Scheduling appointments is a common activity. Salespeople often set up virtual appointments to answer questions about a product. Software companies allow people to schedule live demos. Telehealth therapists allow clients to book video sessions. Those are just a few examples of some groups that are going to love a new Microsoft Teams feature. Virtual Appointments was recently added to the platform. It adds a new meeting style tailored for engagements with customers. Have you’ve been using Teams and a different online appointment app? This new feature will streamline the experience. What Is Virtual Appointments in Teams? Virtual Appointments gives you an all-in-one meeting platform for customer engagements. You can schedule, manage and conduct B2C meetings in Microsoft Teams. This new feature brings together the scheduling component with the video conference interface. Anyone with the link can join the virtual appointment. They do not need a Teams account. Image is from Microsof...

At the beginning of each year, a group of global innovators meets. They introduce and show off breakthrough technologies. It’s done at the Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ), which is typically held each January in the U.S. This year, over 3,200 exhibitors from 173 countries showed off the future. Giving us a glimpse of what could show up in our homes offices, living rooms, or kitchens. The show includes both wacky and very sensible inventions. All designed to push the limits and expand how we use technology. People love their gadgets, so it’s always exciting to see the new tech that CES showcases. It’s estimated that the global smart home household penetration was 14.2% in 2022. By 2027, it’s expected to more than double to 28.8%. What new gadgets did innovators introduce at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show? Here’s a rundown of some standouts that you may want to check out. Loona – Intelligent Petbot Do you love the thought of having a pet, but not the mess? Can’t have one b...

Customers look for convenience. In today’s world that means technology that makes their life easier. From webforms to POS systems, you need to keep the customer experience in mind in all you do. When people aren’t happy with their experience interacting with a company, they leave. And their experience might not have anything to do with your products or services. Maybe they found it hard to navigate your website. They may have a question, but no one was around to answer it. Customers expect you to make it easy for them to do business with you. Companies that do that, reap the benefits. Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than those that aren’t. Technology is key to converting website visitors into clients. It’s also key for keeping customers happy and returning to buy again. Where should you focus? Below are several ideas for all business budgets. Cloud Forms Are you still emailing forms in Microsoft Word to your customers? Using cloud-based forms makes the experie...

Once data began going digital, authorities realized a need to protect it. Thus, the creation of data privacy rules and regulations to address cyber threats. Many organizations have one or more data privacy policies they need to meet. Those in the U.S. healthcare industry and their service partners need to comply with HIPAA. Anyone collecting payment card data must worry about PCI-DSS. GDPR is a wide-reaching data protection regulation. It impacts anyone selling to EU citizens. Industry and international data privacy regulations are just the tip of the iceberg. Many state and local jurisdictions also have their own data privacy laws. Organizations must be aware of these compliance requirements. But they also need to know about updates to these rules. By the end of 2024, about 75% of the population will have its data protected by one or more privacy regulations. Authorities enact new data privacy regulations all the time. For example, in 2023, four states will have new rules. Colora...

Companies both large and small share this one cybersecurity problem. They have computers that are still running older operating systems. Staff might use these devices only occasionally. Or the company may be running customized software that won’t run on newer OS versions. The problem is that when the OS becomes outdated, the system is open to cyberattacks. When Microsoft or another developer retires an OS, it means that it is no longer supported. No more feature updates and no more security patches for newly found vulnerabilities. The latest operating system to lose all support is Windows 8.1. Microsoft released the OS in 2013, and it was officially retired on January 10, 2023 . Microsoft issued the following warning for companies: “Continuing to use Windows 8.1 after January 10, 2023 may increase an organization’s exposure to security risks or impact its ability to meet compliance obligations.” Here are a few facts you should know about what this retirement of Windows 8.1 means. ...

It’s a common theme. You begin seeing these amazing CGI images of your friends on Facebook or Instagram. You think, “How can I make one?” Filters and self-portrait apps have come a long way. You can now make yourself look like Hollywood’s version of a character in the next hit animated film. It still kind of looks like you, only a dream version with “perfect” hair, skin, and facial features. The latest of these modern vanity marvels to make the rounds is Lensa AI. You upload about 10 photos so the app can feed that data into its AI algorithm. Then, once it maps your facial features, it generates several fantasy selfies of you. These magical avatars don’t come for free though. While you can download the app for free and use it in a limited fashion, you need to pay to do more. To get unlimited access for one week, it’s $2.99. There are several pricing tiers for its avatar packs and membership access. These range from $3.99 for Avatars Pack 1 to $35.99 for full membership. It sounds ...

Microsoft 365 is one of the most popular cloud platforms in the world, with about 345 million paid seats. Microsoft cloud tools numbers were up 32% in Q3 2022 compared to the previous year. One of the reasons for its continued growth is the suite of cloud tools offered in the service. Users get a stable of over 20 different apps, including the core MS Office suite. With so many different apps, it’s not uncommon for some to go unused. Companies may not even be aware they have access to these other helpful tools. One of the handiest apps you get with a Microsoft 365 subscription is Microsoft Forms . From sending year-end customer surveys to assessing change readiness, Forms makes it easy. This online survey and form-building tool has a lot to offer organizations. And if you have a subscription to Microsoft 365, then you already get Forms included for free. What Is Microsoft Forms? Microsoft Forms is a drag-and-drop form, quiz, and survey creator. It’s simple to use and allows you t...

