Change can be difficult in business, but it can also usher in a new era of productivity and profitability. Microsoft is shooting for better ways to improve productivity and elevate data integrity with its new Microsoft 365 product.

Name change

Microsoft has time and again shown that they are willing to make drastic changes to their products and services in the name of development. Their Windows 10 operating system (OS), for instance, is a far cry from its predecessor Windows 8. Microsoft made the jump from what they thought would be a revolutionary tile-based design in Windows 8 to a classic, ergonomically designed Windows 10.

The tech giant has once again made drastic changes, this time to their award-winning line of productivity apps Microsoft Office 365. O365, as it was lovingly referred to for nearly a decade, is now the sleeker, more powerful, Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft 365 Business is available to small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) on three different subscription plans: Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium.

Available plans

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 Business Basic comes with many standard features, including web and mobile app access, full email and calendaring tools, secure file storage, collaboration tools, and support. Rest easy knowing that you have a powerful enterprise-grade software for a fraction of the cost such as:

• Web and mobile app versions of Office apps
• Real-time coauthoring
• Email hosting with 50 GB capacity
• 1 TB of OneDrive storage
• Automatic syncs regardless of work platform choice (between OneDrive and SharePoint).
• Teleconferencing and unified communications via Microsoft Teams for up to 250 users
• Automatic threat defense via Exchange Online Protection
• A complete array of cybersecurity tools and protocols, such as automated password policy tools

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you’ll get everything Business Basic offers plus:

• Desktop versions of Office apps for up to five PCs or Macs per user
• Easy and smart appointments management with Microsoft Bookings
• Real-time mileage tracking and reporting with MileIQ

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the brand’s flagship plan, a great tool for businesses ready to take their operations to the next level. It comes with everything Business Standard offers plus:

• Advanced security tools to protect from zero-day threats and ransomware, via Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection
• Remote wiping tools for stolen or lost devices, via Selective Wipe from Intune
• Restricted copying or saving options for unauthorized apps and locations
• Complete control of company data, via Information Rights Management
• Pre-breach threat resistance policy options, via Windows Defender Exploit Guard
• Malware protection, via Windows Defender
• Unlimited cloud archiving of emails, via Exchange Online Archiving
• Setup wizards for Windows 10, iOS, and Android
• Total security policy deployment — even for mobile apps — via Mobile Device Management from Intune

Microsoft 365 Business will change the way your staff powers your business. Contact us today to discuss how you can avail of a subscription.

Microsoft 365 isn’t just a new name for the tech giant’s old product Office 365. The new software comes with chock-full of tools that will empower employees, protect data, and provide business leaders with comprehensive oversight and control. Check out its features below.

Name change

Microsoft has time and again shown that they are willing to make drastic changes to their products and services in the name of development. Their Windows 10 operating system (OS), for instance, is a far cry from its predecessor Windows 8. Microsoft made the jump from what they thought would be a revolutionary tile-based design in Windows 8 to a classic, ergonomically designed Windows 10.

The tech giant has once again made drastic changes, this time to their award-winning line of productivity apps Microsoft Office 365. O365, as it was lovingly referred to for nearly a decade, is now the sleeker, more powerful, Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft 365 Business is available to small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) on three different subscription plans: Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium.

Available plans

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 Business Basic comes with many standard features, including web and mobile app access, full email and calendaring tools, secure file storage, collaboration tools, and support. Rest easy knowing that you have a powerful enterprise-grade software for a fraction of the cost such as:

• Web and mobile app versions of Office apps
• Real-time coauthoring
• Email hosting with 50 GB capacity
• 1 TB of OneDrive storage
• Automatic syncs regardless of work platform choice (between OneDrive and SharePoint).
• Teleconferencing and unified communications via Microsoft Teams for up to 250 users
• Automatic threat defense via Exchange Online Protection
• A complete array of cybersecurity tools and protocols, such as automated password policy tools

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you’ll get everything Business Basic offers plus:

