Ulistic Projects Blog

June 28, 2019June 27, 2019

Do You Really Need To Eject That USB Drive?

USB drives offer so much convenience. A little storage device as big as your finger, you can carry it around without even noticing it—and with every passing year, the amount of data they can hold grows and grows. These small storage devices are so easy and convenient to use that they are found everywhere in the business world, from desk drawers to branded swag drives on keychains. And since they are so easy to pop in and out of your USB drive, if you are like many people, you probably do not even bother to eject them before you take them out of your drive. Is there really any problem with not ejecting your USB drive properly? Unfortunately, the answer is a definite “Yes.”

From losing data to ruining the drive, failing to properly eject your USB drive can lead to real issues. Read on to discover the way your USB drive works and why it is so important to go through the ejection process on your computer.

Removing a USB Drive Without Ejecting—What You Need to Know

How USB Drives and Computers Communicate

Using a USB drive is such a seemingly simple task. But when you look more closely at what goes on with your drive and your computer when they interact, you will discover that the way they work together involves a lot more than just plugging in and unplugging.

When you plug a USB drive into your computer or laptop, the first thing that happens is the computer delivers power through the USB port to the USB drive. The drive does not have its own power source, so it requires power from the computer to operate. After the computer has supplied power, the computer and the drive must communicate with one another.

Proper communication between a computer and a drive requires having the right drivers installed on your computer. Fortunately, today’s drives come equipped with drivers that your computer can download to allow it to communicate with the drive—which is why modern USB drives are considered “plug-and-play.”

When the computer and the drive have established communication, the computer does what it needs to do to figure out what is on the drive. There are multiple steps to just this process, including reading the directory structure, Master Boot Record or Partition Boot Record (the process can vary by drive).

Every one of the things described above happens before you are able to see your USB drive contents on your computer—all within a matter of seconds. There are numerous other things that go on behind the scenes as you use the USB drive as well. While it may seem like the changes you make to your drive happen instantly, in reality, there are multi-stage processes occurring that may take longer than you realize.

Alterations to Your Drive Happen in Batches

As your computer is reading your drive, it is changing the information in the metadata on the files, such as changing the time and date that the file was last modified. Then, when you make changes to files, such as adding or deleting a file, the changes you make will first occur in your computer’s cache. Eventually, your computer will make the actual alterations to the information on your drive. Again, these things happen quickly, but it is important to understand that they do not happen instantly, which is one of the reasons why pulling the drive out can cause problems.

Other Programs May Be Using Your Drive

You see a very small portion of what actually happens with your computer at any given moment. While you may not be interacting with your drive right now, other programs on your computer could be doing so. For example, your antivirus and anti-malware programs could be busy scanning your drive while you are doing other things. Removing the drive while such programs are doing things on your drive can cause the files to be corrupted.

What Happens When You Eject the Drive?

Your computer and your drive have to go through a process to say goodbye just like they had a process to say hello. By pressing the eject button in your system you are telling the computer to start this process and finalize everything so that the drive can be removed safely. The computer will make sure that all of its interactions with the drive are completed before it says that you can safely remove the drive—like waiting until the antivirus is done scanning the drive.

Always Eject the Drive to Avoid Damaging Files or the Drive

Failing to properly eject your USB drive can damage files or corrupt the entire drive. That is why you always want to go through the proper ejection process. Failing to do so could cause you to lose your data on the drive or cause you to lose the ability to use the drive at all.

June 27, 2019

Teams or Slack: Why Organisations Use One or Both

Microsoft Teams and Slack are both team collaboration applications with large percentages of the market. Both apps have their adherents, but what’s most interesting about them, is that many companies use both of them in tandem. Mio, an Austin, Texas-based startup that sells software to enable communication between different messaging tools, polled 200 IT decision-makers at organisations ranging in size from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of employees. What they found out was that 91 percent of businesses use at least two messaging apps; Slack and Microsoft Teams are present in 66 percent of the organisations surveyed.

Why Do Organisations Use Both Slack and Teams?

Mio found out that companies use team collaboration apps for different reasons. A business that acquires another company that uses Slack, may leave it in place. Another reason is that certain job roles prefer specific tools. In this case, Slack is more popular with tech-heavy roles.

IT decision-makers try to accommodate their engineering teams who love Slack, at the same time, standardising the majority of the company with usage of Microsoft Teams. This dynamic matches recent trends in enterprise messaging with specific tools used for varying needs. Developer teams often use Slack, but then select Teams for a company-wide rollout because it meshes with Office 365.

Sometimes messaging apps are adopted without any corporate input. A work group may adopt Slack without checking with their IT department. In fact, there are companies that have more than four team collaboration tools being used simultaneously.

Which App is Used the Most Often?

