AI in Google Workspace – Slides

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Gemini AI in SlidesGoogle Workspace is a comprehensive and secure platform that empowers organizations to be more productive, collaborative, and creative. This series explores the power of AI built within Google Workspace across each of the workspace apps. In this post, we cover AI in Slides.

AI in Slides

Google Slides are a collaborative tool for communicating ideas. Gemini AI in Slides helps bring your presentations to life. Create visually stunning unique images, generate new slides, get help writing slides content and talk tracks, and catch up with quick summaries.

Here are 5 Gemini features in Slides you should know:

Generate Slides and Presentations
  • Use Gemini AI to transform ideas into slides and full presentations. 
  • Start your presentation from scratch by giving the AI a prompt or describing your presentation in a few sentences. 
  • Gemini will generate an outline and a first draft of slides, complete with titles, bullet points, and even suggested layouts.
Generate Images
  • Gemini AI in Slides uses advanced image generation models (like Imagen 3) to create original images directly within your presentation. Describe the image you need and the AI will generate it. Create unique visuals without searching for stock photos.
Summarize Presentations
  • Get up to speed quickly with automatic presentation summaries provided by Gemini in the side panel of Slides.
Generate Speaker Notes
  • AI in Slides can assist in creating speaker notes for individual slides and can provide an executive summary for your entire presentation. You get clear talking points quickly and efficiently.
Design Suggestions and Customization
  • Gemini AI suggests visually appealing layouts and designs for your slides and with a consistent and professional look. 
  • Transform a plain block of text into a more structured format like a timeline or a diagram.

And More …

You can also use Gemini AI within Slides for …

Contextual Content Creation
  • Gemini in Slides can reference your existing Google Drive files (PDFs, Docs, etc.) or even Gmail emails to help you generate new slides or extract relevant information.
Remove Image Backgrounds
  • This feature allows you to easily remove the background from images you’ve added to your slides, making it simpler to integrate visuals seamlessly into your design.
Rewrite/Summarize Text
  • Gemini AI helps you refine your slide content. Select text and ask the AI to rewrite it for conciseness, to expand on a point, or to change the tone. 
  • You can also use Gemini AI in Slides to summarize longer blocks of text into digestible bullet points for your slides.

We Will Help

At Cumulus Global, our priority is ensuring that you have productive, secure, and affordable managed cloud services. We work to ensure that you get the most value from the IT and cloud services you need and want, without overspending, to best support your business objectives.

Unsure of where to start? Check out our IT Assessment or schedule a meeting with a Cloud Advisor. We will help you adapt while keeping your IT services secure and cost-effective.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Managed Cloud or Traditional IT Services: Pros and Cons

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Managed Cloud ServicesIT Services for small and midsize businesses have evolved over the years. The technologies and IT systems we use are more capable and complex. We face new and ongoing challenges related to collaboration and security. Our IT is a critical component of our business infrastructure. 

The management and support of our information technology and services need a more sophisticated approach to match our business and technology needs. Traditional IT services have their Pros and Cons. Managed Cloud Services offer new opportunities, especially for smaller businesses.

Traditional IT Services

Traditional IT services fall into two main categories: Break-Fix and Managed Services.

Break-Fix

As the name implies Break-Fix is a reactive service. When you have a question or problem, you call for assistance. You pay an hourly or per-incident rate or use a bank of prepaid hours. 

Pros

  • Break-Fix is often affordable, particularly if your IT systems are relatively new and stable. If you have few or occasional problems, you only pay for the services you need.

Cons

  • Break-Fix is reactive. When something goes wrong, your business is likely disrupted until your IT resource can respond, diagnose, and correct the issue.
  • Your costs are unpredictable. 
    • A problem may be a quick-fix or may require significant time to research and resolve.
    • Most break-fix firms charge more per hour or per incident for emergency and off-hours services.
  • You are more likely to have problems. You are not paying your IT firm to monitor your systems and services. You are not likely to identify issues before they become problems that disrupt your business.
  • Impact of disruptions. Beyond the cost of the fix, disruptive ITproblems impact your business in other ways.
    • You may not be able to respond to customers or meet client expectations
    • Your cashflow can suffer if you are unable to invoice or process receivables
    • Your reputation may suffer if you are seen as unreliable
  • Conflicting Interests. While no reputable IT firm wants their clients to have problems, break-fix IT firms rely on service and support calls for their revenue. 
Managed Services

Managed Services provide a wide range of IT administration, management, and support services for a set monthly fee.  Often positioned as a full or partial outsourcing of your IT services, Managed Services provide an active approach to IT services.  Managed Service Providers (MSPs) actively monitor and manage your environment to prevent problems that can disrupt your business. 

