Protected Trust Blog

What You Need to Know About Microsoft’s Upcoming Licensing Changes

On June 25, 2018, Microsoft announced a series of price and licensing changes that became effective ...

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On June 25, 2018, Microsoft announced a series of price and licensing changes that became effective October 1, 2018.

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On June 25, 2018, Microsoft announced a series of price and licensing changes that became effective October 1, 2018.

\n\n

These changes will impact Microsoft’s hero suite of products and most of the companies that use them. Government, healthcare, finance, and retail will be the most affected segments, while educational and non-profit organizations are not subject to the changes (at least for now).

Here is a list of the Microsoft products affected by these licensing changes:

Office
Level A Enterprise Agreements
Windows Enterprise
Productivity Servers including Exchange, SharePoint, Skype
Windows Server Standard
Windows Server CAL
CoreCAL
ECAL

What will changes to these products and Microsoft’s licensing and pricing structure mean for your business? Here is a breakdown of the major updates you need to know about:

Removal of Programmatic Volume Discounts

Microsoft’s licensing changes have established a “single, consistent starting price” across all programs. Therefore, programmatic price Level A discounts for EA/SCE/Select Plus/MPSA and Level C discounts for Open/Open Value no longer apply. These levels are still available for purchase; there is simply no longer a discount for purchasing in high volume.

However, coverage and platform discounts will still exist for EA Level A customers. Microsoft also claims they currently have no plans to change levels B-D, which are meant for larger customers with more complex requirements. For Open programs, Level C has been completely removed as of October 2018.

These changes were made with the goal of allowing organizations to purchase based on their specific needs rather than price. It seems as though this change is also an attempt to drive more mid-market customers to purchase via a CSP partner rather than small Enterprise Agreements (EAs).

Commercial Price Increases

At renewal, Level A MPSA, Select/SelectPlus, and Enterprise Agreement customers will see prices rise by just under 4%. Level C Open License, Open Value, and Open Value Subscription customers will see a price increase of about 2%.

Government Price Increases

Most Government customers use Level D, which will see a price increase of 4-6% for Online Services. Government customers using the Open AND MPSA programs will see Online Services prices increase by 3-18%.

Software prices will not be impacted by this programmatic change in EA, Select/Select Plus, and MPSA. However, there will be a phased implementation of this new pricing structure for Government customers in Open with the hope of helping government organizations mitigate the impact of these higher Online Services costs.

Changes to Office 2019

The one-time purchase price for Office 2019 has increased by 10%. This will include Office client, Office server products, and the Core/Enterprise CAL bundles across all commercial agreements and academic agreements (but excludes the Enrollment for Education Solutions agreement).

The Office 2019 program also includes a variety of other changes. For example, it will only run on Windows 10 and support Click2Run (C2R) installations. It will also only come equipped with a 7 year support lifecycle (a change from the previous 10 year support agreement). Additionally, effective October 2020, only Office in mainstream support will be able to connect to Office 365 services.

Changes to Windows Server

Windows Server 2019 Standard edition will see a 10% price increase. The RDS Device CAL will increase by a whopping 30%. This will bring its pricing structure in line with the User CAL, another push to make the per User licensing option more attractive to buyers.

Changes to Windows 10

Windows 10 product names have slightly changed. Instead of using per user/device suffixes, the label “E3” will now signify when a product has been licensed per User. Windows 10 Enterprise E5 per Device is no longer available, and the pricing of Windows 10 Enterprise will be raised to match the pricing of Windows 10 Enterprise E3.

Overall, most of these changes were made to better align various aspects of Microsoft’s licensing. This was done with the hopes of reducing inconsistencies and confusion for its customers and partners.

These changes also give customers an incentive to purchase through the Cloud Solution Provider (CSP) program. Microsoft wants to increase the amount of customers in the cloud and licenses per user through the Office 365 subscription-based model, effectively moving users away from one-time purchase Office software.

By making it more complicated and expensive for organizations to continue using a suite version of Office software, those who have been hesitant to make the switch to the subscription model of Office 365 are now likely reconsidering. If you’re in the same boat and are not willing to spend an additional 10% on your Office software bill, migrating to Office 365 can be a powerful solution to help you offset software costs and experience all the benefits of subscription-based services.

If your business is ready to transform into a modern digital workplace built on the Microsoft 365 platform, reach out to the experts at Protected Trust today. We can help you migrate from Office software to Office 365 with convenience and ease!

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On June 25, 2018, Microsoft announced a series of price and licensing changes that became effective October 1, 2018.

\n\n

Here is a list of the Microsoft products affected by these licensing changes:

Office
Level A Enterprise Agreements
Windows Enterprise
Productivity Servers including Exchange, SharePoint, Skype
Windows Server Standard
Windows Server CAL
CoreCAL
ECAL

What will changes to these products and Microsoft’s licensing and pricing structure mean for your business? Here is a breakdown of the major updates you need to know about:

Removal of Programmatic Volume Discounts

Commercial Price Increases

Government Price Increases

Changes to Office 2019

Changes to Windows Server

Changes to Windows 10

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On June 25, 2018, Microsoft announced a series of price and licensing changes that became effective October 1, 2018.

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What are the differences between Microsoft Office 2016, Office 2019 and Office 365?

Microsoft Office may be the de facto productivity tool for millions of workers worldwide, but it's ...

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Microsoft Office may be the de facto productivity tool for millions of workers worldwide, but it's certainly not a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather than a single product offering, there’s a whole slew of options to meet the needs of various users. Office can be used on iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, Androids, and desktop and laptop computers—whether they’re Windows or macOS devices—and for business or personal use.

But when you get down to it, there are really only two kinds of Office.

The stand-alone suite version of Office software. Office 2016 traces its roots back to the last century. Its successor, Office 2019, was recently released.
The subscription-based service model of Office 365. This model of Office debuted in 2011, with options for both personal and business use.

How they differ can be confusing, especially since each includes, more or less, the same applications. However, they way in which they are paid for, serviced, and connected to the cloud differ. To help you better understand your Microsoft Office options, here is a breakdown of those three top differentiators that these tools apart. Plus, we’ll take a look at what's coming based on Microsoft's new support policies for the Office 2019 and Office 365 down the road.

Microsoft Office Differences

Of the differences between Office 2016, Office 2019, and Office 365, purchase plans are among the most striking.

Microsoft Office 2016 Differences from Office 2019

Office 2016 and Office 2019 are dubbed as “one-time purchases.” Microsoft defines this term as when, \"...you pay a single, up-front cost to get Office applications for one computer.\" Up-front is the key adjective there; Office 2016 and 2019’'s entire purchase price must be laid out before receiving the software. This means that whether someone walks into a retail store and buys one copy at a time or purchases hundreds via volume licensing, that purchase (of a license to legally run the software), gives the buyer the right to use the software in perpetuity.

In other words, the license has no expiration date, and users may run the suite as long as they want. Pay for Office 2016 this year and use it for the next eight years? Fine. Run Office 2019 until 2030? There’s nothing stopping you (as long as the computer it was installed on keeps working, that is).

Office 365

On the other hand, Office 365, the version of Office that Microsoft is pushing most aggressively, is a subscription-based service. This means payments are made monthly or annually. The latter may produce savings in exchange for the commitment: Office 365 Business Premium, for instance, costs $12.50 per month per user when paid in an annual lump sum ($150 per user), but $15 per month per user on a month-to-month plan ($180). All enterprise plans, from E1 to E5, as well as ProPlus, do not offer a monthly option, but require an annual commitment.

Like any other subscription-based model, Office 365 provides a valuable service. In the case of Office, it's the right to run the suite's applications—but only as long as payments continue. Stop paying, and rights to run the apps expire (actually, they don't immediately stop working; the applications will continue to operate normally for 30 days past the previous payment's due date).

A license for Office, then, is contingent on sustained payments. Halt the latter and the license is revoked. Restarting the payments restores the license. However, with subscription-based software, you only need to pay for the software actually being used. This can actually be a huge benefit, especially for businesses.

Not every employee needs to have the same tier of software—for example, a company could use Business Premium for its highest-end executive users and Office 365 Business Essentials for rank-and-file workers who only need access to the collaboration software. Additionally, if an employee leaves the company, their subscription can be stopped without having to pay for it for the remainder of the year, which is ideal for business scalability.

Microsoft Service Options

Although payments define one difference between Office 2016, Office 2019, and Office 365, Microsoft's turn to a faster development and release pace is also of major importance to users and the IT professionals who support them.

