Heads Up: Google Drive Desktop Ending Support for Win XP, Vista, Server 2003

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Important UpdateIn case you missed this …   Google is ending support for the Google Drive desktop app on January 1, 2017 for MS Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003.  As Google will no longer test or support the Google Drive app on these platforms, you are unprotected if the app fails to work.  While the app may still work, Google will no longer test or provide updates — leaving you at risk for errors including data corruption and loss.

If you are still using one of these operating systems and need to  running the Google Drive app, contact us about upgrading your version of Windows.

Cumulus Global Recognized on 2016 CRN Next-Gen 250 List

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News from Cumulus GlobalCumulus Global Recognized for 4th Consecutive Year as a Trailblazing Solution Provider Transforming Business with Emerging Technologies

Westborough, MA, November 23 2016 – For the fourth consecutive year, Cumulus Global (www.cumulusglobal.com) is honored to announce that CRN®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Cumulus Global to its 2016 Next-Gen 250 list. The annual list recognizes standout IT solution providers who successfully transform their businesses to meet the demands of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, unified communications, virtualization, mobility, business analytics, and business intelligence. These solution providers, all in business for fewer than 20 years, successfully adapt to an evolving marketplace with a notable penchant for bringing key technologies to their clients before they become mainstream.

“We are again honored to be recognized as an innovator,” stated Allen Falcon, CEO of Cumulus Global. “We see a fundamental shift towards transformation in how organizations work most effectively. We work hard to anticipate these changing demands and offer solutions that get results.”

Cumulus Global is a strategic solutions provider focused on enabling and empowering small and midsize enterprises by taking advantage of public and hybrid cloud services. The company works with SMB and midmarket businesses across multiple industries, nonprofit organizations, and local and regional government entities.  

“Cumulus Global, like other solution providers on our Next-Gen 250 list, leads the market when it comes to working with emerging technologies and building successful practice areas around them,” said Robert Faletra, CEO of The Channel Company. “Forward thinking and agile, our honorees are among the first to architect innovative solutions to meet a brand new set of customer needs. We congratulate Cumulus Global and all of the honorees named to this exclusive list and look forward to seeing what other innovations they have in store.”  

Founded as a “born in the cloud” service provider in 2006, Cumulus Global serves clients through the US and Canada. The company’s philosophy, “Cloud Forward”, is driven by the belief that cloud computing is not about replacing in-house system or changing technologies; cloud computing is about using technology and services to achieve results.

A sampling of the Next-Gen 250 list will be featured in the December issue of CRN, online at www.crn.com/next-gen250, and through the CRN Tech News Tablet App for iPad and Windows 8.


About Cumulus Global

We understand that businesses, governments, schools, and nonprofits want to work smarter; that you want be more efficient, and that you want to empower your team and foster success.

We design, deliver, and support cloud solutions that expand how you communicate and improve your ability to collaborate, while protecting your data and simplifying your IT. We also help you and your team adopt new solutions and take advantage of their new capabilities.

About the Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com

The Best Unknown Add-on for Office 365

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MS Office 365Microsoft Office 365, from the entry level Exchange Online plans through the Business and Enterprise plans, includes a robust infrastructure for spam/virus protection. As we have blogged about on numerous occasions, cyber attacks continue to get more sophisticated and are using social engineering to trick and trap more people than ever.

Advanced Threat Protection

Advanced Threat Protection (ATP), a little know add-on for Exchange Online and Office 365, offers additional protection against cyber attacks. Using a secure “sandbox”, ATP tests and validates links within email messages and tests attachments for malware and other threats before the message makes it to your inbox. With minimal latency, ATP can block messages or strip them of the offending item(s).

With the increasing threats of ransomware and identity theft, ATP is well worth the nominal per user fee.

If you want to add ATP to your ecosystem, please contact us.

 

Fast Fact Friday: Messaging & Collaboration Apps Win!

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Fast FactAccording to a recent study of 1,500 HR, sales, and marketing executives commissioned by Adobe, Inc. magazine reports that:

More than half of the professionals surveyed (57 %) said mobile apps for messaging and collaboration are critical to their organizations’ success, and a similar number of respondents (59%) said such apps will continue to be critical in 2019.

Is your mobile strategy up to the task?  Contact us for a free Cloud Advisory session.

G Suite Business Upgrade Promo

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G SuiteEvery once in awhile, we have a unique opportunity to offer substantial savings on cloud services.  To celebrate the rebranding of Google Apps as G Suite, we are authorized to offer small and midsize businesses significant discounts if they upgrade from G Suite Basic (Google Apps for Work) to G Suite Premium (Google Apps Unlimited).

