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Storage showdown: OneDrive vs SharePoint

Both SharePoint and OneDrive help business owners manage and share data. But selecting the best platform can be difficult and give anyone a big headache. For instant relief, here’s a quick reference to help you choose wisely.

Looking for a secure platform to manage your files? Where do you go for help? Should you choose SharePoint or settle for OneDrive instead? If any of those terms sound Greek to you, don’t worry.

The post Storage showdown: OneDrive vs SharePoint appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Storage showdown: OneDrive vs SharePoint

Both SharePoint and OneDrive help business owners manage and share data. But selecting the best platform can be difficult and give anyone a big headache. For instant relief, here’s a quick reference to help you choose wisely.

Looking for a secure platform to manage your files? Where do you go for help? Should you choose SharePoint or settle for OneDrive instead? If any of those terms sound Greek to you, don’t worry. You don’t need a degree in computer science to figure it out. This article will give you the lowdown on what to expect from these services.

Both SharePoint and OneDrive are cloud-based services from Microsoft that allow you to store, share, and sync files across different devices. SharePoint was released in 2001 and reportedly has over 190 million users. OneDrive, on the other hand, was launched in 2007 and has more than 250 million users.

SharePoint is marketed mainly as a document management and storage system, but it can be configured to do much more than that. OneDrive, which was previously known as SkyDrive and Windows Live Folders, is part of the Office suite of online services.

What the two have in common
For starters, both platforms make use of Office 365 to help companies organize information and share this with others. To keep things secure, documents go to a cloud drive, so employees can easily track changes in a single file that is stored in one central location. One of the main reasons these platforms are so popular is because users can add comments and notes using real-time collaboration. Since data can be synchronized and is readily available, everyone sees the most up-to-date information regardless of how they view the document.

With OneDrive, it’s personal
OneDrive makes use of a SharePoint backdrop to work. This connects the two programs. The difference is that OneDrive is made for an individual, and the user remains in control even if the file is shared to different people. This means multiple teams can collaborate simultaneously as long as the original owner shares the document via a secure link. That person determines who can edit and view the file.

There’s more to SharePoint
With SharePoint, employees throughout the company can view and edit the stored file. Changes are tracked and higher-ups will know who is working on the document. This is ideal for human resource surveys or updates that need the attention of other team members.

With SharePoint and OneDrive, businesses can improve the way they work. If you want to learn how online document sharing programs can improve your company’s visibility and productivity, get in touch with us now. We’re here for you.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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MyAnalytics: O365’s productivity coach

Installing software that immediately boosts employee efficiency is any small- or medium-sized business owner’s dream. With Office 365’s dashboard, that’s exactly what you’re getting. And best of all, it’s directly integrated with your existing productivity suite.

The post MyAnalytics: O365’s productivity coach appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

MyAnalytics: O365’s productivity coach

Installing software that immediately boosts employee efficiency is any small- or medium-sized business owner’s dream. With Office 365’s dashboard, that’s exactly what you’re getting. And best of all, it’s directly integrated with your existing productivity suite. Read on to learn more.

What is MyAnalytics?

MyAnalytics apply machine learning technology to your employees’ Office 365 data. By utilizing extremely powerful computing processes to analyze huge blocks of information, MyAnalytics can uncover trends and correlations that may be too complex for human discovery.

Every day, Office 365 users create several thousand new data points across Microsoft’s productivity suite, and there’s a lot of potential to rearrange meetings, project goals, and employee tasks to increase efficiency.

The most obvious improvement is with Outlook calendar. MyAnalytics tracks how much time you’re spending with each person in your office as well as the time you’re investing in specific projects. After sufficient information has been gathered, your Office 365 dashboard will begin coaching you on how to organize meetings and project goals based on your habits and past successes.

How can it improve your office?

Have you ever worked on a huge project that required multiple contributors? Did you all meet regularly to update each other? Users who add contacts — from both inside the company and out — and projects to MyAnalytics get reminders to stay in touch with co-workers most vital to project completion.

Every metric tracked by MyAnalytics can be shared with your team to make sure everyone is on the same page. So MyAnalytics is more than just a motivational tool, because sharing these metrics allows your team to identify bottlenecks and trends to smoothen the workflow process.

Response time is another key metric your employees are probably only vaguely aware of. MyAnalytics calculates average email response times — both from you and from contacts — to identify what time of day you’re best at communicating, and how you can adapt your schedule to get more work done in the same amount of time.

Privacy concerns

One of the greatest things about MyAnalytics is that it doesn’t introduce any new privacy concerns for business owners. All the data it uses to create customized coaching and advice is publicly available to everyone at your business — via calendar appointments, email content, and message timestamps. The only difference is that Microsoft is lending you the previously prohibitive computing power to sift through all of it.

Availability

This wonderful new tool comes with any Enterprise E5 plan, but can also be added on to E1 and E3 Enterprise plans for just a few dollars per month.

