Many organizations today are experiencing the growth pains of a legacy data landscape and architecture for managing their analytics and reporting needs. Many of the issues related to this obsolescence derive from the now outdated architecture of the enterprise data warehouse that no longer delivers digital value or data insights to drive business innovation. While these legacy systems originally provided significant value by allowing the integration of data from multiple sources, provided a basis for better decision making, and allowed for robust enterprise reporting, they are no longer up to the task of driving that same business value with newer and more modern data sources. "Most existing legacy enterprise data warehouse systems were originally designed and architected for online analytic processing (OLAP) and reporting systems. These systems (many of which are outdated today) were often architected for highly normalized and structured data only". Forbes Magazine - 2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcIEJvpkKAY&t Other challenges with legacy data warehouses include things such as: heightened risk of...
For 50 years, the Special Olympics has used the power of sports to infuse joy, to incite action, to inspire communities, and to empower people with intellectual disabilities to discover new strengths and focus on what they CAN do. This worldwide nonprofit uses the Microsoft Cloud to track data for nearly 5 million athletes in 170 countries. With anywhere, anytime access, countless hours have been saved and reinvested into impacting athletes and changing the world. Just think—how can you make a difference and how might technology help you impact the world? Wherever you are in your cloud journey, Oakwood Systems Group, Inc. can help. Contact us to learn more. ...
One of the biggest challenges in digital transformation is ensuring security across an organization’s entire digital landscape without reducing user productivity. Piecing together individual solutions can result in a complex security posture that overburdens operations and encourages users to bypass security measures. Cloud computing allows enterprises to share security signals worldwide, which is changing how they do security. In this new world where data and users roam free, it’s even more important to have an integrated suite of security tools. Microsoft 365 is a complete, intelligent solution that helps secure corporate data and protect against bad actors, while taking advantage of the transformative opportunities presented by cloud computing. Its built-in security solutions integrate easily and share insights from the trillions of security signals on the Intelligent Security Graph across the global Microsoft ecosystem. With Microsoft 365, you can reduce the number of security vendors you manage and safeguard your organization, without sacrificing productivity. Microsoft 365 keeps users, data, devices, and applications safe An...
In a world of instant gratification, customers expect more from the businesses they patron. That's why you need a CRM solution that's more than just a CRM platform. You need an all-in-one business management solution to streamline and connect business processes with customer experience. It's the way of the future for a demanding generation of customers. Deliver the level of service and experience they deserve with Microsoft Dynamics 365. This all-in-one Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) business management solution will help connect your financials, sales, service, and operations to streamline business processes, improve customer interactions, and make better decisions. Manage Your Financials Make informed decisions: Connect data across accounting, sales, purchasing, inventory, and customer interactions to get an end-to-end view of your business. Chart financial performance in real time with built-in Power BI dashboards. Accelerate financial close and reporting: Streamline accounts receivables and payables, and automatically reconcile accounts to close and report on financials quickly and accurately, while maintaining compliance. Improve forecast accuracy: ...
Your data is important. You need the best data recovery service on the market. At Oakwood Systems Group we know how to help you integrate the solutions that meet your needs. With file and folder backup and recovery, virtual machine backup and recovery, and SQL running on IaaS VMs, Azure Recovery Services Vault gives users a strong feature set and an easy-to-use data protection service for businesses to protect their data. Like many businesses, as their organization began rapidly migrating and deploying solutions to Azure, the demand for data protection in the cloud has also increased. That's why Microsoft developed Azure Recovery Services Vault to help manage their backup and disaster recovery needs natively in the cloud. Microsoft implemented Azure Recovery Services Vault to provide data protection services for their growing Azure virtual machine infrastructure. Recovery Services vault is a cloud-based PaaS solution⎯by using it, their employees can quickly obtain access to data protection for Azure resources. It’s flexible and adaptable enough to...
An increasingly connected digital world has changed the way customers engage with brands. In an age of commoditized products and services, companies look to customer experience as a key competitive differentiator. Customer Service organizations are at the epicenter of a company’s ability to deliver a differentiated and a consistent engagement experience. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service supports the omni-channel, which enables consistent experiences across any combination of self and assisted service engagements. Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Service provides a robust portal for self-service and peer-to-peer community support, with seamless transitions to high-touch agent interactions, and field service when there is a need for onsite help. This solution empowers agents with the resources they need to provide fast and effective service. Implementing this powerful solution empowers people at every level of the organization with insights relevant to their role so that everyone can have a positive and meaningful impact on business outcomes. Our loyal fans are the driving force...
