When the same phrase is used so frequently and over an extended period of time, two things typically happen: first, it officially achieves buzzword status; and second, it begins to lose its meaning. Among the tech industry's pool of du jour buzzwords, perhaps none is more prominent and overhyped--if not misunderstood--than "digital transformation." In his insightful Forbes article entitled "Digital Transformation Is Not What You Think It Is," author Jamie Notter argues that it is culture, and not digital, that today's organizations should focus on when it comes to digitally transforming themselves. In other words, identify what cultural changes will help make your business successful, then adopt technology to support and advance those goals. Oakwood Case Study: Enterprise Digital Transformation for Customer Service Technology should adapt to your culture, not the other way around Ask a hundred different businesses what the phrase "digital transformation" means, and you'll most likely get a hundred different responses. For many organizations, digital transformation means integrating digital into every...
The world our students learn in today is vastly different than when we went to school. They have more access to information and technology than ever before, but it is the skills around the effective use of that technology to analyze, evaluate, and create that will set them up to become lifelong learners. Transformation and evolution in education can mean any number of things. For example, taking learning beyond the classroom, personalizing those experiences to reach and challenge all learners, providing several ways to interact with content like hands-on or game-based learning as well as immersive experiences using Virtual and Augmented Reality. Transformation in education is not without its challenges. Microsoft understands the teacher's role in the lives of their students as critical to the child's academic, social, and mental well-being. Teachers are tasked with increasing student learning outcomes as well as the instructional capacity of their peers This is what they do for every student they have regardless of their academic,...
Rolls Royce has over 13,000 engines in operation around the world, and they provide services to maintain those engines at peak performance. Today’s engines have thousands of sensors that can produce terabytes of data on long-haul flights. Making sense of all that data is critical in transporting customers safely and efficiently. That’s why they use a suite of tools from Microsoft to help iron out what all that data means. But adopting the right tools is easier said than done. Avoiding operating disruptions is crucial to success at Rolls Royce. In fact, a single issue with a plane, and its inevitable effect to an entire airline, can cost up to one million dollars per day! Limiting these disruptions is the biggest reason for their investment in IoT technologies from Azure. Being able to identify problems before they arise has been invaluable for the manufacturer. With early notice, Rolls Royce can reduce inventory costs and maximize availability of parts. Saving airlines...
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...
Since the beginning of the business computing revolution, IT professionals have been staffed with one over-arching mission: to empower their end users. Each and every employee within an organization – from the CEO to the firstline worker – depends upon IT to protect them from security threats, and provide them with the tools and technology they need to do their best work. Although the technology we use has changed dramatically since PCs first started appearing in the workplace, the fundamental purpose of IT – to protect and empower the organization – still holds true today, and more so than ever before. Looking back just over a decade ago, the world was a very different place where technology is concerned. The Nokia 2600 Classic was the best selling phone of 2007. The bleeding edge of technology for its time. Can you imagine still using a phone like this today? You wouldn’t. Nor would you expect your users to. But the reality is, on...
There are major benefits awaiting organizations that modernize their data estate, including enhanced security and compliance, significant cost savings, and the ability to empower employees with business insights and advanced analytics capabilities. With an out-of-date data platform, you could be... Missing out on game changing cost benefits Opening your business to potential vulnerabilities Falling behind without modern analytics capabilities What does it mean to 'modernize'? Modernization means taking advantage of the latest technologies to create transformational business benefits. With Microsoft, you have the flexibility to modernize your data estate in the way that’s right for your business: Upgrade to SQL Server 2017: Move to a database with industry-leading performance and security—now on Windows, Linux, and Docker containers. Modernize in the cloud: Move to Azure to get greater cost efficiencies, state-of-the-art security, and powerful data and analytics services - with fully-managed database-as-a-service (DBaaS) solutions.Take a hybrid approach: Deploy across on-premises and the cloud to extend your infrastructure and improve business continuity. Why modernize now? Reduce...
Maximizing the impact of your IoT Proof of Concept Whitepaper. Download Here The Internet of Things (IoT) is real and it’s here today, but to many of you, IoT may seem confusing and hard to understand how it applies to your business. In this post, we hope to offer you further understanding on how Azure IoT could bring your business together in new, insightful ways – from generating new revenue streams, to increasing process efficiencies, and delivering better customer experiences. What is IoT? There’s a revolution underway that is positioning companies to take operational efficiency to new levels and inform the next generation of products and services. This revolution of course, is the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT, however is not a technology evolution. It's a business revolution, enabled by technology. With Microsoft’s long history of driving business success and digital transformation for customers, it’s no surprise that Microsoft is also focused on powering the business revolution through its robust Azure...
If you’ve ever had a beer, more than likely it was an AB InBev product. This global company brews and markets one-third of the beer products sold around the world and stores massive amounts of data in order to do so. With siloed datacenters, AB InBev lacked integrated systems, cohesion between markets and regions, and the agility to get to market quickly. Like businesses of every size, they needed a robust cloud solution in their digital transformation journey. Watch this quick video to see why AB InBev chose Microsoft Azure and let Oakwood Systems Group, Inc. show you how you can also break down data silos, increase operational insights, and cut down on IT costs with a modern data platform. ...
Making the shift to a modern desktop helps you to foster a highly secure workspace, empowered by the latest productivity, teamwork and collaboration experiences for your organization. As an IT Admin, making the shift also removes much of the pain of keeping your desktop environment secure with built in end point protection and easier access to the latest security updates, as well as improved information protection and integrated identity and access management. Deploying new PCs or getting PCs back to a business ready state gets easier and you can keep your user populations happy and secure with the most up to date experiences. This is best achieved through Microsoft 365, which brings together Office 365 with Windows 10 Enterprise and Enterprise Mobility + Security in a complete intelligent solution. Has It Been A While? If you haven’t shifted your desktop environment for a while, you will notice that a few things have evolved since your previous desktop deployments. Here are the top...
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: ...
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...
