View: Transition to Cloud: A journey to Modern Work with Microsoft 365
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Transition to Cloud: A journey to Modern Work with Microsoft 365
The digital transformation of the business world has pushed businesses to address new challenges: remote work, cloud migration, and device security is the new normal. Today's decision makers need to create people connections, address burnout, and work toward consolidating apps.
With Microsoft 365, you get a platform boosted with industry-leading apps, intelligent cloud services, and world-class security. You can download and sync devices, detect threats before issues occur, simplify through vendor consolidation, and so much more.
This infographic explains the 6 ways Microsoft 365 apps and services can ease your organization's journey to modern work.
Monday, December 27, 2021
6 ways digitalization Is empowering women around the world
Digitalization is breaking the barriers for women across the globe. From rural education to entrepreneurship, digitalization is giving a voice to those who previously didn't have one—reducing the gap between men and women and empowering them to build communities, develop ideas, and strive for excellence in all areas.
Host your .NET application and data on the most cost-effective cloud
Optimize costs so your resources are better spent on increasing operational efficiencies, supporting new business priorities, and improving customer experiences.
Sign up to stay informed on the latest cloud computing trends and learn more about migrating your apps and data to Microsoft Azure— the most cost-effective cloud.
View: Host your .NET application and data on the most cost-effective cloud
Transition to Cloud Deployment checklist
Businesses rely on cloud transformation for the stability and agility it offers to their operations. Microsoft 365 enables this transformation by realizing modern work environments where users are productive and secure while working from anywhere. Review the infographic and get started today with this 5-step deployment checklist. Learn how you can rapidly deploy Teams, secure access, provide employees with adequate support, and more.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
3 Smart Ways to Exceed Your Customers' Digital Expectations
Customer experience (CX) is taking the forefront as businesses discover its strong correlation to revenue growth. The drive to become an experience-focused business doesn't just come from the C-suite. Anyone with a deep understanding of today's digital mandate and a strong vision for what digital experiences can do for customers and the business can lead the charge. Sign up now to stay connected to show you the three smart ways to exceed your customers' digital expectations, along with real-world success stories, to help unlock your organization's potential.
View: 3 Smart Ways to Exceed Your Customers' Digital Expectations
Monday, December 20, 2021
Empowering the assembly line
Toyota was already planning to deploy Microsoft Teams to connect its diverse lines of business and improve productivity, when the pandemic hit. A six-month launch plan was reduced to three weeks, connecting 40,000 people across the company and enabling a more efficient method for virtual troubleshooting of processes. Learn how Teams supports the company's culture and ideals.
Security and privacy with an integrated portfolio of cloud services
Businesses rely on cloud transformation for the stability and agility it offers to their operations. Microsoft 365 enables this transformation by realizing modern work environments where users are productive and secure while working from anywhere. Secure your business with technology you can trust, ensure only the right users have access without affecting productivity, and protect your data through security best practices and easy-to-use policies that prevent accidental data leaks.
Sign up to say connected—we'll help you learn more about making the transition to the cloud and into a more secure environment.
View: Security and privacy with an integrated portfolio of cloud services
Goodyear drives more remote collaboration to keep plants running with Microsoft Teams
As a company dedicated to keeping people moving, Goodyear tire company wasn't about to slow down because of global travel restrictions due to COVID-19.
When engineers could no longer travel to factories for equipment installation or troubleshooting, Goodyear turned to Microsoft Teams running on RealWear voice controlled, assisted-reality wearable computers to bring the engineering experts into the plants virtually—enabling instantaneous collaboration from remote locations, and saving money on travel costs.
Tuesday, December 7, 2021
Social Asset BYL 10: Subscribe now!
Frontline Workers are often the first to engage with your customers, to represent your brand, and to see products in action. Empower your Frontline Workforce with @Microsoft Teams, which empowers your entire organisation.
Solution overview video
Monday, December 6, 2021
Special Olympics Leaders Use Microsoft Teams to Build Community and Shape the Future
When Grace, a Special Olympics athlete and global youth leader from New Zealand, heard that a friend of hers had to miss a long-awaited competition due to transportation issues, her response was to help build an app that ensured other athletes wouldn't run into similar problems. She teamed up with fellow global youth leader Jack, and the pair worked on a project designed to connect Special Olympics athletes with transportation.
When COVID-19 threatened to stall the project's momentum, the duo quickly turned to Microsoft Teams to collaborate and continue developing their app, making sure their inclusive initiative didn't miss a beat. Teams enabled them to communicate across continents and stay on track with their plans.
Special Olympics Leaders Use Microsoft Teams to Build Community and Shape the Future
When Grace, a Special Olympics athlete and global youth leader from New Zealand, heard that a friend of hers had to miss a long-awaited competition due to transportation issues, her response was to help build an app that ensured other athletes wouldn't run into similar problems. She teamed up with fellow global youth leader Jack, and the pair worked on a project designed to connect Special Olympics athletes with transportation.
When COVID-19 threatened to stall the project's momentum, the duo quickly turned to Microsoft Teams to collaborate and continue developing their app, making sure their inclusive initiative didn't miss a beat. Teams enabled them to communicate across continents and stay on track with their plans.
Connect sales, service, and operations using Power Platform
This video highlights how Power Platform can help accelerate B2B manufacturing sales by connecting sales, service, and operations. Learn how Microsoft's Power Platform and Common Data Model can increase the lifetime value of customer relationships.
Monday, November 29, 2021
Safer workplaces for frontline workers
The Pandemic has taken a toll on business but it's pushed us to find solutions to overcome obstacles. Learn how the Microsoft Power Platform Return-to-the-Workplace solution is helping customers safely prepare for the return to physical facilities.
Toyota Motor North America Migrates 40,000 to Microsoft Teams in Three Weeks
How does a company respond to the challenge of remote work when they are already managing a major digital transition? Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) made the decision to move their original Teams deployment schedule four months ahead, and as a result, thousands of TMNA employees migrated from Skype for Business to Teams over three weekends. Teams Only mode included a superior audio conferencing and calling experience, including Teams Phone for external calls. Employees appreciate the dynamic emergency calling feature. All meeting rooms are now Teams-ready.
Develop your own path on Microsoft Azure
Whether you're developing your apps on .NET or Java, Microsoft Azure offers great benefits for both. From Visual Studio tools, global compliance, and multiple hosting options, Azure is the go-to cloud service for faster, simpler development.
Sign up to stay connected so we can help you develop your own path on Azure and keep you up to date on the latest cloud computing advances.
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Engage employees, improve productivity, and build team cohesion
After so much turmoil and change, employees all want different things. Companies need to support a successful back-to-hybrid-office life—a situation that is here to stay. The capabilities for positive hybrid meetings is possible with modern Microsoft tooling like Teams, Endpoint Manager, and devices like Surface Hub. Immersive and custom engagements that highlight leading guidance and innovation help remote and on-site deployment assistance prepare teams for hybrid work—meeting the needs of employees and increasing productivity and satisfaction no matter where they work.
Sign up to stay connected—we'll help you better connect and create new experiences throughout your organization with Hybrid Meetings.
View: Engage employees, improve productivity, and build team cohesion
Monday, November 22, 2021
.NET Core invests in consistency to accelerate open-source innovation
Microsoft partnering with the open-source community to collaborate on .NET Core proved a valuable learning opportunity for large-scale retooling of its development processes. Consolidating 80 different repositories with more than 800 contributors from inconsistent implementations to a shared toolset required a fresh DevOps approach and the flexibility of Azure Pipelines and its support for GitHub.
The result: Developers can now move between repos without the need to learn a new CI system each time, and tests are more efficiently run which means iterations—and by extension, innovation—is quicker.
Subscribe to stay connected and download the full white paper detailing how the .NET Engineering Services team helped improve developer productivity at scale.
View: .NET Core invests in consistency to accelerate open-source innovation
Digitalization future-proofs business thanks to connectivity and the cloud
Schmitz Cargobull AG is Europe's market leader in manufacturing refrigerated vehicles. Management knew that to fulfill their customers' need to track vehicles and loads at all times required scaling up access to data from multiple databases to one location in the cloud—creating a "data lake."
With Microsoft Azure supported by Azure DevOps, these customers now have access to a portal where they can check the location and condition of each vehicle, regardless of where the underlying data lives. Such a solution would have been costly on-premises, but using Azure turnkey modules reduced time to market and the need for in-house tools
Nebraska Furniture Mart embraces Microsoft 365 to work smarter
The ability to work securely from anywhere already played a role in Nebraska Furniture Mart's (NFM) digital transformation vision, but COVID-19 pushed that goal to the forefront. Decision makers at NFM chose Microsoft 365 to advance a cloud-first strategy and standardize on a single solution. Consolidating communication on a single solution like Microsoft Teams helped drive efficiency and collaboration—all while saving costs. NFM implemented Teams Rooms systems at its Omaha headquarters, and the company will soon roll out the solution across all its stores, as well as integrate Teams Phone capabilities in the future.
