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Business networks are changing rapidly every day -  mobility, the cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are creating this phenomenon that is causing companies to reevaluate efficiencies and security. As a result of these network design requirements, SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is a great fit as it provides a dynamic control of the WAN for the end user. In this blog article, I will go over the high-level basics of an SD-WAN which is quickly becoming a game changer for businesses everywhere.

Trends in Information Technology are continuously changing and, as a result, organizations are having to adapt to those changes. Let's look at the most prominent IT trends that are showing up today. 

A bug in Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Services has been discovered. The vulnerability allows an attacker to take over a Windows PC if it’s connected to the internet and is operating with an out-of-support operating system. Not all machines are vulnerable, but the number of exposed machines makes it likely that somebody will come up with a worm.

The promises of productivity in the cloud continue to ring true. Access to your data from anywhere, at any time, with the ability to collaborate in real-time, is truly revolutionary and is providing a competitive advantage for organizations in every industry. However, access from anywhere means that without sufficient protections, the wrong people can gain access to your data by easily hacking usernames and passwords. 

Is your organization still operating with older versions of Microsoft Office, Exchange, or a Windows server? 

With the introduction of Microsoft Office 365, requirements are more stringent than ever before in remaining compatible with Microsoft’s cloud services. While Office 2013 does not reach end of extended support until April 11, 2023, as of October 13, 2020, Office 2013 will no longer work with Office 365. 

In this blog article, I will be discussing a collection of Microsoft-created technologies that have been coined as today's 'Modern Desktop.' This bundle includes email, collaboration tools, mobility, security, and much more. 

What is Webex Teams?

Cisco's Webex Teams, utilized by businesses around the world, is a cloud-based, or hosted, collaboration platform that’s modeled around teamwork in the modern working environment. Built on the Webex platform, it can act as a phone system, a video conferencing system, a file share, and a whiteboard environment. Persistent, or ongoing, chat can be utilized by people within an organization as well as with partners and clients who work externally. Essentially, it’s a communication platform that will change how your organization collaborates, seamlessly and for the better.

When organizations decide to move data to the cloud, there are several benefits including cost efficiency and time savings. Consistent and frequent updates to make usability easier and friendlier is yet another benefit. For those organizations that have adopted Microsoft Office 365, (or better yet Microsoft 365, a.k.a. 'Modern Desktop') for example, you might have noticed that once a login occurs, the default page seen now is Office.com. As such, Microsoft announced the following explanation earlier this week:

At Systems Engineering team, we are very conscious about practicing good IT security measures. As such, it's important to remember that protecting confidential data spans from desktops, to the cloud, to mobile devices, and more. 

It's no secret that technology is rapidly changing. As such, businesses have to keep up in order to retain good talent and to remain competitive amongst peers and similar organizations. In today's recruiting world, a Millennial (or Generation Y) would think twice about working for a company who expected limited use of the Internet and used old versions of applications with no collaboration capabilities. As a generation that upgrades their smartphones every couple of years, they would expect the same of an organization's network and applications.