Increasing employee productivity is never as clear cut as it is with MyAnalytics. Install a solution, follow its advice, and start brainstorming about what to do with all your extra time. We’ve got plenty of other great solutions for streamlining your business processes — call us today to find out!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Master Microsoft Excel with these 3 tips

Digital literacy is all about mastering essential computer skills like navigating search engines and word processors. But one of the most crucial you need to learn is Excel. Check out these tips to be an Excel master.

Pie and Sunburst Charts

Everyone knows that bombarding stakeholders with endless numbers and decimal points is the wrong approach.

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Master Microsoft Excel with these 3 tips

Digital literacy is all about mastering essential computer skills like navigating search engines and word processors. But one of the most crucial you need to learn is Excel. Check out these tips to be an Excel master.

Pie and Sunburst Charts

Everyone knows that bombarding stakeholders with endless numbers and decimal points is the wrong approach. You need to compile data and develop comprehensive pie or sunburst charts to make life easier for clients and investors.

Here’s how to create a pie chart:

  1. Select your data.
  2. Click on the Recommended Charts tool to see different style chart suggestions for your data.
  3. Click on the Chart Styles, Chart Filters, or Chart Elements button in the upper-right corner of the chart to personalize its overall look or add chart elements, such as data labels or axis titles.

Steps to create a sunburst chart:

  1. Select all your data.
  2. Click Insert > Insert Hierarchy Chart > Sunburst.
  3. Go to the Design and Format tabs to tailor its overall look.

Pivot Tables

Pivot Tables might be one of the most powerful yet intimidating data analysis tools in Excel’s arsenal. It allows you to summarize huge chunks of data in lists or tables without using a formula. All you need to do is to:

  1. Select the data, which must only have a single-row heading without empty columns or rows.
  2. Click Insert > PivotTable.
  3. Under Choose the data that you want to analyze, click Select a table or range.
  4. In the Table/Range box, validate the cell range.
  5. Under Choose where you want the PivotTable report to be placed, click New worksheet, or Existing worksheet and enter the location where you want to place the PivotTable.

Conditional Formatting

This tool highlights essential information within your dataset. For instance, you’re presenting the latest numbers on project efficiency and you use Conditional Formatting to highlight any number lower than 80%. The highlighted data will capture the audience's attention, allowing them to identify the bottlenecks in your projects. To customize how the data is displayed, simply:

  1. Select the cell.
  2. Click Home > Conditional Formatting.
  3. Click Format.
  4. Change your formatting preference in the Color or Font style box.

Excel is one of the most commonly used business software on the market, yet not everyone knows how to fully utilize it. If you want to learn more about other handy Excel features, give us a call today and we’ll elevate your user status from beginner to pro.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Watch out for this persuasive phishing email

Anglers catch fish by dangling bait in front of their victims, and hackers use the same strategy to trick your employees. There’s a new phishing scam making the rounds and the digital bait is almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Here are the three things to watch out for in Office 365 scams.

The post Watch out for this persuasive phishing email appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

Watch out for this persuasive phishing email

Anglers catch fish by dangling bait in front of their victims, and hackers use the same strategy to trick your employees. There’s a new phishing scam making the rounds and the digital bait is almost impossible to distinguish from the real thing. Here are the three things to watch out for in Office 365 scams.

Step 1 - Invitation to collaborate email

The first thing victims receive from hackers is a message that looks identical to an email from Microsoft’s file sharing platform SharePoint. It says, “John Doe has sent you a file, to view it click the link below…”

In most cases, the sender will be an unfamiliar name. However, some hackers research your organization to make the email more convincing.

Step 2 - Fake file sharing portal

Clicking the link opens a SharePoint file that looks like another trusted invitation from a Microsoft app, usually OneDrive. This is a big red flag since there’s no reason to send an email containing a link to a page with nothing but another link.

Step 2 allows hackers to evade Outlook’s security scans, which monitor links inside emails for possible phishing scams. But Outlook’s current features cannot scan the text within a file linked in the email. Once you’ve opened the file, SharePoint has almost no way to flag suspicious links.

Step 3 - Fake Office 365 login page

The malicious link in Step 2 leads to an almost perfect replica of an Office 365 login page, managed by whoever sent the email in Step 1. If you enter your username and password on this page, all your Office 365 documents will be compromised.

Microsoft has designed hundreds of cybersecurity features to prevent phishing scams and a solution to this problem is likely on the way. Until then, you can stay safe with these simple rules:

  • Check the sender’s address every time you receive an email. You might not notice the number one in this email at first glance: [email protected].
  • Confirm with the sender that the links inside the shared document are safe.
  • Open cloud files by typing in the correct address and checking your sharing notifications to avoid fake collaboration invitations.
  • Double check a site’s URL before entering your password. A zero can look very similar to the letter 'o' (e.g. 0ffice.com/signin).

Third-party IT solutions exist to prevent these types of scams, but setting them up and keeping them running requires a lot of time and attention. Give us a call today for information about our unlimited support plans for Microsoft products.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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