Tuesday, November 16, 2021
Common myths (and facts) about open source
For some companies, the idea of adopting open-source software doesn't seem viable. There are many myths about open source, but the truth is that it can facilitate security, be easy to maintain and integrate, and scale to whatever heights you require.
Sign up to stay connected on using Microsoft Azure DevOps with GitHub and Visual Studio, and we can help you unravel the myths and facts about open source.
Monday, November 15, 2021
Why You Need an Open Source Software Strategy
Collaboration helps drive innovation, which is why open-source software is the future of digital technology. In 2020, there were more than 1.9 billion global open-source contributions. When facing a new technological challenge, open source can be the key to unlocking new opportunities—but it's critical to have a
To Make Hybrid Work, Solicit Employees' Input
Driven by the state of the world today, more companies are committing to hybrid work. But how do you build out the model in a way that's right for your business and those who are conducting it?
Simple: Talk to employees to tailor the program to their specific needs. Easier said than done? Learn what questions to ask and scenarios to consider, and then maintain flexibility so you can quickly pivot if necessary.
Hybrid Work: A Guide for Business Leaders
The pandemic has fundamentally transformed the way we work, do business, and meet customer (and employee) needs. With data showing that all parties want flexibility, the shift to hybrid work is a strategic business opportunity for every organization—one that requires a new operating model.
The customers' objective is to lead this change within their business and embrace innovation and the hybrid work opportunity—the inevitable way of the future. Fortunately, Microsoft has been a trailblazer in this transition, and has a guide to share what they've learned at scale about people, places, and processes.
Subscribe to stay connected. We'll help you take an active role in shaping your organization's future.
Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Reimagine the Flow of Work in the New Hybrid Work Reality
Flexibility is a must in the new post-pandemic work world. Hybrid work continues to evolve, and business leaders are looking for a new operating model. Technology is the binding factor to create inclusive meetings that keep employees engaged and inspired. Updates to Teams like PowerPoint Live, the Teams camera feed, Microsoft Whiteboard—and devices like Surface Hub—encourage digital collaboration.
Endpoint Manager combines services like Microsoft Intune, Configuration Manager, Desktop Analytics, co-management, and Windows Autopilot to help secure access, protect data, and respond and manage risk.
Sign up to say connected—we'll help you better connect and create new experiences throughout your organization with Hybrid Meetings.
View: Reimagine the Flow of Work in the New Hybrid Work Reality
Setting The Stage For Collaborative Hybrid Teams
Remote work is starting to feel mainstream, but many companies are still struggling to normalize their own personalized hybrid work models. Explore four things you should avoid in order to balance the needs of a diverse and divided workforce—from investing in the right tools and overcoming meeting fatigue to finding new ways for personal connections.
Monday, November 8, 2021
Bertrandt's HARRI is a self-driving success, thanks to Microsoft Azure
What drives a self-driving car? A tremendous flood of data. To make Bertrandt's Level 4 self-driving car project HARRI a reality, far too much data was needed than could be stored onboard the vehicle itself. It required Microsoft Azure Services to provide access to volumes of mapping data for an autonomous vehicle. Azure DevOps facilitated the efficient coordination of work between developers and ops —and the QA needed to develop such exacting software.
The NFL Huddles with Microsoft Teams to Digitize Collaboration for Game Day
Everyone knows that teamwork is vital in the National Football League (NFL)—on the field and off. The arrival of COVID-19, however, pushed the league to reimagine how to collaborate behind the scenes. Executing hundreds of live events while preserving the gameday experience for online fans and business partners was a new challenge.
In exchange for the traditional high-touch, in-person communication culture at league offices, the organization adopted a virtual home field. Microsoft Teams helped the NFL stay connected and safely execute all 270 combined regular season and playoff games and Super Bowl LV—despite the collaboration challenges brought on by the pandemic.
Automate code-to-cloud workflows with a seamlessly integrated DevOps platform
With the ability to commit changes and quickly deploy them to the cloud using tools such as GitHub Actions and Microsoft Azure Pipelines for CI/CD, developer teams gain agility in deploying and maintaining their apps.
Cloud adoption has transformed the way teams are building, deploying, and operating applications. Together with the use of DevOps ideals and tools, they now have a greater opportunity to improve their practices and better serve their customers.
Sign up to say connected—we can help you learn more about how to use Azure DevOps with GitHub and Visual Studio to build your next great solution
View: Automate code-to-cloud workflows with a seamlessly integrated DevOps platform
Monday, November 1, 2021
Microsoft Aims To Simplify Cloud Native Development With The Dapr Project
Distributed Application Runtime (Dapr) enables developers to build portable microservices applications, whether writing new code or migrating existing code. It's an open-source project that simplifies building cloud-native applications using all programming languages and developer frameworks. Dapr is based on containers, integrates well with Kubernetes, and does the plumbing and heavy lifting involved in developing a modern, highly distributed-application— so developers can focus on what they really want to: business logic and migrating legacy code. They can lean on Dapr to provide their applications with the required scale, resiliency, and elasticity of cloud-native architectures.
Microsoft Teams Innovations Designed for Hybrid Work
Microsoft Teams empowers employees to interact on the spot with people all over the world. New features like chat, live reactions, and Whiteboard make the Teams meetings experience uniquely modern. Intelligent in-office cameras designed to enhance the presence of people can produce multiple video streams and create unique experiences for both presenters and attendees.
The culture of hybrid work is here to stay, and the innovations Microsoft Teams is making offers employees choice and flexibility—including a new way in Outlook to organize and display your hybrid office hours or join a meeting using companion mode on your mobile device.
GitHub Actions for Azure
With GitHub you can deliver software faster and more securely by combining the practices and tools that support the largest developer community in the world with seamlessly integrated Microsoft Azure products and services.
From automating code-to-cloud workflows to accelerating developer velocity, GitHub and Azure combine the best tools to create your next great solution.
Sign up to stay connected—we'll help you learn more about using Azure DevOps with GitHub and Visual Studio from Microsoft.
Monday, October 25, 2021
Deliver software faster and more securely with the world's leading developer platform
thyssenkrupp Steel Europe forges a modern way of working with Microsoft 365
GitHub can be a great resource for quickly building a templated solution. Case in point: thyssenkrupp Steel Europe developed their Company Communicator app for Microsoft Teams using an open-source Teams app template from GitHub.
Now executives can share company information and other news with employees and even host virtual town hall events—which proved invaluable in keeping hundreds of workers connected during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Monday, October 18, 2021
6 ways to kickstart DevSecOps
DevOps methodologies provide businesses with a faster and more efficient way to create and deliver code—and organizations are turning to DevSecOps as the solution to harden security and address compliance at the same time.
Sign up to stay connected. We'll show you 6 ways to kickstart DevSecOps and integrate security into your practices.
Low code vs. no code and the future of application development
Low code and no code platforms make app and software development accessible to non-developers. With pre-built templates and boilerplate code, businesses save time and money. Low code or no code platforms can help organizations build and deploy apps without always relying on an engineering team.
Monday, October 11, 2021
Improve observability, strengthen security, and proactively remediate vulnerabilities
There are DevOps tools for every phase of the app lifecycle. Use Azure to implement DevOps practices throughout application planning, development, delivery, and operations. By applying the right combination of DevOps technologies, culture, and processes, you can achieve continual software delivery and offer better value for your customers.
Sign up to stay connected. We'll help you learn more about using Azure DevOps with GitHub and Visual Studio from Microsoft.
View: Improve observability, strengthen security, and proactively remediate vulnerabilities
Dow uses vision AI at the edge to boost employee safety and security with Azure
Dow is a leader in materials science, focused on delivering innovative and sustainable customer-centric solutions. An important priority for the chemical company is safety, and Microsoft Azure played a crucial role in enabling preventative leak detection with the goal of zero safety-related events at its facilities. The initial solution leverages Azure AI to analyze live video and uses an app to trigger notifications to the operator if it detects a possible leak. Azure Video Analyzer, coupled with Azure DevOps, provided a quick, low-latency, low-resource, and easily scalable solution. Machine learning ensures the model is continually refined, so it gets better with each interaction. Best of all, this model can be leveraged for other applications, such as detecting when employees aren't wearing proper PPE in industrial locations, and security monitoring.
Monday, October 4, 2021
10 reasons why every enterprise needs a DevOps strategy for 2021
The world is changing fast, and enterprise needs to keep up with new digital business models. With a DevOps strategy, development and operations teams are committed to a collaborative approach—delivering faster results to threats and opportunities. DevOps delivers strength to any organization willing to make it a core part of its DNA.
Overcoming security challenges with DevSecOps
Throughout the years, software development practices have evolved to serve the needs and the speed of business. However, digital leaders are still facing challenges with security and development.
The solutions to these challenges are collaboration, tooling, and DevSecOps best practices.
Sign up to stay connected. We'll help you navigate the world of DevSecOps and understand how to successfully adopt it.
