Introduction
In today’s digital world, businesses are increasingly reliant on technology to carry out their day-to-day operations. From managing customer data to internal communication, businesses need a reliable and efficient IT infrastructure to succeed. However, managing IT infrastructure can be a challenging task, particularly for small to medium-sized businesses that lack the resources and expertise to handle their IT needs in-house. This is where co-managed IT services come in. In this blog, we will discuss what co-managed IT means, the benefits it offers, and the challenges it can solve.
What is Co-Managed IT?
Co-managed IT services involve the collaboration between an internal IT team and an external managed service provider (MSP) to manage a business’s IT infrastructure. In this model, the internal team retains control over the day-to-day management of the IT infrastructure, while the MSP provides support and expertise for specific IT areas, such as cybersecurity or network management.
Co-managed IT services differ from other IT management models such as fully outsourced IT and in-house IT management. In fully outsourced IT, all IT management responsibilities are handed over to the MSP, while in-house IT management involves managing all IT needs internally. Co-managed offers a middle ground, where businesses can benefit from external expertise and support while retaining control over their IT infrastructure.
The Benefits of Co-Managed IT
Co-managed IT services offer several benefits to businesses. Here are some of the benefits to consider:
Increased Productivity
With co-managed IT services, businesses can focus on their core operations, while the MSP handles IT management. This allows businesses to increase their productivity, as they can dedicate more time to their core activities.
Cost-effectiveness
These services offer cost savings compared to fully outsourced IT. Since businesses retain control over their IT infrastructure, they can allocate resources effectively and avoid unnecessary expenses.
Better IT Infrastructure Management
Co-managed IT gives businesses a dedicated team to help manage their IT infrastructure. This ensures that the IT infrastructure is well-maintained and updated, reducing downtime and improving overall efficiency.
Access to a Team of Experts
Co-managed IT services provide businesses with access to a team of experts with diverse skill sets. This allows businesses to benefit from the expertise of professionals who specialize in specific IT areas, such as cyber security or network management.
Scalability
Co-managed IT services can be scaled up or down based on the business’s IT needs. This ensures that businesses are not paying for services they do not require, and can easily access additional support as needed.
Co-Managed IT Services: Solving Common IT Challenges
Internal Team Workload Strain
In-house IT teams can be overwhelmed with IT management responsibilities, particularly in fast-paced and dynamic business environments. Co-managed IT services can alleviate the workload by providing support for specific IT areas, allowing internal teams to focus on their core activities.
Rapid Growth of Business
As businesses grow, their IT needs become more complex. Co-managed IT services can help manage the increased IT demands by providing additional support and expertise as required.
Neglect of Day-to-Day or Big Projects
Businesses may find it challenging to balance their day-to-day IT management responsibilities with big projects such as system upgrades or software implementations. Co-managed IT services can help manage both day-to-day operations and big projects, ensuring that IT management responsibilities do not get neglected.
Need for Support with Specific IT Areas
Businesses may require support for specific IT areas, such as cybersecurity or network management, but may not have the expertise in-house. Co-managed services can provide access to experts with specialized skills and knowledge, ensuring that businesses receive the support they need.
Conclusion
Co-managed IT services offer a flexible and cost-effective solution for businesses looking to manage their IT infrastructure effectively. By collaborating with an MSP, businesses can benefit from external expertise and support while retaining control over their IT infrastructure. Co-managed IT services can help businesses overcome several IT-related challenges, including internal team workload strain, rapid growth of business, neglect of day-to-day or big projects, and the need for support with specific IT areas. If you’re looking for a way to manage your IT infrastructure effectively, co-managed IT services may be the solution you’ve been looking for.
Introduction
As more and more businesses are moving their operations to the cloud, it’s important to have a reliable backup solution in place. Microsoft 365 is a popular choice for businesses, but many people assume that their data is automatically backed up just because it’s in the cloud, when in fact it isn’t. A Microsoft 365 backup solution can provide many benefits for your business, in this blog post, we’ll explore five reasons why your business needs a Microsoft 365 Backup Solution.
Protection from data loss and corruption
One of the most important reasons to have a Microsoft 365 backup solution is to protect your business from data loss and corruption. Data loss can occur due to a variety of reasons such as hardware failure, human error, and cyber attacks. Having a backup solution in place can ensure that your business can quickly recover from data loss, minimizing the impact on your operations.
Compliance and regulatory requirements
Many businesses are subject to compliance and regulatory requirements that mandate the need for data backups. A Microsoft 365 backup solution can help your business meet these requirements, as well as providing an added layer of security.
