Cyber Security – What you need to know!

By Paul Caldwell – Microsoft Security BDM 

What should I be doing to secure my business? 

One of the first things about Security is realizing that security is much more than stopping people “hacking in”. 

It is fundamental to any business to have a business continuity plan (BCP). If you plan for a power outage what happens? Your IT systems will be down.  

Can I use the same plan if an outage occurs to my IT systems and it’s not a power problem?  

Security is the foundation of resilience. 

The hardest part about security is getting started. Often, it’s on the “to do list” until it’s too late.  

Hopefully you have already talked to your IT partner and had the security business continuity conversation.

If not “What should I do first” is a common question? Rather than recommend one single thing, the answer should be – “Have a plan”  

So, what does your plan need to cover? 

  • Firstly, look at any existing business continuity plan. Is it up to date has it been tested? 
  • Look at not just the worst case but also the best case and know that when an incident occurs it will lie somewhere in
  • Most importantly have a plan, know what to do and who to call. 
  • Understand your risks and apportion the appropriate resources to minimize those risks.
  • Make the plan proactive. Be a fence at the top of the cliff and don’t rely on an ambulance at the bottom. 
  • Prevent rather than recover.
  • Inventory is a crucial starting point of any plan. What equipment do you have? what software do you have? What data do you have?
  • Then look at where are the biggest risks. Is there a single point of failure?

Look at your plan as being a holistic business continuity plan, that is a living document. Continually revisit, update, fire drill, and improve.  

Many of the incidents we see disrupt business are due to poor Cyber hygiene not some advanced nation state hack.  

Do the following to enhance your security: 

  1. Keep the software for your devices and applications up to date.
  2. Access? How do I verify my user is in fact who I think they are? Is MFA (Multi factor authentication) on!!!
  3. What information do I have? Where is it stored? Who has access?
  4. What are my essential services?
  5. What are the financial implications of these risks?
  6. What are my obligations to customers, employees, and shareholders?
  7. If I was breached, how would I know and when?
  8. Am I running Microsoft 365 Business Premium?

Can my staff trust that the Cyber workplace is as safe and secure as possible? If it is, you will see productivity and creativity flourish, staff retention rises as well as the ability to recruit new staff. 

“She’ll be right” –  Is not a plan! “No surprises” is a plan. 

For further advice, contact us here to discuss creating a plan for your business.  

The Risk of Abandoned Domain names

One of the first things we all do is business owners is ponder our business name and what our domain name will be.

As our business evolves, sometimes we upgrade our business name, and our website. However, before you abandon your old website there are a few things that you need to know.

When you set up your Web presence, you select a domain name, and it’s part of all your URLs (FYI: URL stands for uniform resource locator).

For example, you are an accountant who specialises in small businesses in Whangarei, so you pick the domain name beancounter.co.nz for your business. Your emails come from Chiefbeancounter@beancounter.co.nz. From there you start building web traffic for your thriving accountancy firm.

You may even think ahead and purchase some similar domain names such as beancounter.com, or some similar names to redirect traffic and avoid losing customers to misspellings or typos.

The domain name is the basis of your business and is the foundation from where you grow. As you build the business, you may expand to new offerings and provide additional services that are beyond the scope of what you started with. For example, maybe you now also offer business counsulting so you need a more generic and umbrella type of term.

Before you abandon your old domain name  – WAIT!

Why domain names get abandoned:

  • If you have multiple domains, that can be a lot of small renewals to track and pay. Along the way, a domain renewal can easily get overlooked. So, the domain name is abandoned.
  • Domain names can also get abandoned as a result of a business rebranding or company restructuring.
  • You may decide a domain is no longer worth continued renewals.

The security risk of abandoning a domain name:

 After you stop paying for your domain name and after a certain grace period, anyone can buy that abandoned domain name.

Whilst on the face of it that doesn’t sound that bad, I mean you’ve moved on from just being a bean counter and you want to expand. You didn’t want that old domain anymore…right?

Heres the problem, you just don’t know who might snatch up your old online calling card. Bad actors buy up abandoned domain names and re-register them with catch-all emails.

