How to stay connected in the no-touch world of software sales
While the pandemic disrupted business, the great remote migration made believers out of many decision-makers. Despite having to implement sweeping changes very quickly, the long touted benefits of remote working proved real and it’s obvious many aspects will remain in place for good.
Software companies already had employees who were quite familiar with working remote and maintaining productivity. Yet, while these companies were generally in a better position to adapt to the "new normal," their sales teams were impacted just like those in any other industry -- perhaps even worse. After all, they deal with complex technology that traditionally has required a lot of face-to-face time to educate prospects. No-touch software sales is tricky business, particularly when prospects are accustomed to hands-on experiences and trials. That said, software companies need to rethink their strategies and procedures.
Revelations: Enterprise architecture in the wake of COVID-19
When COVID-19 unexpectedly shut down the country, enterprises were hit hard. Millions of workers went remote almost instantly. In the months since, we’ve learned a lot about our networks and how they respond to various stressors. With Google, Facebook and others announcing that employees won’t return to campus until at least July 2021, and as companies like Twitter and Square debut new policies that allow any employee to work from home permanently, post-pandemic, it is clear that remote work will be a fixture in business for some time to come. As such, issues in endpoint management will need to be addressed in order for networks to run efficiently.
To understand what’s happening with infrastructure today and how COVID-19 is prompting long-term changes, it’s important to first understand the past.
Businesses using product intelligence see stronger growth
One of the side effects of the pandemic has been to accelerate digital transformation efforts, but a lack of good product intelligence means many companies don't have the proper tools in place to understand and act on customer data.
New research from product intelligence platform Amplitude shows that 97 percent of businesses say improving the digital experience for users is a priority, but 71 percent say they don't know exactly where to start when it comes to understanding their users' behavior and 38 percent don't know what to do to improve their digital experience.
Akamai launches new API security tool
APIs have become an important mechanism in the modern web, allowing organizations to create powerful web and mobile experiences, using back end data and logic to create new and innovative offerings.
But in order to use them safely they need to be secured and that means understanding what APIs there are in your environment, what their function is and what their traffic profile looks like.
Microsoft is now blocking some third-party drivers in Windows 8.1, 10 and Server
If you start to see the error message "Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver software" in Windows 10, it is because of a change Microsoft is making to driver validation.
The change has been introduced with the latest cumulative update for Windows 10 as Microsoft starts to block some third-party drivers from being installed. It also means that when you try to view driver signature properties you may see the error message "No signature was present in the subject".
IT teams spend 44 percent of their time on routine work
New research reveals that IT and cloud teams spend 44 percent of their time on routine work, just keeping things running, at a cost of $4.8 million a year.
The global survey of 700 CIOs, conducted by Vanson Bourne for Dynatrace, reveals that, as a result, 56 percent of CIOs say they are almost never able to complete everything the business needs from IT.
Microsoft releases experimental PowerToys v0.24.0 with video conference mute
For utility lovers keen to live on the cutting edge, Microsoft has released an experimental build PowerToys v0.24.0.
While this is largely a bug-fixing release, it does see the addition of the video conference mute tool which allows for the instant cut-off of video and audio across all chat and video conferencing tools. This release also sees the addition of telemetry for settings.
Apple HomePod mini is quite ugly -- Jony Ive must be spinning in his grave
Another Apple Event has come and gone, and this time, the iPhone 12 lineup was the star of the show. Those smartphones look great, and are even semi-affordable, starting at just $699. While I would like to see Apple start the pricing about $100 less, who can blame the company for charging what it does -- people will undoubtedly buy them like mad regardless.
The new iPhone 12 devices were not the only new products announced, however. Apple also showed off a new smart speaker called HomePod mini. As the name implies, it is a smaller (3.3 inches tall, 3.9 inches wide) version of the existing HomePod, and it is more affordable too. Sadly, Siri is still rather dumb, and the spherical design is quite ugly. The device looks like a cheap candle or something. Meh, Apple could have done much better -- the still-breathing Jony Ive must be rolling in his figurative grave.
Apple's stunning iPhone 12 family has 5G, better cameras, and a superior ceramic-hardened display
A month ago, Apple held its usual hardware event, taking the wraps off Watch Series 6, and new versions of iPad and iPad Air. What was missing was the one thing everyone wanted to see -- iPhone 12.
Delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Apple today finally reveals not one, but four iPhone 12 models -- the iPhone 12, mini, Pro, and Pro Max -- offering something for everyone, and supporting 5G.
Companies invest more to deal with data privacy rules
Privacy and data protection laws around the world increasingly grant individuals the right to access and control their data, but businesses are lagging behind in their ability to deal with these requests.
A new study from data discovery and intelligence company BigID, in partnership with the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), shows that more than half of respondents plan to invest more in data discovery.
Find Windows 10's free screen recorder too limited? Try EaseUS RecExperts [Review]
Capturing what's happening on your screen and saving it as a video file has many uses. While Windows 10 has a secret screen recording tool as part of the Game Bar, it's a little surprising that Microsoft hasn't produced a more prominent app. We know, however, that the company is working on a screen capture utility that will be included in its PowerToys software.
But it's hard to say just when this will be released, and you may need something more powerful than the limited Game Bar screen recorder right now. Here, we take a look at EaseUS RecExperts to see what it has to offer and how it can help you.
Only eight percent of virtual appliances are free of vulnerabilities
Virtual appliances are an inexpensive and relatively easy way for software vendors to distribute their wares for customers to deploy in public and private cloud environments, but new research shows appliances often have exploitable and fixable vulnerabilities, or are running on outdated or unsupported operating systems.
The Orca Security research study found 401,571 total vulnerabilities in scanning 2,218 virtual appliance images from 540 software vendors. This means less than eight percent of virtual appliances were free of known vulnerabilities.
OCCT 7.0 unveils testing time limit in free version, splits UI into three distinct sections
OCBASE has released OCCT 7.0, a major new release of its portable Windows monitoring, information, and stability checking tool.
Version 7.0’s biggest change is the introduction of a one-hour test limit. It’s also switched to the Hwinfo monitoring engine, and splits the user interface into three separate areas.
Attackers use Office 365 tools to steal data
Targeting of SaaS user accounts was one of the fastest-growing problems for organizations, even before COVID-19 forced a rapid shift to remote work, but a new report shows cybercriminals are using built-in Office 365 services in their attacks.
The study from network detection and response company Vectra, based on four million monitored Office 365 accounts, shows that 71 percent of of those surveyed had seen suspicious Office 365 Power Automate behaviors.
Healthcare organizations growing more concerned about insider threats
According to a new report, 71 percent of healthcare organizations are now more concerened about insider threats than they were before the pandemic.
The study from Netwrix shows that pre-pandemic, these organizations were mostly concerned about employees accidentally sharing sensitive data (88 percent) and rogue admins (80 percent). Today they are worried about phishing (87 percent), admin mistakes (71 percent) and data theft by employees (71 percent).
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