• Desktop versions of Office apps for up to five PCs or Macs per user
• Easy and smart appointments management with Microsoft Bookings
• Real-time mileage tracking and reporting with MileIQ

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the brand’s flagship plan, a great tool for businesses ready to take their operations to the next level. It comes with everything Business Standard offers plus:

• Advanced security tools to protect from zero-day threats and ransomware, via Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection
• Remote wiping tools for stolen or lost devices, via Selective Wipe from Intune
• Restricted copying or saving options for unauthorized apps and locations
• Complete control of company data, via Information Rights Management
• Pre-breach threat resistance policy options, via Windows Defender Exploit Guard
• Malware protection, via Windows Defender
• Unlimited cloud archiving of emails, via Exchange Online Archiving
• Setup wizards for Windows 10, iOS, and Android
• Total security policy deployment — even for mobile apps — via Mobile Device Management from Intune

Microsoft 365 Business will change the way your staff powers your business. Contact us today to discuss how you can avail of a subscription.

In April 2020, Microsoft launched Microsoft 365, the successor to its popular Office 365. But it’s not a mere name change. The tech giant is also introducing improvements to its productivity software that will enhance how your business deals with cyberthreats every day.

Name change

Microsoft has time and again shown that they are willing to make drastic changes to their products and services in the name of development. Their Windows 10 operating system (OS), for instance, is a far cry from its predecessor Windows 8. Microsoft made the jump from what they thought would be a revolutionary tile-based design in Windows 8 to a classic, ergonomically designed Windows 10.

The tech giant has once again made drastic changes, this time to their award-winning line of productivity apps Microsoft Office 365. O365, as it was lovingly referred to for nearly a decade, is now the sleeker, more powerful, Microsoft 365 Business.

Microsoft 365 Business is available to small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) on three different subscription plans: Business Basic, Business Standard, and Business Premium.

Available plans

Microsoft 365 Business Basic

Microsoft 365 Business Basic comes with many standard features, including web and mobile app access, full email and calendaring tools, secure file storage, collaboration tools, and support. Rest easy knowing that you have a powerful enterprise-grade software for a fraction of the cost such as:

• Web and mobile app versions of Office apps
• Real-time coauthoring
• Email hosting with 50 GB capacity
• 1 TB of OneDrive storage
• Automatic syncs regardless of work platform choice (between OneDrive and SharePoint).
• Teleconferencing and unified communications via Microsoft Teams for up to 250 users
• Automatic threat defense via Exchange Online Protection
• A complete array of cybersecurity tools and protocols, such as automated password policy tools

Microsoft 365 Business Standard

With the Microsoft 365 Business Standard plan, you’ll get everything Business Basic offers plus:

• Desktop versions of Office apps for up to five PCs or Macs per user
• Easy and smart appointments management with Microsoft Bookings
• Real-time mileage tracking and reporting with MileIQ

Microsoft 365 Business Premium

Microsoft 365 Business Premium is the brand’s flagship plan, a great tool for businesses ready to take their operations to the next level. It comes with everything Business Standard offers plus:

• Advanced security tools to protect from zero-day threats and ransomware, via Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection
• Remote wiping tools for stolen or lost devices, via Selective Wipe from Intune
• Restricted copying or saving options for unauthorized apps and locations
• Complete control of company data, via Information Rights Management
• Pre-breach threat resistance policy options, via Windows Defender Exploit Guard
• Malware protection, via Windows Defender
• Unlimited cloud archiving of emails, via Exchange Online Archiving
• Setup wizards for Windows 10, iOS, and Android
• Total security policy deployment — even for mobile apps — via Mobile Device Management from Intune

Microsoft 365 Business will change the way your staff powers your business. Contact us today to discuss how you can avail of a subscription.

Wunderlist is going away, but fans of the productivity app may find some consolation in founder Christian Reber’s announcement that he is launching a new startup called Superlist.

“Superlist will be more than just a todo app, but never as bloated as the project management software you loathe to use,” he tweeted. “Slick, fast, and hyper-collaborative. Helping individuals or teams of any size get things done in record time.”