2 Great Promotions

Learn more ...

Learn more …

18 Months for the price of 12, a 33% savings*

To qualify for this promotion, you must …

  • Be a current customer running G Suite Basic with between 10 and 99 user accounts
  • Be on our annual prepaid or monthly flex plans
  • Upgrade before December 12, 2016
  • Contact us and let us know you want the savings

15 Months for the price of 12, a 20% savings

To qualify for this promotion, you must …

  • Be a current customer running G Suite Basic with 100 or more user accounts
  • Be on the monthly flex plan
  • Upgrade before December 20, 2016
  • Contact us and let us know you want the savings

Why G Suite Business?

  • Unlimited Gmail and Drive Storage
  • Email Archiving, eDiscovery, DLP for simple legal compliance
  • Advanced reports and admin alerts for better usage visibility
  • “Org” unit controls to adjust access and sharing rights by department
  • THE platform for new features, such as Team Drives and AI/machine learning enabled services

 

Interested? Contact us for info and a quote.

 

*Important Details: The 18 for 12 promotion ends on December 12, 2016; and we need to complete your upgrade by December 15, 2016.  The 15 for 12 promotion ends on December 20, 2016; and we need to complete your upgrade by December 31, 2016.  Monthly Flex Plan customers will see a discounted monthly invoice; Annual Plan customers will see an prorated charge and a credit for the unused portion of your current term.

 

Myth Busting Monday: Office 365 Updates Will Break our Business Applications

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Office365-Logo-and-textYour business depends on your employees being able to use business-critical applications.  You want and need your applications to be available and reliable, and the integration with Office needs to work.

Office 365 is Designed to Work with Your Business Applications

Microsoft is committed to Office 365 compatibility with the tools you use every day. They do this by:

  • Using one worldwide standard for desktop applications with the familiar tools you use and love, including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
  • Minimizing object model and API changes in updates and fixed that might interfere with other applications. Chances are, if your business application works with Office 2010, 2013, or 2016 today, it will work with Office 365.
  • Closely collaborating with leading software vendors, providing them with tools, and helping them test and maintain compatibility with Office 365.
  • Providing you with best-practice guidance for update management and software development.
  • Allowing side-by-side installation of Office 365 ProPlus with older versions of office, giving you and your software vendors time to address any issues.

With a clear commitment backed by action, Microsoft lowers the risk of compatibility issues with Office 365 in ways that exceed their historical support for MS Office.

This is the ninth post in a multi-part series designed to help companies better assess the opportunity and value of cloud-based solutions. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation Cloud Advisor session to discuss your priorities and plans.

Fast Fact Friday: Who is the Real IT Buyer?

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Fast FactAccording to ISV Solutions’ 2015 Line of Business Survey,

Line of Business Decision makers now control 61% of all technology purchases, and influence 81% of all purchases.

Business objectives and priorities should drive technology initiatives and decisions. Small and midsize enterprises need partners that focus on business solutions enabled by technology.

Myth Busting Monday: Email is not Simpler in the Cloud

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Office365-Logo-and-textIt is true: the technology behind Exchange Online and the Office 365 Mail, Calendar, and Contact services is a close sibling to the MS Exchange Server sitting in your computer room. So if the technology is the same, how can putting email in the cloud improve your IT?

Email in the Cloud Simplifies Your IT

Moving email into the cloud eliminates the hardware, software, and all of the maintenance and support required to keep things running. When you move to Exchange Online or Office 365, the experts who created to software are keeping it up, running, and secure. Microsoft will also keep your environment up to date with automatic application of updates and fixes.

You still control your company’s capabilities and how your team uses the available features, and have the option to schedule updates and fixes. But without all daily maintenance and management, you and your IT team have more time and energy to focus on the core operations that build business value.

Simplify your IT and drive your business forward.

 

This is the eighth post in a multi-part series designed to help companies better assess the opportunity and value of cloud-based solutions. Contact us to schedule a free, no-obligation Cloud Advisor session to discuss your priorities and plans.

Fast Fact Friday: Trusting Cloud Security

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Fast FactAccording to a recent survey of 950 IT executives and staff members by BetterCloud found that:

IT Execs are 29% less likely than their staff to say their team lacks full control over their SaaS applications

IT Staff are 56% more than their bosses likely to feel they lack full visibility into SaaS applications

IT Staff are 139% more likely than IT Execs to believe the former employees still have access to company data

Are you moving to the cloud? Is your roadmap in line with your business goals? Contact us for a no-obligation Cloud Advisor session.