Slack is the most widely used app, according to the results of Mio’s survey. 65 percent of companies surveyed use it. Skype for Business comes in second place with 61 percent, and Microsoft Teams is in third place right behind with 59 percent. Slack, which just went public on the NYSE, has over 10 million daily active users and 85,000 paid customers. The survey’s respondents cited Slack as being the most user-friendly with 31 percent, while Microsoft Teams came in third behind Cisco’s Webex Teams, cited at 21 percent by respondents.

Results from the survey also indicate that Slack is doing very well with large business, usually Microsoft’s core market. 75% of companies with more than 10,000 employees said they use Slack.

Which Companies Use Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams came out in 2017 and it’s been distributed widely within Office 365 subscriptions. Over 500,000 organisations use Teams, although the company doesn’t break out active user figures. Microsoft Teams has grown quickly, beyond the experimental stages. Large-scale deployments of Teams have occurred in Microsoft’s large enterprise customer base.

What Issues Crop Up with Multiple-App Usage?

One of the biggest issues with multiple application usage within the same company is interoperability challenges. So far, there aren’t a lot of choices to communicate between apps. One company, 8×8, lets users communicate with different apps through their X-Series team chat platform. However, at this point there is no way to communicate with external chat applications natively. Without this, often employees can’t talk to each other.

Without global communication within a company, decision-making gets slowed down, productivity decreases, and inefficiencies occur. It’s important for IT to be aware of potential problems. As long as different apps are used for different use cases, the system will work. However, if every team has a unique way of communicating, chaos can ensue. More than one team can be working on the same project without knowing about each other.

How Difficult is it to Migrate Users to a New Messaging App?

Moving users from one messaging app to another can be a huge project. Consolidating apps requires best practices regarding content, because there is no way to pull up content from one app to another.

June 27, 2019June 27, 2019

Introducing Canada’s Digital Charter

Technology is rapidly entering all areas of commerce, banking and society due to increased digital communications both in person and online. Much of the business that Canadians do every day is assisted by technology including shopping for groceries, promoting a brand and socializing with friends and family. “Data is a resource that companies use to be more productive and to be more productive and to develop better products and services, unleashing a digital revolution around the world.” according to the Canadian Digital Charter website. Due to this expansion of data access worldwide, Canada has set up the Canadian Digital Charter (CDC) to ensure that “privacy is protected, data will not be misused, and companies operating in this space communicated in a simple and straightforward manner with their users.” The goal is to inspire trust in the government and businesses who handle private data.

Canada’s Digital Charter is Built on Ten Principles

The CDC was developed after the government conducted numerous conversations and surveys with Canadians from all walks of life. These discussions emphasized specific issues that Canadians were interested in and worried about. The result were the following ten principles that form the foundation of the CDC.

1. Universal Access:

All Canadians will have equal opportunity to participate in the digital world and the necessary tools to do so, including access, connectivity, literacy and skills.

2. Safety and Security:

Canadians will be able to rely on the integrity, authenticity and security of the services they use and should feel safe online.

3. Control and Consent:

Canadians will have control over what data they are sharing, who is using their personal data and for what purposes, and know that their privacy is protected.

4. Transparency, Portability and Interoperability:

Canadians will have clear and manageable access to their personal data and should be free to share or transfer it without undue burden.

5. Open and Modern Digital Government:

Canadians will be able to access modern digital services from the Government of Canada, which are secure and simple to use.

6. A Level Playing Field:

The Government of Canada will ensure fair competition in the online marketplace to facilitate the growth of Canadian businesses and affirm Canada’s leadership on digital and data innovation, while protecting Canadian consumers from market abuses.

7. Data and Digital for Good:

The Government of Canada will ensure the ethical use of data to create value, promote openness and improve the lives of people—at home and around the world.

8. Strong Democracy:

The Government of Canada will defend freedom of expression and protect against online threats and disinformation designed to undermine the integrity of elections and democratic institutions.

9. Free from Hate and Violent Extremism:

Canadians can expect that digital platforms will not foster or disseminate hate, violent extremism or criminal content.

10. Strong Enforcement and Real Accountability:

There will be clear, meaningful penalties for violations of the laws and regulations that support these principles.

Digital Technology’s Impact on Canada

The ten principles listed above clearly display the Canadian Government’s vision of integrating ethics and law with digital access. In the discussions with Canadians that led to the CDC, three main issues came to the forefront.

A. How Can Canada Prepare for the Technology of the Future?

Canadians are concerned whether they will be trained for skills needed in the technology of the future. Examples of these are digital skills, including knowledge of coding, data analytics, AI, and machine learning as well as future technologies that have not yet been developed. Although not all careers require a special knowledge of technology,

Canada must instill comprehensive digital literacy and exposure to STEM skills from a young age, particularly for under-represented groups including women, Indigenous people, and people with disabilities. To build digital resilience, Canada must take a multidisciplinary approach to skills development and training that encourages a life-long learning mentality.

