3 minute read
The tech world is abuzz with news coming out of Microsoft Ignite 2018: new tools to try, new features to eagerly anticipate, and of course, lots of to-do lists. Brad Anderson’s Why and how you simplify IT with Microsoft 365 caught our eye, but not for the reasons you might think. Sure, if you run a Microsoft shop, you probably want to heed his advice. But there’s a broader message here:
the cloud isn’t just for storage anymore.
It’s a rich platform of interoperable services ready to save you time and money. A solution that would’ve taken your internal team months to build is now just waiting for you to snap into your ecosystem.
Given the broad range of available services, a hybrid cloud is generally considered the way to go. There are some operations you’ll want to keep in your data center, while others are best handled by Azure, Google Cloud and/or AWS. The possible permutations are endless. It’s important to know which capabilities you need and the most efficient ways to attain them. That’s where our MINDs come in. We have experience working with clients to design and execute the hybrid cloud strategy that best suits your needs.
But what happens when best-laid plans are thrown into upheaval by a cloud of the people, by the people, and for the people? At the end of his blog, Anderson says all our new tech tools “put the power of the cloud in the hands of every one of your end users.”
Is a democratized cloud a good thing?
“It can be a tricky situation for enterprise companies. We’ve entered an era where any department with a credit card can purchase and implement a new email service provider or web analytics system without much interaction with IT. The hybrid cloud stitches it all together,” observes Tim Kulp, our Director of Emerging Technologies. “That’s awesome from a ‘move quickly, break stuff, learn from your mistakes and innovate’ perspective. But it can be a data governance nightmare. You need a controlling authority setting company-wide rules for what data can go where, when and how. Then you have to make sure all employees know and understand those rules.”
As long as you stay diligent about data governance, a democratic cloud empowers everyone to work smarter. Anderson explains how Microsoft 365 is “integrated for simplicity” to modernize the workplace. Mind Over Machines wants to help you take your tech even a step further: integrating for efficiency and innovation that modernizes the workforce.
As Tim puts it, “Your workers are distributed, mobile and on the go; you need to support that. If somebody’s cranking out a project at their workstation, why shouldn’t they be able to seamlessly transfer to a phone or tablet when they run out to make a client meeting or pick up a kiddo from daycare? The modern workplace knows no bounds.”
Ready to make your cloud work for you and all your end users?