Monday, September 27, 2021
Remote developer productivity
The way people work and live changed drastically during 2020. As companies had to quickly transition to remote work, the challenges became clear. From adopting a new culture to overcoming collaboration and remote shipping challenges, there had to be an integral solution for these types of issues.
The customers' objective is to enable a remote Development paradigm that allows their developers to invent with purpose as effectively (if not more so) as before this situation. They expect any investments they make in the cloud now to accrue benefits to the way they'll continue to operate after the world has transitioned to the new normal. Fortunately, Microsoft offers a wide variety of tools and platforms, from Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, Azure, GitHub, and Visual Studio—helping companies build business resilience.
Subscribe to stay connected—we´ll help your development teams code, collaborate, and ship their internal and customer-facing apps even while working as a remotely distributed team.
Get the most out of Microsoft Azure with Visual Studio
If you have a Microsoft Visual Studio subscription, make sure you explore the benefits that come with it—or you may be leaving value on the table. Use your monthly Microsoft Azure credits and Azure training, DevTest pricing, Azure DevOps, support, and more. Get an overview of all your benefits and even project ideas for how to use your credits.
Monday, September 20, 2021
Get started with GitHub and Azure DevOps
Adopting the tools and mindset of DevOps in the right manner can facilitate development efficiency, boost productivity, and increase the rate at which products can be brought to market.
Sign up to stay connected. We'll help you navigate the world of GitHub and Azure DevOps and share helpful tips to get started.
Azure DevOps vs. GitHub: Comparing the Microsoft DevOps tools
When diving into the world of DevOps tools, it's important to remember that Microsoft Azure DevOps and GitHub each offer unique value and overlapping capabilities. They can be used separately or together, so there's even a "why not both?" scenario. Learn the history of these two DevOps tools, the specific advantages of each, and how to get started using them.
Tuesday, September 14, 2021
Accelerate developer velocity using any platform, any language, and any cloud
Monday, September 13, 2021
What Will Manufacturing's New Normal Be After COVID-19?
Historically, industries have been shaped long-term by the short-term changes taken during global crises. Disruptions introduced by COVID-19 are already showing signs of accelerating long-term changes. This thought leadership piece explains several trends and major shifts in manufacturing that may result from short-term responses to the pandemic.
The Art of Possible: Manufacturing priorities that will define 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic introduced unprecedented change and disruption in 2020 for the manufacturing industry. In this video, Microsoft's Çağlayan Arkan and special guest Enno de Boer from McKinsey & Co. look back on this unprecedented year and offer predictions for 2021. Understand the four durable shifts that need to be top-of-mind for the industry, learn what other leaders are doing to drive success and business resiliency, and gain new strategies to accelerate transformation and innovation in 2021.
MPAA relies on Azure and Visual Studio to innovate and increase efficiencies
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences maxxed-out its on-premises infrastructure, it turned to Microsoft Azure to expand its capacity into the cloud. It also leaned into Azure DevOps to improve collaboration between development and infrastructure teams and used Visual Studio to develop new streaming apps across Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, and tvOS—delivering rich, responsive online experiences to its members across different devices and platforms.
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
The Company Of The Future Has A Soul
Blake Morgan, author and speaker on customer experience, companies, and the future, states that it's clear that the most successful companies will be the ones that focus on enriching the lives of the people associated with it. It's not just about profits—it's about caring for other humans and our world. She says that people are frustrated by governments and their inability to make change as quickly as people want, and that instead people have turned toward corporations and businesses to make a greater, more efficient impact on society. "The company of the future has a soul," writes Morgan, "it has a purpose and contributes to the well-being of its customers, employees and community." Read her entire article and watch her short video, "The Company of the Future Has a Soul" for a richer understanding of what the best companies of the future embody.
ABB takes innovation to the next level. Education from Microsoft Consulting Services is part of the plan.
Microsoft is helping ABB maximize their digital transformation by connecting manufacturing solutions to innovative cloud capabilities. But Microsoft doesn't stop there. Microsoft Consulting Services has helped ABB transform their staff with educational resources to improve customer experiences and opportunities. Learn how Microsoft has helped ABB transform their capabilities and drive staff expertise.
What is DevSecOps?
DevSecOps is the evolution of DevOps, where developer, security, and operations teams are united around the culture of security as a shared responsibility.
Sign up to stay connected. We'll help you navigate the world of DevSecOps and understand how to successfully adopt it.
Monday, September 6, 2021
What is DevOps?
DevOps as an ideal is revolutionizing the way organizations communicate and how they handle their daily work. Learn how this process brings together development and operations teams—who have traditionally been pitted against each other—and allows them to align on value and work toward a common goal.
Microsoft proof points for manufacturing
This infographic introduces the unique features that set Microsoft apart, including the most comprehensive set of compliance offerings, leadership in hybrid cloud solutions, and being on the leading edge of technological development. Microsoft has hundreds of thousands of partners and is the industry leader in IoT solutions.
Why do you use Azure?
In this video, hear from executives about why they chose Microsoft solutions like Azure IoT. Microsoft is scalable, meets security requirements, and provides special features to help businesses stay ahead of the rapid pace of manufacturing innovation.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
The Future of Manufacturing: A Blueprint for an Intelligent Supply Chain
Read this report from PSFK to discover ways to maximize your success with digital transformation. You'll see how intelligent business applications can help you create autonomous supply chains and explore ways to prepare for the future, such as building a more skilled workforce and prioritizing sustainable practices.
Customer Lifetime Value and the Subscription Economy
In our digital world, subscription services are more complicated. Specifically, a business's costs, benefits and value of subscriptions are more complex. It's no longer as simple as multiplying the cost of the subscription by the number of months and subtracting the costs associated with acquiring the customer and publishing and delivering the magazine. Think about it: ALL of those methods have changed! A customer's Lifetime Value (LTV) is multifaceted—and it "represents the very financial lifeblood of any business organization trying to succeed in today's 24/7 digital world," writes Phani Nagarjuna. He adds that according to predictions by Gartner, Inc., "virtually all new entrants and 80% of existing vendors will offer some form of a subscription-based business model by 2020." Read Nagarjuna's article, "Customer Lifetime Value and the Subscription Economy" for a deeper understanding of LTV. An updated understanding of your customer's value is foundational to your marketing approach and business in general.
Rapidly-growing UK restaurant chain migrates key business processes to Microsoft Dynamics 365
TGI Friday's wanted a more scalable, flexible platform for core business processes. To support its ambitious growth, the company is consolidating business operations starting with financial management on Microsoft Dynamics 365. Built-in functionality and ease-of-use mean that TGI Friday's can continue to onboard more business processes while expanding its franchise. Benefits of their innovative growth strategy include lower costs, easier access to data, and better insight.
eBook: Intelligent Economies: AI's transformation of industries and society
Discover what hundreds of senior executive survey respondents from around the world think about artificial intelligence and how its use transforms industries. Read the Microsoft-sponsored report from The Economist Intelligence Unit to learn how people are using AI to make the production and distribution of goods and services more intelligent.
You'll also see how optimistic industry leaders are about AI and how it:
•Contributes to financial benefits.
•Transforms economies and jobs.
•Encourages growth and productivity.
View: eBook: Intelligent Economies: AI's transformation of industries and society
Monday, August 30, 2021
Manufacturing a more sustainable future
COVID-19 has brought disruption to many areas of life, including manufacturing. In this thought leadership piece, learn about the importance of opportunities for increased innovation in crisis response and recovery, as well as the need for a more sustainable future.
The AI-enabled future
This article from Forbes explores Cognilytica's four-part AI enabled vision of the future. In that vision, there are four main areas in which AI will impact our future lives: the way we work, the way we live, the way we experience the world and our interactions with each other, and the relationship we have with data.
Creators wanted to manufacture a resilient and sustainable future
This blog explains Microsoft's commitment to the #CreatorsWanted movement, which seeks to fill the skills gap and inspire a diverse workforce with intelligent and data-driven manufacturing. Learn about the practical ways Microsoft supports responsible and sustainable manufacturing in their mission to empower people to achieve more.
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
4 Reasons Why Social Proof Is Essential to Building Your Brand
Social proof is the idea that people will follow the actions of others—that since so many other people behave in a certain way, it must be the correct behavior. In digital marketing, social proof is highly influenced by comments and reviews on your social platforms. Studies have shown that people are not only more likely to share their experiences about your product or service online, but they are also more likely to be influenced by what other people say and write about you. So yes, it's vital that customers are sharing positive reviews of doing business with you—customer service has never been more important than in the digital age.
Maleeka T. Hollaway, in her article "4 Reasons Why Social Proof is Essential to Building Your Brand," states that your social proof demonstrates the degree in which you've helped your clients gain results. "When you can publicly share with your audience how your work or product has created transformations for those who do business with you, naturally, people are inclined to pay attention. Results speak for you whether you are present or not," writes Hollaway. Customers' excitement is often contagious, and you suddenly access the radar of people who might not have even known about your brand, according to Holloway. To read more in depth about social proof and the reasons it's essential to your business, read her entire article. Social proof has never been more important.