Other key issues include retraining workers to build skills that relate to STEM fields, and opening access to training in non-traditional formats including flexible, cost-effective options for attaining new skills in short time frames.

B. How Will Canada Support Growth of Competitive Canadian Companies?

In order for Canadian companies to be competitive on a global scale, they need to “adapt their traditional approaches, and identify, adopt and implement digital and data-driven technologies.” There are several issues that are obstacles to this type of growth including most notably affordability, access for remote, rural and Indigenous communities. Canada ranks among the most expensive countries in the G7 for many telecommunication services including mobile wireless and Internet.¹ Other obstacles include awareness of how technology can improve and scale business in traditional sectors, and that technology implementation isn’t a “one-size-fits-all” solution. Recognition of the need for individual, personalized implementation is crucial to moving forward.

C. How Can Canada Be a Leader in the Digital Age Regarding Privacy and Trust?

The digital age has ushered in the usage of an explosion of data “helping to fuel innovations like AI, machine learning, and the Internet of things, however, the rapid acceleration of data being created, and its use as a commodity means Canada must re-evaluate the frameworks it has in place.” While laws such as the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) help to keep personal data private, there needs to be an ongoing effort to keep frameworks transparent and private data protected against hacking and other data breaches.

Trust and privacy of personal data is a key element in any future growth of technology in Canada.

The issue is complex with important questions around data access, ownership, use, and the consent and controls available to both citizens and providers. . . Canada has a mature regulatory environment, however with the growing complexity of vast amounts of data flows, privacy, and cross-border markets, many Canadian companies, in particular SMEs, expressed difficulty understanding how best to comply with existing data and privacy legislation and the corresponding regulations.

To continue to protect privacy, Canada needs to modernize PIPEDA and continue to offer effective and clear guidance on privacy issues, and at the same time effectively enforce any players appropriately to build trust with Canadians.

June 26, 2019

AMA Clarifies Stance on Physician Use of AI in New Policy

The American Medical Association recently shared its new AMA AI policy recommendations with the public. The AMA sees great potential to improve patient outcomes through this technology, but they also want to ensure that oversight and accountability for this augmented intelligence are in place so that the technology is used justly and effectively.

The Role of AI in Healthcare

The goal of artificial intelligence is to mimic human cognitive processes. Why would we want this in healthcare? It’s because healthcare, like many industries today, has endless amounts of data, more than any human could ever research, consider, or draw conclusions from. In theory, AI doesn’t possess these limits. The right AI technology could take all of the relevant information provided to it, identify the patterns, and develop best practices and true data-driven recommendations from it.

Today, in the medical community, we have studies that say if A, then B will probably occur. But often we can’t distinguish between correlation and causation. It’s hard to account for all of the related factors C through Z. But as AI technology develops, it will be able to do this, leading to:

Earlier detection
Better understanding of risk factors
More personalized treatment recommendation
Reduced waste on treatments that don’t work or unnecessary diagnostic testing
Reduced cost associated with complications
More quality-based care for patients versus fee-for-service and greater profitability for healthcare organizations. The two are not opposed but perfectly align when AI is involved.

Why Is a Policy Needed

The AMA supports insurance coverage for AI-enabled technologies that comply with state and federal regulations. Any AI developed must hold in highest regard the safety and privacy of patients.

The AMA does not support mandating that physicians or institutions use AI. They believe the technology’s benefits speak for themselves. And healthcare organizations and physicians will see that.

The AMA believes that their new policy clarifications help medical facilities:

Prepare for a transition to more AI-supported healthcare decisions, which will include new ways of thinking and new care delivery models
Facilitate more effective communication among patients, doctors and the associated care teams regarding how AI is being used in decision-making processes
Rethink facility workflow, not just using AI but integrating it into their IT systems, ensuring consistency in patient care
Advance more affordable access to AI technology so that all patients, regardless of income, benefit from these advancements
Effectively incorporate end-user feedback to continually improve the technology.

Does AI Put Physicians at Odds with Technology?

Physicians and staff should never be made to feel that AI is over-ruling their professional judgment. For one, AI today has no empathy. It cannot, therefore, consider matters of empathy in the decision-making process. That’s a uniquely human trait.

AI does not replace human physicians. Just like the MRI improved our ability to diagnose and assess certain conditions, AI augments a medical service provider’s ability to deliver quality care.

Gerald E. Harmon, MD, former chair of the AMA Board of Trustees says, “Medical experts are working to determine the clinical applications of AI—work that will guide health care in the future. These experts, along with physicians, state and federal officials must find the path that ends with better outcomes for patients… We have to make sure the technology does not get ahead of our humanity and creativity as physicians.”

