spreadsheets or sending PDFs, while also facilitating the organization, analysis and visualization of data however it is most meaningful to each employee.
Telephony represents another area where the E5 licenses will help us achieve both efficiencies and cost savings. We currently have an on-premises Skype for Business environment, configured as a hybrid with the cloud, and we plan to move entirely to the cloud in the next few years. We’re running pilot tests of Skype for Business Cloud PBX, and we love how we’re able to mix and match Cloud PBX hybrid configurations with PSTN Calling plans. We have offices in dozens of countries—in some markets, it makes sense for us to use a local carrier, while in others it’s more cost-effective to pay per user. With the advanced Skype for Business features, we gain the flexibility to tap into both models and give employees high-quality communications services in a way that’s fiscally smart.
Even before we adopted the E5 suite, we knew using Office 365 helped us transform how we do business. We’ve brought colleagues closer together and made it easier to collaborate with our numerous outside production partners. We’ve exceeded employee expectations of a mobile, modern technology environment. And we’re looking forward to using E5 functionality to continue to build on our foundation of real-time communications and team collaboration increasing our global workforce’s ability to capture audiences with breakthrough content.
Managed Solution is a full-service technology firm that empowers business by delivering, maintaining and forecasting the technologies they’ll need to stay competitive in their market place. Founded in 2002, the company quickly grew into a market leader and is recognized as one of the fastest growing IT Companies in Southern California.
We specialize in providing full managed services to businesses of every size, industry, and need.
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PowerPoint 2016 Quick Start Guide
New to PowerPoint 2016 or upgrading from a previous version? Use this guide to learn the basics. Helpful tips and tricks including:
Managed Solution has an all-star team with a kick-butt company culture, and we’re excited about what’s ahead. For over a decade, we’ve worked with companies large and small, supporting any and all of their IT needs. We invest in our clients and our staff to bring out the best in both. We’ve been named to the Business Journal’s 100 fastest growing companies for the past five years and stand in the top 1% of Microsoft Cloud partners worldwide. Managed Solution values high standards, honesty and integrity, proactivity, adaptability, and passion. We're poised for unparalleled growth and expansion, and we're always looking for MVPs to join our team.
Responsibilities:
As a member of the Managed Operations Center, the Technical Support Specialist (Level 1) will provide entry-level technical support to managed services clients in a 24/7/365 environment, working from Managed Solution headquarters and at various client sites. He or she will be responsible for the following...
•Fielding client inquiries and providing basic application support, network administration, desktop troubleshooting.
•Adhering to client service level agreements and team performance goals as you prioritize, resolve and escalate issues in accordance with company policy.
•Communicating technical information clearly and effectively over the phone, in person, and in writing to English-speaking clients.
•Documenting client communication and resolution efforts via internal ticketing system.
•Maintaining a high degree of professionalism, confidentiality, and integrity while accessing client data/systems and supporting mission-critical environments.
•Other responsibilities as assigned.
Qualifications:
Technical Competencies:
•An Associate or Bachelor degree in Computer Science or related field, or equivalent combination of education and/or experience.
•Microsoft or other technical certifications a plus!
•Basic troubleshooting skills in a Windows environment, including desktop and server OS
•Fundamental awareness of LAN/WAN administration and concepts
•Entry-level proficiency in Exchange and Active Directory
•Previous exposure to virtualization technologies and ticketing systems preferred.
Relational and Problem Solving Skills:
•An outgoing, enthusiastic personality with a can-do attitude and passion for solving problems.
•Outstanding customer service skills and a drive to deliver exceptional service to both internal and external team members.
•Strong organizational and problem solving skills. Experience prioritizing multiple responsibilities in a fast paced environment.
•Excellent oral and written English communication skills.
•Integrity and the ability to maintain confidentiality.
Perks & Benefits!
•Never stop learning… stay one step ahead of the game with a company on the bleeding edge of technology.
•Be inspired by your teammates: we’re a friendly bunch who are passionate about IT.
•Get Certified - Managed Solution prepays the cost of your exams!
•Earn $$$... Competitive salary with bonus potential
•Save for the future: 401(k) retirement plan (with employer match beginning at 6 months!)
•Find balance with plenty of PTO and 7 paid holidays
•Feel great with Medical, Vision and Dental Insurance - Managed Solution covers 65% of the cost!
