productivity

5 Valuable EXCEL Features

5 Valuable EXCEL Features

5 Valuable EXCEL Features

DesignDATA
5 Valuable EXCEL Features

1. Auto Fill

Auto Fill allows you to take a formula or pattern that has been applied to one cell and apply that same formula or pattern to other cells. In the example below, we have used a formula to give Bob a 3% salary increase. We can then select the tiny green dot at the bottom right corner of the cell containing Bob’s new salary and hold the mouse down and drag it vertically until all of the other cells in the column are selected.

Auto Fill

Once we let go of the mouse, all of the remaining cells in the column will be populated using the same formula that was used to compute Bob’s new salary.

Auto Fill

2. Remove Duplicates

When analyzing or sorting through data, no matter what industry you are in, it can get chaotic and maybe even a bit messy. Depending on the way the data is imported, some sequences may be added more than once, resulting in duplication. Knowing how to remove copies of data segments is important so that the copies don’t skew the end amount.

To access the Remove Duplicates feature, tap on Data > Data Tools > Remove Duplicates. Make sure the proper dataset is selected. You can then click Remove Duplicates. You will be able to view the different columns, so ensure the “My data has headers” box is crossed off if the column names are failing to display. Simply click okay and you’re good to go.

3. Find and Search

These may seem like basic functions but they are integral and can save you tons of time. Also, it is good to know that Find and Search are not one and the same.

To access Find, click the Search (Alt + Q) bar at the top of the sheet. This will give you three options, with the top one being Find. Click on it. Find will only return case-sensitive matches, whereas using the Search feature will give you broader matches. Search isn’t limited to case sensitivity and it will find the words in pieces of text too.

Both of the features can make finding information in a spreadsheet much easier.

4. Insert Function

The Insert Function button allows you to tell Excel what you are trying to do, and it will give you a list of likely functions to solve your problem. It will also walk you through how to enter the parameters needed for that particular function.

Insert Function

For example, imagine you wanted to find the largest value in the list of current salaries in our previous example. You would type “Largest in a set of values” in the Search box and select “Go,” and Excel will return two possible functions that meet your needs. You can see exactly what the functions do at the bottom of the screen. Once you determine which of these functions you want to use, select the function and press ENTER.

Insert function

Once you press ENTER, you will be presented with the Arguments screen where Excel will walk you through each of the arguments that the function requires. The text at the bottom tells you exactly what needs to be entered for that argument.

function arguments

Once all the arguments are entered, just select OK, and your function will be entered into the appropriate cell! If you look at the formula bar above the data, you will see the function that Excel created for you:

Insert Function

5. Conditional Formatting

Conditional Formatting allows you to graphically depict your data based on their values. You can use colors or icons to depict the data in different ways. For example, imagine we wanted to show the difference in people’s salaries. We could use the Data Bars type of conditional formatting as shown below so that the people with the highest salaries have the longest purple bars while those with the smallest salaries have the shortest bars.

Conditional Formatting

We could also use icons instead of just colors so that the people with the highest salaries have a green “up” arrow, while those with the lowest salaries have a red “down” arrow.

Conditional Formatting

There are many more options for conditional formatting; be sure to try them out until you find the one that works best for you!

Want to find out more ways your staff can make the most of Excel? Don’t hesitate to get in touch. For more workplace productivity tips, you can join our free training sessions where you will be able to learn about the latest techniques and tools to help your organization achieve proficiency.

Check out these resources:

 

5 Valuable EXCEL Features Read More »

The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud for Remote Work Productivity

The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud for Remote Work Productivity

The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud for Remote Work Productivity

DesignDATA
The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud for Remote Work Productivity

Four-minute read

The tech industry notoriously loves to use nebulous and arbitrary buzzwords, like “big data,” “net neutrality,” or “machine learning.” Rest assured, though, cloud computing isn’t one of them.

In reality, the concept of the cloud has been floating around since the 1960s (even if it was just a wild concept at the time). Since then, however, it has not only been fully realized but has matured rapidly to level the playing field among businesses of all sizes.

What is “The Cloud”?

In the simplest terms, “the cloud” or “cloud computing” involves storing and accessing data over the internet instead of in some physical infrastructure, like your computer’s hard drive. Within this definition, there are three distinct service models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

IaaS
This encompasses the fundamental building blocks of computing that can be rented, whether that’s physical or virtual servers, storage or networking.