Why AI is Coming at the Perfect Time

As the US healthcare system shifts from a fee-for-service to a more outcome-based system, organizations will need to have cost-effective systems in place to reach those outcomes. As reimbursement rates shrink, institutions turn to innovations that can streamline patient care, cut costs and enhance quality.

How AI Is Being Used Today to Improve Patient Outcomes

AI isn’t a future technology. It has real-world applications today.

Multiple studies support AI’s ability to perform in its role as an augmentation to human physician judgment.

A cardiovascular group employed current AI technology to detect abnormalities across common diagnostic tests, leading to fewer errors in diagnosis, and improved patient outcomes.

An orthopedic group used AI to identify hard-to-spot fractures and soft tissue injuries that can lead to a lifetime of chronic pain for patients. The technology allowed them to detect injuries with greater accuracy and to spot them earlier when minimal intervention could eliminate the potential for a lifetime of reduced mobility and declining health.

A neurology clinic utilized current artificial technology to identify new biomarkers that allowed for earlier detection of neurological diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Manual tests for this disease are costly and time-consuming. AI was able to pinpoint which patients would benefit from the testing and when other possible causes of symptoms needed to be explored first, significantly cutting costs and hours worked per patient while improving patient outcomes.

Integrating AI Technology

Artificial intelligence is getting more affordable and accessible. Early adopters will be able to establish themselves as the innovators in the industry through this technology. Given this technology’s potential, As more organizations invest, we’ll continue to see better patient outcomes and a healthier overall system where results-based pay systems truly work in the favor of both healthcare organizations and patients.

June 26, 2019

Google Trips vs. TripIt

Have you been searching for a better way to organize your travel plans, reservations, and itineraries? You’re tired of looking through your email for separate flight, hotel, and car reservations and want a central place where you can instantly access all the information. A smartphone travel app is a convenient and efficient way you can get organized, find nearby attractions, and find suggestions of things to see based on your destination. However, you’re also wondering which app you will get the most use out of and which one will prove to be the most reliable. Google Trips and TripIt are two popular travel apps that allow you to plan ahead and access all of the information you need in one place. Before you decide which app is best for you, you’ll want to ask yourself a few questions.

Things You Need to Consider

Similar to other Google services and apps, Google Trips works with an existing Gmail account. If you already have a Gmail account or are planning on signing up for one, Google Trips will automatically gather your travel itineraries and reservation confirmations from your email’s inbox. TripIt offers both a free and paid version of the app, but you will need to forward your reservation emails to the app so it can add them. You can also manually add in the information to either app, but if you prefer the convenience of an app being able to automatically sync your data, Google Trips will be a better fit.

If you’re a fan of alerts and reminders, you can enable several different types of alerts within TripIt. Do you need reminders of when to check in for your flight, when you can check into your hotel room, and when to pick up your rental car? TripIt can remind you of all of these and keep your trip on schedule. The app will even alert you to any flight status changes and prompt you when it’s time to leave for the airport. TripIt’s notifications can also let you know when you’ve shared the details of your trip with others and when you’ve received new reservations in your email.

Google Trips has an offline mode you can use to access your trip’s information even when you’re not able to connect to Wi-Fi or a wireless carrier’s network. If you’re traveling to a remote area or a destination with unreliable cell service, you can still pull up details about your destination. The app integrates with Google Maps and individual contributors’ information about tourist attractions, restaurants, shopping, transportation, historical sites, and local parks. You can gather information about available discounts on dining, tours, events, and transportation using the app’s discount tab. You can also organize places or sites you would like to visit using Google Trip’s saved places feature.

Availability and Advantages

Whether you have an Android or an iPhone, you can use either app. Both Google Trip and TripIt are available for both types of phones. You can download and install the apps from the Google Play Store or Apple’s App Store. If you want to try both apps out to see which one you like the best, you can. Both of them will work without causing any compatability issues.

While you will find Google Trip easier to use and more of a personalized destination guidebook, TripIt’s robust itinerary features will let you add other travelers to your trip. These travelers can offer suggestions and make edits, which is helpful if you’re traveling in pairs or with a group. Google Trip offers a streamlined experience, but TripIt offers added customization tools. Both apps offer you a way to organize and keep track of your travel plans, without having to dig through multiple reservation details and manually map out your departures and arrivals. You can try each one without any commitment or risk.

June 25, 2019

Should Your Business Outsource IT Operations?

There never seem to be enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished, and that goes double for small business owners. When you’re top dog in charge, every small problem or frustration heads your way. Technology support is one of the key complaints from staff members, especially when there are problems with slow network connections or aging computers. You need your staff members to be contributing 110% every day, and that goes for your network infrastructure as well. If you’re struggling with finding the time to respond to dozens of IT challenges while also driving your business forward, it may be time to consider outsourcing your IT operations so your internal teams can focus on the future.