Today is a good day for reflection. With @Wunderlist closing down and @Pitch ramping up toward launch, I’m excited to announce a new company: @SuperlistHQ — a fresh new take on supercharged team productivity. https://t.co/YNmddyQxpP

— Christian Reber (@christianreber) May 5, 2020

Wunderlist was acquired in 2015 by Microsoft, which announced two years later it would shut down the app in favor of Microsoft To-Do. It finally said at the end of last year that Wunderlist to-dos will no longer sync after May 6, but users will be able to import all their content into Microsoft To-Do.

Shortly before Microsoft announced Wunderlist’s shut down date, Reber tweeted that he wanted to buy back the company. Obviously that didn’t happen, but Superlist may give him a chance to develop features he originally wanted to add to Wunderlist.

After Wunderlist’s acquisition, Reber launched Pitch, a challenger to PowerPoint that has raised more than $52 million in funding so far.

On his Twitter, Reber said he will continue focusing on Pitch, but will support the Superlist team, which is currently hiring.

Remote work is on the rise like never before as companies are pressured to sustain operations amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. But even before massive business disruptions, remote working has been a growing trend. Many have been enjoying work-from-home setups with the help of the right tools. This article is a list of our favorites.

For both employers and employees, a remote working arrangement has attractive benefits. Organizations can tap into a potentially larger labor pool, hiring from just about anywhere and finding highly skilled talent at lower rates.

Fifty percent of remote workers reported increased job satisfaction and had 13.5 percent more calls completed. Being spared the stress of a daily commute and having a better work-life balance are factors to their happiness, and therefore, better productivity.

In the face of natural calamities, outages, and the ongoing pandemic, a distributed workforce becomes a necessary business continuity measure — a means to protect employees and keep productivity up, even as normal facilities remain unavailable.

But all of this was only possible because we have the technologies to support remote work. Barriers to remote working have been brought down by the advancement of remote working tools. With a plethora of software to choose from, we’ve selected the ones that help your remote teams thrive.

Remote desktop applications

Accessing your work computer while on the go or out of the office was once unheard of. Remote desktop apps have made it possible, allowing users to work remotely on a computer through another device and from any location.

Our picks: TeamViewer and Splashtop
Team Viewer has capabilities such as screen sharing, file transfer, wake-on-LAN, and clipboard transfer. Free for personal use, the app is easy to set up and is available for multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Android. Meanwhile, Splashtop has similar capabilities but with the added benefit of “low-latency” transfers or the transfer of a high volume of data and messages with minimal delay.

Real-time communication and collaboration software

Every successful organization needs to communicate. When communication breaks down, productivity and engagement suffer. Given the lack of face-to-face contact, regular, real-time communication is arguably more critical for remote teams and their managers. The following apps make it possible, seamless, and simple.

Our picks: Slack, Mattermost, RocketChat, Microsoft Teams, and Join.me
Deemed the alternative to email, Slack is the leader of the pack, with its robust API that allows integration with countless applications. Its basic functionality enables remote workers to direct message (DM) or create “collaboration hubs” around departments, projects, or any topic. Mattermost and Rocket Chat are open source tools that recreate many of Slack’s capabilities.

Microsoft Teams and Join.me are well-known video chat and conferencing apps. However, as a full collaboration and communication suite, Teams offers more for Windows users. It allows VoIP, direct and group messages, and integration with all the Office 365 apps. Not only is Join.me a free video-conferencing app, but it also allows participants to use a cool brainstorming feature called “whiteboarding” for real-time interaction on a shared document.

Project management essentials

When you’re managing a team of dozens located in different parts of the globe, things can start to fall apart quickly. Time differences and distance can create significant complexity if you lack the right tools. These two apps can help you overcome the challenges and streamline project organization and collaboration.

Our picks: Basecamp and Trello
Basecamp is a web-based management tool for planning and collaboration on projects. There’s no installation needed, just your regular web browser to access its powerful core functions that include task management, messaging, collaboration, file sharing, scheduling, quick search, and reporting.

