Valiant GS

Valiant GS
Valiant Global Solutions

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Measure value, efficiency, and cost effectiveness with accurate, real-time data. Subscribe now to learn more about Microsoft Azure IoT.

Data is everything in today's digital world. Simply put, those businesses without the means to accurately extract data from their processes adapt more slowly than those that do. And in a world with increasing customer expectations and constantly evolving technology, gaining access to this information is no longer just a choice. There is a bright side to this situation, though. As technology becomes more accessible, so do your options for implementing and creating successful digital strategies. Today's leading platforms like Microsoft Azure IoT are not only easier to deploy, but also more flexible in their requirements and maintenance, giving your company the choice of executing them in the way that best aligns with your objectives. Subscribe now to learn how digital transformation and the IoT can put you in total control of your business, as well as how you can get started with Microsoft.

View: Measure value, efficiency, and cost effectiveness with accurate, real-time data. Subscribe now to learn more about Microsoft Azure IoT.

Transform your business from local to global with digital collaboration. Get started with Microsoft Teams.

How do you increase the scale of your business without compromising your teams' work structure and methodologies? Truth be told, there is no single answer to this question, but there is one solution that has been proven to yield outstanding results for today's leading enterprises: digital collaboration. However, the real challenge lies in choosing the correct platform on which to build your modern workplace—one that provides the flexibility, efficiency, and customizability that complements your work methodologies and empowers your employees. Thankfully, one such platform exists, and is currently being utilized by today's industry leaders to complete fascinating, intricate projects around the world. Subscribe now to learn how Microsoft Teams can become the best tool for your workforce to reach its full potential, and how your business can go from local to global with Microsoft cloud.

View: Transform your business from local to global with digital collaboration. Get started with Microsoft Teams.

Transform your business from local to global with digital collaboration. Get started with Microsoft Teams.

How do you increase the scale of your business without compromising your teams' work structure and methodologies? Truth be told, there is no single answer to this question, but there is one solution that has been proven to yield outstanding results for today's leading enterprises: digital collaboration. However, the real challenge lies in choosing the correct platform on which to build your modern workplace—one that provides the flexibility, efficiency, and customizability that complements your work methodologies and empowers your employees. Thankfully, one such platform exists, and is currently being utilized by today's industry leaders to complete fascinating, intricate projects around the world. Subscribe now to learn how Microsoft Teams can become the best tool for your workforce to reach its full potential, and how your business can go from local to global with Microsoft cloud.

View: Transform your business from local to global with digital collaboration. Get started with Microsoft Teams.

The Benefits Of SaaS For Managing Cloud Security Threats

As business become more digitalized, they must learn to contend with the increasing number of cloud security threats and incidents. Therefore, investing in the tools that can give them the ability to deal with and overcome these issues is quickly becoming every modern organization's primary concern. These tools, however, must ensure the security of enterprises' data while allowing them to remain flexible, productive, and efficient. In this regard, software-as-a-service (SaaS) has become the top choice for today's leading organizations thanks to its ability to safeguard information while reducing costs and providing employees with intuitive applications. In this article, you'll learn how SaaS models like Microsoft 365 have become key in helping businesses' IT departments keep information secure in today's highly connected world.

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GEICO turbocharges insurance innovation with Microsoft Cloud

Insurance customers want the ability to buy and be serviced from anywhere, at any time. To meet this desire, GEICO decided to focus on two key aspects: abandoning its legacy infrastructure and focusing on digital transformation from a customer engagement perspective. Watch this video to learn how GEICO evolved from a traditional, silo-based infrastructure to an integrated, automated, and collaborative model. This transition allowed for increased flexibility and productivity thanks to a DevOps approach using Microsoft Azure.

FINNING | Providing Measurable customer value increased operational efficiancy and consistent growth with IoT

Many companies would view competing in industries where labor-intensive tasks, disconnected data sources, and paper-based processes are the norm as a hard challenge. Others, like Finning—the world's largest Caterpillar dealer—saw this as an opportunity to disrupt and innovate within the construction industry through digital transformation. Watch this video to learn how Finning collaborated with a Microsoft Gold Partner to enable the unification of disparate data sources using IoT devices, and how this strategy allowed the company to substantially upgrade its customer service experience.