Predictability in Pricing

Whether your business is running on a shoestring or you have a healthy budget, it is tough to get hit with an unexpected bill that can reach tens of thousands of dollars. If your business experiences any type of disaster event that affects your technology, the cost to get everything back up and running can be staggering. The word “disaster” makes you think of something that won’t happen to you, but the reality of technology disasters is much different. Malware and ransomware are rampant in small businesses, with approximately 60% of all data breaches occurring in a small business. When you work with an IT managed services provider, you have an added layer of support for your team that is priced consistently throughout the year. Plus, you have the peace of mind knowing that you have experts that are an extension of your business who already understand your infrastructure — a great step towards being able to rebuild it successfully.

Reducing Overhead — and Improving Quality of Service

Technology is extremely complex and hiring all of the specialists that you truly need to run a complex business would be exorbitantly expensive. With outsourced IT operations, your staff has a platform of consistent support that they can trust to always be there when they are needed. Response times are guaranteed so staff members can focus on doing their job instead of stressing about whether their technology is working properly or quickly enough for their needs. An added benefit is the access to a stable of trained professionals with a broad range of technical knowledge in fields such as cybersecurity, network engineering, customer support, data utilization and more.

Scale Your Business With Ease

Growing your business technology used to be expensive and stressful: how can you make a major purchase of hardware and software based on the scale you think your business will be for the next few years? If you’re in an active growth stage, a poor decision could be disastrous. Either you end up with inadequate hardware that won’t support your business, or you overspend and have crucial capital reserves tied up in resources that aren’t being fully utilized. With IT managed services, scaling your business couldn’t be easier. Bringing a new server online is no longer a tortuous process of weeks, but can be accomplished very quickly by your external support team. Adding software licenses and data storage capacity is also easier, allowing you to focus on growing your business and providing exceptional service to your customers.

Enterprise-Level Technology — Sized for Your Business

It would be difficult for a small business to afford to implement the same type of advanced help desk software, cloud-based software and security measures that you would receive as a client of a managed IT services company. IT support companies are able to afford enterprise-level technology as they are spreading the costs between a variety of clients. You benefit from the advanced tech at only a fraction of the price. Your help desk support requests become more predictable and your business becomes more secure — all while you’re gaining the benefits of an enhanced network infrastructure to power your business.

Outsourcing your IT operations may not be for every business, but the majority of small businesses can see a significant benefit by reducing the burden on internal technology professionals. As an added bonus, the active monitoring provided by IT support specialists can help ensure that your business is protected from cyberattack, with quick remediation and support if you do experience an attack. Accelerate your business growth and support the innovative ideas of your teams when you rely on trusted, experienced technology professionals to provide support for your business.

June 25, 2019

How To Remove Microsoft Office Metadata?

This article covers the definition of metadata and how to view, manage and delete it in Microsoft applications.

What is Metadata?

Metadata is information about your data. It contains facts that can’t be disputed, the same way data does.

Here is an example from Microsoft Word. Let’s say you’re writing a letter to a co-worker. The letter consists of characters that form words and sentences. To the computer, this is translated as a series of ones and zeroes that make up the data associated with your letter. Other information about the letter includes when it was typed, who wrote it, when it was saved, and what version of Word you used. These facts are metadata.

How Can You View Office Metadata in the File?

You can view the metadata associated with your Excel, Word and PowerPoint files. (Metadata for Outlook email is more complicated and isn’t covered here.)

Open the workbook, document or presentation you wish to check.
Click on the File menu in the top-left of the screen.
On the Info screen, you’ll see the Pages, Size, Total Editing Time, Words, Created, Last Modified, and Related People options.
At the bottom of the list, click Show All Properties for more information.

NOTE: Look at the Template data. Keep in mind that a template with your name or company name can be used to trace the file back to you.

How Can You View Office Metadata in Windows Explorer?

You don’t have to open the file to view the metadata. Here’s how to view it in Windows Explorer:

Open Windows Explorer and go to your saved file.
Right-click on for filename or icon and click Properties.
Click on the Details tab of the Properties window. The metadata appears in a list.

What’s the Best Way to View Metadata for All Your Microsoft Files?

You can use Extensible Markup Language (XML) to view the metadata for all your presentations, documents and workbooks. XML is used to store metadata in computing, including Microsoft Office files.