Our approach to responsible AI
This video highlights six important principles Microsoft considers before pushing their AI products to production.
Leverage the cloud to connect, automate, and gain an end-to-end view of your supply chain and your business
To quickly respond to changes in environment, customer preferences, competitive forces, or unforeseen crises, manufacturers must embrace technologies that deliver supply chain agility. This infographic explains the Microsoft solution, the technologies involved, and the benefits they provide.
Predictive Analytics
This infographic is an overview of how Azure Machine Learning is the best way to transform your business with the power of AI. This tool highlights the growing market opportunity and how Microsoft itself has leveraged AI into ongoing momentum for its own business.
Monday, August 23, 2021
Council Post: Why Should You Automate Manufacturing Processes: To Save Money, Make Money Or Both?
This thought leadership piece explains different ways to integrate automation in your manufacturing processes, as well as the resulting benefits in reducing waste and improving efficiency.
The power of AI comes with a powerful responsibility
This blog article from Microsoft discusses how AI has the potential to transform the future of work, and it is critical that businesses foster a culture that includes everyone as they incorporate AI strategies. The biggest potential that AI holds is its ability to help us work together to tackle our toughest problems and it requires the shared responsibility to think about not just what AI can do, but what it should do.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Connected Field Service in Oil and Gas
This video showcases Microsoft's Connected Field Service solution for the oil and gas industry. In this video, you'll discover how oil and gas companies can gain insights from remotely connected devices, drive operational efficiencies, and improve technician productivity with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Connected Field Service, Power BI, and Azure IoT.
Tuesday, August 17, 2021
Drive innovation with insights: engage customers, empower employees, and transform business solutions
Drive innovation with insights to engage customers, empower employees, and transform business solutions.
Audi technology partner EFS uses deep learning to analyze roads for self-driving vehicles
Audi technology partner EFS is developing cutting-edge autonomous driving technology. Using Microsoft Azure, EFS was able to create a deep learning AI solution that analyzes high-resolution images of roads, improving road-analysis and propelling EFS toward the goal of safe autonomous travel.
Council Post: Creating An Effective Case Study: 12 Important Tips To Remember
Case studies are effective marketing tools when done correctly. Not only do you need to select which background details to include in your case study, but you also need to pack it carefully so that it demonstrates you are a problem solver and have desirable skills—without looking like you are merely promoting your business. It's a balance. This article offers 12 key elements—offered by 12 members of Forbes Agency Council—to keep in mind when creating cases studies. For example, Emily Porter's tip is #9 Let the Images Do the Work. Aside from ensuring a case study is focused on the solution to the problem, Porter writes that "nothing brings it to life more than imagery. In lieu of a long-form case study, consider a photo essay with solid captions narrating the case study" in order to keep the audiences truly engaged while illustrating your product's value.
How the Atlantic is preserving published history with Azure AI
The Atlantic is using Azure AI to preserve 160 years of published history. Specifically, the Atlantic is using Azure Cognitive Search to transition from hard copy to a digital system where its archives can be perused by the public. Writers can use these services as a resource to build connections between stories and enrich their content.
Microsoft Partner Network podcast: Partner Marketing Pros- Episode Nine (Part Two)
This week's guest is Gerry Murry, a Research Director with IDC's Marketing and Sales Technology service. Marketing technology and related solutions are his specialty and he's got a great pulse on marketing budgets and trends. He confirms that we've seen an increase in social, content and digital marketing and that the significant upsurge in digital marketing is because it's "way less expensive for the reach that you get." Yet he also advises to pay close attention to the privacy and data collection trends that continue to be on the rise. Marketers must be respectful and create positive relationships centered around customer privacy—a priority pillar in this digital business world. Listen to the entire podcast for more insight into marketing budgets and investments!
Monday, August 16, 2021
Frost & Sullivan: Bridging the Divide Between Digital Products and Intelligent Manufacturing
In this whitepaper from Frost & Sullivan, get insights on accelerating innovation and creating the products your customers really want. It also covers topics such as connected products, reducing time-to-market, and driving products with data insights.
Big Red Cloud: Targeting pain points
Chief Executive Marc O'Dwyer shares that he started Big Red Cloud, an online cloud accounting software company, because as a business owner of a different company, he experienced problems with his own accounting systems and believed there had to be a better way. Because of these prior pains, he focuses on supporting customers and claims it is the primary reason for the company's success. Watch this video for examples of how Big Red Cloud prioritizes customer service and enjoys a 55% conversion rate from lead to closed sale.
Enhance innovation and agility with Digital Twins
This eBook helps readers understand Digital Twin technology, its potential, and its applications. It also profiles Microsoft partners who have utilized Digital Twin technology for success and discusses Microsoft's role in this technology.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Intelligent, Trusted, Flexible
This infographic offers an in-depth look at how Microsoft business analytics and AI is intelligent, trusted, and flexible. This service produces faster, more accurate insights and predictions. It also offers the most secure, compliant, and scalable system. Finally, it works with what you have.
Putting customers at the center of the OEM supply chain
This report from The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Microsoft, discusses the upside of supply chain digital transformation. Benefits include improved ability to meet strategic objectives and compete in a fast-changing global landscape.
Four Ways To Boost Customer Experience (And Thus Hold Onto Your Clients)
Customer satisfaction needs to be THE priority in every area of your business. Each interaction a customer has with you will either positively or negatively influence your brand, the customer's lifetime value, and the impact on future customers and therefore your revenue. The customer experience is everything in today's market. Ryanne Van Der Eijk is the Chief Customer Experience Officer at RAKEZ and knows how to create a customer-centric workplace. She shares her best advice for providing the right experience to customers in her article, "Four Ways to Boost Customer Experience (and Thus Hold onto Your Clients)." One of her tips is to build customer-centricity as part of your company culture. Start by defining your company's philosophy on customer service—that's the easy part—and then work on ways to share it via the workflow, the hiring process and the staff training. Read her entire article for more ideas for developing a culture focused on customers and her other tips to boost overall customer experience.
HP uses AI to transform its customer support experience
HP Inc. handles more than 600 million technical support contacts each year, and the company strives to make every single one a satisfying experience for the customer. To improve both self-service and contact center support delivery, HP built a virtual agent using the Microsoft Dynamics 365 AI solution for customer service. Customers can now interact conversationally with the assistant to solve common problems, support staff use the Microsoft AI solution for instant access to a wealth of troubleshooting information, and the company gains deeper insights into common customer issues.
Monday, August 9, 2021
The Resilient Supply Chain: Trusted, Sustainable, Intelligent
In this eBook, learn how to improve your organization's service resilience and profitability by planning and implementing a more resilient supply chain. Discover how you can mitigate the challenges facing supply chains by leveraging the power of cloud technologies.
View: The Resilient Supply Chain: Trusted, Sustainable, Intelligent
Partner Opportunity Playbook: Business Analytics and AI
This playbook highlights the various ways Microsoft Analytics and AI can help your customer's business. It briefly and visually covers the process Analytics and AI follow to produce insights and action. The playbook also lists various practical ways Analytics and AI can be applied in a business context, such as intelligent customer service.
View: Partner Opportunity Playbook: Business Analytics and AI
Kennametal embraces Microsoft cloud strategy to drive business innovation
This customer story demonstrates how Microsoft equipped Kennametal with the technology and tools needed to become a cloud-first company. Leveraging Azure and Dynamics 365, Kennametal reduced costs, increased productivity, and empowered workers to deliver superior results.
Tuesday, August 3, 2021
Improve performance with faster, more accurate insights and predictions
Microsoft Analytics and AI takes innovation to the next level with faster, more accurate insights and predictions. Subscribe now to stay informed!
View: Improve performance with faster, more accurate insights and predictions
Factory of the future: Achieving digital excellence in manufacturing, today
"Industry 4.0" is the term coined to describe the rise of automation and data exchange in manufacturing, technology, and it has transcended the factory floor to now include the entire manufacturing process. In this eBook, explore how to optimize your digital operations with business solutions for intelligent factories.
View: Factory of the future: Achieving digital excellence in manufacturing, today
How to Use AI in Sales and Marketing
This video illustrates how to get the most from Dynamics 365 - the unified platform powered by Azure AI and natively integrated with your favorite Microsoft 365 applications. Learn how to enable an intelligent sales and marketing approach for your organization with AI from Microsoft Dynamics 365.
Monday, August 2, 2021
Industry 4.0: IoT key to building agile factories of the future - Microsoft Industry Blogs
This blog outlines how to utilize IoT solutions to build smart, agile factories that meet and overcome modern challenges. Learn how to drive operational efficiency, improve product quality, and increase uptime and availability.
Analytics and AI Microsoft Principles
This infographic details the Microsoft philosophy toward responsible and ethical AI through a set of core principles. These principles include maximizing efficiencies without destroying the dignity of people and guarding against bias. Additionally, it advocates for accountability against intended harm, transparency, privacy, and design that assists humanity.
