Sarah K. White
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Sarah K. White
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Why you need to create a social media policy
Whether it's Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or Reddit, chances are good that your employees are spending some time on at least one of these social networks during work hours. But before you run to IT and install company-wide web filters, there are a few things to consider about your employee's social media habits."Social media is more accessible than ever -- and it isn't going anywhere anytime soon -- so it's a great time for employers to get on board. If a company has a clear policy around social media usage at work and communicates those guidelines effectively, there should not be a need to block the sites, as employees will remain productive and engaged," says Tisha Danehl, vice president of Ajilon Professional Staffing.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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5 affordable MDM options for small businesses
Affordable MDM options for small businessesImage by ThinkstockSmall and medium sized businesses (SMBs) have embraced BYOD. In a study of SMBs from the IT community, Spiceworks, 61 percent of respondents said they have a BYOD policy in place. However, the same study found that 56 percent of that group also said they had not implemented any mobile device management (MDM) strategies and didn't have plans to do so within the next six months. While BYOD might allow these smaller businesses to save on hardware costs, it does open up unique risks for IT. With employees running on varying operating systems and hardware, it becomes difficult to implement secure solutions across the board, leaving sensitive data at risk. If just one employee's tablet falls into the wrong hands, you're going to wish you had some way to remotely wipe data on that device. But small businesses also have small IT departments -- sometimes consisting of only one person -- so a BYOD management strategy needs be straightforward, affordable and low-maintenance. Just because your business doesn't have a big budget or a large staff doesn't mean you can't ensure that all your corporate data remains secure, no matter where Continue reading
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7 enterprise mobile management features in Windows 10
Security and enterprise mobile management (EMM) are big concerns for businesses of all sizes as they scramble to make sure corporate data is secure. And there's no shortage of EMM products, but there are features already baked into your operating system?Microsoft, for example, with its Windows 10 update, Redstone 1 -- officially called the Windows 10 Anniversary Update 1607 -- introduced a slew of new IT friendly features. Here are the six most notable features in the latest update that will get IT celebrating.Windows Information Protection With Windows Information Protection (WIP), previously called enterprise data protection (EDP), IT departments can get a handle on BYOD. It allows you to manage data on enterprise-owned and personal devices to avoid any security issues if a device falls into the wrong hands. Employees won't have to change the devices or apps they use and businesses can have the peace of mind of being able to encrypt and remote-wipe corporate data without affecting personal data.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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5 steps to avoid burning out your on-call IT staff
Everyone is susceptible to burnout on the job, but if you're an on-call IT worker you are in a unique position. You can't just clock out at the end of the day. When you go home, you are required to be on alert for any emergency incidents, which can make it hard to truly unwind and relax after a long day."This affects work-life balance the most; 'always-on' readiness, not able to relax, an inability to have a downtime, a requirement to provide support during non-business hours and eating into one's private time -- added to the fact that calls can come at any time -- keeps one living on the edge," says Sharon Andrew, PhD, happiness evangelist at Happiest Minds Technologies, an Indian IT firm that focuses on mindfulness at work.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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IT Resume Makeover: Don’t downplay your success
In this Resume Makeover, Donald Burns, helps a senior marketing executive, Alice Gaines (name changed for this article), simplify her resume to tell a story about how she earned four major promotions over her 16-year marketing career with one company. The challenge for Burns was to not only list the titles in a way that made sense to hiring managers, but also to demonstrate how each promotion came with new responsibilities and skills.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
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5 ways to get more out of meetings
The modern workforce is growing resentful of meetings. In fact, a recent survey from Atlassian found that, on average, employees attend 62 meetings per month and at least half of those meetings are considered "time wasted." Of the respondents, 91 percent admitted they daydreamed during meetings, 39 percent owned up to falling asleep during a meeting and 45 percent said they felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of meetings they needed to attend.In fact, a whopping 96 percent said they often miss meetings all together, whether due to workload or overlapping meetings. And when employees do make it to meetings, 73 percent said they often did unrelated work during it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How to implement an effective BYOD policy
