Information technology blog, cybersecurity blog

Does your business need to upgrade your Windows 10 devices to Windows 11 before Microsoft’s planned October 14th cut-off date for technical support, updates, and security patches.

Not too long ago, I contributed an article titled “How to tell if the cloud is right for your business” to the Hartford Business Journal. The goal was to help readers understand a few key concepts about the cloud:

If your business relies on computer files and documents to do its job, you’ve likely worried about the risks of lost data at some point. Saving documents to your hard drive is not always enough to keep your business protected. For instance, if your business’s hard drive becomes damaged, all of your work, and the work of your employees, can be gone in the blink of an eye. Some businesses don’t think about data loss until they’ve experienced it firsthand. But, with all the challenges businesses face when data loss occurs, it’s beneficial to come up with a preventative strategy early on.

As the business world evolves, management has become more innovative. Top managers have begun employing creative strategies to attract and retain top talent, and improve productivity while keeping costs in check. These advancements have not been entirely voluntary, as businesses are often forced to respond to several day-to-day challenges to stay afloat. Here are some of these key challenges:

With so many companies utilizing the cloud and mobile devices, data security should be a major concern for all businesses. Yet, despite numerous security breaches, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), and security experts’ repeated warnings that businesses need to better protect their information, many companies remain unprepared or inadequately protected from various security threats.

The days of driving to the office, sitting behind a desk, and working from the same desktop computer for eight hours are becoming a thing of the past. Today’s managers and employees can work from the office, or a client’s location by using mobile devices and laptops. Unfortunately, the growing need for mobility has created new challenges for many business owners, particularly IT managers. How can businesses provide access to files and documents regardless of their employees’ physical location, while still ensuring security and sticking to budget?

With a society that has become increasingly digitized, innovative, and mobile, it is no surprise that business technologies have had to adjust. After all, the business landscape and digital world are constantly changing, and that produces new challenges:

Of course, Microsoft wasn't going to miss out on the cloud-computing revolution. In fact, Microsoft spearheaded the change by making one of the first large software-to-the-cloud solution moves with the Microsoft Office 365. Microsoft Office 365 is similar in look and feel to the industry-standard Office suite software, but in contrast, it’s now in the cloud. This move to the online world has helped simplify Microsoft’s licensing into a buy-only-what-you-need approach. It also offers ample additional features, including automatic security updates, and automatic backup. Microsoft Office 365 is a significant change from the decades-old Office software. Think of it as an Office 10.0. It is no longer a simple suite like Word and Excel, but rather, a collaboration-based solution.