Trello’s overall shining feature is its simplicity. The web-based tool’s approach to project management is built around one concept: the bulletin board. Users can create boards that represent projects and each board can be populated with cards assigned to specific members and customized with deadlines, comments, and attachments.

With the current global crisis, remote working tools have become even more crucial to sustaining productivity, accomplishing projects, and solidifying distributed teams. It’s important your organization chooses ones that are well-suited to budget, infrastructure, and goals. Our experts can help make a proper assessment and configure the perfect remote working setup. Talk to us today.

The global pandemic hasn’t defeated many hard-working managers and teams. They’re protecting themselves from the virus, meeting deadlines, collaborating on projects, and hitting business goals, all while working from home. In this article, we’ll go through a list of the essentials tools for the new normal that is remote working.

For both employers and employees, a remote working arrangement has attractive benefits. Organizations can tap into a potentially larger labor pool, hiring from just about anywhere and finding highly skilled talent at lower rates.

Fifty percent of remote workers reported increased job satisfaction and had 13.5 percent more calls completed. Being spared the stress of a daily commute and having a better work-life balance are factors to their happiness, and therefore, better productivity.

In the face of natural calamities, outages, and the ongoing pandemic, a distributed workforce becomes a necessary business continuity measure — a means to protect employees and keep productivity up, even as normal facilities remain unavailable.

But all of this was only possible because we have the technologies to support remote work. Barriers to remote working have been brought down by the advancement of remote working tools. With a plethora of software to choose from, we’ve selected the ones that help your remote teams thrive.

Remote desktop applications

Accessing your work computer while on the go or out of the office was once unheard of. Remote desktop apps have made it possible, allowing users to work remotely on a computer through another device and from any location.

Our picks: TeamViewer and Splashtop
Team Viewer has capabilities such as screen sharing, file transfer, wake-on-LAN, and clipboard transfer. Free for personal use, the app is easy to set up and is available for multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Android. Meanwhile, Splashtop has similar capabilities but with the added benefit of “low-latency” transfers or the transfer of a high volume of data and messages with minimal delay.

Real-time communication and collaboration software

Every successful organization needs to communicate. When communication breaks down, productivity and engagement suffer. Given the lack of face-to-face contact, regular, real-time communication is arguably more critical for remote teams and their managers. The following apps make it possible, seamless, and simple.

Our picks: Slack, Mattermost, RocketChat, Microsoft Teams, and Join.me
Deemed the alternative to email, Slack is the leader of the pack, with its robust API that allows integration with countless applications. Its basic functionality enables remote workers to direct message (DM) or create “collaboration hubs” around departments, projects, or any topic. Mattermost and Rocket Chat are open source tools that recreate many of Slack’s capabilities.

Microsoft Teams and Join.me are well-known video chat and conferencing apps. However, as a full collaboration and communication suite, Teams offers more for Windows users. It allows VoIP, direct and group messages, and integration with all the Office 365 apps. Not only is Join.me a free video-conferencing app, but it also allows participants to use a cool brainstorming feature called “whiteboarding” for real-time interaction on a shared document.

Project management essentials

When you’re managing a team of dozens located in different parts of the globe, things can start to fall apart quickly. Time differences and distance can create significant complexity if you lack the right tools. These two apps can help you overcome the challenges and streamline project organization and collaboration.

Our picks: Basecamp and Trello
Basecamp is a web-based management tool for planning and collaboration on projects. There’s no installation needed, just your regular web browser to access its powerful core functions that include task management, messaging, collaboration, file sharing, scheduling, quick search, and reporting.

Trello’s overall shining feature is its simplicity. The web-based tool’s approach to project management is built around one concept: the bulletin board. Users can create boards that represent projects and each board can be populated with cards assigned to specific members and customized with deadlines, comments, and attachments.

With the current global crisis, remote working tools have become even more crucial to sustaining productivity, accomplishing projects, and solidifying distributed teams. It’s important your organization chooses ones that are well-suited to budget, infrastructure, and goals. Our experts can help make a proper assessment and configure the perfect remote working setup. Talk to us today.