Protection from Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts your data, making it inaccessible. The attackers then demand a ransom to decrypt the data. With a Microsoft 365 backup solution in place, you can ensure that you have a recent and clean backup of your data that can be used to restore your systems and data, even in the event of a ransomware attack.
Better disaster recovery options
Disasters can occur at any time, and they can have a significant impact on your business. A Microsoft 365 backup solution can help your business quickly recover from disasters such as natural disasters, power outages, and cyber attacks. This can help minimize the impact on your operations and get your business back to normal as quickly as possible.
Cost-effectiveness
Microsoft 365 backup solutions are often more cost-effective than traditional backup solutions, as they are delivered as a service and are typically charged on a subscription basis. This eliminates the need to purchase and maintain hardware, which can save a business a significant amount of money in the long run.
How Microsoft 365 Backup works at Emerge Digital
We can provide you with a backup solution that includes infinite retention and recovery points, enabling us to recover data as far back as is needed. Our service is fast and effective, backed up 3 times a day and is billed per user, with new users automatically added to the backups whenever they’re created. The whole backup process is automated, but backups can be manually triggered if needed. If you need to restore, there is a minimum Recovery Time Objective (RTO) in place, which helps to keep your operations running with minimal disruption.
Introduction
In today’s fast-paced business world, communication and collaboration are more important than ever. That’s why Microsoft Teams has quickly become one of the most popular business communication tools on the market. With a wide range of features, Teams makes it easy for businesses to stay connected and work together effectively.
In this blog, we’re going to take a look at 9 Microsoft Teams features that you need to be using.
Transcription
One of the most useful features of Microsoft Teams is the real-time, automatic transcription of calls and meetings. This feature makes it easy for users to follow along with what’s being said during a call or meeting, even if they’re not able to be there in person. Plus, transcriptions are available after the call or meeting, so users can easily refer back to them later.
Delivery Options
Another great feature of Microsoft Teams is the ability to mark chat messages as Urgent or Important. This is particularly useful when you need to ensure that people respond quickly to important questions. By marking a message as Urgent, it will push a reminder to the recipient, ensuring that they don’t miss it.
Bookmarking
Another great feature of Teams is the ability to bookmark certain messages. This makes it easy for users to quickly find important information again in the future. This feature is particularly useful when working on large projects or dealing with a lot of information.
Notifications
Microsoft Teams also offers customised notification settings, which makes it easy for users to minimise distractions and ensure that they don’t miss out on anything important. Users can choose to receive notifications for specific chats or channels, or turn off notifications entirely if they need to focus on a specific task.
Guest Access
Microsoft Teams also offers the ability to have chats and channels shared with people outside of your business. This feature is particularly useful for businesses that work closely with suppliers, as it allows them to easily collaborate and share information.
Live Events
Another great feature of Microsoft Teams is the ability to use it as a webinar platform. With a signup page, Q&A, and attendee report, Live Events are perfect for your next webinar. This feature eliminates the need to pay to use another service like Zoom, and it’s integrated seamlessly into Teams.
Branded Pre-Join Experience & Lobby
This feature has been released as part of Microsoft’s new Teams Premium license. Anyone joining Teams calls and meetings, both inside and outside your organisation, will enter the call through branded pre-join and lobby screens. You’re able to customise the colour scheme, change the background, and add a logo to the screen, letting your brand shine through in meetings. Here’s a preview of ours:
Intelligent Recap
Another feature included in the Teams Premium license, Intelligent Recap is powered by OpenAI’s GPT technology. It provides you with automatically generated meeting notes, suggested tasks, and personalised highlights to help you recap on meetings quickly and effectively. AI-generated chapters split the meeting recording into different sections, based on PowerPoint Live (where you can present a PowerPoint from directly inside Teams) and the meeting transcript.
Mesh for Microsoft Teams
This feature hasn’t been released yet, but it is a game-changer for Teams. Mesh for Teams allows you to have an avatar of yourself on the screen, without having your camera on. You can control your avatar so it waves, cheers, and gives a thumbs up whenever you like. Plus, the avatar’s mouth movements sync with your speech. This feature is perfect for when someone is ill or isn’t in a position to put their camera on.
Mesh for Teams also allows you to join virtual and mixed reality meetings with your avatar with headsets like the Microsoft HoloLens and the Meta Quest 2.
How Emerge Digital Can Help
All of these features make small improvements to the way you work, but when combined, they can make a significant impact on your productivity and communication. If you have any questions about Microsoft Teams or need some advice on using these features, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
We offer training and enablement sessions on Microsoft Teams, so your staff can learn the most effective ways to make Teams, making the most of the technology you already have to boost productivity and efficiency.
