Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Data Migration Process: How Agencies Can Successfully Move Data to Modern Systems

In a recent Accenture survey of IT executives, 58 percent of those surveyed experienced 2 to 3 major IT outages over the past decade. Cloud migration can help prevent outages, increase security protections, and cut costs. When it comes to database migration, some IT pros fear data loss. That's why it's important to migrate to a platform that can handle your data storage needs--like Azure. Contact us today to learn how we can help you prevent outages with a tailored cloud migration plan.

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Saving time with Microsoft Teams

This infographic displays stats on how Microsoft Teams reduces the total number of meetings as well as their duration from improved collaboration and information sharing.

View: Saving time with Microsoft Teams

Saving time with Microsoft Teams

This infographic displays stats on how Microsoft Teams reduces the total number of meetings as well as their duration from improved collaboration and information sharing.

View: Saving time with Microsoft Teams

Retail in the 2020s: The death of consumerism?

Thanks to new technologies and rising customer expectations, retailers have become experience hubs for millions of shoppers around the world. It's no secret that retail has fully embraced digital transformation, leading many experts to speculate about where the industry is heading next and what to expect from retail experiences going forward. In this article, you'll learn about the six main forces that will play key roles in determining this decade's retail technology.

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The Benefits Of SaaS For Managing Cloud Security Threats

As business become more digitalized, they must learn to contend with the increasing number of cloud security threats and incidents. Therefore, investing in the tools that can give them the ability to deal with and overcome these issues is quickly becoming every modern organization's primary concern. These tools, however, must ensure the security of enterprises' data while allowing them to remain flexible, productive, and efficient. In this regard, software-as-a-service (SaaS) has become the top choice for today's leading organizations thanks to its ability to safeguard information while reducing costs and providing employees with intuitive applications. In this article, you'll learn how SaaS models like Microsoft 365 have become key in helping businesses' IT departments keep information secure in today's highly connected world.

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Strong security starts with strong passwords

 If you use the same password for multiple systems—online shopping, email, your company’s cloud bookkeeping solution, etc.—you’re not alone. Even Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg did that. And in 2016 his LinkedIn credentials were compromised in a major breach. That gave hackers access to his Twitter account, too, because the passwords were the same.

 

The fact is, with just one user password, hackers can often break into multiple applications and systems. Your whole business can very quickly be put at risk. That’s why a good security practice is to have a different, strong password for every account. A breach will be isolated to that account, and the fallout will be much smaller and easier to manage.

Be extra protective of your sensitive accounts

When it comes to ultra-sensitive accounts like company servers or your banking apps, make extra sure the password you use isn’t one you’ve used anywhere else. Banks usually have strong security measures, but even those won’t protect you if someone tries a password you’ve used somewhere else and it works. The consquences could be disastrous.

 

Email is another big one to safeguard—work and personal. If someone gets into your email, the potential for damage goes up exponentially. They can send out phishing, ransomware, or other malicious attacks to any or all of your contacts, and they’ll seem legitimate because they’ve come directly from you.

 

Be unique and strong

Of course, in addition to being unique, your passwords have to be strong, too. At a minimum, that means making each one long. Pick one with at least eight characters, but the longer the better. If you can use phrases of multiple words instead of a single word, that’s even better still. (And for goodness’ sake, don’t use “password”.)

 

So why don’t more people use unique, strong passwords for every account? Usually because they feel like it’s too much work. If you have dozens or hundreds of accounts, having a different password for each one might seem like a royal pain. And long, complex passwords are definitely hard if not impossible to remember. Fortunately, there are solutions to help manage passwords for you so your brain (or an insecure notebook or spreadsheet) doesn’t have to do all the work. Having the right tools is just as important as having the right practices in place.


If you’d like to learn more about how to manage your passwords, let us know. And watch for our next blog on how you can add extra security by changing your passwords periodically.

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Mercy Housing keeps residents safe at home using Microsoft Teams

When the pandemic ushered in a new reality of social distancing, Mercy Housing was able to continue supporting the residents and communities it serves while keeping everyone safe using Microsoft Teams. This customer story video outlines when COVID-19 created a tremendous need for a tool that can maintain personal connection, Teams has allowed the company to maintain reaching residents and serving its communities, growing the business while working remotely, all while supporting highly secure environments for remote work.

Mercy Housing keeps residents safe at home using Microsoft Teams

When the pandemic ushered in a new reality of social distancing, Mercy Housing was able to continue supporting the residents and communities it serves while keeping everyone safe using Microsoft Teams. This customer story video outlines when COVID-19 created a tremendous need for a tool that can maintain personal connection, Teams has allowed the company to maintain reaching residents and serving its communities, growing the business while working remotely, all while supporting highly secure environments for remote work.