A modern focus on enterprise protection

Moving to the cloud is crucial for today's businesses to get the most out of digital transformation. However, the increased integration of mobile and cloud technologies creates a higher risk for data to be stolen or compromised. This at first led enterprises to dedicate an increasing number of resources to IT security in an effort to keep their organization safe from evolving threats, which led to over-sized departments and snowballing IT maintenance costs. Thankfully, the cloud has evolved to become businesses' greatest tool for reducing cyberattacks and has allowed them to enable more agile IT departments while keeping their information more secure than ever. In this infographic, you'll learn about Microsoft 365 E5's comprehensive approach to security and how it empowers organizations by giving them complete control and oversight of their enterprise data.

View: A modern focus on enterprise protection

A modern focus on enterprise protection

Moving to the cloud is crucial for today's businesses to get the most out of digital transformation. However, the increased integration of mobile and cloud technologies creates a higher risk for data to be stolen or compromised. This at first led enterprises to dedicate an increasing number of resources to IT security in an effort to keep their organization safe from evolving threats, which led to over-sized departments and snowballing IT maintenance costs. Thankfully, the cloud has evolved to become businesses' greatest tool for reducing cyberattacks and has allowed them to enable more agile IT departments while keeping their information more secure than ever. In this infographic, you'll learn about Microsoft 365 E5's comprehensive approach to security and how it empowers organizations by giving them complete control and oversight of their enterprise data.

View: A modern focus on enterprise protection

J Walter Thompson Unlocking creativity with Microsoft Teams

Creativity is like a living organism. It requires the right conditions to appear, careful nurturing to become more capable, and a diverse ecosystem to thrive. However, just like any organism, it can disappear in an instant if its environment doesn't provide the conditions it needs to grow and reach its full potential. Ironically, nothing generates the mass extinction of creative ideas faster than alienating cubicles. So organizations quickly began to change from the inside to create environments that foster innovation and dynamic work methodologies. With the advent of digital, they realized that not only did physical spaces need to change, but also their digital counterparts. Let's face it—when was the last time you read a company-wide email reply and thought it was a good thing? In this video, you'll learn the inspiring example of how J. Walter Thompson—one of the largest communication agencies in the world—has mastered the art of digital collaboration thanks to Microsoft Teams. From collaborating with the world's leading experts in prosthetics to give a veteran the ability to once again swim with his family, to simply networking and having fun, you'll see how Teams is much more than a work tool—it's a hub for inspiration and creativity.

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

8 Ways IoT Devices Can Improve Your Business Office

By now, you're very aware of the hugely successful IoT implementations some companies have released into the market. Wearables, smartphones, smart cars, and even smart traffic lights have made headlines across the world. But what about the stuff that doesn't make headlines? Some IoT applications—such as those we use around the office—may not be as exciting as others, but that doesn't mean they aren't as useful or interesting. In this article, you'll learn about IoT applications that are revolutionizing the workplace and how each of them can add value to products and services we didn't even know could be automated. From coffee machines to smart office heat mapping, these are 8 ways your office could be getting smarter in the near future.

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Bulk up your business. Subscribe now.

While there are multiple ways to distinguish yourself from your competitors, one sure way to set yourself apart is to create and deliver personalized experiences to both existing and prospective customers, tailored to their unique needs and preferences. One sure way to accomplish this is with Dynamics 365. Subscribe today, and stay informed on how Dynamics 365, along with other leading Microsoft solutions, can help elevate and transform your engagements with both current and future customers.

View: Bulk up your business. Subscribe now.

Protect your data with secure and resilient productivity applications. Get started with Microsoft 365.

Whether public or private, today's organizations must adapt to an online and mobile-first world. This means investing in scalable solutions that guarantee ROI by increasing productivity and achieving widespread adoption. Furthermore, it also involves ensuring that all their applications are flexible enough to integrate new features or updates, and that their data remains secure across every touchpoint. Subscribe now to learn how you can leverage the productivity and security features of Microsoft 365 to create a more resilient, cloud-first business.

