Meghan, our Service Manager: Aka, a real-life Unicorn

As far as Managed Service Providers (MSPs) go, service managers are quite common. As normal as it is to have a service manager, our service manager is actually one of the aspects that sets Pendello Solutions apart from its competitors! Her name is Meghan and we call her the unicorn. This nickname was derived not because she has a horn, four legs or has a sparkly mane but because of who she is and how she handles the fast-paced world of technology! I spent a little bit of time with this beach loving, foodie who is Meghan. During our time together, I got a peek inside her world and attempted to understand how she does what she does while still keeping her contagiously happy attitude and sparkly spirit.

One-Click Forecasting, the new Microsoft Excel Tool

Our need for data is growing exponentially. We want any and all information we can get our hands on to analyze our health, our spending and especially our business. The question is, what do we do with this telling data once we have it and how do we use it to our benefit? Microsoft knows that this can be a struggle and released a new Forecast Sheet button in Excel 2016. This new button allows you to use historical time-based data to easily create a forecast visualization that predicts things like future sales, inventory requirements and consumer trends.

Here’s how you do it:

On May 25, 2018, a European privacy law is due to take effect that sets a new global bar for privacy rights, security, and compliance.

The General Data Protection Regulation, also known as the GDPR, is fundamentally about protecting and enabling the privacy of individuals. (Who can’t get on board with that!!) The GDPR establishes strict global privacy requirements governing how you manage and protect personal data while respecting individual choice – no matter where data is sent, processed or stored.

Pendello Solutions along with its strong partner, Microsoft, is committed to help its customers achieve the privacy goals of the GDPR.

Discover Geospatial Patterns with 3D Maps

Data. We love it, we can’t enough of it! But, the challenge can be, how do you decipher it? 3D Maps which, used to be called Power Map, is now available to all Excel 2016 customers. This incredible tool helps you discover patterns in your data and then shows you how these patterns relate to locations, time and geopolitical context. Here is a quick tutorial on what 3D Maps looks like and how to use this awesome tool!

Here’s how you get started:

What’s the Silicon Prairie and how does it compare?

We’ve all heard of Silicon Valley. The area in synonymous with exaggerated cost of housing, dining and overall living. It has Busy streets and sidewalks and unless you’ve already “made it”, it can be a grinding place to live. Your work life may be the only life you have as you try as hard as possible to be one of the millionaire elite. For years, it has been the only “place to be” if you are trying to make it in the world of technology. Fortunately, many wised-up and many companies like Google shed a little light on these so-called “fly-over” states and we now have what is called The Silicon Prairie!

A Step-by-Step Guide of the new Waterfall Chart Feature in Microsoft Excel

That scenery would be much prettier without that waterfall, said no-one ever so, why not make your Excel spreadsheets even prettier with the new waterfall chart feature from Microsoft Excel. So maybe waterfall charts won’t make your presentation prettier but it can definitely help you display your data more effectively! Waterfall charts, which are sometimes called bridge charts, are useful to display a running total of values as they are added or subtracted. This can be extremely beneficial for understanding how an initial value (net value, for example) is affected by a series of positive or negative values.

The Consumer Electronics Show, more commonly known as CES has been around for more than five decades and man has it evolved. It originated as a spinoff from the Chicago Music Show which had itself evolved into “The Place” to see new products and technology. The 1967 show in New York City was set up on 100,000 square feet and had 14 exhibitors. Fast forward to 2017 which marked the 50-year anniversary, the show spanned across 2.6 million net square feet and hosted more than 4000 exhibitors! Not only has the size of the show evolved but so has the caliber of technology! CES 2018 just ended on Friday and just like previous years, the technology showcased was beyond impressive. Let’s take a look at a brief timeline of what technologies have been announced over the years and how this show has shaped our technology today!