PaaS
This is the next layer up from IaaS. On top of the underlying storage, networking, and virtual servers, PaaS also includes the tools and software required to build applications, including middleware, database management, operating systems, and development tools.

SaaS
As expected, this is the delivery of applications as a service. SaaS is likely the version of cloud computing that most people are familiar with because the underlying hardware and operating system are generally irrelevant to the typical end-user, who will access the service via a web browser or app.

Yes, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS are distinctly different service models, but they are not mutually exclusive. While many organizations understand and utilize more than one, the concept of the massive power-consuming data processing that is happening on the other end in a data center may be a bit ambiguous to an individual user. Moreover, cloud computing is such a large umbrella concept that you may not even know you’re using it. However, if you’re taking advantage of applications like Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Dropbox, and a slew of others, you’re already exploiting the cloud!

Cloud Deployment Models

Cloud Deployment Models

There are plenty of cloud service providers in the market, but the most popular are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. As you research cloud providers to identify one that offers services that best fit your organization, you’ll also have five main cloud deployment models to choose from: public, private, hybrid, community, and multi-cloud.

Public
This is the classic, most popular cloud-computing model. With a public cloud, you don’t own any hardware; users access a large pool of computing power over the internet from a cloud service provider. With this model, you gain the ability to rapidly scale a service because of the vast amounts of computing power available from the “multi-tenant” architecture.

Private
This is essentially the opposite of the public cloud. With the private cloud, organizations can benefit from the flexibility of the public cloud but also gain an added layer of data security because all information is tucked away behind the corporate firewall. Therefore, companies can control precisely where their data is being held with customized infrastructure.

Hybrid
As expected, this model combines private and public cloud environments. Some less-sensitive data is stored in the public cloud, and the more sensitive projects are stored in the private cloud (which can also be on-premise servers). In the hybrid model, organizations utilize multiple vendors with different cloud usage levels to work as one system.

Community
This model represents a cloud dedicated to a few organizations within the same community. In this case, it’s not a public cloud (because it’s essentially “members only”), but it’s also not a private cloud dedicated to a single company. Although it’s not particularly popular, it’s worth being aware of.

Multi-cloud
As the name suggests, this model uses more than one cloud provider at a time for redundancy, or increased reliability. Although all public cloud providers provide options for fail-safes, accidents still happen. With multiple cloud providers, you have an added layer of security and comfort knowing that if an accident occurs with one provider, your backup provider will still be available.

How Does It Work?

At a basic level, companies rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider rather than owning onsite infrastructure or data centers. At this point, nearly any service that doesn’t require you to be physically close to the computer hardware that you are using can now be delivered via the cloud.

Although there’s a significant amount of cloud-related information, here’s the takeaway: with an internet
connection, cloud computing allows you to work anywhere, anytime.

Benefits

Traditionally the most widely discussed benefit is avoiding the upfront cost of owning and maintaining on-premise IT infrastructure, decreased complexity, increased security, and faster deployment times. However, in this era, the focus is shifting to the benefits for remote-work productivity: connectivity and accessibility, increased collaboration, and improved efficiency.

Connectivity and accessibility
With cloud technology, users within your organization can access all your files from anywhere, using any device. All information is accessible 24/7 with an internet connection. With that freedom also comes decreased risk since files are no longer stored on any physical computer.

Increased collaboration
Switching to the cloud supports simultaneous syncing, working, and sharing files in real-time, thereby increasing the collaboration and efficiency of employees. Now the location of employees is insignificant; employees from all over the world can collaborate seamlessly.

Improved efficiency
Gone are the days when you worry about your organization’s power requirements, space considerations, expensive computer hardware, or software updates. Similarly, the downtime associated with these issues is in the past. When you shift to the cloud, your entire company can stay focused on building quality relationships that generate revenue, not on IT issues.

The Future of Remote Work

Increased flexibility, enhanced integration capabilities, improved work processes, and reduced overhead costs will continue to drive organizations to utilize the cloud. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can now compete with larger corporations as new, powerful web-based business apps shift the financial costs and bridge the “software divide” that once separated them.

With this technology, SMBs can measure significant benefits from their cloud investments, including increased productivity throughout their organization. With unbounded connectivity and accessibility, increased collaboration, and improved efficiency, your organization can operate at its intended level.

Are you curious about how you can boost internal productivity? Our experts would be honored to answer any questions you may have – and don’t forget to check out our free monthly training session focused on enabling your teams to do their best work.