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State of BYOD and Mobile Security Report: Latest Insights, Trends and Stats
The Information Security LinkedIn group released a new survey from its 200,000-member community on the state of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) and mobile security initiatives in their enterprises. We provide our take on some of the findings from this comprehensive survey‘s 1,100 responses.
To BYOD or Not?
According to the survey, over 60 percent of enterprises allow or tolerate employee use of personal devices to access enterprise data. Only a small minority of enterprises, 11 percent, have no plans to allow such usage. Enterprises that allow BYOD expect the primary benefits to be improved employee productivity and satisfaction and better overall security, and 58 percent expect related budgets to increase or stay flat.
Our Take: Device ownership is destined to become a nonissue, and IT organizations must adopt new capabilities to secure enterprise applications and data on a shared personal or corporate data device. Enterprises are embracing BYOD programs as an opportunity to invest in the secure productivity of their employees as opposed to a “cost of doing business.” Securing corporate data without making assumptions on device security makes enterprises less complacent and more rigorous in assessing and addressing security risks.
Enable Flexible Data Access
According to the survey, email access allowance is still king at 86 percent of responses, followed by access to documents, custom mobile applications and cloud services. Overall, structured data in enterprise databases is still deemed most valuable, with unstructured data a close second.
Our Take: Our devices enable access to critical enterprise resources. Sensitive data and transactions are accessed, stored locally and exchanged not only with data center apps, but also third-party services. BYOD enables a “personal” device image, but enterprises must take steps to secure local app execution, encrypt enterprise data where applicable and detect access and transactional risk.
Data Loss Doesn’t Equal Device Loss
The biggest mobile security risk, according to the survey, is losing enterprise data. In essence, the risk categories can be divided into three main areas: data (stolen, lost, unauthorized access), threat (fake apps, malware, exploits) and management (endpoint security, regulatory compliance).
Our Take: Enterprises must address each of these three dimensions through a holistic framework. Many enterprises have made progress on addressing the “lost device” scenario and data-loss risk with enterprise mobility management suites that enable a remote wipe of enterprise data from mobile devices. However, securing devices against compromise has a long way to go; this is partly due to the restrictions enforced by mobile OS vendors on the security community, which limits the ability to secure mobile platforms.
Mobility Impact: Tools and Resources
Enterprises are investing in resources (mostly security personnel) and tools (mobile device management and endpoint security solutions) to address the emerging mobile threats.
Our Take: Enterprises are taking steps to reduce mobile-related security risks. To minimize the burden, such resource allocation should occur in the context of a comprehensive plan that addresses enterprise-specific risk factors. For example, banks that provide online banking services to customers must address transactional risk from both laptops and mobile devices that they have absolutely no control over. Malware and phishing risks that are common to that environment should be assessed when new capabilities are rolled out (e.g., remote deposit capture).
Reducing Attack Surface: Beyond the Basics
Simple steps are the easiest to implement. Most enterprises require password protection to devices accessing enterprise data; this will deter the occasional thief but is probably no match for a focused adversary. Encryption and remote wipe provide additional layers of security.
Our Take: While these measures are a good start, security should be embedded in the enterprise mobility initiatives. For example, secure development practices and mobile penetration testing will reduce vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malware, thus reducing the attack surface. While the malware threat has quickly grown, its capabilities have slowly evolved on mobile devices. Recent developments should drive security teams to reassess the threat and the possible impact of credential loss on their enterprise security.
Summary
The survey shows enterprises’ increasing readiness to embrace BYOD programs. Enterprises are making investments in people and tools to manage the key risks to enterprise resources (applications and data), driven by mixing corporate and personal data and the evolving threat landscape. The business rationale for these investments is boosting employee productivity while improving security as a broader set of risks is taken into consideration; this is a no-brainer since we expect BYOD to become table stakes for virtually all enterprises in the next few years. Given the utility and importance of mobile devices to employees’ personal and work lives, this looks like a sound investment.
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Improve care team productivity and expertise, reduce medical errors, and increase real-time care team communications with Skype for Business. Promote provider education to stay current with advancements in medicine and meet continuing medical education requirements. Microsoft has developed solutions to eliminate communication silos to accelerate decision-making.