View: Protect your data with secure and resilient productivity applications. Get started with Microsoft 365.

The Future of Productivity: Teamwork and Collaboration

Long gone are the days when the bulk of office communication was made via lengthy, often incomprehensible email threads. Also going extinct—thankfully— are the colossal company-wide emails that were often responded to by recipients using the "reply all" button. Today's corporate communication is evolving—not to the Orwellian, drone-like future portrayed in the movies, but toward a more multimedia-focused and casual approach. Nowadays, boring project management software is losing traction to intuitive digital tools such as Slack or Microsoft Teams which enable communication and collaboration to happen from a single platform. In this article, you'll learn about the major trends that are transforming office communications around the world. You'll also gain insight into how several industry leaders envision the future of collaboration, and what tools they're using within their organizations to push forward projects worldwide.

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24 Hour Fitness personalizes member services using Dynamics 365

Just as every person's fitness goals are different, so too are the individual paths to achieving those goals. But when it comes to creating customized experiences for its 4+ million members across the U.S., 24 Hour Fitness realized there was only one sure path to success: Microsoft Dynamics 365. In the crowded wellness industry, 24 Hour Fitness distinguishes itself through both its innovative approach to fitness and its personalized approach to member service. Today, the company is applying data analytics to member marketing by connecting Dynamics 365 with Adobe Experience Cloud hosted on Microsoft Azure to personalize marketing messages to millions of members at its 400+ health clubs. Watch this video to see how 24 Hour Fitness is connecting marketing and sales data to reach people in exciting new ways, attract record numbers of members, and ultimately help more people attain their fitness goals.

Create a connected business powered by Microsoft

Imagine you've worked hard to plan and strategize your IoT roadmap. You've finally established what devices you want to connect and how you're going to use that data to drive growth for your business. You've also convinced the board and other stakeholders about your strategy and have gotten the green light to begin ASAP. So you're all set, right? Well, not exactly. What's missing is one of the most challenging and crucial steps for most companies—one that can completely make or break your entire initiative: choosing the correct platform on which to execute your IoT program. Ideally, you want a platform that allows devices to connect seamlessly —of course—but you also need flexibility, scalability, security, and the ability to transform data into dashboards to obtain insights. In this infographic, you'll learn how Microsoft IoT Central meets all of these requirements while delivering an intuitive and highly customizable UI that can and will adapt to your business, not the other way around.

View: Create a connected business powered by Microsoft

Monday, May 18, 2020

City of Houston: Optimizing business processes

In any type of organization, ensuring the resilience of your applications is a top priority. In other words, protecting your data against any and all threats is important, but certifying the recoverability and safety of your data in case of an incident can be just as crucial to guaranteeing the continuity of your business. This is especially important for public entities and governments, whose records include the data of millions of citizens, providers, and classified documents. For these organizations, constantly optimizing business processes to ensure the security and resilience of all their devices, platforms, and applications must become a vital part of their overall digital strategy. In this video, you'll gain insights into how the City of Houston, Texas leverages Microsoft technology to constantly improve the reliability of their data and increase the effectiveness of their public services.

The 7-step partner mini-guide to onboarding customers

Organizations don't make the jump to digital collaborations overnight. It takes months—or even years, depending on their size—of careful planning and strategy to come up with a transition plan that doesn't compromise operations while everybody gets onboarded. It's our job, then, to guide our clients and partners as to the best way they can make their digital plans happen. Of course, this isn't always easy—some organizations have highly rigid and complex structures that can take a while to adapt and integrate new technologies, while others may have multiple stakeholders who need to be consulted during each stage of the process. Either way, a clear and well-established roadmap goes a long way toward ensuring the process goes as smoothly as possible. That's why we've created this infographic—to provide you with 7 time-tested steps that can make your customers' Microsoft Teams adoption as seamless as possible. Use it as a handy cheat sheet for yourself or your sales teams, or bring it along to executive meetings for a visually impactful way of presenting a solid implementation strategy that's recommended by Microsoft.