The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud for Remote Work Productivity Read More »

How to Use Microsoft 365 Business Voice to Your Advantage

How to Use Microsoft 365 Business Voice to Your Advantage

How to Use Microsoft 365 Business Voice to Your Advantage

DesignDATA
How to Use Microsoft 365 Business Voice to Your Advantage

Four-minute read

Learning these key Microsoft 365 Business Voice features will make you much more productive during the workday. Keep reading to get started.

Microsoft is a staple in the business world, offering essential software that significantly boosts productivity. For many organizations, operating without the Microsoft Office Suite is unimaginable.

Although not quite as well-known as some of its larger products, Microsoft 365 Business Voice is a valuable tool for companies willing to harness its power.

Unsure where to start? We’ve got a guide that can help you.

Let’s dive in.

Unlocking Key Features

To make the most of this software, you need to take full advantage of the numerous features. Many of these tools require setup, but the implementation is well worth it.

One of the most notable is the fully-customizable auto attendant. This tool expertly handles incoming calls, directing them to appropriate queues based on criteria like language, time zone, or availability.

When these callers reach the queues, they’ll be presented with a custom greeting while they wait (accompanied by music if necessary). Other notable features include audio conferencing, cloud-based voicemail management (and voicemail transcription), and direct SIP trunk routing.

It’s best to determine which tools your company can benefit from most and integrate them as soon as possible.

The Microsoft Teams Admin Center

As the name suggests, the Microsoft Teams admin center serves as a centralized location that you can use to help manage your organization’s projects and tools. You can also use it for 365 Business Voice.

This tool helps you set up cloud calling and audio conferencing. You can also contribute to a database of relevant phone numbers that are easily accessible.

You can even use the admin center to assign certain levels of functionality to specific phone numbers. For example, one phone number could be a dedicated conference bridge connecting multiple users to a single conference call.

It’s possible to do the same for call queues and auto attendants. By taking full advantage of this utility, you’ll be able to improve your level of customer service drastically.

Build Upon Its Functionality

Although Business Voice provides a large amount of utility for many organizations, some businesses still prefer to use other software alongside it.

For example, a small business owner might use Business Voice as a foundation while also implementing a different partner compliance recording solution.

This scenario is easily achievable. Microsoft 365 Business Voice is highly extensible, allowing users to expand upon its functionality. This means that those who already have a preferred contact center software don’t have to worry about any conflicts arising.

This is particularly useful for more sizeable organizations that benefit from using a large set of tools.

Train Your Team

To get the most out of Microsoft Business Voice, you’ll need to train your team on its functionality. Fortunately, the volume of training required is very low.

Employees who have experience using Microsoft Teams will likely require only 5 to 10 minutes to get familiar with Business Voice. After everything has been configured within the admin center, your employees will often only need to set up their respective voicemails before they can begin to make calls.

This makes Business Voice extremely straightforward to integrate into a company’s practices and is one of the primary reasons entrepreneurs choose to use it.

Ready to Enhance Your Business Communication?

Microsoft 365 Business Voice is more than just a tool; it’s a game-changer for your business communication needs. Are you ready to take your organization’s communication to the next level?

Discover how we can transform your communication strategies with Microsoft 365 Business Voice.

How to Use Microsoft 365 Business Voice to Your Advantage Read More »

Why Email Is Dead – And What to Do About It

Why Email Is Dead – And What to Do About It

Why Email Is Dead – And What to Do About It

DesignDATA
Why Email Is Dead – And What to Do About It

Three-minute read

Email is the physical mailbox of the virtual world. It was designed to make it easy for anyone to reach anyone about anything and, thus, was built for broad, ubiquitous communication. But organization needs have drastically changed since the creation of virtual mailboxes. Now, companies require collaboration hubs that tick off all the communication-needs boxes. Moreover, not only is email becoming less useful, but it is also pulling engagement away from the effectiveness of your collaboration hub.

Below, we outline three key design features that prevent email from being a suitable mechanism for collaboration. We hope this information allows you to make an informative decision with your fellow teammates about how to shift communications to your collaboration hub.