Mercy Housing keeps residents safe at home using Microsoft Teams

When the pandemic ushered in a new reality of social distancing, Mercy Housing was able to continue supporting the residents and communities it serves while keeping everyone safe using Microsoft Teams. This customer story video outlines when COVID-19 created a tremendous need for a tool that can maintain personal connection, Teams has allowed the company to maintain reaching residents and serving its communities, growing the business while working remotely, all while supporting highly secure environments for remote work.

Mercy Housing keeps residents safe at home using Microsoft Teams

When the pandemic ushered in a new reality of social distancing, Mercy Housing was able to continue supporting the residents and communities it serves while keeping everyone safe using Microsoft Teams. This customer story video outlines when COVID-19 created a tremendous need for a tool that can maintain personal connection, Teams has allowed the company to maintain reaching residents and serving its communities, growing the business while working remotely, all while supporting highly secure environments for remote work.

A modern focus on enterprise protection

Moving to the cloud is crucial for today's businesses to get the most out of digital transformation. However, the increased integration of mobile and cloud technologies creates a higher risk for data to be stolen or compromised. This at first led enterprises to dedicate an increasing number of resources to IT security in an effort to keep their organization safe from evolving threats, which led to over-sized departments and snowballing IT maintenance costs. Thankfully, the cloud has evolved to become businesses' greatest tool for reducing cyberattacks and has allowed them to enable more agile IT departments while keeping their information more secure than ever. In this infographic, you'll learn about Microsoft 365 E5's comprehensive approach to security and how it empowers organizations by giving them complete control and oversight of their enterprise data.

View: A modern focus on enterprise protection

A modern focus on enterprise protection

Moving to the cloud is crucial for today's businesses to get the most out of digital transformation. However, the increased integration of mobile and cloud technologies creates a higher risk for data to be stolen or compromised. This at first led enterprises to dedicate an increasing number of resources to IT security in an effort to keep their organization safe from evolving threats, which led to over-sized departments and snowballing IT maintenance costs. Thankfully, the cloud has evolved to become businesses' greatest tool for reducing cyberattacks and has allowed them to enable more agile IT departments while keeping their information more secure than ever. In this infographic, you'll learn about Microsoft 365 E5's comprehensive approach to security and how it empowers organizations by giving them complete control and oversight of their enterprise data.

View: A modern focus on enterprise protection

A modern focus on enterprise protection

Moving to the cloud is crucial for today's businesses to get the most out of digital transformation. However, the increased integration of mobile and cloud technologies creates a higher risk for data to be stolen or compromised. This at first led enterprises to dedicate an increasing number of resources to IT security in an effort to keep their organization safe from evolving threats, which led to over-sized departments and snowballing IT maintenance costs. Thankfully, the cloud has evolved to become businesses' greatest tool for reducing cyberattacks and has allowed them to enable more agile IT departments while keeping their information more secure than ever. In this infographic, you'll learn about Microsoft 365 E5's comprehensive approach to security and how it empowers organizations by giving them complete control and oversight of their enterprise data.

View: A modern focus on enterprise protection

A modern focus on enterprise protection

Moving to the cloud is crucial for today's businesses to get the most out of digital transformation. However, the increased integration of mobile and cloud technologies creates a higher risk for data to be stolen or compromised. This at first led enterprises to dedicate an increasing number of resources to IT security in an effort to keep their organization safe from evolving threats, which led to over-sized departments and snowballing IT maintenance costs. Thankfully, the cloud has evolved to become businesses' greatest tool for reducing cyberattacks and has allowed them to enable more agile IT departments while keeping their information more secure than ever. In this infographic, you'll learn about Microsoft 365 E5's comprehensive approach to security and how it empowers organizations by giving them complete control and oversight of their enterprise data.

View: A modern focus on enterprise protection

The challenges faced by today's retail stakeholders

As digital transformation touches every aspect of the retail industry, it's in retailers' best interest to embrace innovative applications that add customer value and improve operations. This is easier said than done, though, because the specific needs of individual retail stakeholders must be taken into consideration in planning and executing every digital initiative. In this infographic, we'll take a look at the needs of the industry's main stakeholders and how customer-facing solutions can help them meet the main challenges of their various roles.