What’s a catch-all email? Well, remember Cheifbeancounter@beancounter.co.nz? That was you. But maybe you also had distinct emails for accounts, sales, support, office, Mary and James. All of these were going through Beancounter.co.nz.  If someone emails someone at the previous domain owner’s business, it goes instead to the new owner. Having seized control of your old site, they gain access to all incoming emails, and they could see information you don’t want them to see.

The bad actor could also access online services once used by mary@beancounter.co.nz. All they would need to do is reset the password to hijack that account.

Security researchers have seen criminals claim abandoned domains to:

  • access confidential email correspondence;
  • access personal information of former clients and current or former employees;
  • hijack personal user accounts (e.g. LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) linked to old domain e-mail addresses.

What to do with domain names:

Especially if you use a domain name for email, don’t let the renewal expire. We didn’t even mention pirates who look for business websites that have lapsed so they can charge exorbitant ransoms to return that domain.

When you move to a new domain address, communicate the change with all your clients and vendors. Close any cloud-based user accounts registered with the old domain email address. Also, unsubscribe from email notifications that might share sensitive data.

What to do next:

Not sure about your domain name registrations, renewals, and what’s set to expire? We can help you with this. We will make sure you don’t abandon domain names, and ensure you close any associated accounts properly to protect your security. Contact our team here.

Is the cloud right for your business?

Cloud services have been shaking up the industry for years now, and its adoption by small and mid-sized businesses is driving cloud computing’s growth.

Yet while there are many benefits to migrating to the cloud, it isn’t the solution for every situation. This article will explore some reasons why your business may not suit the cloud.

Don’t get us wrong. There are many business benefits of working in the cloud. These include:

  • consistent access to the same applications as on-site colleagues for every user;
  • no need to install software on every individual’s device;
  • upgrades and security patching made easier for the IT team;
  • faster setup and easier scaling (up or down as needed);
  • enterprise-level security without having to reinvent the wheel at the individual system level;
  • built-in redundancy offering protection against a single point of failure.

Still, cloud computing isn’t a silver-bullet solution. There are areas of the business that you may want to think twice about before migrating to the cloud.

Proceed to the cloud with caution

Consider how a move to cloud computing could affect your business. Don’t blindly sign up to put everything online. For one thing, cloud migration makes your business reliant on internet connectivity. If your small business struggles with a dodgy internet service provider (ISP), solve that before moving to the cloud. ISPs that suffer frequent outages or slow speeds are not great hosts for cloud computing.

In situations involving large amounts of data transfer, such as video editing, it doesn’t make sense to work from a cloud server.

You’ll also want to think twice before putting sensitive data in the cloud. Switching to cloud servers can improve security for many small businesses, and the move also gives them access to encryption and redundancy, but if data security is a concern (or a compliance issue), do a deep dive into providers’ cybersecurity efforts.

If you use custom software and data transfer, you may also want to reconsider migrating to the cloud: it may have never been designed to work in the cloud. New cloud-based software may promise all the same features and cost savings, but make sure you understand what that software does and doesn’t do.

The cloud option may not be right for you if your needs are going to change as your business evolves. Cloud vendors are going to try to keep you dependent on their solutions, and they don’t always make it easy for you to move to new software when you need different or new features.

You also run the risk of becoming a multi-cloud organization. This is when different teams at your business each have their own cloud software. This can give users access to best-in-class applications, but it can also lead to unwieldy computing complexity.

Supporting your cloud decisions

Successful cloud migration also requires good customer support. If your IT team is overworked (or nonexistent), you need a vendor with accessible cloud support. Alternatively, you could work with a managed service provider to support your transition to the cloud.

Considering a move to the cloud? Consult with our cloud computing experts first. We can guide you to a well-established cloud provider with a wide range of services. We’re also here to help with the migration. We can help make sure the solution suits your needs and the transition goes smoothly. Contact us here.

AVOID DOCUMENT DISASTER: Empowering your Business

The POWER Trifector Solution for Document Automation

The environment in which we operate has significantly changed. Businesses in Northland have been driven to embrace remote working.  

Every good business is constantly on the hunt for new ways to improve their efficiency, keep their costs down, and increase productivity and profit and decrease risk.

What if we told you that you might be sitting on a goldmine of opportunity?

Having Microsoft 365 is bit like owning a spaceship. You know what it’s used for, but how to use it? Let’s unpack it a bit further.