  1. Anyone can email you about anything The ping of an email inbox can draw your attention to an important document, a marketing solicitation, or a phishing scheme – there is no prioritization. Last in is the first up, and important contextual information is missing. Who is this from? What is this about? Do I need to take any action on this?
  2.  Email inboxes are terrible knowledge repositories Information quickly gets buried in email. Depending on who is cc’d on what, conversations become fractured into an array of email strings that need to be pieced together. Teams also run into version control issues as each team member works on a different static version of the same document. All these inconveniences add up, bringing down organizational productivity.
  3. Email is built for one and done communication Have you ever selected “reply all” when you meant to send a private message to the sender? Ever sent an emotionally charged message that you wished you could pull back? Recognized a careless typo immediately after clicking send? Forgot to attach the document you referenced in the body of the message? Ever been the victim of a steady stream of responses that all essentially just confirm receipt (“I got it” / “Thanks”)? Email is simply not conducive to revision, recall, or response, and this lack often causes frustration and misunderstandings.

A collaboration hub, such as MS Teams or Slack, is designed to solve these problems. For example, messages can be easily edited and deleted. As well, information is organized by team, topic, and project, providing important context and keeping all the pieces of a conversation connected. You can also “@” someone to draw attention to the fact that they are being asked to respond. All of these factors improve the quality and efficiency of communication and collaboration. For these reasons and then some, we are currently working on getting zero internal communications via email, ensuring we take advantage of our organization’s more efficient technologies.  

If you’re curious about implementing a collaboration hub or have one but are unsure how to optimize team use, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to discuss critical factors specific to your organization that will help ease the transition or improve your current workflows.  

Why Email Is Dead – And What to Do About It Read More »

Why You Should Move Over to Microsoft Teams

Why You Should Move Over to Microsoft Teams

Why You Should Move Over to Microsoft Teams

DesignDATA
Why You Should Move Over to Microsoft Teams

Two-minute read

Every day I get asked the following questions:

⇒ How can my team collaborate better?
⇒ How can we minimize the number of applications we use?
⇒ How can I decrease the cost of the subscriptions we use?

My response is always the same: by switching over to Microsoft Teams. Here are some of the ways this all-out platform responds to the above concerns:

Save Money

Microsoft Teams does what 3-5 of your existing subscriptions do, so why not pay once and continue doing all you need to do, plus more?

One App to Rule the World

Speed up collaboration and increase your organization’s productivity levels by using one app for everything. Some of the features Teams can provide are:

⇒ Business Voice
⇒ Chat windows
⇒ Meetings
⇒ File management
⇒ Project management

Integrations

Microsoft has over 200 app integrations. Connect to other apps easily so that you can continue to collaborate. This also offers extensive flexibility, so you can make Teams work for you and customize your usage to fit every team’s unique needs.

Stay Connected – Anytime, Anywhere

Microsoft Teams addresses the need to communicate with remote, hybrid, and traveling employees. With the Teams phone app, you have immediate access to all apps and documents. You can even respond to chat conversations, join video calls, and continue collaborating on projects.

Improved Collaboration and Communication

Because of the integration with Office 365, you don’t need to switch apps when collaborating on a document. You can create the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document in Teams, immediately share it with your coworkers, and co-author in the blink of an eye.

Other Fantastic Features

Call transfer is easy – no more blindsiding your coworkers anymore! Simply send them a quick heads up before transferring the call.
Compatibility – Teams is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
Integration – Teams is fully integrated with Office 365 and can integrate with most major applications.

designDATA’s Microsoft Support

With Microsoft Teams and Business Voice, you don’t have to sacrifice the features you need or love. Our experts offer implementation and support for Microsoft solutions – if your organization requires support or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Why You Should Move Over to Microsoft Teams Read More »

Technology and Flexible Work: Why Implementing a Central Collaboration Hub Is Key

Technology and Flexible Work: Why Implementing a Central Collaboration Hub Is Key

Technology and Flexible Work: Why Implementing a Central Collaboration Hub Is Key

DesignDATA
Technology and Flexible Work: Why Implementing a Central Collaboration Hub Is Key

Five-minute read

It’s inevitable – flexible work is the future of work. For organizations that can turn this practice into a core competency, the gains will be invaluable, like attracting and retaining the best talent and, thus, performing better for those their business serves. Ultimately, these organizations will have a massive competitive advantage.

So, how can you turn this practice into a core competency?

Conditions of an Effective Distributed Work Strategy

Unfortunately, there is no objective “right” answer. Like any organizational competency, its proper application is very much dependent on the context. It is critical to thoroughly examine the work you do, who you do it with, and how. This information will help you focus your organization’s finite resources and tolerance for change on the areas that will have the most significant positive impact.