View: The challenges faced by today's retail stakeholders

The challenges faced by today's retail stakeholders

As digital transformation touches every aspect of the retail industry, it's in retailers' best interest to embrace innovative applications that add customer value and improve operations. This is easier said than done, though, because the specific needs of individual retail stakeholders must be taken into consideration in planning and executing every digital initiative. In this infographic, we'll take a look at the needs of the industry's main stakeholders and how customer-facing solutions can help them meet the main challenges of their various roles.

View: The challenges faced by today's retail stakeholders

Customer story: Australian National University pioneers the next generation of genomics research by moving to the cloud

Australian National University is consistently ranked as one of the top 20 genomic research institutions. As pioneers of genomic research, they are growing the number of samples they use. As a result, their data and storage needs are growing, too. That's why cloud platforms like Azure are important for their research. With faster analysis and on-demand scaling, researchers can focus more on their projects and less on IT. Contact us today to learn more on how we can help you save time and scale.

Wednesday, August 19, 2020

Social Asset C: Empower security teams to coordinate

Stay connected to empower your team. Learn more about unifying your workplace collaboration with Microsoft Teams! Subscribe now!

View: Social Asset C: Empower security teams to coordinate

Social Asset C: Empower security teams to coordinate

Stay connected to empower your team. Learn more about unifying your workplace collaboration with Microsoft Teams! Subscribe now!

View: Social Asset C: Empower security teams to coordinate

Complement your in-store experiences with interactive customer applications. Get started with Microsoft Retail Solutions.

Not long ago, retailers feared online stores would render their businesses obsolete. Thankfully, the industry quickly adapted to living in an online, mobile world, and consumers have proven they can't get enough of the unique experiences provided by innovative retailers. That being said, the industry is moving at an unprecedented speed, and always-on digital solutions are no longer the exception, but the norm within the retail industry. Subscribe now to learn how you can use digital transformation to increase sales, ensure returning customers, and secure your business with Microsoft Retail Solutions.

View: Complement your in-store experiences with interactive customer applications. Get started with Microsoft Retail Solutions.

Complement your in-store experiences with interactive customer applications. Get started with Microsoft Retail Solutions.

Not long ago, retailers feared online stores would render their businesses obsolete. Thankfully, the industry quickly adapted to living in an online, mobile world, and consumers have proven they can't get enough of the unique experiences provided by innovative retailers. That being said, the industry is moving at an unprecedented speed, and always-on digital solutions are no longer the exception, but the norm within the retail industry. Subscribe now to learn how you can use digital transformation to increase sales, ensure returning customers, and secure your business with Microsoft Retail Solutions.

View: Complement your in-store experiences with interactive customer applications. Get started with Microsoft Retail Solutions.

Protect your data with secure and resilient productivity applications. Get started with Microsoft 365.

Whether public or private, today's organizations must adapt to an online and mobile-first world. This means investing in scalable solutions that guarantee ROI by increasing productivity and achieving widespread adoption. Furthermore, it also involves ensuring that all their applications are flexible enough to integrate new features or updates, and that their data remains secure across every touchpoint. Subscribe now to learn how you can leverage the productivity and security features of Microsoft 365 to create a more resilient, cloud-first business.

View: Protect your data with secure and resilient productivity applications. Get started with Microsoft 365.

Protect your data with secure and resilient productivity applications. Get started with Microsoft 365.

Whether public or private, today's organizations must adapt to an online and mobile-first world. This means investing in scalable solutions that guarantee ROI by increasing productivity and achieving widespread adoption. Furthermore, it also involves ensuring that all their applications are flexible enough to integrate new features or updates, and that their data remains secure across every touchpoint. Subscribe now to learn how you can leverage the productivity and security features of Microsoft 365 to create a more resilient, cloud-first business.

View: Protect your data with secure and resilient productivity applications. Get started with Microsoft 365.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

City of Houston: Optimizing business processes

In any type of organization, ensuring the resilience of your applications is a top priority. In other words, protecting your data against any and all threats is important, but certifying the recoverability and safety of your data in case of an incident can be just as crucial to guaranteeing the continuity of your business. This is especially important for public entities and governments, whose records include the data of millions of citizens, providers, and classified documents. For these organizations, constantly optimizing business processes to ensure the security and resilience of all their devices, platforms, and applications must become a vital part of their overall digital strategy. In this video, you'll gain insights into how the City of Houston, Texas leverages Microsoft technology to constantly improve the reliability of their data and increase the effectiveness of their public services.