Businesses are still grappling with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one way they’re dealing with the situation is by implementing remote work policies. The global health crisis is driving them to unlock the full potential of working remotely, allowing people to work through quarantines, as well as keep companies and even economies afloat. Here’s a rundown of exceptional tools many remote teams are using.

For both employers and employees, a remote working arrangement has attractive benefits. Organizations can tap into a potentially larger labor pool, hiring from just about anywhere and finding highly skilled talent at lower rates.

Fifty percent of remote workers reported increased job satisfaction and had 13.5 percent more calls completed. Being spared the stress of a daily commute and having a better work-life balance are factors to their happiness, and therefore, better productivity.

In the face of natural calamities, outages, and the ongoing pandemic, a distributed workforce becomes a necessary business continuity measure — a means to protect employees and keep productivity up, even as normal facilities remain unavailable.

But all of this was only possible because we have the technologies to support remote work. Barriers to remote working have been brought down by the advancement of remote working tools. With a plethora of software to choose from, we’ve selected the ones that help your remote teams thrive.

Remote desktop applications

Accessing your work computer while on the go or out of the office was once unheard of. Remote desktop apps have made it possible, allowing users to work remotely on a computer through another device and from any location.

Our picks: TeamViewer and Splashtop
Team Viewer has capabilities such as screen sharing, file transfer, wake-on-LAN, and clipboard transfer. Free for personal use, the app is easy to set up and is available for multiple operating systems such as Windows, macOS, and Android. Meanwhile, Splashtop has similar capabilities but with the added benefit of “low-latency” transfers or the transfer of a high volume of data and messages with minimal delay.

Real-time communication and collaboration software

Every successful organization needs to communicate. When communication breaks down, productivity and engagement suffer. Given the lack of face-to-face contact, regular, real-time communication is arguably more critical for remote teams and their managers. The following apps make it possible, seamless, and simple.

Our picks: Slack, Mattermost, RocketChat, Microsoft Teams, and Join.me
Deemed the alternative to email, Slack is the leader of the pack, with its robust API that allows integration with countless applications. Its basic functionality enables remote workers to direct message (DM) or create “collaboration hubs” around departments, projects, or any topic. Mattermost and Rocket Chat are open source tools that recreate many of Slack’s capabilities.

Microsoft Teams and Join.me are well-known video chat and conferencing apps. However, as a full collaboration and communication suite, Teams offers more for Windows users. It allows VoIP, direct and group messages, and integration with all the Office 365 apps. Not only is Join.me a free video-conferencing app, but it also allows participants to use a cool brainstorming feature called “whiteboarding” for real-time interaction on a shared document.

Project management essentials

When you’re managing a team of dozens located in different parts of the globe, things can start to fall apart quickly. Time differences and distance can create significant complexity if you lack the right tools. These two apps can help you overcome the challenges and streamline project organization and collaboration.

Our picks: Basecamp and Trello
Basecamp is a web-based management tool for planning and collaboration on projects. There’s no installation needed, just your regular web browser to access its powerful core functions that include task management, messaging, collaboration, file sharing, scheduling, quick search, and reporting.

Trello’s overall shining feature is its simplicity. The web-based tool’s approach to project management is built around one concept: the bulletin board. Users can create boards that represent projects and each board can be populated with cards assigned to specific members and customized with deadlines, comments, and attachments.

With the current global crisis, remote working tools have become even more crucial to sustaining productivity, accomplishing projects, and solidifying distributed teams. It’s important your organization chooses ones that are well-suited to budget, infrastructure, and goals. Our experts can help make a proper assessment and configure the perfect remote working setup. Talk to us today.

In this time of uncertainty brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, communication is more important than ever. Organizations in all sectors are struggling to stay connected with their remote workforces, as well as clients and partners who need assistance. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony offers the perfect solution. Aside from ensuring good communication, VoIP has a raft of other benefits to offer your organization in this difficult time. Read on to learn all about them.