It’s a matter of balancing the different factors to best suit the interests of both the organization and its people. In my view, two key elements are equity and intentionality; when policies are created as a reflex or based on the “squeaky wheel,” it increases the risk that the solution to one problem becomes the root cause of another. A diverse group of stakeholders should therefore be heard to ensure all perspectives are considered.

Another central aspect of implementing an effective distributed work strategy will be your team’s technology needs.

Technology bridges the divide between the various places from which team members work. It forms the foundation of how teams communicate, collaborate, and find valuable information and should ultimately be at the forefront of any flexible work strategy.

Exploring all aspects of remote work technology and their implications can be a daunting task. Where should you start?

Implementing a Single Collaboration Hub

We have found that one of the most productive places to start is the implementation of – and organization-wide commitment to – a single collaboration hub like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Zoom.

There are many benefits to creating a central collaboration space:

  1. Knowledge workers spend an exorbitant amount of time simply looking for the information they need to do their job. Your collaboration hub becomes a single, easily searchable library of your organization’s knowledge. This includes structured and unstructured data. For example, did you know that, post recorded meeting, you can add captions to your video in Microsoft Teams? These captions become searchable. So, for example, if you are looking for any mention of “Project X” in your last ten team meetings, you can easily find each meeting where it is mentioned instead of diving into hours of recordings.
  2. Within distributed teams, especially those without a mature approach to data governance, information silos run rampant. The hub becomes a central place for real-time and time-independent (asynchronous) collaboration in all forms, including video, phone, chat, and document editing and sharing. The alternative is having “pieces of the puzzle” dispersed among different file storage locations, email platforms, productivity suites, and video conferencing applications.
  3. It offers important context for communication, allowing team members to focus energy and attention on the tasks that matter most. In the collaboration hub, communications and resources are organized with purpose (e.g., by project, department, or group) as opposed to email, where the last communication appears first, regardless of source or priority. In Microsoft Teams and the like, you can also use the “thumbs up” or other reactions to acknowledge an instruction or verify you have taken a requested action. This is far more effective than subjecting yourself to a never-ending stream of emails that convey the important information of: “I got it.”

Your collaboration hub enhances knowledge management, minimizes distractions and unproductive time, and serves as a force multiplier, amplifying the impact of individual contributors and teams.

Why do some implementations succeed where others don’t? Let’s look at how we can avoid common pitfalls:

It all starts with leadership modeling
One of the most pervasive challenges we see with widespread implementation is members of the leadership team continuing to communicate and collaborate in the ways they always have. When the epicenter of power and influence is pulling communications away from the collaboration hub, adoption stays low and, unfortunately, the value of the hub gets exponentially greater as more people use it.

Leadership also has an important role to play in championing the value that the change will bring to the organization and its people. There must be a compelling vision of the future for people to feel compelled to make a change. Leadership must also highlight employees that are embodying best practices and demonstrating effective use cases. Some organizations are going as far as to include collaboration as a performance review criterion.

Invest in the consultative piece of the project prior to implementation
It used to be a technological feat to stand up a new software program. Now it’s as easy as flicking a switch. This is a double-edged sword in that it can lead to build-before-design challenges. These collaboration hubs are like houses – once you move all your furniture in and start living in it, it becomes much harder to re-architect the house. It is important that organizations assess the way departments and teams collaborate and get work done, what applications are currently in use throughout the organization, where critical files currently live and then develop sound governance and standards around how that should function going forward.

And lastly, training
The phrase “learning curve” exists for a reason. We are all creatures of habit and changing the way we work is always uncomfortable. Being conscious that there is a valuable skill we do not have yet is painful. That is why an engaging and practical training program needs to be implemented. This will help empower staff to move through that awkward phase of adoption where we all feel less than fully competent. Training resources need to be in place to accompany the team through that technology initiative ‘death valley.’

How designDATA can help with your hybrid work solutions

The value of a managed service provider (MSP) is their ability to leverage technology to improve business processes and outcomes. This requires truly understanding the business of the organizations it serves and aligning IT operations in a consultative way.

One of the common frustrations we hear from prospective clients is that their MSP is not driving the technology agenda forward; it is not proactively facilitating the strategic conversations to anticipate opportunities and challenges. Without this level of partnership, IT cannot fulfill the ultimate promise of IT operations: serving as a vehicle to take teams from where they are to where they want to go.
designDATA is happy to share the approach we employ to achieve these results for our clients. We are always excited to exchange best practices and lessons learned with other mission-driven organizations.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to explore the issues that matter most to you!

