Microsoft 365

Policy Management System Leads to Better Tracking and Insights

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A major Canadian university was using an outdated policy management system that wasn’t flexible and couldn’t fit their growing business needs. They wanted to be able to keep track of correspondences within the system. They also wanted the ability to add fields (metadata for the documents that are stored for policies) and take away fields as became necessary. The old system was not user friendly and didn’t allow them to manage the policies as they would have liked. They needed a policy management system.  For example, when an email is sent out containing a document, they want to know who responded and how they responded.   The New Policy Management System … Read more

Custom Applications: Choosing the Right Company for Your Needs 

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Custom Applications

Custom Applications: Choosing the Right Company for Your Needs  Today, many organizations are turning towards custom applications to use in their daily operations. Some will use them to target and attract new customers and others will use them to improve their daily operations. If you are looking for a custom application, you are one of many organizations that are searching for the same thing. But due to the volume of application development experts, how do you choose the right one for your needs?  There are many factors to consider when selecting an organization to build your custom application. You should:  How Can I Evaluate an Organization’s Experience and Expertise?  The … Read more

Internet of Things: Are You Protected? 

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Internet of Things

Internet of Things: Are You Protected? Simply put, the Internet of Things (IoT) are smart objects and can range from home devices (like Alexa) to complex industrial machinery and transportation systems. It is a network of physical devices or objects that are embedded with sensors, software, and network connectivity that allows them to collect and share data.   How many people do you know who use some sort of smart device? My guess would be many. You yourself are likely to use some sort of smart device or technology. But have you stopped to think about the security risks associated with using these devices?  How Does the Internet of Things Work?  … Read more

Microsoft Secure Score Shows Effectiveness of Data Security

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Microsoft Secure Score

Microsoft Secure Score Shows Effectiveness of Data Security   A current hot topic of conversation in the technology world is safety and security – and for good reason. It often feels as though we are constantly being warned of new scams or online threats. Remaining diligent is essential, especially when it comes to your organization’s data. The Microsoft Secure Score is an effective way to measure the quality of your organization’s protection policies.  What is the Microsoft Secure Score? The Microsoft Secure Score is a tool available in the M365 security portal that helps you measure and improve your organization’s security tactics in Microsoft 365.   It gives you a numerical summary … Read more

Secret Manager to Protect Sensitive Data in App Development

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Secret Manager

Secret Manager to Protect Sensitive Data in App Development   How you deal with sensitive data is critical to your organization’s success. If you are not careful with sensitive company or client data, you risk losing trust between you and your employees or customer base. But how do you protect sensitive data when developing a new application where you may need access to said data? Secret Manager provides a solution for protecting sensitive data during application development.  What is Secret Manager?  Secret Manager is used to store sensitive data during the development of an ASP.NET Core application development project. It keeps the “secrets” out of the source code and stores them … Read more

Microsoft Purview Records Management Improves Business Record Storage 

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A major Canadian university contacted Imaginet because they desired a solution for managing their business records in SharePoint. Their Access and Privacy office is tasked with records management for the university and is currently managing their business records primarily in file shares. They are approaching 100 TB of business records that needed specific classifications – an extremely large volume. We determined Microsoft Purview Records Management would be an appropriate solution for our client.   Managing records in file shares presents usability and administration problems. A typical problem with file shares is that business records are often duplicated. Additionally, custom permissions on nested folder structures create tickets for internal IT teams, which … Read more

Enabling BitLocker Encryption with Microsoft Intune 

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Enabling Bitlocker

In today’s data-driven world, safeguarding sensitive information is paramount, especially with the increase in remote work following the pandemic and the rise in cyber threats. BitLocker, a robust encryption tool, plays a pivotal role in protecting your data from unauthorized access. In this blog post, we’ll explore the significance of enabling BitLocker, utilizing Microsoft Intune for deployment, and important information before implementation.  Why BitLocker Matters BitLocker is a built-in encryption feature in Microsoft Windows, designed to strengthen data security by encrypting disk volumes on devices like laptops and desktops. This encryption serves as a safeguard, ensuring that even in cases of device loss or theft, the data remains protected and … Read more

Microsoft Loop: Seamless Co-Working in One Place

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Microsoft Loop

Years ago, Microsoft introduced digital collaboration with MS Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, and most significantly, MS Teams. Microsoft continues to push the boundaries with its innovations that reshape the way we work and communicate. Recently, Microsoft rolled out The Loop – a new application that will provide further organizational connectivity. Microsoft Loop (or Loop) was specifically designed to redefine how an organization’s teams collaborate.  Imagine your teams, tasks, and content all being centralized in one place – that is Microsoft Loop! It is made up of workspaces, pages, and components that make it a hub for seamless content creation and collaboration.  To highlight some of the exciting features of … Read more

Benefits of Power BI: Unlocking Your Data’s Potential 

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Your organization’s data can be a valuable tool for making informed business decisions. Quality data can assist in understanding customer needs, increase employee satisfaction, provide insights as to the effectiveness of certain processes, and more. Harnessing the power of your data is crucial, yet often organizations engage in ineffective data collection practices. The benefits of Power BI are numerous and can easily provide data insights that may currently be unrealized.   What is Power BI?  Power BI is a Microsoft solution that turns your organization’s data into visually engaging and interactive reports. Power BI also lets you connect multiple data sources and automates processes, eliminating manual work.   Benefits of Power BI  … Read more

Migrating to Azure Data Factory Leads to Improved Security and Improved ROI

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A major Canadian oil & gas company reached out to Imaginet to rewrite some of the old infrastructure they currently had in place and pursue an Azure Data Factory migration. Imaginet had built their data warehouse 10 years ago, but changes in technology prompted the client to make changes to their existing data loading processes. We had previously used SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) to build their data factory, however, migrating to Azure Data Factory had become the better option for their business needs, as they wanted to move from on-premises servers to cloud services in Microsoft Azure.  Our client had started to experience issues with their current on-premises SQL … Read more