Concerns around BYOD once revolved around security with third-party services, but that's getting easier to manage, says Fred Ouawad, founder and CEO of TaskWorld, a company focused on employee performance and management. Now businesses are finding it more difficult to govern BYOD policies internally.Businesses are more focused on internal security. For example, if an employee doesn't perform regular updates on their smartphone, it can pose a risk to the business says Mouawad."At the moment, pushback mostly comes from highly regulated industries like banking and government agencies. But even they are slowly realizing that BYOD is something that can't be resisted," he says.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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6 tips for managing a global workforce
Technology has drastically changed the role of management in the enterprise, as teams, and even entire companies, grow more disperse. In fact, it's not out of the realm of possibility that you could eventually work for a company with an entirely remote workforce.While technology has brought plenty of positives to the corporate world, it's also made managers' jobs more difficult. How do you effectively measure engagement and performance if you have a team of workers sprinkled across the country or even the globe?Phil Shawe, Co-CEO of TransPerfect manages over 4,000 employees across 100 countries -- and he's learned a lot from the experience. He's had to get creative to make it work, but based on lessons learned growing his company from an NYU dorm room in 1992 to a global operation, he has six tips to offer for effectively managing remote teams.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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4 tips for tough conversations with your employees
No one likes when difficult situations at work, but when these issues do arise, it's important that your focus remains on establishing a productive conversation where everyone feels heard."When difficult conversations do arise -- such as discussions about low performance, inconsistent results, frustrated clients -- a leader can confidently assess the current situation against previously defined expectations and a focus on identifying and closing the gap," says Anthony Abbatiello, global lead, Deloitte Leadership business.When you approach tough conversations with professionalism and leadership, they can ultimately help guide the employee in their career by helping them figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are. However, it can still be just as difficult to deliver bad news at work as it is to receive it, but there are a few steps you can take to help make those tough moments at work easier on everyone.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Huawei Matebook vs. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 4 in a tablet showdown
The Surface Pro 4 is the result of years of fine-tuning on Microsoft's part, and it's come a long way since the first iteration of the hybrid device. Now that hybrids have hit their stride in the market, other manufacturers are following suit. We've seen the release of the iPad Pro, the Samsung Galaxy TabPro S and, most recently, the Huawei Matebook -- all devices aimed at swaying business users away from traditional notebooks.Huawei is mostly known for smartphones -- not so much in the U.S., but the company has gained a significant amount of the market in other regions. The Matebook is one of Huawei's first attempts at offering a hybrid tablet aimed at business users. It's an attractive and well-made device, but how well does it compete with the Surface Pro 4?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Empower your employees by embracing shadow IT
Shadow IT is often viewed as something that opens up businesses to data and security threats, leaving IT without control over business apps and services. But that attitude is changing as more businesses adopt a friendly attitude towards unconventional IT practices."Some CIOs certainly see 'shadow' IT as a negative, hence the less flattering terms 'feral' or 'rogue' IT, but more progressive CIOs know that, given today's technology and the increasing savvy of the business, it's in their best interest to embrace shadow IT," says Tracy Cashman, senior vice president and partner of WinterWyman Executive Search.Cashman says it's time for IT to embrace the fact that they can't control everything and instead, help drive innovation around IT practices so that they align with the modern reality of technology. It's about empowering users because otherwise, they'll go around IT and download the software they want to use anyway.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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What’s your IT department’s strategy for website downtime?
Website disruptions are more than a mere annoyance. They can quickly add up, leading to declines in productivity and revenue. These website errors not only affect your end-users, they also pull key players away from other projects to help put out the fire to avoid major profit losses."Latencies and inconsistent website behaviors doesn't only damage the customer experience and deter consumers away from your site; it can also lead to drastic revenue loss. In fact, Amazon calculated that a one-second delay costs up to $1.6 billion per year in sales," says Mike Kane, senior product marketing manager at Dyn, an internet performance management company.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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What’s your IT department’s strategy for website downtime?