Microsoft's Skype for Business can improve team communication and performance by extending access and reach of services to more patients across all demographics and geographies. With Skype for Business, Healthcare Facilities can improve population health by virtually caring for and engaging patients in the context of their digital lifestyles and work styles, reduce travel time and distance between affiliated organizations, manage aging population and complex case-mix patients plus much more.
Benefits of using Skype for Business
Enterprise-Class meeting recording. Scalable to meet your growing organization’s capacity needs while being highly redundant, secure and economical.
Scheduled or on demand. Recording can be initiated both as part of the meeting scheduling process or on demand with simple controls easily accessible within the Skype for Business, Lync or other virtual meeting vendors’ interfaces.
Managed content. Users have access to manage their recordings, allowing them to trim, edit thumbnails, and share them easily right from within the communications tool.
Integrated with your corporate security framework. This minimizes administration and provides the flexibility to meet your multi-level access control needs.
Automatic metadata capture. Highly customizable metadata capture for enhanced search/retrieval as well as audit/compliance of meeting recordings.
Automated workflows. Can be created for specific types of meeting recordings with automated disclaimers, mandatory approvals, and security.
Easily share meeting content. Can be shared via collaboration platforms, email, websites and social tools while maintaining security.
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Field Engineer (IT)
Overview:
Managed Solution is seeking experienced, in-the-field technicians to help our clients implement technology solutions that empower business success.
In this role, you’ll be an integral part of a kick-butt team that's passionate about technology and committed to an exceptional client experience . You'll act as a partner and technology evangelist, and your clients will look to you for assistance with desktop and infrastructure troubleshooting and preventative maintenance.
This is a highly visible role where you’ll be rewarded with personal, professional and technical development... all while contributing to the business success of your clients.
Grow your career with us!
Managed Solution has been recognized as one of San Diego’s 40 fastest growing companies, awarded as one of the 40 companies with owners under 40 years old and has been recognized as the 27th fastest growing IT Company in the US. Most recently, Managed Solution has been awarded Microsoft’s partner award for excellence in delivering products and services on behalf of Microsoft Corporation. We're a thriving team with all-star players - join us!
Perks & Benefits!
•Feel great with Medical, Vision and Dental Insurance - Managed Solution covers 65% of the cost!
•Earn $$$ - Competitive salary
•Save for the future - 401(k) retirement plan (employer match beginning at 6 months!)
•Relax with vacation and paid holidays
•Be inspired by energetic and friendly co-workers
•Stay current with a Company that is on the bleeding edge of technology
•Grow your skills with certification support: we'll help you prep, pay for your test, and often give you a bonus for passing!
Responsibilities:
•Providing on-site support for clients' LAN/WAN environments
•Acting as a customer-facing systems consultant, technical advisor and onsite resource
•Assessing and documenting client infrastructure
•Resolving technical issues for managed services clients
•Documenting activities in ticketing system
•Configuring and utilizing monitoring tools to ensure high uptime
•Being a technology advocate and helping to identify technical opportunities that will enhance your customer's experience
Qualifications:
•Excellent customer service skills with the ability to work and communicate with a variety of customers.
•An Associates or Bachelors degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field plus 1-2 years experience in providing server/desktop support in a Microsoft environment. Equivalent combination of education and experience will also be considered.
•Demonstrated experience with Windows 2003/2008/2012 servers, Microsoft Exchange 2007/2010/2013, Windows XP/7/8 and Microsoft Office 2007/2010/2013. Experience in other Microsoft applications is a huge plus.
•To be adaptable and flexible and be able to adjust quickly to changing priorities and conditions
•Enthusiasm and a positive “can-do” attitude
•Analytical skills and the ability to solve complex problems
•High standards coupled with accountability and ownership for your work
•A strong work ethic with the willingness and drive to succeed
•To work well within a team and highly collaborative environment
•Excellent oral and written communication skills
•Organization and planning skills with the ability to manage priorities and commitments in a productive manner.
Company Core Values
•Provide exceptional service to everyone
•Respect the ones around you and respect yourself
•Always listen and be heard
•Chivalry, caring, and common sense should be without limit
•Constantly generate new strategies and creative approaches
•Expect the unexpected, be agile and respond
•Operational Transparency
•Say what you do, do what you say
•Build for today, plan for tomorrow