Most Common Problems

The most common problems we hear of through our IT Alliance network around the country are:

  • Putting your documents into the cloud, document management and approvals
  • Empowering your business while working remotely
  • Managing emails and automating them
  • Keeping your company cyber safe

Would it surprise you to know that 50% of IT Alliance clients underutilize their Microsoft 365 Teams account? So why pay for something, and not use it all? You can join in our Empower Series here to hear more, but for now let’s start with document management and approvals.

Making the most of Your Microsoft 365

Sharepoint and Power Automate are both free with your business Subscription. Did you know you could use them in these ways?

Microsoft SharePoint – SharePoint (their free document management system) can seem overly complicated because it can offer so much. But it doesn’t need to be so scary.

You can start small and use more functionality as needed or as you grow.

Basically, it’s a platform that offers content management and collaboration.

It helps with reducing duplicate files, gives you remote access (needed more than ever!) and allows you to work on the same document at the same time.

Find out more about SharePoint here: https://ita.co.nz/sharepoint-shakedown

Microsoft Power Automate is another free app that allows you to automate workflows across applications. You can use it to connect email and instant message alerts, synchronize files between applications, copy files from one service to another, collect data from one app and store it in another, and much more.

Templates are available to get you started. Efficiency is key for sustained success across businesses and Power Automate assists this by simplifying workflows with the automation of repetitive tasks.

Power Apps – is a low-code application development platform that integrates with Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Azure and more.

With Power Apps, web and mobile applications can be built without writing code. Instead, you can use pre-built templates and components with drag-and-drop simplicity.

Power Apps has been described as a bit like a meal delivery kit. The ingredients are pre-measured and chopped. The instructions are ready to go. All you have to do is prep and cook.

Because Power Apps has advanced logic and rules built-in, development time is cut by 70%. In some cases, it takes just a few hours to build an app. Or you can customize one of the pre-built templates in just minutes. Plus, Power apps connects to hundreds of business systems and databases. Here are some impressive statistics to show how Power apps is super useful.

  • 188% ROI over three years3
  • 74% reduction in app development costs4
  • 2 hours of line-of-business employee productivity improvement per week5

Real Business, Real Change

Quality Food Services is the largest exporter of butter pastry in NZ.  Up until a few years ago they were struggling with their documents and approvals as they were complicated and manual.

They used SharePoint to create an online document management system that had version control, search features and navigation that made finding documents and using them easier. 

You could track your changes so that everyone was always up to speed on any project.

Power Automate helped QFS to automate their business processes and approvals using tailored notifications and automated data entry, saving plenty of time and increasing the accuracy of the approval process.

Power apps helped to collect information and display where everything was in the process so that the project could be managed much more easily.

All of this saved them time, money and decreased their risk significantly.

Where to from here?

If you have a process that you are helps make your document management process a little less of a headache, speak to us here. You are welcome to register to attend our next Empower Session here.

Document Management – How to Save Time, Decrease Risk and use what you already have!

Meet Quality Food Southland

Meet Quality Food Southland or QFS for short. What started as a humble bakery and Café in the 1900’s by Annie C Miller, grew into New Zealand’s leading manufacturer in butter-based bakery products and sauces. They are the largest exporter of butter pastry in NZ. Up until a few years ago they were struggling with their systems and processes.

Document Management and Approvals headache!

Their document management and approval systems were completely manual. This meant a LOT of paperwork, and complex filing systems as each product version had to be kept on hand. There could be many iterations which make things complicated.  Their approval process was also a headache. QFS had eight different approval processes. At each stage, approval had to be signed off by three different signatories. As you can imagine there was a lot of paper, storage and wasted time, not to mention the risk of making a mistake, was really high.

Aiming for Change

Ideally, the team at QFS were keen to make a few improvements. Document storage and security were key. They wanted to get rid of the complex document folder structure while managing and keeping all their file changes. They wanted to replace the manual time-consuming approval process for an online version, complete with change notifications, tracked changes and approval process stage indicators.  Essentially, they wanted to have the process more manageable, consistent and streamlined.

Empowering QFS with Microsoft

After consulting with an IT Alliance Member, the QFS team decided that the best course of action was to have these seasoned professionals cook up a nicely balanced solution using some Microsoft products called SharePoint, Power Automate, and power apps. These were all available through having Microsoft 365.

