The Global pandemic of which we are living has changed the world in so many ways. It has altered the way we work, the way our children learn, and most everything we do in our day-to-day lives. One thing it hasn't put a damper on is innovation. We are continuing to see incredible technology pop-up everywhere. Some of the innovations are in response to the current world we live in, and others are brand new, entirely out of the box thinking that is popping up in new devices, software, and applications. Today we are looking at a few of the new devices that are blowing our minds.

September has traditionally been the month when Apple releases the new iPhone and many other exciting technologies. As we near the month of September, it seems irresponsible to not discuss Apple’s rumored announcements. We have seen hints about a new Apple Watch, a more cost effective iPad and high-end headphones.

The novelty of virtual meetings has worn off, but it is apparent they are our new “normal.” Our current need for distance and safety has made virtual meetings a must, although because they have worked, businesses are signing up to keep them long term. Big companies like Google and Facebook have announced that most of their employees will be working remotely until late 2021, demonstrating that most of us can do our jobs from anywhere. So we are thrilled that Microsoft is giving us as many options to make our virtual meetings even more productive.

2020 has been a year of change. For better or worse, we have seen a great deal of transformation. When we heard that Channel Futures was altering their judging criteria for the prestigious MSP 501 list, we were intrigued. As a five of five year winner of this prestigious award, we were eager and hopeful the new criteria would incent us as well as other MSPs to push themselves to the next level. We were pleasantly surprised. To take a look at how this has changed, let's first examine what the MSP 501 is and the original judging criteria.

The world has changed, so has our view of business and office space. More and more companies are announcing that their employees will be working virtually for more extensive amounts of time or even forever. Yesterday, Google announced that all full-time employees will be working virtually until at least the summer of 2021. Our offices look different and so do our meetings. To make the virtual office experience effective, we need various options for meetings as there is no one-size-fits-all model. Thankfully, in addition to announcing Together Mode, Microsoft announced a variety of other Teams meeting options to fulfill all your virtual meeting needs.

Do you find yourself even more exhausted at the end of day after a day full of virtual meetings? You are not alone. Microsoft Teams saw a 200% increase in Teams meetings from March 16, 2020, to April 9, 2020, with close to 3 Billion meetings in a day. “Zoom Fatigue” is a real thing, and it is affecting us more than ever with the increased need for virtual meetings. When on a video meeting, we process information differently. To show that we are engaged, we must stare directly into the camera for extended periods. Unlike an in-person meeting, it is uncomfortable to glance away or briefly look out the window. We fear that if we do, the other participant will have the impression we are not listening. Also, the necessary focus on a virtual call is much higher. To follow who is talking and attempt to understand a conversation without being able to view body language and the non-verbal cues is extremely taxing. Luckily, Microsoft has a better solution to combat “Zoom Fatigue,” and it will be generally available in August.

As you probably know by now, to survive a malicious cyberattack, you must be prepared. Being prepared is a lengthy but essential process. This process is what we refer to as being cybersecurity-ready. Over the last three weeks, we broke down the steps of Cyber-Readiness. Although reasonably straight forward, these steps are extensive and necessary to help keep your hard-earned business safe from a successful cyberattack. As the process is vital in today's age of increasing cybercrimes, let's take a look at what we covered.