Jabil creates the factory of the future with predictive analytics
In their pursuit of digital transformation, Jabil leveraged predictive analytics and real-time manufacturing to optimize processes and create an agile factory. In this customer story, learn about the specific ways they applied Microsoft tools and solutions to create their factory of the future.
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
HP uses artificial intelligence to transform its customer support experience
Learn how HP used the Microsoft Dynamics 365 AI solution to build a virtual agent and improve their customer experience by delivering better contact center support. This AI solution can help customers solve common problems via virtual assistant, provide support staff with instant access to a wealth of troubleshooting information, and gain deeper insights for the company into common customer issues.
AI Cybersecurity Training
Discover how Azure Government provides government agencies and their partners world-class security, protection, and compliance through cloud services. In this video, Keenan Skelly talks about the benefits of a scalable, AI-powered, gamified, persistent cybersecurity training environment on the strength of Microsoft Azure.
Does Your Company Culture Lead to Happy Customers?
The correlation between employee experience and customer experience is clear: if the employee experience is mediocre or poor, employees will generally not care much about the company or the customers, states Phil Geldart in his Entrepreneur article, "Does Your Company Culture Lead to Happy Customers?" On the other hand, IBM found that if "employee experience is positive, and people feel valued and happy, they will care much more about the customer experience and be proud to work for the company," writes Geldart. Contributing factors for employee experience include physical environment, technological tools, and the organization's culture. Geldart shares that leaders have a responsibility to mirror how they expect their employees to treat customers. For example, if the "culture is one where employees embrace behaviors such as trust, collaboration, communication, respect, transparency and inclusion, they will, in turn, treat your customers in the same manner as they treat their colleagues," writes Geldart. Read the entire article for more examples of areas that greatly impact employee experience.
Monday, July 26, 2021
Connect sales, service, and operations using Power Platform
This video highlights how Power Platform can help accelerate B2B manufacturing sales by connecting sales, service, and operations. Learn how Microsoft's Power Platform and Common Data Model can increase the lifetime value of customer relationships.
Security Analytics and Operations: Industry Trends in the Era of Cloud Computing
Turn your organization to cloud-based security and address data capacity and infrastructure requirements to solve cloud challenges. Subscribe here!
View: Security Analytics and Operations: Industry Trends in the Era of Cloud Computing
Connected Sales and Service with Microsoft Dynamics 365
In this video, discover how Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service empowers manufacturers to improve customer engagement and profit margin, create accurate and tailored solutions for each customer, and automate the configuration, pricing, and quoting process for their sales teams to create accurate, personalized solutions.
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
Council Post: The Era Of Evocative Marketing Has Arrived -- Are You Ready?
In an era of sensory overload—or, perhaps just 'overload'—we need to be extra-sensitive to the content and delivery of our marketing messages. We don't want to be the "one more thing" that's bombarding consumers; rather, we want to be fresh, unique and different.
Lora Kratchounova, founder of Scratch Marketing + Media, says that the best differentiator in this this "crowded, loud digital landscape" is "content aimed at making audience members feel." Yes, "feel"—you know, emotions. Kratchounova writes that evocative content—compelling stories, captivating images, and uplifting video—is what stands out in today's digital world, where research shows that consumers are exposed to thousands of ads in a day.
Read Kratchounova's fascinating look at ergonomics (also known as human-factors engineering) and its influence on today's marketing in a digital world. Read "The Era of Evocative Marketing Has Arrived—Are you Ready?"
How Starbucks is using AI to improve the customer experience
At Microsoft's Build conference, Starbucks showed how artificial intelligence is helping them better predict what customers may be in the mood for by considering such factors such as weather, location, and user preferences.
Digitally transform your field service: 5 case studies from manufacturing
In five case studies, this eBook explains how cloud technologies can drive revenue growth, optimize processes, increase productivity, and improve customer experiences. Learn how tools like IoT, AR, and Dynamics 365 Field Service can provide transformative data insights.
View: Digitally transform your field service: 5 case studies from manufacturing
Monday, July 19, 2021
Leveraging Tech to Improve Customer Experience: 11 Smart Techniques
The importance of customer experience has taken off in recent years. As competition becomes the norm in many digital and application spaces, the interaction that the consumer has with a company becomes more important. CX is vital in helping a company retain its customers and grow its customer base through organic referrals.
Luckily, technology offers several ways for businesses to improve their customer experience. In this article, 11 members of the Forbes Technology Council explain some techniques businesses can use to improve their customers' experience.
Smart-building sweet spot: connecting building data with service technicians
In this customer story, learn how MacDonald-Miller Facility Solutions uses Microsoft Dynamics 365 Connected Field Service and Azure IoT services to respond proactively to potential problems and fix them before they cause disruptions. Dynamics 365 gives their workforce the tools to work more efficiently and improve customer satisfaction.
Five ways to know you are ready for connected field service
This blog post by Microsoft details benefits of connected field service and outlines five ways to tell when a company is ready to equip their organization with connected field service.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
The Workforce of the Future eBook
New levels of connectivity and advanced technologies like AI enable businesses to process more data on a larger scale. AI plays one of the biggest roles—in terms of disruption and resulting opportunity—for our industry and our workforce. As we look to a future powered by a partnership between computers and humans, we must address these challenges head on: How will AI impact employment and jobs? How do we ensure that AI is designed, used, and governed responsibly? Explore answers to these questions and more in this valuable eBook.
Monday, July 12, 2021
A Grateful Culture Is A Healthy Culture. Here's How To Create It.
Many studies over the past decade show a correlation between gratitude and happiness—the more people feel and practice gratitude, the more contentment and joy they experience. We know this is true in our personal lives—and it's true in our professional lives as well. In his article, "A Grateful Culture is a Healthy Culture. Here's How to Create it," John Hall writes about gratitude in the workplace; specifically, how to create an appreciative company culture amongst team members. The first step, writes Hall, is to start with yourself: "Make time to reflect each day on the positive things that have happened to you, what you've already accomplished, and what you like about yourself." While it's nice to communicate your appreciation to others, it's not essential that you do so repeatedly. Just by making time to consider what you're your grateful for, you've stimulated your hypothalamus which regulates a lot and affects empathy, social cognition and emotional experiences. It's difficult to encourage gratitude in your team if you're not experiencing it yourself. And yes—they'll know. Read Hall's entire article for three other ways to create or increase a culture of gratitude.
ROI Azure Synapse
This infographic shows how @Microsoft Azure Synapse brings Big Data and Data Warehousing together in a single service to provide limitless analytics.
Manufacturing a better future with Microsoft
In this video, discover five ways to digitally transform your business to manufacture a better future with Microsoft. Equipping your business with intelligent manufacturing improves your customers' business outcomes while increasing your own margins and competitiveness. Learn more with this video.
The Role of AI and People Analytics in Developing the Leaders of Tomorrow
While investment in digital business solutions continues to increase, employees remain the lifeblood of every enterprise. This article from Forbes covers key ways AI and analytics help organizations hire the right people and train them for success.
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
Improve Your Brand's Online Reputation with SEO
In today's digital world, a positive online reputation relates to much of a business's success. Good reviews and high scores along with relevant content help consumers find your website. That's why Search Engine Optimization (SEO) should be a main part of your online reputation management. SEO involves tailoring your website's content to rank high in search engines' criteria—and put you at the top in buyer searches for products and services. It includes identifying and using key words, content optimization, link building, and blog and social media presence. In her article, "Improve Your Brand's Online Reputation with SEO," Jessica Wong explains that the "right blog can contribute to your SEO ranking, generate more clicks from the search engine results page and help turn those clicks into sales." A blog post should have a good mix of search keywords, relevant videos and pictures, and links to and from your page, she explains. Read Wong's entire article for an overview of the four stages to SEO implementation and the six areas to focus on for improving your brand's online reputation related to SEO.
Monday, July 5, 2021
Building Autonomous Systems with Microsoft AI
This video is a powerful example of how autonomous systems can be aligned to intelligently perform routine tasks. Toyota Material Handling partnered with Microsoft using AirSim (an open source simulation platform originally developed to teach drones or robots to learn in high fidelity simulated environments) to train a forklift on tasks like picking up a pallet. This video illustrates the vision for a future warehouse with pre-trained, intelligent forklifts assisting people in everyday activities.
Building an AI Powered organization
The business world is rapidly changing. It is estimated that AI will add $13 trillion to the global economy over the next decade-and yet from thousands of executives surveyed, only 8% of firms are adopting core practices that fully support implementation. Businesses arrive at progress slowly, reflecting a failure to rewire within the organization. This article from Harvard Business Review demonstrates how companies can make a successful shift to utilizing AI and setting themselves up for success.
2 Types of Artificial Intelligence
Bring the future into your business today with AI. Explore two types: Pre-Built and Custom Built. Pre-Built AI has cognitive services - deep learning cognitive capabilities ready to use (vision, speech, knowledge, translation, etc.), whereas Custom Built AI uses machine learning capabilities to analyze data to build and an artificial neural network to address specific problems not covered by Cognitive Services.