Microsoft Office 2016 vs 2019

Think of Office 2016 and 2019 as traditional software made and sold in traditional ways. That holds for servicing, too. Microsoft provides monthly security updates for Office applications, usually on the second Tuesday of each month, and also fixes non-security bugs for the first five years of the SKU's lifecycle.

But, the stand-alone suite versions of Office software do not receive upgrades with new features and functionality. What you get when you buy the suite, feature-wise, is it. When Microsoft produces a new edition, which it will eventually do, you would need to pay another up-front fee to have access to the newest edition’s features.

Office 365

Office 365, on the other hand, has a completely different servicing model. While the Office applications licensed to users through Office 365 receive the same security patches (and non-security fixes) distributed to Office 2016 and 2019, they also acquire new features and functionality as updates as soon as they are released.

This means that as new security, collaboration, and creativity capabilities are made, Office 365 subscribers will have immediate access to them. There’s no need to go to the store or make an online order and manually install new software updates.

As new features and functionality accrue, the applications evolve until, at some point, Microsoft says they are sufficiently different to warrant a new numerical moniker, such as Office 2019 or Office 2020. It will then package those versions into an upgraded suite for customers who continue to make one-time, up-front purchases.

Microsoft's Cloud Services Connectivity

Neither Office 2016, Office 2019, or Office 365 are completely cloud-based, but all are able to connect with Microsoft's cloud services (and some third-party services). Currently, both the applications awarded in a one-time purchase of Office 2016 and those installed as part of an Office 365 subscription can connect with services such as Microsoft-hosted Exchange, OneDrive storage, and Skype for Business.

However, in April, Microsoft announced a major change in the rights of Office 2019's successors to do just that. After Oct. 13, 2020, Office applications acquired through an up-front purchase of the suite must be in their \"Mainstream\" support period, which is the first five years of the traditional guaranteed 10, to connect with Microsoft's cloud services.

The change takes aim at customers who mixed cloud services with traditional one-time payment software as it effectively halves the length of time the latter can be used in those organizations. At the same time, the post-2020 rule advances Microsoft's efforts to push business customers toward Office 365. The company hasn't been shy about saying so.

\"Office 365 ProPlus is our recommended Office client for Office 365 users,\" said Alistair Speirs, a senior operations program manager, in an April post to a blog. \"This is the Office client that stays up to date with frequent feature releases and ensures the best service experience.\"

Extended Support with Microsoft Office Suites

On Feb. 1, Microsoft revealed changes in how it will support Office 2019, the successor to Office 2016 in the \"one-time purchase\" category. The company also previewed a shape-shift in support for Office 365, specifically the ProPlus component, the desktop productivity applications, slated to take effect in January 2020. Essentially, Microsoft plans to slash future support for Office 2016 and 2019.

\"Office 2019 will provide 5 years of mainstream support and approximately 2 years of extended support,\" wrote Jared Spataro, the general manager for Office, in a Feb. 1 post to a company blog. “This is ... to align with the support period for Office 2016. Extended support will end 10/14/2025.\" As Spataro implied, Office 2016's support also will come to a stop Oct. 14, 2025.

Office 2016 is to get 10 years of support (5 in the \"Mainstream\" support stretch, 5 in \"Extended\"). Office 2019 will get just 7, representing a decrease of 30%. Because Office 2019's Mainstream support will presumably end sometime in October 2023, that will be the cut-off for connecting Office 2019's applications to Microsoft's cloud services.

Office 2016 and 2019's simultaneous retirement is the strongest signal yet that Microsoft will shut down the one-time purchase option after Office 2019, finally making the subscription-based Office 365 the only way to license the productivity applications. Spataro dropped other clues about Office's future. \"It has become imperative to move our software to a more modern cadence,\" he wrote, implying that years of support for perpetually-licensed software was either onerous for Microsoft or put customers at risk (or both).

Along with the reduction of the support timeline, Microsoft Office 2019 can only be supported on Windows 10 operating systems or higher, even though Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 are still operating. Meanwhile, Office 365's ProPlus will see its support curtailed, too. The new policies stake out Windows 10 as the only supported editions of Microsoft's OS as of January 14, 2020, the head-to-assisted-living date for Windows 7. Windows 8.1 will also be unsupported by Office 365 ProPlus, as will the Windows 10 LTSC (Long-term Servicing Channel) version.

In other words, Office 365 subscribers running Windows personal computers have less than two years to upgrade to Windows 10 if they're to continue working with the suite-by-subscription.

To learn more about which Office tools are right for your business, reach out to the experts at Protected Trust today!

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But when you get down to it, there are really only two kinds of Office.

The stand-alone suite version of Office software. Office 2016 traces its roots back to the last century. Its successor, Office 2019, was recently released.
The subscription-based service model of Office 365. This model of Office debuted in 2011, with options for both personal and business use.

Microsoft Office Differences

Of the differences between Office 2016, Office 2019, and Office 365, purchase plans are among the most striking.

Microsoft Office 2016 Differences from Office 2019

Office 365

Microsoft Service Options

Microsoft Office 2016 vs 2019

Office 365

Microsoft's Cloud Services Connectivity

Extended Support with Microsoft Office Suites

In other words, Office 365 subscribers running Windows personal computers have less than two years to upgrade to Windows 10 if they're to continue working with the suite-by-subscription.

To learn more about which Office tools are right for your business, reach out to the experts at Protected Trust today!

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Why Software is Moving to a Subscription Model, and Why It’s a Good Thing

Over the past five years, you may have noticed that more and more software is moving away from ...

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Over the past five years, you may have noticed that more and more software is moving away from being a “one-time purchase” and shifting to a subscription-based service model instead. While, at first glance, this may appear as a tactic to get more money out of you, it also offers numerous long-term advantages.

Gartner reported that,

\n
“By 2020, more than 80% of software vendors will change their business model from traditional license and maintenance to subscription.”
\n

Microsoft has caught on to this trend.

Software Subscription Model vs License

When Office 365 first launched in 2013, this subscription-based version of Office was available for the general public to use. Many people were confused—they saw Office software as something you bought one time. Then, only if they wanted or needed access to the latest functionality, they could pay to get the latest year version (such as Office 2019).

However, this all changed with the introduction of Office 365 Home/Personal and Office 365 Business Premium. This new subscription-based software model surpasses the old version of the Office business enterprise software in several ways. As a business, if you want to stay competitive, efficient, and keep your data secure, you should embrace this change. So, this isn’t something you’re going to be able to avoid as a consumer of software—and frankly, you shouldn’t. Here is a little bit of information about why this change is so exciting.

Subscription Software Model Security

Recent cyber attacks like Facebook’s infamous data breach or Advent Health Medical Group’s cyber attack that lasted for 16 months are just some of the biggest incidents that have recently plagued the news. One solution for preventing these attacks? Keeping all your devices’ software updated at all times, with no exceptions. After phishing, vulnerabilities in old software are one of the most common ways for criminals to breach your company’s security, and it’s making them serious money (as in BILLIONS of dollars a year from businesses just like yours).

Subscription models ensure you’re continuously running the most updated version of the software possible. With a subscription-based software such as Microsoft 365 for Business, the newest security measures are features are automatically updated as soon as they’re rolled out—minus the need to be aware that a new version exists, download it, and manually install it on your devices.

Subscription Software & Microsoft Cloud

One of the best examples of why this newer subscription-based software model is better than the old way of purchasing software is the massive difference between purchasing software one time, such as Office 2017, and having an Office 365 subscription. They share the name \"Office,\" so it may sound like you are just paying for Office tools such as Word and PowerPoint over time instead of all at once. While you do have access to the whole Office Suite under a subscription-based model, you get so much more with it, too.

Because Office 365 is connected to the Microsoft cloud, you’re able to collaborate on files in real time with Microsoft Teams. Do you use a file server or shared drive? Office 365, with its terabyte of storage per user, enables you to chuck that thing in the trash (it’s what we did and you should too). Backup your files? No need to spend time on that anymore.

Do you have software that tracks mileage, does your accounting, manages projects, provides group chat, share files, hosts video and voice meetings with screen sharing, manages customer communication, books appointments, etc.? Office 365 combines all of these functions in one platform that you can access from anywhere in the world. By leveraging the Microsoft Cloud to not only provide you with the best suite of productivity software ever made, but a solution you can securely run an entire business with, this subscription-based model becomes a game changer.

Automatic New Features

Subscription software rolls out features as they are ready, not just when a new version comes out. You used to have to wait between releases of software to get new features; for example, a new version of Word only came out once a year. Not so with the subscription model—when a feature is ready for prime time, you get it immediately without any further effort or investment.