Let’s use a Word document as an example of how to use XML to view metadata:

In Windows Explorer, go to your saved file.
Make a copy to protect the original file.
Select the copied and either click the F2 button or right-click to select Rename.
Change the file extension to .zip. (NOTE: Each Office filetype ending in x contains compressed XML documents.) Click Yes on the warning that appears.
Right-click the file to choose Extract All…
You will be asked where to save the extracted files and whether to show them when finished. Leave the default values and click Extract.
The extraction produces three folders as well as an XML file. You can examine the files to view the stored information. When you double-click an XML file, it usually opens in Internet Explorer.
You should be able to piece together what the information means. These XML files may include your name: core.xml under the docProps folder, and document.xml and people.xml in the word folder.

How Can You Delete Metadata from Microsoft Files?

Here are the steps to follow to delete your information from these files in Excel, Word or PowerPoint:

Click on the File menu in the top-left corner.
On the Info page, select Check for Issues near the middle of the page.
Select Inspect Document and the Document Inspector opens.
Ensure that all the Document Inspector checkboxes are checked, then select the Inspect button.
Once the Document Inspector finishes, you can see the information it found. If you see a green checkmark in a circle, it found no data for that category. A red exclamation mark indicates it found data of that type.
There’s a Remove All button next to the data type’s description. Click it to remove all data of a certain type. Scroll down to ensure you clear all the desired data.
To double-check, click the Reinspect button to see if you missed anything.
Save your document so that the data isn’t re-entered.

What are the Steps to Ensure the Metadata was Deleted?

First, repeat the steps under “How Can You View Office Metadata in the File?” When you inspect the document.xml, people.xml and core.xml files, there shouldn’t be any personal data. Change the extension from .zip to .docx, to open the file in Word.

How Can You Delete Metadata using Windows Explorer?

This method strips metadata from several files at the same time.

Open Windows Explorer and go to the file with the metadata you want to take out. Right-click it to select Properties.
Under Properties, click the Details tab then select both Remove Properties and Personal Information.
There are two ways to remove information. Remove the metadata from the original file or a copy.

How Do I Remove Metadata from Original File?

Select Remove the following properties from this file:
Check the boxes you want to remove or choose Select All button.
Click OK.

Can You Make a Copy with No Metadata?

This makes a copy of your file with the “Copy” appended to the filename. This copy will have no associated metadata.

Under the Remove Properties window, click Create a copy with all possible properties removed
Click OK.
Compare the properties of the original and copy to view the changes.

Are You in the Clear Now?

What you do next with the document determines whether your metadata stays gone. Digital processing, such as emailing it, may add metadata. The best option is to print and mail the document to avoid add metadata that could be traced back to you.

June 24, 2019

What Role Does The CFO Play In Digital Transformation?

While technology teams are often found reporting to the CFO, that role may not be the first one that comes to mind when you’re discussing digital business transformation. There may be a perception that CFOs are the ones requiring justification for expenses instead of the leaders who are dreaming the big dreams required to fundamentally remake the business. Today’s CFOs are stretching in new directions as their role evolves to be a more visible part of process growth, technology and visioning for the future. With the massive investments that are required to implement new technology solutions, a critical success factor for these projects is to have the full buy-in of finance — and the layer of accountability for results that comes as part and parcel of a CFOs tight involvement in these initiatives.

Businesses Are Spending $6 Trillion on Digital Transformation

That’s right — trillions of dollars are being leveraged to drive digital initiatives from artificial intelligence to IoT (Internet of Things) and augmented reality. The costs of hardware and storage may be negligible, but the never-ending changes to software platforms drive a significant portion of the costs associated with major change. This puts technology leaders in a tenuous position in terms of justifying the spend because these are sunk costs from the perspective of the CFO. Deriving ongoing value from an asset can be challenging when it’s likely to be deprecated in only a few years and has negligible resale value.

Data is a Vital Strategic Asset — and a Risk

The capture and storage of customer data is no longer the realm of marketing folk, as technology leaders and finance professionals alike are scratching their heads in an attempt to keep up with morphing regulations and cybersecurity challenges. Consolidation information into centralized databases is more crucial than ever before due to the shifting climate around privacy regulations in the U.S. and abroad. Leveraging this data to drive advanced personalization can become the competitive advantage that businesses need, but it doesn’t come cheap — or quickly. CFOs are a needed point person between financial activities, the data flowing throughout the organization and are also able to keep their fingers on the pulse of the operational needs of the organization.

Providing Operational Support for Key Digital Initiatives

CFOs can help step in on projects that are floundering and push teams to define core deliverables and stick to the solutions that have the greatest promise for the future. As the head of finance, it’s imperative that CFOs have a handle on where and how data is stored or the organization risks excessive fines and public exposure in the event of a cyber attack or even loss of data access due to a disaster event. In this new and expanding role, CFOs are best able to align the strategic initiatives of the organization with the funding required to drive them forward.

