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Is Microsoft Teams or Google Meet better for your business?Today, there’s no shortage of online communication tools for businesses to choose from, but Microsoft Teams and Google Meet are the clear winners in terms of functionality and ease of use. Choosing between the two platforms can be a challenge, as both offer a robust set of features that make business communications more efficient and […]

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Is Microsoft Teams or Google Meet better for your business?

Today, there’s no shortage of online communication tools for businesses to choose from, but Microsoft Teams and Google Meet are the clear winners in terms of functionality and ease of use. Choosing between the two platforms can be a challenge, as both offer a robust set of features that make business communications more efficient and convenient. Let’s take a look at their features to help you decide.

Calling features

Both Microsoft Teams and Google Meet offer enterprise-grade security, HD-quality video, and screen sharing capabilities, but there are some slight differences.

In the free version of Teams, there is no limit to the number of people who can use the chat and document collaboration functions. However, for audio and video calls, the limit is 100 users. Group meetings are also limited to 60 minutes per session.

The paid version of Teams, on the other hand, supports up to 300 participants per meeting, and offers meeting and group call recording capabilities. It even has captions and transcription features, as well as an inline message translation feature that automatically translates messages into the language specified in a user’s settings.

Google Meet’s free version also supports up to 100 participants in a video call. Additionally, it has intelligent built-in features like muting, live closed captions, screen sharing, and auto screen focus, which automatically switches the screen to the person who is currently talking.

Users of the paid version can join meetings even without an internet connection through unique dial-in phone numbers. Other features available in the paid version include breakout rooms, polls, Q&A, and meeting recording.

Integrations and add-ons

Microsoft Teams is, first and foremost, a unified tool that allows users to communicate and collaborate on a single platform. It enables content collaboration on Microsoft 365 apps (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel) and easily integrates with hundreds of other productivity and collaboration platforms.

On the other hand, for as low as $6 per user per month, your organization can get access to Meet along with all the other powerful Google business apps and tools.

Pricing

Both Microsoft Teams and Google Meet have free versions, albeit with limited features.

Microsoft Teams’ most affordable subscription is $4 per user per month, and an additional $4 per user is needed for the call-in capabilities. Adding webinar features will also cost users extra.

Meanwhile, users with personal Gmail accounts can use Google Meet for free, but with limited capabilities. A subscription that starts at $6 per month per user, however, allows users to get Meet along with all the other powerful Google business apps and tools.

Which one is best for you?

Now that you know the similarities and differences between the two platforms, it should be easy for you to decide which suits your business the best. Google Meet is designed for startups and small companies that need a low-cost communications solution, while Microsoft Teams, with its robust features, is suitable for small and large businesses alike.

If you’re still unsure about either product, you can opt for a free trial to help you arrive at a decision. Or you can get in touch with our team of experts today. We’ll be more than happy to help you pick the right video conferencing or VoIP solution for your organization.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Nifty Gmail hacks to boost your productivityGmail is the most popular email service today, and with good reason. It has one of the most customizable interfaces and a trove of time-saving and productivity-enhancing features. There’s plenty you can do to optimize your Gmail inbox; here are a few of them. Undo Send In the fast-paced world of business, mistakes happen. And […]

The post Nifty Gmail hacks to boost your productivity appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Nifty Gmail hacks to boost your productivity

Gmail is the most popular email service today, and with good reason. It has one of the most customizable interfaces and a trove of time-saving and productivity-enhancing features. There’s plenty you can do to optimize your Gmail inbox; here are a few of them.

Undo Send

In the fast-paced world of business, mistakes happen. And because everybody deserves a second chance at writing that email, Gmail has provided a way to recall sent emails — as long as you do it immediately after hitting Send.

To rescind your email, simply click on Undo or View Message > Undo beside the “Message Sent” prompt at the bottom left of your screen.

Gmail templates

Gmail templates, formerly known as canned responses, are pre-written email formats that you can use as is or as the starting point of a fresh email. These are great for regular messages that follow a specific template. Instead of writing the same lines of text over and over again, you can simply choose any of the customizable templates with a few clicks.

Make sure the feature is enabled by clicking on the gear icon at the top-right corner of the screen and then See all settings. Go to the Advanced tab, and select Enable in the Templates section before clicking the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Once this feature is enabled, you can access your Gmail templates by composing a new email and clicking Templates > Insert Template.

Send large attachments with Google Drive

Need to send a high-resolution RAW image to a client but Gmail’s attachment size restrictions won’t let you? You can simply upload your files to Google Drive and click on Share to get a sharing link you can send to your client or your boss.

Alternatively, you can click on the Google Drive icon at the bottom of your email composition window and choose the files you wish to send.