Monday, August 17, 2020

Kroger: Next-gen mobile shopping

Regardless of how skilled you are at creating shopping lists or how well you know your local supermarket's floor layout, you'll most likely be revisiting the same aisles in search of items you missed. In other words, shopping for groceries is far from becoming the most time-efficient activity on people's to-do lists—or at least that's how it was until digital transformation came along. Now, thanks to the IoT and cloud technology, grocery retailers are discovering innovative ways to streamline their customers' shopping experiences and increase revenue by providing relevant offers based on their unique profile. In this video, you'll learn how Kroger, the largest U.S. supermarket chain, is using its Scan, Bag, Go solution to help consumers navigate its retail stores in the most efficient way possible. You'll also watch how IoT devices and Microsoft technology integrate seamlessly to enable convenient features such as self-checkout, a real-time subtotal count, and personalized advertising within the store's digital shelves.

Create instant remote work meetings with Microsoft Teams

Stay connected with Microsoft Teams while working from home with the help of the "Meet now" feature. In this video, you'll learn how to use "Meet now," which gives you the ability to turn a team chat conversation into an instant remote meeting.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Why a modern IT infrastructure is the cornerstone of data-driven enterprises

A solid IT platform is paramount for data-driven businesses. IT infrastructure, the foundation upon which datasets run, is key to the most basic and even the most sophisticated analytics capabilities. In this article, you'll read how updating networks, analytics tools, and data management resources, can prepare enterprises for the future of IT. At FH-Networking, LLC, your future is important to us. That's why we want to help you adopt the best solutions on the market. Contact us today to learn more.

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6 retail tech trends to watch for that go beyond competing with Amazon

It's been made clear that focusing on their customers' experiences is every retailer's top priority. However, part of the reason why this challenge is so complex is due to the logistics of running a retail business. Backend logistics, manual tasks, paper-intensive procedures, and item return processes are just some of the factors that decision makers and employees must manage daily, which takes away time from strategy or innovation. Thankfully, emerging technologies are enabling businesses to automate the least creative aspects of their daily operations. This, in turn, empowers their workforce to truly focus their attention on what really matters: their customers. In this article, you'll learn about the 6 most defining and value-adding tech trends available for retailers at the turn of this decade.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2020

62% of enterprises sacrifice mobile security for speed

According to Verizon's Mobile Security Index (MSI) 2020, 39 percent of organizations admitted that they've experienced a security compromise involving a mobile device. This becomes much more concerning when you consider that the average loss from a successful business-email compromise attack is nearly $130,000. However, despite the risk and huge losses, only 13 percent of enterprises have adopted regular security screening, data encryption, need-to-know access, and no default passwords corporate wide. So why are companies actively putting themselves at such risk, and what solutions are currently available to protect them from the latest security threats? Learn the answer to these questions and obtain greater insights into today's mobile cybersecurity landscape in this article.

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What is Teams?

This video shows how you can pull together a team with Microsoft Teams on your PC, Mac, or mobile device. Use chat instead of email, securely edit files at the same time, see your likes, mentions, and replies with just a single tap, and have the freedom to customize it all by adding notes, websites, and apps.

Customer story: Chevron's Azure migration journey

Chevron does business in over 30 countries around the world. With a distributed workforce and data coming from all over, they needed a solution to simplify, modernize, and secure their aging IT infrastructure. Chevron used Azure to convert legacy infrastructure to off-premises and automated their disaster recovery efforts. Watch this video to see how they also dropped infrastructure costs and improved security.

Customer story: Chevron's Azure migration journey

Chevron does business in over 30 countries around the world. With a distributed workforce and data coming from all over, they needed a solution to simplify, modernize, and secure their aging IT infrastructure. Chevron used Azure to convert legacy infrastructure to off-premises and automated their disaster recovery efforts. Watch this video to see how they also dropped infrastructure costs and improved security.

The retail industry is evolving

It's no secret that the retail industry has evolved significantly since the turn of the century. Heavily influenced by the digital business revolution that took every industry by storm, retailers have seen perhaps one of the most drastic changes in their customer base than any other type of business. So, what are the defining factors that have driven change in the way the retail industry operates? Find out by reading this infographic.

View: The retail industry is evolving

Monday, August 10, 2020

The four pillars of Microsoft 365 enterprise security

In the era of cloud-first and mobile-first technology, productivity and security go hand in hand. This means that when utilizing digital tools, the fact that your data remains secure, encrypted, and in the right hands is just as important—if not more so—than the increase in productivity obtained by using them. Therefore, choosing the correct applications involves a careful understanding of their features so you can avoid leaving your business unprotected or putting a strain on productivity with secure but stiff software. With this infographic, you'll gain a better understanding of how Microsoft 365 not only empowers your employees with tried-and-true productivity features, but also delivers on four key security pillars that ensure enterprise-wide security.