CFOs Taking the Lead in Digital Business

According to McKinsey, CFOs are increasingly pushed to the forefront of digital finance initiatives but are often still struggling to find how they can effectively work with other executives to drive transformative activities. Digitization in finance is a growing trend and one that is being actively embraced by leadership and staff members alike due to the added efficiencies that can be realized with solid technology implementations. Unfortunately, it’s just as easy to have a miss as a home run when it comes to digital finance operations — requiring a strong partnership between technology leaders and financial executives to determine where the priorities should lie for business transformation.

Whether or not they are leading digital transformation within the business, CFOs are feeling the disruption that is rippling throughout the organization with the introduction of new technologies and business requirements. “Digital technology is disrupting the role of the CFO. It is fundamentally changing the way organizations approach finances and how they interact with customers,” explained David Axson, managing director at Accenture Strategy. With all of the focus on digital transformation of the business, CFOs will have more than their share of challenges over the next decade.

June 24, 2019

What Is Managed IT Services & Who Provides Services

Managed IT Services

As managed IT services have grown in popularity, you’ve probably heard the concept touted often as the answer to your business’s IT woes. Still, there can be plenty of mystery on the topic. What is managed IT services, exactly? How do organizations integrate managed IT services into their existing business and workflows? Also, who provides these services? In today’s business blog we’ll answer these questions and more.

What Is Managed IT Services Exactly?

Managed IT services is a broad term describing any scenario in which a company (that’s you) partners with a vendor, called a managed service provider (or MSP), to handle some or all IT responsibilities for the company.

The exact services that MPSs offer range pretty widely. Companies, too, vary widely in terms of their IT infrastructure and needs, as well as exactly which IT responsibilities they choose to outsource to an MSP. Some firms may contract with an MSP to handle absolutely everything about their IT infrastructure. More commonly, companies will outsource only certain portions of their IT workload.

It’s a little easier to understand the concept of managed IT services by looking at some examples of how they are currently being used in several types of organizations.

How Do Organizations Utilize Managed IT Services?

Businesses implement managed IT services in a whole host of ways. Here are a few examples.

Some companies look to a managed service provider to handle all or nearly all its IT needs. Growing small businesses, for example, may not have much (or any) in-house IT presence. They need capabilities that they don’t have, and they find it simpler and more affordable to contract with an MSP than to build out their own in-house IT team.

On the other end of the spectrum, a medium or large business with an established in-house IT team might look to a managed service provider to alleviate some stress on that team. A larger firm might outsource helpdesk-level support, for example. In doing so, the company would empower its in-house team. Free from the distractions of troubleshooting workstations and managing software installs, the in-house IT specialists can focus their attention on the higher-level tasks they were hired to do.

Businesses of any size can also look to an MSP to fill a specialized need. Some areas of IT have unpredictable costs, and others are simply cost-prohibitive for many smaller businesses to build on their own. Some areas can be difficult to hire for, too. Examples of specialized needs that can be met through managed IT services include cyber security, information security and compliance, and cloud services.

What Are Reasons to Choose a Managed Service Provider (MSP)?

Businesses who have embraced the managed IT services model do so for a wide variety of reasons. Some are unique to specific industries, but many are universal. Here are a few reasons it likely makes sense for your business to choose a managed service provider for your managed IT services needs.

Scaling for Growth

Scaling your IT infrastructure has real costs when you do it in house. You need additional equipment, additional floor space to house the equipment, and additional personnel to install, run, and monitor the equipment. Managed service providers, on the other hand, already have the equipment. They’re running servers for dozens of businesses, so they have automatic capacity when you need more. They can leverage the economy of scale in a way you can’t.

Growth isn’t just measured in headcount, either. Device count continues to increase, too. Employees expect to be able to interact with systems using their work computer, laptop, tablet, and phone—both on site and off. Your in-house team doesn’t have the time to support all these device issues. A managed service provider does.

The Talent Gap Is Real

If you have an in-house team, are you having trouble keeping it fully staffed with well qualified people? You’re not alone. One reason is that the US has reached full employment, making domestic hiring more difficult than ever before.

Another more serious reason is the digital talent gap. In 2017 (that’s before we reached full employment), 54% of companies were having difficulty finding workers with the right digital skills. It’s not gotten better.

Fill your business’s talent gap by partnering with an MSP. The right MSP will have the specialties you’re missing and will be able to work in harmony with your in-house team.

IT Managed Services

Who Provides Managed IT Services?

If your business is looking into working with a managed service provider, you may be asking who provides managed IT services. The good news is you have plenty of options. There are quite a few local providers offering managed IT services in every metropolitan area, and there are a few global players as well. We’ll get to that distinction, but first, a word on services offered and specialization.

