Yesterday began a new trial as now entire families are now at home attempting to work, learn, and do their best to stay sane. Challenging is an understatement to describe what our country and the entire world is currently dealing with. So we wanted to take a little time and let you in on a couple of new tools that may help your new "normal" workday function a bit better. As you are attempting to conduct meetings out of a home that resembles a 3-ring circus, these tools can hopefully bring a bit more professionalism to your remote office.

Consistency is the name of the game, and when it comes to naming, Microsoft is King. Unfortunately, with such similar names as Office 365 and Microsoft 365, there is a great deal of confusion on the differences between the offerings. This month, we will compare and contrast Office 365 vs. Microsoft 365. We will break down the high-level differences between the two Microsoft offerings, the difference in pricing, which product will benefit your business, a glossary of terms involved with both offerings, and an essential Q and A regarding both Microsoft 365 and Office 365. Today, we will stay high-level and look and the key differences between the two Microsoft offerings.

The definition of “Team” is a group of players forming one side in a competitive game or sport. That is precisely what Microsoft Teams is, a group backing you up and helping you compete in this "game" called life. There are so many aspects of Teams that can help you get that winning edge. One point is that it brings all of your functions together into one centralized location to help with ease and efficiency. There is a multitude of examples of this within Teams. One shining example is the ability to integrate all of your external apps alongside your Microsoft apps within one centralized location; your Teams home experience.

Audio conferencing is a non-negotiable in today’s workplace. Today, more than 70% of the professional work-force works remotely at least one day per week. Because so many employees are working outside the office, the logistics of meetings has changed drastically. Many organizations have used audio and video conferencing for quite some time, although the options for conferencing haven't incorporated our current applications. This is why we are so excited about the improved functionality of Microsoft Teams Audio Conferencing.

Last week, CES 2020 came and left, but while here, enthralled us with new technology announcements. We saw Alexa in just about every device from toothbrushes to cars and witnessed some of the most advanced headphones/hearing devices. We saw smarter smart TVs, mind-blowing laptops, and even some of the silliest, most ridiculous solutions which no-sane person needs. As always, the week of CES is a week we greatly anticipate, and fortunately, it has yet to disappoint us. Let’s take a look and a few releases that we saw last week.

With over 17 Billion connected devices worldwide, we all need some help keeping our families and homes safe from online attacks and intruders. Most of us have smart devices throughout our home, and many times we forget that these devices can be a front door to cyberattacks. Bitdefender box is the brute security guard we all need for our homes.

There are times when 24 hours in a day doesn’t seem like enough. Days where you feel like you never stop running from one thing to the next. What if you could review emails while you were dealing with another task like driving? Microsoft has once again offered us a helping hand and has released a tool that will help us do just that. Now through the Microsoft Outlook app, the lovely Cortana can read aloud your emails.