SharePoint helped create an online document management system that had version control, search features and navigation that made finding documents and using them easier. It even had a check in and out function. You could track your changes so that everyone was always up to speed on any project.

Power Automate helped QFS to automate their business processes and approvals using tailored notifications and automated data entry, saving plenty of time and increasing the accuracy of the approval process.

Power apps helped to collect information and display where everything was in the process so that the project could be managed much more easily.

The End Result

QFS ended up with a very slick looking web-based system thanks to Microsoft 365 and its added products. The best part is that it is all in one place. The new system stores all documents, manages document check-in/out, maintains all version history and records document changes.

 It allows users to check-out a document, make the required changes then completes the document approval process from start to finish. It includes notifications to stakeholders, updates progress and document control lists throughout the process. On approval, it creates a pdf version and stores it in a duplicate SharePoint suite used by “view only” staff.  The result helps their business run more efficiently, with less risk. Sounds too good to be true, right?

If you are ready to empower your business with Microsoft Products like these, you can reach out to us here. If you would like to learn more, join us at this free event by registering here.

Top IT Tips for 2022

Top IT Tips for 2022

A New Year is a definitely a chance to kick things off the way you mean to go on.

For Northland businesses, we have compiled some key IT tips that can help your business to thrive.

#1. The Remote mobile working office is here to stay:

If Covid has taught us all one thing, it is the need for flexibility around how we work. Agility is fast becoming one of the key differentiators of a business’s success. Creating easy ways for your team to communicate by enabling an all-in-one solution for communication, collaboration, will ensure that you stay connected and productive.

#2. Security, security, security!

We know we say it all the time, but Cyber threats aren’t going anywhere. Keep the focus on security in 2022, as every business, no matter the size is at risk. Don’t risk losing time and money to a data breach or ransomware, instead talk to your IT company about the following:

  • Getting a cybersecurity audit done.
  • Securing all email.
  • Have notifications for remote workers to know when they are connecting to unsafe networks.
  • Put a disaster recovery plan in place.
  • Ensure backups of all data are secure.
  • Implement a password management system.
  • Prohibit third-party apps on work devices.

#3. Make sure I.T is in the 2022 budget

In this era, I.T is an area where you don’t want to be taking shortcuts. Budgeting for your I.T is a wise move to ensure that you have continuously upgraded internet access, software and hardware upgrades as required. Unreliable internet service can cause downtime that has a run on effect with productivity, and can even lose your business valuable clients. Skimping on your I.T budget can lead to much bigger costs further down the road.

#4. Safe and Professional Email addresses

This might sound basic, but if you haven’t already shifted to a professional email, 2022 is the time to do this. Using a gmail account or similar doesn’t make a professional first impression, and more importantly is a security risk. We can easily help you to upgrade to reliable business-grade emails. Our team at Ultra IT can easily help you to navigate this.

#5. Audit your Equipment

Taking time to do an audit of your current technology, and how it is performing can identify any potential problems and streamline processes. There are still some supply issues with computer hardware, so make sure you are aware of what your business is likely to need in 2022, including any new employees, plus upgraded equipment, so you can plan ahead. If you can give us as much notice as possible, we can make sure that we do our best to source what you require.

#6. Partner up with a managed service provider

Now is also a good time to hire a managed service provider. Partnering with an IT professional helps you make good technology decisions that can ultimately save you a lot of money. Getting advice from industry experts who understand the increasingly complex world of technology, security, and optimizing IT resources is an investment that ends up being a lot more economical then having the ambulance at the bottom of the hill.

Don’t worry if all of this feels overwhelming, our team at Ultra IT can offer you many options to help you have a stress free year with IT in 2022. If you would like further information, please feel free to contact us here.

Seven Bonuses for Small Business in Office 365

You’ve probably seen all the ads for Office 365. They’re popping up on your desktop, your employees are sending you meaningful looks, and clearly, it’s not going away. You’ve probably even jumped online to see what all the fuss is about. But is Office 365 a necessary upgrade for your small to medium Northland business? The answer is YES. Office 365 is more than a refreshed set of tools, it’s an efficiency and productivity powerhouse. Here are 7 spot-on reasons why small business owners should upgrade now.