Website disruptions are more than a mere annoyance. They can quickly add up, leading to declines in productivity and revenue. These website errors not only affect your end-users, they also pull key players away from other projects to help put out the fire to avoid major profit losses."Latencies and inconsistent website behaviors doesn't only damage the customer experience and deter consumers away from your site; it can also lead to drastic revenue loss. In fact, Amazon calculated that a one-second delay costs up to $1.6 billion per year in sales," says Mike Kane, senior product marketing manager at Dyn, an internet performance management company.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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5 tips to better understand millennial managers
Millennials are now the largest generation in the U.S. workforce, which means they're quickly infiltrating every rank in corporate America -- especially middle management. While millennials want much of the same things as previous generations, they also have different values and expectations for their employers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Hybrid tablets will continue to grow in popularity
The tablet market has declined over the past year, and trend will continue through the end of the year, according to recent data from IDC.Sales of tablets and hybrids fell 11.5 percent, with an all-time year-over-year low of just 183.4 million units sold. But IDC is optimistic about the future, predicting "positive growth" in 2018 that will continue to rise over the following two years, potentially reaching 194.2 million units sold by 2020.The future is hybrid Hybrid devices like the iPad Pro and Surface Pro 4 are shaping the market, and pushing innovation from other tech companies as they try to keep pace. The market has already seen a slew of enterprise-ready hybrids, and if IDC's data suggests that the popularity of these devices will only grow in the coming years.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Knowing what to showcase on your resume
Resumes aren't easy for anyone. And James Park was no different. Park works with the Information Systems and Control Association (ISACA) and recently earned his master's degree. While his career his distinguished, his resume needed some work. After speaking with the candidate, Laura Smith-Proulx, award winning resume writer and author of three books (How to Get Hired Faster, Solve Your Toughest Resume Challenges and Finding Your Next Job with LinkedIn), knew there was far more to Park's career history than his resume suggested.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
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How to get your network and security teams working together
It's not surprising that network and security teams aren't always on the same page. After all, networks need to be fast and efficient, while security is about slowing things down and implementing extra steps to help meet security measures. While both teams are a part of the IT department, and need to work together in the event of a breach, each group has its own objectives and expectations. But when a data breach or security threat strikes, businesses need both teams working together to help get it fixed as soon as possible, especially as networks become more intricate."It's more important to get these two teams on the same page than it has ever been in the past. Enterprise networks are becoming more complex, and at the same time security issues are more common," says David Vigna, Cisco practice director at Softchoice.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How to get your network and security teams working together
It's not surprising that network and security teams aren't always on the same page. After all, networks need to be fast and efficient, while security is about slowing things down and implementing extra steps to help meet security measures. While both teams are a part of the IT department, and need to work together in the event of a breach, each group has its own objectives and expectations. But when a data breach or security threat strikes, businesses need both teams working together to help get it fixed as soon as possible, especially as networks become more intricate."It's more important to get these two teams on the same page than it has ever been in the past. Enterprise networks are becoming more complex, and at the same time security issues are more common," says David Vigna, Cisco practice director at Softchoice.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How to prevent millennials from burning out at work
Millennials have been typecast as lazy, entitled and unwilling to work -- but the rate at which these young professionals burn out suggests otherwise. According to the American Psychology Association, 39 percent of millennials say their stress increased last year, 52 percent report lying awake at night from stress at some point in the past month and 44 percent report feeling irritability or anger because of their stress.James Goodnow, attorney at Fennemore Craig, P.C., dubbed "America's Techiest Lawyer," is known for his quick rise in the business world as a millennial. He's spoken extensively on the topic of millennials at work, and has insights into why this generation is burning out. Goodnow says he sees a trend with millennials where they're simply "driven by different goals than workers from other generations."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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7 top apps for sharing large files
These days, it's common for people to get work done using more than one device -- whether you're sending out an email on your smartphone, checking Slack on your tablet or crafting spreadsheets on your PC. And it's created a demand for storage options that let you easily access files -- especially oversized files -- across numerous devices and operating systems, no matter where you are. The good news is that just one quick Google search will uncover an overwhelming number of companies that want to help you painlessly share large files.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 12 Free Cloud Storage options But with so many options, it can be hard to figure out which ones offer the best features at a reasonable price for your specific needs. If you just need a way to store and share your smartphone pics, then you're going to need different storage options than a freelancer, small business or large corporation. Luckily, there is an option for everyone. Here are seven of the best apps to share, store and edit large files no matter what device you're on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here