View: The 7-step partner mini-guide to onboarding customers

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Leading the IoT: Gartner insights on how to lead in a connected world

The IoT is changing today's organizations into digital businesses. It's also creating innovative business models, boosting efficiency, and fostering engagement in both employees and customers. Change is not always smooth, however. Sometimes the only way to adapt and stay relevant is by radically reinventing the way things have been done in the past, which can be a painful process for some companies. There are other barriers to entry for IoT as well: most enterprises don't know where to start implementing the technology; moreover, if strategies do exist, there's almost always a conflict regarding who owns them. During these discussions, it's the job of the CIO to fill the resulting IoT leadership void. This book provides CIOs and IT leaders with a solid foundation for starting business conversations, developing initiatives, and creating successful IoT strategies with a quick time-to-market. Subscribe now to download your copy.

View: Leading the IoT: Gartner insights on how to lead in a connected world

Follow these 8 CRM implementation best practices

When it comes to choosing a customer relationship management (CRM) system for your business, your options have never been more abundant. Established vendors are releasing new features and functionality at an impressive pace, while new vendors are entering the market just as quickly. Solutions range from systems designed for large enterprises and SMBs to decentralized mobile workforces, and everything in between. All of this choice is giving rise to two very important questions: how to you determine which CRM solution is right for your business, and more important, how do you get business users to make the most out of the system—and out of your investment? In her article for CIO magazine entitled "8 CRM implementation best practices," author Jennifer Lonoff Schiff addresses those questions and CRM in general, distilling feedback from CRM vendors, users, and experts into eight suggestions for maximizing the effectiveness of a customer relationship management system. Read the full article to learn what these experts and industry insiders had to say.

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A single digital workspace that connects ideas, projects, and people. Subscribe to learn more about Microsoft Teams.

As the world becomes increasingly connected, continuous product innovation in the Modern Workplace provides growing opportunities for today's organizations to deliver customized business solutions to their customers. In this digital landscape, the demand for unified solutions is stronger than ever, with 88 percent of Microsoft customers agreeing that having all their solutions together in one place saves them time. These same companies also estimate that they've saved nearly $5 million over three years from not having to switch back and forth between apps. So how exactly are organizations adapting to these trends? Subscribe now to get the answer to this question and many others regarding Modern Workplace, digital collaboration, and Microsoft solutions.

View: A single digital workspace that connects ideas, projects, and people. Subscribe to learn more about Microsoft Teams.

62% of enterprises sacrifice mobile security for speed

According to Verizon's Mobile Security Index (MSI) 2020, 39 percent of organizations admitted that they've experienced a security compromise involving a mobile device. This becomes much more concerning when you consider that the average loss from a successful business-email compromise attack is nearly $130,000. However, despite the risk and huge losses, only 13 percent of enterprises have adopted regular security screening, data encryption, need-to-know access, and no default passwords corporate wide. So why are companies actively putting themselves at such risk, and what solutions are currently available to protect them from the latest security threats? Learn the answer to these questions and obtain greater insights into today's mobile cybersecurity landscape in this article.

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FINNING | Challenges and Opportunities with IoT Apps on Azure Cloud

Every role within an organization needs specific tools and data to do their job as best they can. This task is more complex than it sounds, though. Without the required scalability and customization options, even small businesses can struggle when obtaining relevant information, let alone large, multinational corporations. If done right, however, the payoff is well worth it. Companies gain access to previously untapped data sources and the ability to filter such data according to each person's role within the organization. When combined with the right integrated productivity tools and digital collaboration software, this allows for unparalleled levels of adaptability, efficiency, and risk management. In this video, you'll learn how Finning has utilized IoT to connect its entire organization, enabling each person to view relevant data depending on their role within the company.

8 best practices for a successful CRM implementation

If customers are the lifeblood of business, then customer relationship management (CRM) is the daily checkup to ensure that the heart is still pumping steadily and that the entire body is in good health. Metaphors aside, CRM describes the processes, tools, and activities that companies employ to understand their customers and respond rapidly to their ever-changing needs and preferences. Given the importance and widespread use of CRM across today's businesses, it would be natural to assume that CRM implementation is a fairly straightforward and routinely successful process—but rarely is this the case. This raises the question as to why—and more important, as to what your company can do to ensure that your CRM efforts pay off. In this infographic, we address those questions by distilling input from vendors, users, and experts into eight best practices that your company can follow to help deliver a successful (and ultimately, fruitful) CRM implementation.

