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Case Study: Fig & Olive (video)

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Case Study- Fig & Olive - YouTube
Google Apps has the power to transform how businesses communicate and work.  Fig & Olive, a growing restaurant company in New York city, discussed how their move to Google Apps resulted in benefits extending well beyond a better email platform.

Click the image to see the Fig & Olive case study, as presented at our  Getting More from Google Apps  breakfast event at Google’s NYC offices on September 19th.

Hear first hand how management and employees reap the benefits of working the future. To see the recording of the entire live event, click here.

Google Meets Security Best-Practices; Most Cloud Providers Fail

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Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released a survey of how well common cloud providers meet the EFF’s 5 security best practices.

Google Apps and Dropbox are the only two vendors to meet all five standards.  Microsoft, most notably, fails to meet or confirm four of the five standards, as follows.

Encrypt Websites with HTTPS

Both Microsoft and Google support the use of HTTPS to encrypt data between the user’s computer and the web site/service.  As a best practice, Cumulus Global forces HTTPS for all Google services.

Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS)

HSTS uses secure communications to prevent certain attacks if a network pretends that the site visited has asked to communicate insecurely.  Google enables HSTS; Microsoft does not.

Encrypt Data Center Links

To prevent somebody with physical access from attacking, this practice encrypts data between a company’s own cloud servers and their data centers.  Google follows this practice; Microsoft does not.

Implement STARTTLS for Email Transfer

STARTTLS encrypts communications between email servers when both servers support the service.  Google uses STARTTTLS and provides users with the ability to utilized Policy-based TLS as well.  Microsoft’s Outlook.com service is non-compliant with this best practice.

Use Forward Secrecy for Encryption Keys

This best practice ensures that should a hacker gain access to a provider’s secret key, they cannot read previously encrypted communications.  Google follows this best practice; EFF was unable to confirm that Microsoft is compliant.

For more information, see the full Gizmodo article here.

 

Gmail: Save Attachments to Drive (it’s about time!)

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Finally!  OMG!  Booyah!  Oh, Vey!

You can now save attachments directly to Drive from within Gmail messages.

Rolling out to Google Apps for Business, Government, and Education over the next week or so, you no longer need to download to your desktop or “Downloads” folder and then sync or upload files in Drive.

From inside the message, you can preview or save files directly into drive, with the ability to browse and select folders.

Click here for more info and usage examples.

Be More Social with Secure Google+ Communities

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google-plusBusinesses often hesitate to use social media tools internally, fearing that information may be shared too broadly or outside the company in error.  Google has taken a major step to alleviate these concerns with the recent announcement of Secure Google+ Communities for organizations running Google Apps for Business, Education, and Government.

Going forward, all Google+ communities are only visible to people within your domain.

You can still create and share communities with external parties — customers, vendors, business partners — utilizing a new suite of management settings.

Why use Google+ Communities?

  • Encourage employees to share more information about themselves in their profiles, such as skills and interests, making it easier to find peer resources and discuss new ideas
  • Sharing files from Drive is easy, as is sharing videos
  • Threaded discussions and comments facilitate communication and teamwork, even across functional areas
  • Manage events, meetings, and hangouts
  • Better engage your Gen X and Y team members

You can learn more about the power of social tools, and other ways of getting more from Google Apps, by viewing the recording of our recent event in New York.  The event was co-hosted by Google with The Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, The 4th Bin, and Google Gooru as supporting sponsors.

Easier Sharing of Google Docs; Watch Your Permissions

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Google is making it easier to share Google Docs, Drawings, and Slides (not Sheets) with people outside your Google Apps for Business domain.

  • Files shared outside your domain to an email address not linked to an existing Google Account can be viewed without having to sign in or create a new Google Account.
  • If a file is shared with edit or comment permissions, the recieving user must still sign in with a Google Account in order to edit or comment on that file.

This change actually reflects a new “invitation” model.  When a user directly shares with individuals who do not have Google Accounts, those recipients will be able to view the file without signing in. Because no sign in is required, anyone may view the file with this sharing link until the person who the file was explicitly shared with creates a Google Account and expends the invitation.

Once the person creates a Google Account two things happen: (1) the sharing link will no longer work for new users to access the file and the sharing dialog will indicate that the invitation has been used; (2) any user who accessed the file using the sharing link while it was open and signed in using their Google Account will be added to the sharing access list for that file and will continue to have access. Users with permissions to change sharing settings can revoke this access if desired.

While you can prevent this behavior by disabling sharing outside the domain to people who are not using a Google Account via settings in the Admin console, the change makes monitoring of Google Drive permissions more important to maintaining a secure ecosystem.

Tools, such as CloudLock, provide a means for monitoring and managing permissions, helping ensure that sensitive data remains secure.  Contact us if you would like more information.