Technology and Flexible Work: Why Implementing a Central Collaboration Hub Is Key Read More »

Why MDM is Essential for Managing Apple Devices in the Workplace

Why MDM is Essential for Managing Apple Devices in the Workplace

Why MDM is Essential for Managing Apple Devices in the Workplace

DesignDATA
Why MDM is Essential for Managing Apple Devices in the Workplace

Four-minute read

Scooch over, Microsoft – Apple has entered the cubicle.

A few years ago, Macs were a rarity in offices; most professional software was designed to work on Windows machines, giving them a considerable advantage in the business market. Now, everything has changed; iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks are ubiquitous, and for good reason!

People love the Mac operating system and are familiar with how Apple devices work. Apps and business tools are increasingly Mac friendly, and Apple has worked hard to develop and highlight features that boost productivity and simplify IT management.

While implementing Apple products for businesses has been fantastic for boosting creativity, flexibility, and productivity, it’s presented a new challenge for IT teams. These teams must stay on top of managing a plethora of devices while keeping data secure and employees connected.

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a must-have tool for an IT team to succeed; whether you’re a small or large business, you must implement the right MDM solution when using Apple products.

Let’s take a look at why an MDM is critical for your business’s management and success.

1. Security

MDM ensures that your mobile device is secure. In today’s world, mobile devices not only enable employees to work from anywhere but also open up new avenues for potential cyber attacks. MDM serves as your team’s first line of defense, maintaining company data security across all mobile devices.

Apple devices are equipped with a host of built-in security features such as FileVault encryption, Gatekeeper software verification, and TouchID. However, these features can be easily disabled, leaving your devices vulnerable. A robust MDM solution ensures these security features are not only enabled but also functioning correctly across all devices. It allows you to block specific software, disable camera access, distribute security patches, and mandate the regular creation of complex passcodes by employees.

Moreover, MDM provides a safety net for those inevitable instances when mobile devices are lost by employees or stolen. In such scenarios, your MDM solution steps in to locate the lost device, locking it until it’s recovered or remotely locking it and wiping all data, ensuring your essential data remains protected.

2. Productivity

Employee productivity is for business owners what security is for IT teams: top priority.  With cloud-based applications and mobile devices, people can work from anywhere.  This results in increased flexibility and higher productivity, but only if employees can access the data and applications they need.

MDM solutions allow your employees to securely access your company network, data, and applications from anywhere, including custom apps that may not be available in Apple’s App Store. MDM identifies critical applications and deploys them to your users.

Plus, you can even create lists of applications specific to certain job roles, departments, or users and allow access to those who need them. In this way, employees have access to the applications they need without being overwhelmed by the ones they don’t.

If an employee needs a new application, MDM makes it quick and easy to grant access and push the application to the correct device. This is quickly done through custom settings in the App Store. As well, MDM makes it simple to share important information between mobile device users. Thus, implementing a robust MDM solution is one of the best ways to foster productivity in your company’s remote work environment.

3. MDM simplifies device management

Whether your company provides Apple devices to employees or lets them use their own through a BYOD program, managing every device can be challenging.

MDM simplifies this process and offers workflows that let your team quickly set up new devices, enroll new users, reset old devices, install updates, and troubleshoot IT issues.  You can monitor devices to make sure that policies are being followed and employees are avoiding risky cyber-behaviour. You can also control access to company networks so that only approved devices can connect.

A good MDM solution allows you to monitor your devices remotely. You can quickly push settings, updates, and IT fixes to devices using over-the-air (OTA) distribution, and your team can detect issues as they arrive, having solutions already prepared.

Top-notch MDM solutions also allow you to implement time-saving practices like “zero-touch” deployment and custom scripting that enable you to customize your devices and modify account permissions as needed.

Truly – the time and cost savings realized from simplified device management are priceless.

Choosing Your MDM Solution

It’s clear that MDM is critical for managing Apple products; now to choose which solution is right for you. There are many MDM solutions on the market, and it’s integral to choose one that works with your priorities. Consider things like value, device compatibility, security features, application management, and support features.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t worry. We are here to help.

Visit our resource page for additional information like comprehensive guide on Apple IT support for macOS and iOS.

For tailored support and IT solutions optimized for Apple products, connect with our experts. We’ll guide you to the ideal MDM solution to secure and enhance productivity while managing devices with ease.

Ready to elevate your Apple ecosystem?

Why MDM is Essential for Managing Apple Devices in the Workplace Read More »

Talk With Our Productivity Expert