Pros

  • Managed Services are proactive. MSPs will focus on best-practice configuration, administration, and security to prevent and mitigate problems.
  • Your costs are predictable. Most MSPs will charge a fixed monthly fee for the set of services they provide. MSPs typically base fees on the number of devices, services, and systems/applications they manage and support.
  • You are less likely to have problems. Good MSPs will identify and address issues before they become disruptive problems.
  • Your MSP is aligned with your interests. MSPs do better when their clients have fewer problems that require intervention. The business model for MSPs relies on efficiencies and economies of scale. Fixing problems is more costly than preventing them, so good MSPs focus on prevention.

Cons

  • Costs. Managed Services appear to cost more than break-fix services.
    • Monthly fees can range from $150 to over $250 per user per month. While this is a budgetary issue for many, and for small businesses in particular, the benefits of well-managed IT services will outweigh the costs.
    • Many MSPs require clients to migrate to a standard set of systems and components. Replacing network and systems infrastructure can add significant costs to the onboarding process.
  • Access. To obtain their economies of scale, most MSPs focus on businesses with 20 or more employees. Very small businesses (VSBs) – those with fewer than 20 people, solopreneurs, and solo practitioners often struggle to access MSPs and their services.

Managed Cloud Services

Managed Cloud Services are similar to Managed Services, but focus on cloud-based services to better meet the needs of small and midsize businesses. While Managed Services focus on your IT “things” – computers, servers, networks, etc., Managed Cloud Services focus on your people – the tools they need to succeed in their roles.

While Managed Cloud Service Providers (MCSPs) will still monitor, manage, and support your technology infrastructure, computers, and on-site systems, our focus is moving as much as possible to the cloud. Reducing on-premise systems dramatically reduces the resources we need to support your business, allowing us to meet your IT needs more cost-effectively.

Pros

  • Your costs are lower. Leveraging cloud services simplifies your IT environment and reduces the resources needed to support your business. Monthly charges for Managed Cloud Services often run 30% or more below traditional managed services.
  • Your costs are predictable. You will pay a fixed monthly fee for Managed Cloud Services based on the scope of services provided.
  • You have fewer problems and disruptions. Leveraging cloud-based solutions reduces the number of things that can have problems. Providing business resiliency and continuity with cloud solutions is more cost-effective.
  • Better access to services. MCSPs leverage cloud solutions to achieve economies of scale that enable affordable services for SMBs, VSBs, and sole practitioners.
  • Your MCSP is aligned with your interests. MCSPs do better when you do better. 

Cons

  • Reliance on vendors. Your MSCP cannot fix a Microsoft 365 outage or issue. With some cloud solutions, your alternatives may be limited. Even so, cloud outages are typically shorter in duration than local IT issues and are not bound by the availability of parts or technicians for on-site work. 

How Does Cumulus Global Help?

At Cumulus Global, our priority is ensuring that you have productive, secure, and affordable Managed Cloud Services, Cloud Forward IT Service and Support, and Security CPR™ Managed Security services.  We focus on how your IT services can best help your business thrive and grow without overspending.

Schedule a meeting with a Cloud Advisor to discuss your challenges, needs, and priorities.  We will help you assess, plan, and execute the right IT services for your business and your budget.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

AI in Google Workspace – NotebookLM

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Gemini AI in NotebookLMGoogle Workspace is a comprehensive and secure platform that empowers organizations to be more productive, collaborative, and creative. This series explores the power of AI built within Google Workspace across each of the workspace apps. In this post, we cover AI in NotebookLM

AI in NotebookLM

NotebookLM is a research and learning assistant, powered by Gemini, that helps you navigate and understand your information more effectively. Its responses are accurate, relevant, and tailored to the specific context of your inquiry.

Here are 4 Gemini features in NotebookLM you should know:

Source Grounding
  • NotebookLM bases its responses solely on the sources you provide (e.g., PDFs, Google Docs, website URLs, YouTube videos, audio files). This significantly reduces “hallucinations” and ensures the AI’s output is directly relevant to your material. Every response is accompanied by citations, allowing you to easily verify the information against your original sources.
Audio Overviews/Podcast Generation
  • Use NotebookLM to transform your source material into an engaging audio “podcast” with two AI hosts discussing the content. This allows for “listening and learning on the go” and can help in digesting complex information in a more accessible format. With interactive mode, you can “join” the conversation and ask questions of the AI hosts.
Precise Question Answering
  • NotebookLM can understand nuances in your questions. It’s like having a helper who can instantly recall specific details from a vast library of information and give you relevant answers to different types of questions, however simple or complex they may be.
Conversational AI for Deeper Understanding
  • Interact with your uploaded sources via chat interface. Ask direct questions about your documents, explore connections between different sources, or even ask the AI to explain complex concepts in simpler terms. Gemini AI in NotebookLM acts as a personalized research assistant, helping you delve deeper into your material.