View: 8 best practices for a successful CRM implementation

The four pillars of Microsoft 365 enterprise security

In the era of cloud-first and mobile-first technology, productivity and security go hand in hand. This means that when utilizing digital tools, the fact that your data remains secure, encrypted, and in the right hands is just as important—if not more so—than the increase in productivity obtained by using them. Therefore, choosing the correct applications involves a careful understanding of their features so you can avoid leaving your business unprotected or putting a strain on productivity with secure but stiff software. With this infographic, you'll gain a better understanding of how Microsoft 365 not only empowers your employees with tried-and-true productivity features, but also delivers on four key security pillars that ensure enterprise-wide security.

View: The four pillars of Microsoft 365 enterprise security

HRI uses Microsoft Teams to streamline research

Medical researchers have one of the most critical jobs in the world. It's imperative, therefore, that every second of their workday is dedicated to discovering new ways to improve human health. Likewise, enabling researchers to effortlessly share their work with colleagues around the world can make a huge the difference. Watch this video to learn how Health Research Institute (HRI) is using Microsoft Teams to enable its researchers to seamlessly communicate, collaborate, and help each other in over 150 international projects per year.

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Incredible Real-World Applications Prove the IoT Is Here to Stay

As author Peter Daisyme accurately puts it, "While many people debate whether little computers in wrist devices, clothing, refrigerators and vehicles will truly change our lives, actionable change is already occurring on the business application side of the IoT." Regardless of which side of the argument you're on, the impact the IoT is having in our societies at a macro level is undeniable. While you're reading this, devices that measure and predict air pollution, vehicle traffic levels, machine failure rates, fire warnings, and crime rates are being employed to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. And as cities and businesses become more interconnected by the hour, we'll find more and more useful ways in which the IoT can help us better utilize our resources and lift the burden we put on our environment. In this article, you'll gain deeper insights into how IoT devices are being used by companies and governments alike to obtain accurate data across many potentially life-saving use cases. You'll also learn about what the future holds in store for us as cities powered by artificial intelligence become near-sentient beings capable of reacting in real time to the habits and living conditions of their inhabitants.

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Incredible Real-World Applications Prove the IoT Is Here to Stay

As author Peter Daisyme accurately puts it, "While many people debate whether little computers in wrist devices, clothing, refrigerators and vehicles will truly change our lives, actionable change is already occurring on the business application side of the IoT." Regardless of which side of the argument you're on, the impact the IoT is having in our societies at a macro level is undeniable. While you're reading this, devices that measure and predict air pollution, vehicle traffic levels, machine failure rates, fire warnings, and crime rates are being employed to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. And as cities and businesses become more interconnected by the hour, we'll find more and more useful ways in which the IoT can help us better utilize our resources and lift the burden we put on our environment. In this article, you'll gain deeper insights into how IoT devices are being used by companies and governments alike to obtain accurate data across many potentially life-saving use cases. You'll also learn about what the future holds in store for us as cities powered by artificial intelligence become near-sentient beings capable of reacting in real time to the habits and living conditions of their inhabitants.

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Why Remote Work Trumps Being in the Office

It's no secret that when implemented with the right vision and control mechanisms, remote collaboration provides outstanding benefits for both employees and organizations. Workers enjoy greater flexibility plus the satisfaction of better work-life balance, while organizations obtain unparalleled scalability and increased efficiency across projects. In this article, we'll put you in the shoes of a passionate work-from-home advocate to discover the main reasons why this benefit is sought after by professionals in every industry. You'll also learn why, in these digital times, remote collaboration is not only an option, but THE best option for companies that wish to empower and motivate today's diverse and inclusive workforce.

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Empower employees and citizens with connected mobile experiences. Get started with Microsoft for Government.