Services Offered and Specialization

The first question businesses should ask is whether an MSP offers the services they need. Not every MSP has exactly the same offerings or experience, so don’t be afraid to ask pointed questions. Don’t just ask whether they offer a given service; ask how many clients they’ve served with it.

Some industries, like healthcare or finance, have developed specialized IT needs. Accordingly, some MSPs specialize in specific industries or technologies. In short, look for niche players if you’re in a niche industry.

Local vs. Global MSPs

Choosing a local firm means getting local, boots-on-the-ground support. The best local firms offer a wide spectrum of services, including extended hours, and have the infrastructure and personnel depth you need. You’ll get individualized attention and you’ll support your local economy.

Choosing a global firm like Amazon’s AWS gives you access to more raw power and, often, innovative technology others can’t match. Customer service, on the other hand, can be a bit impersonal, and fixing on-site problems can take time.

Conclusion

If you’re looking for a quality local managed services provider, we’re here for you. Contact us today to get started.

June 24, 2019

How To Use Incognito Mode To Privately Watch YouTube Video

When it comes to watching videos online, no name comes to mind more often than YouTube. They host nearly 2 billion users each month. 60% of people now prefer watching YouTube to watching TV. 80% of people under 49 are watching videos on YouTube.

It’s popular. We get it. Everyone is on it. And there’s a huge variety of content from funny cat videos to videogame walkthroughs to guided meditation. And the fact is that regardless of whether or not you have any reason to hide what you’re watching, it’s no one’s business what you watch on YouTube as long as it’s not illegal. And even that can be a gray area.

Despite this fact, you should know that everything you do on YouTube is very carefully monitored by the company. And you have to ask yourself, just how many of your personal preferences does YouTube have a right to? According to the privacy policy, they have a right to everything. But you do have the option to go incognito. And we’ll show you how.

But first, what does YouTube do with your viewing history?

A.I., Automation & Analytics

YouTube is owned by Google, one of the biggest and most powerful tech companies in the world. Through Google’s many tech assets, they can gather endless amounts of data about you. While we don’t believe Google has any nefarious intentions for this data, we do know that Google puts this data to work to expand the empire they’ve built, primarily by enhancing their ad platform.

In a practical sense, they use this data to learn about individual and demographic behavior. What ads do you click? What makes you click? How long do you watch videos? What do you watch? All of this information helps a company like Google show you more relevant and targeted ads that may be hard not to click because they’ve been engineered with such precision.

Modern analytics allows Google to glean endless amounts of data and aggregate it into a useable form. Using artificial intelligence (A.I.), they can automate this entire process. Each time you visit, it learns something new and continually adjusts the algorithm to deliver more targeted ads.

In YouTube specifically, they can also use viewing data to make relevant recommendations to you.

This technology is actually great. It has opened the doors for personalization and relevancy in advertising that can’t otherwise be achieved. And people love that. 57% of people say they’re willing to share more data for a more personalized experience. But you have a right to control this flow of information.

How to Set up Incognito in YouTube

These instructions are the same whether you’re on Apple or Android. In order for this to work, you do need to log into your YouTube account. And before we go any further, let’s get one misunderstanding out of the way. Just because you don’t log in doesn’t mean they don’t track you. They put cookies on your device to track every visitor.

Follow these steps.

Open the YouTube app.
Tap the profile icon
Tap “turn on incognito”.
Check to see that your profile icon is replaced with the “incognito symbol” to know you can privately watch YouTube videos.
Whenever you go into YouTube, check for this icon first to know that it’s active.
When you finish private viewing, we recommend that you turn this feature off.
Tap the profile icon again.
“Turn off incognito”.
YouTube is again tracking what you do.
Switch back and forth, as needed. It’s so easy to do so.

But you may still have a pressing question. We’d like to address it.

Why Would You Want YouTube to Track You?

Personalization is pretty cool. YouTube can very quickly figure you out and recommend things that you weren’t even thinking to search for but would love to view. YouTube’s personalization is kind of like having your own personal assistant that knows you so well that they can always recommend the perfect thing.

Sometimes that you might want to consider privately watching include:

If you’re viewing something somewhat embarrassing. Seriously, it’s no one’s business.
If you want to view something without seeing ads for it later.
If you’re letting your child, spouse, etc. watch on your account. This way they don’t see recommendations intended for you, which may not be appropriate. And their viewing on your account doesn’t mess with the algorithm. Otherwise, YouTube is recommending children’s cartoons for a month after you let your 4-year-old use your phone.

Remember, You Have the Power

Yes, YouTube and their parent company Google are collecting a lot of data about you. They use this data to enhance your online experience. And most of the time, personalization is awesome. But you may not always want this data collected. And you have the power to say when you’d prefer not to share. Use incognito to watch YouTube videos privately when you want to and turn it back off to get the best recommendations.