And More …

You can also use Gemini AI within NotebookLM for …

Intelligent Summarization and Information Extraction

NotebookLM excels at summarizing complex documents and extracting key information. You can generate:

  • Overviews/Briefing Docs: High-level summaries for quick digestion.
  • FAQs: Automatically generated frequently asked questions based on your content.
  • Timelines: Capture sequential information contained within your documents.
  • Study Guides:  Create study materials, including short-answer questions, answers, and glossaries.
Idea Generation and Content Creation 

Beyond summarization and Q&A, NotebookLM assists with creative tasks and content generation.

  • Brainstorm new ideas based on your research.
  • Generate scripts, outlines, or other structured content from your notes.
  • Receive suggestions for improving your writing style or structure.

We Will Help

At Cumulus Global, our priority is ensuring that you have productive, secure, and affordable managed cloud services. We work to ensure that you get the most value from the IT and cloud services you need and want, without overspending, to best support your business objectives.

Unsure of where to start? Check out our IT Assessment or schedule a meeting with a Cloud Advisor. We will help you adapt while keeping your IT services secure and cost-effective.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.

Microsoft Recall: Tool or Trouble?

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Windows RecallWindows 11 now includes Recall, a productivity feature that lets you search and find information you have previously seen on your screen. Like most productivity tools, increased capabilities and benefits come with new risks to consider.

What is Windows Recall?

Windows Recall takes a snapshot of your screen every few seconds and when your screen content changes. Contextual information derived from the screenshots is saved as well. You can use an explorable timeline or semantic-powered search to find the content you remember having seen.

Pre-Requisites

In order to use Recall, you PC must meet stringent technical requirements, including:

  • A certified Copilot+ PC that meets the Secured-Core Standard and includes a 40 TOPs Neural Processing Unit (NPU).
  • At least 8 logical processors, 16GB RAM, and 256 GB of local storage

In addition, you must 

  • Enable Device Encryption or BitLocker to encrypt local storage
  • Enroll in Windows Hello Advanced Sign-in Security with at least one biometric sign-in option for physical device security

Is Recall Secure?

Recall relies on several security measures.

  • The data is stored locally on your computer and is NOT shared with Microsoft or any other parties.
  • You must be able to log in securely to your local machine
  • Your local storage must be encrypted
  • You can ask Recall to filter out automatically filter out information that may be sensitive
  • You can manually block specific websites from being captured in snapshots
What are the Risks?

Recall can capture account information, passwords, and other sensitive information. 

A cyber attacker with access to your device and identity can access and exfiltrate the information.

What Should You Do?

Our recommended best practice is to disable Recall by policy.

If, however, you want your team to be able to use Windows Recall, set the following policies:

  • Limit your exposure by limiting:
    • The amount of time that snapshots can be saved on the local disk
    • The amount of local storage available for snapshots
  • Create a list of websites and apps that will be filtered from snapshots
    • Include any and all internal systems with sensitive, protected, or confidential information

In addition, you should have security protections in place to minimize the risk of user account breaches and compromises. In line with our Security CPR™ model and managed security services, we recommend these protections include:

  • Enhanced email threat protection against email-based cyber attacks
  • Nex-Gen endpoint protection
  • Multi-Factor Authentication enforces for all systems and applications with sensitive data (preferably all systems and apps)
  • Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for managing access and permissions to applications and data, including information within Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace

How Can Cumulus Global Help?

At Cumulus Global, our priority is ensuring that you have productive, secure, and affordable managed cloud services. We work to ensure that you do not overspend on services and to focus your IT dollars on the capabilities and services you need.

Check out our IT Assessments and schedule a meeting with a Cloud Advisor. We will help you adapt while keeping your IT services secure and cost-effective.

About the Author

Allen Falcon is the co-founder and CEO of Cumulus Global.  Allen co-founded Cumulus Global in 2006 to offer small businesses enterprise-grade email security and compliance using emerging cloud solutions. He has led the company’s growth into a managed cloud service provider with over 1,000 customers throughout North America.