#1. Data security is built in

Office 365 was created with data security at its core. The built-in compliance and security protocols mean your cloud storage is safe, and you can control access so your valuable data remains exactly where you want it. Storing your data in the 365 cloud keeps it safe in case of emergency, with 1TB of storage per user included at no extra cost.

#2. Ditch the licensing drama

Software version differences can be a real nightmare in a small office. Not every system can do the same things, and half the time, they can’t even open the same files. It quickly becomes a hodge-podge of workarounds and lost time. Office 365 includes site-wide licenses with upgrades at the same time.

#3. Mail storage for real people

Not everyone lives in the land of inbox zero. In fact, most people tend to leave messages in their inbox forever. Occasionally we’ll do a quick clean up, but only when the alert comes in that the mailbox is full. Meanwhile, new emails from customers may be bouncing away with the old ‘mailbox full’ message. Eek! In Office 365, your employees can communicate without worrying about storage space.

#4. Better time management

Every person in your business is juggling meetings, emails and contacts – usually across multiple platforms. Office 365 brings all those elements together, integrating seamlessly for more efficient time management. Contacts updated via mobile while offsite are automatically updated across all connected devices. Meetings scheduled in an email are added instantly to the calendar. You can even access files from any device, edit on the run and then back in the office, simply pick up where you left off.

#5. Predictable costs

Forget about planning (and delaying) those costly upgrades. Office 365 has small business covered. You can choose a plan based on your unique needs and change at any time. You can even add or decrease the number of users as you scale and streamline. It’s so easy to fit Office 365 into your monthly budget while knowing you’ve got the very best and latest in small business software.

#6. Work on the go

The days of fiddling with private network and security settings are over, thanks to Office 365. You don’t even need any special IT skills or extra software. Users can now securely access their files from home, during their commute, or in meetings for on-the-fly impressive presentations. Got an internet connection? That’s all they’ll need to squeeze productivity out of every day

#7. Stay up and running with no downtime

A whopping 25% of small businesses shut down permanently after flood, fire, crash or cyber-attack. With Office 365, all your data is stored in the cloud with built-in backups for redundancy. No matter what happens, your data will be there, letting you stay up and running – and always ahead of the pack.

We can help you to find out more about Office 365 and how it can best suit your business needs. To find out more about this and other IT issues please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.

 

What Is Shadow IT, and Why Is It an Issue?

An old-time radio show used to start with the promise “The Shadow knows!” Yet when it comes to shadow IT, the problem is the exact opposite. Shadow IT is the stuff Northland employees download onto a business system that IT doesn’t know about, and it can be a big problem.

You may have an IT policy telling employees not to download unsanctioned applications, but they want to boost their productivity, or perhaps they prefer to work with an app they already know and love. So, they get a tool or service that meets their needs without telling IT.

The employee may have the best of intentions. They want to work better for your business. They don’t see the harm in adding that convenient app to their computer. Or they don’t think it’s a big deal to use their own device to complete their work (even if unsanctioned). Maybe they want to be efficient, so they use a personal email account to conduct your business.

Any of these examples are part of Shadow IT, and it’s running rampant. In Frost & Sullivan research, 80% of employees admitted they had used non-approved software. Even 83% of IT workers were using non-vetted Software as a Service (SaaS) applications. So, what’s the big deal? We’ll cover that next.

The Potential Pitfalls with Shadow IT

First, if your business is in a regulated industry, Shadow IT could put you at risk of noncompliance. That unsanctioned device may not be encrypted. Sharing business data over a personal email would be a big no-no in a healthcare or banking space. Shadow IT certainly undermines audit accountability.

It can also drive up IT costs. Say accounting doesn’t know that the business has already paid to use certain software. So, they pay for it again out of their own budget.

If IT is unaware of the Shadow applications or devices, they can’t manage the vulnerabilities. The business doesn’t know customer data or personal identification information about employees is at risk.

And there is greater threat of a data breach or ransomware attack. Employees downloading a third-party app could inadvertently give a hacker access to your network.

Additionally, the business risks losing productivity. The work someone does on a shadow app, for example, could be lost to the company if that employee moves on. IT wouldn’t have access to that account to retrieve the information or files. They don’t even know it is out there on that unknown app or device.

Shine a Light on Shadow IT

Because this IT lingers in the shadows, it can be challenging to coral. Still, there are several steps you can take.

