Many of us began our “Work from Home” adventure back in March. Some have trickled back into the office since, although many are still at home adjusting to what may be their new standard way to work. At first, many enjoyed the time saver of not having to commute and the ability to work in sweatpants. Unfortunately, over time we have recognized that the work/life boundaries have been blurred or even completely disappeared. Our days now include more on-screen time with 48% more chats a week with 69% more of those occurring “after hours." Our commute used to define our day with a build-up and wind-down that began and ended our day. Without this designated time, employees feel more burnout and exhaustion as the day never has a true beginning or end. Instead, it feels as if the workday is constant through our “work” hours and “home” hours. These blurred lines of work and home life may offer more time to work, although it has led to less workplace productivity.

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.

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.

As most of us know, cyber threats are on the rise due to the many uncertainties in our world. To combat the imminent risk, last week, we began our three-part Cybersecurity Readiness series. Part one of the series covered the necessary groundwork for a successful cybersecurity readiness plan. Without a multi-dimensional plan, the flaws and holes will be prevalent in your security. With the right foundation in place, we can move on to part two, which includes the steps we need to take daily to sustain a robust security strategy.

Part-two of our cybersecurity readiness series includes the daily steps needed to help prevent a malicious cyberattack.

As we have discussed many times before, there are not enough hours in the day to complete all of the tasks we and others put on our plates. We commit to so many things that unfortunately many fall through the cracks or get put on the back burner. Microsoft has come out with a solution to help us manage our tasks and time management. This new tool is called “Briefing Emails” and will be released later this summer.

COVID-19 changed a great deal for our world. Our world, as we knew it, was turned upside-down and inside-out in a matter of days. There was the apparent change in where we were working. Although, how we were working from home and functioning differently as an organization had us intrigued. We luckily can analyze these differences through Microsoft MyAnalytics. Last October, we dug into what Microsoft MyAnalytics is and how it works. It was fascinating to dig back into our “how I work” data and see how our work habits have changed throughout our work from home stent.

Last month, we announced, with elated excitement, that Microsoft Teams would be releasing an update that will include an even more interactive virtual meeting experience. With our love for all things Teams, this was the news we were waiting to hear. With the ability to view nine participants on a Teams call, this enabled even more secure and efficient collaboration during our “Work from Home” stent. We were and still are jumping with joy over this announcement. Unfortunately, we are still waiting for the announcement to be fulfilled.