Introduction
Microsoft Teams is a powerful collaboration platform that is widely used by businesses of all sizes. However, many users may not be aware of all the useful apps that are available within Teams. In this blog post, we will discuss the top five useful Teams apps that you probably don’t use but should.
Top Five Useful Teams Apps
Approvals app
One of the most useful Teams apps is Approvals. This app allows users to create and manage approval workflows directly within Teams. It allows users to assign tasks to specific team members, set deadlines, and track the progress of the approvals. This app can help businesses streamline their approval process and make it more efficient.
Forms app
The Forms app allows users to create and share surveys, quizzes, and polls directly within Teams. It allows teams to easily gather feedback and insights from their colleagues and customers. This app can help businesses make data-driven decisions and improve their processes.
Tasks app
The Tasks app allows users to create and manage tasks directly within Teams. It allows teams to easily assign and track tasks, set deadlines, and collaborate on projects. This app can help businesses increase productivity and ensure that tasks are completed on time, making it a really useful Teams app.
Shifts app
The Shifts app allows users to create and manage team schedules directly within Teams. It allows teams to easily assign shifts, track time off, and communicate about shift changes. This app can help businesses better manage their resources and ensure that shifts are covered.
Viva Insights app
Viva Insights is a new app that provides personalized insights and coaching to help users be more productive and effective in their work. It can help users to stay focused, prioritize their tasks, and collaborate better with their team. This app can help businesses to improve their employee’s productivity and work-life balance.
How to access these useful Teams apps
To access these useful Teams apps – and discover even more – simply visit the Apps showcase on Teams. Click the icon on the left sidebar, search for the app you want, and choose to add to a chat, channel, or meeting.
In conclusion, Microsoft Teams is a powerful platform that offers many useful apps to help businesses increase productivity, efficiency, and collaboration. By using the useful Teams apps discussed in this blog post, businesses can streamline their processes, make better decisions, and improve their employees’ productivity. If you’re interested in learning more about how to better utilise Microsoft Teams, please get in touch with us. We can provide training and support to help your team make the most of this powerful collaboration platform.
What is a backup internet connection?
A backup internet connection is exactly what the term implies: a secondary or ‘backup’ connection in addition to your primary one or, in other words, the one you mostly use. Naturally, this backup connection is not being used or utilised regularly for business and may seem impractical or even unnecessary at first.
However, the internet relates to the very core of nearly every business, and any kind of connection can prove to be very costly. This is where an ‘internet failover solution’ or backup internet connection for business really comes into its own, allowing businesses to smoothly carry on with their day-to-day activities.
Why businesses need a backup internet connection
Having a backup internet connection, such as a 5G failover or a 4G failover, helps in business continuity even if circumstances do not allow it – for example, during network maintenance or an internet outage. When you need to transfer sensitive data or download/upload something that directly impacts your business operations, you definitely don’t want to get caught out with no internet connection.
So, if an internet issue ever occurs, which in itself is unpredictable and uncertain by nature, you will already have a backup internet connection for business available to carry on with your operations and also rectify the problem with your primary connection, in the meantime.
Types of internet failover solutions
4G Failover
A 4G failover connection is essentially wireless internet backup utilising 4G LTE bandwidth. A reliable 4G LTE wireless network can provide thousands to millions of square miles of coverage – the moment an outage is detected, your business network will automatically switch over to the 4G connection.
5G Failover
5G failover will automatically switch all your connected devices to the latest 5G bandwidth, giving you 100% reliable and super-fast access to the internet. It’s easily the best way to maintain connectivity with your data and tools using a high-speed channel while driving business efficiency forward.
Secondary Broadband Connection
Another type of internet failover solution is a secondary fixed line broadband connection. If your primary internet connection is something like a fibre leased line, you may choose to increase your resilience with a backup SoGEA broadband line.
What kind of internet failover solution is right for me?
No matter which kind of internet failover solution you end up choosing, it should have the following components at the very least:
· Primary internet connection and backup internet connection
· 24/7 dedicated support
· Multiple options (such as 4G, 5G or DSL) to suit your budget
Emerge Digital offers industry-leading connectivity solutions, including 4G/5G connectivity, backup internet connections, leased lines, cloud telephony, and Microsoft Teams Phone.
No matter what kind of connectivity and backup internet connection for business you require, our team will sit down with you – to understand your data demands, your main business objectives, and the level of internet failover solution that’s needed according to your business structure, budget, day-to-day demands and more.
Contact us now for a free initial consultation.