Monday, June 28, 2021
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Microsoft Analytics and AI spark innovation and enable endless opportunities for using your data to foster growth. Subscribe now!
How to Empower Your Employees to Be More Customer-Centric
"Empowerment taps into the potential of a human being to do more than what is typically defined by their job description. Empowerment allows that individual to take initiative, to show courage, and to speak up and to make things better," writes Phil Geldart, a recognized authority in transforming organizational culture and leadership development. It is especially important in today's digital business world, because customers expect personalized experiences.
In order for organizations to offer an increasing amount of personalization, they must enable and empower their employees with the trust, knowledge, and permission to do what they know they can do—take care of the customer. In order for the customer-centric business model we strive for to work, your employees must feel empowered to do their part in establishing it. You can't say you want a customer-centric organization and then continually limit the responsibilities and ownership of your employees. "True empowerment allows you to release the potential of employees at all levels and roles," adds Geldart. It's here you'll see results far greater than you would if you simply instruct them what to do in each scenario. For specific guidelines on how to create a more positive workplace, read Geldart's article, "How to Empower Your Employees to Be More Customer-Centric."
Future Generali uses Microsoft AI to Deepen Customer Engagements
Future Generali India Life Insurance Co. Ltd. adopted the use of REVA, a chatbot built on the Microsoft Bot Framework, which plays a key role in driving insightful conversations with its customers. In this video, see how the company has already seen an increase in the customer satisfaction rate by 91%, which won them the Microsoft and CNBC TV18 #AIForAll award for leveraging AI for enhancing customer engagement.
Monday, June 21, 2021
In an era of distractions, Microsoft wants AI to be your coworker
Microsoft is aiming to adapt its productivity suite to a short-attention-span world, bringing years of research into products like PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel. This article outlines how after years of slavishly digitizing and formatting words, numbers, and images, future versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be much more aware of your work and how you do it. Intelligent algorithms will find patterns and meanings in the data and use the insights to help you get through your day more efficiently. This transition to smarter work software has already begun.
Editorial Leadership in the Age of Content Marketing Automation
Content marketing is now widely understood and accepted as a pillar in the business industry; we acknowledge that providing educational materials to prospects and customers is vital to earn the business and loyalty of today's buyers. As technology rapidly advances, however, the concept of content marketing is changing as well. Content automation, along with editorial and creative arts automation, will continue to affect how we include content to buyers.
As the "content landscape" changes, Cameron Conaway encourages leaders to continue to have an open mind and adapt along with this transformation. Rather than base your decision-making on fear, he urges you to "work to shift your mindset and develop habits of curiosity about what's changing and why." These are attributes of leaders who understand technology trends and are in it for the long haul—not short-term success. Read Conaway's full article, "Leadership in the Age of Content Marketing Automation" for inspirational insight on how to remain a content leader in the age of content automation.
Analytics & AI solution video
This video is a quick introduction to Microsoft Analytics and AI, explaining how to expand the reach of your data insights and gain increasing levels of efficiency and personalization. By harnessing the power of Microsoft Analytics, you can inform and drive intelligent automation through AI and machine learning.
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
Deepen and engage customers with AI
Microsoft Analytics and AI accelerates digital transformation that deepens engagement, predicts outcomes, and automates operations. Subscribe now!
5 Tips to Get More Customers and Retain Them Too
The buyer's journey is a progression of steps the buyer takes when making a purchase. Most businesses know that they need to support the customer at all stages, even though a lot of the process is done before a buyer engages with the seller. When buyers are ready to engage, you must be ready. In the article, "5 Tips to Get More Customers and Retain Them Too," Dhaval Sarvaiya discusses the main stages of the journey: awareness, consideration, decision, retention and advocacy. In the final stage, he reminds us that customers with great experiences will "fall in love with your brand" and that they will not only "promote your brand but will defend it as well." Imagine customers so loyal that they will defend what you're selling—all because they so strongly believe in it. Read this entire article for pointers on how to support your customers at all stages of the buyer's journey.
Monday, June 14, 2021
Work remotely, stay secure
As businesses have had to quickly pivot to new working environments, cyberattacks become an urgent concern. In this thought leadership article, you can learn some of best practices using Microsoft security that help ensure the best protection. Examples include secure access to cloud applications that protect sign-ins with security defaults, methods to manage and secure corporate data in approved apps on personal devices, and providing clear and basic information, including how to protect their devices, will help you and employees stay ahead of threats so they can remain productive.
Allstate transforms the customer experience with Azure AI
This video showcases how Allstate is transforming customer support with artificial intelligence. With Azure Cognitive Services, Allstate is capturing insights from customer calls to enable a more seamless customer experience.
Tuesday, June 8, 2021
Employ flexible, open hybrid cloud solutions and transform customer engagement
Keep up to date on cloud solutions to transform customer engagement. Subscribe now.
View: Employ flexible, open hybrid cloud solutions and transform customer engagement
Monday, June 7, 2021
Shipping company navigates to the cloud, boosts security, cuts operating costs by 50%
Qatari shipping and maritime company Nakilat has one of the world's largest fleets of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, transporting LNG from Qatar to global markets. To increase its competitive advantage, Nakilat wanted to improve employee productivity and mobility, without compromising on data security. It uses Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Cloud App Security to deliver highly secure cloud-first workplaces—shipboard and in the office. Nakilat also adopted the Microsoft Azure platform to optimize its operations and improve business continuity, reducing operating costs by 50 percent. See more in this video.
Microsoft Threat Protection stops attack sprawl and auto-heals enterprise assets with built-in intelligence and automation
Attackers will cross multiple domains like email, identity, endpoints, and applications to find the point of least resistance. Today's defense solutions have been designed to protect, detect, and block threats for each domain separately, allowing attackers to exploit the seams and threshold differences between solutions—leaving the business vulnerable to attack. Microsoft Threat Protection stops attack sprawl and auto-heals enterprise assets with built in intelligence and automation. Read on to learn more.
Solution overview video
This video highlights the benefits and features of using the Modernize .NET Microsoft solution to find lightning fast innovation, elastic scalability, cost savings, and better performance.
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Greater Security
Greater security at lower cost with the expertise and power of Microsoft security solutions. Learn more about simplifying and fortifying with Microsoft security.
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The way we think of and use technology holds so much potential. From increasing the productivity of farmers to helping researchers track endangered species, Microsoft is proud to support so many amazing people who inspire and improve the world we live in. Whether you're trying to make a difference on a global scale or trying to improve job satisfaction in the workplace, silicon power solutions can help! Subscribe today!
How to Become a Leadership Influencer
Blending the concepts of "social influencers" with "thought leaders," Tom Popomaronis states that a new breed is emerging. A "leadership influencer" still shares knowledge and philosophy through various channels but also demonstrates a rare skill—the power to inspire. Popomaronis shows you where to begin if you haven't published anything yet. He suggests, for example, you could start by writing about favorite quotes and the lessons you associate with them. Eventually, you'll focus more on your industry expertise. The point is, you need to start somewhere. It doesn't matter what you call yourself—but if you can inspire others with your content, you're one step closer to "leadership influencer." Read "How to Become a Leadership Influencer" by Tom Popomaronis.
Monday, May 31, 2021
3 fundamentals for a successful hybrid cloud
Learn how to manage infrastructure more easily, innovate faster, and improve security using the hybrid cloud. Read this one-pager to get guidance on using three fundamentals to create your hybrid cloud strategy: networking, identity and access management, and security.
Kennametal embraces Microsoft cloud strategy to drive business innovation
Kennametal has invested heavily in Microsoft cloud technologies as part of its digital transformation journey to reduce costs, increase productivity, and empower workers to deliver superior results for their customers. In this video, see how they utilize Microsoft Azure cloud platform and services to Microsoft Dynamics 365 business applications to Microsoft 365 productivity, security, and mobility tools. Kennametal believes that Microsoft resources will help the company fulfill its business promises.
Alaska Airlines makes shopping easier with faster flow of new e-commerce features
A great online shopping experience begins with great software. That's why Alaska Airlines uses Microsoft Azure and Windows Server Containers to launch new e-commerce features faster. Travelers get new offers sooner, which translates to happier customers and increased revenues. By running its e-commerce engine in Azure in hybrid fashion, Alaska can scale more easily and ensure its sites run at the optimum point of performance and cost.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
How to Turn Your Business Goals into a Strong Social Media Strategy
Social media plays an important role in marketing. Not only does it cost very little, but it's a quick way to get valuable content to large audiences with a personal touch. Social media platforms are non-negotiable, but are you effectively utilizing them to meet your business's goals?
In her article, "How to Turn Your Business Goals into a Strong Social Media Strategy," writer Elissa Liu states that too many businesses fail to connect their goals with a complementary strategy—instead, they shoot from the hip and post or share what is convenient or what they think their targeted audience may like. There's little follow-up and return on investment is unknown.