Turn on Priority Inbox

The Priority Inbox feature organizes your messages by importance using machine learning. You’ll be able to divide your inbox into five categories, where the messages will be displayed in the following order:

  1. Important and unread messages
  2. Starred messages
  3. [Customizable category]
  4. [Customizable category]
  5. Everything else

Enable advanced settings

Configuring Gmail’s Advanced Settings is an excellent way to increase email efficiency. Some of these features include Multiple Inboxes, Preview Pane, and custom keyboard shortcuts. Access them by going to Settings > See all settings > Advanced.

Spending the right amount of time with emails while managing other crucial business areas is a balancing act many business owners find difficult. If you have questions or need further assistance regarding Gmail or IT in general, feel free to contact us.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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What is single sign-on and what are its benefits?Secure logins are a necessity in business, but managing so many user credentials can get tedious. The good news is that you can simplify your organization’s login processes without compromising security by deploying single sign-on. What is single sign-on (SSO)? Single sign-on allows you to use one username and one password to provide secure access […]

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What is single sign-on and what are its benefits?

Secure logins are a necessity in business, but managing so many user credentials can get tedious. The good news is that you can simplify your organization’s login processes without compromising security by deploying single sign-on.

What is single sign-on (SSO)?

Single sign-on allows you to use one username and one password to provide secure access to multiple websites. If you’ve ever clicked “Continue with Google” on a non-Google website, you’ve already enjoyed the benefits of SSO. It’s faster, simpler, and more secure. With SSO, small businesses can accomplish the same level of efficiency between their employees and cloud platforms.

Instead of requiring in-office and remote workers to track separate accounts for Office 365, Slack, Trello, and other cloud apps your company uses, you can give them a single set of credentials and manage what they have access to remotely. All employees have to do is come enter their designated username and password, and they’re all set for the day.

Why is SSO more secure?

There are a number of ways to set up a small-business SSO solution, but most of them focus on removing login information from your servers. Usually, you’ll provide your employees’ logins to an SSO provider (sometimes referred to as an Identity-as-a-Service provider) and each employee will receive a single login paired with a secondary authentication — like a biometric scan like iOS’s FaceID, or a one-time PIN (OTP) code sent to a personal device.

Every time one of your employees visits a cloud platform, such as Office 365 or Google Workspace, the SSO provider will verify the user’s identity and the connection’s security. If anything goes wrong, your IT provider will be notified.

Should your network or any of the devices connected to it gets compromised, hackers would find nothing but logins to your SSO accounts, which are meaningless without fingerprints or mobile devices.

How to get started with SSO

The first step is making sure you have a healthy and responsive IT support system. You need a team that’s constantly available to review suspicious alerts and troubleshoot employee issues. If you don’t currently have that capacity, contact us today and we’ll help you out!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Biometrics authentication is the way to go with data securityData loss is a bigger concern than ever nowadays, as cyberattackers are getting creative with their breaches and exploits. So it’s a smart choice to add layers of security — such as biometrics authentication — to make your data as difficult as possible to steal. Authenticate your profile on your mobile device Chrome OS, Windows, […]

The post Biometrics authentication is the way to go with data security appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Biometrics authentication is the way to go with data security

Data loss is a bigger concern than ever nowadays, as cyberattackers are getting creative with their breaches and exploits. So it’s a smart choice to add layers of security — such as biometrics authentication — to make your data as difficult as possible to steal.

Authenticate your profile on your mobile device

Chrome OS, Windows, MacOS, Linux, and Android are all adding features to help users safely log in using biometric identification via USB, Bluetooth, and NFC devices connected to smartphones and tablets. With such convenience, users can verify their accounts on the go.

iOS users already enjoy either TouchID (fingerprint scanning) or FaceID (facial recognition) authentication, depending on their specific device. Android users can also use biometrics to protect their data, as most new Android devices have fingerprint scanners that make use of a secure storage protocol called Trusted Execution Environment.

Prevent cyberattacks with browser-based biometrics

Passwords are notoriously bad at protecting users’ accounts and the information they store. Thankfully, facial scans, fingerprints, and voice recognition make it exponentially harder for hackers to commit identity theft. That means you’re also less likely to be duped by an email from a hacker pretending to be your boss asking for the company credit card’s details.

The concept behind this protection is the practice of two-factor (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA). This means that access to private information requires two or more stages of authentication, instead of just one. And because biometric authentication is an active authentication attempt by the user, it makes unauthorized access much more difficult to attempt.

Enjoy more secure online transactions

Biometric verification will also retire the need for logging in your information when shopping online, streaming videos, using cloud applications, and other internet-based transactions. Windows 10 has already adopted features that offer limited account management with fingerprints and facial scans. Another example is Samsung Pay, which turns smartphones into digital wallets that are protected by fingerprint or iris scans.

Browser-based biometrics is starting to revolutionize and streamline the steps in verifying online accounts. It promises to add more security and ease in logging in and transacting on the internet.

To keep up with the latest and greatest in browser-related innovations your company can benefit from, give us a call now.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Biometrics authentication is the way to go with data security appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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