Enhanced Scalability

With a subscription-based model, your business only needs to pay for the software it actually uses. As your employee count fluctuates during times of seasonal scale-back or booming growth, so too do your costs and software needs. With the ability to exactly pinpoint the software that you need, it becomes less expensive to onboard a new hire when you don't need to pay for their software all up front. Additionally, when an employee leaves their position, you can simply cancel their account rather than letting it sit idle and drain resources.

Microsoft's Subscription Software Model

As we mentioned earlier, Microsoft is now selling Office by way of a new subscription-based product called Microsoft 365 Business. Why make the switch? It comes down to device management—and this is what has traditional managed IT service providers very nervous. Microsoft 365 Business gives even small businesses truly enterprise-grade device management tools, making once difficult IT tasks easy or simply unnecessary.

These tools keep your devices safe and keep the data on your employees' devices from being compromised. If you lose a device or part ways with an employee, you can immediately revoke access or remove just your company's data from that device instantly while leaving everything else intact.

In addition to truly enterprise-grade device security, deploying new devices becomes a breeze. Say you spill an extra large cup of coffee on your device, or it falls into a volcano. No problem, grab another one, enter your username and password, and in no time you’ll be back up and running—with all of your applications and data exactly how you left them.

Companies that properly implement what Microsoft 365 Business has to offer see their IT demands and costs plummet. Instead of manually installing updates and tediously deploying new workstations, your IT staff can focus on the company’s mission. No longer worried about keeping you up and running, but where you’re running to.

Really?

If this all sounds like crazy talk, or you’re already ahead of the game and know that you are ready for a truly modern, connected office, give us a call, get a road map, and see how these changes not only bring a ton of value to your company, but can actually save you money. We’re here to schedule an introduction when you’re ready.

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Gartner reported that,

\n
“By 2020, more than 80% of software vendors will change their business model from traditional license and maintenance to subscription.”
\n

Microsoft has caught on to this trend.

Software Subscription Model vs License

Subscription Software Model Security

Subscription Software & Microsoft Cloud

Automatic New Features

Enhanced Scalability

Microsoft's Subscription Software Model

Really?

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Feature Highlight: Microsoft Surface Security

Security for business should be your top priority, especially in today’s digitally-driven world ...

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Security for business should be your top priority, especially in today’s digitally-driven world where cyber threats and data breaches are incredibly commonplace.

Your business can combat these security threats by leveraging the right Microsoft tools and technology, such as its family of Surface devices. Microsoft Surface security features are robust and incredibly valuable to your business—here is a breakdown of a few major ones.

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Security for business should be your top priority, especially in today’s digitally-driven world where cyber threats and data breaches are incredibly commonplace.

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #1: Secure Business Mobility

Business mobility is a term that means leveraging remote working technology and business practices that allow employees to work from outside of a traditional office setting. While there are many benefits your business can realize from allowing remote work policies, such as the ability to utilize talent that isn’t local to your office’s location, increased productivity, and reduced overhead for office space and utilities, there are a few disadvantages to remote work environments.

Two main ones are both the result of your remote employees not having access to a stable, high-speed internet connection: one being the increased risk for data breaches, and the other being a decrease in productivity. Why?

If your employees are tapping into a public network, it may be glitchy, slow, or plagued by poor upload/download speeds. This means they will be unable to access the files and apps they need to get their job done—plus, the public, unsecured Wi-Fi networks at locations such as shopping centers, coffee shops, or your client’s offices can heighten security risks. To combat these two disadvantages, your business needs to leverage the right remote working tools and technology.

These are two of the major problems Microsoft Surface on the go devices were designed to help solve. The Microsoft Surface with LTE uses radio frequency communications to connect to an LTE network tower, similar to the way a cell phone does. This way, remote employees using Microsoft Pro security features like LTE connectivity can enjoy secure access to the internet and any cloud-based apps—without having to connect to sketchy public Wi-Fi networks. All they need is a cell phone signal!

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #2: Ability to Avoid “Man-in-the-Middle” Attacks

If your remote employees do not have access to the kind of LTE-capable device we just mentioned, they’re left to rely on often inefficient and dangerous public Wi-Fi connections. This is not an optimal solution, as when your employees are connected to those unsecured Wi-Fi networks, they run the risk of connecting to a malicious network posing as a public one.

This is what is referred to as a “man-in-the-middle” (MITM) attack—when a hacker spoofs a network’s identity to trick people into connecting to it. An employee that falls for a MITM attack would have their data routed through the attacker’s system, which would then copy all of their data before forwarding it to the real Wi-Fi network.

Using a Microsoft Surface with LTE capabilities can help avoid these “man-in-the-middle” attacks in two main ways. The first is by avoiding the need for your employees to connect to public Wi-Fi networks entirely, as a MITM attack cannot happen if the user does not need Wi-Fi in the first place.

Surface devices can also minimize the threat of these attacks even if your employees are using a Surface device without LTE and do have to connect to a public Wi-Fi. How? When your employees are using Microsoft Teams or Office 365 software through their Surface devices, their data is automatically encrypted (both at-rest and in-transit). This means that even if hackers are able to steal transmitted data, they won’t be able to read it immediately—which frustrates attackers and makes them more likely to simply move on to another user whose device is not so secure.

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #3: Utilize the Software you Need With Peace of Mind

Not only does your Microsoft device security need to be robust—the software you’re using on it needs to have strong security as well. That is why Surface devices were specifically designed to pair with Office 365 software. The benefit of having a subscription-based, continuously-updated software like Office 365 Business Premium is that, as long as you can connect to the subscription-based business enterprise software’s server, you will always have the latest security patch for the software.

However, a recent report from Barracuda Networks found a \"startling rise\" in the number of account takeover (ATO) attacks plaguing Office 365 accounts—in just March alone, 29% of organizations had seen their Office 365 accounts compromised by hackers, who were then able to send over 1.5 million malicious and spam emails.

To combat the risk of becoming a victim of one of these ATO attacks if you use Office 365, your business should deploy technology that leverages machine learning applications to analyze communication patterns in order to spot abnormalities that are possible indicators of an attack.

Additionally, multi-factor authentication should be used to provide another layer of security to usernames and passwords that can be so easily compromised, which is included in the Business Premium version of the software. This tier also includes phishing email protection in the Outlook tools. Therefore, to have more enhanced security measures for your surface devices, your business should strongly consider upgrading to a higher tier of Office 365 software if you are currently on a lower-tier plan.

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #4: Utilize Hardware Designed with Security In Mind

Microsoft Surface security features include a built-in firewall, an anti-malware solution, and automatic updates. This means your business will have access to the newest Teams and Office 365 security features on their Surface devices—as soon as they are rolled out.

What does this mean for your business? Increased security and productivity without any additional time or effort. How? You don’t need to be aware that a new feature has been rolled out, go wait in line at the store/wait for an online order to ship, spend time installing it on each device, and train your employees on the new features.

All you and your employees have to do is continue utilizing the devices you’re already using with peace of mind that you have access to the latest security measures possible!

These Microsoft Surface security features can help to safeguard your business against cybersecurity threats and breaches, particularly when paired with other Microsoft software such as Teams and Office 365.

There’s no need to sacrifice speed or productivity for security—your business can still experience enhanced productivity, collaboration, and communication while still being secure. To learn more about Microsoft device security or how your business can transform into a modern digital workplace built on an ecosystem of Microsoft Teams and the Microsoft 365 platform, reach out to an expert today!

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Security for business should be your top priority, especially in today’s digitally-driven world where cyber threats and data breaches are incredibly commonplace.

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #1: Secure Business Mobility

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #2: Ability to Avoid “Man-in-the-Middle” Attacks

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #3: Utilize the Software you Need With Peace of Mind

Microsoft Surface Security Feature #4: Utilize Hardware Designed with Security In Mind

All you and your employees have to do is continue utilizing the devices you’re already using with peace of mind that you have access to the latest security measures possible!

","rss_summary":"

Security for business should be your top priority, especially in today’s digitally-driven world where cyber threats and data breaches are incredibly commonplace.

","blog_post_schedule_task_uid":null,"blog_publish_instant_email_task_uid":"DONE","blog_publish_to_social_media_task":"DONE"}

3 Modern Workplace Environment Trends

Today’s digitally-driven, inter-connected, and modern workplace environment looks a whole lot ...

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Today’s digitally-driven, inter-connected, and modern workplace environment looks a whole lot different than it did in past generations.

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Today’s digitally-driven, inter-connected, and modern workplace environment looks a whole lot different than it did in past generations.