View: The four pillars of Microsoft 365 enterprise security

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Every business has to prepare for the worst

Every business has to prepare for the worst. Those that don’t, may never fully recover from a disaster. Is your business protected from disaster related downtime?

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Enable machine learning, video analytics, and the cloud to create alluring in-store experiences. Learn more about Microsoft Retail Solutions.

Insights are digital transformation's best friend. With accurate insights, you obtain a deep understanding of your environment as well as what your customers want and expect from your business. In other words, they're a key enabler for all your digital initiatives and are crucial in the development of new business opportunities. Subscribe now to stay updated on how you can leverage data-rich sources, advanced analytics, and Microsoft to improve your retail environment and enhance your customers' experiences.

View: Enable machine learning, video analytics, and the cloud to create alluring in-store experiences. Learn more about Microsoft Retail Solutions.

Empower employees and citizens with connected mobile experiences. Get started with Microsoft for Government.

In an interconnected, constantly moving world, reaching thousands—or even millions—of citizens requires governments to go above and beyond traditional media outlets. Providing access to services through mobile applications is therefore essential to guarantee the availability of public services and ensure that citizens have an open channel to communicate their needs and concerns. Furthermore, supporting public employees with flexible mobile tools can empower them to do increasingly more effective field work and become more efficient with their time. Subscribe now to learn more about how you can transform your organization into a modern digital workplace with Microsoft for Government.

View: Empower employees and citizens with connected mobile experiences. Get started with Microsoft for Government.

Social Asset BYL B: Unify workplace collaboration

Subscribe now and unify your workplace collaboration with @Microsoft Teams.

View: Social Asset BYL B: Unify workplace collaboration

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Top 5 benefits of moving to the cloud now

Migrating your IT infrastructure to the cloud has a ton of benefits. Whether you're looking to improve security and become GDPR compliant, cut your total cost of ownership by 10.25%, or promote teamwork and innovation by integrating AI capabilities, the cloud provides a solution to your IT problems.

View: Top 5 benefits of moving to the cloud now

Imperial College London uses Teams to teach and connect in a time of COVID

A world top ten university, with an international reputation for excellence in teaching and research, Imperial College London now uses Microsoft Teams to teach and connect in a time of COVID-19. In this video, see how the college is now relying on Teams for the delivery of its lectures and its remote labs, as well as a "virtual common room" where students and faculty can interact. Staff now have the fluid integration of shared files, scheduled events, and the students' use of the virtual learning environment, providing opportunities to respond to students in a way never done before.

Migration to Microsoft Azure: A technical overview

As part of its digital transformation, Canada's Capstone Mining needed a hybrid environment. It started shifting workloads to Azure for better scalability and resilience. But they didn't do it alone; they had help along the way. At FH-Networking, LLC, we are industry experts ready to help you transform the way your company does business. If you're in the market for a cloud solution to upgrade your IT infrastructure, contact us today to learn how we can help.

View: Migration to Microsoft Azure: A technical overview

Working with robots? Then your data might be safe

Working with robots? Then your data might be safe. If you work with humans, then you should give me a call about protecting your data from the guy sitting next to you. #dataloss

Kroger: Video analytics for action

Customizability in the retail industry can prove quite challenging. It requires tons of data, the capacity to accurately analyze said data, and the creativity to innovate based upon the results obtained. All of this must be executed while ensuring an intuitive shopping experience that maximizes available space and avoids over-saturation, both visually and physically. If this sounds complex, that's because it is—but when done properly, it can unlock a myriad of opportunities to provide your shoppers with tailor-made experiences. In this video, you'll watch how Kroger, the largest supermarket chain in the U.S., is utilizing video analytics to improve operations and create revenue-generating customer experiences.

Monday, August 3, 2020

City of Houston: Enabling a mobile workforce

Population growth is an inevitable aspect of modern cities, and with it comes the need for better infrastructure, more accessible services, and innovative communications channels that provide two-way communication between the government and its citizens. A bigger population also requires more public employees that serve as the eyes and ears of government institutions, and help ensure that critical services are provided to their city's most vulnerable populations. In this video, you'll watch how the City of Houston, Texas is using digital transformation to actively prepare for an increase of three million people during the next twelve to fifteen years. You'll also learn how the city is using Microsoft technology to provide its 22,000 employees with mobile solutions they can use to communicate effectively in both the field and the office.

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Backup isn’t enough

Backup isn’t enough. To avoid downtime, your applications need to run on-demand from virtual machines backed up in the cloud. #cloudbackup