Small and Mid-Size Businesses Need to Focus on Cybersecurity

Contrary to popular opinion, small and mid-size businesses are at a greater risk for a cybersecurity attack than large corporations. But because many SMBs assume they're not at risk, they rarely invest in security measures that could save their businesses. Read this article for more on the real impact of a data breach on SMBs and what you can do to protect your business.

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Dealing with security issues in-house?

Illustration of fact revealing 62% of small businesses lack the in-house skills to address security issues.

Customer story: iSalon

For UK-based business iSalon, protecting sensitive customer data is their top priority. iSalon provides software and management systems to over 2,000 hair salons, and most of their customers are small business owners who have poured their life savings into their companies. iSalon depends on security technology from Microsoft 365 Business to defend against information loss and cyberattacks like malware and malicious URLs. And with employees scattered across the UK, collaboration and productivity tools keep employees connected and engaged.

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More than ever before, organizations are augmenting human skills, ingenuity, and business acumen with data analytics, productivity, and enterprise solutions to gain a competitive edge. Subscribe today to stay informed on how solutions like Dynamics 365, Power BI, and other Microsoft services and solutions are enabling modern businesses to take the lead over competitors and finish first in the marketplace.

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For team members to work in concert together, they need a set of tools designed to work in concert together. Office 365, with Microsoft Teams at the center, enables real-time communication and collaboration among team members, whether they're located across the hall or across the world. And with business intelligence solutions like Microsoft Power BI hosted in Azure, data can be shared and analyzed across the entire enterprise to uncover insights that can help improve the business as a whole. Subscribe now to stay informed on how Teams, Office 365, and other leading Microsoft solutions can help elevate and transform communication, collaboration, and teamwork throughout your organization.

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How to prevent business secrets from walking out the door

This graphic highlights a quote from a security professional, describing how a threat moved through the network encrypting files.

Protect your company with security solutions from Microsoft

Every company needs to have an updated security strategy—we're looking at you, small businesses. In a digital landscape that's constantly evolving, now's the time to adopt a cloud-based security solution to defend customer data against cyberattacks. Want to secure your customers' sensitive data? Contact us to learn more.

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Customer story: Jack's Diving Locker

Jack's Diving Locker, a scuba diving and snorkel educational facility, uses Microsoft 365 Business to securely run their business and to streamline their outreach efforts. Since adopting a cloud-based security and communication solution, its founders have grown their business from five sets of gear and a Volkswagen van to a company with two retail stores and five boats at two harbors. They use security tools, like Microsoft Intune, to protect company data and devices and to ensure that business is conducted securely and efficiently. With help from Microsoft 365 Business, Jack's Diving Locker has expanded into a global ocean conservation and education company, teaching people all over the world to preserve and protect our oceans.

Finishing first with Renault Sports Formula One and Dynamics 365

To monitor every aspect of performance, a Renault Sports Formula One race car is outfitted with over 200 sensors that generate more than 35 billion data points over a typical race weekend. Since two or more sensors can be matched to form around 20,000 different virtual channels, cars relay an enormous volume of data back to the Renault Sports team during races and tests. By pairing Azure-based Dynamics 365 for Operations with Microsoft Power BI, the Renault Sports team can bring up and track this data in real time, enabling them to make exact modifications and adjustments at lightning speed to squeeze more performance out of the car. Watch this short video to see how the Renault Sports Formula One team capitalizes on the features of Dynamics 365 for Operations and Microsoft Azure to make its cars faster than ever and reach the finish line first.

AEG delivers unforgettable entertainment experiences to fans using Microsoft technologies

Why would a sports fan or music fan choose to attend a live event rather than watch the game from home or listen to their favorite band on headphones? For AEG, a global entertainment company that owns and operates 100+ facilities across four continents as well as produces concerts, festival, and special events, the answer is simple: it's the experience. More to the point, it's the whole experience—not just the event itself, but also everything else surrounding it, from ticket purchases and event access to the pomp and circumstance during the event, all for the express purpose of delivering a more visceral and unforgettable experience for fans. To achieve all of these things—as well as simplify the business side of producing and hosting a larger-than-life event—AEG relies on Office 365, Microsoft Teams, Power BI, and Azure cloud to analyze and share massive amounts of data across its diverse business units, and utilizes Surface devices and the new Surface Hub to enable employees to meaningfully interact with this data. Watch this lively video to see how Microsoft technology is helping AEG not only deliver singular experiences to fans, but also redefine the business of entertainment in the digital age.