Instead, Liu suggests you create a strategy to meet a clearly defined goal. For example, if one of your business goals is to improve customer service, look at how you process complaints and questions. Some people are okay making a phone call, but others might prefer sending a comment through Facebook messenger. Liu points out that customers need several avenues to complain or question—and they expect timely responses. Do you know your response time on social media? Is it clearly defined within your company and is it tracked? It's obvious reading this that social media response time affects customer service—but it's amazing how many businesses do not utilize social media platforms with this understanding. Use Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn to improve your customer service, if that is one of your business goals. Read Liu's entire article for great tips on translating your business goals into social media goals!
Migrate Web Apps
This infographic details three simple ways to migrate web applications to Azure App Service. Bring your code, bring your container, or use the Migration Assistant tool.
RapidDeploy helps first responders defend public safety with Azure Sentinel
RapidDeploy creates its Cloud Aided Dispatch systems to help first responders act quickly to protect the public. There's a lot at stake, and the company's cloud-native platform must be secure against an array of serious cybersecurity threats. So, when RapidDeploy implemented a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) system, it chose Microsoft Azure Sentinel, one of the world's first cloud-native SIEMs. See the full story in the video below.
Building Intelligent Cloud Applications
This eBook provides a step-by-step guide for building and deploying scalable deep learning and machine learning models using serverless architectures with Azure. Learn to code machine learning into your projects using Python and pretrained models that include image and speech recognition and classification. Explore issues around deployment and continuous delivery, including scaling, security, and monitoring.
Monday, May 24, 2021
Securing the hybrid cloud with Azure Security Center and Azure Sentinel
Infrastructure security is top-of-mind for organizations managing workloads on-premises, in the cloud, or hybrid. Azure Security Center provides unified security management by identifying and fixing misconfigurations and providing visibility into threats to quickly remediate them. Azure Sentinel collects data from Azure Security Center. Learn more about this integrated and efficient solution in this article.
Microsoft Sentinel
Azure Sentinel is intelligent security analytics for your entire enterprise. Collect data, detect threats, investigate incidents, and rapidly respond with Sentinel.
Azure helps companies power their hybrid cloud migration
The hybrid capabilities from Microsoft Azure fuel innovation and delivers great business outcomes to companies such as, J.B. Hunt, KPMG, Allscripts, and Chevron. By meeting them where they are, Microsoft improves the cloud migration experience and helps companies reduce overall costs. Watch to learn how these Fortune 500 companies used Microsoft Azure to power their hybrid cloud strategies and move their businesses forward.
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
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Microsoft Azure cloud migration: 3 success stories
Learn from three Microsoft customer success stories to understand how to make a valid business plan for your cloud migration. This article describes each way J.B. Hunt, H&R Block, and A.P. Moller - Maersk are using Microsoft to move their applications and systems to Azure.
How to 'Spring Clean' Your Website with Content Auditing
You know the importance of periodically cleaning out your closet, your car, your emails, and your file folders. Not only do you create a cleaner, more orderly space, but you inevitably discover items you didn't know you had, perhaps even misplaced valuables. It's the same with your company's website. How often do you invest time to examine the content of your website?
The first step, writes Syed Balkhi in "How to 'Spring Clean' Your Website with Content Auditing," is to set a clear goal: want to increase audience engagement or improve your SEO results or another specific goal? Once you know your goal, you can look at your pages and posts with a lens that supports accomplishing it. For example, if your goal is to increase audience engagement, you need to determine which topics your visitors are most interested in, and then filter your current content accordingly. Balkhi includes tips on how to create a content inventory (and why you need one) and then how to take action to reach your goals. Read this article—and get ready to clean!
Monday, May 17, 2021
St. Luke's University Health Network secures digital health transformation with Microsoft 365
St. Luke's University Health Network (SLUHN) looks to the cloud to define a new way of providing health services of its ten hospitals and 300 sites across ten counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This video outlines how the health network embarked on a digital health transformation journey using the Microsoft 365 productivity cloud to empower more than 15,000 employees. The intuitive tools protect sensitive information in cloud applications, simplifying security with interoperable solutions to save time while enhancing the hospital network's security posture. In turn, this optimizes health team collaboration and improves patient experience.
Navigate data protection and risk in the cloud era
Microsoft invests in compliance and risk management to help your customers more easily protect and govern their data, address regulations and standards, and mitigate insider risks. The how-to guidance article announces new capabilities in Microsoft 365 that use machine learning and intelligence to help your customers address compliance and risk management in their organizations.
Descartes migrates to Azure SQL Database for growth and flexibility
Discover how Descartes, a global leader in logistics and supply chain solutions, helps keep goods flowing smoothly for businesses. Descartes wanted to move its MacroPoint solution to the public cloud to provide greater flexibility for customers and to focus internal resources on extending product value. After choosing Microsoft Azure as its preferred platform, the company successfully migrated the solution to Azure SQL Database.
Tuesday, May 11, 2021
Use popular frameworks like .NET, Java, Ruby, PHP, or Python to build and deploy with Microsoft App Service
With Modernize .NET, use popular frameworks like .NET, Java, Ruby, PHP, or Python to build and deploy with Microsoft App Service.
How to Create Content that Generates Exposure, Loyalty and Sales
Good content strengthens relationships with your customers. "If you hit the right emotional buttons, your content allows people to engage, to trust you and to want to talk with you," writes Cheryl Snapp Conner, CEO of SnappConner PR. Trust and engagement—isn't that what we desire from prospects and current customers?
Some people hesitate to create content because they don't understand the payoff for the investment. A great article will likely include research and several edits, but as Snapp Conner points out, "When it's complete, you can break the 1,000 words into a series of tweets. You can do a short video on the topic. Even better, embed the video into the article. Talk about the theme on a podcast." One piece of content can work hard for you, building trust and creating engagement in multiple arenas.
Read "How to Create Content that Generates Exposure, Loyalty and Sales" for more tips from Snapp Conner, as well as insights from Jeremy Knauff, CEO of Spartan Media. Together they offer fresh perspectives on why your business needs to provide content as part of its marketing campaign.
Migration strategies
This infographic outlines the 4 different strategies available to migrate your apps to Microsoft: rehost, refactor, rearchitect, or rebuild.
Monday, May 10, 2021
Overview of Microsoft Defender ATP
Learn how Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection delivers preventative protection, post-breach detection, automated investigation, and response for enterprise networks. Watch this video for an overview.
Security Fortify infographic
Maximize threat detection during attack stages with Microsoft's comprehensive suite of security solutions. Unmatched volumes of data inform Microsoft security solutions. Learn how you can harness decades of security experience with Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection.
Azure Migrate: The hub for cloud migration
In this video, you'll learn about Azure Migrate, Microsoft Azure's central hub for datacenter cloud migration. Azure Migrate helps you discover, assess, and migrate workloads to Azure with integrated first and third-party tools.
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Hybrid Environments
Secure hybrid environments for the lowest TCO with an integrated solution. Learn more about simplifying and fortifying with Microsoft security. Subscribe here!
Five ways SMBs can benefit from using Microsoft Azure to move to the cloud
This article examines five ways that you can start migrating your customers' business to the cloud on their terms, and the reasons why now is the time to do so (including end-of-support for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft SQL Server).
Monday, May 3, 2021
Why Your Elevator Pitch Isn't Working
The easy part is remembering what an elevator pitch is: a short, catchy way to describe your business when you don't have time to elaborate details (as in an elevator ride). The difficult part is knowing how to deliver one. This article highlights a few aspects that can go wrong with your elevator pitch, along with solutions to make sure that in your short window of time, you're communicating an intentional message.
For example, author Anna Johansson writes that too often the "bottom line" of a pitch isn't apparent, and though it will vary depending on your audience, it should also be clear what it is: "For investors, it's either profitability or longevity. For clients, it's often a proposed solution to a real problem." As Johansson states, you must know who you're talking with—and adjust your pitch accordingly. Easy to understand, harder to do. She provides good tips on how to create, polish, and tweak a distinctive elevator pitch
Leveraging Your Microsoft Assets in this Remote Access World
More of the workforce is working remotely than ever before. Organizations are adapting and implementing new remote access solutions. Now is the time to evaluate the Microsoft tools you already have at your fingertips and leverage the built-in remote work security features and capabilities. Read more in this article from National Law Review.
Transform your business with Azure migration
Learn why companies like Albertsons, H&R Block, and Carlsberg Group chose to migrate to Azure and how the move has helped them transform their businesses. Microsoft provides tools for successful migration that work flexibly within the company's chosen migration process. Microsoft data platforms provide scalability, high availability, and security to accelerate your journey.
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
Security Power
Securing your systems with a data driven, human guided security approach allows you to detect and respond to attacks more quickly and accurately. This infographic outlines how the global network of real time threat intelligence from Microsoft continues to evolve, anticipate, and stay ahead of risks.
Find lightning fast innovation, elastic scalability, cost savings, and better performance
Windows .NET has a wealth of resources addressing key security concepts and shared responsibility within the cloud. Subscribe to find more resources to help you write more secure codes and learn how workload responsibilities are divided.