\n\n

So, what workplace trends are affecting companies nationwide? What new technology in the workplace is needed to help stay on top of them? We’ve broken down three major trends affecting the modern workplace environment, and how Microsoft tools can help you stay successful and efficient in this ever-changing business world.

Remote Working is the New Norm.

“Work from wherever policies” are not just a trendy fad—they’re here to stay. 3.9 million Americans now work from home at least half the time. Of those remote workers, 90% plan to keep doing so for the rest of their career. This means a modern workplace environment doesn’t just include your office—it also includes your employee’s homes, coffee shops, airports, client’s offices, and virtually any other location.

As remote office policies become more commonplace, unique issues and modern workplace trends will arise as well. New technology in the workplace that allows employees to work efficiently and stay on the same page, even when they aren’t working from the same place, is popping up left and right.

For example, if a remote employee does not have reliable, high-speed internet, they won’t be able to pull up files, make uploads and downloads, or access the cloud-based apps they need to get their job done. Microsoft Surface with LTE devices were designed to help solve this problem by using radio frequency communications (similar to how cellphones work) to connect to LTE network towers. This allows remote employees using these devices to access the internet and any apps they need to do their job from anywhere they can get a cellphone signal.

Additionally, remote work can hinder an employee’s ability to communicate with their coworkers and feel like part of the team—unless your business utilizes the right tools. Microsoft Teams is a workplace collaboration cool to transform the way a modern workplace environment functions. On one shared and easy-to-use workspace, team members are empowered to chat, hold video or audio conferences, share files, and work within seamlessly integrated business apps—quickly and from any location.

“Bring Your Own Device” Policies are on the Rise.

Many employers realize they can’t keep up with technology as nimbly as their employees can, especially the tech-savvy Millennials that now make up the majority of the labor force. That’s why more and more companies are adopting “bring your own device” policies (coined BYOD) that allow employees to use their personal devices rather than company-issued ones.

While employees being able to work on the devices they prefer can lower your operational costs and improve morale, it also raises new security concerns. However, your employees can experience increased data security when communicating through Microsoft Teams with region-based data residency and data encryption (both at rest and in transit). This way, your confidential business data can be secure no matter where employees are working from and what devices they’re using.

Office 365 Business Premium software also boasts robust security measures. As long as the user can connect to the subscription-based business enterprise software’s server, they will always have the latest security patch for the software. On this version of the subscription software, users also get enforced multi-factor authentication, region-based data residency, and phishing email protection in the Outlook tools.

However, even the basic Office 365 for Business subscription tier boasts five layers of security and proactive monitoring for increased privacy and data protection. No matter your budget, an employee’s location, or their connectivity method, you can always have peace of mind that the devices your business relies on are secure—even though they aren’t actually your devices.

A Larger Emphasis is Being Placed on Company Culture.

According to a study by Columbia University, the likelihood of job turnover at an organization with high company culture is only 13.9%—but it skyrockets to 48.4% in low company cultures. Companies and their leaders are beginning to take notice and make strides to ensure their modern workplace environment is one that possesses a strong culture.

What does this have to do with workplace technology trends? More than you might think. With so many employees working remotely, it’s important to keep them in mind when working to enhance your company culture. After all, even though they may not always be physically in your office, they are still part of your team that makes up your culture. Furthermore, they certainly do take notice when they don’t feel like they are a part of it—according to Buffer’s 2018 State of Remote Work Report, loneliness was the biggest struggle to working remotely, and 21% of remote workers have concerns about communication and collaboration.

The right collaboration tools can help combat these issues and go a long way in making your remote staff feel heard, connected, and like a true part of your culture. With Microsoft Teams, multiple users can simultaneously collaborate on one file, adding comments and making edits in real-time that are then automatically synced. This can make remote employees feel like they’re working cohesively with their coworkers even though they aren’t side by side.

Beyond just collaborating on work efficiently, Teams also helps with the social aspects of your culture that can be especially difficult for remote employees to take part in—if they don’t have the right tools. With the ability to chat and meet through clear, high-quality audio or video conferencing, your modern employees can still be part of that brainstorm, team meeting, or company-wide update, or just catch up with a coworker—minus technical difficulties or having to send lengthy, messy email chains back and forth.

The Key Takeaway Here? Business Mobility is More Vital Than Ever Before

What do all of these trends have in common? They make business mobility more essential for success than ever before. Business mobility is a term often applied to remote working, workplace trends, and business practices that allow employees to conduct work from modern workplace environments—which you’ve probably gathered is no longer a traditional office setting.

While it may feel overwhelming to make the shift to a modern workplace environment at first, all you need is the right tools to help you enhance its benefits and combat its challenges. With Microsoft Surface devices, Teams, and Office 365, you’ll be equipped with the technology you need to experience true business mobility and get ahead of these trends rather than being defeated by them.

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Today’s digitally-driven, inter-connected, and modern workplace environment looks a whole lot different than it did in past generations.

\n\n

Remote Working is the New Norm.

“Bring Your Own Device” Policies are on the Rise.

A Larger Emphasis is Being Placed on Company Culture.

The Key Takeaway Here? Business Mobility is More Vital Than Ever Before

","rss_summary":"

Today’s digitally-driven, inter-connected, and modern workplace environment looks a whole lot different than it did in past generations.

\n","blog_post_schedule_task_uid":null,"blog_publish_instant_email_task_uid":"DONE","blog_publish_to_social_media_task":"DONE"}

How to Get More out of Office by Using the Microsoft CSP Program

Microsoft Office 365 can be an incredibly useful and convenient tool for enhancing productivity and ...

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Microsoft Office 365 can be an incredibly useful and convenient tool for enhancing productivity and collaboration throughout your company. Employees with Office 365 business licenses can freely access a suite of software such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, SharePoint, and Microsoft Teams when they need them. Moreover, with 365 Business, employees can collaborate securely by leveraging Teams’ built-in encryption features and live online document editing and conferencing solutions.

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However, there are some challenges for managing Microsoft Office 365 licenses—especially in a growing organization with fluctuating needs. For example, Office 365 licenses are billed up-front yearly. This does two things:

It creates a large initial cost to add software licenses for your entire organization.
It reduces the flexibility of your Office 365 license management—if you remove employees, the licenses you acquired for them will be wasted, and adding new employees becomes more expensive.

One of the most frequently asked Microsoft licensing questions we hear is: “How can I improve my Office 365 license management?” To this, we reply: “Have you considered switching your Office 365 licenses to a Microsoft CSP program partner?”

Taking advantage of the services of a Microsoft cloud solution provider (CSP) program partner can help you enhance the scalability of your Office 365 software, improve your insights into your information security, and have access to support to get more out of your Office 365 subscriptions.

What is the Microsoft CSP Program?

The Microsoft CSP program is a type of indirect reseller program for Microsoft partners to sell licenses for MS’ cloud-based solutions (such as Azure, Office 365, and Dynamics 365). These program partners handle the licenses for you, instead of having you manage them yourself.

For example, Protected Trust is a Microsoft CSP program partner that can either set up new licenses for you or take over your existing licenses.

Why Would I Want to Use a Microsoft CSP Program Partner?

Here’s the million-dollar question: “Why would I go through a third party for my Office 365 license management instead of just buying it directly from Microsoft?” Some reasons to use a Microsoft CSP program partner instead of buying direct include:

Spreading Out the Cost of 365 Subscriptions

When you buy Office 365 licenses directly from Microsoft, you have to pay for the entire year up front for each license. On a Microsoft Office 365 Business license, that’s $240 per license ($20/mo. x 12 months). If you’re acquiring licenses for 100 employees, that’s $24,000 in overhead hitting all at once.

This can break the budget for that month—leading to cost overruns and severe cash flow disruptions that only get worse the larger the organization is. By switching your licenses to a Microsoft CSP program partner, you can pay month-to-month instead of having to pay the whole year up front. This helps to spread out the cost of the software subscription so that its impact on your cash flow is a twelfth of what it would be.

Providing Enhanced Scalability for Office 365 License Management

Another benefit of paying month-to-month with a Microsoft CSP program partner instead of paying upfront with Microsoft directly is that you only have to pay for the 365 licenses that you’re actually using.

For example, say you need 300 Microsoft Office 365 licenses in January because you have 300 employees on the payroll who require access to the Office software suite. However, in March, you end up letting go of 30 of those employees for various reasons (overstaffed for seasonal workload, performance not up to par, etc.). With the “pay up front” model, you’d be wasting $6,000 worth of Office 365 subscription time (30 employees times ten months of unused subscription time at $20/month).