Technology's Impact on Employee Experience: Balancing Overload Versus Enablement

Adopting technology in the workplace is a double-edged sword. It's key to maintaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace and increasing workplace productivity, but it can also compromise connection and lead to isolation. Check out this article for tips on how to use technology to build a better individual employee experience and a more connected company culture. Do you want help improving communication and teamwork in your company? You've come to the right place. Contact us at Fidelitechto learn more.

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Average Cost of an SMB Data Breach

This graphic highlights research showing the average cost of a data breach for an SMB is $120K.

Making choices with data and AI

How do we, as human beings, make decisions? While most people would like to believe that they take a rational, calculated approach by considering all the variables, research shows that we go with our "gut feeling" instead about 95 percent of the time. In his Forbes article entitled "Making Choices With Data And AI," author Mark Robinson discusses the proper role of AI in human decision making. AI shouldn't be making decisions for us, he contends, but rather, guide us by interpreting the data at hand and presenting the facts and variables surrounding a given choice—effectively balancing out our "gut feeling" with rational objectivity. Read the full article to learn how AI-assisted decision making can help guide your business toward greater growth and success by mitigating human bias in choice.

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How Online Collaboration Tools Could Help Your Business

It's no secret that teamwork is one of the key ingredients to a successful business. But in today's interconnected, wireless world, teams don't necessarily need to be in the same location to make teamwork work—that is, as long as each team member is equipped with the right tools for collaborating and communicating on a project. So how do you determine which tools are right for your organization and teams, and what should you look for when evaluating prospective solutions? Read this Lifewire article, "The Benefits of Online Collaboration Tools," to see what author Gabriela Warren feels are the greatest benefits of adopting such tools and, by extension, what features you should look for when shopping around.

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Customer Story: Clifton Coffee Recap

From the start, leaders at Clifton Coffee Roasters (CCR) knew they wanted to go beyond just roasting coffee. They wanted to empower other coffee companies to succeed. Now they provide technical support, delivery service, and back-of-house training to coffee shops across the UK, in addition to providing all of the products needed to run a coffee company. But it wasn't always that way. In the company's early days, the team had a difficult time coming together, with employees scattered across the UK and no reliable means to connect them. Once they adopted a teamwork solution to improve internal communication, teamwork became easy and the business took off. The rest is history. Want to take cues from CCR's teamwork game? Contact us for help getting started.

Silicon Root of Trust Deep Dive

This video shows how the HPE iLO 5 chip and Silicon Root of Trust protects HPE servers from attacks with a walk-through of intrusion detection and firmware recovery processes.

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7 ways AI can help improve decision making for marketers

No longer just science fiction, AI has the potential to radically change just about every aspect of modern life, especially business. From automating simple tasks to more complex feats like uncovering insights from massive volumes of unstructured data, AI is fast emerging as one of the centerpieces of digital transformation, not least of all for its ability to assist with critical business decisions. View the infographic to discover seven ways how AI can help drive better decisions for marketers, and for businesses in general.

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Spend a day in the life with physician Dr. Thomas

Dr. Thomas is an oncologist whose day is divided among seeing patients, reviewing charts and x-rays, meeting with colleagues remotely and in-person, and improving patient services at his practice. With so many tasks to do and only a finite number of hours during the day, Dr. Thomas relies heavily on Microsoft Teams to prepare for upcoming appointments, review confidential patient information, and follow up with nurses and radiologists on test results. He also utilizes Power BI dashboards to visualize and address trends in his practice, like patient wait times and quality of care issues. View the infographic for a play-by-play account of Dr. Thomas' day, and how Teams and tools like Power BI enable him to more effectively focus on patient care.

View: Spend a day in the life with physician Dr. Thomas