VoIP telephony ensures effective communication and business continuity in times of crisis.

Facilitates remote work and service delivery

VoIP is an indispensable tool for organizations that have rolled out work-from-home setups. Through VoIP platforms like Skype, remote workers can jump on calls and join meetings from anywhere, at any time. Employees stay connected as long as they have an internet-connected device — they don’t even need any additional hardware. Managers can also easily check in with their teams through direct calls, voice notes, and instant messaging.

VoIP solutions also promote collaboration among distributed workforces so workflows stay efficient. When collaborating on productivity solutions such as Office 365, third-party VoIP integrations allow your employees to send files back and forth and provide immediate feedback with ease.

VoIP is especially useful in essential services like healthcare; doctors can hold remote consultations with patients who are housebound because of the pandemic. Healthcare providers can even make and take audio or video calls on VoIP phones or other devices, provided it’s done over a safe, HIPAA-compliant network.

Improves customer interaction

The pandemic has tensions running high, and customers want instant feedback to their queries now more than ever. The auto-attendant feature of VoIP solutions ensures that customers are directed to the person best suited to assist them, even those working remotely. Auto-attendants can also be programmed to give status updates to callers in emergency or disaster situations, making them an invaluable tool for conveying important messages to your clients.

You can also set up calls so that voicemails are delivered to your smartphone, ensuring you get messages and return calls regardless of your location.

Reduces expenses

Businesses everywhere are already feeling the financial crunch of the pandemic. Many companies have temporarily ceased operations, and experts predict that this trend will continue in the months ahead. The International Monetary Fund has declared that the global economy is now in a recession. As such, you may be looking for ways to save money and keep your business afloat.

Switching to a hosted VoIP infrastructure is one of the best ways to cut back on expenses. The upfront costs are minimal as the service is delivered over an existing data network. Plus, VoIP is completely flexible, allowing you to scale up or down the number of lines or features depending on your needs. You pay a single, flat monthly fee only for what you use, making budgeting a breeze. The cost savings from VoIP can be reallocated toward more essential resources.

Need help choosing and setting up a VoIP solution that meets your organization’s needs? Give our experts a call today.

With COVID-19 now a full-blown pandemic, it’s increasingly important to stay up to date with the latest news and developments. The same applies to organizations worldwide — management and staff need to be able to communicate effectively to avoid misunderstandings that could prove fatal to operations in this time of crisis. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technologies are valuable tools no organization should do without now and in the post-coronavirus future.

VoIP telephony ensures effective communication and business continuity in times of crisis.

Facilitates remote work and service delivery

VoIP is an indispensable tool for organizations that have rolled out work-from-home setups. Through VoIP platforms like Skype, remote workers can jump on calls and join meetings from anywhere, at any time. Employees stay connected as long as they have an internet-connected device — they don’t even need any additional hardware. Managers can also easily check in with their teams through direct calls, voice notes, and instant messaging.

VoIP solutions also promote collaboration among distributed workforces so workflows stay efficient. When collaborating on productivity solutions such as Office 365, third-party VoIP integrations allow your employees to send files back and forth and provide immediate feedback with ease.

VoIP is especially useful in essential services like healthcare; doctors can hold remote consultations with patients who are housebound because of the pandemic. Healthcare providers can even make and take audio or video calls on VoIP phones or other devices, provided it’s done over a safe, HIPAA-compliant network.

Improves customer interaction

The pandemic has tensions running high, and customers want instant feedback to their queries now more than ever. The auto-attendant feature of VoIP solutions ensures that customers are directed to the person best suited to assist them, even those working remotely. Auto-attendants can also be programmed to give status updates to callers in emergency or disaster situations, making them an invaluable tool for conveying important messages to your clients.

You can also set up calls so that voicemails are delivered to your smartphone, ensuring you get messages and return calls regardless of your location.

Reduces expenses

Businesses everywhere are already feeling the financial crunch of the pandemic. Many companies have temporarily ceased operations, and experts predict that this trend will continue in the months ahead. The International Monetary Fund has declared that the global economy is now in a recession. As such, you may be looking for ways to save money and keep your business afloat.