While this probably won’t break the bank, it may discourage you from hiring employees on a seasonal basis, which can lead to other problems.

When you pay month-to-month, you can drop or add Office 365 licenses as you need them—virtually eliminating monetary waste on software licensing.

Getting Access to Cloud Solution Provider-Specific Resources

Microsoft provides their CSPs with exclusive resources such as software asset management (SAM) solutions. These resources help Microsoft CSP partners provide their customers (i.e. you) with deeper insights into their data and analytics. This, in turn, can help you make more informed decisions regarding your software.

Of particular interest is the ability to obtain an objective scoring of your organization’s data security practices on Microsoft Office 365.

Receiving Help Assessing and Analyzing Your Microsoft Secure Score

If your organization uses Office 365 Enterprise, Microsoft 365 Business, or Business Premium, you can (with the right permissions) access your organization’s Secure Score. Microsoft defines their Secure Score as a tool that “analyzes your organization’s security based on your regular activities and security settings in Office 365, and assigns a score.”

Microsoft’s Secure Score tool determines which Office 365 tools your organization is using and how it’s using them to compare them to security best practices. However, many organizations don’t leverage the Secure Score tool at all—if they even know about it in the first place!

Using a Microsoft CSP program partner can help your organization be more aware of potential security issues because a cloud solution provider (like Protected Trust) can track and interpret the data for you and provide a report. Or, they can provide training in how to use the Secure Score tool so you can analyze the reports yourself.

Consistently checking and making changes based on your organization’s Microsoft Secure Score can help you limit your exposure to risks such as data loss or data breaches—though it won’t stop everything.

Shifting your Microsoft Office 365 license management to a CSP program partner is an excellent way to save money and time while still enjoying all of the benefits of using Office 365. Are you ready to get more out of your Microsoft Office 365 licenses? Reach out to Protected Trust today!

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\n\n

It creates a large initial cost to add software licenses for your entire organization.
It reduces the flexibility of your Office 365 license management—if you remove employees, the licenses you acquired for them will be wasted, and adding new employees becomes more expensive.

What is the Microsoft CSP Program?

For example, Protected Trust is a Microsoft CSP program partner that can either set up new licenses for you or take over your existing licenses.

Why Would I Want to Use a Microsoft CSP Program Partner?

Spreading Out the Cost of 365 Subscriptions

Providing Enhanced Scalability for Office 365 License Management

While this probably won’t break the bank, it may discourage you from hiring employees on a seasonal basis, which can lead to other problems.

When you pay month-to-month, you can drop or add Office 365 licenses as you need them—virtually eliminating monetary waste on software licensing.

Getting Access to Cloud Solution Provider-Specific Resources

Of particular interest is the ability to obtain an objective scoring of your organization’s data security practices on Microsoft Office 365.

Receiving Help Assessing and Analyzing Your Microsoft Secure Score

","rss_summary":"

\n","blog_publish_instant_email_task_uid":"DONE","blog_publish_to_social_media_task":"DONE","blog_post_schedule_task_uid":null}

3 Benefits of Microsoft Office for Government Employees

Microsoft Office for government employees is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of ...

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Microsoft Office for government employees is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of government organizations with advanced IT requirements. Microsoft’s government business tools provide all the features and capabilities of their typical Office 365 services, but in a segmented government cloud community.

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\n\n

This enables government organizations to meet U.S. compliance and security standards. However, Microsoft Office Government plans also feature a slew of other capabilities that can help your organization optimize processes through enhanced communication, mobility, and reliability. How? First, we’ll cover some of the basics of Microsoft Office for government employees, then highlight three of its major benefits.

$\"microsoft-surface-government\"$

Who is Eligible for Microsoft’s Government Business Tools?

Office 365 Government plans are available to:

Qualified government entities. Microsoft Office for federal government employees is the most common use, but is also available to employees at the state and local level, plus tribal and territorial government entities; and/or
Other entities who handle data subject to government regulations and requirements, where use of Office 365 Government is appropriate to meet these regulations and requirements.

If your organization does not fall into one of these categories, you can still enjoy the benefits of Microsoft Office with subscription-based business plans.

What Options Exist for Utilizing Microsoft Office for Government Employees?

There are three levels of Office 365 Government Plans. Each plan is offered as a monthly subscription and can be licensed to an unlimited number of users—meaning they are ideal for government entities of any size. The most basic option, Office 365 Government G1, includes access to web versions of familiar tools such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The higher tiers, Office 365 Government G3 and G5, offer desktop versions of these Office applications. This is the most prominent difference between them, but the two higher tiers will also offer additional capabilities at each level, which may include:

A fully-installed Office experience across PCs, Macs, Windows tablets, iPad® and Android™ tablets, and most mobile devices;
Enterprise management of apps;
Intelligent search and discovery; and
Advanced email capabilities, voicemail integration, and business intelligence tools.

Which option is right for your organization will depend on its unique needs and priorities. Keep in mind that you will have access to more features as you move up to higher tiers, but all benefits featured in the remainder of this article are included in each plan.

Benefit #1: Streamlined Collaboration and Business Processes

Microsoft Office’s government business tools allow employees to hold multi-party HD online meetings with screen sharing, note taking, and annotation capabilities. All it takes is a click to start an IM, conference call, or video chat. For government employees that are constantly on-the-go, this can make a true difference in collaboration. Here are some other benefits of Microsoft Office for government employees that enhance communication and streamline processes, resulting in higher productivity:

Email and Calendars. Business-class email through Outlook experience, which can be accessed from a desktop or web browser. Includes a 50 GB mailbox for each user, the ability to send attachments up to 150 MB, and use of your own domain name.
Intranet and Team Sites. Experience company-wide intranet that can connect people to the content, expertise, and processes that power teamwork through team sites.
Office Online. The ability to create and edit in Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel documents from any modern browser.
Apps for Office and SharePoint. Both third-party and custom-built apps work with Office and SharePoint, bringing web services right into your documents and sites.
Online Conferencing. Host online meetings with audio and video using one-click screen sharing, HD video conferencing, and virtual whiteboards.
Instant Messaging and Skype Connectivity. Communicate using messaging, voice calls, and video calls. Users have the ability to share their video presence, messages, and audio calls with people outside of your organization by using Skype.
Work from Any Modern Browser. Sync email, calendar, and contacts, access SharePoint sites, and view and edit Office documents with Office Online. This can all be done from a browser on Windows Phone, iOS, and Android™ devices.
File Storage and Sharing. Each user will have at least 1 TB of personal cloud storage through OneDrive. Share files and work with anyone inside your government organization, plus those outside of it. Find files fast and control who can see and edit files from anywhere, on any device—all while optimizing security.
Constant accessibility. Know your services are available with a guaranteed 99.9% uptime, financially backed service level agreement (SLA).
Cutting-edge security practices. Five layers of security and proactive monitoring help keep your confidential data safe.
Automatic updates. No need to pay for version upgrades. Updates are included in your subscription as new features are rolled out. Save long-term while having peace of mind you’re utilizing the most up-to-date capabilities.
24/7 support. Constant access to support for critical IT issues. Ability to make service requests directly through the admin portal for less urgent issues.

Benefit #2: Unmatched Mobility

Microsoft Office for government employees home use capabilities enable staff to work from their house, your office, or any remote location with ease. For government employees that are constantly working from various locations or regularly traveling, this mobility is essential for success. Office 365 Government plans provide users with the Office applications they know and love that are optimized for their devices so they can work efficiently and effectively wherever they are.

Benefit #3: Reliability and Security

For government employees particularly, world-class data security is a must. With Microsoft Office for government employees, data is segregated from commercial data. It is separately stored within the U.S., and access is restricted to only screened Microsoft personnel. Here’s how Microsoft Government plans can offer you increased reliability and security.

At Protected Trust, we can help set you up with the government employee tools your organization needs for success. Ready to get started? Schedule an introduction with one of our experts today.

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\n\n

$\"microsoft-surface-government\"$

Who is Eligible for Microsoft’s Government Business Tools?

Office 365 Government plans are available to:

Qualified government entities. Microsoft Office for federal government employees is the most common use, but is also available to employees at the state and local level, plus tribal and territorial government entities; and/or
Other entities who handle data subject to government regulations and requirements, where use of Office 365 Government is appropriate to meet these regulations and requirements.

If your organization does not fall into one of these categories, you can still enjoy the benefits of Microsoft Office with subscription-based business plans.

What Options Exist for Utilizing Microsoft Office for Government Employees?