# 1 Educate employees about cyber policies.

Create and communicate acceptable use guidelines, and make sure your workers know what your policies are regarding:

  • SaaS downloads;
  • use of personal devices (e.g. mobile phones, laptops, USB flash drives, portable data storage devices);
  • emailing from personal accounts or using messaging apps;
  • online document sharing;
  • online voice or meeting technology.

Establish clear information classifications distinguishing between public, private, and confidential data. This can help employees recognize they are putting important data at risk when they disregard use policies. For further information Read our blog about Six steps to protect customer data here.

#2 Do a dive to discover Shadow IT.

IT needs to get to know what technology is in use at the business (both on- and off-site). This is more challenging now with people working from home due to COVID-19. Still, a survey of employees and their devices can help gather information about unknowns.

#3 Determine the value of IT discovered.

Don’t overreact. You don’t want to necessarily ban all Shadow IT that you discover. Some of the services could have value. Vet the applications or devices found or reported. Review their connection to private or confidential data or essential network systems. If several employees use an unsanctioned app, you may want to invest in it. With a professional version, your IT team can safely manage the app.

# 4 Deliver the IT your people need.

Why are people circumventing your IT policies? Are they are under pressure? Are they are looking to meet an unmet need? Are they are more comfortable with a familiar app or device? It’s important to understand what the employee is aiming to accomplish or why they’ve turned to shadow IT. This can help you identify IT needs and areas where you need to improve.

Shadow IT is data or applications that are outside your business protection. IT can only watch what it knows about. Shadow IT is unsafe and unpredictable.

Every business is different. It’s always best to chat to a IT Professional about your business needs first. To find out more about Shadow IT, and other IT issues please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.

Microsoft 365 Streamlines Business and Reduces Spend

For our Northland customers, when doing business online, you have many options for available software and systems.

You might turn to one solution to handle online meetings, another to drive collaboration, and yet another to manage your content and workflow. It can get confusing. Plus, when you are duplicating tools, IT spend can mushroom unnecessarily.

Microsoft 365 aims to offer a single, all-in-one solution. This article highlights the benefits of streamlining your software needs.

Formerly Office 365, Microsoft 365 is for home, business, enterprise, and education users. Microsoft touts that the software helps businesses reimagine the way they work.

Consolidating many business apps can encourage productivity, support collaboration, and cut costs. Doing away with the fragmentation of many different vendor apps your business can:

Benefits of Microsoft 365

  1. save time;
  2. manage projects, communications, calendars, and more in a unified platform;
  3. simplify deployment;
  4. cut tech support and IT management challenges;
  5. budget better with one invoice for the one solution.

Let’s talk in more detail about all you might handle within the Microsoft platform

Microsoft 365 Replaces Your Many Apps

There are many online business tools you can replace with Microsoft 365:

# 1 Communication

First, there’s Business Voice to replace your traditional phone systems. This secure and cost-effective VoIP service enables users to make and receive calls from any device. You can use a laptop, mobile, or desktop, while continuing to use the same number as the desk phone. You can dial in numbers for call conferencing, AI voicemail, transcription, and real-time captioning help, too.

Microsoft 365 also lets users pop into meetings immediately within their Teams channels. They can easily start a phone or video meeting, and during the meeting, they can also share files and PowerPoints. Plus, integrating Outlook contacts and calendars helps efficiency and scheduling.

# 2 Collaboration

Microsoft users are already relying on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. With Microsoft 365, these files are easy to use and share online. Collaborate in a shared document, in real-time, with version control.

Within Microsoft Teams, users have a whiteboard and screen, too. Custom backgrounds and the Together mode are particularly useful during the pandemic. Blur the background on a video call or choose a custom setting. Or sit in a shared digital background to feel as if you’re all actually in the same space together again.

This can replace GoToMeeting, Zoom, and WebEx, as well as document management software, Box, or an on-premises file server.

# 3 Apps and Services

Integrate bots, automate workflows, or manage data with more than 700 productivity, project management, industry-specific, or business department apps.

Businesses can connect data to improve agility with Power automate doing repetitive tasks. Power BI makes it easier to discuss and visualize data.

# 4 Emails and Planning

Microsoft Exchange does away with on-premises email, Web hosting provider email, or Gmail. Plus, people can stay better organized with integrated notes, documents, and calendars.