View: Find lightning fast innovation, elastic scalability, cost savings, and better performance
Monday, April 26, 2021
The 'Superhero Fallacy' and Other Storytelling Mistakes Marketers Make
Humans love stories. More marketers are utilizing storytelling to connect with consumers, yet they're discovering it's not as easy as it sounds.
Businesses make mistakes with storytelling, and in this article Matthew Luhn, a story-branding consultant and writer of storytelling in the business world, shares his insight with author Kimberly A. Whitler. Luhn says one example of a common error is when companies make a statement rather than tell a story. They write, "We have a great story," but then fail to tell the story. "Having a story," says Luhn, "isn't the same as saying that you are telling a story."
Read The 'Superhero Fallacy' and Other Storytelling Mistakes Marketers Make" to learn about other common faux pas marketers make when using stories to connect with customers.
BP deploys Microsoft 365 to improve user experience and security
Every day, BP manages the difficult business of finding, producing, marketing, and moving energy around the globe. Core to success is the modernization and digitization of the business, while being able to defend a vast digital perimeter against cyberattacks. This video shows how BP is migrating its work environment to Microsoft 365 Enterprise E5 to take advantage of a platform approach.
Chipotle builds new website with .NET Core, Visual Studio Code, and Azure
Chipotle Mexican Grill is a longtime leader and innovator in the food industry. In this video, learn how Chipotle's ordering service is built in .NET to provide customers with a more efficient, coordinated service.
Tuesday, April 20, 2021
Reduce costs with unbeatable offers
While innovation has supplanted cost savings as the primary driver of cloud migration for many businesses, moving to the cloud needs to make sense for your bottom line. Microsoft Azure offers unique cost savings options.
Go The Extra Mile - It's Never Crowded
The competition is bubbling with businesses trying to replicate successful products and services. What's not easy to copy is a unique, stand-for-something brand that customers associate with your company. This article shares three fundamental topics to help you navigate toward unique: Does your brand and core value permeate your staff, culture, and communication? Do you have an in-depth understanding of your target market? How is your brand differentiated from competition? Read Andrew MacKenzie's "Go the Extra Mile-It's Never Crowded" for insight on finding your clear differentiator—one that your customers will recognize and appreciate—and then be willing to go the extra mile for them.
Monday, April 19, 2021
Security beyond Microsoft products
With Microsoft, security can be simple once again. Microsoft 365 provides an intelligent security hub that works seamlessly across platforms, going far beyond Microsoft—to Linux and Mac, to AWS and beyond, so you can manage mission critical workloads with the right tools at your fingertips. Watch the video to learn more.
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Five tips to help you save money and manage costs with Azure
Find out how you can take advantage of offers and tools to maximize your efficiency with Microsoft Azure. Watch this video to get 5 tips to help you save on costs and learn about the tools available to help you efficiently move to the cloud.
Tuesday, April 13, 2021
Cloud Migration Essentials
This eBook provides guidance throughout the cloud migration process, from initial considerations to the tools required. Learn how to approach your cloud migration, assess your servers, virtual machines and applications, confidently execute your migration, and optimize your cloud services.
Stop Marketing to Millennials or Gen-Z and Start Marketing to Tribes
This year, "Gen-Z are set to overtake Millennials as the biggest generation globally," writes Kian Bakhtiari of CMO network. He adds, however, that we shouldn't think of young people as a marketing segment, because they're not: "The digital age has enabled the creation of modern tribes, united by a shared mindset, rather than age or location."
Demographic information alone is no longer as important. Add in different behaviors, attitudes and needs of young people, along with the fact that they are often "invisible" and populate social media platforms—and you have a more complicated yet authentic way of understanding your customer base. The fact that Bakhtiari's byline in Forbes magazine states he writes about marketing through a "Millennial and Gen-Z lens" is proof of his message. Read his entire article, "Stop Marketing to Millennials or Gen-Z and Start Marketing to Tribes" to better understand this mindset shift.
Construction giant gains competitive edge with zero-trust approach to security
When The Walsh Group—one of the largest construction contractors in the United States—moved to the cloud, it realized it needed better ways to manage who accesses its systems. The company set up identity as the control plane—with Microsoft Azure Active Directory at the center and a zero-trust security stance to better protect access to all its resources. Now, The Walsh Group CIO says the company leads the industry in securing access to its hybrid environment, giving it a competitive advantage. Read the article for more.
View: Construction giant gains competitive edge with zero-trust approach to security
Monday, April 12, 2021
Ullman Dynamics's migration to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Explore how Ullman Dynamics, the world leader in suspension seats, is transforming their business by migrating to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and the cloud.
Security intelligent infographic
Identify and repel more threats than ever before with Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection, Azure Security, and Azure Sentinel. Take a look to learn more about intelligent security solutions for your entire enterprise.
Azure App Service
This infographic illustrates the world-class flexibility, security, integration, and reliability of Azure App Service - a fully managed platform for building, deploying, and scaling your web apps.
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Largest and most trusted
Microsoft 365 guards your data as a valuable asset. With security built-in, not bolted on, integration and deployment are simplified. Subscribe now to learn more.
Five Tips to Enhance Your Company's Value Proposition by Defining Your Core Values
More than salary, benefits, and work schedule, your company's core value system is what sets it apart from others. How you define your core values so potential employees choose you—and stay with you - is crucial to your success. Employees want to know what their company stands for. Read Karen Rice's article "Five Tips to Enhance Your Company's Value Proposition by Defining Your Core Values" to help you clarify your company's value proposition, so you can make sure your prospective and current employees clearly understand the values that distinguish you from the rest.
Security Solution Overview
With data growing increasingly valuable and harder to protect, Microsoft provides security solutions across identity and access management, information protection, threat protection and security management. Harness integrated, comprehensive security with Microsoft Advanced Threat Protection, Azure Security, and Azure Sentinel to identify and repel more threats than ever before and safeguard your organization, without sacrificing productivity.
Monday, April 5, 2021
GE powers its culture of curiosity with the Microsoft cloud
GE is transforming from an industrial leader to a digital industrial leader, using software and sensors to make its machines connected, responsive, and pred...
Company Culture and Core Values
Your company culture should be "saturated with the principles that matter most," according to Karen Rice's article in Forbes magazine titled, "Five Tips to Enhance Your Company's Value Proposition by Defining Your Core Values." Rice suggests that you talk about core values at team meetings and discussions about strategy and performance management. This helps your employees understand the company's core values; if they don't know them, it's likely your customers and prospects won't either.
Your core values will help guide your value proposition for all your sales and marketing materials, so it's worth the investment of time and energy now!
4 Trends Impacting Cloud Adoption in 2020
This analysis from Gartner studies 4 trends that will shape cloud adoption in 2020: cost efficiency, multi-cloud vendor flexibility, the impact of cloud IaaS skills on migrations, and advances in service availability made possible by distributed clouds.
Friday, April 2, 2021
Security Azure Infographic
Securely harness the power of the cloud with Azure Advanced Threat Protection. This infographic outlines how your organization can trust Azure Advanced Threat Protection as it provides real-time security at enterprise scale, detect threats quickly, and allows your business to stay focused on what's important.
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
Security Azure Infographic
Securely harness the power of the cloud with Azure Advanced Threat Protection. This infographic outlines how your organization can trust Azure Advanced Threat Protection as it provides real-time security at enterprise scale, detect threats quickly, and allows your business to stay focused on what's important.
Monday, March 29, 2021
Cloud Migration Checklist: Simple steps to start your migration today
This migration checklist provides easy, step-by-step guidance on the tools, planning, and resources you'll need to migrate your apps, data, and infrastructure to the cloud with confidence—no matter where you currently are in the process.
View: Cloud Migration Checklist: Simple steps to start your migration today
The leading South African law firm steps up digital innovation to build the legal practice of tomorrow
With over 150 years of history and experience in the legal market, Webber Wentzel has become one of South Africa's most prominent law firms, operating at the forefront of legal services and home to the country's longest-standing pro bono practices. The firm aims to act as a beacon of innovation for the industry. In this video, see how Webber Wentzel has taken advantage of the capabilities of Office 365 to create a more efficient and collaborative workplace for its teams, while facilitating and securing client interactions.
Why choose .NET?
Learn the basics of .NET with Microsoft's .NET Core 101. This eight-video series discusses what .NET is, what its benefits are, who builds it, and more. Learn how .NET helps you develop high-quality applications faster. You will also learn how to install, debug, and publish apps.
Tuesday, March 23, 2021
9 tips for meeting with Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams enables you to host and participate in more productive meetings and invite anyone to join you. This makes Teams a perfect solution where you can communicate and meet with anyone inside or outside your organization - even if they are not a Teams user. This blog offers nine tips to having more productive meetings with attendees in and outside your organization.
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Chapter 7 - Hack the Hackers
Chapter 7 - Hack the Hackers in the heart of Ahmedabad, Plezer Digital Imaging , a renowned photo lab, faced...