Switching to a hosted VoIP infrastructure is one of the best ways to cut back on expenses. The upfront costs are minimal as the service is delivered over an existing data network. Plus, VoIP is completely flexible, allowing you to scale up or down the number of lines or features depending on your needs. You pay a single, flat monthly fee only for what you use, making budgeting a breeze. The cost savings from VoIP can be reallocated toward more essential resources.

Need help choosing and setting up a VoIP solution that meets your organization’s needs? Give our experts a call today.

If there’s one thing we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that communication is key during a crisis or emergency. Poor communication can lead to misinformation, which can cause undue panic. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony offers organizations in all sectors with the perfect solution to keep their workforces, clients, and partners in the loop at all times, among other benefits. Read on to learn more about them.

VoIP telephony ensures effective communication and business continuity in times of crisis.

Facilitates remote work and service delivery

VoIP is an indispensable tool for organizations that have rolled out work-from-home setups. Through VoIP platforms like Skype, remote workers can jump on calls and join meetings from anywhere, at any time. Employees stay connected as long as they have an internet-connected device — they don’t even need any additional hardware. Managers can also easily check in with their teams through direct calls, voice notes, and instant messaging.

VoIP solutions also promote collaboration among distributed workforces so workflows stay efficient. When collaborating on productivity solutions such as Office 365, third-party VoIP integrations allow your employees to send files back and forth and provide immediate feedback with ease.

VoIP is especially useful in essential services like healthcare; doctors can hold remote consultations with patients who are housebound because of the pandemic. Healthcare providers can even make and take audio or video calls on VoIP phones or other devices, provided it’s done over a safe, HIPAA-compliant network.

Improves customer interaction

The pandemic has tensions running high, and customers want instant feedback to their queries now more than ever. The auto-attendant feature of VoIP solutions ensures that customers are directed to the person best suited to assist them, even those working remotely. Auto-attendants can also be programmed to give status updates to callers in emergency or disaster situations, making them an invaluable tool for conveying important messages to your clients.

You can also set up calls so that voicemails are delivered to your smartphone, ensuring you get messages and return calls regardless of your location.

Reduces expenses

Businesses everywhere are already feeling the financial crunch of the pandemic. Many companies have temporarily ceased operations, and experts predict that this trend will continue in the months ahead. The International Monetary Fund has declared that the global economy is now in a recession. As such, you may be looking for ways to save money and keep your business afloat.

Switching to a hosted VoIP infrastructure is one of the best ways to cut back on expenses. The upfront costs are minimal as the service is delivered over an existing data network. Plus, VoIP is completely flexible, allowing you to scale up or down the number of lines or features depending on your needs. You pay a single, flat monthly fee only for what you use, making budgeting a breeze. The cost savings from VoIP can be reallocated toward more essential resources.

Need help choosing and setting up a VoIP solution that meets your organization’s needs? Give our experts a call today.

The hidden gem of Microsoft Office, OneNote has your digital note-taking needs covered. This piece of software is essentially a digital notebook in which you can organize or visualize your ideas using text, video, audio, and other multimedia sources. See what you’re missing out on by exploring this powerful app.

Organize your digital notebook

While both Microsoft Word and OneNote let you create text-heavy documents, they store and display saved information differently. Word displays one document at a time, but OneNote shows you all your documents at once.

When you open the desktop version of OneNote for the first time, it shows you a default Notebook called “My Notebook.”

If you want to create another Notebook, click on the < beside the name of your current one, then choose +Notebook at the bottom of your screen.

You can customize a Notebook by separating it into subcategories called Sections, which are like dividers in a physical notebook. For instance, you can dedicate one Section for the notes regarding a particular client. Sections are shown as color-coded tabs along the top of the screen, next to the name of your Notebook. You can add more by clicking on +Section at the bottom left of your screen.

You can add individual pages to a Section by clicking +Page, and you can use this feature to separate information. For example, you can add pages pertaining to a client’s contact details, project statuses, and billing information.