The need to back up data has been around since floppy disks. Data loss happens due to viruses, hard drive crashes, and other mishaps. Most people using any type of technology have experienced data loss at least once. There are about 140,000 hard drive crashes in the US weekly. Every five years, 20% of SMBs suffer data loss due to a major disaster. This has helped to drive a robust cloud backup market that continues to grow. But one thing that’s changed with data backup in the last few years is security. Simply backing up data so you don’t lose it, isn’t enough anymore. Backing up has morphed into data protection. What does this mean? It means that backups need more cybersecurity protection. They face threats such as sleeper ransomware and supply chain attacks. Cloud-based backup has the benefit of being convenient, accessible, and effective. But there is also a need for certain security considerations with an online service. Companies need to consider data protection when plannin...

Whether you sell shoes or run an accounting firm, you need some type of technology to operate. Today’s companies aren’t just in the business of selling their own goods and services anymore. They also must master various types of digital tools. These include software, payment systems, computers, Wi-Fi networks, mobile devices, and more. Companies also need to protect their devices and network.. If that technology isn’t working, it can impact a business significantly. 98% of surveyed organizations say that just one hour of IT downtime costs more than $100,000. The reliance on technology means that every company is now a technology company. This is the case no matter what products you sell or services you provide. Let’s discuss exactly why this is the case in today’s world. What Makes Technology a Backbone of Any Business? 1. Technology Is a Critical Part of Business Even farmers use tech to check commodity prices, sell livestock, and keep their books. Most companies couldn’t opera...

Technology vulnerabilities are an unfortunate side effect of innovation. When software companies push new updates, there are often weaknesses in the code. Hackers exploit these. Software makers then address the vulnerabilities with a security patch. The cycle continues with each new software or hardware update. It’s estimated that about 93% of corporate networks are susceptible to hacker penetration. Assessing and managing these network weaknesses isn’t always a priority for organizations. Many suffer breaches because of poor vulnerability management. 61% of security vulnerabilities in corporate networks are over 5 years old. Many types of attacks take advantage of unpatched vulnerabilities in software code. This includes ransomware attacks, account takeover, and other common cyberattacks. Whenever you see the term “exploit” when reading about a data breach, that’s an exploit of a vulnerability. Hackers write malicious code to take advantage of these “loopholes.” That code can al...

Imagine you’re going about your day when suddenly you receive a text from the CEO. The head of the company is asking for your help. They’re out doing customer visits and someone else dropped the ball in providing gift cards. The CEO needs you to buy six $200 gift cards and text the information right away. The message sender promises to reimburse you before the end of the day. Oh, and by the way, you won’t be able to reach them by phone for the next two hours because they’ll be in meetings. One last thing, this is a high priority. They need those gift cards urgently. Would this kind of request make you pause and wonder? Or would you quickly pull out your credit card to do as the message asked? A surprising number of employees fall for this gift card scam. There are also many variations. Such as your boss being stuck without gas or some other dire situation that only you can help with. This scam can come by text message or via email. What happens is that the unsuspecting employee buy...

Misconfiguration of cloud solutions is often overlooked when companies plan cybersecurity strategies. Cloud apps are typically quick and easy to sign up for. The user often assumes that they don’t need to worry about security because it’s handled. This is an incorrect assumption because cloud security is a shared model. The provider of the solution handles securing the backend infrastructure. But the user is responsible for configuring security settings in their account properly. The problem with misconfiguration is huge. It’s the number one cause of cloud data breaches. It’s also an unforced error. Misconfiguration means that a company has made a mistake. It hasn’t adequately secured its cloud application. Perhaps they gave too many employees administrative privileges. Or, they may have neglected to turn on a security function. One that prevented the downloading of cloud files by an unauthorized user. Misconfiguration covers a wide range of negligent behavior. It all has to do wi...

Since the pandemic, employers around the world have needed to change. They’ve had to shift how their employees operate. Remote work is very much here to stay. Organizations and employees can both benefit from the work-from-home and hybrid work revolution. Cost savings is a driver for supporting remote work. Employee morale and productivity also can be higher when employers grant this flexibility. A majority of organizations support some type of remote work. Statistics show that: 16% of companies are completely remote 40% support hybrid office/remote working 44% don’t allow employees to work remotely While there are benefits, there are also challenges to this new environment. Employers worry about the cybersecurity risks of remote teams. Managers can find it more challenging to make sure employees are doing what they should do. The remote and hybrid work environment has led to the rise of employee monitoring tools. These tools have mixed reviews from employees. What Is Employ...

There are a lot of things that have changed since the invention of the internet. One of these is how we bank and access our accounts. You used to have to go into a local bank branch to make deposits and withdrawals. Now, you can take a picture of a check and deposit it from your phone. Approximately 73% of people around the world use some form of online banking at least once a month. People have never had such convenient account access. But that convenience can come at a cost. In 2021, account takeover fraud increased by 90%. New account fraud jumped a whopping 109%. As the ease of online banking has increased, so has banking-related cybercrime. If someone breaches your Facebook account, it can be a real pain. But, if a hacker breaches your bank account, it can be devastating. It can mean significant losses. Losses that you may not be able to recoup from your financial institution. In this article, we’ll take a look at the mistakes people make that leave their accounts at risk. T...

Microsoft released the Windows 11 operating system (OS) over a year ago. It was largely well-received as stable and user-friendly. The OS is not a large departure from the Windows 10 experience. But it does offer a lot of enhancements over the older environment. Yet with several improvements and a free upgrade for Windows 10 users, it still lags in adoption. As of November 2022, Windows 10 still owns the lion’s share of Windows PCs. It has a 69.75 percent usage share as compared to 16.13 percent for Windows 11. People are slowly upgrading to the newer OS. But it’s natural for some to take a wait-and-see stance. They want to make sure it’s worth the time to upgrade. Additionally, no one wants to have to relearn their computer desktop. The good news is that Windows 11 has a similar workspace feel to its predecessor. But it packs a lot of great productivity and security benefits that Windows 10 lacks. Here are some of the coolest features in this current Windows OS. After taking a l...