 

 

QuickOffice is Free for Everyone

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QuickOffice Logo
As of September 19, 2013, Google has freed QuickOffice for everyone.  The result? Anybody with a Google Apps account can edit MS Office documents — Word, Excel, and Powerpoint — stored in Google Drive using any Android or iOS device.

While Microsoft is still attempting to lock users into Windows platforms in order to use MS Office, Google Apps and Google Drive users can now freely view and edit documents across platforms.

Combined with CumuluSuite Office, you can integrate MS Office on your existing Windows or Mac devices with the ability to view and edit them from smart phones and tablets.

HIPAA Compliance with Google Apps Just Got Easier

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HIPAA Logo
One of the challenges using any IT service are external requirements for data use and privacy.  Among the most restrictive are those imposed by the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).  HIPAA regulations intend to ensure data is private and protected from accidental or intentional breach, and is only shared as needed to ensure appropriate medical care.

One aspect of HIPAA requires entities to execute a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with any organization with which Protected Health Information (PHI) is shared.  Sharing not only includes data provided to other medical professionals, sharing includes data stored on systems or managed by services.  The BAA defines each party’s roles and responsibilities with respect to data protection and privacy, and accountability in the event of any inappropriate breech or release.

For organizations using Google Apps for Business, Education, or Government, documenting HIPAA compliance just became easier.

Google Apps administrators may now complete and execute a BAA with Google covering key services in Google Apps, specifically:

  • Gmail
  • Calendar
  • Drive
  • Google Apps Vault

The BAA does not cover other services within Google Apps, nor does it cover third-party or marketplace applications.  As such, signing the BAA and implementing Google Apps as part of a HIPAA compliant infrastructure still requires planning, policies and procedures, and an examination of other systems and applications.

Contact us to learn more.

 

Should You Backup Data in Google Apps?

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Hurricane Sandy
When running systems in-house, the need for backup/recovery and backup/restore services is clear.  Organizations must protect themselves from system failures and other events that can corrupt or destroy important information.  With Google Apps, however, the highly redundant infrastructure offers great protection from data loss due to system failures.

Why should you backup your data in Google Apps?

  • User Error: The most common form of data loss (~30% of all data loss)
  • Security Breach: A hacker gains access to your SaaS data
  • Third Party App Error: Any app downloaded in a Marketplace can have bugs – an opportunity for hackers to enter
  • Rogue Employee: User error that’s not accidental. Could happen with any disgruntled or former employee of your company
  • Software Error: Service outages and account suspension can happen

What can you do?

Deploying a cloud-to-cloud backup solution will protect your data.  Solutions  designed to backup specific solutions, like Backupify for Google Apps, provide enterprise grade features and services without breaking a budget.

Click here to learn more.

Breakfast With Google Apps and More …

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Good morning
We don’t often blog about events, but this one is unique.

On Thursday September 19th at 8:00 am, you can join us at Google’s NYC offices — or via live simulcast — for Breakfast with Google.  While enjoying a full breakfast, you have the change to meet, learn from, and discuss Getting More from Google Apps with some of the best Google Apps for Business and Government experts around.

Registration is easy, and required, given limited space and security requirements.

So, even if you cannot enjoy the eggs, french toast, and coffee in person, join us online for a unique learning opportunity.

Co-hosted by Google and Cumulus Global, we are joined by supporting sponsors The 4th Bin, Google Gooru, and the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

Cumulus Global named to CRN’s Next-Gen 250 For Second Consecutive Year

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Westborough, MA, September 12, 2013 – Cumulus Global announced it has been recognized for a second year as a member of the CRN Next-Gen 250. The annual list highlights up-and-coming solution providers that are new to the market, and take a smart and different approach to solution selling and integration. The Next-Gen 250 honors those solution providers focused cloud computing, unified communications, and other emerging technologies. These companies stand out from the pack when it comes to transforming their business or breaking into new technologies.

“We are excited and honored to be part of the Next-Gen 250,” stated Allen Falcon, CEO. “We appreciate the recognition of our cloud-centric, pragmatic approach to helping our clients benefit the most from the cloud solutions they choose.”

As a cloud solutions provider, Cumulus Global leverages its Google Apps Premier SMB Reseller status to offer small and midsize businesses, local and regional governments, and educational institutions a broad range of cloud-based services — from email and productivity tools to managed file services and servers and cloud-based applications.  Cumulus Global works closely with existing internal and hired IT resources, extending capabilities while saving customers money.

“The challenges facing today’s channel executives are constantly evolving, and we make it a priority to keep pace with that change to help the channel community effectively compete. The Next-Gen 250 represents the up-and-coming solution providers dedicated to addressing those challenges in a more complete and dynamic way,” said Robert Faletra, CEO, UBM Tech Channel.  “We congratulate these companies on being named to the prestigious list and look forward to covering their continued success.”

A sampling of the 2013 Next-Gen list is featured in the August issue of CRN Magazine and is featured online at www.crn.com. The complete list of 250 companies will be available in the CRN Tech News app, available for iPad and Windows 8.