You can rename your Notebook, or any Section or Page, by right-clicking on it and choosing the rename option.

Start experimenting

There’s no hard-and-fast rule to enjoy OneNote because each person’s note-taking habits are unique. The only way to find out if OneNote works for you is to try out all the features and decide which method is most effective. Here are some things you can try to get a feel of the OneNote experience.

• Add tags to your notes so you can search for them efficiently
• Instantly turn your drawings into shapes or text using the Ink to Shape and Ink to Text functions, respectively
• Solve equations by using the Ink Math Assistant (which can help you graph or solve math problems)
• Use Immersive Reader to read texts out loud
• Write on a web page in Microsoft Edge and save your annotations to OneNote

Keep in mind, however, that these work only in OneNote for Windows 10. If you’re using an older version, you’ll need to upgrade to the latest version to enjoy these benefits.

Share your OneNote

So you’ve created a detailed plan for an upcoming event complete with visual pegs and handwritten instructions, and you want to share this with your team. That’s easy as pie with OneNote. Just go to the upper right corner of your ribbon, click on the Share button, and type in the email addresses of the people to whom you wish to send your notes. You can also set the sharing permissions to either “can view” or “can edit,” giving you more control over your data.

OneNote has numerous tricks up its sleeve and it can take months for you to master all of them. Call us today, and we’ll make sure you’ll get the hang of OneNote in no time.

Note-taking is a vital skill in life. Whether you’re in a board meeting, conference, or lecture, you’re bound to list, quote, or summarize certain points in order to recall them later and understand them better. Thanks to new technologies, you now have more ways of taking down notes than just a pen and paper. Using your mobile device and Microsoft OneNote, you can easily record your notes and have the bonus features of customizing and sharing them. Discover the ins and outs of this incredible app by reading on.

Organize your digital notebook

While both Microsoft Word and OneNote let you create text-heavy documents, they store and display saved information differently. Word displays one document at a time, but OneNote shows you all your documents at once.

When you open the desktop version of OneNote for the first time, it shows you a default Notebook called “My Notebook.”

If you want to create another Notebook, click on the < beside the name of your current one, then choose +Notebook at the bottom of your screen.

You can customize a Notebook by separating it into subcategories called Sections, which are like dividers in a physical notebook. For instance, you can dedicate one Section for the notes regarding a particular client. Sections are shown as color-coded tabs along the top of the screen, next to the name of your Notebook. You can add more by clicking on +Section at the bottom left of your screen.

You can add individual pages to a Section by clicking +Page, and you can use this feature to separate information. For example, you can add pages pertaining to a client’s contact details, project statuses, and billing information.

You can rename your Notebook, or any Section or Page, by right-clicking on it and choosing the rename option.

Start experimenting

There’s no hard-and-fast rule to enjoy OneNote because each person’s note-taking habits are unique. The only way to find out if OneNote works for you is to try out all the features and decide which method is most effective. Here are some things you can try to get a feel of the OneNote experience.

• Add tags to your notes so you can search for them efficiently
• Instantly turn your drawings into shapes or text using the Ink to Shape and Ink to Text functions, respectively
• Solve equations by using the Ink Math Assistant (which can help you graph or solve math problems)
• Use Immersive Reader to read texts out loud
• Write on a web page in Microsoft Edge and save your annotations to OneNote

Keep in mind, however, that these work only in OneNote for Windows 10. If you’re using an older version, you’ll need to upgrade to the latest version to enjoy these benefits.

Share your OneNote

So you’ve created a detailed plan for an upcoming event complete with visual pegs and handwritten instructions, and you want to share this with your team. That’s easy as pie with OneNote. Just go to the upper right corner of your ribbon, click on the Share button, and type in the email addresses of the people to whom you wish to send your notes. You can also set the sharing permissions to either “can view” or “can edit,” giving you more control over your data.

OneNote has numerous tricks up its sleeve and it can take months for you to master all of them. Call us today, and we’ll make sure you’ll get the hang of OneNote in no time.