Customer experience is often the key differentiator between businesses. In fact, 3 in 4 business leaders in a recent study said improving the customer journey and user experience was their top priority in the next year. What's your priority? For Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, who own 23 luxury hotels worldwide, they sought out a solution to more intelligently manage customer data while personalizing communication with their guests. Through their integration of Microsoft Dynamics 365 they've seen increased year-over-year revenue growth by sending relevant, customized content enabled by an automated, cloud-based system. Our industry does not respect tradition, it only respects innovation Satya Nadella, CEO Microsoft A powerful CRM, like Dynamics 365, can increase your organization's profitability by streamlining administrative processes in your sales, marketing, and service divisions, while letting you focus on building and maintaining the customer relationships that matter. A strong CRM solution is a multifaceted platform where everything crucial to developing, improving, and retaining your customer...
One thing that makes Azure unique is its ability to handle nearly any situation. If you're not ready to completely move to the cloud, no problem. Azure has hybrid options that let you get your foot in the door and build on it. If you're running an app or system that requires multiple capabilities, Azure has seamless integration across its different service offerings that can fit every need. The possibilities are endless. What exactly is Azure? Flying at a high level, it may look like only a cloud, but delve under the surface, and you’ll discover an entire world of integrated offerings. When SitePro was looking to move their operations from on-premises physical servers, they needed a system that could handle the multiple elements of their innovative turnkey application. They found all these capabilities through Azure. SitePro utilizes multiple services, including Azure App Service, Azure Cosmos DB, and SQL Database, to handle the various aspects of their application and their business. This simplicity reduces cost and improves user experience. With service offerings spanning everything from AI to Developer Tools, we’ve got your needs...
Data has never been more critical to your enterprise as it transforms in this digital world. Azure Backup helps you retain rapidly increasing amounts of data while keeping storage costs low. It makes it easy for you to backup and restore your most important information when the unexpected happens. As ransomware attacks increase, built-in protection from Azure keeps your data safe. Azure Backup gives you a cost-effective, simple and secure backup solution that protects your data. Benefits of Azure Backup: Simple, Secure & Cost-Effective Setting up Azure Backup for your virtual machines can be accomplished in just three steps. Once the initial backup is completed, only incremental changes are sent based on a defined schedule. You can then retain your backups for as long as your compliance(s) require. Built-in protection against ransomware helps you protect your data from unauthorized requests to delete your backups. Before ransomware has the chance to corrupt your data, you’ll be notified so you can save...
When you think about switching from running and housing your SQL Server on-premises to Azure, the first thing that comes to mind is probably the infrastructure maintenance savings. But what about hidden savings? Like efficiency savings for your IT team and database admins? Or the freedom to expand your capacity as soon as you need it? Just last week we detailed that SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 will no longer be supported by Microsoft starting in July 2019. Outside of the reasons stated above, here's a few more on why this is an issue to be addressed sooner than later. Mitigate risks with platform security and compliance: There will be no access to critical security updates, opening the potential for business interruptions and loss of data. Upgrade to better cost efficiency: Maintaining legacy servers, firewalls, intrusion systems, and other tools can get expensive quickly. Modernize to innovate: Grow your environments with data, analytics and the cloud. In...
Cybercriminals are clever and on the lookout for vulnerable businesses. They exploit common mistakes and flaws to breach systems, then steal, disrupt, or hold businesses for ransom. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to be an easy mark. You can make changes right now to reduce the likelihood of a successful attack. Here are six common cybersecurity mistakes and how to fix them: Mistake 1: Piecemeal approach It’s tempting to stack new security measures on top of existing ones as new threats emerge. But this results in too many products and not enough integration. Every product has its own dashboard, controls, and alerts. And someone has to stay on top of it all. This lack of integration between security products makes it difficult to see threats holistically, and even harder to respond quickly and effectively. Instead, look for products designed to work together, and partner with companies that actively seek collaboration with the security industry. Mistake 2: Insufficient Security Expertise Cyberthreats...
We get it. Change is scary. If you've been running the same operating system for many years, a large-scale overhaul is understandably intimidating. However, with service ending for SQL and Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2, now is the time to make the switch to Azure and experience the latest in innovation and security. If you are still running either of these, don't panic! Microsoft has put options in place to give you the time you need, and we at Oakwood Systems Group, Inc., are here to assist you with a smooth transition. Almost any business using technology is producing enormous amounts of data. Unfortunately, much of this data comes in a wide range of formats and most businesses don’t have the tools or know-how to fully utilize it. This is exactly what SitePro observed in the oil and gas industry, where large amounts of data were being generated but not used to their fullest extent. Using Azure, SitePro was able to compile this data and channel it all through a single, user-friendly application available to their customers. Suddenly,...