In an interconnected, constantly moving world, reaching thousands—or even millions—of citizens requires governments to go above and beyond traditional media outlets. Providing access to services through mobile applications is therefore essential to guarantee the availability of public services and ensure that citizens have an open channel to communicate their needs and concerns. Furthermore, supporting public employees with flexible mobile tools can empower them to do increasingly more effective field work and become more efficient with their time. Subscribe now to learn more about how you can transform your organization into a modern digital workplace with Microsoft for Government.

View: Empower employees and citizens with connected mobile experiences. Get started with Microsoft for Government.

Expand your experiences. Subscribe now.

Are your customers on a true path to purchase--or are they just ambling along without direction? Subscribe today, and stay informed on how Microsoft Dynamics 365 can help elevate and transform your customers' journey by creating consistent, personalized experiences along the entire purchase path.

View: Expand your experiences. Subscribe now.

The 4 defining characteristics of effective digital workspaces

Not so long ago, it was believed that for teams to be productive, they required long hours confined in a physical office space with constant face-to-face interaction. To be fair, given the primitive state of digital collaboration tools at the time—which was pretty much limited to emails—there wasn't really a solid alternative to this scheme, so companies worked with what they had. Today, digitalization has made it possible for several people to seamlessly work together while being halfway across the world from each other. Exponential advancements in virtual workspaces have not only enabled teams to work as well as they did when they spent all day in the office, but have also proven that people are actually more productive the less they have to deal with alienating cubicles and two-way trips along traffic-congested highways. Not all digital workspaces have been equally effective, however. Yet decades of iterating and optimizing have finally given us a solid idea of the most important characteristics these spaces must have to reach their full potential. So what are they? Read this infographic to find out.

View: The 4 defining characteristics of effective digital workspaces

Travel Counsellors Upgrade from On-Premise CRM to Microsoft Dynamics 365

Travel Counsellors Ltd. is an independent travel company headquartered in Manchester, England with more than 1,800 travel counselors operating in seven countries around the world. One of the company's most important strategies for growth is to recruit more travel counselors globally--but to maximize this strategy, the company needed to move from on-premises Microsoft Dynamics to cloud-based Dynamics 365, an implementation spearheaded by Microsoft partner Alithya. But rather than sit on the sidelines while Alithya did all the work, Travel Counsellors tapped into Alithya's unique methodology to empower a team internally to run the project, and relied on Alithya's oversight, expertise, and experience to ensure that its internal team was doing things according to best practices to make the implementation as smooth as possible. Watch the video to see how this innovative approach to deploying Dynamics 365 helped Travel Counsellors achieve its strategic goals while learning CRM implementation from an inside, hands-on perspective.

City of Houston: Enabling a mobile workforce

Population growth is an inevitable aspect of modern cities, and with it comes the need for better infrastructure, more accessible services, and innovative communications channels that provide two-way communication between the government and its citizens. A bigger population also requires more public employees that serve as the eyes and ears of government institutions, and help ensure that critical services are provided to their city's most vulnerable populations. In this video, you'll watch how the City of Houston, Texas is using digital transformation to actively prepare for an increase of three million people during the next twelve to fifteen years. You'll also learn how the city is using Microsoft technology to provide its 22,000 employees with mobile solutions they can use to communicate effectively in both the field and the office.

The 3 phases of an effective IoT strategy

IoT is quickly becoming the most important business revolution of the digital age, with its implications being felt across all industries worldwide. However, unlocking the true potential of IoT requires not only a clear roadmap with specific objectives, but also a solid front-end and back-end infrastructure that's capable of making sense of the data obtained. It's for this reason that both public and private organizations sometimes struggle when implementing a successful IoT strategy and fail to reach the desired return-on-investment (ROI). To address the risks you may encounter with IoT, we've created this short, insightful infographic. After reading it, you'll have a better idea of the tools and actions you should be executing during each of the three stages of IoT implementation to overcome challenges and maximize effectiveness. You'll also obtain a straightforward checklist that your teams can refer to when establishing or optimizing their strategies.

View: The 3 phases of an effective IoT strategy