A fully-installed Office experience across PCs, Macs, Windows tablets, iPad® and Android™ tablets, and most mobile devices;
Enterprise management of apps;
Intelligent search and discovery; and
Advanced email capabilities, voicemail integration, and business intelligence tools.

Benefit #1: Streamlined Collaboration and Business Processes

Email and Calendars. Business-class email through Outlook experience, which can be accessed from a desktop or web browser. Includes a 50 GB mailbox for each user, the ability to send attachments up to 150 MB, and use of your own domain name.
Intranet and Team Sites. Experience company-wide intranet that can connect people to the content, expertise, and processes that power teamwork through team sites.
Office Online. The ability to create and edit in Word, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Excel documents from any modern browser.
Apps for Office and SharePoint. Both third-party and custom-built apps work with Office and SharePoint, bringing web services right into your documents and sites.
Online Conferencing. Host online meetings with audio and video using one-click screen sharing, HD video conferencing, and virtual whiteboards.
Instant Messaging and Skype Connectivity. Communicate using messaging, voice calls, and video calls. Users have the ability to share their video presence, messages, and audio calls with people outside of your organization by using Skype.
Work from Any Modern Browser. Sync email, calendar, and contacts, access SharePoint sites, and view and edit Office documents with Office Online. This can all be done from a browser on Windows Phone, iOS, and Android™ devices.
File Storage and Sharing. Each user will have at least 1 TB of personal cloud storage through OneDrive. Share files and work with anyone inside your government organization, plus those outside of it. Find files fast and control who can see and edit files from anywhere, on any device—all while optimizing security.
Constant accessibility. Know your services are available with a guaranteed 99.9% uptime, financially backed service level agreement (SLA).
Cutting-edge security practices. Five layers of security and proactive monitoring help keep your confidential data safe.
Automatic updates. No need to pay for version upgrades. Updates are included in your subscription as new features are rolled out. Save long-term while having peace of mind you’re utilizing the most up-to-date capabilities.
24/7 support. Constant access to support for critical IT issues. Ability to make service requests directly through the admin portal for less urgent issues.

Benefit #2: Unmatched Mobility

Benefit #3: Reliability and Security

At Protected Trust, we can help set you up with the government employee tools your organization needs for success. Ready to get started? Schedule an introduction with one of our experts today.

","rss_summary":"

\n","blog_post_schedule_task_uid":null,"blog_publish_to_social_media_task":"DONE"}

Why You Need Microsoft and LTE Advanced for Business

In today’s interconnected and digitally-driven world, being able to effectively get the job done ...

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$\"Surface_Go_tablet\"$ In today’s interconnected and digitally-driven world, being able to effectively get the job done from any location isn’t just an added bonus. Instead, it has become a vital component of achieving business success.

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\n\n

That’s why Microsoft designed their Pro and Go Surface devices to seamlessly pair with LTE advanced for business—creating a tool even your mobile employees can consistently rely on.

Why do you need LTE Advanced for business connected to the Microsoft Surface Pro or Go devices your employees use to do their jobs? Here are three major reasons.

Reason #1 You Need LTE Advanced for Business: To Experience Unmatched Mobility

“Business mobility” is when employees are effectively able to do the work that their job requires of them without having to be in a traditional office setting. This is especially relevant in today’s modern workforce where more employers are adopting “work from wherever” policies. Unfortunately, whether “wherever” means an employee’s home or favorite coffee shop, a client’s office, or the airport before a big business trip, it doesn’t always mean that a strong and secure Wi-Fi connection is available.

That’s why Microsoft created their family of Surface devices with the solution to this problem in mind. Microsoft and LTE go hand in hand on devices such as the Microsoft Surface Pro LTE and Surface Go with LTE. So, how does LTE advanced work?

By using radio frequency communications in a similar way that cellphones do, Microsoft Surface devices with LTE advanced for business are able to connect to an LTE network tower. This allows remote employees to access the internet and any cloud-based apps from anywhere they would be able to get a cell phone signal.

Reason #2 You Need LTE Advanced for Business: To Stop Relying on Expensive Hotspots

Most devices need a stable high-speed internet connection to access files, search on web browsers, and use apps. Without it, an employee can’t access the tools they need to do their job, meaning productivity and efficiency decrease while frustration and down time increase. This is yet another hurdle to business mobility that has only been amplified with the rise of remote working.

When trying to work remotely with a non-LTE device, users will often rely on their smartphone’s mobile hotspot. This requires the employee to carefully monitor their internet use since it can increase the risk of data breaches, especially if they’re connecting to hotspots in a public place. Additionally, most phone plans have a monthly hotspot data limit, and going over it means they’re likely to accrue penalties.

If your employees are responsible for paying their own phone bills, they can easily become frustrated that they’re having to personally take on additional fees to get basic job functions done. If your organization is footing the bill, it means higher costs for you (even though productivity is being slowed down). However, if they’re using Surface devices equipped with LTE advanced for business, the need to rely on a cell phone's mobile hotspot disappears.

Reason #3 You Need LTE Advanced for Business: To Enhance Your Data Security and Privacy

Business mobility is a huge advantage, but it does result in some additional considerations when it comes to data security and privacy. Many remote employees who do not have an LTE-capable device are forced to rely on unsecured Wi-Fi networks simply because that is the only thing available to them.

This exposes your business to risk, as employees can easily be tricked into joining malicious networks posing as legitimate public ones. Referred to as “man-in-the-middle” (MITM) attacks, these fake networks trick users into unknowingly routing their data through the attacker’s system. Their data would then be copied before being forwarded to the actual Wi-Fi network, meaning the hacker now has all of your confidential data at their fingertips—and the employee would never even know it has been compromised.

Using a Microsoft Surface with LTE advanced for business makes it possible to avoid these dangerous “man-in-the-middle” attacks in two ways. One way is by skipping the need to connect to public Wi-Fi networks entirely. A hacker can’t hijack a connection between a remote employee and the local Wi-Fi router if they aren’t even connected to it in the first place.

The second way is through data encryption. If your employees are using Microsoft Office collaboration and productivity tools such as Teams, their data will be encrypted (both at-rest and in-transit). This means that even if a hacker does manage to steal it, it will be difficult and time-consuming to interpret it. They will likely get frustrated, abandon your data, and move on to a user that does not have such robot security features safeguarding their information.

Are you looking to make the push towards becoming a more mobile business? LTE advanced for business can be your key to success. Schedule an introduction with one of Protected Trust’s experts today and learn how we can set your employees up to achieve their greatest potential from anywhere on the planet.

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\n\n

That’s why Microsoft designed their Pro and Go Surface devices to seamlessly pair with LTE advanced for business—creating a tool even your mobile employees can consistently rely on.

Why do you need LTE Advanced for business connected to the Microsoft Surface Pro or Go devices your employees use to do their jobs? Here are three major reasons.

Reason #1 You Need LTE Advanced for Business: To Experience Unmatched Mobility

Reason #2 You Need LTE Advanced for Business: To Stop Relying on Expensive Hotspots

Reason #3 You Need LTE Advanced for Business: To Enhance Your Data Security and Privacy

","rss_summary":"

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A Definitive Guide to Choosing Microsoft Surface Devices

The Microsoft Surface family of devices encompasses many kinds of computing and business ...

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The Microsoft Surface family of devices encompasses many kinds of computing and business collaboration tools—including desktop computers, laptops, laptop/tablet hybrids, and mobile hub devices that can act as digital whiteboards.

The major Microsoft Surface device types are:

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The major Microsoft Surface device types are:

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Microsoft Surface Go. A small, compact hybrid laptop/tablet device with touchscreen capability. Designed as a turnkey “Microsoft business on the go” tool for people who need an easy-to-carry device that can be used almost anywhere. These tend to be the least expensive Microsoft Surface business devices.

Microsoft Surface Pro. The premium hybrid laptop/tablet device from Microsoft. Surface Pro devices are larger and more powerful “Microsoft business on the go” tools for remote workers who need more processing power or prefer larger screens for graphic design work.

Microsoft Surface Laptop. Surface laptops are high-end portable computing devices that have a variety of customizable features for RAM, system storage, processing power, and dedicated graphics processors to suit a multitude of business needs. The Surface laptop is ideal for employees who work primarily from the office, but may need to take their work home or abroad on a moment’s notice.

Microsoft Surface Book. A more powerful laptop computer with a stronger processor and dedicated graphics card—which can be upgraded to an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 card—that is ideal for graphics or processor-intensive work, both in the office and on the go. Often favored by employees in graphic design fields. It can be used as a laptop, or folded over to turn it into a large-scale tablet device.