Instead of tracking things in Trello, Basecamp, or another project platform, use Planner to stay on top of progress.

# 5 Backup storage

Your Microsoft 365 subscription includes 1 terabyte of OneDrive cloud storage. That’s equivalent to 6.5 million document pages (such as Office files, PDFs, and presentations). Plus, your workers can share, locate, and collaborate in SharePoint.

# 6 Cybersecurity

Microsoft 365 also offers secure messaging and multi-factor authentication. The “1,000+ security and privacy controls” help meet industry and regulatory standards. That’s without needing Proofpoint, Mimecast, or Barracuda, or other advanced threat protections.

Simplify your IT infrastructure with Microsoft 365. Reduce software duplication, cut back on software licensing costs, and regain storage capacity.

Every business is different. It’s always best to chat to a IT Professional about your business needs first. To find out more about Microsoft 365, and how it can help your customers, please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.

The Dynamics of Microsoft Dynamics 365

What’s so great about Microsoft Dynamics 365?

We all know the person in your Northland organization who has been there for eons. They know everything about their customers, from their names to their life stories. If they weren’t there – you would be ringing IT Support to troll through some emails!

Or the vibrant young team member who talks to her customers on a daily basis, and could tell you anything about their buying habits. Loves people, hates paperwork.

These team members are great when they are in your company. The only trouble is, when they leave, so too does all the knowledge they carry around in their head.

Then in walks this fantastic, well-rounded, new member of staff. This staff member has the ability to remember anything – almost like they have a 360 view of the customer! But the best thing is they also share it with everyone. Suddenly customer retention is up, sales have increased and efficiency is through the roof.

Who is this new member of staff and where can you find them?

Meet Dynamics 365

The new and easy to implement Microsoft cloud based system that ensures that your organization is:

  1. More efficient
  2. More customer focused
  3. Increases sales.

1. Get to know your customers:

Did you know that only 30% of businesses actually know their customers well? Wait what????

What does this mean? In studies that Microsoft carried out, it showed that only 30% of businesses actually understand their customers buying patterns, and know them really well.

This is largely because the systems they are currently using don’t easily talk to each other, are time consuming to pull reports from, to navigate, and hence only give one side of the story.

Imagine being able to see your customers buying patterns, the marketing that excites them (and that they open), the way they interact with your website, and your social channels all in one place.

Imagine then being able to create automated and clearly defined marketing campaigns that are specific to your customer’s habits.

This all leads to more specific, customer focused, automated marketing campaigns, and hence increased sales.

2. Improve efficiency and reduce your costs

What organizations love is that once they get in to using Dynamics 365, they find that they have a lower cost to serve their customers.

This stems from having more efficient systems, a greater knowledge base, as well as an increased ability to offer self service to customers with customer portals.

How does it improve efficiency? By introducing the Power Platform, PowerApps and Power Automate, Dynamics 365 is easily able to automate the paper and manual processes, and hence significantly increase productivity.

Making the customer experience easy and effortless, also ensures customer retention, and let’s face it, retaining customers is much easier than gaining new customers.

3. Microsoft Dynamics 365 is simple!

People don’t have time or the energy to learn even more software, and with Dynamics 365 they don’t have to.

The beauty of Microsoft Dynamics 365 is that it works hand in hand with the Office suite and is such a familiar experience that the uptake within businesses is consistently high.

Plus, internal stakeholders find that they have increased productivity, as they are not jumping from one application to another.

With the new way of working remotely, you can access everything anywhere you need to and on any device, as it is all cloud based.

Dynamics 365 is an easy add on to your existing Microsoft cloud platform

4. But isn’t it a hassle to change?

Other CRM systems have made people think that it takes lots of time to change and to see the benefits.

With Dynamics 365 you can roll this out in small baby steps, focus on what’s most important now, and start with what your organization most needs. The benefits are immediate, not months away.

Any CRM system will require a shift in culture towards your people actually sharing knowledge, however Dynamics 365 has been found to be so simple, effective and easy, that the uptake leads quickly to increased sales and that is ultimately a benefit for everyone in the company!  

What next?

Every business is different. It’s always best to chat to a IT Professional about your business needs first. To find out more about Dynamics 365, and how it can help your customers, please call us or email us here to book a 1:1 free, no obligation appointment.