Microsoft Surface Studio. A powerful desktop device for the office, the Surface Studio features a clean, modern design that looks simple—but provides extremely powerful processing features and lightning-quick load speeds thanks to its use of a solid-state drive (SSD) storage solution. A 28” PixelSense™ display with 10-point multi-touch provides extremely high-quality images and touch controls. Tends to be the most expensive personal-use devices in the Microsoft Surface family.

Microsoft Surface Hub. This Microsoft Surface business tool is designed to help facilitate team collaboration and improve internal meetings by providing a best-in-class digital whiteboard for employees to use. Because the display shares the same 3:2 screen ratio used by all other Microsoft Surface devices, presentation materials created on one Surface device can be easily shared to the Hub without having to adjust its aspect ratio. Its built-in camera, microphone array, and crystal-clear speakers (with subwoofer) help improve teleconferencing for the office as well.

The question is: “Which of these Microsoft Surface business tools is the best fit for your team?” Well, the answer depends on your needs. To help you choose the right Microsoft Surface device for your team’s needs, here are a few things that you should keep in mind.

Your Budget for Acquiring Microsoft Surface Devices

Price is always a factor for businesses when choosing business productivity and collaboration tools. In this category, the Microsoft Surface Go is the clear winner. This Microsoft business on the go tool has the lowest overall cost—with an unmodified Surface Go having a price tag around $399 dollars—plus a little extra for a keyboard/cover and a mouse.

This does come at a performance cost compared to most of the rest of the Microsoft Surface devices, but it is still more than powerful enough to run Microsoft Office and Teams software. This, combined with the portability of the device, makes it ideal for companies that need to outfit large teams of remote workers who only need basic Office software.

Adding LTE network capabilities to the device further enhances its suitability for equipping remote workers. In fact, Microsoft Surface with LTE allows employees to access online collaboration tools from anywhere they could get a cellphone signal.

Your Computing Power Needs for Individual Employees

In terms of raw processing power and graphics capabilities, the Microsoft Surface Studio is far and away the best choice for an individual user. However, it’s capabilities may be overkill for any employee who isn’t in a dedicated graphic design, video editing, or similar role that requires a very powerful graphics and data processing setup.

The Microsoft Surface Book 2 is a similarly-powerful device for (at base) roughly half the cost of a Studio desktop. In fact, it is often preferred for graphic design team members who work both in the office and remotely.

For team members who mostly need to use Microsoft Office or Teams on a regular basis, any one of the Surface family of devices is suitable. This is because all of them are designed around the use of Windows 10 and Microsoft’s suite of business productivity and collaboration software.

The Level of Enterprise Mobility That You Need

If your enterprise heavily leverages remote work setups, this will most likely affect your choice of Microsoft Surface devices. Here, the top two choices are the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Go mobile devices. These “Microsoft pro mobile” options provide extremely high portability and enough computing power to handle most Office software computing tasks.

Additionally, both the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Go have optional LTE network capabilities to further enhance their mobility. Using Microsoft Surface with LTE allows employees to connect to their business collaboration software (such as Microsoft Teams) from virtually anywhere they can get a cell signal by connecting to LTE network towers. This has the added benefit of improving the security of remote connections because it circumvents the use of easily-compromised public Wi-Fi networks.

Your Team Collaboration Needs

One of the biggest reasons to use Microsoft Surface devices is that they’re heavily-optimized for improving collaboration in a business. Each device has a 3:2 aspect ratio to ensure that shared images and other files have a consistent appearance from one device to the next. Each device is also designed around the use of Microsoft Office and Teams for enabling live collaboration on PowerPoint, Excel, and Word files in real time.

However, for internal office collaboration, the Surface Hub is an indispensable tool. The Surface Hub makes it easy to create and share presentations on a large, easy-to-view screen. Additionally, the suite of microphones and speakers in the Surface Hub can enhance teleconferences—helping to bring employees who are miles away “into the room” virtually so they can share their insights with as few obstacles as possible.

Which Microsoft Surface Device is the Overall Best?

Again, the Microsoft Surface business tools that you choose should be aligned with the needs of your team as a whole and the requirements of each individual team member. However, bestproducts.com put together a solid summary of which Surface devices are best for specific situations. Here’s a paraphrasing of their list:

Best Budget Buy. Microsoft Surface Go.
Best Splurge. Microsoft Surface Book 2.
Best Design and Tactility. Microsoft Surface Laptop 2.
Best for Desktop Use. Microsoft Surface Studio 2.
Best Overall. Microsoft Surface Pro 6.

Need help choosing the best Microsoft Surface business tools for your own organization’s needs? Schedule an introduction with Protected Trust today!

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The major Microsoft Surface device types are:

\n\n

Microsoft Surface Go. A small, compact hybrid laptop/tablet device with touchscreen capability. Designed as a turnkey “Microsoft business on the go” tool for people who need an easy-to-carry device that can be used almost anywhere. These tend to be the least expensive Microsoft Surface business devices.

Microsoft Surface Pro. The premium hybrid laptop/tablet device from Microsoft. Surface Pro devices are larger and more powerful “Microsoft business on the go” tools for remote workers who need more processing power or prefer larger screens for graphic design work.

Microsoft Surface Laptop. Surface laptops are high-end portable computing devices that have a variety of customizable features for RAM, system storage, processing power, and dedicated graphics processors to suit a multitude of business needs. The Surface laptop is ideal for employees who work primarily from the office, but may need to take their work home or abroad on a moment’s notice.

Microsoft Surface Book. A more powerful laptop computer with a stronger processor and dedicated graphics card—which can be upgraded to an NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 card—that is ideal for graphics or processor-intensive work, both in the office and on the go. Often favored by employees in graphic design fields. It can be used as a laptop, or folded over to turn it into a large-scale tablet device.

Microsoft Surface Studio. A powerful desktop device for the office, the Surface Studio features a clean, modern design that looks simple—but provides extremely powerful processing features and lightning-quick load speeds thanks to its use of a solid-state drive (SSD) storage solution. A 28” PixelSense™ display with 10-point multi-touch provides extremely high-quality images and touch controls. Tends to be the most expensive personal-use devices in the Microsoft Surface family.

Microsoft Surface Hub. This Microsoft Surface business tool is designed to help facilitate team collaboration and improve internal meetings by providing a best-in-class digital whiteboard for employees to use. Because the display shares the same 3:2 screen ratio used by all other Microsoft Surface devices, presentation materials created on one Surface device can be easily shared to the Hub without having to adjust its aspect ratio. Its built-in camera, microphone array, and crystal-clear speakers (with subwoofer) help improve teleconferencing for the office as well.

Your Budget for Acquiring Microsoft Surface Devices

Your Computing Power Needs for Individual Employees

The Level of Enterprise Mobility That You Need

Your Team Collaboration Needs

Which Microsoft Surface Device is the Overall Best?

Best Budget Buy. Microsoft Surface Go.
Best Splurge. Microsoft Surface Book 2.
Best Design and Tactility. Microsoft Surface Laptop 2.
Best for Desktop Use. Microsoft Surface Studio 2.
Best Overall. Microsoft Surface Pro 6.

Need help choosing the best Microsoft Surface business tools for your own organization’s needs? Schedule an introduction with Protected Trust today!

","rss_summary":"

The major Microsoft Surface device types are:

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Microsoft ATP Uncovers Critical Security Flaw in Huawei Drivers

In almost any industry, cybersecurity is a critical issue. Computers used by employees frequently ...

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$\"microsoft-atp\"$ In almost any industry, cybersecurity is a critical issue. Computers used by employees frequently contain sensitive company information—such as the company’s intellectual property (IP), financial information, or client information. However, cost concerns often drive companies to either supply cheaply-made PCs with barebones security, or to adopt “bring your own device” (BYOD) policies where employees bring personal devices to use for work.

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The potential risk of using computers that aren’t properly secured was highlighted when Microsoft discovered a major security flaw in Huawei’s PCManager software drivers earlier this year. Although, as noted in an arstechnica.com article about the discovery: “The interesting part of the story is how Microsoft found the bad driver in the first place.”

How Did Microsoft Discover the Huawei Driver’s Security Flaw?

The security flaw which would allow unprivileged users create processes with “superuser” or admin privileges was uncovered by Microsoft’s Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) service which was part of Windows 10 version 1809. As stated by Ars Technica, “Microsoft Defender ATP does not rely solely on signature-based endpoint antimalware to detect known threats; it also uses heuristics that look for behavior that appears suspicious, even if no particular malware has been identified.”

This behavior-based approach to identifying security breaches is what allowed Microsoft’s ATP solution to detect the security flaw in the Huawei driver. The machine learning algorithm was able to spot the anomalous behavior caused by the Huawei driver, which used asynchronous procedure calls (APCs) similar to a DOUBLEPULSAR-type backdoor hackers might use to gain access to a system.

The Ars Technica article explains that “DOUBLEPULSAR is one of the many techniques devised by the National Security Agency” which “provides a way for a compromised kernel driver to run code in user mode.” In these backdoors, APCs are used to force a thread to stop running and switch to a different function—typically one using malware code.

After the leak of DOUBLEPULSAR, it was incorporated into malware attacks, which is why, as noted by Ars Technica, “Windows 10 version 1809 included sensors to record these kernel operations that are known to be useful for malware.” The Huawei driver in question used APC to force a restart of its built-in software if it crashed or stopped running, which is why it triggered the Microsoft ATP solution.

Why Was This Security Flaw an Issue?

How did Huawei’s driver using an APC to force software restarts pose a security threat to users and, by extension, businesses? As the Ars Technica article mentions:

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“improper permissions meant that even an unprivileged process could hijack the driver’s watchdog facility and use it to start an attacker-controlled process with LocalSystem privileges, giving that process complete access to the local system.
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Microsoft’s researchers then continued to look at the driver and found that it had another flawed capability: it could map any page of physical memory into a user process, with both read and write permissions.”
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The first issue would give attackers an easy way to insert malware, while the second issue would allow them to make major alterations to the system kernel itself. Being able to alter the kernel would give attackers carte blanche to do almost anything—making it an incredibly dangerous security flaw.

What Does This Discovery Mean for Your Organization?

Odds are, the vulnerability from the Huawei driver will have little impact on security—if your organization is keeping up with the latest driver patches. As noted in the Ars Technica article, “Huawei fixed the driver and published the safe version in early January.” So, any Huawei systems with updates more recent than that should be safe from this security flaw.

However, the mere existence of this security flaw highlights the need for businesses to carefully and thoroughly scrutinize their hardware and software vendors. If the vendor isn’t thoroughly securing their hardware/software, or introduces “features” that actively impair security, it may be necessary to switch vendors.

This is part of the reason why Protected Trust specializes in Microsoft Surface devices. These devices are manufactured by Microsoft and are built to provide security while fostering collaboration through Microsoft Teams. We top this with our “Teams on any Surface” service, where we provide managed desktops that run a security-hardened version of Windows 10.

Curious about how you can provide your team members with safe and secure collaboration and productivity tools? Schedule an introduction with our team today!

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How Did Microsoft Discover the Huawei Driver’s Security Flaw?

Why Was This Security Flaw an Issue?

How did Huawei’s driver using an APC to force software restarts pose a security threat to users and, by extension, businesses? As the Ars Technica article mentions:

\n
“improper permissions meant that even an unprivileged process could hijack the driver’s watchdog facility and use it to start an attacker-controlled process with LocalSystem privileges, giving that process complete access to the local system.
\n
Microsoft’s researchers then continued to look at the driver and found that it had another flawed capability: it could map any page of physical memory into a user process, with both read and write permissions.”
\n

What Does This Discovery Mean for Your Organization?

Curious about how you can provide your team members with safe and secure collaboration and productivity tools? Schedule an introduction with our team today!

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Feature Highlight: Microsoft Surface Mobility

In today’s modern workforce where remote working is commonplace, business mobility is essential for ...

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$\"microsoft-surface-go\"$ In today’s modern workforce where remote working is commonplace, business mobility is essential for success. When you have employees operating outside of a traditional office setting, it becomes even more vital that they’re still able to be efficient and contribute to their team—even though they aren’t physically with them.

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This requires leveraging the right mobile business tools that give your employees consistent access to the workplace resources and collaboration tools they need. Without this mobility, it will be incredibly difficult for them to be productive in a remote office setup.

One of the most powerful tools for remote employees is the Microsoft Surface family of mobile computing devices. These Microsoft Surface mobility tools can increase connectivity, performance, and flexibility across your business. What features are these devices equipped with that can help get you there? Let’s explore a few.

Feature #1: LTE Connectivity

One of the most common hurdles to achieving business mobility is the need for a stable high-speed internet connection. When employees are working remotely, they may not always have access to a fast and secure internet connection. Often times, the internet in their home, client’s office, or favorite coffee shop is spotty and plagued with slow upload and download speeds. When they can’t access the files and apps they need to get their job done, productivity comes to a halt. This is precisely the problem Microsoft Surface on the go devices were designed to help solve.

The Microsoft Surface with LTE utilizes radio frequency communications (similar to how cell phones get service) to connect to an LTE network tower. This way, remote employees using Microsoft Surface mobile tools, such as the Surface Pro, can enjoy access to the internet and any cloud-based apps. All they need is a cell phone signal!

Feature #2: Collaboration Capabilities

You may be under the impression that all laptops and tablets have pretty much the same collaboration capabilities. After all, you can send an email or have a Skype call from any device, right? While that is true, these forms of communications aren’t always the most efficient or effective option. Lengthy email chains make it difficult to locate files and determine which version is the most up-to-date, while third-party meeting services that aren’t custom-built for your devices are often prone to glitches and technical difficulties.

That’s why the Microsoft Surface Pro and Surface Go devices were specifically designed to seamlessly integrate with Microsoft Office 365 for Business and Teams. Office 365 includes access to familiar Microsoft tools such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Teams then allows your employees to simultaneously work on, edit, and approve files on your Office 365 software. Because the Surface family of devices was purposely built to create ease of use and collaboration across this MS software, remote workers can experience enhanced mobility.

Feature #3: Size and Flexibility

Microsoft Surface products were designed with mobile business needs in mind. They’re ultra-light and easy to handle—while the average laptop will typically weigh anywhere from two to six pounds (depending on the model and its capabilities), The Surface Go LTE Advanced model weighs a mere 1.17 pounds. This makes Microsoft Surface on the go tools small and light enough to be carried and used anywhere—whether that’s a living room in the user’s home, modern coworking space, client’s office, or cramped seat on a flight.

Plus, with built-in touchscreen technology and the ability to effortlessly switch between “laptop” and “tablet” modes, the Surface Pro and Go offers unmatched flexibility. Having to carry around multiple devices and switch between them is frustrating, time-consuming, and can make a travel bag quite heavy. Instead, the Microsoft Surface Pro is one device that can do it all. If you’re typing up a lengthy report, you probably want to use laptop mode for Office apps such as Word. Do you need to use a mobile-oriented app to confirm a meeting or check in for a flight? In that case, you can easily switch to tablet mode. This is incredibly efficient for remote working, as your employees can rely on the same device, even though what they’re working on and the environments they’re working in may constantly be changing.

Feature #4: Secure Business Mobility

One of the few disadvantages of remote working is that it can increase the risk of data breaches in your business. Chances are that your remote workers are tapping into public, unsecured Wi-Fi networks at shopping centers, coffee shops, or client’s offices. Often times, hackers will target these unsecured networks, creating spoofs of public networks to trick people into connecting with them. If an employee connects to this kind of fake network, a “man-in-the-middle” (MITM) attack can occur. This means their data would be routed through the attacker’s system and copied before going through the legitimate network.

Using a Microsoft Surface with LTE capabilities and the Microsoft Teams collaboration software suite can minimize the risks of these kind of MITM attacks in two main ways. First, by connecting to cell networks via LTE, Microsoft Surface Pro mobile devices make it possible to avoid Wi-Fi interceptions altogether. A hacker cannot hijack a connection between remote workers and the local Wi-Fi router if they aren’t using Wi-Fi in the first place. Second, when using Teams on Microsoft Surface mobile devices, data is automatically encrypted—both at-rest in-transit. This frustrates attackers, meaning they’ll likely just move on to another user whose device is not protected by such robust security features.

By allowing employees to have LTE connectivity with only a cell signal, collaborate through Office 365 and Teams software, seamlessly switch between laptop and tablet mode, and have secure access to the internet, Microsoft Surface devices can transform your operation into a truly mobile business.

Want to learn more about how Microsoft Surface on the go tools can enhance remote working and mobility in your business? Subscribe to the Protected Trust blog for more information or schedule an introduction with one of our experts today!

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Feature #1: LTE Connectivity

Feature #2: Collaboration Capabilities

Feature #3: Size and Flexibility

Feature #4: Secure Business Mobility

","rss_summary":"

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Remote Working is the New Norm.

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The Key Takeaway Here? Business Mobility is More Vital Than Ever Before

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A Larger Emphasis is Being Placed on Company Culture.